Birding with Kenn and Kimberly

From Homebase in Oak Harbor, Kimberly Writes: On August 1, 2014, I removed what I thought was a dead Harnessed Tiger Moth from a spider web outside our house. I don't make a habitat of denying spiders a meal, but the moth was freshly "dead" and still looked beautiful, so I wanted to photograph it. When I did, I was stunned to see that in the final moments of her life, she had laid several eggs!  I somehow felt personally responsible for these tiny pearls she bestowed upon me, and I set about to raise them as best I could. Here's a photographic journey though that amazing experience. 08.01.2014 - Female Harnessed Tiger Moth lays eggs in the final moments of life I actually watched the caterpillars hatching under a microscope. Here they are on 08.06.2014, one day old. These are magnified many times. Caterpillars on 08.20.2014 Feeding on oak leaves and growing seemingly by the hour!  Close-up view of caterpillar on 08.20.2014 0 8.24.2014 - Preparing to pupate by silking ...

Kenn Writes: Periodical cicadas: Brood X, which appeared this year, is one of the most widespread of the 17-year cicada emergences. But as with the other broods, it's also quite localized: the insects don't travel far, so unless you're very close to one of the mass emergence sites, you won't see any at all. Brood X emerged at many sites in Ohio this year, but none in our immediate area in the northwest part of the state. So today, Kimberly and I made a special trip north to Washtenaw County, Michigan, which apparently is the northernmost outpost of Brood X. (A couple of other broods do occur slightly farther north in Wisconsin and New York, but of course they're not out this year.) We spent time at the Matthaei Botanical Garden and Marshall Nature Area just east of Ann Arbor and saw good diversity of birds, plants, butterflies, etc., as well as having a wonderful experience with the insects that were the main target of our expedition. Kimberly plucked this obliging ...

From Homebase in Oak Harbor, Kimberly Writes: It was an ugly little light. Too small for the space, old fashioned and beginning to rust. I'd thought of changing it many times and can't say why I hadn't. Procrastination produces wonders. Kenn brought them to my attention yesterday morning: these lovely, long-winged architects.  Just beginning to transform our light and our lives, we watched, mesmerized by their industrial ballet, each trip to and from, their graceful flights turning mud into magic. What a joy to have a front row seat as this pair of Barn Swallows brings new life to an old light.