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The Color Orange
Okay Gary, here ya go! Orange might mean, might represent, might bring, might suggest, joy, warmth, heat, sunshine, enthusiasm, creativity, success, encouragement, change, determination, health, stimulation, happiness, fun, enjoyment, balance, sexuality, freedom, expression, and fascination. Lincoln National Forest is an area of 1.1 million acres. A forest region including Ruidoso Valley, Cloudcroft and Carlsbad. Located…
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Visit From The Turkey Family
Some of my neighbors are Turkeys, Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). And twelve of them dropped by to say, “Hello,” this morning before I headed to my yoga class. More than likely this is a mother Turkey and eleven of her “little” ones, or poults. Males don’t participate in raising their young, but females are devoted…
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The Color Red
There is a challenge this week to post things RED. A challenge sent out by the Digital Photography School. Brilliant, strong colors come to the top of my list of favorite things, so I thought I’d post a few of my photographs of red things here. I hope you enjoy the quick trip through the…
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A Member Of The Soldier Beetle Family
Another Beetle that looks a bit like a Lightning Bug. Scientific name, Podabrus tomentosus. A species of the Soldier Beetle family, Cantharidae. There are approximately 3,500 species in this family. The Podabrus tomentosus is a species of Soldier Beetle that the Internet has neglected. It has no common name and in my search I found no…
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Margined Blister Beetle
It looks a bit like a Lightning Bug but don’t be fooled. This is a Margined Blister Beetle (Epicauta funebris), which can be found in North America east of the Great Plains. There are three color forms of this beetle, black, ash-gray, and margined as seen here. They exude a substance called cantharidin if disturbed,…
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Cardinal Flower Revisited
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), an intense scarlet flower that is native to southeastern Canada south through the eastern and southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America to northern Colombia. The same color as my pickup truck, Chevy’s Victory Red. With a tubular flower it’s the perfect shape for hummingbirds which love the blooms. Butterflies are…
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Something Cold For A Hot Day
Something to cool you off on a hot summer day. Snow and ice on a seedhead of Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis).
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Sleepy Orange Butterfly
Another orange (or is it actually yellow?) butterfly. Sleepy Orange Butterfly (Eurema nicippe). It is not enough to know that the butterfly you’ve seen is yellow/orange. You must pay attention to the details. In this case there is a diagonal dark smudge on the lower ventral wing which can be consistently seen. And if you…
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Orange Sulphur Butterfly
Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme). A butterfly that flitters about with a wingspan of 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It has a large range, found from southern Canada to central Mexico. Being a generalist, its host plant is often vetch, clover, alfalfa, and other pea family plants. Eggs are laid on the host plant and hatch 4 to…
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Shaggy Mane Mushroom
Shaggy Mane Mushroom (Coprinus comatus) commonly seen in North America and Europe, though in my years of looking for fungi, I’ve only seen these which I’ve captured in pixels, down the dirt road, on my mountain. They grow in man-made habitats such as lawns, along dirt roads, beside hiking trails, in neglected areas, or even…