The Case Of The World Wide Web

A couple mornings ago I looked outside and noticed that our trees were covered with spider webs glistening with dewdrops.  There were so many webs, in fact, that it looked like everything was covered with them – a world-wide web, so to speak.  Here's what it looked like in our front yard:

A closer look shows the beauty of the dewdrops on each strand of the web.  Notice that most of drops are quite uniform in size and spacing.

An even closer look shows how the dewdrops are refracting light, giving a very subtle rainbow of color from greenish on the right to reddish on the left.

The Adventure Of The Autumn Meadowhawk

One of my favorite examples of dragonfly haiku is the following:

Red dragonfly on my shoulder

calls me his friend.

Autumn has arrived.

The sentiment of this haiku was played out in real life today at Cranberry Lake, where Autumn Meadowhawks (red dragonflies) are showing up in numbers and perching on shoulders, hats, and any other available surface.

In our area, if you see a red dragonfly this time of year you've already identified it – it's an Autumn Meadowhawk.

Here are a few pictures from Cranberry Lake showing the subject of the haiku:

Red dragonfly on Betsy's shoulder – and hat.  Autumn Meadowhawks really are the friendliest dragonfly.

Autumn Meadowhawks enjoy basking in whatever sunlight is available.

Autumn Meadowhawks in the wheel position.

The Case Of The Bald Eagle

We saw an exhibit of raptors at the Lynden County Fair this year.  The Bald Eagle was as beautiful as you would expect.  Here are a couple photos of it:

The Case of the Puget Sound Sunset

We had a nice sunset last night as we were enjoying our strawberry shortcake dessert (yes, the strawberries are still in season).  I think what made it particularly interesting is that it combined effects due to fog and haze from the forest fires in Eastern Washington.

It started out in shades of gray as the sun burned through the fog bank hanging around Burrows Island. Here's what we saw:

A sailboat headed for Skyline marina as the sun streams through a break in the fog.

As the sun got lower, and passed through an increasing amount of haze, the scene started to take on some color.

The sun is getting closer to the horizon now.

The scene became more colorful by the minute.

The colors intensified as we watched, and the strawberry shortcake had to wait as I took more pictures. Here's how the scene progressed:

Finally, the sun began to burn through the fog.  You can just barely see it in the next photo directly above its reflections in the water.

The sun begins to burn through the fog enough to be seen.

The sun came and went, but eventually came out stronger as it approached the horizon.

All in all, a beautiful end to the day – and now I could return to my dessert.

75th Birthday Party

On Saturday we all celebrated Joyce's 75th birthday at Mom's house.  It was a surprise party – since her actual birthday was on Tuesday – and it was indeed a surprise.  The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed hamburgers and birthday cake in Mom's backyard.  Here are a few pictures from the event:

Joyce (the birthday girl) and John.

Doug and Mom.

Mickey and Rylee, who has just thrown a ball.

Expectant Brittany, Jerry, John, Jennifer, Joyce, Mickey, and Rylee.

John, Chris, Joyce, and Greg.

Gary holds Shadow as Landon greets his four-legged friend.

Gary, Shadow, and Landon, who is applauding his good throw.

Here's a short movie clip of Landon throwing and applauding his efforts:

The Adventure of the River Jewelwing

A few weeks ago Betsy and I drove to Olympia to look for a striking damselfly called the River Jewelwing.  We've seen it only twice before, both times a single individual at Stossel Creek near Duvall.  We've heard that numbers of them can be seen just south of Olympia, where the highway crosses the Black River.  We stopped there on our way home from Arizona, but it was too early in the season at that time.  Our trip this time was during the peak of the season, and several were seen flitting along the shore of the river.

The Black River is beautiful at the location populated by the jewelwings.  Here are a couple shots along the shoreline.

Betsy on the shore of the Black River.

The Black River.  Notice the submergent vegetation, just below the surface of the water.

Just viewing at the river is pleasant enough, but if you look closely in the vegetation growing along the shore you'll see some flashes of iridescent blue and green, along with wings with black patches on them.  They are River Jewelwings, a large damselfly.  Here's what the males look like:

A male River Jewelwing with its wings slightly parted.

Side view of a male River Jewelwing on the bank of the Black River.

The iridescence of the River Jewelwings causes their color to depend on the angle at which they are viewed.  It's just like the neck and head of a male Mallard, which can appear either green or blue.  In fact, different colors at different viewing angles is one of the characteristics of iridescence.

Below are two photos of the same individual at different angles – notice how its body color changes from deep blue to brilliant green.

A male River Jewelwing viewed from one side.  The body is dark blue.

The same individual as above, this time viewed from the other side.  Its body is now brilliant green.

The males were constantly patrolling along the shore, defending their territory from other males.  Here are a couple males flashing their wings as they try to displace their competitor.

Male River Jewelwings competing for space along the shore.

Females were present as well – our first opportunity to view them.  They share the iridescent body colors of the male, and also have white spots (the stigmas) at the tip of the wings.

A female River Jewelwing.  Notice the iridescent body and the white spots on the wings.

Female River Jewelwing.  Many were seen in the male's territories, but no mating activity was observed.

All in all, it was a beautiful day at a wonderful location full of some special damselflies.