Filed under: gardening, life, nature, photography, travel | Tags: gardening, japanese garden, life, photography, portland, travel, vacation
so i haven’t blogged in a while. i was on vacation in portland. when i got home i SHOULD have popped some pictures up right away, but i have to admit….i was sort of bummed. i loved portland. my hosts were so much fun and we squeezed so many great things in. when i got home i was bored. bored and cranky and contemplative. “why the hell am i living here?” i’ve been talking about moving for years. oh yeah: i have no money to move. so i’m stuck here.
now, that i got THAT out of the way i will say that i’m much cheerier this week. it’s been a great three day weekend and i have spent some time setting some goals, which i will share later. but for now i will show you some photos of one of my favorite places in portland, the japanese garden!
definitely worth the admission, which i think was 5 dollars. i’m pretty certain if i lived in that town i would go all the time. once we got away from the group with the loud toddlers it was so quiet and peaceful and ….healing.
i wish this was my back yard! but moss just doesn’t like it here.
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, insects, life, nature, photography | Tags: animals, beers, cicada, insects, life, meteor shower, nature, photography
thursdays are good nights to sneak beers into a movie, grab a burrito afterwards, then head out of town to find a dark patch to view a meteor shower. don’t you think thursdays are good for that?
fridays are good for catching up on work before the weekend, then sneaking out to take photos of cicada leave offs. their sheddings are stuck to our building and trees.
these cicadas will not shut up. it only bothers me on the really hot days.
every now and then a thrasher will catch one and fly around with it in it’s beak. they sound REALLY pissed off when that happens. the birds love it and seem to fly laps around the property.
tomorrow is saturday. saturdays are good days to sleep in late, cuddling with dogs and do whatever….
Filed under: animals, beetles, insects, nature, photography, wildlife | Tags: animals, beetles, insects, long horned cactus beetles mating, nature, photography, wildlife
so, yeah, i like photographing insects. you all know that. but those who know me very well know i like …um….catching them in the act!
and it just turns out that my yard is a hot bed for insect sex.
you can’t turn around without seeing long horned cactus beetles hooking up. they make rabbits look like prudes.
in this photo, the one on the bottom is EATING during copulation! (oh no she dih-unt!? oh yes she did!) aren’t you guys glad i didn’t use a macro lens???? can’t you just HEAR john mayer singing his creepy song “your body is a wonderland?” (ew….i just grossed myself out. creepy guy. creepy song.)
here you have a lonely beetle.
don’t worry little one…stick around long enough, someone is bound to find you.
for more photos i have taken of insects in flagrante, visit here and here.
Filed under: animals, border collies, dogs, love, pets, photography | Tags: animals, border collies, dogs, love, paws, pets, photography
oh the drama!!!
“what is it NOW, goodbear?!” you ask, exasperated.
well, turns out the running lifestyle has taken its toll on our dainty border collie friend, pickles. after intervals for almost 3 miles, she was spent and looks like she has worn her toenails too short. (picky may have to jog in booties or get nail protection) her quicks are exposed and way too tender.
she is really milking it, too. i sure hope that’s all that is wrong. i mean, she has learned her acting skills from the “poor me” master, cody bear.
oh, the pleading stare!
cody bear and i have been overly-babying her. he’s actually quite concerned. (and the anthropomorphic side of me assumes he may even be a little relieved it wasn’t him having to go to the vet this time.)
here’s to her up and running on 4 paws again!
hop….hop….
isn’t she just freakin’ cute!!!
i can’t handle it!
Filed under: animals, friends, insects, nature, photography, wildlife | Tags: animals, friends, insects, long horned beetle, nature, photography, poppies, wildlife
buzzy and r have come and gone, leaving two depressed dogs and one very restless goodbear. we had so much fun and now i need to find something to keep me busy.
now, keep in mind….our fun isn’t everyone’s fun. for instance, friday night we went out to the forest and set up camp with a bright light on a generator to try to get as many weird insects as possible to join our bbq.
just like old times. this long horned beetle was a show stopper:
on the menu: brats, garden burgers, beefburgers, pasta salad, chips and salsa and guacamole, sw bean salad, and r made a cake over the campfire! all t he salads and dips were home made. oh, and there were beers, also. (duh! of course there were beers!)
it was a beautiful night with some great scientists, some amazing photographers and one bad ass cop. oh, and me.
prickly poppy/aka cowboys eggs
Filed under: dogs, friends, life, love, pets, photography | Tags: animals, dogs, friends, life, love, pets, photography
it’s hot and the dogs are moping. but….
what they don’t know is….
buzzy and her man are rolling in to town today and staying with us for a week.
there’s going to be so much wagging in a few hours!!!
Filed under: flowers, hiking, insects, life, nature, photography, plants, wildlife | Tags: flowers, hiking, insects, life, nature, photography, tucson, wildlife
and so it came to pass…abacus and i fancied a hike in the catalinas.
we arrived at the trail head to see this:
a harbinger of pain? how tough was this hike going to be?
not too bad, actually! it was hot, but i think we sort of kicked ass! it was full sun, but we made good time.
now, i need to say, my hopes for nature viewing were low, but we were treated with views of ravens and a hunting red tail. also, scads of funnel spiders had set up shop:
one knoll was plastered with these. i like the funnel spiders. they’re efficient eaters…and their bodies remind me of sugar smacks!
we also had some lovely flora…
whatcha got right there is the Mirabilis linearis – Narrowleaf Four O’Clock.
the climb was steep so i noticed the plant life on the way up: moving slowly and all. on the way down, only critters caught my eye.
here is a punk ass grasshopper who i followed for a great while he would only turn his back to me.
grasshoppers are the biggest teases in sonoran nature. they know you want to take their picture…they leave, but they stay close enough for you to follow.
how high were we? this high:
we also saw the dainty sulfur and the claret cup hedgehog:
we were back down town by 11:15 for beers and clams at bob dobb’s!
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!
