Bumblebee on Sage Flower::Views from the Garden::June 2

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Lunchtime!! A close-up of a Spider's Spinneret::October 9

Lunchtime! (for the spider, I mean :) )

Emily excitedly called me over when this big beetle got stuck in the spider's web. I was eager for another chance to film its spinnerets in action. Nature is amazing!!

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Make a Wish::October 3

A Wishing Flower just for you :)

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"Fairy Bug"::Macro::September 6

This has been my favorite bug since I first saw it a few years ago. From regular view, it has long, lacy wings and grass-green body. It reminds me of a fairy. Today was the first day I've taken a macro pic of it.... it doesn't look quite as much like a fairy up close :)

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Macro::Spider eating a fly::September 1

Emily and Matt saw this spider on the outside of our front window several months ago. My rule is: if it lives outside, doesn't eat my crops, and doesn't pose a threat to my family, I'm fine with it, so we left it there. A few days ago, they saw her wrapping up a great, big bug and told me to hurry up and get out my camera. Do they know me, or what?

If you look closely at this pic, you will be able to see the spider's spinnerete with some silk still coming out.




And this little guy is actually my neighbor's, though I don't think she'd say she owned it. Her kids say that they should keep it as a pet. She says no. :)


Spiders definitely don't induce warm fuzzy feelings, do they? Even though they are fuzzy with fur.... All those legs and eyes overrule any lit bit of warm fuzziness. :)

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Praying Mantis::Macro::August 14

Earlier in the week, I saw this little guy who had just been hatched - notice how the wings look crumpled:


About an hour later, I took some more pics. He still looks a bit damp, but he was drying out quite nicely:


I tried looking for him again yesterday, but he was gone. Hopefully he went to my garden and he'll eat my bugs.

I ♥ the macro world! My goal is to capture enough "bug" pics to make a book for the grandkiddies and for myself and even perhaps sell them. Common things look starkly differently from a different perspective, don't they?

Have a great day!

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This Moment::Katydid::August 9

(Don't forget that you can click on them to enlarge the pic)







(Don't forget that you can click on them to enlarge the pic)

The boys found a katydid outside last night and showed it to me.... of course I had to take pics! (Thanks for the great time, guys! ♥)

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Around the lake::The Dragonfly::July 22

I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am for this shot:



As I was photographing some cows, this dragonfly flew by and landed on a barbed wire fence. I've been wanting to take a pic of a dragonfly for a week! So, I left the cattle for the bug. I started snapping shots from a ways away, and then walked a little closer, each time taking another shot. When he felt I got too close, he'd fly to the next section of fencing. This went on for a while, but at one point he decided to trust me and didn't fly away. He just sat there and cocked his head to look at other things, then back to me. This went on for several minutes. I thanked him for his trust and for the photo shoot when I left him. What a great experience! It was truly magical :)

And this next pic was a shot I had gotten a few minutes before. The young colt was nervous of me, but stuck next to its mommy. Mommy didn't mind at all that I was taking pictures of her and her baby and just grazed the whole time.



I hope that you have a magical day today :)

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Bugs you don't want to see in your garden::June 25

I love seeing the "good" bugs in my garden: earthworms, ladybugs, honeybees - I can even tolerate wasps for the purpose of pollination - but these are on my "bad" bug list:

This guy and his family will feast on and lay eggs on my squash plants' leaves. He looks menacing - like he's going to bite me before I can fully squish him.


And this guy and his family live in my herb garden. They love the protecting density of all of the leaves and stems of sage, oregano, lavender, and parsley. I'm not happy at all with their choice of location of their home. This one was fed to the chickens after the picture was taken..... looking at his cute little spotted eyes and striped antennae makes me feel a little guilty about that. I'm sure I'll feel differently when his relations starts feasting on my garden plants and overrunning the garden.


I'm babysitting Baby Bentley today. Maybe I'll take a picture or two and show them to you tomorrow :)

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Ladybug on a Leaf ::June 23

Today Matt is going to Scout camp for a week. Boy will I miss that kid! Say a few prayers through the week for his safety, will you? I am the nervous mama hen who likes to have her chickies close by. But alas, the chickies grow up....

Yesterday I was in the garden taking pictures, because when I went out to see how my plants were doing, I saw this:

I think ladybugs might be the only bug that people think of as sweet, not creepy :) I bought a bagful last year to get rid of the aphids on the roses. I like the side effect of being able to capture them in pictures too :)

Have a wonderful day!

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Playing with Macros::Grasshopper::June 12

I love shooting macros! It feels like I enter a world within a world. Who knew that grasshoppers had polka dotted eyes and striped antennae? He looks like he is ready to be saddled up for a grand adventure! .... or perhaps I watch too much science fiction/fantasy..... ;)

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1 Honey bee in the Garden:: June 5, 2013

I have said before that I am very worried for the honey bees, not just in my area, - though I can see a significant decline from past years just in my yard - but across the nation.

In past years, I have always seen bees on my blossoming sage, but this year there was only 2 when Jared went out to check - and 1 was dead with its head stuck in the blossom eating.

Here is the latest news about honey bees in 2013.


And if you're wanting to look even deeper into the problem, this article talks about colony collapse disorder.

Also, if you'd like to brush up on your basic honey bee facts from elementary school, here is a page that talks about drones (males used only for breeding), worker bees (entirely female - they are the ones you'll see on the flowers), and the queen.

And this is the lone honey bee in my yard:











I wish all the best for her and her hive. May the queen have many babies, the worker bees gather all the food they need for winter, and the weather/climate/pollution not take too much toll on their little family.

What about in your area? Have you seen many bees this year? Even the bumble bees and wasps aren't showing up in my yard this year. Normally, I'd be happy about the lack of wasps, but it is very concerning to not see any pollinators buzzing around.

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Results from the Photo Competition::May 24

Last night, I went to my camera club's photo competition and had two of my pics place :)

"Flower or Weed" got 2nd place:



And "Beauty Unfolding" got 3rd:



It was such a treat to see everyone's photos - there were so many great ones! I enjoyed hearing the critiques for mine and others' pictures; I always learn a lot from the discussions.

I don't get to go to the club's meetings as often as I'd like, and I really enjoyed it last night. Steve went with me and we had a moment to just get away from it all, which was awesome! I can't imagine life without my guy. He is my best friend, besides being my husband, and he is such a great support. I am truly blessed.

I just realized about an hour ago that this weekend is Memorial Day weekend. I was hoping for a nice relaxing weekend, but now I'm thinking we need to do something fun instead. What to do?! I'll have to think on it....

As for you, I hope that you have a wonderful day today and a great weekend filled with everything you love.

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Honeybees love Dandelions::May 17

It seem that I only have 1 honeybee in my garden, and it seems to love dandelions best.



I had no idea that bees were such messy eaters! Look at all of that pollen on him! (click on the pic to make it bigger)

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Evening Macros of the Garden::May 13

Last evening I took a walk in the garden, and these are the sights I saw:

The lilacs are blooming:



The kitty wanted to hang out:



One thing that bothered me was that I didn't see but one bee..... No bees on my blossoming lilac bush seems strange.

The only life was a fly.

Now, I know flies are decomposers and are pretty gross, but have you ever really looked at a fly? They are shiny and real cool looking:



Too bad they have such bad manners. No matter how cool they look, no one can forget how gross they are....

¡hasta mañana,

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End of April::April 30

One last pic for the month:



A macro of a dandelion. I love seeing things from a different perspective! :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

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