Solitude On My Deck. #12

Good morning to everyone and Happy Saturday! It was a bit chilly on the deck earlier this morning, but now with the sun shining it feels very nice out there. I have put up a small hanging feeder for the chickadees so they are coming regularly again, also some goldfinches have started to show up each day as well. Sitting here with a cup of coffee listening to the birds chirping is beautiful solitude.

The chipmunks are running back and forth, each one trying to get as many peanuts hauled away back to their homes. They stop to say hi and see if I have any peanuts with me since one chipmunk is inside the box getting his fill and the others are a bit impatient to wait. I always like to carry extra with me, just in case, so they come climbing up my leg, get their peanuts and run off again. That is beautiful solitude.

Just off my deck is some goldenrod now in bloom and on those flowers are dozens of flower flies. I can stand there watching them, taking pictures and they will often come and sit on my camera or hover in the air right in front of my face looking at me. That is beautiful solitude. I have tried to get pictures of the flower flies hovering in front of me, but so far I have been unsuccessful. But I keep trying.

They will soon be gone for another year. I never knew there were so many different species of flower flies (some people call them “hover flies”). I am also finding out that it is not easy identifying these flower flies. Some are quite easy, but some are impossible it seems. Some flower flies have variable patterns on them, which makes things more difficult. In other words, one species of flower fly might have different patterns on different individuals, but they are the same species.

But there is no identification guide that lists all the different patterns. And some can only be identified using a microscope. That makes things a bit difficult as well. So it is said if a person can identify it as to family, then that is good. Forget about identifying it to specific species. But it is that way with the majority of insects apparently since there is no definitive guide anywhere that lists all the different species, there are just too many.

So a lot of my pics will not be specifically identified to species, only to family. Oh well, that shows the amazing variety that is out there. That is beautiful solitude. I have had some flower flies land on me and stay for quite a while. That is beautiful solitude. I had another insect crawl around on my hand and arm too. I have found out now that they are spider wasps. They eat spiders. Good for them.

They also can inflict a very painful sting to people. Not so good. But if it lands on me I am not going to try and scare it away. Good way to get stung. There are several different species of these spider wasps, some are quite colorful, some just plain black. They do not look like a wasp at all, which is why I did not mind it walking around on me. Oh well. My friend and I went out on a short road trip on Thursday and I was able to get a lot of nice pics.

Unfortunately some of my insect pics did not turn out. I am showing some lake pics today. There are many beautiful lakes out there, just small lakes with much bird life and hundreds of flower flies. It is the time for “pearly everlasting” flowers to bloom and those flower flies, plus other insects, were all over those flowers. That is beautiful solitude. I will be talking more about the trip and showing more pics another time.

But today some views of lakes. Also a small rock on one lake with the remains of a herring gull nest. Herring gulls have been nesting on that little rock since at least 1975. My mom loved gulls, and she always enjoyed seeing that nest each year that she was able to get out there. So I just had to get a picture of it. That is beautiful solitude. Thank you for joining me on the deck this morning for coffee. That too is beautiful solitude. Have a great weekend everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2022 Steve McLeod.