A poverty weed drama
Click for greater clarity and size.
If that last view of poverty weed, Baccharis neglecta, wasn’t dynamic enough for you, here’s a little drama I’d seen playing out among some of this species’ silky tufts on November 13th. The location was Morado Circle at Misting Falls Trail in my Great Hills neighborhood.
© 2014 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
stash of silk sends spider in a spin!
Gill McGrath
January 16, 2014 at 6:24 AM
Some serious serendipity, says Steve Schwartzman.
Steve Schwartzman
January 16, 2014 at 8:06 AM
Fantastic display of nature
norasphotos4u
January 16, 2014 at 6:33 AM
It’s a window on a world whose inhabitants far outnumber us.
Steve Schwartzman
January 16, 2014 at 8:17 AM
Sorry. Couldn’t click Like or spend time on the picture. Subject matter of spiders is wrong. 😦
Jim in IA
January 16, 2014 at 6:44 AM
I know not everyone’s fond of spiders (and that’s an understatement for some people), so I show them only every so often. The last one was two months ago, and the previous one three months before that.
Steve Schwartzman
January 16, 2014 at 8:26 AM
I appreciate that. Go ahead whenever it is appropriate for you. My phobia is much better than it used to be. A big insect gives me no qualms.
Jim in IA
January 16, 2014 at 9:16 AM
That spider’s no fool. It would be hard to sort out silken traps from all that fluff. And, going back to the game of nature’s analogies, I couldn’t help noticing how the patterning on the spider’s abdomen resembles the surface of the human brain.
shoreacres
January 16, 2014 at 8:12 AM
Putting together the camouflage of fluff-like silk and what you said last, we can conclude that this is one brainy spider.
Steve Schwartzman
January 16, 2014 at 11:33 AM
There does seem to be a spot of drama and trouble on the horizon.
Charlie@Seattle Trekker
January 16, 2014 at 6:08 PM
Surprisingly, though, pictures taken shortly after this one show the bug but not the spider. Whether the spider came back later and finished what it seemed to be starting here, I don’t know.
Steve Schwartzman
January 16, 2014 at 6:20 PM
Sneaky spider slyly seeks silk.
melissabluefineart
January 16, 2014 at 7:50 PM
Such succinctly sibilant syllables.
Steve Schwartzman
January 16, 2014 at 8:11 PM
Une vraie scène de drame et ce pauvre insecte est condamné. Superbe cliché d’un oeil expert
bonne fin de semaine Steve
chatou11
January 17, 2014 at 4:44 AM
Ce qui est curieux, Chantal, c’est que dans les photos suivantes que j’ai prises l’araignée n’est plus là. Peut-être qu’elle est revenue plus tard.
Steve Schwartzman
January 17, 2014 at 7:23 AM
I really like this photo, thanks for sharing. It’s awesome that you caught them and together at that. I also really appreciate the insect and spider’s contrast to each other and the way they sort of blend with the silky plant. I have a soft spot for creature close-ups especially when it comes to bugs & plants whose details we don’t always get to appreciate.
Well done!
eLPy
eLPy
January 17, 2014 at 1:51 PM
Thanks for your appreciation of this picture. I, too, have a fondness for creature close-ups, which I’ve often been able to record thanks to my 100mm macro lens, and some of which have appeared in posts in this blog over the 31 months of its existence.
Steve Schwartzman
January 17, 2014 at 3:41 PM
I’ll have to check out your other works! I think Macro photos are so much fun. I’m an amateur myself trying my hand a bit more seriously at the craft this year, thus my first Project 365!
A year or two ago I became obsessed when I found a Stick insect on the side of my house one day. Oh my I had my macro lens with me and I just kept snapping away. I kinda felt bad for it because no doubt it wondered what the heck I was up to. But I was fascinated with the colors of it when I got a chance to see it up close. it was amazing, priceless. It was so metallic looking I wonder if it had just “shed” its exoskeleton. You’ve inspired me to dig those up and share them. I’m really looking forward to taking more macro this spring. I love as well to get close up and personal with plants, especially buds and new growth.
I look forward to seeing more of your work and appreciate your “macro-love”!
Cheers,
eLPy
eLPy
January 19, 2014 at 9:46 PM
I wish you success with your Project 365. Macro photography is fun, and stick insects are a great subject for close-ups. If you have good stick insect photos, I encourage you to post them.
Steve Schwartzman
January 20, 2014 at 6:47 AM
Thank you very much, I appreciate that. Ever since your post reminded me of those pics I’ve been meaning to pull them up and share them. Heck, I’m just excited to have a look at them again. Lol.
Thanks!
eLPy
eLPy
January 20, 2014 at 6:54 PM
One insect’s lunch is another’s drama!
kathryningrid
January 20, 2014 at 6:20 PM
I think that’s the theory of relativity.
Steve Schwartzman
January 20, 2014 at 11:02 PM
Drama is the word for this.
Tropical Flowering Zone/Maria
January 21, 2014 at 8:59 PM
I’ve been using the term “little drama” for the last decade; it strikes me as appropriate for some of the scenes I encounter.
Steve Schwartzman
January 21, 2014 at 10:40 PM