That's One Impressive Pansy

Why are pansies considered weak? I guess calling someone a nosegay is too politically incorrect? Rose is a verb. Daisy is too Dukes of Hazard. Iris is anatomical. Poppy has drug inferences -- or sounds like your grandfather. Bird of paradise has amazingly narrow targeting potential. Day lily, night lily.

This pansy is one of hundreds taking over the neighborhood.  Hardy little fellers.

Spider Satisfaction and Insect Fix

This summer has gone by very quickly. Our lives have been up in the air (see my Blogspot Pivot blog for more info), so we've not had enough adventures. But there are still insects and bugs for my jonesing.

The orange jumping spider is a species that I've caught up with twice, each individual had recently caught prey. I flipped the leaf over to get better lighting, but the spider wasn't overly eager to pose.

Next is a group of bees which are members of a mystery species. I saw a similar group a couple of years ago. Like last time, I spotted these near dusk. They congregate on grass seeds, some flying off and then coming back to the same stalk. I'm not sure what the social structure is, but they do seem to be a group of some sort so they aren't solitary, but then, I saw no evidence of a physical hive. I have to read some more bee books.

Super Weevil

I was thrilled to get a good shot of both sets of wings. As amazing as they are though, beetles still look pretty comical when they fly.

Rubber Shell and Other Local Trash

Here's logarithmic trash. I think it's a part of a balloon. We found it walking in one of the local creeks.

Web-cicles

 Jumping spiders affix a safety line before making a jump. You can tell if a jumping spider has been around because of the single strands of thread draped over leaves and branches.

It got misty, windy and frozen quickly enough to form horizontal icicles.

Meta-Needles

We've had one of our spring snowstorms.  Sixty degrees Fahrenheit down to 30° F. There should be a rule that the average high temperature should not be allowed to drop more than 10 degrees per 24 hours. We could deal with the weather just like the Dow regulations...

1. If before 2pm the comparative average temperature (CAT) has decreased by 10%, the weather activity will be terminated for one hour.
2. If before 2pm the CAT has decreased by 20%, the weather activity will be terminated for two hours.
3. If the CAT has decreased by 30%, the weather activity will be terminated for the weather day.

... on the other hand maybe that's not such a good idea.

Tribute to Mo Willems

I love Mo Willems' books.

This is my Etch-a-Sketch portrait of Knuffle Bunny. Be kind to me, it's my first portrait in this medium.

That is NOT a little leporid reproductive organ at the bottom.

Post-Holiday Decorations

Kai and I went for a walk and saw great things in the snow, including these tiny icicles. They will be gone by tomorrow. Yesterday it was below freezing, today almost freezing and tomorrow we're expecting mid-fifties.