Life Cycles -- Summer's Finality

 One cycle ends while another begins

The warm days left over from summer are still hanging around and so are several species of insects that I enjoy watching.  At this time of year, I try and savor as many warm moments as time will allow before the temperatures drop.

I can't say that I will miss the tomato horn worms that strip the leaves down to stems.  They do keep me busy each morning when I go out searching to pick them from the tomatoes.  This is a love-hate relationship since I do enjoy having the sphinx moths around, so I just reposition the worms to a Sacred Datura which is in the nightshade family like the tomato plant. 

The dragonflies that accent the landscape around my pond are beginning to dwindle down.  I walked by as two adults were embraced to continue the life cycle.  The eggs will be laid on plants near the pond and slowly grow over a period of 5 years to reach the adult stage which  lasts only for six months.

A male praying mantis fans his wings out wide in a threat display as a warning not to come any closer.   The end of summer also concludes the life cycle of the mantis.  Hatching after the temperature warms in spring; they grow over the summer to mate, lay eggs and die as the weather begins to turn cold.  

Although not in the insect species, the reclusive male tarantula can be seen wandering around the desert in late August through September looking to mate with a willing female.   This handsome feller that is at least seven years old came walking down my sidewalk late one September afternoon. 

Even with the warm days, my yard is starting to quiet down and beginning its transition to fall.  Most of the sunflowers are gone and I have noticed only one monarch butterfly fluttering. 

 Soon the showy visitors of summer will be replaced by the dull colored birds that winter here in the Great Basin, but they also bring a special charm to my yard as they dart about foraging for seeds in the dry leaves. 

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

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Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

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