Another Cross Spider hanging out on my house, above her ultimate catch. There was also what I think was a male wandering about a foot away, up and down the ends of her web. He's already lost two legs, though that might have been to different spider.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Daily Photo - Cross Spider with Dragonfly
Another Cross Spider hanging out on my house, above her ultimate catch. There was also what I think was a male wandering about a foot away, up and down the ends of her web. He's already lost two legs, though that might have been to different spider.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Moose Hill - Part 2
These are all from the Forest Trail, which I'd never walked before. Yes I've been going to Moose Hill for 3 years now and had never walked this trail. I found it quite nice. I also found plenty of things to add to my list of finally seeing them.
The ferns are giving up... I love the ferns when they start coming up in the Spring. they've been beat all year and now it's time for them to sleep. I still think hibernating for humans is a sound concept. Just hide inside until Winter ends.
I got a pic of the tops, but it wasn't even half as interesting as the bottoms.
To be added to my list of new things seen. I'm not quite sure what it is yet, but I'll find out. This is just one part. There was a stem crawling along the ground with a bunch of these all sticking up from it.
My first surprise spider of the trip. I almost walked face first into this one, who is much smaller than it appears. At first I though it was a spider dragging a leaf or something, but that is all body.
I looked it up and came up with this, a female Spined Micrathena (Micrathena gracilius).
Also a first. An American Pelecinid Wasp (Pelecinus polyturator), also a female. Why in the bug world does it seem only the females are noticeable.
Either a Comma or a Question Mark butterfly. I couldn't get good pics of this one, as by the time I saw it and focused it would move again.
Playing with swirling the camera while focusing on leaves above. I liked the effect on this one, but the others didn't come out as well.
This is probably Clavulinopsis fusiformis, or Spindle-Shaped Coral Fungus. I find it to be a little less common, or maybe it's just coming up where I don't see it.
I love this type of fungus. It doesn't seem to matter how many pics I take of it, anytime I see a new color, or new growth I end up with a picture. It's some type of bracket fungi.
Black Racer. At first I thought this was a Black Rat Snake. Thankfully I stayed fairly far away, as Black Racers can be very nasty if they feel threatened. The snake was huge, or at least I thought it was huge. It was around 4 feet long and rather thick which is why I first thought rat snake. It looked a lot like a fat black corn snake. Also a first sighting for me, as I normally only see garters or ribbon snakes.
Another face dropper. This one dropped down as I stopped to look back at the pics I took of the snake. It was easily the size of my thumb. A marbled Orbweaver (Araneus marmoreus), also a female.
I got lazy, okay I stayed up until midnight, and didn't go out this morning, even though the pouring rain might have stirred up some interesting stuff. Maybe I'll go to Broadmoor on the way home.
Two interesting mushrooms.
The ferns are giving up... I love the ferns when they start coming up in the Spring. they've been beat all year and now it's time for them to sleep. I still think hibernating for humans is a sound concept. Just hide inside until Winter ends.
I got a pic of the tops, but it wasn't even half as interesting as the bottoms.
To be added to my list of new things seen. I'm not quite sure what it is yet, but I'll find out. This is just one part. There was a stem crawling along the ground with a bunch of these all sticking up from it.
My first surprise spider of the trip. I almost walked face first into this one, who is much smaller than it appears. At first I though it was a spider dragging a leaf or something, but that is all body.
I looked it up and came up with this, a female Spined Micrathena (Micrathena gracilius).
Also a first. An American Pelecinid Wasp (Pelecinus polyturator), also a female. Why in the bug world does it seem only the females are noticeable.
Either a Comma or a Question Mark butterfly. I couldn't get good pics of this one, as by the time I saw it and focused it would move again.
Playing with swirling the camera while focusing on leaves above. I liked the effect on this one, but the others didn't come out as well.
This is probably Clavulinopsis fusiformis, or Spindle-Shaped Coral Fungus. I find it to be a little less common, or maybe it's just coming up where I don't see it.
I love this type of fungus. It doesn't seem to matter how many pics I take of it, anytime I see a new color, or new growth I end up with a picture. It's some type of bracket fungi.
Black Racer. At first I thought this was a Black Rat Snake. Thankfully I stayed fairly far away, as Black Racers can be very nasty if they feel threatened. The snake was huge, or at least I thought it was huge. It was around 4 feet long and rather thick which is why I first thought rat snake. It looked a lot like a fat black corn snake. Also a first sighting for me, as I normally only see garters or ribbon snakes.
Another face dropper. This one dropped down as I stopped to look back at the pics I took of the snake. It was easily the size of my thumb. A marbled Orbweaver (Araneus marmoreus), also a female.
I got lazy, okay I stayed up until midnight, and didn't go out this morning, even though the pouring rain might have stirred up some interesting stuff. Maybe I'll go to Broadmoor on the way home.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Moose Hill - Part 1
I managed to get out of bed early, even though I really detest waking up while it's still dark. I made it to Moose Hill around 7:30. I was shooting for earlier, but anything before 8 is a victory for me. Half the point of getting up early is starting in October the parking lot won't open until 8. So I only have 2 more days of very early morning photos. The time the parking lot opens, and nice morning light only coexist nicely for a few weeks in the Spring and Fall.
I found this neat purple edged fungus on the Billings Loop Swamp Walkway. There were also plenty of seasonal leaves just waiting for photos. It rained yesterday, so this early in the morning everything was covered in fine water droplets, with a soaked backdrop.
The most prevalent thing to see today was fungus, dozens of different colors and types were on the sides of all the trails I walked. Moose Hill is where I learned a few years ago to make sure to turn around frequently to check what you night have missed on the other side of the last dead tree.
Often times when I hike I completely miss birds or anything much above eye level. I think the only reason I haven't actually walked into a deer is at least they're paying attention to their surroundings. For several minutes this flicker stared down at me, along with a mob of blue jays and something that shrieked, which I don't think was a blue jay. I would have missed it without the shrieker.
I found this monarch crawling around in the wet grass, so like the one in my yard it got transferred to some milkweed to dry out. By the way the one in my yard took off this afternoon.
Everything was wet. I somehow managed to avoid wet socks this time.
I saw several of these spiders. I only saw them in pine trees, but maybe I just wasn't observant.
Standard whitish mushrooms, not much to tell. These were growing out of dead trees in patches on every trail.
Things like this make me love my camera. Immediately below is the whole picture. Below that is one just cropped to center. I've always wondered what actually makes those round holes in mushrooms. Wonder if it's that guy or if he is being falsely accused.
A nondescript spider. I saw tons of spiders like this one by following the spider silk lines off the sides of the trail before I walked into them.
The rest will be posted tomorrow. I did spent over 4 hours there, so I took way too many pics.
I found this neat purple edged fungus on the Billings Loop Swamp Walkway. There were also plenty of seasonal leaves just waiting for photos. It rained yesterday, so this early in the morning everything was covered in fine water droplets, with a soaked backdrop.
The most prevalent thing to see today was fungus, dozens of different colors and types were on the sides of all the trails I walked. Moose Hill is where I learned a few years ago to make sure to turn around frequently to check what you night have missed on the other side of the last dead tree.
Often times when I hike I completely miss birds or anything much above eye level. I think the only reason I haven't actually walked into a deer is at least they're paying attention to their surroundings. For several minutes this flicker stared down at me, along with a mob of blue jays and something that shrieked, which I don't think was a blue jay. I would have missed it without the shrieker.
I found this monarch crawling around in the wet grass, so like the one in my yard it got transferred to some milkweed to dry out. By the way the one in my yard took off this afternoon.
Everything was wet. I somehow managed to avoid wet socks this time.
I saw several of these spiders. I only saw them in pine trees, but maybe I just wasn't observant.
Standard whitish mushrooms, not much to tell. These were growing out of dead trees in patches on every trail.
Things like this make me love my camera. Immediately below is the whole picture. Below that is one just cropped to center. I've always wondered what actually makes those round holes in mushrooms. Wonder if it's that guy or if he is being falsely accused.
A nondescript spider. I saw tons of spiders like this one by following the spider silk lines off the sides of the trail before I walked into them.
The rest will be posted tomorrow. I did spent over 4 hours there, so I took way too many pics.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday Painting
Sorry, I spent Sunday painting, so no really interesting pics or anything, but my living room is looking better. I hope to finish tomorrow, but the weather is supposed to be clear, and I don't have to work, so I'll probably go somewhere. I also still have to paint all the shelves in the room white, so that might cut into my finish time.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Macro Photos and Dead Bugs
So, I got a macro photography book from the library, and I think it was the first one I've seen that actually details how to make a killing jar. You know so you don't have to deal with that pesky motion thing that live bugs do. I lost quite a bit of respect for the book, even though I'm thinking of getting some extension tubes to shorten my focusing distance on the 100 mm macro, which was also mentioned in the book.
(Dragonfly I found in the middle of a trail. If you poked him he's flap his wings. It took me a minute to notice he was headless.)
I take quite a bit of pride in the fact that it might be harder, but unless a bug was dead when I found it, it will get to fly away when I startle it. I have trouble believing that all the nature sanctuaries I go to, that really have the best bug assortment, would like me to wander around killing dragonflies so I can get them to sit still for the photo. Dragonflies start changing color when they die, so pics of dead ones aren't even useful for identification.
(Darner from Minot. It's so windy there, especially off water, that once they can't fly the dragonflies seem to take headers into plants. We found two upside down on the sides of trails. One would try to fly when you flipped it back over, but would just take another header. )
I feel like it's a bit of laziness. I spend a lot of May and June relearning how close I can get to different species before they'll fly away, or which ones I might convince onto my hand. I guess it does delay gratification somewhat. My May dragonfly pics are normally a pile of sticks with a red stripe with wings in them.
Apparently it's important to only kill the best ones, so you get photos of perfect rather than imperfect bugs. I've been stewing over this for a few days now. Thursday I was in a store and asked for a plastic bag to catch a dragonfly who was banging it's head against one of the front windows trying to get out. I caught him and let him out (All the while repeating Dragonflies can't bite me.) This is the third dragonfly this year I've had to catch and release from somewhere. By the by plastic bags are awesome for catching them, especially they opaque white ones.
I just have no interest in ending the life of anything else just for THE picture. I feel like it's cheating. Maybe I'll never get THE picture, but I won't feel guilty about killing critters just because they wouldn't sit still.
(Dragonfly I found in the middle of a trail. If you poked him he's flap his wings. It took me a minute to notice he was headless.)
(Darner from Minot. It's so windy there, especially off water, that once they can't fly the dragonflies seem to take headers into plants. We found two upside down on the sides of trails. One would try to fly when you flipped it back over, but would just take another header. )
Daily Photo - Monarch
I found this one outside the garden fence about 5 inches from a dog's furious attempts to get a tennis ball to go under the fence. After retrieving the ball and getting Boomer to move. I convinced it to climb on my hand to move it inside the fence where it could I assume finish drying it's wings.
It spread its wings a few times, but never tried to fly, so I don't think it can yet. It's in much too good of shape to be dying.
Oak Knoll - Attleboro MA
After a number of false starts I went out this morning. I was going to go to Moose Hill, but halfway there decided to try Stony Brook. When I got there I discovered that today was their Fall Fair or some such, and hiking wouldn't be very fun with that many people. I pulled out my list of MASS Audubon Sanctuaries and decided to try Oak Knoll in Attleboro, which I've kept putting off going to.
I liked it, and I was the only person there. Since it was quite cold last night I didn't see that much. I did startle the same heron a few times, and the sides of the trail were full of tiny (about 2 mm long) spiders. I wasted plenty of time trying to photograph them. There were some very cold dragonflies when I got there, though they'd warmed up by the time I left.
Actually most of the wildlife I saw were spiders. Above are the tiny ones, and below were likely their parents, or at least possible adults of the same species.
There were a few asters blooming though.
I went to Moose Hill on the way home and got another chance at one of these. I actually have no idea what it is, but the last few times I've gone there has been one hanging out in the parking lot on the milkweed, and all my previous pics ended up quite out of focus.
I liked it, and I was the only person there. Since it was quite cold last night I didn't see that much. I did startle the same heron a few times, and the sides of the trail were full of tiny (about 2 mm long) spiders. I wasted plenty of time trying to photograph them. There were some very cold dragonflies when I got there, though they'd warmed up by the time I left.
Actually most of the wildlife I saw were spiders. Above are the tiny ones, and below were likely their parents, or at least possible adults of the same species.
There were a few asters blooming though.
I went to Moose Hill on the way home and got another chance at one of these. I actually have no idea what it is, but the last few times I've gone there has been one hanging out in the parking lot on the milkweed, and all my previous pics ended up quite out of focus.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Daily Photo - Monday's Project
Monday I added this board behind my couch so Abby could get up to her shelves without help. As of this afternoon she finally jumped up herself. She also likes to use the carpet stair treads as scratching boards. The other option was another shelf but the height would have meant whacking my head on it every time I sat on the couch, so this was the compromise. Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Today's Project - Headboard
For the last 5 or so years I've been without a headboard. I've always liked the mission style wood ones, but I am unwilling to spend that kind of money on a headboard. The head of my bed rests against a knee wall, so I didn't have a lot of height. Also, the wall behind it isn't insulated, so a secondary use of a headboard is keeping my head, pillows and bed warmer in the Winter.
Since I have a full-size bed I bought a piece of 1/2" or so plywood that was 54" x 27". I bought 60" of 27" wide NU-Foam, i.e. a polyester based foam replacement, and 2 yards of my chosen 44" wide fabric. I lay out the NU-Foam, stapled it around the plywood tightly, then stapled the fabric over that. I also bought polyester batting to put between the fake foam and the fabric but ended up deciding I didn't need it. It might be a requirement if you use real upholstery foam, but the price of that kept me away, 28 bucks or so per yard at only 24" wide. In the below picture it isn't yet secured to the wall, but overall I like the effect.
I know the pattern clashes horribly with my sheets. I picked it for the colors, which I love. I'm going to either make a new comforter or buy one that matches.
Closeup of the fabric pattern. I'm going to have to go back to get more fabric for a valence or curtains, probably a valence as curtains in that pattern would probably be too much.
Daily Photo - Blue Morning Glory
Apparently one of the morning glory seeds I planted this Spring did survive.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Museum of Science Butterfly Exhibit
The Boston Museum of Science happens to have a Butterfly Room now, and I haven't gotten there before today. Since my garden is rapidly declining, I bring you butterflies in September.
While this is one of the smallest Butterfly Rooms I've been in there were tons of butterflies, and with natural sunlight available they were easy to photograph. Two even landed on my cousin, one is pictured above.
While this is one of the smallest Butterfly Rooms I've been in there were tons of butterflies, and with natural sunlight available they were easy to photograph. Two even landed on my cousin, one is pictured above.
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