After loading up rotten firewood and palettes, as mentioned in my previous post, I needed to seek some shade and a drink of water. I usually keep my camera handy when dealing with my woodpile. So far I've missed a few Alligator Lizards and various speedy beetles, but I stumbled across this patch of blooming thistles in the shade of a Douglas-fir. What I thought was a very fat insect turned out on closer inspection to be a mating pair. Click on the photo for confirmation.
Just a few seconds after taking the first photo, a third beetle showed up. Turns out it was another male who managed to chase off the one in the first photo. This was one of those times I wished I had video skills. Hard to capture the interesting battle that ensued in a series of still photos, so I've just posted these two. Your imagination can fill in the blanks.
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