Life is Good!

This past Saturday morning as I looked out my window

I couldn't help but smile as one of our friendly squirrels

gorged itself on sunflower seeds at our bird feeders. After

eating its fill I guess it needed to rest abit and what better

place than the fence right near the feeders. After a brief

rest, it gorged a little more on sunflower seeds and rested

again in the same place. Life is good! Ha Ha!

Gray Squirrel  -  Sciurus carolinensis

Some time ago I found a cow skull on a walk in the

woods and brought it home. My daughter couldn't

believe it when I put it in the flower bed right next to

the bird feeders. Quite the tacky addition to the garden

she exclaimed with a bit of disgust in her voice, but

undaunted, I had other ideas in mind. She just happened

to be over when I caught ole lazy boy above rest abit from

sunflower seeds and then go to the skull and horns for a bit

of mineral in the form of calcium. Ahhh! The sweet taste

of educating the younguns about the ways of nature. She

didn't know that members of the rodent family which include

squirrels love to naw on skulls, horns and bones for the

calcium and other minerals that they lack in their diet.

After several more rounds of gnawing a bit of calcium,

rest awhile on the fence routine, ole bushy tail headed

for the trees and kicked back to watch the saturday

afternoon football games with his buddies. Ha Ha!

What a life! Plenty of food, free vitamens, nice safe

places to rest. Life is Good!

"You can't be friends with a squirrel! A squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit."

   Sarah Jessica Parker(1965-      ): An American film, television and theater actress and producer

Suprise Suprise Suprise!

What a nice suprise every fall when these beauties

stick their stalks through the grass and flower beds

to burst open this beautiful flower. Though short

lived, they are gorgeous while they are here.

Red Spider Lily -  Lycoris radiata

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."
Bible New King James Version-Matthew 6:28-29

Predator!

A few years ago a movie named "Predator" came out
which was about an alien beast that came to the jungles
and preyed upon people for years without being discovered.
That was until Arnold Schwarzenegger and his band of army
misfits figured out what it was and how to stop it. Well I
wondered for years how people came up with the idea for
the creature that was almost invisible and the ultimate predator.
Little did I know they just went out to the local garden and
saw a mantis insect. What an incredible predator to find in my
garden the other day in the form of this Stick Mantis below.


Stick Mantis           Brunneria borealis


Perfectly camouflaged to be a part of the vegetation
it stalks a small leaf hopper on the leaf in the below
picture.                                                                

Makes for an erie feeling as it looks at me when I get

just a little too close and scare off his lunch.             

Back to the hunt after it decided I was too big for it to

carry off and eat. Ha Ha!                                         

Couldn't help but take a close up of the impressive

leg armour it uses to capture and hold it's prey as it

devours anything unlucky enough to get within it's

   reach.  Note the barbs on the back of the legs.        

Woe be unto the prey that lets this creature get too close!

"In all things of nature there is something marvelous."

   Aristotle(384BC-322BC): Greek philosopher and polymath

At a Snail's Pace?

"Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but a man is happiest when he does not even notice whether is passes swiftly or slowly."

     Ivan Turgenev(1818-1883): Russian novelist, short story writer and playwright

  

A Butterfly in Motion!

Silver-Spotted Skipper      Epargyreus clarus      

Well I wish I could say that I planned this shot but I snapped the shutter just as the skipper decided I was a little too close. You might say that I did plan the shot, but this was not the outcome I intended. But hey, sometimes we get lucky and while it was an accident it is a very unique look at the wing motion of the butterfly taking off from it's perch.  At least I was standing in the right place! See quote below.

" A good photograph is knowing where to stand."

               Ansel Adams(1902-1984):American Photographer and environmentalist

On Heavens Breath!

The butterflies are out in force in the deep south and

while clicking the shutter on a few flutterbys last week

this little guy happened along. Although it has obviously

been through a tough time, it was still trying to carry out

its mission here on earth. I couldn't help but feel a little

sorry for it and wonder what happened to cause the wing

damage. Did it get caught out in the storm and wind? Did

it have a bad encounter with a predator? Or perhaps did

it have a run in with a motor vehicle on a highway? It is

really amazing if you notice the number of butterflies that

meet their demise on the highways and byways.

Pipevine Swallowtail     Battus philenor

Although its damage is pretty severe, it still carries on!

I wrote this poem and used on another post some time ago

but thought it was just too fitting for this little fellow.

On Heaven's Breath

On Heaven's Breath I flutterby
Pressed against her deep blue breast
Over lake and stream I tarry nigh
Through field and wood I rest

True course I hold through wind and storm
A journey far from start to end
Constant dangers are endless born
Waiting, lurking, round every bend

I cast my lot upon the breeze
And pray a gentle hand it give
By fate it carries me where it please
Through countless battles I must live

And when I cross your path one day
On Heaven's Breath I flutterby
Cast your eyes upon my way
And say a pray for butterfly

Randy Schultz August 24, 2010

A Fawn in Cades Cove

There is just not much that is more innocent than a

new born fawn. I caught this one on the side of the

road in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains.

They are very curious critters and are always alert

with eyes, ears and nose. When not alarmed, their

curiosity of things around them is really amazing 

to watch.

"Curiosity is lying in wait for every secret."

Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882): American Essayist, Lecturer,  Poet

Indian Pipe

On a recent walk in the woods I ran across another plant that I can

add to my list of new plants or flowers this year called Indian Pipe.

This plant lives without chlorophyll, thus the white or clear color. It

grows in rich, shady areas of leaf litter much like mushrooms. It gets

its nutrients from a mutual relationship with a type of wood rotting

fungi that generate nutrients for the plant to use.

Indian Pipe  - Montropa uniflora

When fertilized, it turns a pinkish color and 

 when picked it turns black, thus the reason it is also

called Corpse Plant, Ice Plant and Ghost Flower

Native Americans used the juice from

the stem for an eye medicine.

     .

"Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men or animals. Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock."

   Henry Ward Beecher(1813-1887): Clergyman, Social Reformer, Abolitionist

To some of my blogger friends, I have been trying to leave you a message on your blogs but for some reason, blogger is not acknowledging my blog name and will not allow me to leave a message. I have tried to comment in the open ID also but no use either. Hopefully they will get the issue resolved soon. I am still able to comment on some blogs but not others. Go Figure! I am still enjoying your posts and will comment as soon as this issue is resolved.  Randy

Clear-Winged Sphinx Moth

Growing up on a farm in central Alabama I was taught at an

early age about wasps, bees and other not so friendly insects.

As young boys my brother and I were always exploring and playing

in the woods, fields and yes, mothers and grandmothers garden. One

of the most vivid memories I have as a young lad was being stung by

a bee for the first time. I remember learning that bumble bees could

really hurt. One day while playing I happened upon what I thought at 

the time was a bumble bee on steroids. It was the biggest bee I had

ever laid eyes on and I ran for cover every time I saw one around the

garden. To a bright eyed kid it looked like a bumble bee, just larger!

Much larger! I didn't learn until many years later in a entomology class in

college that what I thought was a bee was actually a moth. Well I have

overcome my fears of the creature and was delighted to find a couple 

going about their business in a nearby state park. The moths are very

hard to photograph because they just won't be still long enough for a 

shot. So if these seem a little blurry, I gave it my best. 

Clear-Winged Sphinx Moth - Hemaris thysbe

It is almost the size of a hummingbird.

Also called Hawk and Hummingbird Moth

I don't know if this color variation is a different specie

or just a color or age thing, but it sure is pretty.

"Between our birth and death we may touch understanding, as a moth brushes a

window with its wing."

         Christopher Fry(1907-2005): English Playwright