No Spots - Just Dewdrops

Troy

Lily Pads After the Rain

I photographed these in the fall just after a rain. The composition and hues reminded me of Eliot Porter, one of my favorite nature photographers. So I present this in his honor even though it is a pale shadow of his work.

© 2008 Troy Mullens

Crystal clear

Back in the old days, before the digital camera, if you wanted a special effect, you used colored filters, split neutral density filters, soft focus filters, or maybe star filters. Now with Photoshop and Nik filters there are more digital special effects than there are grains of sand on the beach.

It is nice to capture a photo that has an effect which is not digitally enhanced. The water in this photo looks like polished fractured glass. The fins, just breaking the water, make interesting patterns. How can clear water have a pattern?

Right time of day, right light, right exposure, right water flow. I wasn't looking for this picture, it found me. I guess that's what they call serendipity. The question is "Do you look for serendipity or does it have to find you?" Be sure to click on the photo to see the larger size.

Spawning Salmon near Valdez, Alaska

Troy

Unexpected Encounter

While stalking (Paparazzi style) a Tawny Emperor Butterfly (Asterocampa clyton) in the Rio Grande Valley, my subject turned into a lunch break for a small Bronze Jumping Spider. What was remarkable about the event was the way in which the small spider captured the butterfly.

I know,
For the butterfly lovers, ......boo...... hiss...... Down with spiders,
For the spider lovers, ....cool.... Nice catch by a Bronze Jumper
For the detached, impartial naturalist, ......... a good photo op.

Bronze Jumping Spider and Tawny Emperor

Anyway, back to the story.
As I was following the Tawny Emperor, which was flitting from tree to tree, suddenly the Jumper lived up to it's name. It leaped about 12 to 18 inches off of the trunk of its tree and with uncanny accuracy intersected the butterfly’s line of flight. It had left a strand of silk attached to the tree. When it caught the butterfly, it evidently stopped reeling out its line of silk and could then swing back to the tree. This occurred in the blink of an eye. If I had not been concentrating on the butterfly, I would never have seen it happen. There was no ensuing struggle. Either shock, poison, or a combination of both was enough to end the encounter. Since I was an uninvited guest for the meal, I moved on.

By the way, jumping spiders have a saying taken from "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" - "We don't need no stinking web".

I believe the spider is Eris militaris or possibly Eris flava. Let me know if you can tell conclusively.

The moral or conclusion to the story is: Be alert when observing Nature, and thank goodness jumping spiders are as small as they are.

Shudder!!

Troy

Henry's Elfin

The search for Henry's Elfin yesterday at Lake Worth, Tarrant County, TX, netted (pardon the pun) 2 high-flying individuals out of camera range. Today, while carrying "stuff" to the compost pile, I noticed something fluttering in the window of our storage building.

Bingo!!! A Henry's Elfin. We have Redbuds (larval hostplant) just now starting to bloom and always have a few Henry's Elfins -- For my part, I usually consider them the start of the butterfly season here even though there are some overwintering species flying on warm Jan-Feb days. This one looks fresh. He was really happy to get out of the building and into the great outdoors. He told me so.

Henry's Elfin's are small, almost tailless, hairstreaks which are typically brown. It is a mostly eastern butterfly occuring westward to central Texas and the hill country. Just a guess, but looking a range map, it seems to stop at the caprock To locate the caprock - Google "caprock escarpment texas wikipedia". This individual has a lot of frosting. Don't you just love the striped antenna with the orange tips? Be sure to click on the photos for a larger views.

Henry's Elfin (Callophrys henrici)

While photographing the Elfin, I did stop and add to my 2008 Texas Wildflower Photo Quest.

Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule)

The Lamium genus is in the mint family (notice the square stem) and is mostly an old world plant. According to Wildflowers of the United States, this is a Dead-nettle, having nettle-like leaves but no sting. The upper lip forms a hood,which is crowned with magenta hairs and the lower lip is bent sharply down. Many of the small flowers are beautiful on close examination. It's a yard pest though. I'll leave a few in the back yard.

I did stop for one photo-op yesterday. A rocky outcrop at the edge of the lake. I will title this "Lizard Heaven". I will try to photograph this later in summer with green vegetation when the yuccas will be in bloom.

The rippled reflections of the clouds in the water give it a surreal feeling.

Lizard Heaven

Troy

Robber Fly

While I was organizing files last night, I ran across a photo from the Ft. Worth Botanical Garden. My grand-daughter called it a bearded bee. In reality it is a Laphria sp. Robber Fly. They are mostly beneficial insects but do prey on some honeybees. The robber flies are of the Order Diptera (flies). The Robber Fly Family is Asilidae and species identification is difficult at best. There are ~900 North American species and over 7000 species world-wide.

It reminded me of a blog by Doctor H P Flowers "... Sweet Home". In which he says “Every bug needs a leaf to call home”.
http://doctorflowers.typepad.com/doctorflowers/2008/02/sweet-home.html

Do you think the above robber fly feels at home on his hairy grass stem?

Probably what most people think of as a robber fly or what we see most commonly here in Ft. Worth is Efferia sp.

And another colorful robber fly, possibly Diogmites sp. doing what robber flies do.

The photo organization that I was working on last night when I ran across the Robber Fly is an impossible task.

I wish caffeine wasn't so hard on my heart. I could have really used some last night and even now.

I am in the middle of reorganizing my photos. 5 hard drives, 3 external drives, and a multitude of cd's and dvd's. I don't even want to think about the negative/print scanner (which was a gift from Christmas-before-last) waiting to receive the dozens of boxes and file cabinets full of prints, slides and negatives that I have accumulated for over 40 years.

One of my main projects this winter has been backing up, sorting, and thoroughly viewing the 18,000 digital photos from our trip through the Western US (16 states), Canada (4 provinces), and Alaska. I had always wanted to drive the Alaska Highway, but little did I realize that we would be gone so long (16 weeks and 18,000 miles round trip). It was a great trip, but more on that later.

Troy

Spring is Nearly Here in North Texas

With Spring coming, this time of year is exciting. I admit Winter is my least favorite season. At least in winter, there is still birding, reading, photography and printing all of last summer's photographs. The bird feeders have really been busy this month. I guess the birds got the memo that extra food was available. One thing about the Goldfinches --- they are impatient waiting their turn at the feeder. Have you noticed the deepening yellow and some are just beginning to put on a cap.

American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)

Where's Spring? (Snowus pickupus)

On Feb 2 the Groundhog declared March 15 as start of spring, but I will settle for March 21. Actually Spring occurs this year 0n March 20 at 5:48 GMT Or for those in the Central Time zone at 11:48 PM March 19. At that time the plane of the equator will be not be tilted with respect to the Sun (hence Spring Equinox or the first day of Spring)).

Daffodils are blooming, birds are getting restless, and fat buds are appearing on the trees. Lots of butterflies (well some) are flying here in North Texas and more in South Texas and the Valley.

In Preparation for Spring:

Halleuluah! One cold dreary winter day, the sun peeped out a bit. Martha and I are anxiously awaiting landscapes filled with splashes of colored flowers, butterflies, singing birds, and buzzing bees. We long for balmy days, blue skies, and fresh air in open spaces. What will we do when spring finally arrives? Birding of course but also......

Photographing Texas Wildflowers
A new project - Madness - call it what you will

Yes, I know, estimates range to near 5000 flowering plants. Why not try something smaller, like photographing the wildflowers in some of the local nature areas.

Texas contains wide regional differences.

• Grasslands (Prairies)
• Coastal areas (Subtropical)
• Arid areas with high dry plains
• Hill Country
  
• Mountains
• Forests - Hardwoods, Pineywoods, Mesquite
  
• Bogs

Maybe I should have titled the project "Photographing Some Wildflowers". The photography is easy, just "point and shoot ;o " . The "Photoshopping" is a bit more difficult. Flower identification is even more time consuming, especially for those rarities found far from home. And I don't have a clue yet as to what to do about organizing all those photos.

This is the first entry in our first blog. I am sure the style will evolve, and the format will change, but I have to start somewhere. In fact, I don't have a clue as to what this will look like when I post it.. I am putting this together for family and friends, but if anyone out there likes this or has suggestions, let me know. I am sure there are a wealth of links out there that will help me improve the content and style. Let's get started.

And So, on to Spring Wildflowers, Birds, Insects, Spiders and Balmy Days!!!

Troy