Closeup of one of the caterpillars. Ants quickly got to them.

This afternoon I was in the right place at the right time to get this. The wasp returned a few more times and brought 2 more caterpillars out of the same hole. It dropped them all on the ground and left them there.

I found one of those fungus flies just yesterday when I was checking on a crab spider (Misumena vatia) that’s been using the same daisey flower as a place to trap visiting flies. The infected fly had chosen that flower to die on, but after examining the dead fly the spider rejected it as food.

This bubble formed on the spout of a dish soap container, and lasted quite a while. Lots of interesting movement going on!

An adult male Araneus trifolium. At this time of year the species matures. The adult males don’t spin a permanent web, but wander in search of adult females. After mating she’ll lay eggs that overwinter. She’ll die after laying eggs, but a new generation is born next spring.

Smoke from wildfires contributed to yesterday’s evening sky, with a nice result.

Here are the lap times. Amazing!

I’ve been reading Janet Asimov’s memoirs (his wife) which is where I’m finding the quotes. It very entertaining, and I’m afraid I am putting off things that need to be done so I can read it; hard to put down! 😂 I’ve long been a fan of his and his books (he wrote more than 500 of them).

RIP Sam Neill, who never disappointed in any role. He shall be missed! His autobiography, published in 2023, is an entertaining, anecdote-filled memoir of his life that his fans will want to read.

Includes a terrific soundtrack.

I just happened to look out the back window the other day just after some deer entered the yard. The protective mother took a good hard look at me while her fawn pranced around, lol. Nice to see them! 😁

Some colorful beetles on flowers in the garden yesterday.

Here are a couple of male crab spiders (Misumena vatia). One is lurking on a daisy flower, waiting for either an unsuspecting fly to arrive, or a perhaps a female spider, and potential mate, instead. The other, hunting among cow parsnip flowers, has already caught a fly.

Here’s a short piece I recorded a few years ago: “Prelude, Op. 165, no. 1” by the Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909). Enjoy! 🎧

A young crab spider (Misumena vatia) with a fly it just caught. This spider will often bend over a petal or two on one of these flowers to make a shelter for itself. I was lucky to get these pictures. These spiders have good eyesight and often move and hide under the flower when approached.

Found another bee mimic today.

Lacewing on a window today.

Found some tent caterpillars (probably Malacosoma disstria) on a young aspen tree in my yard. There are just a few of them, nowhere close to the infestation numbers that occurred about ten years ago. Beautiful colouring!

From 1538 here is my interpretation of “Canción del Emperador” by Luis de Narváez (1500-1552). I love this piece! 😁 Enjoy. 🎧

Whenever I see a glove lying by the side of the road I think of “The Crawling Hand.” That movie scared the heck out of me when I was a kid! 😬 I love the MST3K version of it now!

Thanks! It’s a La Patrie guitar, Etude model, which is essentially a student guitar in the lower price range. It has a better sound than most cheaper guitars. I like it because the string height is low (4mm at 12th fret); easy to play. Also, it holds up well to Canadian winters, a big plus. 😁

Here’s my attempt at a short Etude by J. K. Mertz a few years ago. I’m wearing three sweaters and a toque, because I was playing in my basement in the middle of a Canadian winter and it was a bit chilly, lol! 😂 Enjoy! 🎧

How to “destroy” enriched uranium:

I dislike this, because it buries replies in threads so that fewer people see them. I know it’s intended as a junk filter, but it is not discriminating enough. Many reasonable and relevant replies in threads are also sidelined and shouldn’t be.

Where did you get that from? In a 1998 interview the person who helped Rand set up her Social Security and Medicaid (Evva Pryor, a consultant hired by Rand’s attorneys), said that Rand had paid into Social Security. (See ALT text for attribution)

Flock of white-tailed deer tonight, living up to their name.

I don’t know the exact species here, but this is a running crab spider, probably in the genus Philodromus sp. Check to see which species in France might match this one. From Google:

A running crab spider soaking up the sun on a spruce tree today. This is “Tibellus maritimus” (Philodromidae) - lacks the pair of dark spots on the top of the abdomen, which all other Canadian species have.

Here’s how much mined gold there is in the world today: it would all fit into a cube only 22 metres (72 ft) on a side. Considering that the distance between bases on a baseball diamond is 27.4 metres (90ft), this cube of all the gold we have in the world, everywhere, will sit easily in the infield