I usually like to use current photos for #ArtAdventCalendar (Day 09) but yesterday I was only out long enough to cut a little wood + too lazy to take photos of decorations..lol So! as we approach Winter Solstice, views from the opposite side of the year as we approached Summer Solstice. I chose shots with a lot of shadow as a reminder that there always needs to be a balance between Light + Dark #animist #pagan #summer #florespondence #Bloomscrolling #butterfly #inverts #NativePlants #pollinators

I thought I was just taking photos of remaining leaves on Prunus tomentosa Nanking Cherry in the afternoon light. But, once I saw them closer on the computer screen I realised at least some of the leaves are no longer attached to the plant- some critter has made a wooly haven for ..? eggs (spider) or for their own transformation (caterpillar)? if all goes well over winter, new life will emerge from those leaves in the spring.. #nature #inverts #insects #arachnids #garden #Alberta #photography

Some Tailed Jay photos for #WingedWednesday #Inverts #Photography #Nature #EastCoastKin #Butterfly 🌿🖌️

This is a cool mid-size #moth (a couple/several individuals shot over a couple of days) that I saw for a week or so (2?), shot during the day on the wall/screen door of the old trailer, below a night light. They perch mostly wings out, looking very much like an autumn leaf! Possibly Maple Spanworm Moth Ennomos magnaria we don't really have maple trees here, but they also use other species including Poplar which we have lots of! #insects #nature #Alberta #Canada #inverts

Another #wasp on the #Aralia in the #garden I've only had a couple of brief poor views of similar in the past, so I was excited to see this one! At first I just got a couple of distant snaps and it was gone! I spent more than half an hour traipsing around the acreage to all of the flowering plants, finally found it again on another Aralia plant. Not great/close shots, but I was still stoked! Waiting for id on #iNat (maybe) #insects #Alberta #inverts #nature #Canada

Aralia racemosa (ex wild Ontario seed- I'll post the plants some day) is in flower. It's #pollinator central- mostly #wasps of many sizes, shapes, colours + a similar variety of flies, few if any bees. The plants are huge (like a mid size shrub, but herbaceous) with thousands of tiny flowers, so I'm spending lots of time with them! This particular wasp with its bright cinnabar colour looked like a little #dragon! #insects #inverts #garden #Albera #Canada #nature

I've been mentioning this #wasp for ages finally got photos edited. I said green + red, but it's also blue + gold!
As crazy as this looks, I learned there are other species with even brighter / wilder markings! Still, I'm thrilled to have seen this, even more so that it hung around long enough and still enough that I could get lots of photos 🙂
More on iNat https://inaturalist.ca/observations/309659975
#InsectThursday #inverts #nature #garden #Alberta #Canada

@plants A very short video (YouTube link here, #Spectra to follow) of several different bees busily working the composite flowers of Saussurea riederi an Asian Sawwort and cousin to Asters, in the #garden . With quirky, low-key music and a bit of wind and bird sound behind, maybe...
#nature #Bees #WildBees #NativeBees #BloomScrolling #Alberta #August #insects #inverts #pollinators #florespondence

Lucky to get an eye-level shot of a male eastern pondhawk #dragonfly. To me the neutral gray backdrop (more luck, no Photoshop gimmickry) helps give it a nice art illustration look. Lake Fairfax Park, Reston, Virginia, USA. 25-Aug-2025. #insects #insectphotography #naturephotography #inverts