fauna – Page 26 – red paper boat

Happy Birthday, Andy!

August 15, 2006October 21, 2015 Shelly

Bumblebee on Joe Pye

First: Happy Birthday, Andy! And, Happy Ides of August to everyone else.

It’s a shpadoinkle day in the neighborhood, with bright blue skies, puffy, little clouds, and soft, warm breezes. The humidity has gone down, too, thankfully. It was thoroughly disgusting yesterday, raining on and off all day with a heavy mist that never cleared. August in Indiana is for those who wear gills.

Of course, since it was humid yesterday, I decided to prime two boards for painting. It took forever for the primer to dry, so I didn’t get around to doing any actual painting yesterday. We’ll see if I get to it today. It’s looking good, though! I’m thinking they’ll be abstracts, because I’ve been wanting to do some sloppy, drippy work. They’re kind of large, though, and I don’t have a good space to work on big, messy projects.

I’m really hoping that, when I get around to moving, I can find a place with decent studio space. I was assuming that a small, two-bedroom house would be sufficient, but now I’m reconsidering. It may be that a one-bedroom house with an attached garage would be better. That way, I could use the garage as work space. I just don’t know. Waffle, waffle, waffle…

Photography

Busy Bee

August 12, 2006October 21, 2015 Shelly

My neighbor is getting ready to sell her house. She asked me to come over and lend some moral support while she took photos of it. She recently got a new camera, and because it’s similar to mine, I offered to share some of the tricks I’ve learned. Not that Miss I’m Not Artistic needed any help, mind you. When we were finished, we checked out the photos she’d taken, and they are lovely. Mine, alas, did not turn out so well. That’s how it goes sometimes. The pixel gods may smile upon you one day, and abandon you the next.

I did get some nice flower photos, though, and a couple of her pond. While I was wandering around the flowers, I noticed a big, fat bumblebee amidst the joe pye. He reminds me a little bit of a chenille pipe cleaner.

Photography

A Mighty (Noisy) Acorn

August 11, 2006October 21, 2015 Shelly

I mentioned that I recently down-graded my parking permit from an A to a C? It basically means I now have to park on the other side of the lot, which ends up being a difference of only a few feet. The only reason I originally opted for an A tag was that my schedule used to be different, and it was difficult to find a C spot in the library lot when I got to work later in the morning. At 6am, that’s not a problem.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been parking in the C lot, and all’s been fine. I even found a nice, big tree to park under. I didn’t stop to look at what kind of tree–it provided shade and that’s all that mattered.

Until yesterday, that is. Yesterday, it stormed. When the storm hit, the wind got gusty and started blowing things around. There were no tree-limbs-falling-on-cars or anything that drastic. However, on my way home, I noticed a strange car noise. Strange car noises are generally a Very Bad Thing. This noise was intermittent, so it took me a while to figure out what it was. Every time I went around a curve, or up or down a hill, something clattered. And then it dawned on me. I’d been parking under an oak tree. The storm must have blown a bunch of acorns off the tree, one of which was now trapped in my roof rack! Duh.

So now I’m stuck with this noisy little passenger, because I can’t reach the top of my car to remove it.

(Photo: I stopped at the mailboxes the other morning to take a picture of mist rising from the creek at the bottom of the far ridge. The sun was coming up, and I noticed a lone pigeon perched on a power line.)

Crankypantsing, Photography

Pod People

July 25, 2006October 20, 2015 Shelly

Spiderwort with Bee-thing

Have you ever had one of those days when it seems like everyone around you has been abducted by aliens and replaced with pod people? And then, you realize that it must be you who is off kilter, because no matter how much you enjoy a good conspiracy theory, the Horns of Disbelief won’t quite stand up to the possibility of a mass pod people infestation.

I’m having one of those days, and about the best I can manage is a baffled “WTF?”

Uncategorized

Two! Red! Foxes!

July 25, 2006March 25, 2015 Shelly

Seen this ayem on my way to work. The first one was just before the crest of the hill above Mr. Mows His Woods. The second was in Bloomington, across the road from the Newman Center.

I assume this is a good omen.

Crankypantsing, Meta, Photography

We Have Normality

July 19, 2006January 16, 2016 Shelly

The migration is finished and I think most everything is working. I had a weird problem uploading photos this morning, but I’m hoping it was just a fluke. I was able to upload a bunch of files with no problem, but the second batch had to be uploaded one at a time. Hrmf. The email kinks seem to have finally been sorted out, as well, but I’ve lost a bunch of messages somewhere, and I fear they’re permanently AWOL.

On top of all that, my hard drive decided to crash and die last weekend. I’ve been pretty good about backing up files, so it wasn’t as tragic as it could have been. It was still a headache I didn’t need, though, considering that I’ve misplaced some of the programs I use all the time. Re-downloading them on my crappy connection was not fun. The good news is that I remembered to set the new hard drive’s jumpers before installing it, installation went smoothly, and everything is working perfectly. I even seem to have magically fixed a weird, non-critical error I was getting from Photoshop.

And then, as if life weren’t exciting enough, one of my air conditioners decided to die last night. Luckily, it happened while I was home and not during the day. Otherwise, it would have gotten dangerously hot in here for an elderly cat and a brachycephalic dog. It was too late to go buy a replacement last night, so I ended up going in to work early, then leaving when the stores opened. I picked up a new AC on the way home. It was a pain in the arse to install, though, because it’s so shallow that it’s not properly weighted for drainage. All the weight is on the interior half of the unit. Hrmf.

So, while I was experiencing my imposed computer and blogging hiatus, I was busy taking lots and lots of pitchurs. These are the highlights.

Crepuscular Rays

Echinacea

Zinnia

Dew on Leaf

Daylily

Cobweb Weaver

Storm Clouds at Sunset

And, it may storm tonight. Can a plague of locusts or a scourge of boils be far behind?

Note: The egg sac in the spider photo is about the size of a pea. Just to give you an idea of how ridiculously tiny those little hatchlings are.

Crankypantsing, Photography

Sunday Photoblogging

July 16, 2006October 20, 2015 Shelly

I woke up early again this morning, while it was still cool outside. The sun was shining through the trees, creating little fingerling rays of light as well as a long patch of sunshine on my otherwise shady yard. Within that patch, the dew glittered on the grass, so I got my camera and took some macro shots of it. There were also zillions of those little spider webs littering the yard. I don’t know what sort of spiders inhabit them. They look sort of like winged, eight-legged ants to me, not spiders.

After yesterday’s sweltering heat, this morning’s dew was wonderfully refreshing. It’s likely to be just as hot again today, so it’ll be nice to think of the coolness of the dew on my feet.

Crepuscular Rays

Evening Belt of Venus

Last night’s Belt of Venus occurred at about 9:30. Daylight saving time has wreaked havoc on my sky watching, among other things. I just haven’t been able to adjust to the new rhythm, so things have been hit-and-miss. I can’t get used to the fact that it doesn’t get dark until 10pm. I’m normally in bed long before then, and the light makes it difficult to sleep. I’m starting to wonder if my internal clock will ever adjust.

Photography

Two-faced

July 8, 2006October 20, 2015 Shelly

Joyce pointed out in comments that Ms. McTurtlePants is sporting an enlarged reproduction of her lovely face on the backside of her shell. How cool is that?

Addendum:

I went a-Googling and found that she’s an eastern box turtle. Judging by her size and orange coloration, she’s an older model. A younger turtle would likely be yellow and black instead of orange and brown, as their colors mellow with age. Box turtles live to be about 80 years old in the wild, with some individuals living up to 100 years. They are protected in Indiana, so it’s illegal to keep wild-born individuals as pets. The shell designs vary widely in pattern and coloration. As far as I can tell, the face on the back of her shell is pure coincidence, which makes it even more amazing. Thanks, Joyce, for pointing it out!

Photography

Ms. McTurtlePants

July 5, 2006October 20, 2015 Shelly

I did some mowing this evening after work, and was rewarded by a visit from a very disgruntled neighbor. I can’t blame ~~him~~ her. I’d be pissed off, too, if someone covered me in grass clippings then took my picture.

Miss McTurtlePants was trying to get through my fence. I was afraid, if she managed to get into the yard while I was mowing, that she’d get hurt, so I picked her up and stuck her in a Rubbermaid tub while I worked. During one of my breaks, I got my camera and took some pictures. She was unamused.

I also saw the world’s smallest bunny baby. He was about the size of a roma tomato, ears and all. He was too young to really understand the art of running away, so I got to get within a foot of him. My camera was inside, alas, so I didn’t get any photos. I got to bask in the cuteness, though, which was nice.

Pets, Photography

The Mighty Huntress

June 4, 2006November 15, 2015 Shelly

Pandora caught a mouse last night. Pretty amazing for a 17yo cat who has no teeth, I think. I didn’t see the actual kill, so I don’t know how she did it. Judging by the saliva marks, my guess is that she held it in her mouth and squashed it against the floor until it either died of a heart attack or suffocation. In any event, Pandora was well pleased with herself.

Now, what a mouse was doing inside when it’s nice and warm and relatively cat-free outdoors is beyond me. He’s kinda cute, though, even though he’s all disarranged and, well, dead. Those itty bitty toes and ankles, and those fluffy, silky whiskers are precious. And look at those hyooooge bat ears! Poor little guy.

(I put the mouse outside last night, on a piece of cardboard. He was still there this morning, so I thought I’d take his picture. He’s since been relocated to a more appropriate final resting place.)

This is how Pandora usually spends her time: