"Come in and see me, as you fly by" Said the spider to the fly....
The spider made a sudden lunge for a large fly that made the mistake of settling for a moment on a particular leaf. Otherwise, I would never have noticed the very fine web.
The fly was able to extricate himself from a gruesome doom, leaving the spider to dine on the smaller creature it had already inveigled in.
Grant said to me yesterday that one of the chrysalises was moving, but considering the transformation taking place, I imagine they are in constant motion.
This morning, after yet another night of down pouring rain, I went to have another look and noticed that wings are now visible, if you look closely.
The whole process is fascinating, particularly the little gold “zipper” which is actually a row of oxygen ports.
Such perfection, in Nature.
It’s always interesting to see what’s happening after a night of rain, and I couldn’t help capturing this fuzzy little chap as he waddled eagerly about.
He’s one of the tussock moth caterpillars, after a few days of heavy munching. They are branching out by themselves now, although I noticed quite a few still sheltering under a seed pod.
They are sort of cute, but it seems one should avoid contact with them. Itching, rashes etc…
It worries me that these hungry creatures will devour all the milkweed, leaving the monarchs without.
But interfering doesn’t seem right.
Last night’s rain appeared to have come down in beads.
Not likely, but they were everywhere I looked…
Now how does this happen? It’s as though all surfaces were covered in a film of oil. Could this be so? Air pollution?
A question to ponder…
The second crop of Shasta daisies look quite different:
And rather enchanting.
The monarch caterpillars aren’t quite out of business yet, but oh dear, the milkweed is looking very tatty.
The best way to locate one of these creatures, I find, is to look for their, um, shits!
(Notice large lumps on the leaves.)
Tussock shit is actually quite dainty.
You needed to know this, I am sure.
There were some other rather endearing fellows out and about this morning:
There was a decidedly aquatic feel to my walk.
Perhaps it’s just the humidity?
75%….
According to the oracle.
When I look pass the … um ‘shit’ … it’s quite a remarkable post! How pretty are those flowers with the sparkling rain drops – it reminds me to have a closer look at the plants next time after the rain – it’s just so beautiful!
A fine collection of crap if I may say so!
I thought so too!
Everything looks so revived and refreshed by the raindrops. Beautiful photos today!