Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

On Wednesday, I rode down to Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. What drew me there was the waterfall the DNR website mentioned. Unfortunately, with the drought in recent months, the waterfall has become a trickle.  Still, the fall colors were pretty in the afternoon sun.  There were Indian tinker toy plants everywhere, reminding me of childhood field trips.  A large hornet's nest caught my eye. I made sure to steer clear of that!  The picture I took of it was zoomed all the way out with my DSLR lens.

You can read the DNR's pamphlet for more information on the history of the Big Woods in Minnesota.

Katydid Incognito

 

Katydid did not fly.

Katydid didn't ask why.

Katydid glows so bright.

Katydid by camera light.

Katydid likes the corn.

Katydid tries to keep warm.

Katydid, but did she really?

Katydid, I'm being silly.

~original poem by Elisabeth Howard 2024 

(I know you're impressed.  Ha!)

Bumbling Along

 I love Nyjer flowers and bumblebees.  It's always great when I have both in the backyard.

Bedraggled Butterfly

Thursday evening I was out checking my garden when I noticed a butterfly upside down in a cup of water.  I saw it struggling to right itself, so I quickly and carefully picked it out.  The poor, bedraggled, soaking-wet creature sat on my finger fluttering its wings and trying to dry out.  

I looked for a safe place to set it and found a nice milkweed.  It latched onto the milkweed and sat sunning itself in the evening glow.  It may not be able to fly with such tattered wings, but it seemed grateful for the helping hand.

Teamwork

Techie Corner

Hand-held with no macro, so the bugs aren't tack sharp.  I still thought it was interesting though.

Have Wings, Will Travel

I love big, fat, fuzzy bees.  But what strikes me most about this bee is the intricacy of its wings.  Amazing.

Camouflage Bug

 I don't know if it's a moth, butterfly, or some other form of insect.  It looks exactly like a leaf.  Did a little Googling, but didn't find a match.

Busy Bee

 

A Fly

 I spy with my little eye...

Gemmy

I love how the sunlight is shining through the honey bee.  It looks like a piece of amber or a piece of honey candy.

Techie Corner

Despite hand-holding my camera, not using a macro filter, and a breeze moving the flowers, I think this turned out pretty good.

Repository

Happy bumblebee, filling up on all that yummy sunflower pollen.  

Industriously

Just a busy bee.

Bee

This morning I let the dog out and happened to look over where the happy baby butternut squash plants were.  The morning sun was shining brightly on a whole bevy of beautiful, fuzzy squash flowers.

Deciding not to let opportunity pass me by, I headed out to take several pictures with my phone.  As an added bonus, a busy little bee was happily pollinating one of the flowers.  There's pollen all over his little leg.  

Bumblebee

 Another one from the other day.  I love bumblebees; they're so fuzzy and cute.

Spuriously

 There were different kinds of bees buzzing around these flowers today, but after some research, I found out that this wasn't one of them.  This imposter is Helophilus trivittatus, commonly known as a hoverfly.  I was so shocked to find out it was a fly instead of a wasp!  It's still hard to believe.  I guess the joke is on me.

Techie Corner

Not bad for hand-holding a zoom lens with a breeze blowing.  

Motivationally

 

The common annual "dog-day" cicada goes through several life stages and typically lives 2-5 years, most of that time underground.  But once they emerge as an adult, they are highly motivated to find a mate as they only have a few weeks to procreate before they die.  

Even though they are big and weird looking, they are not considered to be a pest to plants or animals.

Coitally

 Love is in the air!  These goldenrod soldier beetles are getting it on in style atop some pretty hydrangeas.  Apparently, they are a beneficial beetle because their larvae feed on plant pests.  

Crawly

I wasn't expecting to see this big bugger outside the bathroom door last night.  The Scarites Ground Beetle, over an inch long.

Laboriously

Busy Bee.

Techie Corner
Not bad for hand-holding and no macro filter.  I was relying heavily on my flash freezing a nice crisp image.  I wish the petal wasn't in front of it's face, but I'm glad I got the pollen on it's fuzzy little legs.

Ephemerally

I like the bokeh in the background.  I can envision the butterfly partying on the dance floor at a disco.

Techie Corner
I wish I could have gotten the butterfly tack sharp, but I only had a few seconds before it fluttered away.  I managed to get one under-exposed image that I had to bring back in post-processing.