Filed under: bees, hiking, insects, nature, photography | Tags: animals, bees, damselflies, hiking, insects, nature, photography, toads, wildlife
sunday afternoon the sky started getting moody and i started feeling desperate. “i need more bug photos for my upcoming show.”
braving the elements, (rain and thunder….not too frightening) i headed east to my favorite dragonfly hotbed.
first of all, it must be said, my new hiking boots are totally comfy and i’m so glad i didn’t let anyone talk me into returning them.
and yes, my feet ARE totally adorable when they’re…in shoes. moving on….
’twas a brilliant day. the light was diffused with clouds and the roll of thunder kept going on and on and on. (like a moody blues tune, only you actually like that it’s not stopping)
big surprise of the day? tiny toadkins. these little toads were hopping all over when i climbed down to the pond bed. and also, these little toadkins are why i smelled like dead fish for a wee bit.
but, how cute? they were worth it.
you’re wondering,….”how tiny IS that tiny toad?” well, he’s about the size of watch battery. maybe smaller. maybe the size of a micro sd card?
now, regarding the upper body strength….
damselflies.
they have some staggering upper body strength. …no?
sadly, the last visitor reminds me about how i’ve lost my bee friends.
agapostemon.
i miss my agapostemons.
eh. nice critters out there.
afterwards i hopped back in the honda. listened to van morrison, ray lamontagne, and…what?…mazzy star. ’twas a good day.
Filed under: animals, bees, flowers, insects, nature, photography, wildlife | Tags: bees, ecology, flowers, insects, life, nature, photography, wildlife
the bees are out in full force and i’m telling you….this is a very industrious spring for them. my allergies have been going crazy, so you can imagine how the bees are just loving all the extra pollen. hey, if it makes you little bee sweeties happy, i’ll just keep on sucking down the benedryl and not complain.
i’ve been a little spastic about bee photos. as i mentioned a few days ago, my portfolio was accepted for a show at a nature gallery next summer so i need to get to work snapping some fresh insect images.
yesterday morning i climbed a ladder and perched there with my telephoto. it was only 8 am and the bees were already hard at work. but lookie here:
most of the bees had pollen loads the size of the one’s on the left….but look at the one on the right! holy shit bee! what time did you get up to get that much work done by 8 am? and how are you even flying around with that much extra weight?
if you’d like to learn more about these sticky bee leg weights, please visit buzzy’s blog here: http://buzzybeegirl.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/shes-got-legs-she-knows-how-to-use-them/
i made it safely down the ladder then got to work at the day job.
what’s blooming around you? what wildlife, big or small, have you spotted lately?
Filed under: animals, bees, flowers, insects, nature, photography | Tags: animals, bees, flowers, insects, nature, photography, wildlife
they’re back! i’ve missed them so. the bees. the native bees.
the honeybees have been here for a while now, but now that the cactus flowers are starting to bloom, . . . .things are getting exciting!
here is one being a little shy….
this cactus bloom was about 8 feet in the air. i was standing on a chair about 10 feet away from the cactus.
here comes another one with a not-so-graceful landing….
these are the first two cactus blooms in my yard. their will be hundreds more.
um….does anyone think i’m a little too excited about this? it’s ok if you do. i’m not right in the head when it comes to my little bee friends.
now get back to work. the bees can’t do everything!
Filed under: animals, bees, insects, nature, photography | Tags: animals, bees, fly, friends, insects, nature, photography, spiders, wildlife
sigh.
i know.
i haven’t written much lately. busy with the photography business and busy trying (unsuccessfully) to get my life straightened out.
cody bear and pickles are doing great. we just finished a super long walk in the cool fall air.
“why haven’t we heard about insects lately?” you’re asking. right? you’re asking that?
well, i have to admit…my heart wasn’t really into it after buzzy and dr. bee left town.and also, strangely….the bees have disappeared. i’ve always had bees sleeping here. but not for months.
what i did have was 7 black widows on my front porch. i had a friend come over one night after i realized they were there. we launched a wild assault and killed 6 that night. i killed on the day before.
they’re gone now. can’t have them there. too dangerous for the munchkins.
so…fly, mosquito, spider. but no bee.
i went to the botanical gardens with buzzy this morning and i took this picture for dennis!
“giant bee dennis! run away run away!”
Filed under: animals, bees, insects, nature, photography | Tags: 40d, bees, canon, insects, macro, nature, photography, pictures
ok…let’s talk about it.
the new camera.
we all know goodbear loves her agapostemons. here is one taken with her new 40d and martha’s macro.
dude, your legs are hairy. but….i’m not calling the kettle black.
Filed under: bees, insects, nature, photography, wildlife | Tags: agapostemon, bees, ecology, insects, macro, nature, photography, science, wildlife
i can’t believe how lucky i am! for the second year in a row there is an aggregation of one of my favorite bees…the agapostemon!
they’re back, and this time….i have a macro on hand!
last year we discovered them in august and they hung around till mid november, numbers dwindling near the end of that time. it was sad.
i didn’t want them to leave. i was sure the next generation wouldn’t approve of my trees. but they’ve returned.
two nights in a row they have been on the same branch, a bunch of males, just under 50 or so, bedding down for the night. (last year they were on a tree right next to them on a slightly lower branch.
around 10pm the bulk of the bees have landed. they spend much of the night walking over eachother, looking for the perfect spot. late into the night they settle down into a deep sleep, eyes still appearing to be open, but antennae dropped in slumber. they’re early risers, gone before i wake up around 6-6:30 ish.
i feel very lucky to have this interesting wildlife situation right outside my back door.
oh, and by the way…if you want to see other photos of small things from nature, you can visit my photoblog.
Filed under: animals, bees, border collies, dogs, insects, pets | Tags: agapostemon, animals, bees, border collie, dogs, insects, pets, photography
hi everyone!
well, great news….my bees are back! remember my cluster of agapostemons? i found them on a different tree last night, one tree closer to the house about 2 feet higher than last year’s branch.
how are the dogs? great. cody bear weighs a ton! he’s really putting some poundage on. he and pickles have done really well in agility the last two weeks. might we be out of the veterinary woods? (should i not have mentioned it?)
buzzy is “officing” at my house these days. cody bear kept her company while she worked today, but pickles was busy playing with her friends at day care…
p: what are you doing mom?
gb: i’m trying out martha’s new hoodman r.a.v. with the wide angle lens.
p: well knock it off, you’re embarrassing me in front of my dog friends.
br: who is this crazy lady sitting in the middle of the patio?
p: no clue. never saw her before in my life….
Filed under: bees, insects, nature, pets, photography, wildlife | Tags: bees, damselfies, insects, nature, photography, photos, wildlife
as some of you know, i have started a nature blog, but i wanted to fill you in here, as well: today buzzybeegirl and i had a field trip!
here’s what we saw:
damselflies
dragonflies
tarantula hawks
paper wasp
anthophorid(bee)
perdita(bee)
agapostemon(bee)
ducks
red wing blackbirds
grackles
sliders(turtle)
paper wasp
whiptails(lizards)
turkey vulture
milkweed bug
marine blue butterflies
Filed under: animals, bees, dogs, insects, nature, pets | Tags: animals, bees, dogs, friends, insects, life, nature, pets
as you know…buzzybeegirl successfully defended her masters thesis on the effects of urban fragmentation on the reproduction of trap-nesting bees. you know that…right?
anyway…tonight we celebrate right here at cody bear and pickles’ place! tables have been rented, everything is in place.
even the dogs are dressed up:
yes, pickles DOES look pissed. she hates bandanas, even though her gramma made them specially for these two bug lovin’ dogs.
and look at cody bear, playing the clown in this shot. 
put your tongue back in your mouth cody bear! sheesh. next thing you know, he’ll be crossing his eyes for pictures!
cody bear loves wearing bandanas. he gets all waggy. picky needs to get used to it because i love nothing more than a cute dog in a colorful bandana. that’s my way.
