A Bloy and his Blog

It seems the phrase “like a duck to water” is appropriate during the bitter cold too.

Just as long as they can still find some open water.

read the rest of: Like ducks to (cold) water

How long does it take a spider to a spin web that big? (About a foot and a half in diameter). Hope he got a good meal after all that.

The other day I discovered a grasshopper hanging out on my clematis plant.

He was trying to get some sun, but once he caught me looking over his shoulder, he got a little anxious and started moving around.

read the rest of: Looking over the grasshopper’s shoulder

I saw one of the weirdest creatures while hiking last week. At first I thought I saw a small pine cone moving along the forest floor. A closer look revealed this spider, about a 2/3 of an inch in size.

The combination of that pine-cone-like abdomen, the eight legs sticking out, and those freaky multiple eyes… I’m surprised I haven’t had spider nightmares.

Update: I think this is probably a a female wolf spider with spiderlings on her back (see comments below). I still like the “pine cone spider” name I gave it though.

Another example of nature’s beauty at Olbrich Gardens: a monarch butterfly feeding on flower nectar.

read the rest of: Feeding monarch