Week #19: 'S if for Spider'
This image was admittedly unplanned. I was out in the woods behind my house one morning and happened upon this lovely little green spider when its web caught my eye. I love spider webs. I think they are one of nature's loveliest and most intriguing works of art. It doesn't matter to me whether they are in use or abandoned, but the way this spider lit up to a day-glo green with the sun behind it was kind of mesmerizing. Well, for a critter-lover like me, anyway. Armed, yet again, with my macro lens, getting this shot was almost as challenging as capturing the Hummingbird moth because it was very breezy that morning, and the spider was pretty sensitive—more times than not, when it heard/felt the shutter, it jerked a little. This is one of very few shots in which the whole spider was acceptably sharp, and I took at least twenty. All I needed was one, so mission accomplished. Best I can tell, this is a Venusta Orchard Spider.
Week #20: 'T is for Thistle'
I think most folks would consider a thistle to be a weed. I think they are beautiful. They look like crazy purple upside-down tassels to me. This one is out on the edge of my front yard. It's arguably the most colorful thing out there right now, or at least the one thing that isn't green or brown. Their happy appearance is deceitful, as they have spiky leaves that run along their long stalks. A quick google search led me to its scientific name, Cirsium Texanum (aka Texas Purple Thistle), as well as some other interesting information about this springtime wildflower.
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