Okay, I admit this guy is a little scarey now but little does he know what he will become. Oh that we could experience such a metamorphosis.
Yeah I know we can all make major changes but to curl into a cocoon and a few months later come out a whole different creature just rocks my imagination. Stay tuned for the morphed version……..monos en theos jas L †††
r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r who a)s w(e loo)k upnowgath PPEGORHRASS eringint(o- aThe):l eA !p: S a (r rIvInG .gRrEaPsPhOs) to rea(be)rran(com)gi(e)ngly ,grasshopper; Edward Estlin Cummings is known for his radical experimentation with form, punctuation, spelling, and syntax; he abandoned traditional techniques and structures to create a new, highly idiosyncratic means of poetic expression. I just saw a pretty creature amongst the johnson grass. E.E.Cummings saw much more than me. Oh how we are never too old to learn. monos en theos †† jas L
This cooperative little beauty sat (do butterflies really sit?) and posed away for me a good fifteen minutes. I was allowed the time to get close and play with my lighting. He was busy preening himself as if trying to make sure to be groomed and presenting his best side.
May we all look so good! monos en theos †† jas L
On my return to the house from our morning walk I stopped to pause at our Rose of Sharon bush. It has a number of mostly identical blooms. Outstanding in color and form but one does get bored with the same view. One bloom stood out with this praying mantis eating his breakfast of a little Skipper butterfly. Of course my macro kit was sitting inside the house and not even all together. So a mad scramble to make my return and see the last tastee’ morsel disappear.
It is all about timing and being ready. Your ship always arrives while you are waiting at the bus station! monos en theos ††† jas L
It has been kind of slim pickin’s around the grounds. Between the heat, a stomach bug and a few rounds with the black dog, I have not found much at which to aim my Nikon. I did have this young (I say young because of it’s size and the dare me attitude of a teenager) dragonfly to sit and pose for a few frames. Beats working for a living. ††† monos en theos…jas L
Ah yes, along with the oppressive heat comes the ear piercing cry of the cicada. More info than you probably want or need:
Although only males produce the cicadas’ distinctive sound, both sexes have tympana, membranous structures by which they detect sounds. They are the cicadas’ equivalent of ears. Males disable their own tympana while calling, thereby preventing damage to their hearing this is necessary partly because some cicadas produce sounds up to 120 dB (SPL), among the loudest of all insect-produced sounds. The song is loud enough to cause permanent hearing loss in humans should the cicada sing just outside the listener’s ear. In contrast, some small species have songs so high in pitch that the noise is inaudible to humans
To the human ear, it often is difficult to tell where a cicada song is coming from; the pitch is nearly constant, the song sounds continuous to the human ear, and cicadas sing in scattered groups. If a singing male becomes alarmed on the approach of a possible enemy, it softens its song so that the attention of the listener gets distracted to neighbouring louder singers, creating a confusing ventriloqual effect.
In addition to the mating song, many species have a distinct distress call, usually a broken and erratic sound that the insect emits when seized or panicked; at the same time it is likely to squirt waste liquid from the sap that it had been sucking, possibly distracting certain classes of attacker. Some species also have courtship songs, generally quieter, and produced after a female has been drawn by the calling song. Males also produce encounter calls, whether in courtship or to maintain personal space within choruses.
A pray for cool and quiet! monos en theos†††jas L
I am always reading about and wanting to see things in a different way. Yet, like most photographers I expect to see the open wings of a butterfly. I often find myself waiting on a butterfly, thinking, “I wish he would open his wings.” Heck, the butterfly is sitting there almost yelling at me “hey, I got a face too you know!” So in the interest of trying to see things as they come to me, and to not judge by how I want things to be, here is the face side of the afore posted butterfly. Introduce yourself properly and enjoy the view you are presented. Find something nice to say, like “my what a nice shade of purple your eyes are!” monos en theos †††† james L
It is most alway fruitful when I decide to take a mindful stroll around my small grounds. On a casual glance, I will not see. When I don my macro kit and keep my eyes open it almost always becomes a seek and you shall find proposition.
With the oppressive heat, it is not until around 8:00 pm before the temp drops to a tolerable level. I spied this wonder about a foot higher than eye level. It became obvious that he was at rest for the night. He sat in the same place waiting imperturbably while I found something to elevate myself to his level. I was able to hold one of my lights back behind him to send light through his wings. It gave the heavenly glow to the photo that I felt in my heart.
monos en theos ††† james
“A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.” Dalai Lama
As I continue to seek and find the signature of all things, I keep stumbling onto transparency. I very much like to open all of the window coverings in our home. I so enjoy not only being able to see out, but to also expose what is inside.
I grew up in a home in which we almost never allowed the light in. Not just through the windows but also figuratively. There was so much that needed to be hidden, not shared, God forbid that ordinary people might be able to peak inside at all that went wrong on inside our home.
It has been a struggle for me to maintain my transparency. After all these years, I am still trying to let all the pain out. There is such freedom in allowing the light in and your pain out.
All of this from the simple gift of a dragonfly. I may never again look at them in the same way.
Open up the windows…monos en theos…†…jim
On our evening walk yesterday we passed a tree that had close to a hundred of these pretty little creations.
I went back this am and there were still a herd of them there. They seemed to be tanking up on sap that was oozing from the tree.
Fuel up for your journey…†…monos en theos…jim
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