Stopped to look at the sun through the Cottonwood trees.
Scary birds; have you seen the YouTube vids where they solve puzzles? And I assume that’s without coffee. 
Is it possible for butterflies to have a death wish?
Our newest dog (three year old, spayed, Border Collie) is insane around anything that flies. Birds, dragon flies, jet planes, you name it, she hollers her living head off, dancing on the hind legs — if you figure out why, let me know. Yesterday, she’s on backyard patrol when this half-dollar sized orange butterfly flits into the yard about seven feet off the ground. The Dancing Tirade ensues — Yap, yap yap, dance, dance, dance. The butterfly pauses for a nanosecond then dives straight at her face, circling her head six or seven times in two seconds before veering off into another yard. It looked like the bug was teasing her. I couldn’t get the phone out fast enough for video. Crap!
Giant spiders terrorize small Colorado town!
LOLOLOL! 
And Shatner’s nowhere to be found.
Earlier this evening I watched a weird territorial fight in our yard. Two male blackbirds were brawling and disappeared into a shrub, still fighting. While I as waiting for them to emerge, two female blackbirds flew into the same shrub (!) Moments later, the males emerged, still battling away, followed by the females, also still hard at it.
Jeez, they’re as bad as people.
j
Saturday I went hiking in Beaver Creek Valley State Park (MN). In the eponymous creek I did see some fish (presumably trout). Since the creek is spring fed (spring is in the park), it is very clear.
Brian
We got nature busting out all over around here! A neighbor said they saw a gator walking up their driveway yesterday. I haven’t seen any of those yet, but the other day I saw this raccoon. I was walking underneath his tree and if he’d have been still I’d never have known he was there. I heard the scratching as he climbed up.
Then I saw this little bird. I think it must be a baby, judging from its pout and baggy little eyes! It could fly just fine, though.
Saw this Swallowtail, and tried to get a decent photo with my iPhone:
Saw this brilliant emerald beetle yesterday (sorry about the link but keep getting the embed warning thing no matter how quick I am or if I close the preview window on the right):
Wow, beautiful!
I saw a hummingbird feeding where I put up a feeder in front of my kitchen window. The house to the south also has a feeder so I hope this encourages them to stick around.
As the swallows return to Capistrano, so the Sea Lions return to Monterey Bay.
Same day, I saw a mama otter with young.
Over the weekend, we had a cool and refreshing splash in the Smith River in Northern California/Southern Oregon. We waded in at Stout Memorial Grove, part of the huge Redwood National & State Parks area (which consists of several parks combined into one). It was a relaxing jaunt amongst big redwoods followed by some of the clearest waters you can find in any US river.
More than 300 miles of the Smith is Congressionally designated Wild and Scenic, with nary a dam to be found, leading to an incredibly wild state that is quite rare in the modern US. The nearby Klamath River is going through an un-damming process right now, and may one day be restored to a state similar to the Smith’s.
If you’ve never spent time on an undammed river, they’re worth the visit. Their waters, shores, geography, wildlife, etc. are all pristine in a way that you can’t find with most US rivers.
That whole region (NorCal past Humboldt into Del Norte County, and Southwest Oregon) is incredibly beautiful and easily worthy of a week’s stay or more. I spent a decade there and still miss it all the time.
(Not my pictures; they’re from NPS and Alltrails).
The New River in North Carolina is (was?) a designated river. I used to canoe it every summer while I was in High School. It was beautiful.
The Locusts are in bloom!
Red Bug in the Middle of the Road
(well, not actually).
Your neck of the words is a very dangerous place. First, the giant spider(s) and now the abnormal-sized ladybugs. What’s next?
Rose-eaters:
Storm coming in. Expecting 3-4 days of rain starting tomorrow.
