Bug equivalent of a raised eyebrow

Some sort of early assassin bug instar? Check out that beak.

Earth tones

Brown is not usually a color that pleases me. I like this butterfly's wing design, though.

Fuzzy Bud

The title sounds like a little nickname for a boyfriend or girlfriend. A little better than "sugar booger" to be sure.

Anyhow, I think this is an Anemone pulsatilla http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&enlarge=0000+0000+0306+1694. Apparently it's common all over North America, so at least my identification follows the first rule of "Does the species you've supposedly identified naturally reside in the area in which it was found?"

I like how it looks like the bud is floating in the grip of the stalk like a gem stone in a jewelry setting.

It's All in the Timing

I'm guessing this is a skipper that over wintered as a crystalis and is laying eggs that will get those first tender scrub oak leaves.

Generally I'm an intense color person, but sometimes I really like these more muted monochromatic pics.

Roly Poly Hunter

This little fella (Dysdera crocata) has massive chelicerae, the bits right before the fangs. For that matter he has massive fangs too. But he (?) only uses them to go after those massively armored pillbugs. Very shy and desperate to crawl into a hole or under a flower pot, he wouldn't bother any people. He's scary-looking though.

Sakura time again

I wish I knew the Manadrin for "cherry blossom". I think it might be "ying1 hua1". The number ones are silent, similar to Tom Leher's friend "Hen3ry." Actually, the numbers indicate which of 4 tones to use; if there is no number that indicates the neutral tone. Another way to write it is yīng huā. I think of this tone like a tuning fork since it doesn't rise or fall like the others. Anyhow, you can probably guess I'm looking into the Mandarin language. I want to go back to China and this time be able to speak it. As I have no actual free time, I'm listening to ChinesePod.com. I can get 4 lessons on each direction of my commute, though I generally only do one plus the practice bits.

My Chinese neighbor is impressed with my studies, but she's also very nice and probably wouldn't say anything if I was showing myself to be completely hopeless. :) She speaks Mandarin to Jasmine and to her grandson. She is a retired math teacher and taught a number of students with albinism in China. Her first question about Jasmine was, "How's her vision?" It was a much more knowledgeable question than most I get from people. She's always cooing over how beautiful Jasmine is.

Working in the Lab

Two more OPX photos. This company is one of the few good karma jobs I could find after my degree. Most available jobs seemed to involve making munitions, figuring out how much human life is worth at an insurance company, or finding better, more efficient ways to spy on people. We are trying to make biofuels using bacteria and yeast. Very cool.

I love my work

My photography and blogging time has really dropped off since employment and commuting, but I had a great time the other day. My company, OPX Biotechnologies, needed some photos for websites and walls. Woohoo! Talk about a dream job -- photographing all day with very limited requirements. (Our biweekly meetings are held at Boulder Beer, try their Planet Porter!)

This was essentially work for hire, so the copyrights are held by OPX, though I have permission to use them for my blog from ML, my boss. If anyone wants to buy, I can negotiate for you. :) I'll be mentioning any owned by OPX in future postings.