Filed under: nature, photography, travel, trees | Tags: conservation, finger lakes trail, forestry, hiking, moss, nature, photography, trees
today my brother and i hiked a length of the finger lakes trail.
we didn’t go very far because i still am a snot head. (meaning i have a cold, not that i’m lacking manners)
it had rained all morning, so the ground was covered with soggy leaves and puddles. cold damp air is foreign to my lungs; it was a nice change of pace. fresh mossy smells, not the dusty trails of home.
we only saw squirrels and one bird. no exciting wildlife, but there was a variety of mosses and lichens which i won’t see for a while.
our walk was through a pine forest. the rows were so orderly, i had to ask who planted them. a product of president roosevelt’s ccc, these pine forests were planted all over as a reforestation project meant to employ americans and conserve the forests. 3 billion trees were planted in 9 years.
it is a gloomy evening, but soon company will arive so we had better get a second wind. i napped after our trek, so that will help….
later taters.
just now this guy off the street walks into my office. a cute guy. (not the typical homeless guys that pop in)
anyway, this guy walks in and says, “i notice you have a couple palm trees that need trimming.” starts handing me his card.
i say, “ok…i’ll let the landlord know.”
he says, “yeah, i’m not afraid of those big ones…. it’s what i do.” turns around and walks out.
Filed under: animals, bees, insects, life, nature, photography, trees, wildlife | Tags: agapostemon, animals, bees, insects, nature, photography, trees, wildlife
keep in mind i STILLLLL don’t have a macro. sigh. anyway. regarding the bees. it has been over a month since the agapostemons were discovered aggragating on a branch in my back yard…
a few weeks ago i began seeing a decrease in their numbers, and naturally i was very maudlin about this. these tiny bees, each one about the size of a piece of rice, we a big fixture in our back yard.
i knew the night i had discovered them, i had found something special. but i became more aware of how special it was, as the bees kept returning and of all the thousands and thousands of tree branches in my yard, each night they were on the same branch in the middle of my yard.
twice i have had to fish one out of my shirt after a late night photo shoot. they are, after all, male bees. i need to find out from buzzybeegirl just how long these native bees live. because i’m suspecting that after over a month, these aren’t the same individual bees that started this continuous slumber party.
the bees well after sunset. it’s quite dark. they sort of trickle in, and by 11:30 p.m. there is usually a mass of them. weeks ago there could be several hundered at a time, then it trickled down to 8ish. now, for the last week, there have been about 30 to 50 of these tiny native bees. by 5:30 they are sound asleep and not crawling all over eachother like they were the night before. they awake and start stirring. one by one they fly away. fast fliers, as well.
this morning many of the bees were here as late as 7. it was the latest i’ve seen them sleep in. i’m wondering if the cooler nights are making it harder for them to get going in the morning.
….it is 7:32. i just checked. there are two agapostemons still on the branch. they are stretching their antennae, then the will move about on the branch a little, then they will zoom away….
Filed under: animals, insects, nature, photography, trees, wildlife | Tags: animals, butterflies, entomology, insects, nature, photography, trees, wildlife
well, buzzybeegirl and i were up to our usual crazy capers last night. waking up more insects!
with a couple beers, a maglite, and our 2 canons in tow, we ventured into the blackness of my backyard once again.
better shots later, but for now, here is the butterfly we woke up last night.
balancing elegantly on a thin tree branch. look closely to note how her proboscis is curled up.
according to me….all butterflies are “she”.
oooh ahhhh! come back tomorrow when we explain what THIS is!
(i’m so excited!!!)
maybe you know already! maybe you want to guess and win one of my virtual prizes!
pleasey weasey lemon squeazey…venture a guess.
i have clues if you’re interrresteddddd…
Filed under: animals, nature, photography, work | Tags: bugs, insects, locusts, nature, photography, trees, wildlife, work
the power shot is on the ready for any cool bugs or cute dogs. so….here is the shell of a locust outside our office front door:
when i was a kid we moved into this boring house that had the coolest tree. i would climb it every day and i loved it. loved it. then, one morning i went to climb that tree and there were about ten of those locust shells…
and i completely freaked out. i never NEVER never climbed that tree again. and now? now i’m like “yaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!”
so, in case you don’t know how to take clear close ups with your power shot point and shoot camera because you find auto-focus does’t work up close:
you set your powershot to MANUAL on the dial, then you press the “flower” icon on the menu selection on your screen. then physically move the camera to the focus you want, press the button and center the little green digital box on your subject and CLICK!
Filed under: friends, life, pets, work | Tags: blogging, blogs, friends, lists, memes, trees
one of my blog pals, lavenderbay, gave me an tree of happiness award….which scared me at first. happiness!? eeeeek! just kidding…i’m all for good cheer!
here’s the scoop:
list six things that make me happy; second, to name six blogrollers as recipients of this award; and third, link to the giver and the givees.
the six things that make me happy:
1. everything about my dog
2. waking up every morning to my purring cat at my feet
3. chatting with my sister on our mobile phones
4. bloggity blog blog. reading my favorite blogs and blogging about what not.
5. going for walks around trees and grass
6. seeing weird or rare or extra cute wildlife, especially bees!
now…the victims of my tree of happiness (or whatever) arrre…dun dun dunnnnnnn
1. jon!
2. the most drunkinest bunny!
3. tony at tazblog!
4. fluffy puppies at wooftails! especially since i need to see new eddie pics!
5. gracey!
6. and gillian, who somehow lucked out with lavender, but didn’t dodge my list bullet!
oh, and here’s the graphic:
i…i have no idea what it says, but i’m sure it’s a curse from my evil coworker. and instead of wishing me well….it is casting a spell that i will choke on a bonzai tree. that’s how we roll in our techy-hood.
honorable mention for things that make me happy:
the power shot commercial with dolce and maria sharapova
coca cola
raspberries
going many blocks without one red light
sleeping late
Filed under: dogs, farms, flowers, life, nature, photography, plants, travel, trees, wildlife | Tags: bees, dogs, flowers, insects, nature, photography, trees
more from yesterday’s photo trip:
apricot blossoms! the bees were all over those flowers. i was standing under the trees and they would fly in and out of the frame constantly. the buzzing was more comforting than scary. though i will admit: if cody bear had been there, i would have been nervous he might get stung. but the bees ignored me and the blossoms were so pretty!
with hovering bee…
Filed under: animals, dogs, health, life, pets, photography, trees | Tags: animals, dogs, home sick, life, pets, photography, trees
so, i have some sort of mini-stomach bug today. my boss let me leave work early….but my friend d. had to come pick me up because of my lemon/honda. its still a very expensive lawn ornament. anyway, moving on.
was dead asleep when cody bear freaks out! landlord stopped by to see leaky roof. i am insane: i pretended not to be home. i felt sooo crappy and the place was just a mess. he’s coming back saturday.
after a nap i let the sweet dog out for some romping. had to capture of him under the blue sky!
took a moment, while he was romping, to practice using the manual focus on this tiny point and shoot. i’m getting better…but that’s not saying much.
oh, and…guess what kind of tree that is! why does no one ever guess any of my arborist brain teasers?! (thanks to the couple of you who have tried!)
i wish i had a coke or ginger ale or something…
Filed under: gardening, photography, plants, travel, trees, weather | Tags: flowers, new york state, photography, plants, travel, trees
today was super busy, and i didn’t have time to take any pictures. sooooo, here are some shots of the forest greenery from my vacation to the finger lakes region of new york a couple summers ago!
bee balm growing wild…
here is a very small cemetery plot we found while walking the finger lakes trail. this was on state land and there were no structures near by.
these daisies were growing wild on the river rock…
it was very hot and humid that day and there were some frog and bug noises in the swampy areas.
cody bear's friends 
