Weird Bugs

We have no idea what these little dudes are. If you know please tell us. I did see that some of them are getting wings. There are thousands of them all over the tree in my garden. They form clumps and move their plump striped bodies around in a spirally way.

Drought and a Bug

Not that anyone is going to be interested in a bug so I'll start with the drought. We are in one. In our weather vortex of the world it usually rains all the time and is usually coupled with humidity. Not only has it not rained in over two weeks but we are also experiencing sweltering heat, in the high 90's. And just so you know the humidity has not gone away. I don't understand how, with no rain, that the air can feel this thick and mucky. The grass looks like someone took a blowtorch to it. Brown as brown can be. However, our grass is still mostly green because it had not been mowed and we live on the shady side of the hill. Several weeks ago at my bible study we had been praying for sunshine, we got it, so we took it off the list. The next day it rained. And it continued to rain for days so we put sunshine back on the list. We defiantly got our sunshine this time! Not only did we take sunshine off the list again but we added rain. We cant really complain, God answers prayer and this is what we were praying for.

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So now on to the bug. I found a bug under the waterier in my duck pen. I have never seen anything like this before. It is brown, has six legs, and has a yellow tail that curves up like a scorpion. The thing freaked me out as it ran at me when I moved the waterier. To all you bug loving people I would at this time like to apologize sincerely because I killed it. I smashed this freaky little body with the same waterier that he had made his home. I'd like to apologize further because I am not sorry I did it. And I feel less sorry because there was another one there again this morning and I did not kill it. It ran away really fast, good choice bug, good choice. I was intrigued and needed to know what it was. So I looked it up. And this is what I learned:It is a Brown and Yellow Rove Beetle (family staphylinidae). And it is freakin ugly. It took me awhile to find it but I finally did in the National Audubon Society's 'Field Guide To Insects & Spiders' and this is what they say about it.

Rove beetles comprise a large family, having almost 2'900 species in North America. They are easily identified by the very short elytra, which covers only the first few abdominal segments. Most are black or brown, the yellow and brown rove beetle is brown with dense hair, glittering golden hair covers abdominal tips and forms a belt under thorax. These active beetles fly swiftly and run rapidly over the ground with the tip of the abdomen raised like a scorpion's stinger. Their sharp mandibles are usually crossed over the head but can inflict a painful stab if handled careless;y. Most rove beetles and their larvae prey upon mites, other insects, and small worms.

Habitat: Woods, and wherever carrion is found

Range: Throughout North America

Food: Adult eats small maggots, mites, and beetle larvae. Larva feeds on carrion and fungi.

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Do you blame me for killing it? The only thing I like about this beetle is that it eats mites. I hate mites with the very depths of my soul. Fear not, I know how much you all like hearing way to much information about creepy bugs so I have a good one planed for tomorrows post.

Rebel

I ordered a new camera last week and it came today! Its a Canon Rebel T3i. The manuals are massive with little writing which makes me not want to read them. I should however because it is so different from my Nikon D40x. I absolutely love my new camera. Dil baby was my first subject. Today I also painted the ocean. I messed up so badly on the sunset in the water that I almost cried. I accidentally got a purple horizon. Don't worry Aunt Minnie, I fixed it. I have improved greatly with painting water and am very happy with the outcome.

A Trip to the Zoo

This past weekend we went to the zoo. In Cleveland, yes we went all the way to Ohio. Don't we just look like we should be at the zoo. We drove done Sunday morning and zooed it all afternoon. It was HOT! I mean it must have been 200 degrees. They had fans set up in several places that blow mist on you. I think the whole world needs mist blowing fans. Better yet, I need someone that follows me around with a mist blowing fan so I can be cool all the time. We stayed at a hotel Sunday night and zooed ( it is telling me 'zooed' is not a word) it again all day Monday. It rained Monday and we all got soaking wet, I could have rung water out of my pants. Again it was hot so the rain felt nice and we drove 3 and a half hours to get there so we were going to make the best of it. We saw monkeys, fruit bats, zebras, a variety of cats both big and small, snakes, kangaroos, wolves, a red panda, turtles, fish, elephants, a octopus, sharks and lions and tigers and bears oh my! The place is huge and writing all the animals we saw would take too long. They have some of the coolest exhibits, like a rain forest that really rained and monkeys in a ruined temple. I would love to post all of the pictures I took so you could see it all but I think I would fry blogger.
In short, a good day.

Commission Work

I had and completed my first real commission work! It was a big step in my being able to sell my art. I sold this piece for $450 which is a steal considering it is nine feet long. But it was for a friend and he got the you-are-my-friend discount. But really I was afraid that everyone would hate me for overcharging. That is just something I need to get over. I'm happy about it though. This particular piece has deep meaning and I had a lot of fun painting it. It was defiantly different from anything I have ever done (if you look closely you can see a dove in the white and hands in the red). I am now back to my original style. Though, painting abstractly I believe has helped me simplify things a bit. Aunt Minnie- If you read my blog and I hope you do, I have started your beach painting. And just so you know, you will receive the I-love-you discount.

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Just so everyone else knows the discounts will not last forever. Haha, I cant stop thinking about Flo from the Progressive commercials. Do you own a home? DISCOUNT! Are you a safe driver? DISCOUNT! I will get over the fear of overcharging.

The 4th

This 4th of July I do not have any pictures of fireworks. I saw them and awwed appropriately but I didn't have my camera. So I will barrow one from new years because a post needs a picture. I spend half the day siting in the sun trying to get the tan that never comes. Then we picnic and had a fire where we cook hot dogs and marshmallows. A good day.

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Happy Forth of July

Look Who Came Back

This is the second time she has showed up in the yard. And she was there again this morning with her mother. I think she might like us.