Quiz Time

 What is this? Do you have any ideas?

I've had to keep it small so as not to lose definition ...

 Answer will be posted tomorrow ...

Count My Spots

The Seven-spot Ladybird beetle is an aphid hunter, and here's one honing in on its banquet of rose aphids (those little green guys on the stem, and under the furthest leaf - there are a lot of them).

The scientific name of this little native is Coccinella septempunctata, literally translating as the 'seven-spotted scarlet beetle, so apt!

Just look at this fierce face - it must be terrifying for an aphid to see this armored, dome-shaped tank approaching!

Darting Visitor

Common darter is a reddish dragonfly that's been coming to our pond, but never staying still long enough to get photographed. I stalked it this time, and waited patiently at a frequently used landing spot - success at last! And then I read on Wikipedia that its 'habit of repeatedly returning to a sunny spot allows you to easily predict where they are going to land, which is why it is one of the easiest dragonflies to photograph.' Harumph ... it has taken me a few weeks to nail this one down (shh, don't tell anybody).

Prickly Visitor

Our resident hedgehog has been partaking of the food we've been putting out almost daily, and certainly very regularly. Since they're nocturnal, we don't always get a chance to see them ourselves, but we got lucky one evening when it came earlier than usual - Dale took this pic from the living room window when the camera spotlight turned on. 

Our feed station has to be cat proof, otherwise they'd munch all the food before the hedgehog got there. So, we've made a maze of bricks inside an overturned tote bin, forcing the animal to weave and turn inside the tote in order to reach the food bowl.

and we've cut a small entranceway into the plastic tote. Though we've seen cats peek inside this entrance, they're nervous about the interior labyrinth that doesn't lend itself to a quick escape. This way, only the dim, adorable hedgehog gets to eat the food!