Going Buggy

/ Walking My Path: Mindful Wanderings in Nature

In response to Ed’s Sunday Stills – Going Buggy

As most of you have noticed, I love taking pictures of butterflies, beetles, bees and bugs, and you have seen them throughout my posts. When I saw this challenge, I thought, “oh yay!” and went out, and shot these this week.

DSC_0271 - CopyThis one was so well camoulflaged, its legs were an exact replica of the sunflower stem, complete with dots and hairs.

DSC_0194 - Copy (2)Just hanging out, being at one with its surroundings.

DSC_0192 - CopyThere is plenty for all creatures great and small here on Mama Gaia, as long as we take care of Her.

DSC_0268 - Copy - Copy                                       Hello You!

DSC_0206 - Copy

Happy weekend everyone!

44 thoughts on “Going Buggy”

    • Haha! Right! Some I don’t mind crawling on me – like beetles. I love spiders, but not crawling on me, thank you very much!

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      • Good idea! In the meantime, I’ll enjoy my phone’s camera. I’ll just really appreciate your photos 🙂 I’ve been talking about getting a new camera for over a decade, ever since 35 mm, medium format, and dark rooms were phased out. I used to want to build a dark room, and was slowly collecting supplies. Everything changed on me; and it became entirely impractical for me to build the darkroom: I really didn’t have a space for it!

        I love life, Mary! We are just so so fortunate here on planet earth. We always have what we need when we need it! And if we don’t, we find what we need 🙂

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      • It took me a long time to make the leap from 35mm to digital. I was all set up with 35mm and finally last Christmas, after like 20 years, I set myself up again with digital. I didn’t think I would like it so much, but just the ability to take as many pictures as you want is sooooo freeing. And the film doesn’t get stuck on the roll at precisely the wrong time, or come to the end of the roll and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to get developed. I’m having a blast with it.

        I love life too, Ka. I love this planet so much! I feel so grateful to get to live where I do.

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      • Hi Mary,
        Your reply put a big smile on my face 😀
        Thinking back to what you wrote about the film getting stuck on the roll: sometimes I liked when that happened, because it meant I’d get a neat double-exposure. They were usually experiments, but sometimes brought neat results. In fact, I got into double-exposing images with a Holga camera (a toy) that I re-built, based on some directions that I had. This was a while ago, and a nice memory, too. Picturing you having a blast with your camera, and roaming around free in the wilderness, really makes me cheery. Good day to you, Mary 🙂
        Ka

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      • Hmmm… rebuilding cameras. Wow! Sounds complicated. You must be really smart. 🙂
        I have to tell you about this one double exposure that magically happened to me. My brother died in 1986 of an AIDS related brain disease. I left my life and went to San Francisco to take care of him through his illness and death 5 months after his diagnosis. During his illness, the gay pride march happened – which he was too sick to attend. I went, took loads of pictures, and came back to his apartment and took some pictures of him in his bed. When I got the roll developed, there was one of him with with several pride pictures (full of beads and costumes and all kinds of colorful times) superimposed on his beautiful face. It was like he was there. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. It was hugely meaningful to me, and here we are almost 30 years later talking about double exposures, and I feel that close to you.
        Yes, wandering around in the woods is great fun. What kind of nature surrounds you, Ka?
        Namaste
        Mary

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      • Mary, at the moment, a silent, present pause surrounds me. Your image of your brother’s timelessness, captured. Your camera’s ability to set you both free while your double-exposed image manages to show you how you had teleported him into that place of unity, pride, and wholeness once again. Perhaps it’s his transcendence now, from your memory, which captures me so? I do have some chills on my arms.

        Photography is always so much more, isn’t it? What is it about those tender moments at the end of our loved one’s roads in this life that intimates our own lives so much? How could it possibly be an accident to be in two different places at once?

        We have a lot of dryness right now in S. California. Not like the Pennsylvania woods that I’m so accustomed too (except for those old allergies – which I suppose meant some part of me was not quite comfortable with all of my beloved, beloved trees). Natural sources of water are low here. The main river artery moves more like a stream. El Nino will likely bring more rain water here, and bulk up the river with water and habitation.

        I am home. Nature is my nearby mountain to the North, with lots of walking/hiking trails, lizards, rabbits, coyote, hawks. Ground squirrels and sycamore trees to the SouthWest… Nature here is a different energy than the fairy woods. Here there’s a little wooded fairy area which I do quite enjoy. It’s an easy drive to experience either more woods (NorthEast) or more desert (East). There are pine, coastal oak, and eucalyptus trees. To the West is the coastline, you know what’s over there! 😉

        There’s a group of maybe 5 rainbow eucalyptus trees by the side of the road that I visit, as if they needed human interaction! 🙂 I love the diversity, the choices available…i love it here.

        Thank you for sharing your double-exposure with me, Mary.

        Namaste _/1\_
        Ka

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      • I am sure the 5 rainbow eucalyptus trees enjoy your company. I am glad you love where you are. I really hope you get water soon. We are getting a lot of smoke here from all the fires in CA, OR and WA. Really horrible. Whereas, we have been blessed with a normal amount of rain this season. It gave the land a needed respite from the 13 year drought here. This is the first year without catastrophic fires in a long time.

        Thank you for understanding the magic of my double-exposure. I knew you would.
        Namaste dear Ka,
        Mary

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    • Yeah, I saw one of them actually either peeing or laying eggs the other day. They are all over the place, but not causing any damage that I can see. Pretty cool dudes. Hahaha.

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  8. Seeing this, Mary, I was reminded of the great services our insect brethren perform every day in our world. They remind me of the beauty in simple rules– simple geometries, simple patterns, simple webs spun across the globe. Somewhere on this wide world web of info I saw recently a discussion on the hummingbird moth. Was that you? We had one of those in our garden last summer, and it was incredible…

    Michael

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    • Yes, they really are amazing workers. Pollinating, cleaning up, providing beauty. They often get such a bad rap, get sprayed or smashed. I wish more people would see them as wonderful brethren. Are you talking about a sphynx moth? They look a lot like hummers. It wasn’t me that wrote about them. Thanks for coming by, Michael. It is always a delight.
      Peace,
      Mary

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    • Yeah, definitely a huge learning curve. I have to take a million pictures to get a really good one. Thanks for thinking they are gorgeous. That means a lot to me, Fim!

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  10. I have a new appreciation for our four-legged, six-legged, eight- legged fellow creatures. Stunning close-ups. As usual your creature’s comments are sweet and insightful. Loved it 🙂

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    • Your appreciation of these tiny creatures doesn’t surprise me, Karen. You are such a gentle, loving soul. Thank you for enjoying the pictures. They were fun to take.

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  13. Love these, Mary. I found an interesting & cute bug on a plant this morning and had a heck of a time photographing it as it instinctively kept crawling to the underside of the leaf. Finally I got it! Will post it sometime. Cheers!

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    • I hate it when they do that! Just as you get it set up and focused. Camera shy, I guess. Hahaha. More like survival instinct. I look forward to seeing it. I just found this comment in my spam folder. Not sure why that happened. Cheers back!

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  16. Aww. What sweet lil critters.
    we love all of your pics.
    and congrats on your two newest blogging awards!! I”m sure there are many more to come – you do great work and you inspire others with your thoughtful comments and appreciation.
    hugs always,
    O and OM.

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    • Aw, thanks so much O and OM! You totally started my day with a smile on my face. My heart feels all warm and fuzzy now. I love that feeling and I so appreciate your comment. I am so happy to be in friendship with you.
      Hugs to you two too!
      Mary

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