Photostudy Today: Along Came A ____________!

And Sat Down Beside Her............

Hi Everyone:  Please do not click off at the thought of Spiders! This one will not hurt You.  So, come on in for your Nature Break.

Summer Daylily                               by:  brendasue


We have a guest to open our class today.
This is a dog named Fat Sissy  (because she is fat).  She felt she was being discriminated against for being Fat. (Our  usual Star, Kay Lonnie Wray, is a slim redbone hound).  Fat Sissy was a homeless puppy I rescued during the hurricane 3 years ago.
So please welcome Fat Sissy to Open Our Class Today:

Fat Sissy                                        by:  brendasue


Let The Class Begin!

Thank you, Fat Sissy (good job).

Banana Spider                               by:  brendasue



Our Photostudy today will be of this Garden Spider.   They are a type of Golden Orb Weavers, but commonly called Banana Spiders or Writing Spiders. This one pictured 'writes' a zigzag signature after creating the large web.

Writing Spider                                    by:  brendasue


In the above photo, we are looking at the underside of the spider.
You can see the two small arms up by her head, and see the little eyes and mouth. They have a small head. There are eight black and yellow legs that walk on the web she weaves.  She spins the silk out of her body from the red area on the lower belly.

Resting on Her Web                              by:  brendasue



These photos were taken down by the creek. You can see how she blends in with the background colors. This is the position they hang in while at rest or waiting for a bug to get snagged in the web. The struggling bug shakes the web like a line on a fishing pole. The spider runs up and bites the prey, then wraps it with web and hangs it on the web to eat later. (Humans are Not prey).

The Webs We Weave                                      by:  brendasue


The  Golden Girl  has special little hair-like things on her legs that help her walk on the sticky webs.

Orb Weaver, The Graceful Dancer                         by:  brendasue

And yes, this is a girl and all spiders with the larger webs are girls. They spin the webs, catch the prey, make the silk egg cartons, lay the eggs and care for the nest.  Her male is very small next to her. Maybe 1/5th her size. He stays on a small web of a couple of strings next to her big web.

Last Look at the Underside            by:  brendasue

Here is the Top Side                  by:  brendasue

Goodbye Golden Girl                by:  brendasue

This concludes our photostudy today of this Garden Spider who is a friend to have in our Gardens.  Please do not kill these any longer and throw away the pesticides.
We need Spiders and they do live here on earth also. They may out number humans. If you have any comments on Why People Are Afraid of (or do not like) Spiders?
Was there some movie about Giant Spiders that I missed?

Hot Flowers on Hot Days                by:  brendasue





.......this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek. Goodnight.



















katescabin@gmail.com









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Photostudy Today: Giant Killer Bees & Super Sunset by: brendasue

The Giant Killer Bees Are Gathering and Preparing For The August Hunt.  A Great Bee To See.
 Come On In, Take a Nature Break.

         How Hot Is It?                          by:brendasue



Welcome Everyone.  I wonder if it is Hot everywhere?  Hopefully you are somewhere cool at your computer where you can chill out and look at these Big Bees!  I just love them and look forward to them returning every year in July.  You do not have to worry about them killing You (unless you are a cicada)!

       Flight Deck Command Center                                     by:  brendasue


Here you can see the real size of this Bee in flight over the deck. They all pick out a corner to 'guard' as their spot.

          Perfect Dirt Landing                                      by:  brendasue

This is named a Cicada Killer. They have come here for the big Cicada Hunt that starts anyday now.  These bees make tunnels in the sand exactly big enough for the bee and his prey to fit in the opening. They dig very fast using all legs and scooping the sand out of the hole to a mound. Only the females gather the cicada. Only the females can sting. The males are nectar feeders.

    
                Cicada Killer Wasp                                            by:  brendasue


Let the Class Begin!

                       My Leaf                           by:  brendasue



Here you can see our killer bee on 'his' leaf that he has chosen to defend. He looks back and forth, up and down, for other bee intruders. (He is not concerned with me, the camera or the dogs).
This plant is named a four o'clock so that should give you a reference of the size of the leaf. This is the largest bee I have ever seen.  (About an inch long).

                   Hello Everybody!                           by:  brendasue


The cicada (the prey) are a large pest insect known for destroying fruit tree leaves and crops.  Also, identified by their summer song in August.  They are in the trees and as the heat builds in the afternoon, they get louder.  When the hunt begins, these Killer Wasps (females) will go to the trees, sting the cicada to subdue and then pick them off the tree and fly them home to their hole in the ground. Some of the cicada are so big, the bees have a hard time flying them in. To me, this is great to watch. It will go on for about three weeks until all the cicada are gone.  The females lay some eggs on the live but paralyzed cicada and when they hatch in 10 days they will eat the live cicada.

      Welcome to My Leaf!                                by:  brendasue


check out this link below to find out more about the Cicada Killer Wasp, sometimes referred to as a Sand Hornet:

http://www.masterbeekeeper.org/stinging/cicadakiller.htm

    Don't Worry, I have no stinger!                                      by:  brendasue

                 It is the Males that are 'On Guard'                              by:  brendasue

       Oh, What Big Red Eyes You Have!                                              by:  brendasue

                  Just call me Pretty Boy!                           by:  brendasue

                We help Humans by saving crops from the Cicada                        by:  brendasue

                Dude:  Please Do Not Kill Us                                       by:  brendasue

                  See Ya!                           by:  brendasue


This concludes our photostudy for today on this fantastic Bee:


The Cicada Killer Wasp or Sand Hornet.


Please stop using Pesticides.

               Now Enjoy the Sunset (in Texas) on July 27, 2010                    by:  brendasue

Goodnight Everyone, Everywhere.   Sweet Dreams.




.............this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek








You can contact me at:    katescabin@gmail.com






























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If You Have The Time, I Have Gold and Dragons by: brendasue

Welcome to Everyone-Come on In
Easy Nature Class Today!

Here in Texas, we are just about half way through the hot season. True to form, it has been hot. We have had some good rain, so no drought conditions so far this year. One of the joys I have on really hot days is watching the dragonflies zooming around the Rainbow Creek. They come in all colors, but here I mostly see blue or brown. I have seen a bright red one, but have no photo (yet). I invite you to share some of your dragonfly photos here. (send them to: katescabin@gmail.com and I will display them here).

Let The Class Begin!

I was afraid of these as a child because of the word 'dragon' in their name. Not that I really knew what a dragon was, but in my mind it was something really bad.  Dragonflies, therefore, must be really bad and they must bite and sting.

I want to correct this wrong thinking now 50 years later.  Dragonflies have nothing to do with Dragons (real or imagined).
They do not bite and they do not sting. Mostly they stay away from people. I was stupid to believe the wrong information I was given about bugs from parents, teachers and peers who passed on their disgust of insects. I encourage all of you to learn things for yourself and stop being afraid of insects.

This one is on a blade of grass looking out over the water.

Check out his balancing act!  Do you know what would happen if I tried to perch on a blade of grass?   That's right, I would be in the lake and the blade of grass, smashed.

This one is sunning on a piece of wood.

Check out that Green Head!  How would You like to be green?

Around the top of the community swimming pool is barbed wire. All the dragonflys that perch on this wire, hold the position of the one above.  I guess they try to look like a barb on the wire!

This is how I see most of them, landing on little branches.

Wow!  What big, blue eyes you have!

Are You an Alien or do you live on Earth?

I see You like my red wheelbarrow. It looks nice with Your blue color.

Can You see me now?   You are too cute and too blue!

That concludes our dragonfly photostudy. Please teach the children to like bugs and other living things. We must quit passing on ideas of disgust toward other living things on this planet. In the big picture, human beings are just as small as dragonflies!
And in this big picture above, I bring you last night's full moon on the rise, the golden moments reflected light from the setting sun.

Wow!  What a big, beautiful, golden moon.  We have one moon that orbits planet Earth, and this is it!

Let me just go ahead and correct a couple of more myths for my grandchildren and I am sorry I taught my children these concepts. (Who knew?)
1.  There is no man in the moon.
2.  There is no cow that could jump over the moon.
3.  The moon is not made of swiss cheese or cheddar cheese.
4.  The dark side of the moon is not where the vampires live and they will not come get you if you are bad. (Sorry, but this really worked well).
5.  There is no such thing as a 'lovers' moon.
6.  There really is a blue moon when strange things happen!

Behold the Gold!  Goodnight Everybody.  Goodnight Moon.

Goodbye Benny, we must all fly away one day.    See you soon.


......this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek.






katescabin@gmail.com






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