Scary Things

I don't have much to say today, so I will try to make up in prolificity what I lack in profundity.

Which is to say, I took a lot of pictures today. And some of them may be a little scary.

The question is, where to start?

How about with some more rain?

Or a lesson in sharing?

Maybe ponder some mysteries?

 There are a few of these growing on an oak tree. I assume they are a fungus or parasite or something?

I see these on plants, but also on the side of my house. My guess is that some kind of bug (probably a caterpillar) builds these to hide out or pupate in or something, but I really don't know, and I can't even figure out how to look it up.

You know, I think I'll just jump right in to the Backyard Bug of the Day.

Do you remember this bug that was BBotD the other day?

Well, apparently it is an assassin bug. In fact, in this picture it is dining on a bug it has assassinated. But this is not the BBotD today...

This is the Backyard Bug of the Day today:

 This is an assassin bug nymph. I am not sure if it's the same species of assassin bug - there are many. A nymph is an immature bug. Not all bugs have nymphs (for instance, moths and butterflies have caterpillars, obviously). Anyway, a nymph (unlike a caterpillar) is similar to the adult version of the bug, but smaller, and less developed (without wings, for instance). It will molt a few times during its development into its adult form, but it doesn't undergo the same kind of dramatic metamorphosis that a caterpillar will.

Let's zoom this picture in... Check out that proboscis!


Too scary? How about a nice, soothing look at Backyard Bud of the Day:

 Daisies! This picture has a really, really, really tiny bug in it, too. I am not sure why I didn't try to get a closer picture of the bug. I must be slipping...

While were in the mood for buds, here's an update of an old favorite that has been slowly developing for months:

Chances are this particular bunch may not be there tomorrow. It's hard to see in this particular shot, but something is coming up the stem to eat it...

 I wasn't sure which was a better picture (not that either is great. Curse the dark, gloomy weather!), so I posted two of this ghostly caterpillar face.

There was another caterpillar on another branch. Looks like it finished eating the buds there. I am not sure if its different color is due to having eaten all of that, or being in a different instar, or if there is variation in this kind of caterpillar, or what. More mystery!

Here, in case you were wondering, is what a dogwood flower looks like after it has finished blooming and lost all of its petals:

It looks like the berries are forming inside those tubes, but I am not sure if that's how it works. Now that the pollen is gone, though, I can watch to see how they develop.

Oh, can't forget Daily Dandelion!

Here's a random, extra bug picture:

So delicate.

And before we get to the scary stuff, a couple of clover flowers:

I never noticed before today how clovers come into bloom.

I have been trying to decide, on behalf of people who read this blog but don't like certain kinds of creatures (I am sure my attempts to shield these people from spiders have been noticeable. I have some friends and family who are so creeped out by spiders that they can't even look at pictures of them. That is why I do this, so they can read the blog anyway), which is scarier, spiders or snakes?

I decided that snakes are scarier, so I am going to post today's spider first. Then people who are not afraid of spiders, but ARE afraid of snakes can bail after the spiders.
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Here's my Arachnid Appreciation for today:

I see a lot of spiders in my yard (and in my house), but it's kind of rare at this point for me to see one that I don't think I have seen before. This is one, though, that I think is new to me. I have seen many that are similar, but the coloring of this spider seems unusual for me.

For one fraction of a second it was looking at me from an angle that made it look just like The Lorax. Unfortunately, it moved before I could push the shutter button, so you're just going to have to imagine it. I did my best to get camera at that angle again, but the spider didn't go for it.

I think spider eyes look different colors depending on the direction the light is hitting them from, but even with that consideration, this spider's eyes are an usual color (and I have zoomed in the picture so you can see that).

I'm not one to pooh-pooh someone else's phobia. In fact, I totally understand the fear of spiders (some of them freak me out) and the fear of snakes. But that doesn't stop me from taking pictures of them. You know how people often say about an animal, "It's more afraid of you than you are of it"? Well, that was definitely true of this snake. I am not the one who tried to flee when we encountered each other. In fact, I moved closer, because I am braver than a snake. At least a non-venomous one. I approached warily, though - I don't actively want to freak it out, and I don't want it to lash out at me. And, I am afraid of snakes. It's actually kind of nice that the feeling is mutual.

So, here's today's Backyard Reptile of the Day:
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 C'mon, it's kind of cute, isn't it?

There's a very good chance that I won't get an opportunity to go looking for interesting things in my backyard tomorrow, which means probably no blog. So, if you want to see what's what in the natural world, you're going to have to go out looking for it yourself.