That's Life

Trying to take pictures of bugs in the backyard is basically a metaphor for life. Sometimes you have great successes. Sometimes you have failures and disappointments. Sometimes you realize you are standing in poison ivy.

Today I experienced all of those things. Found some good things. Missed some opportunities (oy, so many bugs just disappeared in the nanosecond I looked away to adjust the monopod). Had to abandon my search for a while to wash my shoes, ankles, and monopod with poison ivy cleaner. (It doesn't clean poison ivy, it cleans poison ivy oils off skin, clothes and tools to prevent a reaction).

It was one of those "I should have known better" moments. There are certain places in the yard where the poison ivy shows up every year, even though we spray it. But I was so excited by today's Backyard Bud of the Day that I was up to my ankles in potential itchiness before I realized what I was standing on.

Eh, it was worth it. Backyard Bud of the Day:

Foxglove! Definitely a backyard favorite, for its looks, and for the weird coincidence that the first year I had foxglove blooming in my yard was the first time I saw foxes in my yard. Within days of each other. The foxglove has come back every year since (though there wasn't much of it last year), but I haven't seen the foxes in a couple of years. The foxglove were in a seed mix that I strewed around one spring, so I view them as one of my few gardening successes.

I waffled a bit about Backyard Bug of the Day again - the usual story, what if I choose Bug A instead of Bug B, and then never see Bug B again to use it? I was agonizing over the choice between two bugs after my bug walk, and then later I was outside again with my camera just for the heck of it, and that's when I found the bug that is about to be presented to you as today's...

Backyard Bug of the Day:

There is another bug, though, that I am going to post just so you can see it, in case I don't see it again this year, because I have only seen it a couple of times ever, and didn't even know it existed until 2 years ago, and it's really cool:

Tortoise beetle. I actually looked this one up the first time I saw one, because I was kind of blown away by it. I also kind of intuited the name, because it does, after all, look like a turtle or tortoise.

This guy was another candidate for Backyard Bug of the Day:

Yes, I did get pictures of it on the other side of the leaf, but let's keep it a mystery for now...

I got so many interesting things today, I don't know how to segue into them...

This butterfly pictures is somewhat noteworthy...

... aside from the fact that you can barely see the butterfly (click on it for a bigger picture). What's unusual about it is that butterflies don't often sit with their wings open like that, they usually have them folded together and upright (which unfortunately hides what is often the more beautiful and vibrant side of the wings. Though maybe not so much in this case. I have been seeing a lot of this particular species of butterfly lately (including three together today), and they have barely landed at all, much less sat still to have their picture taken.

Today was also a day for moths:

Yes, I see you.

Can't see the moth in this one (click to enlarge, and it's about in the middle up and down, and about a third of the way in from the right. And it looks like a bee)? That's because it wasn't cooperating. It is either a hummingbird moth or a hawk moth - I have tried in the past to figure out if those are different things or the same. Point is, this one is a fast mover, and doesn't stop much. I have caught them in a cooperative mood in the past, but not so far this year - and I have seen it a few times. Today was the closest I've gotten this year.

 I found this one dangling from a spider thread on the side of the house, and assumed it was dead. It wasn't (which made me feel like I was interfering with nature. I assume it died anyway, and the spider didn't even get a meal out of it).

It was pretty cool looking.

I found the most amazing and alarming ant today:

 This is the biggest ant I have ever seen. It's huge. I'm not even sure if it IS an ant, and not a wasp that has lost its wings.

It was pretty lethargic until we put the measuring stick up to it, so we didn't get a good shot, but you can see the markings at least.

I tried to take a picture of this daisy (well, I mean, I did take a picture of this daisy):

 Cool, obviously, but sometimes I just want a picture of a flower, no bug. Still, I decided to go for the bug shot.

 It let me get one picture and then scurried behind the petals.

Fine. I'll just take a picture of the daisy.

Found another caterpillar today:

Again with the acrobatic eating.

And I found a part of a bug:

 One of these days I will actually learn (in other words, look up again and remember) the name of this part, which I think is the part that covers the wings when not in use.

And it turns out bugs getting caught in the spittlebug's foam is a thing:

Well, we started with a plant today, and it's been all bugs since, but now for Daily Dandelion:

I'm no expert, but I think you're doing it wrong.

And here's something that just looks like a dandelion:

It's actually hawkweed. And it doesn't really look that much like a dandelion if you really look at it.

The ferns are still unfurling:

Here's an update on a past Backyard Bud of the Day:

These are some tiny flowers. Like, about 1 millimeter each (I go metric for small measurements to avoid fractions. I don't do centimeters, or kilometers, but I love millimeters. So useful).

The fruit is emerging, though it has a ways to go:

 Blueberries

I think there might be a wild strawberry in there? I'll keep an eye on it.

And... I think that's everything. Except for Arachnid Appreciation, and today is all about the web, so I am not going to put in the break:

Oh, and here's a tip for spiders who want some appreciation: Running across my chest while I am sitting on the couch is not the way to earn it.