The Nature Thread

Also on this trip to Skye in June 2008 I snapped these burnet moths (?) hanging around on the upper part of the climb out of Sgurr nam Boc.

Mike

Hi, David.

No kite pics......I just get the random bird shot when I'm out and about. How about these BIF shots.





I was lucky to get his feathers backlit, when he was slowing to land on the tree.

Paul

Two years ago when I visited the famous Epidot-location Knappenwand/Austria I found some nice lilies (Lilium martagon) and I made some pictures. One year later this spot was cancelled by a big landslip of some million tons of rocks.

Uwe

1. a trillium that is in our backyard
2. ladybug in our garden
3. wild bleeding heart in our yard



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2011 03:19PM by Douglas Merson.

Another take on the tarantula hawk for those who might want to see it take down a tarantula. This link is to a Squidoo site Rosegraphics (my wife Teri) put together a couple of years ago:

[www.squidoo.com]

David, I'm with you. I can't imagine anyone letting one of these critters sting on purpose. I pretty much stop at watching a mosquito fill up. :o

Steve

Great shots everyone. Nature's beauty whether in a mineral, bird, bug, or plant is amazing but stop talking about steak and mushrooms my stomach is growling and it is a long way to supper.

Hi all,

Fantastic topic, I love it.
Gorgeous pics everybody, keep them coming.

In junuari 2009 it has frozen during the night. The day before it was quite warm but very misty.
This is what I discovered the next morning. A plant with a " mineral " growing on it.

A Chimonanthus Preacox knob, ready to pop open with ice crystal growing on them.
Just a few minutes to take the pic and everything was gone, how it came.

Zenjoy.



Take care and best regards.

Paul.

What a lot of interesting information and beautiful photography--thanks everyone!

Hi All, Great photos and fun!

My husband has been away for a week caring for his ailing father, so there has been not much need to use the BBQ. A couple of weeks ago we had to remove a pesky wasp/hornet nest taking hold in the lid, not uncommon as they seem to be attracted to the smell of fat cooking (try french fries in august at a picnic, you will be swarmed!). Today my husband decided to start early to do some slow cook beef ribs (with Morels, sorry Donald). He was taken aback when he opened the lid. We've never seen anything like this on the BBQ! Obviously it is some type of small mammal, probably a rodent, like a chipmunk, that we have running around here. There is an aweful lot of moss and grassy stuff, with a deep impression in the centre. It only took a week or less to build! Anyone know what type of nest please let me know. Sorry the resolution is not that great after resizing the photo to post.





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2011 04:08PM by Stephanie Martin.

This fellow is content to rest motionless among some plants on our deck during the day, but every night he visits the window next to my favorite chair where he eagerly devours insects on the glass.




Mike

A crab spider with lunch

This is a nice thread with great pics by everyone.

Douglas, I really like the trillium.

Paul, a timely capture of the ice crystals....very cool.....<grin>

Michael, love the colors in the congregation of the burnet moths.

A couple more. First, web construction.



Next, a backside view of a backlit thistle.




Paul

Pretty pics



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2011 12:53PM by Rock Hunter.

Found this in my back yard while mowing the lawn today. Neither I or my wife know what it is. Any ideas?



Steve

Some sort of onion or camas (be careful, camas is very poisonous). Not certain, but looks similiar.

Here are a few pictures of a garden snail found in our back yard. They weren't taken during mineral collecting, but they are very cool!B)

-Matthew

Here is part of a stem of unopened lupen buds [or are they the fruit of old lupen flowers?] that we saw on a trail walk we went on last week in B.C. Canada.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2011 08:32PM by Ray Hill.

I took this photo at a barite mine in Elko County, Nevada, in 1984. The plover (killdeer) did the usual broken-wing-follow me dance as I approached and, even knowing where she started, it took me several minutes to find this nest. Every stone in the photo is massive barite. She has moved a significant mass to construct the shallow depression for her eggs.

As I recall, the eggs are about 3.5 cm long.



Cheers!

Steve

Each March Bob Whittmore opens the gates to the Palermo #1 Mine in North Groton, NH to allow people to visit the mine to see the ice crystals. If the water is low enough one could venture a ways into the mine and, with the aid of a flashlight, find a hibernating bat or four.

Bats at Palermo #1

It's always nice to see winter pix in July!
Joe

Douglas, that Trillium is beautiful. My Dad has quite a collection of them, caged from the deer. He has managed to grow varieties with yellow and red blooms also. It is one of my favorite types of wildflower.