Since I've been so remiss in my blogging

I thought I'd post a link to what took up quite a bit of my free time over the last few weeks.

Also of late, Kim and I have been trying to plan a new fence in the backyard to give Jenny some security. We've had a few hiccups, but hopefully we'll have some plans firmed up in the next few days.

I'm a boring bloke

I thought I might head off some possible haranguing by letting anyone know, who might like to know, that I have nothing new to report. My lack of posting is due neither to adventures keeping me away from the house, or some grievous injury that has impeded my typing. I've simply done, seen, and thought nothing worth reporting.

Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not updating the DeviantArt account or CoeraBlog, but there are already plenty of links to those.

I hope that doesn't discourage y'all from doing, seeing, and thinking wonderful things and sharing them with us all. I need someone through whom to live vicariously.

P.S.: The 40-Year-Old Virgin is very funny and not half as crass as I'd expected. Or maybe my crassness detector is slipping.

Photos on DeviantArt

I updated my DeviantArt photography account, if you'd like to take a look.

The art account is here if you didn't know I had one.

If you take pictures, draw, or paint, you should think about a DeviantArt account, too. The basic account is free, and it's a great place to share!

It's no Ellen video, but...

Kim and I spent Labor Day afternoon with Mom and Wood up at their house and were treated to barbeque'd hamburgers and hotdogs and a pleasant afternoon watching the birds and the sunset. I didn't think to put my camera in movie mode until it was darker and there were only a few hummingbirds left, but here it is:

Hummingbirds Dogfight

New Bug, New Site

Today was my longest yardwork session so far, coming in at about 4.5 hours, and I'm pooped (yes, I know, I'm out of shape. While I was cutting back the mammoth rose bush that had knocked over the fence between our yard and the neighbors, I saw the usual assortment of insect-critters, but there was a new one, too. This guy flew around like a bee in stealth mode (I couldn't hear it even when he flew past my head), and it had bright yellow and black stripes like a hornet. The big deal with this new guy, though, is that he was nearly 3 inches long (which is bigger than any hornet or wasp I've seen), and he kept wanting to explore the rose bush branches I was cutting up. The him became a them, but they left me alone for the most part.

When I was closing the lid on the trash can, I saw one sitting inside, which is the first time one had been still long enough for me to get a good look. He really was three inches long (about the length of my finger), but not as bright as I'd thought. He had a face like a fly, and he didn't have the detached thorax like a wasp, so I figured it was safe to get close enough for a good look.

Later today, I came across this great website, which seems like it might be even better than an insect field guide. After some searching, I think I found my new bug here - apparently it's a cannibalfly, a relative of the robberfly. The website lists them as "large, circa 35mm or more", but I don't think any of the three I saw were less than 6cm.

In other critter news, Mom, I think this is your furry caterpillar from before (I saw one today, too).

And Dave - I saw another blue-tailed skink while I was mowing the lawn. He was small, but his blue tail was so bright it almost looked like neon!