Jonathan Bliss

@jonathanbliss

Wildlife watching, birds, bugs, spiders and the rest of the natural world, photography, books, a bit of history, learning French. Leeds.

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Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· 2d

@lbflyawayhome.bsky.social I took my uncle (94) to Mansfield today. Thank you for the exhibition. He trained at Derby College like Harry Wingfield and his uncle was at the RCA with Tunnicliffe. He worked as a graphic artist for the gas board, he loves illustration, family card image attached.

An man standing in front of a wall of ladybird books.

A short, old man in front of a display case in a gallery, there is a wheelchair in the foreground.

A cartoon of two dogs carrying a cat on a pole. A piece of doggerel above them says

“A huntin’ we have bin’
A huntin’ we have bin’
We met a great big ginger cat
and we did the b____er in.”

The cartoon is by Roger Bliss from a family card.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· 5d

Post a picture that should have been an album cover

A picture of three cows on a grassy hill with blue sky behind them. Two cows are looking at the camera which is below the cows. The hill has bare limestone rock showing through the grass in places. One could conclude the photographer is walking through a gully that passes through the cow’s field.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· 11d

A female Ectemnius sp wasp, these are taken in almost exactly the same place in my garden on two different days but looking at the white patch by the eye, could it be the same individual? Is it possible to get to species? #wasps #bwars

A close up of black and yellow wasp resting on a leaf. This is a type of solitary wasp.

A close up of black and yellow wasp resting on yellow flower. This is a type of solitary wasp.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· 14d

OK, so how similar are my prescription sunglasses to pervert glasses. Am I going to have to invest in a new pair. They are varifocal so not cheap.

A photo of just part of a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses on a table. The arms are out, the lenses have a slight reddish tinge to them.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· 19d

#InternationalCatDay There is this rather impressive cat mosaic (my photo) from Palazzo Massimo.

A roman mosaic consisting of two images. The top
shows a tabby like cat with a duck and the bottom
shows a male and female duck.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· 22d

Apparently even mammals get it wrong sometimes ( 📷 mine)

A photo of a doe, a female deer, apparently mounting a stag in a reversal of the commonly accepted and functional position that such a couple of cervidae would usually take.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· 24d

There is this to make you really depressed profmusgrave.github.io/anotherday/ This is mine

Text from the page https://profmusgrave.github.io/anotherday/

This one reads “Your birthday is closer to the invention of penicillin than today” set for 31st December 1965.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Jul 23

@mothiduk.bsky.social I failed to get individual photos of these before they flew off. I assume the orange one is a dusky thorn and the large dark one is a beauty of some kind?

A group of two large and two small moths on a white background. The large ones are a dark grey one and an orange one, the two smaller ones are white with black spots.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Jul 11

@flygirlnhm.bsky.social Two new soldier flies for me today, on the same hydrangea in my stepmum’s garden. Both recorded. Thanks to you, although I didn’t recognise them. I knew they were soldier flies immediately on seeing those abdomen.

A pale cream coloured fly on a white blossom. The fly has black markings on the proporionally large abdomen. Apparently it is a female Oplodontha viridula, Common Green General.

A large black and yellow, almost bee like fly with what appears to be a disproportionately large abdomen. It is resting on a white blossom. I’m reliably informed that it is a Stratiomys potamida, Banded General.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Jun 21

This is Luna, my stepdaughter’s Springerpoo.

A black dog with a rainbow bow in a group of bluebells. The dog had a cute face and a small white blaze on her chest.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Jun 21

Worse

Text from maptap screenshot.

Apra Harbour, Guam, United States
Round: 5 (hard - points tripled)
Score: 6 Distance: 13,462 km

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Jun 15

“How do you do, fellow kids” - the famous Steve Buscemi meme.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· May 4

Is this what he gets in the results?

A labelled image of a computer motherboard with PCI, AGP, SATA, BIOS, IDE, North Bridge, South Bridge, Processor Socket and Memory labelled with red indicator lines.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Apr 26

Funnily enough this one got trapped in the house today, I am more confident this is Nomada flava.

A was like bee on a finger tip. The bee is yellow with black striped and orange antennae.

A wasp like been on a window pane. The bee has orange antennae and legs, yellow and black stripes on the abdomen with a splash of red in some yellow segments.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Apr 23

I don’t suppose anyone I know can id this Nomada bee from my Leeds garden today? I realise this is a tall order, particularly as the wings are hiding features.

A quite hairy small wasp like bee on a green leaf. The bee has antennae that are dark changing to orange at the ends, dark femurs on the hind legs but otherwise orange to yellow legs. The wings are folded across the back, concealing the yellow and black abdomen.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Apr 11

This map used to do the rounds in the other place, I’m not sure who created the map but it is my recollection that a @mooseallain.bsky.social thread collected the data.

A map of England and Wales showing names for woodlice. The list includes Slaters,
Dampers,
Slatey Beetles,
Billy Buttons,
Nutbugs,
Moch coed,
Pryfaid Lludw,
Crunchy Bats,
Pishamares,
Granny Greys,
Woodpigs,
Monkey Peas,
Woodywigs,
Granny Granshers,
Tick Tocks,
Grandads,
Chisel Pigs,
Chickypigs,
Gramfy Croojers,
Gramfer Gravies,
Chisel Bobs,
Sowbugs,
Chuggy Pigs,
Doddamees,
Billy Buttons,
Belly Buttons,
Flumps
Grammasows and Chooky-pegs.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Apr 9

I still don’t understand why we aren’t building solar on supermarket car parks? This is the White Rose Centre in south Leeds, is it technical, political or financial restrictions?

A google map satellite view of the White Rose Centre at South Leeds showing the huge amount of car parking.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Apr 6

This is the Mosaic of the Seasons held in the Palazzo Massimo in Rome. #MosaicMonday My photo.

A roman mosaic in mostly shades of brown featuring 9 panels and a border of stylised waves. Four of the images are head and shoulders shoulder portraits of women who I understand are personifications of the seasons. Each corner panel includes a bird and a stylised image of what I thought might be a jellyfish or medusa but could be something else entirely. The central panel is two men but I’m not certain what they are doing and I can’t find a description.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Mar 31

A dog tied to a black railing with a red lead under a sign saying “No Dogs” The dog is black with a white bib.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Mar 30

A close up of a large fly on a brick, the fly’s compound eyes are clearly visible and it has an “orange beard”

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Feb 19

I’ll just check my unique and witty take really is unique before I post it!

The results of a bluesky search for the words “I’ll bet he’s sweating now” This shows a number of people had the same idea at about the same time.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Jan 31

I wondered if anyone knows what this is, I thought I might irecord it but there are a few similar crystal brain fungi. I’m guessing it is the common Myxarium nucleatum, Leeds today #FungiUK #Fungi

The image shows some jelly like blobs on a piece of dead wood. Each blob is cloudy white with perhaps a touch of yellow. The blobs have ridges and dips vaguely reminiscent of a brain.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Jan 22

“Bath in the Nursery” by Phyllis Dodd 1935

A well executed painting of a mother and child in front of a fire. The child is being dried by the mother, they are bathed in a yellow glow from the fire. There is a metal railing guard around the fire.
Thwre is a tin bath to the right in the picture with a toy duck floating on the bathwater. The mantelpiece over the fire has a clock and a number of carved wooded animals. There is a childs dress hanging to the right of the fire.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Nov 8

I’m not sure this advert for @theguardian.com is that effective. It is November, 10 articles a year is 2 a month so arguably I would be paying £6 an article. I would consider a subscription to a group of international centre left journals including one US, an Australian, a French and a Spanish one

A screenshot. Text reads “An incredible self-own
You've read 20 articles in the last year
In 1936, John Scott gave up his £62m stake in the Guardian to protect its independence, a legacy that keeps us free from billionaire influence and thriving through reader contributions. Please support us
today.”

There are then two selection boxes, one for £4 a month with no benefits listed and the other for £12 a month promising less “asks” (requests) for support and ad free reading. The £12 is already selected and says recommended.

I’m not sure I’ve even read all the articles I have clicked on.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Oct 31

Last day of #Arachtober and I have posted one of my spider pictures every day. I started with a Pardosa sp carrying her spiderlings and I’ll finish with a different one. I have to admit to being particularly pleased with this one from my garden as I managed to get to eye level with her.

The image shows a spider on the end of the dead stem of a plant. Her forelegs are just hanging over the end. Her eyes are in focus and her abdomen is covered in little baby spiders. They are all pointing inwards with just their little bodies and legs showing.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Oct 30

Another predation photo, this is a Flower Crab Spider, Misumena vatia in an evening primrose. Apparently they can change between pink, white and yellow to match the flower they are on, though this takes time. We don’t get them in Leeds yet so I have to go down south to see them. #Arachtober

A yellow spider on a yellow petal. It has a fly at least as big as itself in its jaws. The fly is brown and really stands out in this image.The spider is well enough camouflaged that many people won’t notice it in the thumbnail as they scroll past.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Oct 29

Just an iPhone shot but this shows just how big a prey a small spider can take. This is an Enoplognatha sp with a large hoverfly, Volucella pellucans I think, on marjoram. #Arachtober.

A small greenish spider with a black and white fly, the fly is possibly four times larger than the spider. They are resting on pink/purple marjoram flowers.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Oct 28

Wolf spider semaphore, I posted earlier in #Arachtober a picture of a male and female wolf spider where he is trying to get her attention. This is a different image of the male showing the type of position he places his palps. The palps are also used to transfer sperm to the female.

A male wolf spider standing on a stone, from the rear. The head and eyes are in focus and he has one black palp horizontally to the side and the other raised so from the back it would look like he is pointing to 10 to 3.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Oct 27

This is another bin spider, this time on a green bin. This is a Clubonia sp. Again a tiny little thing and harmless to humans but those jaws are effective. #Arachtober

A grey spider looking straight at the camera, this has small eyes and big jaws, it is resting on green plastic.

Jonathan Bliss@jonathanbliss· Oct 26

We have a brown bin for garden waste. Regularly I have to check the lid for accidentally binned insects and spiders and relocate them. This is a candy striped spider, Enoplognatha ovata or latimana, the two are very similar, with an egg sac. #Arachtober