Black and blue and...white?

Added a "new for me" dragonfly to the yard list (that I'm not actually keeping). Took me longer than it mayhap should have to find it in the book. For an obvious reason, I was looking for a dragonfly with a glaringly obvious white body...

But once I found the beastie, a Great Blue Skimmer, the description clinched the ID: "often tame, allowing a close approach as it perches on a shaded twig." *

As you can see, this youngster (the white will become less obvious as it ages, changing over to a pale blue) had no problem posing for his portrait. Sometimes behavior is your best key to pinning a name on a beastie.

* Dragonflies through Binoculars, Dunkle.

Boneless Cat.

Cassandra, you are only missing the ball end of your bone on one leg, not both*.

(It's hard to tell, but her hind legs are straight out behind her, paw pads facing up.)

"Yeah, and your point is?"

Cats are weird.

*Mishap at the vet's a couple of years ago; all better now after complimentary surgery [I should think so!] and unnoticeable that she doesn't have a normal ball-and-socket hip joint in her left leg. Cats with completely normal skeletons do strange things like this all the time... This is new for her, though; she's usually curled up tight in that bed with room to spare.

Insect Collection I.

Is creating an insect collection still standard protocol for elementary school science classes, or is it no longer politically or environmentally correct?

I tried for the most variety as much as the next kid working on that assignment, but I must admit that photography is a much cooler way of doing it. And your specimens actually look alive! (I'm sorry, I have never been able to appreciate Audubon's work. They all look like paintings of dead birds to me. I suppose you could say they were "true to life"; after all, they were paintings of dead birds… "Shoot first, study later" was the motto of the day. Hmm. Guess it still was even into my generation.)

Sure would be nice to think that they send kids out with a camera these days instead of a collection jar with a nail polish remover-soaked cotton ball in it…

Silver Spotted Skipper on Pickerel-weed.

Black Swallowtail on Buddleia.

Nymph with shed skin. They're really cute this small! It's those eyes.

Ladybeetle on star flower (Amsonia).

Painted Lady and Black Swallowtail.

Little Wood Satyr on Tulip Tree.

 

Eastern Comma.