Wednesday Wanderings. #11

Hi everyone! Well, it is a beautiful, sunny day here, and milder than it has been. It is about 37F (3C) right now, which is nice for this time of the year. Yesterday it was heavy cloud with some showers, so that little bit of snow we had has melted now. It is supposed to really be mild on Friday, then temps will drop again on the weekend.

But each mild day right now means one less day of winter, so that part is certainly nice. Winters the last 3 years have been a bit shorter than normal, and for me, that is nice. Winter that is 5 months long is much better than winters that last 6 or 7 months. One of my more northerly readers would probably think that 6 months is rather short, but for me, it’s too long. I can’t get out much in the winter like I used to do and that makes winter long.

This picture is from April, 2023

As you know, I used to feed the birds in the winter and that helped to make those 6 or 7 months of cold and snow a lot more bearable. And bright. And fun. Those birds came in many different colors and sizes. I would sit, or stand, out there on the deck, even in -30 degree weather, trying to coax birds to my hand so I could get photos of them. And it worked too. Although my hands nearly froze a few times.

When I could no longer feel the birds landing on my fingers, I knew it was time to go back inside and warm up. That warming up process really did sting. But, as they say in the old country, “No pain, no pictures.” It was the same in the summer when I was trying to get photos of bees and wasps. I would sit among the flowers, on a rock, so I could be close to these insects. Being closer means better pictures.

Red-breasted Nuthatch at one of my old bird feeders.

But some of those bees and wasps didn’t like my intrusion into their space. And they let me know about their displeasure. And those stings would certainly hurt. But, back to that saying, “No pain, no pictures.” There was this one odd looking creature crawling on my bare arm one day. It was interesting and had some colorful markings. I wondered if this creature was the biting kind.

I had never seen one before, so I didn’t know anything about it. So, I poked at it a bit. I discovered they don’t bite. They sting. A rather painful sting too. Turns out, it’s a type of wasp. It certainly didn’t look like a wasp, which is kind of sneaky. They are cool creatures though and I enjoy taking pictures of them and their many relatives.

Golden Northern Bumble Bee.

If I ever manage to get my photos sorted out, it’s a much larger task than I first realized, I will start showing pictures of all these interesting insects. I have shown some, but there are many more. Plus spiders too. I have really only begun taking pictures of them. They are definitely not in my favorite category. But I still would like to get pictures of as many as possible.

Though that seems to be impossible living here. And there is such a short window of opportunity during our snow free months. But, that’s the photography challenge. Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless!

Steve and Muffin. ©2025 Steve McLeod.