I picked a sprig of Spoon-leaf Purple Everlasting (Gamochaeta purpurea) to photograph the seed head. As I rolled it the stem over between my fingers to pose the seed head, I noticed a small spider spinning a web along the stem between the individual flowers. It continued spinning its web apparently unconcerned by the movement.
It was only when I identified it that I discovered it was a male Southern Black Widow spider (Latrodectus mactans). Black Widow spiders are generally found in undisturbed sites – under logs, in woodpiles etc. This sighting was unusual in that the spider was on a plant in an open field.
Identification resource: Bugguide.net
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J and I were putting my boat on the car. It was dusk, about 8:00 pm. We weren’t making a lot of noise. The boat was on and we were strapping it down.
First thing we noticed was a rabbit – like this one - bipping its way up the drive. It stopped about 10 feet from us and acted like it was going to nibble grass. It didn’t startle but changed its mind about eating and bipped on further along the drive at a steady pace.
We watched with some interest because two of our cats, Minker and Gandalf, were sitting on the drive where we park the cars. The rabbit bipped right up to within about 6 to 10 feet of them, stopped and sat for several minutes. Minker and Gandalf just looked at it, probably in a state of shock at the impertinence of this creature. Gandalf is an expert hunter of rabbits, rodents and birds but he didn’t make a move. If anything, it was Minker who went into stalker mode. It looked like Minker might stalk it but she decided against it and just watched.
The rabbit took off again at a leisurely pace. It bipped in an arc back out into the field and back to the drive below where we were standing, off down the drive and into the woods.
It was the strangest thing …
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W first noticed the praying mantis hatching on the evening of March 22nd. The egg case had been laid on a branch of a small sweetgum tree beside the entrance to the greenhouse. We immediately began photographing, thinking that the hatch would be completed in a few hours. However, it took two to three days and I got my best photos during the daylight.
Newly hatched mantids crawled down and hung in a group from the bottom of the egg case. At first they looked very crumpled but would gradually straighten out to look like they do in these photos.
When they were ready, they dropped off onto the ground approximately three feet below. It seemed impossible that any would survive. However I did see one climbing up a branch a day or so later. So at least one survived the fall.Click on an image to view a larger image.
We planted Decoy the same year that we planted Jetfire. Decoy hasn’t been as prolific as Jetfire but has done well. It is one of the daffodils that has a truly pink center.
Decoy began blooming on March 9th and bloomed for several weeks.
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It was only when I identified it that I discovered it was a male Southern Black Widow spider (Latrodectus mactans). Black Widow spiders are generally found in undisturbed sites – under logs, in woodpiles etc. This sighting was unusual in that the spider was on a plant in an open field. 
I rowed back down the bay and turned to row back down the lake (Segment 12). I’m not really sure why I hesitated. I think I decided that I wanted to try and get a couple of shots of the pair on the point. I started to photograph when something made me look off to my right. 
Not one pair but two pairs of geese with their goslings were swimming across from the bridge into the bay. I didn’t get a count of the goslings with each pair but it was a delightful sight.
They swam off across the bay.
When the families were well across the bay, the pair that had stood guard stopped their honking and head-dipping displays on the point, slipped back into the water and swam after them. It appears that the single goose had been playing some lookout function and the pair that took up position on the point – honking and dipping heads – was communicating with the parents to warn of my presence and then giving the all-clear so that the families could swim safely through.
First thing we noticed was a rabbit – like this one - bipping its way up the drive. It stopped about 10 feet from us and acted like it was going to nibble grass. It didn’t startle but changed its mind about eating and bipped on further along the drive at a steady pace.
Newly hatched mantids crawled down and hung in a group from the bottom of the egg case. At first they looked very crumpled but would gradually straighten out to look like they do in these photos.
When they were ready, they dropped off onto the ground approximately three feet below. It seemed impossible that any would survive. However I did see one climbing up a branch a day or so later. So at least one survived the fall.
A week or so later, I was making my regular rounds to check on wildflowers – camera in hand – when I encountered him on the outside wall of the greenhouse. He didn’t attempt to run off so I was able to get some shots of him. I normally take a lot when I get the opportunity so I followed him as he mover relatively slowly along the wall of the greenhouse. When he got to the corner, he stopped. He apparently had had enough of being stalked. 
He puffed up his body, bobbed his head, and extended his dewlap a couple of times. I was lucky enough to get a shot of the extended dewlap. He’d been a good sport so I let him go about his business with no further interruptions.
