Bluebird seems to staring out over the south valley from the branch of a bare hickory tree.
Hummingbird moth
I love seeing these clearwing, or hummingbird moths, partly because they don’t come around that often and because of their relatively large-bodied fuzziness. Caught this one on a dark overcast day in the office garden. (Sorry about the too-hot flash.)
Memphis curves
This week’s photo challenge is all about curves. There’s rarely a bad angle when trying to grab a picture of the “M” bridge that carries Interstate 40 over the Mississippi to connect Arkansas and Tennessee. The image below is in downtown Memphis looking west.
Birds of a feather
Two bluebirds among a flock feeding on sumac growing around the house.
Living color
Tonight’s sunset was quite a contrast to last week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, which had “monochromatic” as its theme.
Grounded
This red-spotted purple probably escaped a predator at the cost of a wing and the ability to escape again. Though grounded, he continued to spread his wings in the sunshine.
Jelly fungus
Climbing a ridge off the beaten path, I was struck by the glow as the noontime sun backlit an orange jelly fungus growing through a slit in the bark of a dead tree. Seems that no matter how many times we traipse the ancient woods, there is always something new.
Jelly fungus oozes from the bark of a dead tree.
Like some orange quartz crystal jutting from a stone, this jelly fungus bursts from a slit in the tree bark.
In this image, you can see where the fungus is emerging from a slit in the bark.
Birdland
Been a while since we posted. We had a couple rounds of heavy winter weather and being trapped away from home for days at a time. Nice to be back home. Between bouts of wintry mix, the birds came out and did what birds do.
One of several bluebirds availing themselves of sumac seeds.
Red-tailed hawk takes flight over the office parking lot.
Tufted titmouse in tree with open hickory nut. He flew the half-nut into the tree and spent a few minutes brunching on it before knocking it to the ground and flying away.
Sparrow on his takeoff roll.
Yellow shafted Flicker in the sumac.
Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge: My favorite things, verse 2
We came late to Cee’s “My Favorite Things” challenge, catching it in verse 2. While taking down the outside Christmas decoration a few weekends ago, we were delighted to see that the folds of a big velveteen bow had become home for one of our favorite insects: the ladybug. Twice a year, they appear by the dozens inside the house and outside, scores of them cover the warm sidewalks and walls. They are generally beneficial insects, chowing down on aphids, but have also been known to consume monarch larvae. Read more about the multicolored Asian lady beetle: http://www.uark.edu/ua/arthmuse/asian.html.
