Small Things Found on Saturday

A tiny feather from a Scott's Oriole


The fruit of a wildflower whose name I do not know, but it's either yellow or purple. The berry with stem is about the same length as the feather.




A beetle's carapace, inside. It is slightly smaller in length than the feather.


A beetle's carapace, inside detail. I find this patterning unbelievably gorgeous.

White Things on Cedar Tree

Something's eggs, no doubt


For scale: my littlest finger

Plumbago

The Eyebrow of Fritz Cat

Horton's Folly (England July 2008)

Fittingly out of focus

Posthumous Prickly Pear

When I picked up this thing from the grass it took several moments before I realized that it was a dried prickly pear pad. Very odd; so different from its green state.

London (England July 2008)

Bus stop


Aunt Dorothy says this building is called (at least informally) the Gherkin. I have a feeling I already posted a similar photo, but maybe not...


The Tower of England from the bridge side


Tower Bridge detail

The Dead Beetle

(Not Beatle)

Nobody knows if the ants came after it died, or if it died because of the ants. Well, it and/or the ants know—but no one else does.


A midsection

Rocks I Like

Turk's Cap

Mushrooms

I saw these this morning from the kitchen window, sprouting in a flowerpot amid the lantana.

The Crab Spider

I am fairly certain this is a crab spider, Misumenops sp., though I'm not sure which one; there seem to be many different kinds.




I came across it by chance as I was photographing the esperanza (or yellow bells, as they are called around here).


This Field Guide to Spiders and Scorpions of Texas, author Jackman, that I received for my birthday is really excellent. I've identified the spider in this post as a green lynx spider, Peucetia viridans. The wee spider from the meadow is a jumping spider, Hentzia palmarum (Hentz); and the non-brown-recluse in this post is a striped lynx spider, Oxyopes salticus Hentz, and I think a male (those big pedipalps, you know).

The Best Shot of Today's Spectacular Sunset

A Wee Spider in the Bathroom

Found last night in the bathroom. My, but he fought for his freedom, not realizing that I wanted to detain him only for a brief photo shoot.


He might be a Cobweb Weaver, Achaearanea tepidariorum, common house spider; this picture in my Texas Spiders book looks more like him than any other.

Some Crappy Photos of the Darling Cardinal Junior Birds

A Walk Around the Village (England July 2008)

Aunt Dorothy says that this is called puddingstone.


I love this car!


The Running Club

Wee Deaths

This is the tiny skull of a dead bird I found in the driveway on July 4th. I am pretty certain it's one of the little wrens. It's not quite tiny enough to be a hummingbird, and the feathers don't indicate a hummingbird either. It is 3/4 of an inch long and about 5/8 of an inch wide.


I no longer remember where I found the wasp; somewhere in the house in the last several weeks. Its curled antennae are so beautiful!

One More of the Corn (England July 2008)

In the Wood (England July 2008)

There is nothing like the green coolth of the English wood, especially to someone from Texas