Aptly named

Sometimes you look at the names of some creature and you think to yourself ...WTH?  But in this case, the name of this large damselfly fits perfectly - Ebony Jewelwing.  They come out every spring and flutter around in the greenery around the yard/garden.  This one is a male; the females are less brilliantly colored and have a white spot on the wing.  They measure abut 2 inches in length, making them the largest damsels in our part of the country.  I was able to get this with the macro lens from a distance of about 18 inches, which is unusual since they are quite flighty and spook easily.  

Nothing from my surgeon yet so I am just going to keep myself very busy and try not to worry about it.

The bluebird pair continues to bring larger and larger food "items" into the nest box.  And, now Monsieur has taken an extreme dislike to both the blackbirds and blue jays.  Whenever one lands on "his" perch, he dive-bombs it mercilessly until it leaves.  Very odd behavior since neither species represents a threat to his nest - and both are more than double his size.  Today he took a beak full of feathers from the blackbird before chasing it up into the trees.  Have a look at him in Extra if you wish - he's got a big green caterpillar for the babies.

Three other pics on Flickr, too.  Another shot of the jewelwing, a pair of shield bugs and mama house wren staring me down.  Click HERE

SIL snagged a great deal for me on a Trumpet Creeper at her part time job at Lowe's last night.  It was only $5 and, other than a few dead vines, it's in great condition.  And the others are selling for $55, so it really was a great deal.  I've decided to put it in a huge barrel pot rather than in the ground.  Trumpet creeper can be very invasive so I think the pot is a better idea.  Hopefully it will bloom this year - it is a favorite of hummingbirds and other pollinators.

Okay, time to think about showering - a lot of time pottering around outside in the heat today...

xo
Debbi