Itsy Bitsy...

I went out this morning with my macro lens, leaving Jax on the deck to warn me if any bears came around.  I was poking around in the garden, but not really finding anything all that interesting.  And then...I saw a very tiny blob of green (??!!) hanging from the honeysuckle.  Although it was really too small to see well with my eyes, when viewed through the lens it was obviously a spider.  And since I've never seen one like this before, it immediately became the subject of intense interest.  It finally retreated to the underside of a leaf, thinking itself safe from the prying eyes of the paparazzi.  And now I know where it lives!  And I also have an id on it - it's a red-spotted orb weaver (Aranceus cingulatus).

Today is Jax's 1 year birthday so we took him to a locally owned pet store to get a treat and a new toy.  He thoroughly enjoyed being fawned over by the staff who gave him some delicious freeze dried chicken for sitting and offering his paw.  They also have a small fenced area for dogs to run, so we took him out there for a bit.  Although he was happy to race after the balls we threw, he was much more interested in sniffing everything.  And when we got home, he was one pooped pup.

Not so pooped that he didn't spot the yearling bear walking across out patio several minutes later, though.  He hurled himself at the window, barking ferociously and the young bear scampered off to the edge of the woods post haste.  I later saw the same bear (or maybe its sibling) walking back in our woods - luckily, Jax didn't see it.  All the bears this year have definitely cramped my style a bit when it comes to macro safaris in the yard.  

The final day of a three-day weekend for us.  It's been nice for Hubs to relax a bit.  And we've enjoyed a few road trips with the pup, so that's been fun. He loves car rides (thank goodness).  

Dark with peppermint today.  And tomorrow looks like it will mark 11 years on Blip for me - goodness!

xo
Debbi