One of these days, I need to get a close-up lens…

A Daring Jumping Spider, also known as a Bold Jumping Spider. It is a common spider in the continental United States, except for the west coast.

I always liked these as a kid because they looked like little tarantulas. These are one of the rare spiders my mother didn’t kill, for the same reason. They are not related to tarantulas. That’s probably a good thing because these guys can jump as much as 50 times their body length. I don’t think you’d want to see a tarantula do that!

The daring jumping spider averages anywhere from a half inch to a little more than three-quarters of an inch in length. That means they could potential jump as far as 3 feet and 3 inches!

The jumping spider is an active hunter. They don’t build webs and wait for dinner to come to them. Like the assassin bug, the jumping spider hunts down their next meal!

The jumping spider does not rely on mental manifestation or daydreaming of his next meal, hoping it will arrive at his doorstep. No, the jumping spider actively seeks it out!

The jumping spider works hard during the day and sleeps at night, as most people do. They are curious and not easily intimated, which makes them successful and are, not coincidentally, two of the keys of success for humans as well!

So, if you should see one of these spiders, think of the lessons you can learn. And, wave to him. He might just wave back at you!

A black and white cat in a black and white world.

You don’t have to go all-color or all-grayscale. You can mix the two to create a more interesting shot. The magic of Photoshop!

Many people are familiar with cicadas, most notably the 17-year variety that reaches adulthood every 17 years.

Fewer people, however, are familiar with the 170-year cicada. This fellow spends nearly two hundred years underground, growing and growing each year. By the time they reach adulthood, they can reach heights comparable to a five story building.

Unlike their smaller cousins, the 170-year cicada will feast on animals as well as plants. Being so large, it is difficult for them to get their sustenance from trees, as they can not easily suck the liquids from a tree. Animals make quicker and easier meals.

Suicide is generally recommended if you should be cornered by one of these creatures. Being impaled by their proboscis and having your body drained of its fluids is a generally painful way to go. Best just to jump off a cliff or a tree or whatever height you can reach and let the creature slurp your remains from the ground after you’re already dead.

These are endangered species, so shooting at them to save yourself is against the law.

The last brood of the creatures was back in 1839. Worldwide, some 96,000 people were reportedly killed by these giant cicadas.

So, April showers did bring May flowers!

Too bad it’s raining right now, and is supposed to do so for the rest of the week.

A picture says a thousand words, no?

Almost in focus!

It is some variety of a cinquefoil. Not sure anymore what type.

It’s a pretty low maintenance bush. You can virtually ignore it and it keeps on going. Used to have two of them, but now just one. So, it’s obviously not invulnerable!

It is also a member of the rose family!

I have previously lamented the loss of the tiger lilies which I had for many, many years. You can see one (lower left) in the image above from 1993.

Last summer was quite dry, and I don’t recall seeing the tiger lilies at all. The summer before was dry as well. I think there were tiger lilies then.

Earlier this year, I looked where the tiger lilies have been for many years. All that I could find were the rotted out roots of plants long gone. I found some bulblis I had previously collected, but hadn’t planted. They were dried out but I gave them a try anyway. As expected, no luck.

You know, I would have opened this post with a picture of the Tiger Lily flower, but, apparently, I haven’t taken a picture of one in years! Obviously, I didn’t have any pictures from 2007 or 2008, but I looked further. Nothing. None since getting my digital camera back in 2002.

I might have some photos from my old 110 camera; in fact, I’m reasonably sure I do. But, I didn’t feel like looking through all those, then scanning them in. (I haven’t digitized all my old photos yet.) But, I had started digitizing some of my old videos last May, and I found the image above in a video. Yes, that was about the best clip I could find. No flowers though.

Anyway, I was outside a few weeks ago, and what did I see? Tiger lilies! Yay! They are coming back. Some did survive after all. In the hopes of not “losing” them again, I dug one up and brought it inside. It’s still doing well, but not as well as the ones outside:

That photo is from April 18th. They’re taller now.

I think I need to either move the indoor one to a sunnier window, or move it outside. I think I’ll try it in a sunnier window first. If it doesn’t grow better, then I can look at moving it outside, probably to a different location than the other Tiger Lilies, just so I can have them established in more than one location.

And, this year, I’ll have to remember to take pictures of the flowers!!! (So long as there is no drought!)

This milkweed seed looks almost angelic, the way the light bounces, bends and reflects upon the filaments. They look like upraised arms with a tiny skirt, like a ballerina seed. Plant one, and you probably won’t grow your own ballerina girl, but I bet you’ll make some Monarch butterflies very happy!

Textures are cool. This is why I sometimes take photos of odd things.

This is how your lungs will work after you get the swine flu. No, not really. At least, not so far as I know! You know, sometimes I forget and look at my own map to check the progress of the swine flu; then, I remember that I am the one that has to update the map! It doesn’t update on its own.

Also, I keep typing “swine fly” instead of “swine flu.” Watch out for those swine flies! Those things are huge! They eat like pigs!

Maybe the texture is how the floor of your chicken coop will look after you build your own chicken coop! Yeah, that wasn’t the best of segues, but it’ll have to do!

Chicken and pigs. Pigs and chicken! How boaring! LOL!

Ugh. Long day. Best to stop now.

Lots of people like a well-manicured lawn, like the image above. Nothing but neatly trimmed green blades of grass as far as the eye can see. Just green. Nothin’ but green.

Some people spend their time mowing and fertilizing and feeding and watering and mowing some more. All to get that golf course look. Some even mow it a certain way, so it looks like a baseball outfield. Some even go through the yard, pinpointing offending plants and spraying, flaming or plucking them out.

All to achieve the monotonous green.

As for me, I like a lawn spotted with dandelions. It adds a nice splash of color. Plus, dandelions are pretty low maintenance. People spend more time and money trying to kill them then you ever need to do to cultivate them!

And, when you’re not spending time and money trying to kill everything except the “holy blades of green,” you might end up with other splashes of color, like this:

With people making cutbacks in this economy, maybe it’s time to cut back on weed killers and such, and learn to appreciate color! Think of dandelions as little patches of sunshine throughout your yard. Who doesn’t appreciate sunshine?