Summer Sun on the Creek; Bugs, a Lizard, Cats, More

Electric Eddies

Electric Eddies

Looking back at the leafy months, I’m drawn to the shiny stuff like a crow would be, at the creek when afternoon sun turns water into neon, the greens in the light.

Sparkles:

Bedazzled

Bedazzled

Creekbanking on a dreamy late afternoon

Creekbanking on a dreamy late afternoon

Creeky views, with the banks and the long flows:

Stream and downstream 1

Stream and downstream 1

Stream and downstream 2

Stream and downstream 2

Onward

Still waters

We keep seeing sudden ripples, hearing splats; my husband gets close enough to see one small green frog jumping from land to water. Rains knock tree frogs out of the trees and onto our door, where we see the frogs hanging on. Their upper bodies are a yellow-green with a sheen like enamel, the underparts are whitish.

Small frogs make big ripples

Small frogs make big ripples

There’s so much to photograph during the months of hot gleaming greens glowing on the branch, and I can’t stand to leave a sparkle unrecorded. So I hope y’all will stay with me for this long haul of a last of summer post.

The tree holding its sparklers

Trees work their solar powered sparklers

The ripples, bold and very green

The ripples, bold and green

Trees and their leaves help the sun make glitter all over branch water.

Sparkles spice up shadows

Sparkles spice up shadows

Hot greens!

Hot greens!

Leaves galore, where it all comes from:

Just out the door . . .

Just outside . . .

I hate to see this go. I’m so partial to this densely packed 3-D mosaic of leaves, pine needles, and light. I even like the heat – far better than cold. Besides, consistent heat during the summer usually means fewer severe weather alerts.

Clouds

Clouds on a rainy day

Seeing the greens looking worn out and fixin’ to leave gives me the blues. Not even the  red yellow and orange mixtures to come won’t fix this. I’ve got verte-igo, as I noted in a post last year. “That old green magic . . . ”

Within those leaves:

In June I saw something with red bouncing through the forest air. When it landed it looked like this:

Underwing Moth

Underwing Moth

Not actually a two-inch spaceship full of tiny aliens! It’s an Underwing Moth, but I can’t tell whether it’s a Walnut, Copper, or Penitent, or Some Other Underwing. It’s not an exact match for any of the photos I’ve found. The red underwings of this species are seen only in flight.

The butterfly is called a Red Spotted Purple:

Red-spotted Purple

Red-spotted Purple

The Damselfly is called Ebony Jewelwing or Black-winged Damselfly. Last year in (https://catwoodsporchparty.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/wild-summer-creeks-and-creatures/) I photographed the female with the white spot on the wings. This year I’ve photo-captured the male. There must a have been a male around somewhere last year, but I didn’t see it.

Black-Winged Damselfly or Ebony Jewelwing, male

Black-Winged Damselfly or Ebony Jewelwing, male

Blue Dasher Dragonfly. Dragonflies were known as ‘mosquito hawks’ when my husband was growing up. Chow down, guys and gals!:

Blue Dasher in Sun

Blue Dasher in Sun

Looking for bugs in all the wrong places. And one lizard:

The following guys or gals chose building materials for their hangouts or for hovering. Go figure! Not my favorite surroundings to photograph wild critters, but it’s no use arguing with ’em. They always just tell you to buzz off . . .

The Tiger Bee Fly:

Tiger Bee Fly

Tiger Bee Fly

Grape Leaf Folder or Grape Leaf Roller on a ceiling! Just so wrong! LOL

Grape Leaf Roller or Grape Leaf Folder

Grape Leaf Roller or Grape Leaf Folder

Blue dasher with board background:

Blue Dasher Dragonfly

Blue Dasher Dragonfly

Lizard, probably Brown Anole:

Brown Anole

Brown Anole

I’m in town some days, where we have Crepe Myrtle that’s still blooming:

Crepe Myrtle

Crepe Myrtle

We feed a crabby tabby of a feral cat, Madame Curious. This is what I usually see of her. Nice view of those pretty hind feet, MC!

Madame Curious, feral masonry expert

Madame Curious, feral masonry expert

Once in a blue moon I get a pic like this:

Madame Curious, feral sweetie

Madame Curious, feral sweetie

At home, Bud is here to remind me that his pictures are the most important:

The Budster helps edit

The Budster helps edit

For my tribute essay to the creek plus environmental activism, check this out:  https://catwoodsporchparty.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/tributary-becoming-green-warriors-of-the-red-earth-country/

______________________________________________________________

Songs alluded to in parody:

“Blues in the Night”, music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, 1941.

“That Old Black Magic”, music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, first recorded and released by Glenn Miller, 1942.

“Lookin’ for Love” (“in all the wrong places”), by Wanda Mallette, Bob Morrison, and Patti Ryan, 1980.

About Leah

I'm Leah T. Alford, a writer fascinated by the natural world and animals, especially cats.
This entry was posted in Cats, Creeks, Feral Cats, Nature and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

77 Responses to Summer Sun on the Creek; Bugs, a Lizard, Cats, More

  1. chattykerry says:

    I look at this with my eyes half shut – still phobic about moths but loved the blog!

    • Catwoods says:

      So glad you enjoyed this, Kerry! I understand about feeling uneasy about some bugs, for me it’s spiders. We used to have many more moths here, not only the small ones but some with 4 or 5 inch wingspans, often quite patterned and colorful.

  2. Your photos are enchanting! The dragonflies are beautiful–something I don’t see enough of. Where are the pictures taken?

    • Catwoods says:

      Thank you for your kind words, I am glad you enjoyed the photos. Most were taken in the forest we live in, a few were in town, in Alabama. I love the dragonflies, too!

      • I’ve never been to Alabama and now I want to visit! I have a dragonfly tattoo on my back. They symbolize lessons learned at mid-life, transformation and light. 🙂

        • Catwoods says:

          I’m partial to dragonflies myself! This is dragonfly season and I see them zipping around but haven’t had much chance to take pictures. Alabama is a great place to visit, we have mountains and beaches and vital arts activity going on. Summer heat can be rough on those from other regions who aren’t acclimated to heat, though.

          • I’m putting Alabama on my list of desired places to visit. Dragonflies are mystical. They look like something out of a fairytale story. I enjoyed your About–it seems we are kindred spirits! Similarily, I live in a canyon with cats and am impassioned by nature, am a writer, painter…I can only imagine how enchanting it must be living in a forest with cats.

            • Catwoods says:

              For sure, a wilderness of any sort is an intriguing place to live. Always exciting nature-wise, but yet not always convenient. I’ve written a book about it all but still trying to find the time/energy to complete the final steps towards publication.

              • I can’t wait to read you book someday! I wrote a children’s story about my cats in the canyon and an adventure the have one night and am attempting to self-publsih, but need the $$. Work in progress. 🙂

                I would like to follow your blog, but don’t see a place that allows me to do so. Can you direct me?

                • Catwoods says:

                  Looking forward to reading your book also! When I go to my blog and I’m not logged in, I see a Follow button in the lower right corner. When I am logged in and I go to someone else’s blog, there is a black bar at the top that has a button to go to the reader and also a follow button. Everything I follow there goes to the reader. If you mean a ‘follow and get an email’ button on the blog itself, I don’t have one since it’s a little beyond my computer skills to set that up. Let me know if that doesn’t work for you or if those buttons I usually see aren’t there, I will ask wordpress. Had to go quickly today due to storms, but am back now.

  3. Gorgeous creatures and images all!!!
    Kathryn

    • Catwoods says:

      Glad you enjoyed these, Kathryn! Sadly I haven’t been able to get out much this year, it’s almost the same time these were taken.

  4. elmdriveimages says:

    Thanks for your like on Four inches of Snow.

  5. elmdriveimages says:

    Catwoods: thanks for the like on my View of Downtown Peoria. Feral Cats can be quite special to us. We have two in the neighborhood. My wife has even built a winter shelter for Muffin. You can see her on my sit at http://1-dan-de-ment-artistwebsites.com or Elm Drive Images. Again, good work.

    • Catwoods says:

      Thank you for visiting, I’m glad you enjoy my photos! I have been enjoying yours also. I can’t get the link above to work but I will go look for pictures of Muffin on your site. It warms my heart to hear your wife has built a shelter for Muffin. We’ve built two for Madame Curious, she has her choice of locations, or the extra one can be for other wandering feral cats we occasionally see.

  6. azgsgirl says:

    Wow, how did I miss this post? It is wonderful, and I read the other posts that you referenced. Beautiful. And, I love the cats! I miss them in my life.

    • Catwoods says:

      Thank you so much, azgsgirl, I’m happy when I can capture some of the natural beauty here for others to enjoy. I’m waiting to post some pics for fall, but it’s coming on slowly this year. I hope you can one day have kitties back in your life, I can’t imagine being without mine!

      • azgsgirl says:

        I hope you will have some lovely fall color to shoot soon. Our autumn (in Arizona) is an elongated season as it starts in the high country and moves slowly south. It really can be a beautiful place, but the heat gets very tiresome by November.

        I am looking forward to your autumn posts! Take care,

        – Jo

        • Catwoods says:

          Thank you, Jo! I’ve never been to Arizona, but it looks very beautiful in your pictures. So I’m looking forward to more pics from you also. Today’s fall color report here is promising, but thanks to the Arctic blast it may be a bit too cool for me to get out in the next few days!

  7. Stunning photos and love those kitties! 😀

  8. doddsjzi says:

    BTW–thanks for stopping to look at Charleston Seen.

  9. doddsjzi says:

    Re moths and butterflies–we once had a black Lab named Skipper; one day going through a butterfly identifying handbook we were amused to find the malicious shady skipper.

    • Catwoods says:

      I wasn’t familiar with the skipper butterflies!. I took a quick lnternet search and found a few references to the malicious skipper. I also looked in our insect guide and found many species of skippers but they do not include the malicious shady skipper. It’s far from a complete guide!

  10. dirtdaubber says:

    Dragonfly mosquito hawks are some of my favorite creatures. Any critter that eats mosquitoes has my vote.

    • Catwoods says:

      For sure, dirtdauber, I’m thrilled by dragonfly beauty, but also by the thought that they’re gobbling up mosquitos as they glide around. My husband calls them mosquito hawks, too.

  11. Many fantastic photos!! This post was well worth waiting for!

  12. Kev says:

    Great pics!

  13. Thank you for liking “Autumn Splendor.” Nice post! 🙂 I especially like your insect and cat photos. I am trying to appreciate the beauty of autumn foliage, but I still miss summer.

  14. Cynthia says:

    How did you ever get those amazing pictures of the dragonflies? I’ve taken so many, not even coming close to yours, I love them. Damsel flies are my favorite and she is a beauty. I love all animals too. I’ve had 2 very special cats in my life. I still miss my Claude every day!

    • Catwoods says:

      I’m happy you enjoyed the dragonflies and damselflies, Cynthia! They hang around a lot during the summer, so I keep snapping pictures until I get a few I like. Aww, sorry to hear about your Claude kitty. I miss all of mine who have left us, too.

  15. fallcorn1936 says:

    Great and interesting pictures. Thanks for stopping by my blog

  16. Beautiful pictures! Especially the underwing moth!

  17. vsaichek says:

    Thank you for liking DUB STEP BOOGIE. I love your site, as an avid nature and cat person, and as one also suffering from physical maladies I salute your efforts. Keep up the good work . . . at your own pace! We’ll wait!

    • Catwoods says:

      I’m happy you like my posts, vsaichek! Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting. Your images at your site are fabulous, and I look forward to doing more thorough exploration when time permits. All the best wishes going out for your health.

  18. claire says:

    Wow! Nothing for a long time then this great feast of shimmering photos! I love your water images. Where I live I also have lots of water (3 lakes, 3 rivers, the Grand Union Canal and lots of little streams etc.) and I sometimes think of your beautiful water pictures as I’m walking or cycling among them. I have a good camera now but am in the very early stages of learning how to work with my new tool (I’m more used to brush or pencil). Thanks for this great feast of seasonal beauty!

    • Catwoods says:

      Claire, thank you for visiting and commenting! Enjoyed your description! It’s wonderful that you live near so much water, and I look forward to seeing some of your photos if you decide to post them. Yeah I’m a tad slow about updating, LOL. It’s mainly due to ongoing health problems and a huge to-do list. All best wishes to you.

  19. Meanderer says:

    Beautiful collection of images.

  20. Kate Gilmore says:

    Lovely, evocative pictures, but I like best those gorgeous insects.
    and, no, I haven’t forgotten your pictures, Buddy.

    • Catwoods says:

      Kate, thank you so much! I know Buddy hears you and appreciates being noticed by you in his own feline way. He made his transition to the Rainbow Bridge a few days ago and is now shining in the light. Another busy week ahead but I hope to be back in the swing of things soon.

  21. cdog5 says:

    So glad I caught this post, Catwoods! It’s certainly great to have you back, and these photos and the lovely, poetic words that accompany them remind me of why I always look forward to your posts. It’s cool here, where I live, and I suspect autumn is now here, and after that, our old friend Winter. Your greens make me long for a few more days of summer. 🙂

    • Catwoods says:

      I’m happy you enjoyed the post, cdog5! We were cool and very comfortable for the first time today and it did feel like fall. That could start early this year but can be as late as November some years. I could do with a bit more summer myself!

  22. Herman says:

    Great post and very beautiful photographs! I really enjoyed reading your post.

  23. greenpete58 says:

    Thanks for the great photos. Your blog is always a reminder that many of us have backyards teeming with life, but we rarely stop to look closer and appreciate.

  24. Trudy says:

    Thanks for sharing your special piece of nature…. Your photos and words are poetry!

  25. Lovely post, human- especially those DELICIOUS FLYING BUGS!!! *(MEOW)*

  26. Wonderful. Beautiful butterfly. And of course, love the kitties. What a sweet photo of the lovely feral girl.

  27. Candace says:

    You live in such a lovely place. As you prepare to bid the summer adieu, we are anxiously awaiting the end of it when things really get pretty here.

    • Catwoods says:

      Thank you, Candace! We enjoy this place. I hope you’ll post some photos whenever you feel the season’s at the right point for picture taking.

  28. Dale Beasley says:

    I sure do miss the creek. Thanks for sharing so I can spend a few minutes enjoying my most favorite spot in the US.

    Dale Beasley

  29. ginnietom says:

    beautiful life in the green…

  30. A lot of great insects and photos of them. Wonderful photo series. Love the kitties, of course!

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