Sunday Vibes (292/366)

 

TIME: 1:52 pm

PLACE: Front porch
SUBJECT: Grasshopper

*~*~*

Trying to hang on to the weekend as long as possible.

Buggy Saturday (284/366)

TIME: 12:56 pm
PLACE: Front yard
SUBJECT: Monarch butterfly

TIME: 1:00 pm

PLACE: Front yard
SUBJECT: Grasshopper

TIME: 6:18 pm
PLACE: Back yard

SUBJECT: Caterpillar

*~*~*

I saw so many insects today when I was outside.

The monarchs were in full force on our butterfly bush.

Grasshoppers were, well, being true to their name and hopping on our ornamental grass.

And while I was sitting in the backyard with the dogs, this caterpillar (I think it may be a fall webworm) dropped on my leg.

He's pretty hairy - what kind of winter is he predicting?

Alley Leaves and a Fly (272/366)

TIME: 5:51 pm

PLACE: Alley
SUBJECT: Leaves in a water puddle

*~*~*

I think fall arrived today in the form of a cold rain which knocked some foliage off the trees.

TIME: 6:29 pm

PLACE: Unfinished room
SUBJECT: Fly

*~*~*

We have had several flies flitting around the house the past week or so.

I hope the cold does away with them soon.

A Shell of Its Former Self (242/366)

TIME: 3:11 pm
PLACE: Backyard

SUBJECT: Cicada shell

*~*~*

I found 3 of these on the pine tree this afternoon.

Didn't surprise me.

They have been sooo loud these past few days.

Fun Fact - Abandoned cicada shells can be found as a "bug" in Animal Crossing "New Leaf".  It is the only bug that is considered "found" instead of caught. Also, it is the only bug in the game that is not an actual living organism.  

I am thankful that they are not our size as well.

Pretty scary.

 

Moth (205/365)

TIME: 8:26 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Moth

Stella found this guy in the grass.

Not sure what happened to him.

He can’t fly, he was just fluttering on the ground, turning over and over on his back

I’m pretty sure he is not long for this world.

Cicada (243/365)

 
“I guess I felt attached to my weakness. My pain and suffering too. Summer light, the smell of a breeze, the sound of cicadas - if I like these things, why should I apologize?”
― Haruki Murakami, A Wild Sheep Chase

TIME: 6:16 AM
PLACE: Back door
SUBJECT: Cicada

I heard him way before I saw him hanging out on the storm door frame.
The sound of cicadas = summer to me.

Silver-Spotted Skipper (231/365)

TIME: 6:51 PM
PLACE: Backyard
SUBJECT: Butterfly

This guy was hanging out on my thermal shopping bag.
It needs to go back into the car.
(The shopping bag, not the butterfly)

One Bee (205/365)

Better have one bee than a host of flies.
Italian Saying

TIME: 6:33 PM
PLACE: Pool
SUBJECT: Sweat Bee

It’s bratwurst night at the pool.
There are a lot of sweat bees here as well.
I didn’t know they liked people who liked bratwurst.

The Way The Bee Bumbles (193/366)

“Kangaroo and chipmunk
Chipmunk and kangaroo
Ballyhoo and bedbugs
bedbugs and ballyhoo
that's the way the bee bumbles
that's the way the bee bumbles
that's the way the bee bumbles
that's the way the bee bumbles
Bumbles...”

Bedbugs and Ballyhoo. Echo and the Bunnymen perf. “Echo and the Bunnymen” WEA, Sire. London. 1987

TIME:  8:02 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT: Bombus bimaculatus or the twospotted bumblebee

He was on the sedum gathering pollen.  He looks so soft and fuzzy.  I want to hug him and pet him and name him George.  I won’t, because I do believe that he would sting me in a heartbeat.

Bug (156/366)

Red and black bug on yellow
Waving in the breeze
I should have used my tripod.

Haiku by Sujomi

TIME:  7:29 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Milkweed bug

A quick post this evening – I liked the contrast of the red and black milkweed bug on the yellow flower.

Graduation Guest (154/366)

“The good guest is almost invisible, enjoying him or herself, communing with fellow guests, and, most of all, enjoying the generous hospitality of the hosts”

Emily Post (American authority on social behaviour, 1872-1960)

TIME:  9:30 PM
PLACE:  My brother’s kitchen
SUBJECT:  Bug

We were at my nephew Michael’s high school graduation party this evening.  This bug flew in and landed on the ceiling fan pull-chain.  I was lucky to get a steady shot…my niece Shayne Marie kept poking me while I was trying to take the picture.  That’s ok – I got her back.  The bug fell on the counter and as she was leaning in to take a closer look, I goosed her on the back of the neck and made her jump a mile high.  I’m a mean Aunt like that.

June Bug In March (091/366)

“It is better to be a young June-bug than an old bird of paradise”

Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)

TIME:  8:52 PM
PLACE:  Front porch
SUBJECT:  Phyllophaga or June bug

I can never remember seeing these bugs in March.  I guess it’s because of the extremely warm weather we’ve been having.  It’s been feeling more like late May/early June around here than late March.  Hence, the early arrival of the June bugs.

Cricket (009/366)

“Shall we be merry? As merry as crickets, my lad “

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), British dramatist, poet. Poins, in Henry IV, Part 1, act 2, sc. 4, l. 89. Hal and his companions at the tavern in Eastcheap.

TIME:  10:08 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  Cricket

Every couple of weeks, Blade the gecko gets crickets put in his cage as part of his diet.  In addition to being gecko nourishment, they also provide a source of entertainment for Jack the cat.  Although we’ve had many crickets in house since the week before Christmas, tonight was the first time I heard them chirping merrily away in the aquarium.

“C” Is For Caterpillar (282/365)

Khalil: I am a caterpillar. Well, that's not entirely true. My mother was a caterpillar, my father was a worm, but I'm okay with that now.

Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie. 2002. Big Idea Productions. DVD.

TIME:  2:23 PM
PLACE:  Backyard
SUBJECT: Wooly Worm Caterpillar

I started clearing out the yard of summer growth this afternoon…I have quite a number of yard waste bags to go.  It’s definitely more than a couple of days project.  I did find one Wooly Worm Caterpillar while pruning the raspberry bush.  SD named her “Cybil”  I have no idea why.

Butterfly (245/365)

“When a small child, I thought that success spelled happiness. I was wrong, happiness is like a butterfly which appears and delights us for one brief moment, but soon flits away.”

Anna Pavlova (Russian ballerina, the most celebrated Dancer of her time. 1882-1931)

TIME:  5:46 PM
PLACE:  Backyard
SUBJECT:  Monarch butterfly

We’ve had many monarch butterflies around our back yard these days.  It must be mating season.  They are chasing each other and fly-dancing all around the yard.  I never knew butterflies could be so fast.

The Katydid Whisperer (239/365)

“Thou art a female, Katydid! I know it by the trill That quivers through thy piercing notes So petulant and shrill. I think there is a knot of you Beneath the hollow tree, A knot of spinster Katydids,-- Do Katydids drink tea?”

Oliver Wendell Holmes – To An Insect

TIME:  6:53 PM
PLACE:  Driveway
SUBJECT:  Greater Arid-land Katydid (Neobarrettia spinosa)

Apparently we picked up a hitchhiker at the soccer games this afternoon.  As DramaQueen and her cousin, Sophia, opened the car doors to head to my old grade school parish’s picnic this evening, this katydid jumped out and scared the pants off of them.  They were both freaked out by it’s “buggy-ness.”  Of course, SD had no such fears.  She was more than happy to hold it for a picture.

Moth (230/365)

"...Then the Andorian says: "That's not my antenna"."

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993 TV Series), Episode: Homefront (1996)

TIME:  8:18 AM
PLACE:  Front porch
SUBJECT:  Polyphemus Moth - Antheraea polyphemus

This guy has been hanging out on our front porch for the past two mornings.  He's huge and fuzzy and I am fascinated by his antennae.  After knocking out my picture for the day, I headed over to St. Louis to meet my sister at the Goodwill outlet and several other thrift stores.  This was our way to celebrate the kids being at school for their first full day of the 2011-2012 school year.

Fly On The Wall (228/365)

Crow #1: Did you ever see an elephant fly?
Crow #2: Well, I've seen a horse fly.
Crow #3: Ah, I've seen a dragon fly.
Crow #4: Hee-hee. I've seen a house fly.

Dumbo. Walt Disney Studios, 1941. Film.

TIME:  3:57 PM
PLACE:  Front porch
SUBJECT:  Horsefly

The lone photo I took today…a large horsefly that landed on the hutch sitting on my front porch.  I snapped this one picture and he flew away.  Now I’m going to be a “fly on the wall” and stalk read my daughter’s Facebook page.  She was not happy (many tears were flowing) with the 8th grade class schedule she received at orientation tonight.  Reading what she posts to her wall gives me much more information than what she tells me directly.  Pesky teenager.

Summer Afternoon (219/365)

“Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”

Henry James (1843-1916), U.S. author. Quoted in A Backward Glance, ch. 10, Edith Wharton (1934). Remark during "one perfect afternoon we spent at Bodiam" (Bodiam Castle, Kent, England).

TIME:  1:57 to 2:20 PM
PLACE:  American Legion Post
SUBJECT:  The kids and a dragonfly

MB’s Boy Scout troop had a “Day At The Lake” get together.  The kids and I went, while HH stayed home to deal with the plumbing.  Of course, SD and MB went straight into the lake.  DQ, although she wore a swim suit, did not want to go in, because she just showered and did not want to smell like lake water.  That’s a 13-year old girl for you.  Of course, her brother took that as a challenge and dragged her into the water anyway.  That’s a 12-year old brother for you. 

Lightning Bug Of The Corn (160/365)

“To watch the corn grow, or the blossoms set; to draw hard breath over the plough or spade; to read, to think, to love, to pray, are the things that make men happy.”

John Ruskin (English Writer and Critic of art, architecture, and society, 1819-1900)

TIME:  7:41 PM
PLACE: Backyard
SUBJECT:  Lightning bug on corn stalk

HandsomeHusband decided to try his hand at growing corn this year.  He had StellaDella drop the kernels in the holes he made all along the fence line where he had rototilled the ground - and what do you know…we actually have some decent stalks.  It’s amazing how much they have grown.  I’m pretty sure that they will be “knee-high by the Fourth of July.”   ~*~*~  Last night, SD came running in the house all excited and announced that the lightning bugs were out again.  I found one sitting on the cornstalk this evening.  Summer is here.