Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: camouflage

(+9 insets!) (Please scroll down to "Today's Pictures" for image information) Trip Talk: Victoria Butterfly Gardens...the Main Exhibit! Steve ended up pulling me out of the Insectarium by my ear because I was totally entranced by all of the unusual critters! Still dazed, I went through the next set of doors into the main exhibit and stopped in my tracks. Listed as being the size of three basketball courts, this indoor jungle was also at least two stories tall and filled with sky lights to add illumination. I didn't realize how tropical and lush this place would be! Everywhere I looked there were plants and vines, flowers and thick, leafy undergrowth. And there were butterflies…everywhere! Flying around, resting on plants and feeding at the various fruit and nectar stations, you couldn't miss them! Steve and I immediately lost ourselves behind our cameras as we focused in on one subject after another. We read there were up to 70 species of butterflies on display at all times and we were dazzled by all of the different colors and combinations, sizes and activity levels of the countless "flying flowers". Next to the entrance was a small building which housed rows of cocoons and picture of some of the species. However, apparently they gave up trying to keep track because there were images for only some of the butterflies that we saw. There was a cement path that meandered around the entire enclosure, crossing over bridges and tucking into nooks and crannies. A map showed the many highlights that you could visit—various butterfly feeding stations, the "emerging window" that I shared pictures of yesterday, a caterpillar viewing area, but there was so much more to see than just butterflies! A pair of flamingoes, tortoises and turtles, a dart frog exhibit (which I didn't notice, boo!), a pair of macaws and many free-flying birds of various sizes and types. The plants and accompanying flowers growing there could be their own attraction—I couldn't begin to count the vast number of tropical species from around the world which thrived everywhere I turned. In one area of the path they even had a host of carnivorous pitcher plants which hung down from many vines. I was totally enchanted! Today's Pictures My main picture today shows the closed wing formation of a Blue Morpho butterfly! It's hard to believe that the other side of these wings are a dazzling metallic blue! These incredible beauties are among the largest species in the world with wings that stretch from between five and eight inches wide. I was surprised to learn that there are actually 29 different species and 147 subspecies which are found in the Americas as far north as Mexico. When Steve and I visited Costa Rica many years ago, we visited the Monteverde Butterfly Gardens and saw Blue Morphos for the first time. There were many other butterflies there but the Blue Morphos stole the show with their amazing size and gleaming color. Inset 1: This is a cropped close-up portrait of the previous Blue Morpho image. Inset 2: Closer still, the wonderful scales of a butterfly's wings is remarkable to see! Inset 3: I tried to get some good pictures of open-winged Blue Morphos but they were too active and skittish, or else they were too far away. This bedraggled beauty was definitely in its twilight hours as it sat exhausted on the ground but I was happy to immortalize it in a picture and delighted to share it with all of you! :) Inset 4: A pair of very content flamingos make their home at the Gardens and reminded me of the trip we took to a bird sanctuary in Camargue, France when we went to Provence a couple of years ago. Someday I'll post some pictures but this pair of flamingoes do the job quite nicely for now! :) Inset 5: All around the Gardens were bushes bristling with beautiful "red boas" and I discovered they are aptly called Chenille Plants. Chenille is French for caterpillar and it's also a type of velvety yarn. A perfect name for this lovely tropical bush, and I couldn't get enough of them! If you're wondering, they are just as soft as they look and I probably looked like a weirdo because I kept petting the flowers! :D Inset 6: The lovely plants were everywhere, including this colorful Croton. What a beautiful leaf! Inset 7: This is a pitcher plant, which hung down from vines that streamed all over one part of the Garden's path. Did you know there are over 170 species of these fascinating carnivores? Most are found in the tropics but there are some that grow here in Oregon! (Here are pictures from my visit to Darlingtonia State Natural Site …clicking on a picture opens the gallery.) Inset 8: This is another picture of a pitcher plant with a lovely russet tone. (The "tail" I pointed out is actually the cap to the pitcher that's folded back...but all I can see is a tail! :D) Inset 9: Finally, here's a group of pitcher plants hanging down, aren't they cool?! :) Pam, have you gotten the chance to see a Blue Morpho butterfly when you've been to a butterfly garden? They really are completely breathtaking. When we saw them at an exhibit in Costa Rica, we just about fell over because there were so many of them! They landed on us and slowly opened and closed their wings, crawling around. Exhilarating! Here's hoping you are having a good day--it's starting to get frosty on some mornings, SO COLD! Then the sun warms everything up and by the afternoon it's hot if you're standing still in the sun! CRAZY! Explored on 10/29/19; highest placement #1.

At the end of June 2014, I was upstairs in our home and walking in the hallway, when I noticed movement on the ground. Peering down at our beige carpet, I could hardly believe my eyes. "NO WAY!!!" It was an adult praying mantis!! I could barely see it on the carpet because it so perfectly matched the color! Somehow, this praying mantis managed to find its way inside our house and climb up our stairs to the second floor. Who knows how long it had been lost inside, but I figured it was probably very hungry, thirsty and weak. Trotting downstairs to get a jar, it took me a few seconds to find it again when I returned. Amazed, I gently coaxed it inside and brought the jar downstairs, where I stared in awe at the "space alien of the insect world". I ran upstairs to get Steve and after admiring our cool friend, we went outside to let him disappear into the dried grass which it so perfectly matched. Just before releasing him, Steve held him for a photo session, and I managed to get lots of great pictures! What a magnificent insect!!! :) Information about camouflage and the praying mantis: These masters of camouflage don't change colors within minutes like chameleons can. Instead, they change colors every time they molt to match the current environment they're in. They molt approximately every two weeks as they are growing up, but once they are adults, they no longer molt, and they cannot change color after that.

6 more pictures in notes above! :) I've been thinking about Lucky's Pond and Angel's pond lately, and feeling a little bummed that I didn't share more pictures of this unfolding event as the tadpoles I rescued turned into frogs and hopped away. Time flies and now it's mid-August! Unlike last year, all the tadpoles in Lucky's Pond turned into frogs and left that pond empty, so I've let it dry up. I want to clean it out so it's not such a mess next year. Most of the tadpoles have transformed in Angel's Pond too, but a few are still taking their time. This morning I went over to take a look and it's almost like these guys knew I was feeling sad because just like that, a froglet hopped onto the dry spot and sat staring at me! I hadn't seen any froglets for WEEKS so I was amazed and delighted! I buzzed into the house and back out with my camera and happily the froglet was still there! I got a few pictures before he hopped behind a rock, but then I saw another one swimming on the far side of the pond, and went around to take pictures of that one too. They are SO CUTE, aren't they?!! I was about to return to the house when I thought, "I wonder if this little guy would let me pick him up..." So I reached a finger under him and gently hoisted him up into the air...and he STAYED!!! YES!!! I took pictures one-handed and hoped I'd get at least one good picture--it's hard to keep the camera still with one hand, AND hard to keep my other hand still too...these shots are tough when BOTH hands are not rock-steady. Suddenly...*BOING*.... *SPLASH*, and my little buddy hopped back into the water and swam away. You can imagine my joy when I found that I got this picture, which turned out perfectly!! (The 8-10 others were either just a bit off to totally blurry!) Hooray for a brave little froglet!! :D I've been smiling all day thinking about this cutie pie! :) (In case you're interested, this is the story of Angel's Pond! ) Sivānanda Saraswati (September 8, 1887 – July 14, 1963) was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivānanda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in British Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism. He lived most part of his life near Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh. Wikipedia: Sivananda Saraswati Explored on August 16, 2013. Highest placement, page 1 (#20).

Here's the second froglet I found this morning, and he was swimming around the far side of the pool, so I walked around and took some pictures before I thought of my idea to pick him up! :)

After I took a few pictures, he was done with me and began to hop away. However, I managed to get this picture first, and you can see the tiny remnants of his tail back there!! Look at that cute little froggy butt! :D

When I ran into the house and returned with my camera, this is the picture I took first! Can you see that only his little nose is sticking out of the water?!! Soooooo adorable!!! :D

This morning I went over to see how the froglets were doing at Angel's Pond, and I found this adorable little fellow sitting on a rock, thinking about life. Perhaps he was wondering how he managed to get up so high? Or, maybe he was looking at the pile o' froglets below and wondered if they would appreciate him leaping on top of them all with a resounding, "CANNONBALLLLLL!!!" Anyway, he's really cute, no matter what he was thinking about!! :D

Would you just LOOK at these adorable little guys?!! Can you believe how many there are?!! When I first noticed them all piled up like this, I got a bunch of rocks to create more room for them to spread out, but as I suspected, they enjoy being in a frogpile! :D It must be for warmth, but it might also be for companionship. I do know that at some point they untangle themselves from the masses and climb up the side of the pool where they sit for a while and then hop out into the grass to find their way in the world.

One of the coolest life experiences I've had has been the joy of watching tadpoles turn into frogs and then leave to find their way in the world. I was so happy last year when I made the decision to save the remaining tadpoles in our seasonal pond and I met Lucky. This year it's twice as much fun because there are two ponds now with the addition of Angel's Pond! I spend a few minutes each day at each pool to see how everyone is doing, smiling and giggling at how adorable they all are. The tadpoles wiggle around, coming up to the surface for a bubble of air and then sinking back down to the bottom...or perhaps they will cruise around the surface for a few moments, soaking up the sunshine's warmth on their back. The froglets hang out in big piles where I have rocks placed so they can be out of the water. They've got lots of room to spread out, but nooooo, they like to stack up in a frogpile! And sometimes a froglet like the one above will hang out at the ramp I have which leads out of the pond, and to me, it looks so much like the icon of evolution. The change from tadpole to frog is so amazing to think about. If you have a moment, stop what you're doing, close your eyes and try to imagine what it would be like to have a tail, live in the water and have gills, and then, over the course of several DAYS (some transform slower), to lose that tail and have legs pop out where your gills were (because you breathe air now), and more legs pop out at the base of your tail stump! You used to have rasps in your mouth to scrape off algae to eat, but your mouth has changed too, and now you have a large mouth to eat insects and other animals! It's incredible! All we do is get big once we're born...frogs go through a complete transformation!! Isn't nature fascinating?!! :)

The froglets and tadpoles are coming! The invasion is upon us! Hooray!! :D Our seasonal pond is quickly drying up and will be dust within about a week, so a few days ago I set up another kiddy pool under our oak tree in the front yard and began porting buckets full of tadpoles and froglets up to their new temporary home! They're so cute and naturally photogenic, I have to stop myself from taking a billion pictures of them! I'll be putting up more pictures in the days and weeks to come! Thomas Sowell (born June 30, 1930) is an American economist, social theorist, political philosopher, and author. He is currently the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. According to Larry D. Nachman in Commentary magazine, he is considered a leading representative of the Chicago school of economics. Wikipedia: Thomas Sowell

Last night I let the dogs out to do their business before we all went to bed. Like always, I stood on the porch and looked at all of the critters flying around and hanging out on the walls. They are attracted to the light we leave on for a couple of hours to attract food for our porch spider, Roscoe! :D I saw something big on the wall and whooped in delight when I discovered it was a Pacific Tree Frog climbing up the wall! :D Lickity split--I zoomed inside, attached the macro flash, and zoomed out again to take pictures! I was able to get four images before he hopped off and disappeared into the bushes...so cute!! (I am also sharing another picture I took when I was out there...Roscoe's Midnight Snack! :D) Eric Berne (May 10, 1910 – July 15, 1970) was a Canadian-born psychiatrist best known as the creator of transactional analysis and the author of Games People Play. Wikipedia: Eric Berne

This image was photographed on my property in Southern Oregon in July, 2011 View Awards Count

I found this cutie pie in our shop, and I didn't even notice his beautiful hair until I started taking pictures. I think he's totally fashionable, don't you?

This is a Pacific Tree Frog I found in our shop. Every year, after froggy breeding season, frogs move into our shop where there is water and a comfortable place to hang out

Although most of the tadpoles have now grown up and hopped away, Lucky's Pond still has plenty of polliwogs changing into froglets for me to adore. It's hard to find froglets on my daily visits now and there are usually only one or two hiding under a rock's edge or at the side of the pool, but I still see many tadpoles in the water. (HAPPY NOTE!! I just went out for a late night visit and found a half-grown froglet visiting, sitting in the place that many of them lined up for pictures...he looks like he's saying, "HEY! THIS ROCK SHRUNK! :D :D Totally adorable, what a fun discovery!!) Even though I saved them from drying up, these little guys still have plenty to worry about. There are water boatsmen and backswimmer insects and a large water beetle that live in the pond too, and they eat tadpoles and froglets that aren't quick enough! Wasps that come to drink the water will also eat our little friends if they get the chance. If you can believe it, the tadpoles will eat one another too. Adult frogs are known to eat froglets and tadpoles, and they come every night to get wet, and probably to hunt as well. Once the froglets hop out of the pond, they will need to rely on their instincts to survive. There is a garter snake whose home is right next to the pool and it surely eats some of the new hoppers who leave the pool. The environment is harsh and dry, and if their instincts don't tell every new froglet to seek the cool shade under bushes or in a safe hole during the day, they will succumb to the heat and dry conditions. There are ramps leading into the pond, and cool areas for them to easily hop to, but it's up to them to make it to safety. I know that most of them will die because that's just how it is, but if they're Lucky, they'll survive and will hopefully live to start a new family next spring! :) More fun froggy facts tomorrow, along with another picture from Lucky's Pond! :)

Sometimes the timing works out perfectly!! Our kiddy pool has little pictures all over it, and this tiny froglet happened to swim to just the right spot for a perfect picture! :D (Sorry about the stuff on the side of the pool, it's from the mud I brought up from the seasonal pond and is important for their environment, as it grows bacteria and algae that the tadpoles eat!) Pacific Tree Frogs have a average life span of only 1-2 years in the wild (up to 6 years in captivity), but most will die as tadpoles or froglets, eaten by predators or killed by a variety of environmental issues. It's a hard life to be a frog, and that's why there are so many babies! Females lay eggs in clumps of 10-90 and put them in shallow water on or under leaf litter, where they will hatch in 7-21 days. She may lay as many as 500 to 1250 eggs in a single season!! With so many babies, the odds are in her favor that at least a few of her offspring will live to be adults and raise families of their own! More fun froggy facts tomorrow, along with another picture from Lucky's Pond! :)

I thought this was a fun picture! Here we have the froglet from yesterday's picture at the surface with a large tadpole lurking underneath! Aren't they adorable?! :D It's so much fun to visit with the "kids" every day. The first "wave" of froglets are almost all gone now, but many tadpoles will be growing legs soon and turning into froglets as summer progresses! I never imagined the fun I would have with my little friends! :) Pacific Tree Frogs are nocturnal for the most part, though males will sometimes be active during the day as well. They hide under rocks and vegetation where it's cool, and come out at night to hunt for insects, spiders and arthropods like pill bugs. When a potential victim is close, they will sometimes wiggle a toe to attract their attention before they grab it with their sticky tongue! They can eat prey that's nearly as large as themselves, stretching their stomach to accommodate the large meal! More fun froggy facts tomorrow, along with another picture from Lucky's Pond! :)

I was taking pictures of a Fiddleneck flower when I noticed this cool little crab spider on the stem. These spiders ambush their prey by waiting for insects to land on the plant, usually a flower, and then grabbing it before the insect can get away. These spiders are able to change color to blend in with the flower, and the reason this guy is so obvious is that a Fiddleneck flower is yellow-orange, and it was trying to hide from me on the stem! (They cannot change color instantly; it takes several days for this transformation.) This image was taken in April, 2012.