Sunday slide 29


This is just another perspective on the little story found here, since I shot the saga in both digital and film. What you’re seeing is the egg of a ground skink (Scincella lateralis,) right at the moment of hatching. Actually, it takes more than a moment, and this one in particular stayed in read more

Just because, part 23


A quick one this morning, an experimental shot done the other night while I was alongside a railing strung with white holiday lights. The Mamiya 80mm macro lens wide open at f4 is what’s largely responsible for the effect, and basic lens traits the balls are simply point light sources well out of focus. All out-of-focus things have the exact same read more

Scooped again!

I have to do this just to harass the Importunate Mr Bugg, who was with me on the outing this morning and often brags that he’s going to post something first.

We (well, I) spotted a fishing spider, genus Dolomedes, on a rock and went in for the closeup, but noticed in the bright light that it had a bizarre patch of web that it sat across. Fishers don’t make webs read more

The same and different

I just received a gout of photos from the blog’s official central US non-correspondent Jim Kramer, from his trip through Wyoming, which I will be featuring here as soon as I can get to it. Unfortunately, this year seems to be trying to prove to me that I can’t set aside much time anymore, so I’m not exactly sure when this will be, but sometime before the Tricentennial, I’m read more

Sunday slide 28


As badass as this guy looks with his knobby pincers and a couple of barnacles, hermit crabs tend to be pretty shy – thus, you know, the shell. This one even chose a particularly badass shell too, that of a crown conch, which I can tell you from experience you don’t want to step on.

Taken in either late 2004 or early 2005 during my time in Florida and held just long enough for read more

Podcast: Twps & Boros & USB


And so, at long last, another podcast… but, you know, don’t rejoice yet:

Walkabout podcast – Twps & Boros & USB

Let’s start with the good stuff: Carmen’s Deli in Bellmawr, NJ, where you can get authentic Philly-style hoagies. And other things, too, but who cares? Hoagies, man. Hoagies.

A Jersey jughandle – follow the blue arrows.


If you’re read more

Sunday slide 27 (and not)


I am not 100% certain of the maker of these tracks, but it’s one of two species, and I’m pretty confident that it’s a North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) – the other possibility is a raccoon. There are subtle differences between the two, and some obvious ones like size, since an otter can be many times the mass of a raccoon, but my memory read more

The obligated abstract

Okay, no, it’s really still June, and not eight hours into July, so my month-end abstract is still on time. It’s was just… server issues, yeah, that’s it, server issues that prevented this from posting when I told it to.

[No, I am not going to back-date a post just to look like I’m maintaining a schedule.]

And, as might be gathered from the previous few posts, I’ve read more

Sunday slide 26


And so we reach the halfway point in the year, at least as far as Sunday slide posts go. This week’s offering comes from April 2006, as a collection of wheel bugs (Arilus cristatus) hatches from an egg cluster affixed to the branch of a tree. I credit this capture to James L. Kramer, who has made a few read more

Fill frogs

I have been trying to get to a couple of posts, including possibly a podcast, for quite a while now, and just haven’t been able to get my shit together. So for now, because I feel guilty and inadequate, I’m going to do a quickie to feature a few of the amphibians I’ve found in the past few weeks.

This particular image goes back to the beginning of May, before the beach trip, and read more

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