While I have always known that I can be distracted by anything out of the ordinary, but especially by things of a "crawly" type nature, it was never more apparent to me just HOW easily distracted I can be than when I was at Wolf Hollow this past Saturday. Here I am, making the second to last of five 1/4 mile round trips to the compost heap with straw I had mucked out of the fawn pen stalls, and I am thinking "Just one more trip...just one more tr...oooooohhhhh....WHAT'S THAT?!" I squatted down to get a closer look at this tiny distraction and yelped something along the lines of "COOL!" as I bolted inside to get my camera. I then raced back outside, flopped down on my stomach (one of the many reasons I constantly wear jeans and t-shirts...I am VERY hard on my clothes), and got up close and personal with this big girl:
She is about 1 1/2 inches long and by far the biggest beetle I have seen out in the wild, here in the US, that is.
I know it's hard to see, but she actually has hair/fur right behind her front legs! I have never thought of beetles as fuzzy. I looked her up, and I say "her" because all the websites say males have bigger antennae....big surprise...and I believe her to be a Lined June Beetle, mayhaps even a Ten-lined June Beetle. After taking a few photos I moved her off the foot path to a somewhat safer location. But unlike a 3-year old, I did remember what I was doing pre-distraction and finished the mucking job.
Okay, so this isn't one of the many animals we have in rehab right now, but it's still interesting, right? Hello? Anyone there?! Well shoot!
Look, I promise I'll post more animal pics later in the week, after I "woman" the Wolf Hollow booth at the San Juan County Fair this Wednesday night. I will also be entering two of my WH photos in the Fair for all and sundry to see and judge. Which two?
This one.....
and this one.
I feel that they both have major "awwww" and "woobies!" factors going on, so it will be interesting to see what the public's take is on these. I am also curious as to which "category" these will be placed in, as they aren't "pets", yet technically they aren't "wildlife" either, in the sense that they weren't in the "wild" when photographed. I'll let y'all know what they decide. Til next time...
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Attention Span of a 3-Year Old
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6 comments:
Ok, so I literally almost got a concussion from one of the beetles the other night! I was out back checking on my dahlias when something went winging my my head and !WHACK! into the side of the apartment! The noise it made when it hit was so lud, I thought someone threw a rock at me, but when I went to check, it was that ginormous lined beetle! I too have never seen a beetle that big, and was heartily impressed by it's size! Good luck with the photo judging!
Uummm...it's early. The word should be "loud"...not lud. siiigghhhh
I love that beetle and am jealous that you got to see it live! And good luck with the photos!!
I read your blog all the time. I usually don't comment, but I'm here! Thanks for your wonderful work. Joy
Thanks for the good wishes on the photos, my wonderful sisters! The kestrel one got a blue ribbon and the seal one a red ribbon!! Pretty cool for the first time entering any of my photos.
Hi Joy! Thanks for posting a comment and I'll pass on the compliments tomorrow during my shift. :)
Congratulations on your ribbons!!! My seal photo will be framed as soon as I move!!!
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