Lift Off

I don't usually shoot bursts when I'm photographing insects, so it's a bit of luck that I got this shot.  I thought I was going to get a nice, clean dorsal view of the Margined Soldier Beetle; instead I got this fun shot.  I love seeing the delicate flight wings of beetles - like little hidden bits of lace under a business suit.  A rather more boring but perhaps instructive side view of the same beetle in Extra.

After lunch and before taking Jax to the vet for a quick visit, I headed over to a nearby nature area to do a little macro-safari.  It's a bit early for a lot of the bigger odes, but there several dragons and a nice selection of damselflies on hand.  Also about 25 species of birds, a small garden snake and an eastern cottontail rabbit.  No photos of those since I had the macro lens, but still fun to see.  

Jax needed his bordatella (kennel cough) oral injection so we headed to the vet.  Since he is quite reactive to other dogs when he's on leash, the vet tech just came out to the car and gave him the squirt in the mouth in the parking lot.  Pretty easy and now we are good for another year.  He is such a good dog for the most part, but I always have to remember that he has some fear issues stemming from his time in a shelter in Texas.  We try to make his life feel as safe as possible.  

I think I will plan another bugging trip tomorrow to a field trail that usually has lots of interesting arthropods.  Temps are nice and warm now, so a lot more insects about.

In nesting news...the bluebirds still have 1 unhatched egg in their nest box.  Usually they remove eggs that don't hatch, and I don't feel comfortable trying to take it out of the box myself.  So, we'll see.  A quick peek in the two active wren nests showed all eggs hatched and lots of blind, naked babies.  And a surprise - the third wren nest box which had five eggs and then no eggs, now has two eggs.  So there is definitely a third female here and she's been busy (as has the resident male, apparently!)  The tree swallows are brooding and I expect the eggs to hatch in about 13 days.  

And I am hosting TinyTuesday this month so be sure to tag your images with #TT523 tomorrow.  The optional theme tomorrow is "food".  

xoxo
Debbi