Peek-a-boo

Just a quick blip today, of a very sort of willing Sycamore Assassin Bug. Some of you may recall that this is one of my favorite summer garden insects. And who among you can argue with the appeal of a bright orange guy with stripey legs anyway? An assassin wearing prison garb...he heard that Orange is the new Black... (lame, I know) And if you aren't entirely sure of the orientation - his body is tucked back in the folds of the dahlia so all you see here is his face, front legs and big antennae. Maybe worth a quick look in LARGE?

It was overcast and drizzly this morning - which didn't prevent me from meeting up with my friends for my last Audubon NJ walk. We saw quite an assortment of warblers and vireos, as well as several good sized kettles of broad-winged hawks riding the thermals way high up. They are already migrating which explained the large numbers we saw. It was cool to witness and not something I've seen before. At the end of the walk, it was a little sad saying farewell to some people who've become quite special to me. Some I will see again as our birding paths will surely cross. Others I probably won't see again ... So, yes, feeling a little melancholy. I shall especially miss Tom H. who leads our groups and from whom I have learned so much in these past 3 years.

However, Kura is due to arrive momentarily and that will lift my spirits immeasurably! We are baking an apple pie this afternoon - somethign that we've been doing every fall for 14 years. We used to always celebrate our friend, Lynn's, birthday (which is on the 29th) with a weekend of picking and cooking apples, drinking wine and doing what girlfriends do - laughing the whole time. Sadly, Lynn lost her long battled with cancer several years ago - but she is still always with Kura and I on this weekend. We'll be toasting her with some lovely rose from Long Island...

Goodness, I didn't intend such a melancholy journal today. Snap out of it, Debbi!

I took four other pics today that I kind of liked. They are on Flicker starting HERE with a full-body shot of the assassin bug. Enjoy.

Have a wonderful weekend - and thank you so much for sending Speed Racer to the spotlight page yesterday. He's all full of himself now, demanding to blipped again tomorrow or Monday at the latest ... or else...

Debbi