Snazzy Little Dude

(And Happy Independence Day, America!)

I was up early this morning so headed out to one of the meadows at the park with my camera.  It was cool enough to be enjoyable but warm enough for insects to be out and about, including lots of Dogbane Beetles like this one.  These beautiful little leaf beetles dine almost exclusively on dogbane plants (and occasionally milkweed).  Because the plants they eat are toxic, they are not edible to most predators and therefore don't seem to have a compelling drive to hide.  I always love seeing them with their rainbow of iridescent color. And Big thanks to KangaZu for hosting Tiny Tuesday this month! If you really stretch your imagination, this beetle might resemble fireworks!

This was taken with the rental 24-200 lens which I am definitely getting the feel of now.  Still have to crop more than I'd like for macro subjects, but I'm happy with the lens overall.  

By the time I got back, our house guest was stirring.  He loaded his things in his car and followed us to our favorite local spot for breakfast before hitting the road to visit his son, about an hour south of us.  I am glad he was able to stop in for a few days with us - it's been too long.

Jax is 2 years old today - we've had him for a year and 8 months, and in honesty, it's hard to remember life without him.  He still doesn't like to have anything put over/on his head (lingering fear from his time in a shelter) so I didn't try to put a birthday hat on him.  But I did let him have some cooked hamburger which he thoroughly enjoyed.

We've had thunderstorms this afternoon and the humidity is currently 76% which is positively drippy.  I took Jax out for a quick run in the yard, but it's really too hot and sticky for much time outside now.  I shouldn't complain, however, because we really only get the high humidity for a couple of months some of the southeastern states that drown in humidity for 6 months every year.  

I had a luscious square of dark with blood orange today.  It's about time to shore up my dark chocolate supply.  

And tomorrow I will be marking 12 years here on Blip.  I will endeavor to find something interesting to mark the day.

xo
Debbi