Sunday, July 10, 2011

Summer is just getting started...

...and the first sunflower to bloom is already worn out.

But not this budding "Hello Yellow" blackberry lily...maybe the flower will be lucky enough to come out on a day when the car thermometer doesn't indicate that it's 108 degrees outside. I don't think it was really that hot today, more like the lobby level waiting area to get into hell, but not the actual temperature of hell....I don't think...

But the daylilies seemed to be thriving...probably because they were so near the creek.

That was the place to be on a fever hot day like today. I saw my first little box turtle...

...who was NOT too happy to have a camera shoved in her face.

So she made tracks...

These two butterflies looked so pretty sharing their feelers for each other.......until I noticed that they were also sharing a meal of bird poop. :-p

The creek was a good place for a swim...

to hang out...

and for Bo, a good place to take a long nap.

And above the creek was a good place for a water snake to take a nap because in the creek below, just too many dogs. Way too many dogs.

There is always one "Bug of the Day" and this one was definitely the weirdest I've seen yet.

It's a wheel bug, a type of assassin bug (an even better name). The name comes from the wheel-like thing sticking out of its back but this bug also had some mighty big fenders. He was also mighty big!

He obliged me with some good shots and then slowly turned and crawled away....which was a good thing because I found out later that these bugs have a very nasty sting.

Another pretty day, even though it was feverishly hot. I really should have stayed indoors...

You know how you see people mowing their lawns or jogging when it is so darn hot outside and you wonder what the heck is wrong with them? I think I'm in that group now. Dangerous temperatures and yet I still run out to Kansas with my camera to watch, as Rie puts it, my own PBS nature show.

8 comments:

Leenie said...

Pretty bad when even the sun flowers can't take the heat.

A nap in a puddle is a good solution for a hot as hell day. Dogs and cats are always smart when it comes to comfort. The wheel bug looks like it was designed from things in my gadget drawer.

Maria said...

Leenie-Hahahaha. That bug DOES look like something you can put together from what you can find in a junk drawer. And as for puddle napping, that's exactly what I looked like when I drove home. I'm going to wait until the temperature dips to 99 degrees before I venture out there again. Yeezus (as my Norwegian relatives would say).

Mental P Mama said...

Wait. Butterflies eat bird poop? Who knew....

Country Girl said...

I've been venturing out after dinner, but work all day anyway. Geez, it's been hot. Leaving for Maine on Friday, so that's the best!

Yeah, that bug? Geez. How creepy!

Maureen said...

hot on Cape Cod too, then a big pounding rain with shack-shaking thunder and now I'm in a sweater and Uggs this morning

Maria said...

Mental...well, now we do. :-p

Kate-Someone at work said he had those weird bugs crawling all over his garage...one time he saw three on top of each other sized small, medium, and large and in the correct order. You think you've found the weirdest thing ever...and someone can always top you. :-)

Have a wonderful time in Maine. The temperature is nowhere near triple digits, right? Sigh.

Maureen-"Shack-shaking thunder?" Hahaha. Your Ozark is showing. The heat still continues over here. I'm scared of what August will be like. :-0

Pix at Under the Oaks said...

Great shots Maria! But hey! What is it with butterflies and poop? We have an owl roosting in a big oak close to the garage and while I realize it may not be poop but upchucked pellets the butterflies are all over it and in to it!

Our sunflowers couldn't take the heat either, but they were suntastical for a bit! Our daylilies are still happy but the Japanese Beetles are devouring our Myrtles. Mr. Pix broke out the big guns and sprayed Malathion. I know!!!! We were bad.

The next week is going to be brutal with the heat! Hope the A/C behaves. Stay cool Maria and hop in your vehicle and head to that beautiful land in Kansas with the gorgeous water feature!

Maria said...

Pix-the only thing I can think of with those butterflies is that there are probably some weird minerals the butterflies need that comes from the stuff coming out of birds. It just looks so wrong though. If you are what you eat, why are butterflies so darn pretty? :-/