Bugs

Not Buggsy, who is so named because it looks like he is covered with bugs, but the real thing. I often find insects in the birdbath when I refresh it every morning, and their variety never ceases to amaze me. I am overwhelmed by the identification process: I wish I had had a little more biology education.

But, there is help. I found this great website (http://www.bugguide.net/). It is an exhaustive collection with enough information to fill a library it seems, but rather than having to muddle through, you can submit an ID request. I have found the volunteers very helpful and knowledgeable, and I usually get a response within hours of my question.

Here is a wasp (ichneumon wasp [subfam. Ophioninae]) that I found in the birdbath yesterday. He was swimming for all he was worth, but thankfully recovered quickly once I fished him out and let him dry on a nearby plant. And I thought he might be a dragonfly of some sort ...


This is a moth (Hemileuca juno) that clung to the screen door this morning. What a hairdo!


Love that Web!

Great day

November may be my favorite month here: perfect temperatures, day and night. But then, I do love monsoon season too, and September and October are beautiful, and winter ..., and spring ....


It being Sunday we went back to the Stronghold for our hike, and it was gorgeous with the sycamores having turned color. What a perfect way to spend a morning! On our way down we met Walter and Hanni with some Swiss friends on horseback. They were surprised we were already on our way home.


Surprisingly, we also saw this tarantula male along the trail. We generally just see these spiders during the monsoon season.

The ugly chicken

Egg production has fallen off during the last month. This is normal because the days are getting shorter. But also, the hens are getting older. This means larger eggs, but fewer of them. And to top it all off, they were molting. This is a good thing really, because some hens, especially the smaller black ones, were practically bald from bigger hens picking at them and pulling feathers. Did I mention that chickens are not very nice creatures?


Anyway, this molt, two of the what-I-called-plucked black chickens have feathered out nicely and have gone from "the ugly black one" to Black Beauty. Also one of the 3 Auracanas (which are my favorite chickens because they are friendly, and not mean to others) has become a beauty. This one's name is Goldy, of course.


There is still one black hen growing new feathers. Talk about ugly! She is very shy right now of all other chickens because they are inclined to pull on those blood-filled new quills, so it is difficult to get a picture of her. But, probably sometime next week, she will be the next Black Beauty.