Picture on left taken Monday night at the Nebraska Star Party, click here or image for larger view.  The Milky Way was fantastic that night and I think the picture represents closely what the sky looked like.  I noticed a tiny meteor captured in the middle left side. Just recently processed the image, still have another widefield for NSP to finish as well.  Amazing how usable ISO 3200 is on the 5D.

You never know when an interesting event may happen and if you’re not observant you miss it. This evening was one of them as I noticed a bunch of dragonflies in my backyard. I almost let that fact slip by. But after walking about the yard I returned to realize this was not a normal occurrence. You don’t see this many dragonflies all concentrated in one relatively small area. Just how many are here I wondered?

Counting was very difficult with them flying madly around but I came to the conclusion there was over fifty. Wow, very unusual. I could see no reason for this so I slowly ventured out to the spot that I guessed to be the center of attention.

Walking among the dragons I found they were completely unconcerned at my presence. Standing among them I could sense there was far more than fifty. Completely silent in flight they were all around, some flew within inches of me. Whizzing by from every direction it was mesmerizing. I’m not sure how long I just stood and watched this spectacle. Out among them I could see their prey, a small insect that was a clumsy flier. I reached out and caught one of the bugs and then I knew what was happening, why the dragonflies were here. For I have seen this before when I was younger. At that very moment it was flying ant day, or perhaps it should be called the time of flying ants.

In this one area of my yard ants were taking flight to start new colonies. Evening light was poor when I took the picture above (click the image for a bigger version). It was a weird sight. Down on the ground the normal ants would harass the winged ones until they took off. They flew into near certain death by dragonfly. Fascinating.

I got chewed up by mosquitoes while I was enjoying all of this.

A week ago I was at my sisters house and observed that she has a very nice suburban lawn. Freshly cut it was a rich green color from side to side. Contrast that with my yard that is bristling with every variety of weed. I thought of that contrast this morning as I gazed on the ugly wet dandelion heads that seem to resist being mowed down.

For a short period in spring these weeds are actually attractive. Dandelions are colorful when in bloom and en mass. But more importantly they are a food source for birds. Yesterday I observed a Gold Finch pounce on the dandelion stalk to hold it down for a meal. This morning those weeds brought a beautiful sight as five Indigo Buntings were on the ground eating the dandelion seeds. I have never seen that many Indigos together in one spot but they are unmistakable to identify being blue all over as opposed to the smaller Blue birds that have a reddish breast.

A wonderful collection of birds has been on display at my place today. From the bright flame orange chested Orioles to the Eastern Blue birds. I think my natural yard with its diversity of plants and bugs attracts wildlife like no manicured suburban yard can ever hope to.

Sidewalk art, rock chalk.

Photograph from the ‘Celebration in South Park’ event in Lawrence, KS last Saturday. I never saw Kenny, Cartman or Stan there. But it was pretty neat anyway.

Every year I have lived in Douglas County I’ve had a number of winter guests. While I’m sure many things move into my space during the winter none are as conspicuous as the ladybugs are. The sheer number of them has always amazed me. But this whole migration seemed futile for it appeared that they all died. But was that true?

This season it started late in October of 07. One day I noticed the east side of my house teaming with the little bugs. It had begun and this year I was going to actively watch. Now after almost six months I know the answer.

Ladybugs Tend To Live In Clusters

After a few weeks of infiltrating my house things started to settle down. In the past I would have vacuumed the pesky things up but this year I let everyone be. And too my surprise they tend to group together. In early winter two of the corners in my bedroom had little clusters of ladybugs. The picture on the left shows one of them.

But those spots were nothing compared to one in my basement. On the right is a poor shot that shows only a portion of the group that were there. Interestingly when I located a ladybug commune it would be gone in a few days. They would all move to another spot when I wasn’t looking!

As the days got colder and the daylight shorter the activity of the bugs settled down. Now the death rate was starting to climb. I’d find a few upside down everyday. A few would wake up, fly around, and be stepped on. By January the bedroom clusters had dwindled to just a few bugs. Come February they were gone. In the basement I really don’t know where the thousands of them were hiding but their little shells continued to pile up as the days went by. I note that the vast majority of dead ladybugs end up on their backs. I wonder why?

Throughout the winter I noticed at least one live ladybug everyday. Unlike the past winters I actually took note of them and would move one out of harms way if I saw it in time. They seem oblivious to predators and threats. Hundreds were stepped on.

The Awakening

One spring day a large number of my remaining house guests awoke. The basement, which is a walk out, had many wanting out the door and windows. That morning I collected around a hundred bugs and tossed them outside. This went on for several days. It was as if an alarm clock had gone off and it was time to move out.

Today I moved the plants that I wintered over outside. An hour later I noticed the little beetles flying around. I took this photo of a happy ladybug basking in the sun.

So now I know that many ladybugs that moved in with me survived. In retrospect I am probably the reason few made it through in past years. For I was constantly vacuuming them up.

Now the question is will there be even more guests next year?

This beautiful Sunday morning I find a group of crocuses have popped up and are blooming. Nice to see a touch of fresh color on the dead and dreary ground (click image for a larger picture). This patch of yellow is small and easy to miss but more will come. The crocus and Hyacinth bulbs have greatly multiplied at my place over the past several years.

It will be interesting to see if my new tulips come up. Late December I was given a box of almost a hundred bulbs, probably because nobody got them planted in time. One day I was able to get them into the ground but who knows if they will do anything. No sign of them yet.

This winter season has been considered ‘normal’ which is probably a good thing. Last year we warmed up fast in late February to early March and everything started to bud, sprout, and come up. A few weeks later a deep hard freeze hit and wiped everything out. It was kinda depressing.