strange creature

I was out in the garage when I noticed something on the wall. I circled it in yellow (No, I didn’t actually mark on the wall with a magic marker! I used my computer paint program to make the circle on the picture.) It was quite small and at most half of an inch log. I had an idea of what it might be and so I took a closer look.

A strange looking creature but it is kind of blurry. Let me see if I can sharpen the focus a little.

Ah yes, it is the cocoon of the caterpillar of a bag moth. Sometimes you will see a little tiny moth flying around and it is a bag moth. They call it a bag moth because of the silken cocoon that it spins around itself. It then sticks little grains of sand and any other debris that it can find to the cocoon as camouflage. It drags this cocoon around, which serves as a little house, as it feeds, much like a snail or hermit crab carries its shell around.

Here you can actually see the small grains of sand stuck to its silken cocoon. Because the cocoon is made of silk it is probably quite smooth and comfy on the inside even though it appears quite rough on the outside. Eventually they undergo metamorphosis and emerge as a flying moth much like a butterfly does. An interesting creature just trying to find its niche in this world. And once again, some of the small objects arounb us are easily passed by. But the close-ups of the camera brings out so much detail which is fascinating. How do I get these close-ups? I put a magnifying glass in front of the lens and take lots of pictures at varying distances to make sure that I have some in-focus. Photography is a lot of fun when used to explore nature with.

This morning before daybreak (5:00 am) I stepped out the back door and the moon was so bright. The sky was clear and black and the moonlight was intense. It reminded me of the times when I lived in Arizona and walking across the desert at night. The air was warm and dry and the sky was cloudless. The skies were black and the moon was so bright that I easily walked around the desert without the use of a flashlight. I could actually see quite well. I almost felt that I could have read a newspaper by the moonlight because it was so bright. It was fun walking in the desert at night because I could hear the howls and barks of the coyote's as well as other desert sounds.

The sun has come up and so go out and have a fun day. Lew