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 Alypia octomaculata This is the caterpillar of the eight-spotted forester moth which is a lovely furry black moth with white spots on its wings and fluffy orange "kneecaps". I've never actually seen the adults, which kind of made me wish I had a butterfly house to put this one into (I'd photograph the adult, then let it go). Someday perhaps. Their host plants are grape and Virginia creeper.

Bald-faced hornet ( Dolichovespula maculata ), chewing up the fence to build a paper nest Green metallic bee ( Augochloropsis sp ), emerging from her burrow

Newly hatched lubber grasshoppers ( Romalea guttatus ) in the Dirt Patch. Despite attaining a rather large size for a grasshopper (roughly 2.5 inches just in body length), they do little damage to garden foliage and so this invasion of hungry babies isn't quite so alarming to me. Also, they will disperse. The black and yellow/orange coloration of youth and later bright adult coloration serves as a warning of their toxicity; however if you're a loggerhead shrike you ignore this, impale your tasty grasshopper on a spike, and simply wait for the toxicity to degrade in a day or so.

I am excited to see some new blooms in the garden after the frost took out about a third of my plants! Calendula officinalis  'Zeolights' Dwarf Toadflax ( Linaria maroccana ) Dianthus amurensis 'Siberian Blue' - the anthers are sky blue at least Browallia americana -  growing where it's not supposed to, but it's pretty so I leave it alone. Vaccinium corymbosum - 'Sunshine Blue' Dwarf Blueberry I acquired the blueberry last year... whence I enjoyed a bountiful harvest of one whole blueberry. I'm hoping for a bit more this year. 

...of my over-zealous fish emulsion campaign... A leaf-footed bug (Coreidae), Acanthocephala terminalis  A plant bug (Miridae) possibly in genus Lopidea Note the glistening dew of eau de fish guts (if you're not familiar with fish emulsion, it is basically liquefied fish guts and leavings, and smells absolutely putrid. I nearly vomit every time I uncap the concentrate. Plants love it!). Both were hanging out in the blue bedder and made their presence known after dousing. My last fish emulsion victim was a rough green snake and is featured in another post. Apologies, critters!

Angel of Satisfying Self-Righteous Indignation (she's my favorite) I rang in the new year by touring Savannah and communing with dead folks. I can't think of a better way to do so. All of the lives now past help to put things in perspective. Bonaventure was by far the most peaceful part of my trip, I could have spent the entire day there. This historic cemetery is located to the southeast of downtown Savannah on the Wilmington River. The site was originally settled by John Mullryne in 1764 and became a plantation which he named Bonaventure, meaning "Good Fortune." Though it was the final resting place of certain French troops and family members of the plot's many landowners beginning in the late 1700s, it was not established as a public cemetery until 1847. Some of the oldest headstones in the cemetery A mausoleum and family plot There are a lot of obelisks... St. Francis watches over a small plot Beautiful doors on a mau...

Pseudemys floridana peninsularis , through binoculars Maceo spotted her first through the window, I was too busy making paper flowers. I think this was his first turtle. His posture was hyper-alert, a cross between sitting and crouching on his haunches, with his ears pointed forward and his eyes wide. At first I wondered why the turtle was wandering back and forth around the yard - seemed like odd behavior. Then I saw her attempt a few scrapes...she's going to lay eggs! Lucky for me, she settled on a spot right outside my rear window. I took a few photos of her through my binoculars from the window, and also through the cattle gate at the rear of the Dirt Patch. I know some people have walked right up to turtles laying eggs before and didn't seem to bother them, but how do we know it doesn't stress them out? I decided to stay about 20 feet back while outside. I was a lot closer through the window, but the screen at least formed a bit of a visual barrier since it was...

Kinosternon baurii This little fellow was observed today on my afternoon walk through the backyard. He dove into the water when I tried to get a little closer. The three stripes on the carapace were clearly visible on this individual, but that is not always the case with this species. The shells of three-stripes usually max out between 4 and 4.5 inches in length, making it not much larger than the smallest turtles in the world.

Opheodrys aestivus hanging out in the  Dracaena The rough green snake is so-called because it has keeled scales. The 'keel' is a small ridge which runs the length of each scale. I accidentally poured fish emulsion on this poor guy, which tipped me off to his presence. He was nearly invisible in the foliage ("that's an odd vine... oh !"). What a gorgeous little snake! (And I really am sorry for pouring stinky fish water on your tail.) The keel is clearly visible in this photo It was a rather warm, humid day with a high of 79 F. A good day for basking in the garden.

My camera cannot quite capture the night's beauty The last full moon was the night of the 6th. I sat in the Dirt Patch in quiet contemplation and burned things that needed burning. A rather restorative exercise.