Birds, bugs, flowers and children. My yard is teeming with life. Here are some random shots from Summer so far:
My daughter, Nicole. Nearly 2 years old now.
Stonecrop
My son, Jacob. Nearly 4 years old.
My son, Caleb. Almost 6 and also a weirdo.
Ilia Underwing Moth caterpillar blending in with the lichen on an Oak tree.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly chrysalis found under a log in spring and kept in a container for a couple of months
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, now emerged from the chrysalis pictured above and ready to fly.
Probably not the same Butterfly, but still looking pretty, resting on a Yarrow flower near the pond. Taken this morning.
Pine Sawyer Beetle (male)
Pair of Milkweed Leaf Beetles
Pair of Blinded Sphynx Moths (mating), hanging from a grapevine.
Female Blinded Sphynx Moth (now detached from male) with eyespots visible on the wings
Gypsy Moth Caterpillar
Broad-Necked Root Borer Beetle
This Root Borer Beetle was a large male. At around an inch and a half, it was about half the size of a female. If you are wondering if they bite, they do…and it hurts.
Water Lily in the pond
Mother Hairy Woodpecker feeding her young from a suet feeder high up in a Pine tree.
Ben,
I know you likely know this all too well, but I still want to say it to you. ๐
You, my blog-friend, are a very, VERY fortunate man! Hands down! You have a little slice of paradise there at home, with an incredible family, an equally incredible wife—who somehow for some mysterious reasons puts up with you ๐ —and you have a fabulous grasp on life, on what’s most important to have such a life… down to the marrow of it. You catch all the beautiful LITTLE things in life, in people, and I’m sure… in your family. โค๏ธ
Well done Sir. Very well done. Don’t take ANY OF IT for granted, okay!? If you do, if you pull a stupid stunt of ungratefulness, I’ll hunt you down and rip you a new butt-hole buddy! Got that? ๐คจ
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Thank you sir. There are times when I lose my sense of purpose and the stresses of life start to pile up. Then I look at my kids, my wife and the world around us and I do my best to let all of the burdens go.
Getting out into nature with a camera or simply my wife’s hand calms my soul and fills me with happiness. Something my former life could never do. A lifetime of unfulfilled promises of things to come cannot compare to one true moment of happiness here and now.
Thanks for the comment and your unfailing encouragement my friend.
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Of course! Don’t mention it. Just always remember that our crazy, Go-Go-Go American lifestyle completely ignores the best things in life, those non-monetary things, which we are all bombarded with daily and weekly. It is easy to get distracted, exhausted, lost.
You are doing just fine Sir. ๐ ๐๐ผ Just remember, you mess it all up… I come for you!!! ๐คญ
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Fair enough
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๐
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Liked the kids, the flowers/plants, the butterflies, the bird. The bugs? No so much. ๐
Nice photography though. ๐
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Thanks. I’ve had a lot of photo subjects that “bug me” lately. Figured I’d share a few.
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