Before I get to Stewy I just want to show today’s wildflower find. I discovered these tiny yellowed eyed pretties with pale blue petals while walking through a corn field.

Bluets – Houstonia caerulea

I didn’t expect to find Bluets among the corn debris but there were a fair number of tight little clusters like this one. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow I’ll be going back to ‘save’ them. How can I resist?

Nearly every cat I’ve had has followed me around but none like Stewy. Stewy will tag along through woods and fields on walks that loop around a couple miles out back. Stewy would rather hunt for mice along the stone walls but he’s patient enough and will wait for me when I fuss with the camera. Dog not so much, Pookey took off for home rather than wait. Dog doesn’t care to be out standing in a field.

Corn field kitty

The stone walls are Stewy’s favorite hunting grounds. There are plenty of mice and chipmunks that easily evade him by vanishing into the walls but Stewy doesn’t mind, finding a comfortable place to wait for them to reemerge is no problem.

Rockcliner

The swamp out back might slow Stewy down but it won’t stop him from following. This time I had to wait.

Oops, go where?

There was a jump of about 6 feet to dry ground and Stewy had to sit and think it over.

Who put my tail in the water?

About now I was getting a feeling Stewy was considering me pond scum.

Ya got to be kidding me

Just as I was about to save him, Stewy made the jump. I have to admit it was an impressive leap of faith.

Winter’s silence was shattered by returning geese. A cacophony of honking coming from the river can be heard a mile away. Hundreds of Canadian Geese lend their voices to the clamor and it only gets more raucous when disturbed. Most took flight after I arrived but a couple stood their ‘ground’ on the far side of the river.

How to whitewash a rock using Canadian Geese

I spotted a pair of wood ducks perched in a tree but they took flight before I could get a photo. On the way home I managed to get a photo of a male in the swamp. Two pairs managed to swim into heavy brush before I could get more than one quick shot off. Do ducks swim or float?

The weight of a Witch equals that of a Wood Duck

Water Foul
Stewy claims the bird bath. It seems to make a nice cozy cat sunning stone.

Screwy Stewy

The boulder is a work in progress. Another session with a rotary hammer drill should finish the basin. This rock is almost more than I can chew. It is much harder than I expected.

This punked out fly distracted me from the mushrooms I was going to post today. This is the second time I’ve photographed and posted pics of one but this time I just had to make a positive ID. Once again BugGuide.net has come to my rescue. ‘Punk A$$ Fly’ isn’t a proper name no matter how accurate the description is. I would like to introduce you to:

Archytas apicifer

From Wallpaper-1920×1080

At over a half inch these are fairly large flies. Contrary to the punk/goth look the adults are more interested in flowers which they feed upon. It’s their young that are the stuff nightmares are made of. The larvae are parasitoids that develop on moths. So relax and get a good nights sleep, they won’t be sucking out your life juices except in dreams.

It’s a toss up between which post has the better images of the white faced fly. You can see the other photos on: Bad Hair Day.

I also strongly advise scrolling to the bottom and staring into the eyes of the Hypno-Frog until ready to do my bidding.

No? Then just take one more look at Spike and we’ll move along and see what Stewy is up to.

If Stewy could talk

What’s that stupid dog nosing around for now?

Not again. It’s one thing to go barking up the wrong tree but getting stuck up there is another.

Out of the Woods
Stewy is playing ‘catch up’ after Pookey and I left him behind.