Explore on ipernity

2 more pictures in notes above ! :) I planned to get out of the house early enough this morning to catch the frost, but I dawdled too long and it was all gone by the time the dogs and I bounced out the front door. Just in case, I headed down to the shadiest part of the "light side" of our lower forest, hoping I might get lucky. Nope. Just a tiny bit here and there, but I'd missed the real show. Oh well, it's going to be very cold the rest of the week, so I'll try again tomorrow! :) As the dogs had a fine time nosing around and looking for icky things to chew on, I began studying stumps, logs and branches. Our Oaks get positively COVERED with various lichens and fungi, and there seem to be endless varieties as I pay more and more attention. Every stick, every log, every piece of bark, has the potential of showing me something interesting and new! I feels like I'm in a gigantic toy store in the woods, with hidden surprises everywhere, just waiting to be discovered! It didn't take long to find my day's treasure trove! Examining a couple of logs without seeing anything special, I reached over to grab a fallen branch and toss it aside...when my mind registered "CIRCLE" and I froze in mid-toss. I have trained myself to look for circles, ovals, and rounded shapes over leaves, and this has really helped me to find mushrooms. In this case, the circular shape was exceedingly small, and it took me a few seconds to race along the branch with my eyes to find what got my attention. MUSHROOM! There it was! Tiny and shriveled, this little mushroom was a brand new discovery for me! In the past, I've never found mushrooms on the thinner Oak branches, only the thick ones. But here it was! And then...I spotted another! And MORE! In twos and threes, many little mushrooms were poking out through the various species of lichen and moss attached to the branch! It was like a little village of fungus, all of them so precious and tiny, ranging in size between 1 mm and 1.5 cm! I had a hard time knowing where to begin, there were so many wonderful little shapes, positions and fun groupings! My biggest challenge was finding a way to balance the unwieldy branch without mashing mushrooms and still being able to get the angles I was after. Many pictures later, I was satisfied that I got my Picture of the Day, so I lay the branch back down, and just for fun, took a very good look at the tree's trunk and a living branch...YES! Lots and lots of tiny mushrooms!! I thought to myself, "I bet they've been here all along, and I've just never noticed them until now!" Isn't it just amazing how much there is to see out in nature?!! :) When I got home, I found myself becoming overwhelmed at the sheer number of magical little scenes I'd been lucky enough to capture successfully, and it was really hard to narrow down my favorites. In the end I decided to go with this picture because the mushrooms are so cool looking the way they are peering down from their woody perches, the gloom deepening into darkness behind them. I found myself thinking of one of Gollum's riddles to Bilbo, one of the many they trade back and forth in the heart of the Misty Mountains. I have always loved those riddles, so I used the one I was thinking about as the quote for today. (If you don't know the answer, it can be found here: Lord of the Rings Wiki: The Hobbit: Riddles in the Dark John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. J.R.R. Tolkien Explored on December 4, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

2 more pictures in notes above ! :) This morning Steve and I got up before dawn so to make it in time for our early eye exams and I think all of you would have snickered at how well I portrayed a zombie! :D We were out of the house by 7am and could not BELIEVE how cold it was--20.5°F degrees!!! And even though Steve had the car warming up for 5 minutes before we left, we needed to scrape the frost off the windows because it wasn't melting! :D I looked mournfully at the beautiful frosty morning as we drove along and wished I could be out there taking pictures...of the two huge flocks of Canada Geese in the frozen fields...the light shining through everything and sparkling beautifully, the misty hillsides...it was so lovely. But who was I kidding? I really just wanted to go back to bed! :D Though I hoped I wouldn't have to, my eyes were dilated for the exam, which meant I wouldn't be taking pictures until after the medicine wore off. Forlorn, I bid my hopes for frosty pictures goodbye, but I wasn't too sad because there would be plenty of opportunities in the coming weeks for more frosty goodness! After I got home, I had to wait until 1:30 pm before my pupils shrunk from eerie basketball-size back to normal, and since it was beautiful outside, I told the dogs were were headed for the ridge, and all of us exploded out into the beautiful cold day to seek adventure and good times! :D The ground was hard and crunchy here and there and though it wasn't frosty, it was still very cold at about 38°F degrees. I wondered if I might find some frost after all. Making my way carefully up the steep trail to the top, I avoided the smooth and slippery path which was slick and muddy. I'd done my share of sliding on that mud in the past, and was very careful to pick my way up cautiously with my camera and macro flash. We headed to the far end of the ridge line, all of us exuberant and happy, and along the way I found a couple of beautiful "caught" leaves glowing in the afternoon light and I also found a manzanita trunk that had twists in it that reminded me of a straight candy cane! As we neared the far end, I slowed to a stop in front of "Snakey's Log", because for some reason, it often has something wonderful for me to photograph under it! Moosey gave the log a sniff and I told him, "Move along, Mister, this is my log!" :D Lifting it up, I found a surprise! It was a very large, red centipede, curled up and beautiful. I managed to get many wonderful pictures before it slowly disappeared into a hole, but I won't be sharing those today. For fun, I gleefully showed Steve when he got home and chortled mirthfully when he looked and yelled, "EWWWWWWWWW, GROSS!!!" *cackle* Big baby. :D I recognize that my fascination with creepy crawlies is not shared by a lot of people so when I do share some of my "icky bugs", I'll save it for a day when I can warn you and let you decide if you want to see my pictures! :D However, Snakey's Log had ANOTHER prize for me...a large group of mushrooms growing on it and peering up from around the sides! SO COOL!! I got many pictures, and no, not sharing them tonight either, but maybe in the next couple of days. And yet...a third prize, which I AM sharing...and it's picture #2 tonight: another shining amber droplet with a sea of melting frost bokeh behind it! How wonderful to get another nice picture of these mysterious little droplets! After replacing the log and beginning our return walk, I stopped at a pile of logs to check them out for mushrooms....DOUBLE PAY-DIRT!!! Not only were there mushrooms, but they were covered with frost!!!! Hooray for patience and tenacity!!! I thought I might get lucky but I wasn't sure. Here then, is my Picture of the Day. A beautiful, frosty mushroom, who waited in darkness for me to upend its log so I could find it wearing nature's finest jewelry! :) Thomas Henry Huxley PC FRS FLS (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist (comparative anatomist), known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Wiki: Thomas Henry Huxley Explored on December 5, 2013. Highest position, page 4.

What a frosty day it was! Frozen fog, mist everywhere, and frost covering the world! I took a quick walk outside to look around and found these dried weeds covered with nature's jewelry, and I thought to myself how much it reminded me of fireworks! (I have been buried in too much to do for weeks now, I'm so sorry for my lack of commenting!) Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates (Plato's teacher), Aristotle is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy. Aristotle's writings were the first to create a comprehensive system of Western philosophy, encompassing morality, aesthetics, logic, science, politics, and metaphysics. Wikipedia: Aristotle Explored on December 29, 2013. Highest placement, page 9.

Note of Joy! Thank you all for the comments and favs, this is my very first #1 Explore! The very first thing I want to do is apologize to everyone for disapearing completely. I'm very sorry and I hope that you will understand. I needed a complete break from photography and that meant that I couldn't maintain contact with any of my friends, because we are all about photography and I needed to not think about it at all. I wrestled a lot with feeling guilty about my zero contact, but I hope that I will be forgiven. I spent my time playing a video game called Rift when I wasn't working, and it did a great job of taking all of my attention. I got to explore a virtual world with other players, slay monsters, cast spells, heal people, become powerful, and in a nutshell, I had a lot of fun! In the real world, it was the coldest and dryest winter we've ever experienced. It's finally getting a bit warmer and rain storms are rolling through. I hope that our seasonal pond will fill up finally so the frogs can have a long period for producing eggs and the tadpoles will be able to grow large enough to turn into froglets and hop away. Of course I will be there to help out with Lucky's Pond! :) I planted lots of flower bulbs and they're starting to grow, and the crocuses I've photographed so much are in full bloom now. My desire to pick up my camera again cannot be quelled much longer, so it's time to come back to the world of photography, and back to ipernity, and to all of my friends! :) I have many ideas about what I will do next. I think I will see about turning my 365 Project into a book. I also want to continue with my Flowers of Spring and Summer Project. I would like to participate in some phography groups, and I have a new group I am thinking about creating. One step at a time. Finally, I look forward to coming around and saying hello. I've missed you all so much and I am really sorry if I've caused anyone to feel worried about my absence. *big hugs* to you all! :) Explored on Feb 13, 2014. Highest placement #1!!!!! *bounces around the room*

You can also find me on Facebook ! Well, it's taken me longer to get my gusto back, but as February has changed into March, the world around me is waking up and with it, so is my passion to capture what I find. I've been out to take pictures just twice now since the beginning of the year. The first was about 4 days ago, but I wasn't happy with my pictures, though they were not horrible. A couple of days ago I went out again, and there were many things for me to find on my little walk. At one point I was staring intently at the underside of a piece of bark and noticed an incredibly tiny snail shell, about 1 mm in size! I wanted to see if I could get it in focus, and while I was taking pictures, I realized that that shell had an owner, and it was slowly turning away from me! I couldn't even SEE the antennae! I got some other nice pictures too, including some cool mushrooms and other neat things. It was a lot of fun to discover that after two months without a single picture, I have been able to pick up where I left off! Hooray! :) I thought that the best way to get me back into uploading pictures on a regular basis again would be to start a new project, so I'm doing an A-Z project! It isn't going to be daily, but it will be fun to keep my eyes open for potential subjects!! :) Explored on March 2, 2014. Highest placement, #2.

You can also find me on Facebook ! I had so much FUN visiting everyone's photo stream over the past few days! What a joy it was to take a peek at what all of you are doing! It was simply incredible to me that I got over 150 comments on my previous picture (the Poppy) and it took several days to reply, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment! I was sorry to see that many people have left ipernity because of the latest issues with groups being shut down, but I was happy to find that the majority of the folks I visited were still here. I'm certainly here to stay, because Flickr isn't an option for me, and I didn't have any issues with ipernity. I love my new ipernity routine! I put up a new picture, and in the days following, I reply to all the comments left on the previous picture, before I put up a new picture! This solves one of my biggest problems I had with my 365 project: trying to reply to the comments left on each picture. It was really hard to do, and yet, I think it's extremely important to repay the kindness of a visit, appraisal and comment by doing the same. I'm not sure how to phrase that, because I don't want commenting to seem like a chore or requirement. I think commenting should come from a desire to share one's feelings about an image, to offer encouragement and sometimes some constructive criticism, but only if it is asked for or stated in such a way that it's not destructive. I love that I'm no longer under pressure with my photography or ipernity. The stress that built up over feelings of guilt for not visiting people is finally going down, instead of up. I know there are countless people who've left comments that I haven't visited, but I hope that in time I'll be able to visit everyone once again! Today's picture was taken about 6 months ago on my birthday in September. My husband, Steve, presented me with some beautiful beads he bought at the company he works for, Fire Mountain Gems & Beads , where he works as a product photographer! I originally planned to use this picture for my Picture of the Day for my 365 Project, but in the end, I decided on another image instead. This picture, like dozens of others, sits in a folder just waiting for a chance to be seen! I am busy finishing up a work project right now so I just can't afford the time to take any pictures of Bees (CHRISSY!!), Boxers, Bassets, Birdseye Speedwell Blossoms, Beetles, Bugs, or any other awesome B subjects for this round! So I thought it would be perfect to share this neat image today! I hope you like it! And once again, I'll be visiting everyone in the next few days and I can't wait to see what you have to share with me! :) Explored on March 5, 2014. Highest placement, #6.

The other day I went down to the gate to get the mail and brought along my camera. I had looked outside and saw that everything was covered in melted frost and knew I would find lots of wonderful opportunities for my next alphabet letter, "D". The thing that always amazes me is how incredibly tiny droplets can be. We are used to seeing large rain drops on windows, in the sink, the shower, etc. But droplets can be microscopic in size, and when you see grass sparking with early morning dew, a very close look will reveal that tiny beads of water are bristling on almost every surface! I wandered around in various locations, dropping down to my knee pads and staring nose-close at the incredible sparkling landscapes before me, and got lucky with many cool pictures of droplets with fabulous bokeh. Here is my favorite of this photo outing. I found this single droplet next to our seasonal pond in a patch of grass carpeting one side. No larger than a small letter "o"(about 1mm), this drop is clinging proudly to the very tip of a tiny blade of grass, the sun catching an edge and creating a beautiful starburst! These droplets are so very small that I have to keep "landmarks" in mind to help locate the droplet when I look through my viewfinder! Isn't nature amazing?! :) Explored on March 18, 2014. Highest placement, #1. :D

2 more pictures in notes above! Today's heart-shaped seed pod is dedicated to a dear friend of mine, Pam J . She and I are both excited about growing plants from seeds, and because we live in places where it is very hot and dry during the summer, we are sharing seeds with each other in the hopes that we'll have good luck this way! It's been wonderful getting to know her, and a joy to visit her photo stream too. We even have similar luck with butterflies, lol! Take a look at her lovely Grey Hairstreak ! I hope that you'll take a peek at her pictures too. Pam is so nice and has a heart of gold! I am so happy that we met! :) Khalil Gibran (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) was a Lebanese artist, poet, and writer. He is chiefly known in the English-speaking world for his 1923 book The Prophet, an early example of inspirational fiction including a series of philosophical essays written in poetic English prose. The book sold well despite a cool critical reception, gaining popularity in the 1930s and again especially in the 1960s counterculture. Gibran is the third best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu. Wikipedia: Khalil Gibran Explored on August 25, 2013. Highest placement, page 2.

10...yes, TEN more pictures in notes above! ENJOY THE SHOW!! :D I can't believe how much fun I've been having raising caterpillars from eggs! To bring you up to date, I brought a small twig into the house on July 25, which had some eggs on it. I discovered that they were from Clio Tiger Moths after finding one laying eggs exactly like the ones I had. Although the stick was literally only a tiny fraction of the number I found, I was amazed when the eggs hatched and there were so many itty bitty caterpillars crawling around! They were so small I could just barely see them! I got them some milkweed leaves to eat, and every day since I've been bringing them fresh leaves and keeping their habitat clean and increasing the size of their container as they've grown. (You can read the original story of the caterpillars here: Piggy 'Pillar!! ) Now, I have read that caterpillars grow fast, but I've never raised them before now, and I have to tell you: it's absolutely AMAZING how fast they grow!!! In one month's time, they have grown from about 1/16" in size to about 1.5" for the largest ones!! It's just incredible to me! In order to get that huge so quickly, all they do during the night is eat, and they sleep all day like a bunch of gluttenous oinkers! :D Today I wanted to show one of the big ones next to a quarter so you can see how huge they've become! At last count, I have about 50 of them, which is surprising because only about 5 of them have died. As I'm sure you probably know, the reason so many eggs are layed is because the survival rate is extremely low, so with the huge number of offspring, at least a few may make it to adulthood. We'll see how many live until pupal stage, but I will bet it will be at least 40. The largest are getting close to pupal stage, and I just can't wait to watch that show!! STAY TUNED!!! I added a bit of texture to the background from Jerry Jones , using his Fire Damage 10-21-09 TOTD # 87 image for the edging! THANKS JERRY!! :) George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, writer and producer who worked in theater, radio and film. He is best remembered for his innovative work in all three media, most notably Caesar (1937), a groundbreaking Broadway adaptation of Julius Caesar and the debut of the Mercury Theatre; The War of the Worlds (1938), one of the most famous broadcasts in the history of radio; and Citizen Kane (1941), consistently ranked as one of the all-time greatest films. Wikipedia: Orson Welles Explored on August 27, 2013. Highest position, page 3 (#65).

5 more pictures in notes above! This morning at 6:30am, I woke up to a very strange sight. Orange-red light was shining into the bedroom and turning the walls orange! I quickly got my glasses and when I turned to look outside, I nearly fell out of bed from the sight that you are now staring at! I was completely dazzled by this absolutely incredible sunrise for about two seconds, and then I leaped out of bed, thundered downstairs, jammed in my emergency 1 gig card, and flew back upstairs again. Even a few seconds later, the colors had changed from an even more red sky to what you see here, which is tinged with orange and yellow. I could not believe my eyes...this is the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen here!! I took half a dozen more pictures, but within about two minutes, the colors had faded completely to a soft pink and then blue. The day had begun. And this time...I captured this magical sight!! I have another picture as an inset so you can see another version, but they are similar enough that I didn't make that one public. I wonder which you like better? I cannot say, they are different and both lovely. For me, it is a wonder to see a sunrise. I have been an incurable nightowl all my life, stubbornly loathing to be forced out of bed before 9am. But a couple of months ago, Steve and I decided we needed to change this. If we hoped to go on bike rides during the summer, getting up early was the only way we'd be able to do it. What surprised us both is that we not only didn't mind, we LIKED IT!! And so, this sunrise is like a reward for changing our waking hour. I am so happy to be awake at my favorite time of the day. It's incredibly special, isn't it? Horace Mann (May 4, 1796 – August 2, 1859) was an American education reformist. As a politician he served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to 1833. He served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1834 to 1837. In 1848, after serving as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education since its creation, he was elected to the US House of Representatives. Mann was a brother-in-law to author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Wikipedia: Horace Mann Explored on August 30, 2013. Highest placement, page 1 (#27).

3 more pictures in notes above! I thought it would be nice to go out and take pictures of some of the beautiful dried grasses and plants around our meadow today. If you stand and look at a field full of dry grass and weeds, it's pretty boring and uninteresting without working in a fence, trees, or other focal points that aren't the grass and weeds. If I was using a regular lens, I would have a really hard time coming up with different interesting pictures of just the grass and weeds. It's just not compelling. But when you have a macro lens, everything changes. Something so simple as a blade of grass can be amazing to look at because we don't usually see things close up. In fact, even though I've been taking pictures with my macro lens for a couple of years now, I am surprised on a daily basis at how cool and interesting so many seemingly boring natural objects can be. So, today is all about DEAD STUFF! :D My Pick of the Day was actually my very first subject: wild grass! I have added some sandstone texture to the background and also some special, shaped vignetting to give this image a little more mood and drama. I hope you like it! :) Augustine "Og" Mandino II (December 12, 1923 – September 3, 1996) was an American author. He wrote the bestselling book The Greatest Salesman in the World. His books have sold over 50 million copies and have been translated into over twenty-five different languages. He was the president of Success Unlimited magazine until 1976 and is an inductee of the National Speakers Association's Hall of Fame. Wikipedia: Og Mandino Explored on August 31, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#45).

3 more pictures in notes above! This morning I stepped out onto our porch to look at the flowers I have growing there. Zinnias, a Dahlia plant which is about to burst into bloom, a Cosmos with pink flowers, and several colors of the strange and wonderful Cockscomb Celosia which I think looks just like Brain Coral! The sun was making the flowers glow, their bright, almost fluorescent colors bursting into neon brilliance, and I knew what my Pick of the Day would be! It was fun trying different angles and playing around with distance vs. dof. I ended up getting several nice pictures, and this picture really surprised me because I didn't realize there was such a strong glow under the main blossom! George Eastman (July 12, 1854 – March 14, 1932) was an American innovator and entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and popularized the use of roll film, helping to bring photography to the mainstream. Roll film was also the basis for the invention of motion picture film in 1888 by the world's first film-makers Eadweard Muybridge and Louis Le Prince, and a few years later by their followers Léon Bouly, Thomas Edison, the Lumière Brothers, and Georges Méliès. Wikipedia: George Eastman Explored on September 1, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

6 more pictures in notes above! This morning I let the dogs out as usual and got their breakfast ready before calling them back inside. Only, when I opened the door, there were no dogs waiting for me. I called. No dogs. I yelled. No dogs. I took Pumpkin (my parrot) back upstairs and put her in her cage, and went out and went looking for the dogs, calling the whole time. Where could they be? I had my suspicions. Molly, our Border Collie, was the one who got them into mischief. It's always been something very stinky and very dead. I was not amused. After going around our lower forest and making my way up to our granite valley, I suddenly found Zoe, our Boxer, charging gayly in my direction, followed by Moosie, our Basset. But no Molly. "Oh no," I moaned, "She's found something reeking and dead to roll in...please don't be that!!" We got back to the house and still no sign of Molly. I went around back and yelled again, and there she was at the edge of the meadow, making her way at an easy 3-legged lope with tail high. When she got to the house, I was very happy to find that she didn't stink! Hardly any burrs...but...oh Molly...she'd been eating something that was freshly dead, so I washed the blood off her face and feet and let her into the house. Looking out back, I saw some vultures flying around and then land near the place I saw Molly running back from. I thought I'd go take a look after lunch. I went with my camera, not to take any pictures of something gruesome, but hopefully to get pictures of the vultures. And WOW, did I ever!! My best pictures of vultures yet!! I walked slowly over to the place where the dead animal was and the vultures flew close enough that I could take many pictures. It turned out to be a young deer, probably hit by a car and died where it lay. Almost all of it was gone, so though it was sad that it died, its death meant that many animals were fed...including Molly! We have coyotes, bobcats, foxes, feral cats, and though I don't think any are right here, there are cougars and bears in our county too. I love living in this wild place, but it's not always kind and I no longer get so angry when an animal is hit by a car because there are so many hungry animals that need to eat. At least their death helps others to live. James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his stardom were as loner Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955), and as the surly ranch hand, Jett Rink, in Giant (1956). Dean's enduring fame and popularity rests on his performances in only these three films, all leading roles. His premature death in a car crash cemented his legendary status. Wikipedia: James Dean Explored on September 4, 2013. Highest placement, page 2.

5 more pictures in notes above! There is a tiny pink flower that's blooming in our large meadow now, and I went out today with hopes of getting some nice pictures to share. However, as it often happens, I saw this feather sticking to a drying Tarweed plant, and could not pass up the opportunity! That little pink flower will just have to wait! :D Did you know that new evidence has surfaced which calls into question the long-standing belief that feathers evolved from scales? In fact, new information suggests that the emergence of feathers occurred before dinosaurs and reptiles split into two groups! A study in 2006 confirmed that alligators have the information to produce feathers in their genes but these instructions are suppressed during embryologic development so that the hatchling expresses scales, not feathers!! Isn't that fascinating?!!! If you'd like to know more about feathers, wiki has a fine page here: Wikipedia: Feather John Randolph (June 2, 1773 – May 24, 1833), known as John Randolph of Roanoke, was a planter, and a Congressman from Virginia, serving in the House of Representatives at various times between 1799 and 1833, the Senate (1825–1827), and also as Minister to Russia (1830). After serving as President Thomas Jefferson's spokesman in the House, he broke with Jefferson in 1803 and became the leader of the "Old Republican" or "Quids", an extreme states' rights vanguard of the Democratic-Republican Party[2] who wanted to restrict the role of the federal government. Specifically, Randolph promoted the Principles of '98, which said that individual states could judge the constitutionality of central government laws and decrees, and could refuse to enforce laws deemed unconstitutional. Wikipedia: John Randolph Explored on August 5, 2013. Highest placement, page 3 (#60).

6 more pictures and several notes above! :D Back in the middle of July, I was delighted to find a very special spider in a web right next to our porch outside our house. I really love Black & Yellow Orb-Weavers and, as they are so hard for me to find, I was ecstatic that this one decided to make her web so close by! I had a naming contest and with the three winning names, I christened her Portia Odessa Goldbottom. Through the rest of July and all of August, Portia got bigger and bigger, and slowly, her body size increased and she started to look quite round when September rolled around. However, two days ago I was dismayed to discover that Portia was gone. :( :( She was probably full of eggs and it was time to make her egg sac as her last task before she died. :( :( I knew she would be dying soon, but I am sad because I'd planned to take more pictures of her. However, I did take a few pictures a few days ago, and looking at them again today, I feel a lot better because they are nice enough to show for her last pictures. Thinking about a proper memorial image, I decided to take a picture of the most distinctive part of her web, a web decoration, called a stabilimentum, that is only made by some orbweavers. Before I took the picture, I sprayed water all over the remaining strands of her web, and initially, I didn't even see the zig-zag webbing. Sprayed with droplets of water, it suddenly appeared and I took some pictures. The reasoning for these odd web strands is not clearly understood, but two theories include making the web more visable so that birds won't fly into it. The other theory is based on the fact that webs reflect ultraviolet light, which attract certain insects, and it is thought that the concentrations of webbing attracts insects more strongly. If you'd like to know more about these interesting web decorations, Wiki has a great page here: Web Decorations Robert Breault (born 1963) is an American operatic tenor. Born in Michigan, he holds a B.M. degree (magna cum laude) from St. Norbert College (1985) from which he received a distinguished alumni award in 1997. In addition, he holds a M.M. (1987), and a D.M.A. (1991) from the University of Michigan where he studied voice with soprano Lorna Haywood. His early training also included two years of study at the San Francisco Merola Opera Program, and an internship with Michigan Opera Theatre. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah where he teaches voice and serves as Director of Opera at the University of Utah School of Music. Wikipedia: Robert Brault Explored on September 10, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

3 more pictures above! This morning I went over to investigate the flowers in the metal feed tub which we've turned into a planter. I keep it caged like Fort Knox because if I don't, the deer will mow everything down. I have learned that lesson the hard way more than once. Today I took the mesh off the top so I could take pictures, and as I made my way around to the far side, I discovered one of my favorite things in the world! One of the froglets from Lucky's and Angel's Pond had found its way into the tub and crawled up to sleep on a gladiolus leaf! Here was my Picture of the Day!! Because I have the mesh top zip-tied in place, it was a bit challenging to get the position I wanted, but I finally got there! Say hello to a young Pacific Tree Frog! :D Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was a minister and author (most notably of The Power of Positive Thinking) and a progenitor of "positive thinking". Wikipedia: Norman Vincent Peale Explored on September 12, 2013. Highest placement, page 1 (#21).

4 more pictures above! IT'S BOKEH THURSDAY!!! HURRAY!!! :D This week's theme is "Fruity," so today I pulled out all the fruit we had, and I also looked online to confirm what I'd read somewhere: did you know that bell peppers are considered to be a fruit?! So are tomatoes, by the way! I love to use water droplets for sparkly bokeh and use a spray bottle to mist my subjects. If too much water is sprayed on, droplets form and naturally I cannot resist taking pictures! This is a picture of a pair of bananas with the focus on a droplet that was slowly making its way down the skin. When I saw this on the computer I thought it looked like something from outer space! In fact, it looks like it could be a person who's sweating in fear, looking out at a planet beyond...maybe I'm slipping into dementia! :D Explored on September 13, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

3 more pictures in notes above! :) My "Fort Knox garden is completely caged in with fencing and mesh, and it's a good thing. Last night at about 4am I awoke to the sound of our motion-detecting sprayer going off over and over again. I looked out the window to see 4 deer wishing they could come closer to my garden area, but scared off by the sprayer. That doesn't keep them from trying to push through the mesh to the plants in "Fort Knox", because I sometimes see the tops pushed down from their failed efforts to get through to the tasty plants below. Although the planter is meant for growing flowers I've chosen, there are a few weeds growing there, including the plant which produced this dandilion fluff! The flowers aren't actually dandilions, they are called Common Butterweed, but the seeds are spread the same way as dandilions. I saw this seed head and thought it would make a wonderful Picture of the Day! Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre in his time. He set a standard for scientific and engineering plausibility, and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality. Wikipedia: Robert A. Heinlein Explored on September 14, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.