This week we go back twenty years and two weeks, to see one of the many species that I collected and kept in the saltwater aquarium briefly to get a few detail pics. This is a gulf pipefish (Syngnathus scovelli,) a close relative of sea horses as you might have guessed, and pretty common in the Indian River Lagoon near where I used to live, this being Florida. I’m
Tag: egg case
Trying to be sneaky
Was checking over the potted plants out front of Walkabout Estates this morning, and spotted this tiny guy.
Now, I have several mantis egg cases/oothecas scattered in various locations and have been keeping an eye on them, and saw no evidence of hatching, but obviously this one came from somewhere – I might have missed the hatching while away, and subsequent winds eradicated
Tried to slip one past, eh?
As usual, I had several egg cases of praying mantids to keep an eye on around the yard this spring: one Chinese mantis, two that I suspected were European mantis brought down from NY, and three Carolina mantis. One of the Carolina’s vanished over the winter, perhaps found by mice or something (this was before I’d mounted them on new stalks to keep them out of reach of
Casual shooting
Between being deep in projects, and not really motivated by the same ol’ photo subjects, I haven’t been doing a lot of shooting. I mean, there’s plenty to see around Walkabout Estates, but I’m trying to branch out a bit and do new things, which will likely require a trip someplace, while see that bit about projects. But I’m getting a handful of subjects while I’m
Some night, anyway
I was initially going to say these were from last night, but it’s getting late and some idiot decided the date should change at midnight rather than, say, seven AM. Whatever – they were shot at night, and obviously not right now. Good enough.
While I’m still leery of the temperature dropping to something inexcusable again, it’s been warm even overnight, and so scoping out
I’m not proud
The other day, I did finally get out to accomplish something, and successfully too, but I’m not really counting it as winter activity – I’ve definitely done better. The temperature got amazingly warm, and so I ventured out again in search of mantis egg cases (oothecas) to prime the property for spring. Of course, I had the camera equipment along, just in case, but subjects remained
Still works
I mentioned more photos, and I deliver! Before christmas, even.
First off, we continue the thread of finding things, with this little discovery:
That’s the egg case (ootheca) of a Chinese mantis, definitely this year’s, so I have the first one to watch next spring – so far it’s been the only one found on the property, but I’m still watching. This is on
For the time being
What, exactly, does that phrase mean? I mean, we all know how it’s used, but how was it coined? Being what? Can time be anything else? Do we want to know how ‘idiom’ got its name?
Anyway, the point is, I’m going to be a little busy and I don’t know what I’ll be able to produce for a little while, so I’m throwing down (actually, I’m tossing diagonally)
Closer than last year
… or the previous one, for that matter.
I’d mentioned earlier that I’d primed the yard with egg cases of the Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) – seven of them, to be exact – and this morning I found the first of them had produced progeny. Unfortunately,
Not through lack of trying
The topic for the day is “snow,” at least, anywhere in public among North Carolina natives. I honestly can’t say if I’m overstating or understating the anxiety that’s been present all I can say is, from a New Yorker’s standpoint, this barely counts as snow. The surfaces are too warm to retain it so the roads are only wet, maybe
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