You Can Take The Hound Out Of The Hunt, But ...

Baby Mockingbirds 

The Northern Mockingbird is the state bird of Texas.  I took this picture of two fledgling mockingbirds as they were getting old enough to hop from the nest.

When they first started leaving the nest and ended up on the ground, I kept picking them up and returning them to safety after my dogs found one and almost caused an untimely end.  Just goes to show, you can take the hound out of the hunt but you can't take the hunt out of the hound.

Eventually  I realized I couldn't keep them safe in the nest because they were trying to learn to fly and couldn't accomplish that feat unless they had a running start out in the open, which is a very dangerous place to be when one is a baby bird.  I've noticed it takes the fledglings several days out of the nest to learn to fly up to the taller boughs of nearby trees, all the while they make a little bird call for their parents because they are still too young to capture food for themselves.  The parents continue bringing them food as well as keeping an eye on them in case predators or danger is in the area.

I heard an adult mockingbird make the most precious, calming sound to one of her babies the other day while I was nearby - it was kind of a trill of notes unlike any other sound I've heard a mockingbird make before and I knew the parent was trying to make sure the baby stayed quiet.

Right this very moment I have two sets of adult mockingbirds trying to raise more babies in my backyard.  One set is in my old man's beard vine and another in my sapling live oak tree.

Mockingbirds mimic 50 other bird's songs. They have also been known to imitate other sounds they hear such as rusty hinges, whistling, cackling hens, and dogs barking so expertly that even an electronic analysis could not tell the difference between the mockingbird and the original. Scientists have found that female mockingbirds are attracted to males that can make the most different sounds.

Oh Bugger :: What's Buggin' Out On Thursdays?

I'm a self-proclaimed naturalist researching the "bugs" in my life.  I use the term "bug" lightly and in very general terms so I include insects, spiders, and other related creatures.  I try to share a new bug every Thursday (but do not always get a chance).

My camera is a Canon Powershot G7.  As an amateur photographer simply pursuing what interests me, I've found that I truly enjoy taking photos of bugs and doing my best to identify them and learn more about their habitat and biology.

My Philosophy: To take photos of Texas wildlife and local insects in their environment without disturbing them or causing them harm.  My goal is to capture their likeness in a photograph, identify the specimen by research using credible internet resources, and share what I've learned with others.

Have you heard?  Buggin' Out On Thursdays has it's own index list including article titles, specimens, and dates published so you can find what interests you easily.

I often contribute my photos to the field guide at BugGuide.net and can be found there as biologie.

Buggin' Out On Thursdays :: I've Got Spines but no Backbone

Spiny Orb Weaver by biologie-me.blogspot.com © 2010

The Spiny Orb Weaver, also called the spiny backed orb weaver, is known in Texas as a beneficial spider for the garden because they eat flies and mosquitoes.  A lot of people refer to these spiders as "crab spiders", however, they are actually orb weavers.  They make the beautiful circular spiderwebs that catch the morning dew. 

These little spiny spiders may look spooky but they are not considered dangerous.  While hiking in the woods outside Austin you may come across these guys in abundance!  They usually like to spin their webs in forested areas although they can be found anywhere - like on my canna lilies in my backyard where I found this one!  She would spin her web between the leaves of the lilies.  I visited her daily while I watered my flowerbed and missed her when she disappeared.

The spiny backed orb weavers have six pointed projections on their back, commonly referred to as "spines" and are very easily identified by this characteristic, as well as the patterned "face-shaped" coloring which can be white, yellow, orange, or red.  Some of these spiders have a white pattern with red spines. 

Buggin' Out On Thursdays

If you've been following my blog you may remember Peaches (a true crab spider) and my post on the Western Spotted Orb Weaver (also a true orb weaver like our little spiny backed friend).

  What kinds of bugs have you seen lately?

Think you can read me like a book?

Maybe! But you can definitely read me like a blog post at the Raige Creations blog where I'm honored to say I am a Featured Creator!

Read more: Biologie In Art - Featured Creator

Rebecca @ Raige recently awarded me with the Sunshine Award. I'm feeling the love. Everyone needs sunshine and all the blogs I follow deserve this award so I nominate them all! To see a list of the blogs I follow please see my Profile.

Bluebonnets Tell Bees Which Flower To Pollinate :: Nature In Harmony!

Last month I mentioned bluebonnets are the state flower of Texas:

The very first bluebonnet I photographed in my backyard this year was very young and none of the flowers on the spike had been pollinated yet. You can see my blog post about the "baby" bluebonnet, here.

How do I know if the blossom has been pollinated?

When the bees pollinate the bloom, the white section in the center of the little "bonnet shaped" flower turns a pinkish-red. My blogger friend, Hali, mentioned she'd like to see the color change and I promised a photograph so today it's time to deliver!

Here we go:

Why the color change?

Bees don't interpret colors the same way humans see colors. They see the world in colors of blues, greens, and ultra-violet light. They can also see oranges and yellows. They can't see the color red.

Since bees can't detect the color red the flowers of the Bluebonnet have adapted to save energy and time for both the bees and the flower. The flowers want to be pollinated so they can produce a seed and continue the cycle of life. They bloom and present a pleasing flower of blue with a white (or yellow) center to attract pollinators. The bees can see the bloom no matter what the color, however, that center of white or yellow is the key attractant. As far as the bluebonnets are concerned, they want the bees to ignore a flower that has already been fertilized and move up to a flower on the spike with a white or yellow center (colors bees are attracted to and can "see").

In a nutshell, the reason the center of the bloom changes color is to encourage the pollinators to move to a flower on the bluebonnet spike that still needs pollination.

Nature in harmony!

The way bees and flowers work together is called symbiosis. Symbiosis is a relationship between two organisms of different kinds which benefits both organisms. Yay!

Go forth and bloom! :)

Little Fairy-land Lilies :: The Wildflowers Are Waking Up!

Spring Lilies

If you've been following my Twitter page you may have noticed I'm documenting all the Spring wildflowers that come up in my backyard. The second ones to come up are these adorable Lilies which turn the yard into a little fairyland! They are tiny and look like wild onion or garlic, however, I think they are "false garlic" (Nothoscordum bivalve) based off of information from my Twitter friend, USWildflowers. These cute flowers remind me of my little niece, Lily.

In other news, yesterday I spent a huge chunk of the day making a new banner for my Etsy shop. The old one looked just like the banner I have here at the top of my blog. The new one is more streamlined (I think) but I'm not sure if I'm finished tweaking it. Please let me know what you think: Pop over and have a look at my new Etsy banner

Is it too bright? Just right? Does it match my shop? Should I go back to more muted colors? I'd like to hear your thoughts!

Oh, by the way, in case you were curious - the first wildflowers to come up in my backyard were yellow primroses. You can see a picture on my Twitpic page if you'd like! In addition, I also found a perfect dandelion puff!

Prince The Toad

Meet Prince the Toad!

He wants to be your Prince Charming. Get him here!

My mom and I went to the bead show on Sunday and I found so many beads! I could have easily gone completely crazy buying up the entire place. It's bead heaven. There were a lot of people there too, even though we arrived late.

I made this satin cord and lamp work glass bead necklace (starring the toad - Prince) on Monday and couldn't wait to get his picture taken so I could list him in my shop. You can see my dog Darcy in the background, I think she wanted to eat him because she's licking her chops!

I Can Haz Cheezburger presents: Darcy as the Slipper Ninja

Darcy peeking inside to see if she can snag one of my slippers. Perfect shot of my sweet doggie for a Lolz Caption.

To make your own go to cheezburger.com: Make Cheezburgers!

Cherry Blossoms River Rock Pendant :: Inspired By Sunshine

River rocks with a branch of lovely Cherry Blossoms, how divine!

This addition to my Cherry Blossoms Collection is a smooth faux river rock with shimmering swirls of silver and rose gold to catch the light. Possibilities for these little treasures are endless but I couldn't resist turning the first one into a pretty pendant.

I formed the cherry blossoms and branches for this pendant free-hand and then carefully applied them to the river rock, which I also made by hand. The cherry blossoms themselves are made on the top of a thumbtack and transferred over to the river rock on the end of a needle - so tiny! The firing process ensures this pendant is fused as one secure piece.

Spring is coming! In anticipation and celebration for my all time favorite season, I'm offering free shipping on this necklace.

Buy It! at my Etsy shop.

New to Etsy? Here's a quick guide to get you started: Buying An Item On Etsy

Buggin' Out On Thursdays :: A Green Lynx Spider Pounces Into The Virtual Bug Collection

It's Buggin' Out On Thursdays and I love this pretty spider! Yes, I think he's pretty. Greens, yellows, black polka dots, and crazy wicked looking hairy bristles on the legs. Awesome.

Green lynx spiders (Peucetia viridans) are a very welcome addition to my gardens. One little green spider up close in the macro lens brings a whole new world to life! I never knew this guy had transparent yellow legs with black spikes! I found my little buddy living in the foliage of my squash plants waiting for prey. I get these spiders in my gardens every year.

Like most anybody, green lynx spiders will bite you if provoked but are generally harmless to humans. Interestingly, in addition to injecting venom into their prey with their fangs they are capable of spraying venom from them as well. They eat insects that destroy crops like moths who feed on cotton. Unfortunately they don't discriminate if a bee or other beneficial pollinator happens to come around while they are hunting.

These spiders hunt during the day and roam low foliage, herbs and shrubberies. They can "pounce" on their prey when they come across something worth eating. They don't have a web but they can spin silk and use it as leverage or as a safety line when moving from one plant to another.

The species name, viridans, is Latin for "becoming green". The spider inspired me to make these earrings entitled "Green Lynx. Love Her. A pair of Peucetia viridans earrings" and they are part of my Mother Earth Collection @ Etsy.

They'd be wonderful for St. Patty's Day, yes? Unless of course you like getting pinched!

Buy the earrings here!

Blossoming. Cherry Blossoms River Rocks and Pebbles

Something pretty this way comes.

They can be anything but I'm making these into pendants for necklaces.

Available here @ The Home Of the Handmade Blossoms Collection - Biologie.etsy.com

Buggin' Out on Thursdays :: The Giant Leopard Moth Does Not Say Meow

I found this moth on the trail of McKinney Roughs Nature Park (outside of Austin, Texas). It's a Giant Leopard Moth (Hypercompe scribonia), also known as an Eyed Tiger Moth. I'm not sure if he was hurt or just tuckered out but I didn't want to bother him aside from taking a quick photograph. Well, it's more like a portrait.

When I was little we used to spot a LOT of little hairy caterpillars in the herb garden or trying to cross the street (which always worried me). My family called them "woolly" caterpillars. I considered them the teddy bear of the caterpillars. Therefore, I liked them. Granted, there are a lot of fuzzy bear worms out there but if you ever see a woolly caterpillar it might just be a baby Giant Leopard Moth. Don't try to pick them up and snuggle them though because, while they look fuzzy and sweet, the bristles on the caterpillars can irritate the skin and cause a rash!

The abdomen of a giant leopard moth is orange and blue. I think of it as God's way of showing us that as soon as we think we are seeing it all "in black and white" there is often something lurking beneath. In this case, something good, and pretty, and surprisingly delightful.

To see the orange and blue enlightenment of a Giant Leopard Moth's six pack abs: click here to check out BugGuide.net!

What kind of bugs have you seen lately?

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

No Taxon (Moths)

Superfamily Noctuoidea

Family Arctiidae (Tiger Moths)

Subfamily Arctiinae (Tiger Moths)

Tribe Arctiini

Genus Hypercompe

Species scribonia (Giant Leopard Moth - Hodges#8146)

Gathering Moss.

While a rolling stone may gather no moss, these earrings reflect just the opposite using the natural beauty of moss jasper. Moss jasper is also known as serpentine stone because of the cork-like or reptilian variations within the stone. Yesterday I was bitten by the earring fairy and conjured up 5 pairs of earrings.

The Gathering Moss Earrings are available now in my Etsy shop: Biologie - Inspired By Sunshine & Science.

Within the next 5 days I'll be uploading and listing four more pair of unique earrings, all handmade by yours truly.

Cheers!

Buggin' Out on Thursdays :: Western Spotted Orbweaver Spider joins the Virtual Bug Collection

Don't be scurred. I'm beneficial!

On a breezy Fall day I grit my teeth and try not to freak out while I bend, stretch, and strain to take photographs of the black spotted yellow spider bouncing on it's web in the gusts of wind.

Large spiders are pretty high on my freak-out factor but I suppose my love of life, nature and - well, bugs - transcend any major squeamishness as long as I'm just photographing. Finding a spider crawling on me is an entirely different matter and ends up in the dance otherwise known as "arachnid-induced flailing with various shouts and high pitched yelps of surprise" until it is flung off (hopefully unharmed)! That particular dance is exactly what I would have done if this spider jumped off it's web onto my camera. Luckily, these types of spiders are shy and their bite may be painful but it's non-toxic to humans. I understand that they will bite you if harassed (and in that case I don't blame them one bit)!

I found this spider making her web low to the ground in the afternoon by my honeysuckle vine. I went out to check on her a few days later and she was hiding up in the leaves of the honeysuckle. She was still attentive and attached to a new web with a little line of silk, waiting for prey. I guess she thought more bugs would get caught in her net if she hid on the side of the web rather than right smack in the middle.

With the help of the ID Request feature on BugGuide.net I found out my spider is a Western Spotted Orb-weaver, Neoscona oaxacensis, and is indeed female. Apparently males don't have such bulbous bootys. A famous female weaver of the orb is Charlotte from the book Charlotte's Web by American author E. B. White. My mom used to read this to me and it is a beloved book from my childhood. Doing a little research I found out that Charlotte is a barn orb-weaver spider known as Araneus cavaticus.

Gorgeous big round spiderwebs spun in what is commonly thought of as the classic spiderweb shape are made by orb-weavers. A fitting name! If only I had taken a picture of the pretty round spiderweb in the morning, dripping with dew.

Interestingly, some orb-weavers do not build webs at all but instead dangle a sticky globule on a strand of silk from their front legs. The glob is covered in a scent to attract male moths which come looking for a female and instead find themselves bitten and subsequently eaten. Yikes!

What kind of bugs have you seen lately?

:: Favorite Things ::

The amount of talent found at Esty.com is boundless.

There are just too many wonderful artists out there! I can't even scratch the surface but I wanted to shine my little bitty blog spotlight on just a few of my personal favorites, all found on Etsy.

Check it out!

Etsy Buy Handmade Biologie

Buggin' Out on Thursdays :: A Virtual Bug Collection

Butterfly Cocoon - Lost Pines Resort Butterfly Garden

Apparently, based off all the photographs of insects and bugs and other creepy crawlies I've collected over the last few months, I like bugs! I hadn't really noticed how often I find and snap pictures of little bugs and spiders until I started sorting through all the photos stored in my camera.

I love the picture of this butterfly cocoon (above). It was taken at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa outside of Austin, Texas when my husband and I were there to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The resort is wonderful and we spent a lot of time hiking and swimming but also squeezed in time for kayaking down the river!

I'm blogging my collection of bugs starting every Thursday with photos and a few interesting tidbits about each specimen in my "virtual" bug collection. I guess I prefer collecting bugs via photos rather than to euthanize them, stick a pin through them, and mount them in a glass case!

Here is a preview of what is to come:

From Coffee Beans To Carbon: How Big (or small) Is It?

Mini Science for the scientifically challenged and science aficionado alike!

The University of Utah has a zoomy window to demonstrate the different sizes of a few everyday items like a coffee bean and a grain of salt all the way down to the picometers of a carbon atom. In case you were wondering, they even have a reference table explaining that a picometer is a trillionth of a meter. In other words, really, really, ten-to-the-negative-12th mini small.

This. Is. Awesome.

It definitely helps put things in perspective and is a great learning tool to introduce the little things in life.

See it here.

:: Dreamflower Purple. A Delicate Bracelet ::

Dreamflower Purple

A delicate treasure trove of amethyst, shell, glass, silvers and Swarovski crystals. This one of a kind bracelet is designed and handmade by yours truly! The asymmetrical design breaks away from the norm in a subtle and glorious way. It's sure to please and makes a sweet stocking stuffer.

I fell in love with the look and feel of the little flower beads on this bracelet. It took me a month to find the right design and complimentary colors to go with the flowers until I came across the pretty purple glass beads and Swarovski crystal spacers.

Lovely!

Get It Here: etsy

Ooo, one more thing, don't forget my holiday special as mentioned here - free shipping and free gift-wrapping now through January 4th; anytime...anywhere!

Homemade Turkey & Vegetable Soup

Soups On!

Decided on a recipe using my homemade turkey broth, I made up my own! I've been making vegetable soup from scratch the last few months because it's healthy, easy, and delicious. This is a new twist on my basic soup recipe:

Biologie's Flickr: Homemade Soup!

While this is simmering in the kitchen it's hard to keep from taking a taste because it smells so delectable, like Thanksgiving all over again but easier because it's one pot cooking! The beauty of this soup is the homemade broth and made-from-scratch yumminess plus the fact that the turkey meat is pre-cooked so the soup doesn't take long to heat and serve.

Homemade Turkey & Vegetable Soup
by biologie-me.blogspot.com

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T olive oil (optional)
  
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 carrot, minced
• 1 parsnip, minced
  
• 1 celery stalk, minced
• 1 T chopped fresh sage
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 quarts Homemade Turkey Broth
• 3 C roasted turkey meat, diced, skin removed
• 3 C mixed vegetables (peas, green beans, carrots, lima beans, corn)
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 T seasoned salt
  
• 1 cube cilantro "bouillon" or 1 T chopped fresh cilantro/parsley
  

In a large soup pot, heat garlic in olive oil or a small amount of broth. Add minced onion, carrot, celery, and parsnip. Saute over Med-High heat until softened. Add chopped sage, bay leaf, and the turkey broth. Bring to a simmer. Add diced turkey and mixed vegetables. Bring back up to a simmer. Add black pepper, salt, and cilantro cube (or fresh cilantro/parsley). Simmer an additional 10-15 minutes.

Serves 6

What's better than free gift wrap?

Free Shipping and Free Gift-wrap for the Holidays and beyond!

Shop online and support handmade goods this holiday season. Sit back, relax, and browse at Biologie.

Receive your handmade jewelry in a homemade ribbon pouch & beautifully wrapped in a hand-folded sturdy paper gift box, all shipped to you for free beginning November 24, 2009 to January 4th, 2010.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade Biologie.etsy.com