Living in the past XXVI


For a couple of years, I was on a quest to obtain detailed pics, and video, of a peculiar optical trait visible in one particular species of spider many spiders likely have the same trait, but it’s only visible in the magnolia green. The anterior median (front middle) pair of eyes is used to accurately judge the distances for jumping, and as such read more

Visibly different, part 29

Slightly different take on things this time, and multiple meanings to the title. We open with an image from exactly ten years today, of a species that I was not familiar with at the time.

[I admit that I initially wrote this months ago, and then realized the dates would line up and shelved the post until now, because why not?]


Finding this by chance on the underside of the leaf, back read more

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 read more

On this date 44

Three weeks ago, I speculated that the choices for the On This Date posts were getting thinner because the shooting season slows down in the fall and winter, which is true – but not damn yet. I shot a lot on October 28th for various years.

You scoff? We start with 2012, as the end of the world loomed.


This is the first of the bug-n-purple pics for today, an unidentified crab read more

Something after all

First off, I must start with the obligatory daffodil, the first in our yard at least. It opened sometime yesterday but the rain didn’t stop until that evening, so it’s a nighttime flash shot.

But I spent the past couple of days trying to find something to do for Darwin Day, which is today: Charles Darwin was born on this date in 1809, and of course, read more

What the night holds

Spring is being a little tease this year, flirting with us for a few days before mock-coyly disappearing, leaving us with her ugly sister Near-Freezing Temperature, who doesn’t even have a good personality. From time to time the conditions seem like the good shooting season has finally arrived, but I’ve been stung often enough that I don’t really believe it anymore read more

Spiders, spiders, spiders, spiders, spam, and spiders

Is there a blog in existence that hasn’t gotten off at least one Monty Python reference? It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it?

We’re still dealing with the lingering effects of the cold spell, meaning it gets chilly at night and well into the morning, so I haven’t expected much to be happening on the arthropod front and haven’t really been looking. Today, however, while read more

Good help is hard to find – sometimes


While looking up details for an earlier post I came across a curious trait of this particular species of assassin bug, and decided I’d like to try and get shots of it in action. I have been too lucky lately, and thought this luck might hold, but alas…

Pale green assassin bugs (Zelus luridus,) seen in several recent posts, are spindly little insects usually measuring less than read more

Green day

Not today – today has been rain all day. These are all from a few days back, and noticeably had the green thing going on, so…

Over at the pond nearby, a pale green assassin (Zelus luridus) like the one seen a few posts back posed in shadow on the pod of a buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis.) While I’ve been seeing them from the start of the insect season this read more

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