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. 😉
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 😉 —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. ❤️
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? 🤨
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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. 😉 👍🏼 Just remember, you mess it all up… I come for you!!! 🤭
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Fair enough
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😉
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Liked the kids, the flowers/plants, the butterflies, the bird. The bugs? No so much. 😝
Nice photography though. 😊
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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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