Tuliptree Blossom with Guest
Another Day at Work
Apis Workers' Party
Predator
Some of Your Beeswax
Sedum Bumbler
Look of Defiance
Chicory Bee
Bumbling Bees
Garden Cafe
Buzz By Here - To Infinity and Beyond
Pick Your Poison
Blind Side Attack
On a Mission
Honey Bee on Sedum
Covering the Cosmos
Center of the Cosmos
Three's a Crowd
Popular Spot
On A Pedestal
Big Harry Fireworks Display
To Impress the Girl
Different Perspective
Sweet Ride
Perfect Little Piggies B&W
Flipping the Light Fantastic
Festival of Flights
To the Crowd's Delight
Amish Go Round
Wondersome One
The Stars In Her Eyes
Tuesday's Child
Sleeper Hold
Considering the Next Move
Sugar and Spice
Front Porch Portrait
Caged Competitor
Early Adoration
Child In the Ligtht
Stroll Through the Weeds
Attention Grabbing
Eye Contact
On the Line
Eyes of Wonder
Rounding the Curve
Troubadours of Basin Spring Park
Down by the Creek
Sun Day
Catching Some Light
EAA Fireworks
Hear Me Roar
Macro
Thick as Thieves
This seems to be an early autumn convention of Boxelder bugs. They’ve congregated at the bottom of a tree.
When it begins to cool down in Wisconsin, these bugs may form large aggregations while sunning themselves in areas near their host plant – usually maple or ash trees. I’ve also seen them gather in other odd places…the corner of a building, around a door way, etc.
They are harmless to humans but considered nuisance pests. When the temperatures begin to cool in the fall, they sometimes invade houses and other man-made structures seeking warmth or a place to overwinter.
People often mistaken them with insects known as Stink Bugs – a different species. However, boxelder bugs will release a pungent and bad-tasting compound upon being disturbed to discourage predation; this allows them to form conspicuous gatherings without being preyed on.
To get a better view, click on the top photo and a larger image will open in a new browser tab.
Wonder Leaf
This is another view of the sumac plant in early fall. This example is in transition. In a short time, all the leaves in this frame will be bright, scarlet red. (As you can see, in the previous post.)
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Scarlet Barbs
It’s bright! It’s bold! It’s serrated! It’s red! It’s sumac in the fall! The slender green leaves of the sumac plant turn this bright red color when autumn arrives in N.E. Wisconsin.
To view a larger version of this image, click on the photo.
Soft Allure
I was early for an appointment. While waiting, I pulled out my camera and snapped a few photos of the flowers in a flowerbed outside the meeting location.
This is why I advise photographers to keep their cameras close by. You never know when a photographic opportunity will present itself. You won’t be able to take advantage of an opportunity every time it arrives – I’m always seeing scenes I wish I could pause to capture. So, often circumstances don’t allow it, but occasionally they will. If you don’t have your camera with you, you will always miss it.
To get a better, larger view of this image, click on the photo.
Floral Fuzz
This is a wildflower that I found sprouting among the weeds that grow on the edges of our rural Wisconsin yard. The fuzziness of the edges caught my eye.
I don’t know what kind of flower this is, but I think it is an early version of the type you can see in aother post I titled Sun and Stars.
To view a larger version of this image, click on the photo.
Fiery Fungi
This was a great find on the forest floor at Potawatomi State Park, near Sturgeon Bay on Wisconsin’s Door County peninsula. I don’t know what kind of mushroom this is, but it sure stood out among the dead pine needles and other decaying matter.
To view a larger version of this image, click on the photo.
Japanese Lantern
Chicory Bee
On a cool, cloudy day, I caught this bumble bee in a sluggish mood. He wasn’t buzzing from bloom to bloom but seemed content to rest on this common chicory flower.
You can get a close-up look by clicking on the photo to view a larger image.
Cluster
This delicate bloom is known as Crown Vetch or Axseed. It is a summertime wildflower classified as an herb in the legume family. (The same category as peas and beans.)
These flowers seem to be popular with bees and butterflies. In the area I found this, bees were busy working the few flowers there.
On the downside, it is a serious invader of prairies and dunes and, apparently, it’s poisonous to horses.
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Right at Home
This soldier bug seemed snug as a bug…in a marigold. These flowers are part of a potted arrangement my wife, Sara, put together to brighten up our driveway.
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