More Orange

Many more photos of orange call to me. Here are a few more.

Orange cars may be unusual but back when this was ours, they were even more unusual. At least that seemed to be the case. Here it is, complete with bear paw prints on its hood. We live in bear country after all. A car that I gave the name of Jack, as in Jack-O-Lantern.

An orange, and orange zest. Waiting to become part of cranberry sauce with Grand Marnier.

An orange orchid. One of Mom’s orchids. A flower that she loves and delights in living where they are so easy to grow.

And last but not least, a caterpillar that looks as if it is dressed for Halloween. Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar (Euchaetes egle). Black, white and orange, a perfect costume. These caterpillars will eat leaves of Milkweed plants (with the exception of the veins) but they prefer older plants, while Monarch Butterflies which depend on Milkweed plants, prefer younger growth. A perfect situation.

Orange, one super color, even for cars.

The Color Orange

Okay Gary, here ya go!

Orange might mean, might represent, might bring, might suggest, joy, warmth, heat, sunshine, enthusiasm, creativity, success, encouragement, change, determination, health, stimulation, happiness, fun, enjoyment, balance, sexuality, freedom, expression, and fascination.

Lincoln National Forest is an area of 1.1 million acres. A forest region including Ruidoso Valley, Cloudcroft and Carlsbad. Located throughout the southern Rocky Mountains of New Mexico. Near and dear to my heart.

Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus). A species of bracket fungus found in Europe and eastern North America. It grows on standing, or fallen, dying oak trees.

Orange Day-lily (Hemerocallis fulva). Native to Asia. A plant that grew along the road, out in the country (or so it seemed back then) leading to a little house in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, where my, dear to me, Aunt, Uncle and three cousins lived. A house where I would spend time each summer, learning to create, learning about nature, learning how special cousins can be.

And the ultimate orange object (with perhaps the exception of an orange car). A pumpkin. And this pumpkin has something that is always needed on a pumpkin. A handle. Also known as a stem. And if that stem is twisted, all the better.

Orange. A magnificent color. The brighter the better.

Visit From The Turkey Family

Some of my neighbors are Turkeys, Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). And twelve of them dropped by to say, “Hello,” this morning before I headed to my yoga class. More than likely this is a mother Turkey and eleven of her “little” ones, or poults. Males don’t participate in raising their young, but females are devoted Moms. Turkeys roost in trees and the poults learn to fly, and are able to roost during the night after just eight to fourteen days.

There have been sightings of a Turkey family several times during the past many weeks up here. I’m wondering if it has been this family each time.

The Color Red

There is a challenge this week to post things RED. A challenge sent out by the Digital Photography School.

Brilliant, strong colors come to the top of my list of favorite things, so I thought I’d post a few of my photographs of red things here. I hope you enjoy the quick trip through the world of the color red in my life.

A Midge causes these strange growths. They are called Grape Tube Gallmakers (Cedidomyia viticola). They build these galls on various species of the grape vine genus, Vitis.

1957 Ford Thunderbird.

Early winter. Seedling leaf. Redbud (Cercis canadensis).

Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea). Zion National Park.

Okay, end of the very short tour of red. I’ve got much, much more. Maybe I’ll continue some other time. Color makes my world go ’round.

A Member Of The Soldier Beetle Family

Another Beetle that looks a bit like a Lightning Bug. Scientific name, Podabrus tomentosus. A species of the Soldier Beetle family, Cantharidae. There are approximately 3,500 species in this family. The Podabrus tomentosus is a species of Soldier Beetle that the Internet has neglected. It has no common name and in my search I found no more information about it, other than the scientific name and its family. But for the sake of helping this little fellow, whose length is .5 inch, feel included, I’m going to tell you a bit about it’s family which should give it some pride.

Soldier Beetles are indeed generally about .5 inch long, feed on pollen and nectar and also eat aphids and caterpillars. A great insect to have around to help out with those soft-bodied insects in the garden. They will wait on brightly colored flowers, such as Goldenrod, Zinnias, or Marigold, for their prey to come by but do no damage to those flowers.

An excellent pollinator to have in your garden, and that predatory work is appreciated as well.

Margined Blister Beetle

It looks a bit like a Lightning Bug but don’t be fooled. This is a Margined Blister Beetle (Epicauta funebris), which can be found in North America east of the Great Plains.  There are three color forms of this beetle, black, ash-gray, and margined as seen here.

They exude a substance called cantharidin if disturbed, which causes blisters when in contact with skin or mucous membranes. Cantharidin is highly toxic when consumed by chickens and horses, even in small amounts, and can cause death.

In the vegetable garden they can be a pest, causing damage to flowers and leaves of eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes, and beets.

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Cardinal Flower Revisited

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), an intense scarlet flower that is native to southeastern Canada south through the eastern and southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America to northern Colombia. The same color as my pickup truck, Chevy’s Victory Red.

With a tubular flower it’s the perfect shape for hummingbirds which love the blooms. Butterflies are frequent visitors too.

Cardinal Flower is a plant that enjoys moist areas. Here at my cabin they’re blooming, and down at the bottom of the mountain there are some that bloom every year in the ditches at the side of the road. They have managed to escape in an area that has not been “tidied up.”

Interested in reading more about Cardinal Flower? Check out another post I’ve written about them at: brendaclem.com/cardinal-flower/. More photos, more information.

Sleepy Orange Butterfly

Another orange (or is it actually yellow?) butterfly. Sleepy Orange Butterfly (Eurema nicippe). It is not enough to know that the butterfly you’ve seen is yellow/orange. You must pay attention to the details. In this case there is a diagonal dark smudge on the lower ventral wing which can be consistently seen.

And if you get a rare look at the dorsal side of the wings, you will see a small black dash in the middle in the upper forewing. That is where this butterfly gets its common name, “Sleepy.” I suppose it is thought this gives the butterfly a sleepy look, but its actions are anything but sleepy-like, their wings, with a span of 1.375″ to 2.25″, flutter in a very energetic way.

Sleepy Oranges’ native range is the southern third of the United States, clear down to Brazil. There are several host plants for this butterfly including plants in the Pea family. Adult butterflies enjoy flower nectar during its short life.

Watch for these beauties. They’re around just waiting to be noticed. But notice those little details.