ABQ Thanksgiving

Traveled to see my family in Albuquerque this past week, and took a hike around the Three Sisters.  The textures of the rocks, grasses, and cacti combined with the open sky above set the scene for a glorious post-feast walk.

Church of Crickets

Tom Waits (on Robert Wilson): "Wilson, he's always playing with time. I heard a recording recently of crickets slowed way down. It sounds like a choir, it sounds like angel music. Something sparkling, celestial with full harmony and bass parts - you wouldn't believe it. It's like a sweeping chorus of heaven, and it's just slowed down, they didn't manipulate the tape at all. So I think when Wilson slows people down, it gives you a chance to watch them moving through space. And there's something to be said for slowing down the world."

Growing up in the south, the summer chorus of crickets and cicadas felt like a throbbing pulse, and it's one of the things I miss most about living in that verdant climate.  This recording brings that sound and the pace of the south to another level. 

Listen here.
 
Source: "Woyzeck to run at Freud Playhouse". Daily Bruin (USA), by Andrew Lee. December 3, 2002

The importance of natives

A friend of mine just shared this article with me, and it pretty well sums up why I care about plants:

Just Because It'll Grow in Your Yard Doesn't Mean You Should Plant It, by Lisa Novik. 


Photo from If Nature Could Talk

Lynx spider!

SO pleased to find this guy in the garden today.  Just a wee young thing, but hopefully it will grow and reproduce more aphid eating lynxes.  Such a beautiful spider (a little shy, though). 

Cicada Summer

Looks like the east coast is going to have a noisy summer with the arrival of Brood II.  According to this NPR article, "They [cicadas] will arrive in such numbers that people from North Carolina to Connecticut will be outnumbered roughly 600-to-1."   Thank god they are gentle beasts.

The cicada is one of my absolute favorite bugs, and there is one tree near where I work that hums with them in the summer, but nothing like in the south or east coast.  The sound brings me right back to balmy nights as a kid.

Audio clips (and more) can be found at Cicada Mania. 

Image above by Ohara Koson (1930), from the hanga gallery.

These guys

The green Klingons in my garden are making things hard for the pepper plant.

Bug of the day

The sphinx moth is such a lovely beast.  

Open the windows

This has been happening all over LA this week and making me smile every time I notice another tree in bloom.  The bees are loving it too.  Did you hear about the study of bees and caffeine?  Apparently they get a boost like we do despite caffeine being toxic to other bugs.  I was also surprised to read that citrus flowers contain caffeine.

My desk, mantel, and dining room table all now have sprigs of lemon and peach tree on them, bringing just a little bit of spring inside. 

Found via Even*Cleveland.

Urban Bees

I have been keeping an eye on this bee hive for a few months now, checking up on it when I do my weekly hikes in Debs Park.  It looks like some animal (probably human) has been messing with it, but these resilient beasts have been reconstructing their comb very quickly.

In other news, and old friend of mine has started an amazing venture in Minneapolis to preserve the urban bee.  To learn more and donate to their Kickstarter fund, visit their site, Beez Kneez.  I can't wait to get my Minneapolis honey in the mail.

Another hopper in the black sage (Salvia mellifera). 

Blue Dasher

I spotted this dragonfly among many other blue flashes darting around the pond at work yesterday.  I think it is a male blue dasher, but honestly, there are so many different kinds and colors of dragonflies, I could easily be mistaken.   

Adding to my to-do list: Dragonfly swarms.  Whoa.

Giant Swallowtail

This elegant creature was slowly fluttering through the yard today, lingering near the water fountain.  The giant swallowtail, or Papilio cresphontes, is the largest butterfly in the US, with a wing span that can reach 5-6 inches.  It's hard to tell just how big this one is from this photo (and please disregard my landlord's affinity for bamboo), but it was a decent size. 

More info from the very interesting Lili Singer here. 

Giant swallowtails only started showing up in southern California 10-15 years ago, and much like myself, are native to the southeastern US.

I often think about what it means to be native to somewhere.  Having grown up in several very different places, I have a hard time feeling native to anywhere.  I began my slow progression to southern California about 15 years ago as well.  In that, the giant swallowtail and I are more kindred than I immediately thought.

 

"When they [the legs] are folded against the body, the insect is supposed to be in a prayerful attitude.  It all depends, however, on your idea of prayer.  I am reminded of quite the opposite attitude, particularly when the weird thing turns its head and looks at me over what isn't its shoulder"

- "Time Marches Back", by Mabel Gillespie, Nature Magazine December 1939

More mantis here, here and here.

A new gardening assistant joined me as I turned on the hose earlier today.  She was quite curious about whatever was shaking her intricate web -- unfortunately for her, it wasn't a juicy morsel, but just a clumsy human hand.

I'm going to be extra careful when reaching for the faucet from now on.

Pavement Patterns

... but what is it?

I'm probably the only adult who spent her weekend pondering the movement of dirt on such a scale.  Whose company was I keeping?

Stick Bug Goes to Hollywood

Ran into this guy up in Griffith Park.  He got comfortable with us real quick ...

Hello?

It's been kind of quiet here lately, but there will be more to see soon.  Garden inspiration, DIY projects, more bugs, and a review of the upcoming Urban Ranchero here in Highland Park.  I haven't just been taking photos of praying matids, although this guy greets me at work almost every morning lately.

Recent Acquaintances

The Praying Mantis was hanging out in the stairwell at work.  He's the third I've seen in that same spot, and the smallest of the three.  He was polite enough, but didn't like a camera in his face.

The Grasshopper was hiding out under the house, perhaps scared there by the gardeners.  He or one of his cousins tends to fly in my path as I leave in the morning.

And Mud Dauber.  I got to watch this guy in action which was really exciting.  It started with me finding a rather limp wolf spider tucked into one of my succulents.  After (rather rudely, I admit) poking at him with a stick a little, I moved him to another spot to recover from whatever was ailing him.  Then, from the left, I sensed a frantic flying thing and saw the flash of the black mud dauber.  What had I done with his paralyzed prey?  Never one to enjoy messing with the nature of things, I put the wolf spider back where I found him and left for a moment.  Both were gone when I returned, and I unfortunately did not get a picture of the spider being carried away.

Mystery Bug

Currently awaiting identification by the Bugman.  Photographed in Malibu.  Any ideas?

Update:  Mystery solved!  I haven't heard back from the Bugman yet, but I did a little more digging on the Bug Guide and found out this is a nymph of the Harlequin Bug.  Unfortunately it's not some lovely beneficial creature, but rather an invasive pest from Mexico/C. America.  More info here.

Sand Wasp

Isn't this a beautiful beast?  Finally got some good shots of the Sand Wasp in the old garden.  Click on image to get larger view of those eyes and perfect chevron-esque stripes.  More info on these native pollinators here: What's That Bug?