Susannah 🍁

@wweeta

I photograph and write about the world I see around me here on Vancouver Island: the forests and hllls, things green and wet, the none- to multi-legged critters that scramble, ooze, and slither on our beaches, birds and the occasional beast.

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Susannah 🍁@wweeta· 20d

Common Coral Slime Mold, aka White-Fingered Slime, Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa. On well-rotted log in deep rainforest. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/cool... #VancouverIsland #SlimeMold #Mycology #NaturePhotography

A white slime mold with a faint bluish tinge growing on a log. A mass of clumps of short, smooth stalks (more like posts); each clump, seen separately, is like a little pom-pom or tuft. The log is well-rotted, falling apart, with areas tinted with green algae.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· 21d

Long-Haired June beetle. Look at that fur-lined jacket! New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/anot... #VancouverIsland #Beetles #Invertebrates #Insects #NaturePhotography

Side view of the front end of a June beetle. The armoured top (the head, the pronotum over the thorax, and the elytra, over the wings) is dark brown and black, with wide yellow stripes and yellowish hairs. Underneath, the beetle wears a furry coat of long, orange hairs. The legs are reddish, with hair near the body; the rest has curved teeth and hooks. She is a female, as seen by the ridged hockey-club antenna; males have huge, showy ones that fan out to detect female pheromones. In front, there are two small, beaded palps,
She rests on a white bamboo towel.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· 22d

Multicoloured rock, with lichens and toasty dry moss. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/patc... #VancouverIsland #Rocks #Lichen #Mosses #NaturePhotography

A section of a large stone; the rock is patchy, with brown, whitish, and pale green markings. It is colonized by moss, probably fire moss, now dry and brown after a few days without rain. Lichens make squiggly lines in the open patches.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· 23d

Bumblebee on blackberry flowers. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/bees... #VancouverIsland #Wildlife #Insects #Bumblebees #Bees #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography

A bumblebee; Bombus sp., very fuzzy, with stripes in orange and yellow. Side view; he's foraging in a blackberry flower, one of three. These are Himalayan blackberries, Rubus armeniacus; the flowers are a pale pink, with five petals and many brown, pollen-bearing stamens. Two berries are forming; they're still small, hard, and bright green. The stems have sharp spines, some with red bases. Background; a leaf, and the bright greens and pink of the rest of the blackberry thicket, in sunlight.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· 26d

Milky backswimmer under a floating pondweed leaf, holding an air bubble. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/what... #VancouverIsland #Wildlife #Insects #AquaticInsects #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography

An oval, green leaf with a red edge floats on the surface of a pond; the water is clear, but the bottom is dark brown. Under the edge of the leaf, where it catches the sunlight, a brown bug hangs head down; it's a backswimmer, with a long, smooth back, a small round head, and legs spread out into the water. It holds a water bubble, teardrop-shaped. A red spot at the bottom may be the reflection on the bubble of the bug's red eye. These bugs are predators, usually swimming belly-up, but also diving for submerged prey.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· 28d

Thimbleberries, not quite ripe. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/back... #VancouverIsland #Plants #WildFruits #EdiblePlants #NaturePhotography

Three thimbleberries on their stalks. They're pink now; they will be deep red when they're ready to eat. Each one is like a little round cap formed of individual drupelets. The bracts surrounding each are like Ys, wide near the fruit, with long, narrow tips. The stems of the plant are red; the leaves more or less maple-leaf shaped, but softer. Background; dark forest.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· 29d

Ant colony under a rock; winged adults, so many pupae. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/my-t... #Insects #Ants #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography

A group of black ants with long, white wings. There is also one pale cream-coloured ant, without wings, in the centre. It looks to be bigger than the black ones; maybe she's a queen. The winged ones will be males or females ready to swarm. On the underside of a grey rock.

Under the same rock, a pile of pupae, each like a round, creamy capsule with a black plug at one end. There are two much larger pupae, probably future queens. Black worker ants are busy hauling pupae down two holes into shelter in the centre.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jul 13

Common Green Darner, Anax junius, dropping in for a brief visit. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/anot... #Insects #Dragonflies #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography

A green-bodied dragonfly on a laminate kitchen floor, holding onto a corner of the white baseboard. The darner is seen from above, with wings spread out, fully visible. It has large, brown eyes, a blue face with a black spot in the centre. The long abdomen is, in this light, almost black. In sunlight, it's red, showing that this is a female or a youngster; males have a bright blue abdomen.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jul 12

Found on lettuce; Western Tarnished Plant Bug. (Watch for it in your garden and your salad.) New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/poly... #VancouverIsland #Insects #GardenPests #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography

A small, brown bug; long, oval wing covers, big eyes, spindly legs. Wearing a pattern of dark and pale browns, with a prominent, yellow V at the front of the wing covers. Pictured on a fingertip.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jul 10

Tiny golden fly on my bedroom wall. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/its-... #VancouverIsland #Insects #Flies #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography

A tiny yellow/orange fly, barely 2 or 3 mm. long. The body can be seen through the wings, which are twice the length of the abdomen they cover. The fly has big, round eyes with swirling colours, orange, green, navy blue. On a pale cream wall.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jul 8

Wild native raspberries at the edge of the rainforest. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/berr... #VancouverIsland #Plants #Berries #EdiblePlants #NaturePhotography

Branches of a raspberry bush, with many red berries, small and round. One has been harvested: only the hull is left. One, lower right, is a darker red, but still not quite ripe. The leaves, oval, sharp-toothed, ridged, grow in threes.
Background; greens and browns of the evergreen forest.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jul 6

American Red squirrel, Elk Falls. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/07/most... #VancouverIsland #Wildlife #Squirrels #NaturePhotography

A small squirrel in his forest environment. It has a white ring around the eye; otherwise, it's rusty-red, with a darker end to its tail. The underside of these squirrels is whitish. It is the only native squirrel to be found on Vancouver Island.
Background; moss-covered logs. Underfoot: a well-rotted stump.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 17

Candy-striped spider, Enoplognatha ovata. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/like... #VancouverIsland #Spiders #Arachnids #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography

A tiny spider on a leaf. She's round, like a little roaming marble. Her abdomen is a pale yellow, hairy, with a brown stripe down the centre,, and 6 round black dots, three down each side. The cephalothorax is a greenish-brown colour, with a black line down the centre and thin black lines around the rim. Her pedipalps, in front, are thin; she's a female. She's missing one back leg.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 16

Cow parsnip, Heracleum maximum. A 2-metre tall "carrot". New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/more... #VancouverIsland #Plants #Flowers #BloomScrolling #NaturePhotography

A large plant with big, three-lobed, toothed leaves, and above on sturdy, green stalks, wide, slightly mounded umbels bearing many tiny, white flowers.
Background; cedar branches.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 15

Shady trail, Lake Hoomak. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/way-... #VancouverIsland #Landscapes #Forests #NaturePhotography

Meandering, narrow trail through northern rainforest, overshadowed by evergreens; cedars, Douglas fir, pines. And hemmed in by native shrubs; salal, salmonberry, huckleberry. At ground level are banks of tiny twinflowers. Everything is green or brown, except those flowers.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 14

One of its names is Bride's Feathers. AKA Goat's beard. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/brid... #VancouverIsland #Flowers #BloomScrolling #NaturePhotography

A stem of goat's beard flowers. A long, green stem reaching from left to right of the photo. Smaller stems branch off; the individual flower spikes reach out from these. Each spike is packed with tiny, white flowers; the petals are only about 1 mm. long. At the left, in front of the goat's beard branch, is a cluster of thimblebery flowers, buds, and leaves. The flowers are white, papery; they have five rumpled petals, and a yellowish centre. The buds are round and reddish, leaves wide, lobed, crinkly. The goat's beard leaves are oval, toothed, and pointed; two can be seen at the bottom, and more are in the dark, in the background.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 13

Is there, or is there not, a crab spider hiding in the centre of this rose? New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/esca... #VancouverIsland #Flowers #BloomScrolling #Spiders #Arachnids #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography

A pink rose held up against the sky. The centre is half hidden; some of the yellow pollen-bearing anthers are out in the sunlight, others are in the shade. It looks like there's also part of a spider's leg; the angled "knee". And maybe a glimpse of a fat spider belly. These roses are a favourite spot for crab spiders to hide and wait for unsuspecting prey.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 12

Red-backed jumping spider, watching me watchin her. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/she-... #VancouverIsland #Spiders #Arachnids #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography

A black jumping spider, facing off to the right. She's still watching me, though; she swivels those big eyes. 5 of her eyes are visible; the two big front eyes, with my camera's flash reflected in them. Then the two smaller side/front eyes, the farthest one blurry. Then one of the 2 small side eyes. She has 2 more on raised bumps at the back of the cephalothorax; she can watch me from everry angle. She has a crew-cut hairdo; black hairs standing straight up.
She's in constant motion, mostly waving the pedipalps in front; one is more or less clearly visible; black with white specks, very hairy. Part of the fangs show up; shiny green.
One leg is in focus; the rest is a blur.
Phidippus johnsoni.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 11

Not where I expected to find mushrooms. (On the carport wall behind my garden tools.) New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/unex... #VancouverIsland #Mushrooms #Fungi #NaturePhotography

A messy group of tiny brown mushrooms in a blue-painted corner of a carport. The 5 mushrooms are old, some faded, one crumbly, and all entangled in old spider web. But they still stand erect; the tallest is just under 3 cm. tall. In front, there's another mushroom cap, larger, old and broken and completely wrapped in spider web. On the ledge on either side are remnants of spider meals; spider frass. One dead mosquito hangs overhead.
The "floor" here is the top of a cement wall, and the walls above are wood; everything is painted blue. Between the wall and the base on the left, there's a gap; there's a spider in there, hiding. The web and frass is all her doing.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 10

Tiny but amazing. A 3 mm long leafhopper on my desk. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-... #VancouverIsland #Insects #Invertebrates #NaturePhotography

A long, straight-sided insect, seen from above. It's leaf-green, with detailed patterns head to tail; darker green patches with brown borders, brown lines and patches, a semicircle, green with dark spots around the inner edge, and up front, 4 darker brown spots, in pairs. On plain varnished wood.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 9

One tiny, perfect Bacopa flower. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/whit... #VancouverIsland #Plants #Flowers #BloomScrolling #NaturePhotography

A white Bacopa flower, as found, without specks nor breaks. It's a small flower, pure white, with 5 rounded petals, yellow anthers in the centre well. It forms a stark contrast with its hairy, rough leaves, and the bits of dead leaves and grass scattered across the leaves and the soil and pebbles. At the lower left, there's the end of a smooth, yellow leaf; a Creeping Jenny, Lysimachia nummulatus.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 5

Sweet Rocket, Hesperis matronalis. A garden escape gone wild. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/most... #VancouverIsland #Plants #Weeds #InvasiveSpecies #NaturePhotography

Pink flowers on long stems. These were originally from Europe, and now can be found from BC to California; they've escaped, they're perennial, and can become invasive. These 3 stems have been bent down by rain, though they're now dry; the four-petalled flowers grow in clusters along the stems. Where the flowers have fallen, little stemlets hold a yellow tip, where the seeds will form.
Not pictured; the sweet fragrance.
Background; lawn, more pink clusters.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 4

Weeds? Yes, but ... New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/all-... #VancouverIsland #Plants #Weeds #InvasiveSpecies #NaturePhotography

A flower and a bud of creeping buttercup, with leaves of lemon balm. The buttercups are beautiful, but invasive and as stubborn as a plant can be. The lemon balm, Melissa officinalis, is native to Europe, but grows now around the world. It will behave in a garden if kept cropped; the leaves are lemon-scented and make good tea.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 3

Crow with a windy hairdo. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/drop... #VancouverIsland #Birds #Birding #NaturePhotography

A small, glossy crow on a stony beach. He has turned his head away from the wind, and it has ruffled his feathers, changing the usually sleek shape of his head. He's mostly black, with highlights in a deep, rich, chocolatey brown; dull dark grey feet and smooth, black bill. He stands on a light brown log end.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 2

Beach pea, Lathyrus japonicus. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/06/flow... #VancouverIsland #Flowers #BloomScrolling #NaturePhotography

A cluster of pea-like flowers hanging from the tip of a vine, in vibrant colours: purple, magenta, red, and blue. Some of the flowers are completely open, others are buds or half opened. Leaves surrounding the cluster are rounded, attached to their vines in opposite pairs. Background; more green.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· Jun 1

So proud of his new stubby antlers! New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/05/spri... #VancouverIsland #Animals #Wildlife #Deer #NaturePhotography

A young buck deer looking straight at the camera, as if posing to show off his new antlers. They're still short, shorter than his ears, with rounded tips, and covered with smooth "velvet". Background, blurry: urban street, shrubs, a car.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· May 31

Young gull on the wing. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/05/on-w... #VancouverIsland #Birds #Gulls #Birding #NaturePhotography

A brown gull in flight, at eye level. The gull is a youngster; adults are mostly white and grey. It's looking straight at me, checking to see if there are goodies on offer. The outstretched wings are bent halfway along, exposing the pattern on the wing tips, top and bottom. The gull has a black eye and a pale yellow beak with a black tip. Background; blurred, greyish rolling waves, surf, and a low island in the distance.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· May 30

An articulated coralline alga, tossed up by waves on a beach. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/05/wind... #VancouverIsland #Algas #MarineAlgae #NaturePhotography

These algae are, in life, red. Dead, they turn white. This one has been ripped from its home and tossed up on a sandy beach by the waves. It is a branched, calcified alga; the branches are segmented, with each hard, inflexible segment separated from the next by a flexible "knee" (geniculum), so it looks like a tangled string of white beads, no two quite alike. The alga is intertwined by shreds of bright green sea lettuce, and strands of sargassum seaweed, showing one of its tiny brown ball floats.
On wet, grey sand.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· May 29

Brown's Bay from the south end. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/05/rock... #VancouverIsland #Seascapes #Landscapes #NaturePhotography

View of a wide bay with a small settlement on the far shore and the entrance to a strait leading north. Blue water, then low, evergreen-covered hills. Along the shore there are large rock cliffs, and on the left a half-dozen houses and some larger buildings by a marina. The hill on the left ends in a low point; there's a light there, marking the entrance to the strait. Blue sky , with a few white clouds.

Susannah 🍁@wweeta· May 28

Light at the bottom of a deep ravine. New blog post: wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2026/05/spot... #VancouverIsland #Plants #Ferns #Landscapes #NaturePhotography