My friend Hank built this a week ago tonight. I think it's absolutely beautiful! He graduates from kindergarten tomorrow. Congratulations, HANK!!!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Hank's Building
Or, The Opposite of the Woodpeckers' Nest
My friend Hank built this a week ago tonight. I think it's absolutely beautiful! He graduates from kindergarten tomorrow. Congratulations, HANK!!!
My friend Hank built this a week ago tonight. I think it's absolutely beautiful! He graduates from kindergarten tomorrow. Congratulations, HANK!!!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Brown Recluses 2008: Nos. 4 and 5....Or Just No. 3, As It Turns Out
What I wrote this morning:
Argh. Eff. This is really becoming quite disconcerting. I found another brown recluse in the sink today. It's tiny, but so what? I started wondering why I've found two of them in the sink and looked up at the cupboard over the sink, the one that is hardly ever opened. I have already had visions, or daymares if you will, of checking underneath the bottom drawers under the counters, of pulling them out to find recluse farms below. So I got the stepstool, placed it well away from the counter, climbed up, and carefully opened the cupboard to find...another recluse, a big one. At least it wasn't a whole farm of them. I need advice. And I need to import lots of jumping spiders, a natural predator of the brown recluse.
A photo of today's brown recluse:
What I've learned since then:
The big spider (in the first photo in this post, above) in the cupboard above the sink WAS a recluse, but the little guy in the sink (photos below) was not, nor was the spider in the post of 5.20.2008. Why? Today's photos show that this spider has spines on its legs, which recluses do not have, and the spider in the earlier post is the same kind as today's little one (obviously the same kind to the naked eye, if not so obvious in the pics). Which means we've had only three recluses this year, and not five. Small comfort, some might say, but I will take what comfort I can. See next post for what else I've learned about brown recluses!
A photo of today's other spider that is NOT a brown recluse, and which I've since learned is a striped lynx spider, Oxyopes salticus Hentz:
So, by the way, this is another really good reason not to kill any spider, even one you think is dangerous, because you might be wrong. Even the dangerous ones don't want to hurt you, or even be near you; they just want to live their little spider lives. So don't kill—just remove from human vicinity, if necessary.
I include this poorer photo because I like how it looks as though the little spider is wearing boxing gloves
Argh. Eff. This is really becoming quite disconcerting. I found another brown recluse in the sink today. It's tiny, but so what? I started wondering why I've found two of them in the sink and looked up at the cupboard over the sink, the one that is hardly ever opened. I have already had visions, or daymares if you will, of checking underneath the bottom drawers under the counters, of pulling them out to find recluse farms below. So I got the stepstool, placed it well away from the counter, climbed up, and carefully opened the cupboard to find...another recluse, a big one. At least it wasn't a whole farm of them. I need advice. And I need to import lots of jumping spiders, a natural predator of the brown recluse.
A photo of today's brown recluse:
What I've learned since then:
The big spider (in the first photo in this post, above) in the cupboard above the sink WAS a recluse, but the little guy in the sink (photos below) was not, nor was the spider in the post of 5.20.2008. Why? Today's photos show that this spider has spines on its legs, which recluses do not have, and the spider in the earlier post is the same kind as today's little one (obviously the same kind to the naked eye, if not so obvious in the pics). Which means we've had only three recluses this year, and not five. Small comfort, some might say, but I will take what comfort I can. See next post for what else I've learned about brown recluses!
A photo of today's other spider that is NOT a brown recluse, and which I've since learned is a striped lynx spider, Oxyopes salticus Hentz:
So, by the way, this is another really good reason not to kill any spider, even one you think is dangerous, because you might be wrong. Even the dangerous ones don't want to hurt you, or even be near you; they just want to live their little spider lives. So don't kill—just remove from human vicinity, if necessary.
I include this poorer photo because I like how it looks as though the little spider is wearing boxing gloves
Bunny
Tuesday a.m. upon leaving for work I saw this wee bunny in the drive behind the house. I went back for the camera and he hopped away into the grass, but then apparently decided I could no longer see him and stopped. Larger than a kitten, but barely.
Tiny, puffy, cottony tail just visible in this photo
Another Spider
Front and eyes
He also came visiting while I woodpecker-watched on Sunday. Size approximately the same as my little fingernail—1/4" long or so.
Side view
From the back
Front again
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
All About Woodie, Part II
Woodpecker tails are incredibly strong—or do I mean tailfeathers? In any case, you can see the tail's autonomy (for lack of a better word) in these two photos; the woodpeckers use the tail to brace themselves against trees as they peck. And did you know that the woodpecker tongue muscle is so long that it curls back around the orbital cavity?
A Painted Bunting
I'm starting to be embarrassed about the grimy windows. Last year on May 26th a bunting was spotted at the feeders; this year's bunting was seen this Thursday, May 22.
The Mouse
As I was woodpecker-watching Monday morning, quiet as a mouse, this rather giant mouse came creeping across the patio toward me. As soon as I noticed him, he ran, but I just managed to get a photo before he disappeared into the grass.
Monday, May 26, 2008
All About Woodie
A candid post-grooming shot: the final shake
A woodlet head can be seen at the lower left of the trunk
Despite the grayness, you can see the little woodpecker's striped back in this photo!
More food. The dad often lands in this spot and places something (a nut? acorn?) on the tree, then pounds it open to get food for the babes (and himself). For some reason, the dad's been doing all of the feeding this morning.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
The Attentive Parents
Part of the Woodlets 2008 Series
The parents are so attentive recently, both of them frequently at the tree at the same time, that I am sure the babies are going to come out any day now. I first heard them on Thursday May 1, so they are at least 24 days old, and possibly more. Last year's batch stayed in the hole for 31 or 32 days. According to our bird books, woodlets fledge 18-30 days after hatching. I am going to quit apologizing for crappy through-the-window photos, by the way.
An interesting footnote: these babies are a whole month earlier than last year's, which were first heard on May 28 2007 and fledged on June 27th or 28th (we're not sure which—see last year).
The parents are so attentive recently, both of them frequently at the tree at the same time, that I am sure the babies are going to come out any day now. I first heard them on Thursday May 1, so they are at least 24 days old, and possibly more. Last year's batch stayed in the hole for 31 or 32 days. According to our bird books, woodlets fledge 18-30 days after hatching. I am going to quit apologizing for crappy through-the-window photos, by the way.
An interesting footnote: these babies are a whole month earlier than last year's, which were first heard on May 28 2007 and fledged on June 27th or 28th (we're not sure which—see last year).
Friday, May 23, 2008
Tarantula Season 2008!
Or, OK: I'm Ready for More Spiders Again
Top: found inside on a windowsill. I learned that the tall SCARP container is not the best for tarantulas, as they don't want to come out after you put them in it. Shallow tupperware is better.
Below: found just outside the front door. Conceivably it's the same guy with very different light....but it IS tarantula season. They begin to abound.
Top: found inside on a windowsill. I learned that the tall SCARP container is not the best for tarantulas, as they don't want to come out after you put them in it. Shallow tupperware is better.
Below: found just outside the front door. Conceivably it's the same guy with very different light....but it IS tarantula season. They begin to abound.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Another Brown Recluse AND a Flat Tire are TOO DANG MUCH for One Single Day
The brown recluse at the start of the day, found in a kitchen cabinet this morning as I put away clean dishes from the dishwasher. This is starting to get a little bit old (though I do think this is one of my best recluse photos to date).
Another fun spider & shadow photo
The flat tire came at the end of the day and was much less melodramatic (though much grimier). I did not take pictures; we've all seen a flat tire.
The Diet of the Golden-Fronted Woodlets, Continued
Part of the Woodlets 2008 Series
A leaf-footed bug?
Larva?
A leaf-footed bug?
Larva?
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