{semi} wordless wednesday: katydid it.

i don't want to disappoint, but i think this will be the last set of bug pictures i post for a while. why? well, i'm lazy & not interested in scouring my backyard for another insect to photograph. besides, i'm sure y'all want to see pictures of things like the beach, the pups & various other shenanigans that may {or may not} take place at mi casa. no? well, whatever.

so, here is my latest installment for {semi} wordless - yet bug filled - wednesday. i'm not sure what kind of katydid this is, but it is indeed a katydid.

i harassed the hell out of this katydid. out of the 23 pictures i took {yes, 23!} there were only three that were fit for sharing. of course, i should consider myself lucky because had i not been watering the butterfly bush i would have never known there was a katydid hanging out on the plant. of course, had i not been hosing the plant down with water then the katydid would not have flown from one side of it to another...only to walk towards the center of the plant where i couldn't get a good shot of it. silly bug.

anyways. enjoy...because this is it for the bug pictures. well, unless i find where those swallowtail larva went.

---

speaking of pictures, i've received many lovely compliments about my pictures. thanks, y'all! seriously, the feedback i'm getting is amazing. i'm not blessed with photography skills nor do i use a fancy camera. many of you have asked what kind of camera i am using. believe it or not, i'm using a digital point & shoot that has dslr tendencies. my camera is a "tweener" because it IS a point & shoot, but it also features manual settings, too. it also looks like a little wanna be dslr.

{source}

i was once a kodak girl, but back in february i treated myself to a new camera made by panasonic {i bought my camera from qvc...surprise, surprise}. the fz40 is my favorite toy. i'm still learning how to use it. for every great picture i take, there are about 15 or more crummy shots. but, overall, i am in love with this camera.

p.s. tomorrow i'm guest posting on my friend rachel's blog.

{semi} wordless wednesday: lil' mantis.

"mom, people are going to think that all you do is take pictures of bugs!"  {malia, age 10}

yes, people, that is what i do. i take pictures of bugs & i post them for you to see every wednesday. or, so it seems {click here, here, here & here if you don't believe me}.

last wednesday, adam & malia were in the backyard. malia found a little praying mantis on her leg. it freaked her out {read: therefore, i grabbed my camera}. when i got outside, adam had the lil' bugger & was placing him on one of our sunflower plants. the leaves of our sunflower plants are huge. and, this guy was, well, he's just very small. 

i wonder what kind of bug i'll post pictures of next week?

{semi} wordless wednesday: butterfly garden.

it's wednesday, again.  i'm going to talk about bugs, again. you know, because it's what i do on wednesdays {see here, here & here for proof}.

our dill plant is pretty popular these days. earlier in the week, we noticed a couple of caterpillars on it. as of this week, there are six caterpillars on the plant. we think they're black swallowtail larva. adam & the kids want to bring the larva inside to protect them from the birds. i said no. what do you think?

we're anxiously awaiting the formation of the first chrysalis. i can't wait to take pictures of it. i swear, our garden is not only providing us with food, but it's providing us with our very own science lesson {because the life cycle of a butterfly is part of my state's education curriculum}!

speaking of butterflies, how excited was i when i saw a monarch butterfly on our butterfly bush?!

we've also noticed two hummingbirds recently at the butterfly bush, but this post is about bugs, not birds.  so far, our backyard is becoming a place of discovery. seriously, i could take pictures of the bugs all day long. there are spiders, too, but i'll wait until our garden spiders get bigger...trust me...they get HUGE.

my kids are very excited about the caterpillars. i am, too. i can't wait to share more pictures with you all, especially when they emerge from their cocoons as butterflies!

oh, and remember when i posted pictures of the "mystery bug" or the humming-bumble-shrimp? well, we learned {thanks to google} that it is a hummingbird moth {there are three varieties...ours is a snowberry clearwing hummingbird moth...what a mouthful!}. we saw a few more at the butterfly bush over the weekend...they are neat to watch!

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - It's Electrifying!

It's hard to believe that he'll be SIX in just nine short days. Seems like it was just yesterday that I took this picture of Aidan after he came down the slide in our backyard. I miss all of that hair. I miss how blonde he used to be. I miss his chubby 2.5 year old cheeks.

He's still got that goofy grin. He still has some pretty lovable cheeks. But, now he's sporting a big boy hairdo and he's growing up to become such a wonderful lil' man.

For more Wordless Wednesday, be sure to check out 5 minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday. For more Wordful Wednesday, be sure to check out 7 Clown Circus.