Pine Borer with no Pine

 In this morning's political news, someone's take on the current administration in Washington used a metaphor "leading us into a desert with no water at the end."  Somehow, my mid-day encounter with the above (and below) beetle reinforced that image.  I was waiting for someone at the Courthouse Annex when it got too hot to sit in my truck, so I covered my steering wheel, left the windows open, and started walking around on the surrounding lawn.  Lo and behold, one of my favorite beetles, the Pine Borer, came along.  The grass probably provided a modicum of cooling, but there were no pine trees nearby. 

 The beetle came to a small pit, maybe eight inches wide, sort of like a crater of just sand.  Must have been another 15 - 20 degrees hotter in there.  It didn't stay long.

Quickly heading back out of the sand pit, it may or may not have survived.  I had appointments, so decided to let nature takes its course.  As for the desert without water at the end, I don't think we can afford to wait around for "nature to take its course."  Nature is losing.

Heat Wave

I guess I'm not the only one having a problem with the heat. As promised by Nash's "Rainmaker," a guy named Starbuck, the rain will eventually return.

Early Thanksgiving?

Looking Forward to August

 In mid-July, as I wander the roadsides and trails looking for plants and animals to photograph, and try not to faint from the heat, I am mostly seeing the flowers that are going to seed and drying up, and fewer bugs than i saw a month ago.  However, as I spent some time reviewing and deleting or editing old photos from my archive, I am reminded that there's a kind of new season in late August and early September for someone with my particular photo interests. In a field full of Chicory with swarms of flies and bees all around, any one plant might seem like a mundane subject.  But, to zoom in close and watch for a while, the wonderful architecture of any insect or flower is amazing.  In my archive, I've got dozens of photos that are variations on the one above, mostly taken at roadsides around Quincy.  I'm only saving the best so my hard drive will have room for new ones.

 The drama of an Assasin Bug eating an ant (above) is something I've seen much more often on Tanzy in August, but this one happens to be taking place on a daisy.  Click on any of these three photos for more detail.

The katydid is a reliable visitor to my firewood pile.  One of the disappointing results of having stacked all my firewood by the end of June is that I won't be uncovering the various bugs, salamanders, and lizards that have hidden as long as they could under my rounds of firewood, which I normally don't finish splitting and stacking until October.  I'll have to look elsewhere to photograph these creatures this year.

Further adventures close to home

 I'll continue with a closer view of the photo that ended my previous post.  I call the photo "The Remains."  Read previous post for explanation.  [More later.]

Day of Discovery

As of Friday morning, my shared driveway of 150 feet or so was lined with two-foot tall yellow flowers that I believe were Hawkweed.  Note that I said "were."  More on that later.  As I began my morning walk down the drive, I spotted a little pink.  Pun intended, I guess, because the flower turned out to be a Pink.  There must have been several hundred Hawkweeds and only two Pinks.  Both types flowers seemed beautiful to me, but I was most strongly attracted to the Pink.  Because it was the rarer?  Or, because I didn't know what it was?  I wondered: if the whole area had been covered with Pinks and there were only one or two Hawkweeds, would I have perceived both differently?
I was not carrying my camera and had only my iPhone.  However, the sun was bright, there was lots of glare, and I'm not very good at taking pictures with my phone.  Thus, the above result.  Focused on the background, but not the flower.  After several more failed attempts, I got the photo below.  That one was clear enough that I was later able to identify the flower as Mountain Pink.  I also discovered that many different, unrelated flowers go by that same common name.  Thus, the scientific name, Dianthus armeria.  Other common names for this one are Deptford Pink and Grass Pink.  But, what's in a name?

I continued my walk into town and photographed the seed pods below.  The beautiful flowers that preceded them over a month ago were featured on this blog, and are also known by several different names: Love in a mist, and Devil in a bush, among others.  A classic love/hate relationship it seems.

I love this plant. Among other things that intrigue me about it is its family affiliation: Ranunculaceae, the buttercup family.

When I got back to my driveway, about an hour later, the Mountain Pinks had closed up for the day.  Or were they experiencing a premonition? By the next morning, they were gone!  All the flowers - both Hawkweeds and Pinks - were gone.  A weed eater enthusiast must have visited. We have different tastes.  Sure glad I got to discover this new flower.

Strolling the driveway on Saturday morning, the object of natural history interest to me was the below artifact - the remains of a visit by a young bear.  Most of the soft organic matter had disintegrated or become food for bacteria and ants while the more resistant seeds of he Choke Cherry are all that remained.

I don't know if you'd call this an adventure.  It seemed so to me, especially in the original sense of the word - something that's about to happen.  I approach every walk in that spirit of adventure.

Wake-up Call

 Eight after my encounter with a Chorus Frog described in my previous post, I encountered a Bumble Bee on the Spirea growing along the edge of our front lawn.  I moved in with my iPhone camera.

 Whenever I get this close to a bee, I figure it's either dead or in the process of being eaten alive by a spider hidden below.  So, I poked at it a bit, and saw a little movement and the absence of a spider.

A few yards away on our Lavender bush, I found another Bumble Bee.  Same scenario.  I spotted two others on the same bush.  Then I reflected on how lucky I am that I wake up early, usually around 5:00 a. m., and feel motivated to "seize the day" and explore my neighborhood.  This usually includes searching for an early morning source of coffee and a little protein, but today included doing so on foot.  Only an hour later, after downloading these photos from my phone, I went back outside to check the scene.  The bee on the Spirea had not moved, and it was still in the shade.  When I checked the Lavender, there were literally dozens of bees, mostly Bumble Bees but a few Honey Bees, buzzing around and feeding on the flowers.  The Lavender ws now in the sun.  I'm really glad I saw all of this. Carpe Diem.