Who Goes There?

First-of-the-year sighting of a Banded Longhorn Beetle, one of my favorite flower beetles.  It fascinates me how different insect species have definite preferences when it comes to pollen/nectar sources.  I rarely see these beetles on milkweed but frequently see them on echinacea and rudbeckia, for example.  The bonus in this shot is the blurry bee (bombus sp) in the background - I think it makes the photo much more interesting. I put an extension tube on the 24-120 lens on the z6 body for this shot and very pleased with how the set up works.  Adding an extension tube makes the depth of field even more narrow so focus is tricky, but it also allows me to get a lot closer.  Fun!

It was wickedly humid this morning, feeling a bit like a sauna when I stepped outside.  A cloud cover kept it relatively bearable but when the clouds burned off, Jax and I retired indoors.  Hubs and I decided to run some errands, including a trip to Home Depot to buy a new rug for our dining room.  No, we don't buy expensive rugs - it doesn't pay when one has animals!  After we got home and had lunch, the skies started getting darker and darker...and then the rain, thunder and lightening came.  Amazingly, we didn't lose power - the benefit of underground power lines.  We all curled up in the living room and waited out the storm which lasted for several hours.  Fortunately, none of the animals are bothered by thunder unless it's right over the house (heck, even I am bothered then!)

Had a nice FT chat with my parents this morning - they were both looking well and we covered a broad gamut of topics as usual.  

We watched "Driving Miss Daisy" last night and both enjoyed it, although I found myself bothered at times by the depiction of Hope as so subservient.  However, the movie was set in the 1950's when Civil Rights were still very much a new work in progress so maybe that depiction was accurate for the time?  All that being said, I enjoyed the movie.

xo
Debbi