Minutiae

I blazed away the day yesterday - what do I mean by that? It means I can't remember doing anything of consequence, but I had a blast anyway!

It's day 149 of my stay-at-home isolation, and my lifestyle, once sedate, is even more sedate, if that's even possible! Yes, I wander from activity to activity, as my whim takes me, because there is no schedule, no timetable. It definitely took a while to get to my first level of sedate, once we retired, but this is a whole new level, and I'm learning to slow down even more, to take in everything and make the little things matter. One way I do this, is by photographing and recording Lilliputian elements of the world - the microscopic details up close and personal, that we often overlook (like a knot in a piece of wood). Look at this pretty pink and mauve pattern I noticed amongst the green in my yard...

The close up, without context, looks kind of alien and scary, but it's not really. It's a very pretty caterpillar:

What an amazing and intricate pattern on this larva's back - I think this helpless creature is trying to look like a fierce monster with that design! I found out that, in addition to this fuchsia and purple version, some larval stages are green and cream (I recall seeing one a few days ago during lunch), and others are brown and tan. They're all the same species, and feed on oaks, of which I have many! It turns into a nondescript, mottled blackish, greyish, whitish woodland moth, Heterocampa umbrata.

I'm loving my fascinating world!