Bugging out

   Went outside just now, and there is a ridiculous number of insects enjoying my porch light. And a ginormous spider setting up a trap for them across my porch. In this photo, it appears that the giant spider is going down my neighbor's chimney. Thanks for the nightmares, Mr. Spider!
   In slightly less horrifying news, a leaf with legs--or perhaps a leafy-looking grasshopper--is hanging out above my mailbox. Actually, Maria just said it's a katydid.

Oh... DEER!

Paddling out to BBQ cove

A Kingfisher squaks at us for disturbing him (but he wasn't nearly as obnoxious as the cranky Great Blue Herons!)

   Joni and I went kayaking out at Hillsdale Lake yet again, and yet again we'd planned to stop at Hillsdale Bank BBQ to get takeout on the way there. Big burnt end sandwiches on incredible homemade wheat buns! SO GOOD. We arrived at the put-in and paddled over to the cove that we have deemed "BBQ Cove" to enjoy our dinner.

(photo coming)

   We were sitting in the middle of the cove, smacking our lips and talking, when all of a sudden we heard a noise that was too big to be a fish or a bird. We looked up to see twin fawns approaching the water... right in front of us! It had been over 100 degrees all day, and they were very thirsty. They drank for a long time.

   Suddenly their watchful, high-stepping mother came down silently to check on them, and to herd them off to safety.

   Such an amazing experience to see them so at ease in their natural environment!

Enjoying "dinner and a show"

   On top of this, it was just a beautiful night to be out, as the breeze cooled us off and the heat slowly subsided. There were very few boats on the water, and we were the only kayaks, so we had the place to ourselves... other than the wildlife. Perfect!

Ambush

   Tonight I was in my yoga practice, which is generally a relaxing treat. But as we flowed from downward dog into plank, then lowered to crocodile, with my face just inches from the floor, I saw a spider coming right for me. We were hovering low, arms quivering from the weight of our ow bodies, waiting to be instructed to lower and flow into cobra.

   Not wanting to break from the pose, I blew at the spider a couple of times. (Which probably made the class think I didn't understand the concept of ujjayi breathing!) It didn't even pause—completely undeterred, it continued to stalk my face. As it approached the edge of my mat, I finally wimpered, "Spider!" and everyone in the class laughed. I blew—hard—a few more times, then Britten came over and scooped him up, safely delivering him to the edge of the room.

Britten: my yoga instructor and my hero.

Signs of life on the trail

   Here are some close-up shots that I took along the trail. The grass was barely beginning to come back to life, and the trees were not yet budding (unfortunate, because the area is supposedly full of dogwood). So many of my shots are monochromatic, which I didn't realize until I reviewed them. The subdued colors help you appreciate the forms themselves and are striking in their own way.

   While we were loading up to hike to our campsite, I went off-roading to find the little girls' room, and  happened upon the dinner site of who-knows-what animal. First I started seeing clumps of hair near the trail, and when I rounded a pine tree and entered a clearing, there was the makings a "build your own deer" kit: jawbones, a head and spine, and a couple of legs. Although a bit gruesome, I can see the beauty in the bones that made the animal, and it provided important sustenance to whomever devoured it (possibly a coyote?).

   Frankly, I'd rather come across a hungry wolf than a nestful of wolf spiders, which were waiting for us as we emerged barefoot from the frigid creek:

Tree #99 reporting for duty... SIR!

A cute lil' snail shell I found near the creek:

   Mini stalactites on the ceiling of the cave (Brandon's photo):

Fungi that reminded me of sea shells:

Lichen that reminded me of coral:

More colorful lichens:

Forest floor collage:

This moss-covered rock looked like a creature to me:

Halloween morning critters

   Halloween started out spooky! When I was at the bathroom sink, a tiny spider came down on a silk line, right in front of my space. Good morning!

   And when I went out to get the paper, there was a beautiful, delicate wing on the porch. Not sure what creature it's from, but I'm guessing cicada.

I wonder what else I'll see today...

Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo!

   Apparently it wasn't enough that I had a giant f***ing spider in my basement last week. This morning I went out to the deck with my coffee and the newspaper so I could enjoy the nice weather and the birds, and... nearly walked into a situation that would have incapacitated me with fear and grossed-outedness. Overnight a spider build a GIANT web right over the stairs to the upper level of the deck. The top of the web was over my head, and it was at least 4' wide:

   The sneaky culprit saw me coming & darted across the web & into the safety of the siding on the house. And let me just say, I would rather not have known how fast it could run. Nike should hire this guy for its next ad campaign. Because this spider could seriously be Carl Lewis. Think about it: have you ever seen them in the same room? Didn't think so.   ...Look. Do you see him? He's taunting me!

   Meanwhile, I am never going in my backyard again. Because when a spider builds a web that big, you have to question what they are hoping to catch.

   Thinking about this reminded me of all the awesomely bad horror movies that I loved to watch as a kid. (Yes, if I'm screwed up today, I have to blame my negligent babysitters. Do young children really need to see The Omen & The Exorcist? Well, I loved them.) I distinctly remember seeing Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo on late night network TV. It's a gem from 1977. Tarantulas from South America hitch a ride to America in some bags of coffee beans, and destruction ensues. Entertaining, but not as campy & charming as 1955's Tarantula. Check out the trailer for proof. Soon to be in my town:

Now I have to move.

Actual size of spider found in my basement this morning.
If I don't report to work tomorrow, avenge my death!

   Spider-wise, I much prefer the smaller, cuter jumping variety, like the one I found in the bathroom a couple weeks ago. They look SO much less harmful. Perfect illustration of how a simple change in proportions can change your perception. Spider above = large, with long skinny legs and a longer body. Spider below = smaller and squattier, with fatter body & legs and less definition between head & body. It's inherently cuter.  (But I don't want to touch either one!) The Japanese call this style "super deformed."

A trip to the optometrist.

Just got back from the optometrist. Eyes-wise, the visit was pretty uneventful. But it was not wholly without incident. The assistant took me to the room, sat me down in the big crazy chair, and took initial stats. Then she asked me to remove my contacts...which of course renders me as good as blind. I sat back in the chair & she put anaesthetic drops in my eyes, checked my eye pressure, etc. But then she stood up & left kinda quickly without saying anything.
The door closed, and I heard voices murmuring outside.

Then another nurse comes in (she was blurry--but I knew it was a different person because she was considerably more weighty than the last girl) and walks slowly but deliberately toward me, saying nothing. I thought it was extremely strange. She stood right in front of me, studying something. It started to freak me out! I said, "What is it? What's wrong?!" and she didn't answer. She grabbed a tissue and in one quick move lunged at the wall & retreated. She wadded up the tissue and said, "Huge spider on the wall right behind you." The first nurse was apparently too scared to dispatch it herself, so she sent reinforcements. All I can say is, I'm glad she got it, before it got me.