Category Archives: Photos

For some, six legs too many

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Clinging to an old pipe in the dim light of dawn, for some she has six legs too many.

A female crab spider (Mecaphesa dubia) clinging to an old pipe (IMG_1168)

Protecting her egg sac atop a blade of grass, for some she has six legs too many.

A female western lynx spider (Oxyopes scalaris) protecting her egg sac atop a blade of grass (IMG_2152)

Camouflaged in a sandy clearing and surveying for potential prey, for some she has six legs too many.

Close-up of a female wolf spider (Hogna antelucana) (IMG_3511_c)
A female wolf spider (Hogna antelucana) standing in a sandy clearing (IMG_3511)

Skulking in grass and hay in the wee hours of the morning, for some he has six legs too many.

A male rabid wolf spider (Rabidosa rabida) lurking in sparse grass (IMG_0159)
A male rabid wolf spider (Rabidosa rabida) walking through grass (IMG_0164)
A male rabid wolf spider (Rabidosa rabida) approaching atop scattered hay (IMG_0186)
A male rabid wolf spider (Rabidosa rabida) seen from above (IMG_0138)

For some, six legs too many.  For me, legs enough to be captivating.

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Photos:
(1) Female crab spider (Mecaphesa dubia)
(2) Female western lynx spider (Oxyopes scalaris)
(3) – (4) Female wolf spider (Hogna antelucana)
(5) – (8) Male rabid wolf spider (Rabidosa rabida)

Always fleeting

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Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
— Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Sometimes they chase their shadows.

A velvet ant (Dasymutilla sp.) in flight (IMG_3659)

Sometimes their shadows chase them.

A giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) in flight (IMG_3537)

And sometimes their shadows hide beneath them, holding them up, providing the foundation upon which they travel.

A Virginia opossum (a.k.a. possum or tlacuache; Didelphis virginiana) trotting through a clearing (2009_04_19_016210)

Observing wildlife is one thing, but photographing it is another.  Because life is always fleeting.

A juvenile American robin (Turdus migratorius) in flight (2009_09_06_028805)

Sometimes together.

Rock doves (a.k.a. common pigeons; Columba livia) in flight (2008_12_07_000543_ab)

Sometimes alone.

A nutria (a.k.a. coypu; Myocaster coypus) swimming in calm water (2009_06_01_021672)

Sometimes in the city.

A cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) in flight (2009_05_17_019619)

Sometimes in the wild.

A diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer) swimming through a creek (2009_06_06_022472)

Sometimes up close.

A variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) in flight (IMG_3174)

Sometimes at a distance.

A Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri) in flight (2009_12_26_046986)

But always fleeting.

A white-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata) in flight (2009_07_18_026922)

Yes, life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

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Photos:

  1. Velvet ant (Dasymutilla sp.) flying over open ground in East Texas; this female will lose her wings and become a typical velvet ant as soon as she selects a good hunting-cum-nesting site
  2. Giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes); this is the largest butterfly in Canada and the United States
  3. Virginia opossum (a.k.a. possum or tlacuache; Didelphis virginiana); this is the only marsupial found north of Mexico
  4. Juvenile American robin (Turdus migratorius)
  5. Rock doves (a.k.a. common pigeons; Columba livia)
  6. Nutria (a.k.a. coypu; Myocaster coypus)
  7. Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) in breeding plumage
  8. Diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer)
  9. Variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia)
  10. Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri)
  11. White-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata)

These

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Take one of these.

Adult female eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) perched on a wire (2009_10_31_035929)

Add one of these.

Adult male eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) perched in a tree (2010_01_12_048126)

Mix them with one of these.

A bluebird house (IMG_3698)

And soon you might have some of these.

A clutch of eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) eggs in the nest (IMG_2798)

Which turn into these.

Five eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) hatchlings in the nest (IMG_0799)

Which grow into these.

Five eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) nestlings sleeping wingtip to wingtip (IMG_1152)

The few weeks punctuated by lots of these.

A female eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) perched on the nesting box and feeding her young (IMG_1388)

Ultimately resulting in the appearance of these.

Two eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) fledglings perched on a fallen tree (IMG_1968)

If this happens early enough, the process will automatically repeat.

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Photos:

  1. Adult female eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis)
  2. Adult male eastern bluebird
  3. One of several bluebird houses at the family farm in East Texas
  4. Eastern bluebird eggs in the nest
  5. Eastern bluebird hatchlings a few days old
  6. Eastern bluebird nestlings almost two weeks old
  7. Female eastern bluebird perched on the nesting box and feeding her brood
  8. Eastern bluebird fledglings

Notes:

  1. Although several bluebird houses exist at the family farm here in the Piney Woods of East Texas, bluebirds are not the only species who use them.  More on that in a coming post.
  2. Assuming the bluebirds nest early enough in the season—here they often do just that—a second nest might be built in the newly vacated house.  That’s the case here, thus we have adult bluebirds already feeding young in the same house that birthed the five youths shown here.
  3. Moving to East Texas from Dallas in February has offered plenty of nature to photograph.  I now live in the Piney Woods far from urban jungles, so things here are more wild and more abundant.  Alligators are a walk away (from the farm to the bayou), cougars are rarely seen but making a comeback, birds are plentiful and plants are everywhere.  Once again I find I’m collecting more pictures than I can share, but I promise to do my best in that regard.

put on your faces – texas rat snake

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Close-up of a Texas rat snake (a.k.a chicken snake; Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri) slithering across sand (IMG_1960)

Texas rat snake (a.k.a chicken snake; Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri)

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Though I focus on in situ nature photos—things in their original locations and states rather than posed or captive—I admit this snake made an appearance only after my father captured it.

A captured Texas rat snake (a.k.a chicken snake; Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri) trying to slither away (IMG_1965)

While my uncle and dad worked on one of the chicken pens here at the family farm in East Texas, they discovered this “chicken snake” hiding behind a nesting box.  Around 4.5 feet/1.4 meters long, the snake might appear large, but this species can exceed six feet/two meters in length.  This one still has growing to do.

A captured Texas rat snake (a.k.a chicken snake; Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri) held in the air at arm's length (IMG_1967)

I admit I feel less than enthusiastic about posting these pictures since, as I said, I do not take or share images of captive animals (aside from the domestic variety like dogs and cats).  In this case, however, my dislike of the circumstances is allayed by the fact that we released the animal after I snapped some pictures.  Likewise, admitting it was not “in the wild” alleviates my usual avoidance of such photographs.

Texas rat snakes are one of about 30 species of nonvenomous snakes in the area.  In addition, we have seven venomous snake species, including cottonmouths, a variety of rattlers, copperheads and coral snakes.

End of an era

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Death, the undiscovered country,
From whose bourn no traveler returns…
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet

A close-up of Grendel, one of my cats, as he lies in a doorway (2009_03_01_011678)

At fifteen years old, he lived the equivalent of 76 humans years and he battled health problems the whole way, yet he never suffered needlessly.  No, I can never watch an animal suffer.

I did not think Grendel would survive long enough to make the move to East Texas earlier this year, yet as he always did he proved me wrong by rallying, holding his head up and marching proudly and strongly through another woeful bout of poor health.  But all things end, all things wither and die, from stars to people to domestic cats, thus his years came to a close today when his failing body offered more pain and problems than we could conquer.

How I will miss Sponge, the cat who never met a stranger and who always accepted affection from anyone within arm’s reach.  I will miss him wrapping his paws around my arm and pulling it to him to use as a pillow.  I will miss the gentle monster who rode in my lap three hours with nary a complaint, interrupting my driving only when he wanted a reassuring scratch, a kind word, a look to tell him things would be okay.

Today marks the end of an era, an era of rich and full living, an era of love, an era of triumph.  Though his body wished to give up long ago, his soul wouldn’t dream of giving up too soon.

Today marks the end of an era.  Today Grendel hunts in the universe’s vast jungle.  Today he became a lion.