Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Damselfly's Eyes



I was intent on a pretty little Damselfly as she hid behind a blade of grass and stared back at me. I changed my position to get a different point of view and the little damsel took a few seconds to adjust her eyesight. Click on the second photograph to see the underside this little damselfly's eyes as she looked straight up. You can also see her very fragile looking mouth parts. Oh the wonders of nature in the macro world.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

The Look (Click for a Good Look)

I found a mother fox and three cubs this morning on my drive through Valley Forge. They were down a hill in the middle of a field just off of a little access road. I knew if I got out of the car she would jump into her fox hole and take the cubs with her. So I stopped the car on the side of the road, put the window down and threaded the tripod outside of the window and then set up the big lens. She is still very far away, but you can get a good idea of just how cute this family is. Made my heart sing. I will try to get closer in the days ahead. Keep those fingers crossed.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Hard Questing Tick


Yesterday I had my first foray this spring into Valley Forge Park looking for good insects and spiders to photograph. It was truly amazing just walking a few yards into the grass to find so many different species. At the insistence of my good husband, I was covered from head to toe in protective clothing in case any little tick critters might want to climb aboard. It was a good thing too, because as I was sitting in the grass photographing a little white caterpillar I saw right in front of me, a little tick perched upside down at the tip of a blade of grass. Six of his eight legs were sticking out as far as he could stretch them. I took a photo and then came home and looked up tick behavior. I found that my tick is a "Hard" tick and his position on the grass was his questing position. He sits there with arms outstretched just waiting for a warm blooded being to brush up against him and he easily clings on and then does what good ticks do. It kind of made me a bit uneasy to realize that all his little friends were out there too, just waiting for someone like me to walk by. I put my clothes in the washing machine and did a thorough check and then got in the shower. Let's hope and pray these little guys find no interest in my little old body this spring and summer.