As temperatures rise and plants bloom, insect populations likewise begin to blossom.  That includes these little devils: Chironomid midges.

I found this one on the patio a few days ago and decided to play with the camera in an attempt to capture a few presentable photographs.  And boy howdy!  Look what I got.

But before we get to that, let me tell you what I know and what I don’t know.

This is a non-biting insect despite its superficial resemblance to mosquitoes (there are biting midges; this just isn’t one of them).  I’ve not been able to identify its exact species because so many of these insects look alike.  Still, I’m 99% sure it’s a chironomid (Diptera: Chironomidae).  Likewise, it’s a large species and probably from the genus Chironomus, but I’m unable to provide a specific species identification because I still don’t know it—yet.  Because they swarm and most species are quite small, you might know this insect and its brethren by their more common name: gnats.  Surprised, aren’t you?  I was too.  I don’t think all midges are gnats or all gnats are midges (although I could be wrong), but the two are confused with each other on a regular basis—especially when they swarm.

This particular species is common in this area and I see them quite often.  They’re extremely docile.  That worked well for me since I totally invaded this bug’s space while trying to take photographs.  It didn’t seem to mind and never moved despite how close I got to it, and even the camera’s flash and proximity didn’t bother it.  That helped.

The photographs below are of a female.  I was able to get some respectable shots of a male just this afternoon and will share them with you at a later date.

How do I know it’s a female?  One: It doesn’t have pincers at the end of its abdomen.  Two: Its antennae are not plumed (furry).  There you have it: It’s a female.

I’d like to say I’m thrilled with the quality of these photos.  I ran across this little critter just after dusk.  The sun had fallen below the horizon, so it was providing only enough light to see shadows and shapes without details.  Nevertheless, with a little luck and the flashy box, I captured some (IMHO) impressive photos.  But why don’t you be the judge.

So now that I’ve bored you to tears with all sorts of meaningless gibberish about bugs and whatnot, let’s get to the pictures, eh?  I agree.

What you’ll notice is that she’s holding her front legs out in front her.  From what I discovered while investigating them, I believe that’s a hunting posture.  Then again, maybe they’re trying to pick up satellite television (for all I really know about them).

Note that she was slightly more than half an inch (about 15 mm) from stem to stern.  That’s from the top of her head to the bottom tip of her abdomen.  I measured her with a ruler just as I did with the male I photographed today.  That’s not counting their antennae.

Gosh, I really like bugs.

I took this photo last autumn (early November).  Standing near one of the major creeks and looking away from the lake, this shows the park road winding through a canopy of foliage brushed by winter’s preparatory hand.  I do very much like the photograph.

But there’s a problem.  I’m not very good at image editing.  In fact, I’m actually quite bad at it.  If you want to ruin a picture, just give it to me.  I assure you it will turn out worse than you could imagine.

So why is that important?  If you look at the photograph, there is a power line running top-center to right center.  It’s thin and almost inconspicuous.  I can’t tell you how many times I tried to remove it.  Or cover it up.  Or at least minimize its visual impact.  And all to no avail.

That’s why I never posted this before.  I hate that I caught the darn thing in the picture, and I equally hate that I’m not capable enough to remove it digitally.

Yet there’s another aspect to this with which I’ve struggled for some time.  You see, I hate altered photographs.  I consider them deceptive, a bit of presentational dishonesty if you will.  That’s not to say I don’t understand why people manipulate pictures.  This one is a perfect example.  Nevertheless, had I been able to remove that electrical line and had I then posted the photograph, part of me would have known I had posted something that was not honest, not genuine or true.

It’s one thing to brighten or darken a photo.  It also falls along those lines when a picture is cropped or rotated or color-balanced.

It’s something else entirely when the content is manipulated to hide something that was there originally or add something that was not there originally.  And that’s why I eventually decided to post this even though that stupid line runs through it like aerial train tracks.  The truth of the moment is that I caught that line when I took the picture.  Removing it wouldn’t show you what I saw, what the scene looked like as I stood there on a cool morning with sunshine filtering through the trees.  No, poppets, it wouldn’t have shown you that exact second in time.  It would have shown you what I wanted to see, and that’s a beast of a different color.

So part of me is glad I’m so feeble when it comes to image editing.  If I had any skills in that area, I’d be more apt to present false impressions, pictures of things that didn’t exist or moments of time that never happened—even if it was as simple as removing an electrical line.

The moral of the story is thus: I’m not a professional photographer.  I’m not a digital artist skilled with creating visual scenarios that didn’t exist in the first place.  I should be happy about my shortcomings in this regard.  At least it keeps me honest.

nature’s abounding with beauty so rare
she’s giving birth everywhere
richness of color and texture in form
simple or finely adorned

meadows moist, so luscious and greening
petals reaching, blossoming
cricket, locust, mockingbird singing
while every leaf is glistening

for brilliance of stars and brightness of skies
feathers so graceful in flight
thunder and lightning and wetness of rain
seasons—the unbroken chain

dusty dunes undulating, dancing
while restless winds go wandering
toad, chameleon, spider parading
while a torrid sun is simmering

may we live aware of her beauty
caring for the least of these
and always seek to share in the bounty
that she gives so graciously

[the text above is from a song; I can’t find any trace of who it’s by, but I remember it from decades ago; I had the lyrics written down in one of my journals from childhood, a reminder of what mattered to me then and still matters to me now, and my own ramblings were carefully wrapped around this block of text; if anyone recognizes the words and can tell me what the song is, who sang it, or anything else about it, I’d be very grateful; on another note, all of these photos were taken last summer in Sunset Bay at White Rock Lake; that happens to be one of my favorite spots; the pier you see on the right in the first photo is the one I visit often; similarly, I was sitting under my favorite tree when I took that picture, and that’s also whose branches you see in the third photo; wildlife shown: American coots (Fulica americana), mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), brown Chinese geese (a.k.a. swan geese, Anser cygnoides), great-tailed grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus), rock doves (Columba livia), and perhaps a few I missed or couldn’t identify]

I originally intended to delete these photos.  I was facing into the sun when I took them.  As luck would have it, I didn’t bother changing the camera settings to compensate.  That’s why the color and exposure and light are all… well, odd… or off.

But then I really looked at them today and realized they had some aesthetic value after all.  I mean, think about being on an alien world somewhere, a place quite different from Earth where perhaps there are two suns that keep the air bright and shadows deep, where the sky is mostly white with only vague hints of blue on the periphery, where green only grows on the ground, where very few trees have any kind of foliage…

Or something like that.

These photos were taken at the White Rock Lake spillway facing away from the water toward the old hatchery ponds and surrounding woodlands.  It’s of interest to note this is where I have seen bobcats, red and gray foxes, coyotes, rabbits, badgers, armadillos, and a plethora of other wildlife.  And this is also where the local monk parakeet colony lives.  In fact, this particular area of the lake is one of the best birding spots to be found at White Rock, not to mention the best place to spot wily wildlings that evade detection elsewhere.

[before anyone asks, let me say I did try color correction on these photos; unfortunately, the originals are so overexposed with such cattywampus light balance that no amount of manhandling by me could make them any less of an affront to good photography, so I felt it best to share them as they are—and take advantage of their bizarre nature]