Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: juvenile

(+6 insets!) "I Caught a Salamander!" On one of my morning walks I took a camera with me to capture some of the beautiful things I saw every day at Tugman State Park. I had a specific mission though. I made a bee-line for the Eel Lake dock because I hoped to get some pictures of a wonderful and unusual sight I'd discovered the other day. In the early morning, if you looked carefully, you could see salamanders swimming around! They were so darned cute! This is something I've never seen in my whole life! (I believe these are juvenile Coastal Giant Salamanders, Dicamptodon tenebrosus .) Moving slowly around the wooden dock, I got some neat images of barely-visible salamanders swimming along just under the surface. I guess they must live under the dock…perhaps on the wood? In the mud under water? I don't know for sure but I was full of joy as I saw each one, cooing happily at their cuteness. At the same time as I was there, a father and his young daughter and son were there. Dad was fishing while his kids were laying on the deck with hands positioned over the water. They were hoping to catch salamanders and had a water-filled bucket next to them if they got lucky. "I CAUGHT ONE!!!" I looked over to see the young boy with an ear-to-ear grin, standing up with a salamander held very gently in his hands. He saw me looking with my matching smile and asked if I would like to see his new little friend. "YES!" I exclaimed and asked if I could take a picture. He said sure and I got a nod from Dad before I captured the image you see as today's main image. I love this shot. It clearly shows how gently the salamander is being held and though the salamander doesn't look exactly thrilled, it's not freaked-out, which makes me happy! Before I turned to go, the children said they were going to catch all the salamanders they could until Dad was done fishing and then they would let them go. I couldn't help but look back on my own adventures of capturing little salamanders under bricks in San Francisco when I was their age! :) Other Insets I'm including a salamander under the water, a darling chipmunk that posed for me, and a close-up portrait. I'm also sharing images of a lovely garter snake I discovered on the trail. It was so relaxed that it took about five minutes to slowly make its way over the trail and off into the bushes. :) I hope you're all doing well today! Stay safe, warm and dry on this cold, wet day! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! Explored on 2/13/29; highest placement #3.

3 pictures in notes above! :) I went outside this morning to water my garden and as I trotted down the few stairs from our porch, I glanced at the walls to see if there were any critters to investigate. I was looking at the wall where our Rhodedendron bush grows and suddenly I saw a shape that grabbed my attention...could it be?!! NO WAY!!! *Janet bounces up and down in excitement* A GOLDEN ORBWEAVER SPIDER!!!! AT THE HOUSE!!! YES!!!!!!! I am crazy about these spiders and yet I have had very little luck finding them on our property. I did find one two summers ago when I was using my point and shoot camera, but I have always wanted to take a picture with my new camera. Last year I looked and looked with no luck. This year, I've been searching but didn't find any either. But it appears that I have a new friend who's found ME!!! HOORAY!!! I'm hoping this spider will stay here for a while, and in case it does, I think it should have a NAME!! This is where YOU come in!! SPIDER NAMING CONTEST!!! (She's a girl!) Last September when I found my baby Cat-Faced Orbweaver spider on our porch, I had a naming contest! It was a lot of fun to choose Roscoe Frank McCrawlerson from everyone's names, and I thought I have another naming contest for this spider! (I found out that she is a female after asking at Bugguide.com!) If you have a nice name, put it in a comment, and after a few days I'll pick the winner! You can choose a name with one name or if you like, you can come up with a first, a middle, and a last name! However, it's possible that I might take just a part of that name for the winning name--let's find out! LET THE BEST NAME(S) WIN!!! William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, the authorship of some of which is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Wikipedia: William Shakespeare Explored on July 22, 2012. Highest placement, page 2 (#44).

This little fellow appears to be saying, "Who goes there?" as he peers down the plantain stem!

Wow, three days in a row where my pick of the day is an insect! I hope you don't mind but I can't NOT choose this adorable juvenile katydid for my picture of the day! I was looking around by our front gate and decided to just plonk down in the grass like I did a couple of days ago, and just sit and look carefully at each of the stems and plants around me. I saw a plantain flower with something on it that looked suspiciously like a katydid...upon closer inspection, I almost whooped with delight because these little guys are so cool looking!!! As it is with many critters, it kept maneuvering away to the other side of the stem, so I had to go around and around to catch it at a good angle. "Quit moving, confound it all!" *Katydid sidles around to the other side* "All I need are a few pictures and I'll leave you in peace, little buddy!" *Katydid crawls down the stem* "Aw, come on! Don't be shy!" :D William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, the authorship of some of which is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Wikipedia: William Shakespeare

Last night I made the decision to include one picture each day from my vast store of unprocessed images because there are so many I'd like to share. The fact is that if I choose three pictures from each day's photo shoot, I'd have to wait a whole year before I put them up! Looking in my archives, I found this image of an immature Katydid! I remember that on that day, I was taking pictures of this Mule Ear leaf when I discovered this adorable little guy walking around and doing his very best to avoid me. "AHHHHHHH!!! THE HUGE THING IS STILL THERE!!!" LOL, every time I moved, he would move in the opposite direction, as bugs often do, but happily I managed to get this picture! :) John Muir (21 April 1838 – 24 December 1914) was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States. One of the most well-known hiking trails in the U.S., the 211-mile (340 km) John Muir Trail, was named in his honor. Other places named in his honor are Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier. Wikipedia: John Muir

Yesterday I showed a picture of a Boxelder Bug larva crawling on the wall in our bathroom. Today I'd like to share a picture of a juvenile that I found crawling on my arm one day. It was so docile that I decided to coax it onto my finger for a picture! Isn't it cute?! :D

After I took the previous pictures, I saw this cutie pie crawling up the stem of an allium plant! I was amused to see that juvenile ladybugs are just as fast as adults! This one zoomed up and down the stems, rarely stopping. I enjoyed the challenge of trying to get a clear picture, which was no small feat, as it was also windy and the stem was blowing back and forth! :D This is my favorite, and when I showed the 6 different choices to Steve, he picked this one out too without any prompting from me! :)