Little

I've always wanted to be a 'landscape' photographer and find beautiful mountains and wild open places to take magnificent photos.

Alas. I mostly find frustration. Oh sure, I get to places like Black Hawk Rock and can stand 195 feet or so above the valley. The stunning scenery just reminds me how lucky I am to live in the Driftless Region.

In truth, I live in a place with steep valleys and hillsides. The woods and forest is my place of comfort, not big wide open places. 

Face it. I like to study the little things around me. 

Take for instance the tiny mushrooms. I enjoyed slowly walking through our forest searching for tiny things that normally don't catch a person's eye.

I actually enjoy catching sight of tiny insects and other strange things.

Strange indeed to find a Samsung phone in my forest. I suspect I know where it came from but am confused as to why no one let me know they lost it in my forest.
I couldn't miss the opportunity to include the tiny soldiers in a 'call for help!'

And then there was Flying Ant Day! The red ants swarm and the ones with wings and do their thing. It isn't always one day, but it is pretty neat to come across them. Something else I wouldn't have found if I were always looking for the big scene.

The Crab Spider. So beautiful and hard to spot unless you are really looking for them on flowers. Another little 'thing'.

Orange Peel Fungi! So beautiful and bright in the moss. I was walking with Charlie just under the trees near a field. I stopped to check out the moss and under the brush was these wonderful spots of color. Little things that look like someone tossed down mini orange peels. 

This? I was looking at my mail and happened to look down. What a pretty little thing. I have no don't know what it is but it may be fungi from the ink cap family. There are dozens of different kinds. I happened to love the color in the morning light.

This Bumble must have stayed out too late? I like cold bees, I can get close to them.

Tiny Bee. There were dozens of them so busy on the fleabane. They were tricky to 'catch' on camera. I resorted to using the 'action' mode and it took several tries before I got a picture of one.

This one is a leaf cutter bee. Not the kind that builds big nests but is more solitary. 

Remember these pretty fungi?

Here they are now.

I imagine their work is done. They spread their spores and will wilt away and disappear.

I spent my 'free' time this week looking for more fungi while Rich was napping. See, it is always a good excuse to have to walk Charlie. He is little too. 

Little dog, little me, 

looking

for 

little 

things!

I love bugs, well...

I love to photograph bugs as a fun experiment.

The neighbor kids do a 4H project and collect bugs. Last year I started to take an larger interest in bugs I could find around our farm. I was so surprised to find that I really don't know my insects!

What a beautiful colored grasshopper right?
No!
Fork Tailed Bush Katydid!

This beautiful creature was on my Gerbera daisy plant on the porch.

 I found this the other morning while watching the sunrise. The flower is a Woodland Sunflower and they grow wild in the ditches.

The exotic looking creature is a Goldenrod Crab Spider. Apparently they blend into the plant and eat other insects such as wasps! I am thinking that I could love this gorgeous spider!

A spider I found on the porch last year is one of my favorites.

I had help identifying this one from another photographer friend who really digs spiders.
Basilica Orbweaver.

Milkweed plants and flowers are great places for 'bugs'.
I'm not sure what the insects are in this shot, but I think the insect in the bottom of the photo was dead and the insect in the top of the photo was going to eat it!
I didn't realize this until I was reviewing the shots later.

I am pretty new to the insect world. I mean I a novice yet at trying to figure out what they are and what they do.
I find them quite interesting.

Milkweed plant with Japanese Beetle. Beautiful colored insect, but an invasive species!

My vegetable garden is another great place. Although after looking the following insects up, I guess I should be aware also of what they feed on and destroy.

This is by far one of the prettiest little bugs I've ever seen. It is called the Candy Stripped Leaf Hopper. Apparently they like to eat the leaves of sunflowers, I guess they actually suck the juices out of the leaves and can do some damage.
I let it be at the time as I am still squeamish about picking up insects.

I found this Helmet Squash Bug on my sunflowers also. The squash plants in the garden make their way through my sweet corn and sunflowers.

This insect is in the Stinkbug family. There appears to be another insect on the squash bug.
When I moved around to look at the other side I saw that two bugs were attached.
Um.
I think I don't have to explain what they were doing.

And just near the house on some Queen Anne's Lace I found these ants scurrying up and down the flower.

These flowers are quite fragrant, however I was curious as to why the ants would be all over it like they are on my Peonies in the spring.
Apparently there are aphids that feed on the Queen Anne's Lace and the ants are hunting the aphids.

Bugs or creeply crawly things...Insects.
They are pretty cool.