We got a butterfly kit recently from www.insectlore.com and sent away for our five larvae. They ate their food, then formed chrysalides. The first two butterflies hatched while we weren't looking. I was determined to capture the emergence of butterfly number three.
Photo 1: Two have hatched, one is almost ready to hatch, and two are still percolating. Check out the wing colors clearly visible through the chrysalis!
Photo 2: Love the iridescent colors on this one.
Photo 3: The one we're going to focus on is shown here lying on its left side with its belly toward us. Note the color-coded diagram showing the locations of the wing, eye, legs, and antennae. (I'm no authority, so if this is critical information for you, I recommend you verify it elsewhere.)
As best I can tell, the antennae originate on top of the head and then wrap around the butterfly's body to the underside. You can see both antennae, but I only outlined the top one.
Photos 4, 5 and 6: At this point, I could tell something was going to happen pretty soon.
- Photo 4 (left), 10:56 AM: Despite the blurry photo, you can see the distinct black color inside each segment of the abdomen.
- Photo 5 (middle), 11:49 AM: Suddenly I realized the black color in the segments was gradually disappearing. The butterfly was pulling its abdomen away from the inside of the shell, one segment at a time.
- Photo 6 (right), 12:04 PM: Fifteen minutes later, the black in the last segment is almost gone.
I did some paperwork while keeping an eye on the little guy/girl. Then I got up for a minute to get some more coffee.
Photos 7, 8 and 9:
I return to the table with my coffee. Oh no--the shell has busted open! Gotta run and tell the kids!
I grabbed the camera in time to capture the new arrival unfurling its wings.
From left to right: 12:25:14 PM, 12:25:36 PM, and 12:27:48 PM.
Photo 10:
Two of the butterflies together on some clover. Depth of field is quite shallow, but the photo isn't too bad, considering I don't have a macro lens.
Here is a short story I've always liked, by Mark Twain.
http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/559/
...trying to watch The Daily Show, while responding to knock-knock jokes, against an aural backdrop of hula music.
From CNN.com's sports section:
Weeks After His Death, Steve Larsen's Legend Lives On
Well, jeez... I would hope so. Otherwise it wouldn't be much of a legend.
Buddy Guy performed Saturday night at Elk Creek Vineyards, Owenton, KY. He roamed the audience mid-song. That's phantomxii in the gray shirt, being sung to!
I'm at a concert and just saw a lady who looked sorta like homebody wearing a hat sorta like the one homebody wore to the Cincy Vox meetup last summer. Homebody wore hers better. This lady's hat was too big in proportion to her head.
MEDIUM: Television
REFERENCE: "Coke, Pepsi, Royal Crown."
Who said it?
Ears of yellow sweet corn.
A person swimming.
A spoonful of pink bismuth subsalicylate.
***
(Found at an NIH website. This was a series of image alt tags which I was able to read as the page dribbled slowly into my mobile browser.)
Networking is cool because... it makes good things happen!
I've seen a couple of nice examples lately:
- A Bard alum posted something for other Bardians on LinkedIn, indicating he was looking for people to interview about how the recession has affected people in writing and publishing. I hooked him up with someone I know at my former employer, and this interview was the result:
http://www.examiner.com/x-2862-NY-Writing-Careers-Examiner~y2009m4d19-Writers-and-the-recession-Writers-Digests-Jane-Friedman-talks-about-present-problems-and-solutions - On one of the message boards I follow, an educator posted that she wanted to go to the statehouse to testify on behalf of continued funding for her area of specialty. The time for testifying was during her work hours, however. She asked list members for ideas as to how to approach her boss about it. Someone replied that the superintendent of this teacher's district used to be her next-door neighbor, and that she was 99% sure he would be supportive. I think the responder offered to put in a good word for the writer.
Pretty cool.
