Carpenter...

Carpenter bees are one of the first bees to fly in our area in the spring; then they seem to disappear for several months, only to come lazily buzzing around in mid-summer.  This very cooperative male lazed around on the buddleia, even let me touch his back (not as soft as you'd think) and seemed to be mostly concerned with cleaning his long proboscis.  It was quite a process - he'd run both front legs over the proboscis repeatedly, sometimes angling his head to one side or another.  He was not to be deterred.  Maybe he wanted to look his very best for the lady-carpenters?  Despite their large size, these bees are very friendly and, in fact, the males aren't even capable of stinging.  They will, however, bump you!  Fascinating creatures and valuable pollinators.

I was sorely tempted to blip a spider today - I discovered a fascinating tiny arrowhead-shaped spider in my garden.  She's build a web in one of the day lilies, so I may yet blip her.  In the meantime, if you'd like to see a really cool (and not at all scary, I promise) spider, have a HERE on Flickr.  Three other shots, if you've got a moment...
Lazy hummer's approach to nectaring (one of P-Hummie's progeny, showing some smarts)
A somewhat rare sighting of a pipevine swallowtail butterfly
and an eye-popping scarlet-winged lichen moth

All in all, a fun morning in the garden!  

Hubs came home early and we enjoyed lunch on the deck, accompanied by woodpeckes, hummingbirds and the usual assortment of backyard birds - no bears, I'm happy to report!  The weekend has officially begun!

Happy Friday...