Wordless. Well, almost wordless.

Puddle full of trees

Centennial Park, March

Cottonwoods tomorrow.

Bits and pieces

When did it get to be Friday? I've mislaid a few days somewhere. Anyone see them lying around?

What else did I miss?

--Festival of the Trees, for one. It's been up at Treeblog since Monday. "Have you ever fallen in love with a tree?" asks Ash. I have. And there are many more worth loving in this FotT.

--And Duncan has connedpersuaded an old bushman into writing up the latest I and the Bird. In his own way, of course;

"Now, I’m just an old bushman livin’ in a shack out in the scrub, and I s’pose a lot o’ this might sound like some sort o’ strange lingo ter you foreign jokers, but if yer think I’m gonna start talkin’ in a lah de dah voice you’ve got another think comin’."

But apart from thinking that if it's black and has wings, it's a crow, he did a great job! Go see.

--I sent in the brown beetle from the chile jar to BugGuide. It's a Drugstore Beetle or Biscuit Beetle, Stegobium panecium. And a very interesting beetle it is!

It is similar to the Cigarette Beetle, but slightly larger, and its antennae are clubbed rather than serrated. The Cigarette beetle belongs to a different genus, though. Our critter is the only member of its genus, and can be found worldwide, especially in warmer climates. Mine arrived from Mexico.

The beetle. Like a tiny brown bean.

From Wikipedia:

As their name suggests, Drugstore beetles have a tendency to feed on pharmacological products, including prescription drugs. They will also feed on a diverse range of dried foods and spices, as well as hair, leather, books, and museum specimens. They can bore into furniture, and in some cases tin foil or sheets of lead.

BugGuide's list of beetle edibles adds chocolate (no!), flour, breads, cookies ... Non-food (for us) items include wool, horn, and wooden objects. Adults do not eat; the larvae more than make up for it, munching away on anything they find for up to 20 weeks before they pupate. They're tiny, almost transparent grubs that look more like dust than insects. Something to watch out for. I'm glad my crop has been tightly capped in the chile jar.

Larva, greatly enlarged.

After the larva has fattened up (4 to 20 weeks) and pupated (2 weeks), the adults live from 2 weeks to 2 months (Wikipedia) or up to 90 days (Stored Grain Research Labratory), not eating, busy at mating and laying eggs. The female lays about 75 eggs randomly amongst stored foodstuffs over this time span.  And then ... Watch out! They're hungry!

--And because it's Friday, here's a bit of sky:

Through the car window

A Skywatch post.

A tasty stew

I promised you stone soup. Blog-style stone soup.

Years back, my parents travelled the US and Canada in an UltraVan. Periodically, they met with other UltraVan owners at rallying points. (The rallies are still ongoing.) One of the traditions was that on the final evening, each Van owner contributed his/her/their canned goods to the UltraVan Stew. Soup, meat, veg, chili, beans, spices: it all went in one pot. Stone Soup, in other words. Mom said it was always good. (I might not be so positive, but at least it was nutritious.)

So, for today, I'll contribute my stone and a veg,

Rose weevil, last summer.

... and then stir in these goodies from the web:

First: the carnivals, posted, and to come.

The Other 95%: Circus of the Spineless #35: Regeneration, Renewal, Reinvigoration It's back! At long last, we have a host, Kevin Zelnio! And the first installment of the reborn CotS is a winner. Thanks, Kevin.

Festival of the Trees is up at Treeblog. A poetic post, with a bark rubbing, to boot. As well as all the great links.

I and the Bird will be up in a couple of days at Vickie Henderson Art. (You still have a few hours to get a post in to her; today's the final day for submissions.)

I have posts in those three, but not in the next ones. Maybe another time.

Ecstathy: Carnival Of the Elitist Bastards IX: Keepin' yer wits about ye Pirate edition. This one's just plain fun. As well as being dead serious.

Carnival of the Blue #21 « The Oyster’s Garter In verse. Or doggerel. (Sorry, Miriam.) Good ocean-related links. I liked the cuttlefish story and poem.

Great Backyard Bird Count — Great Backyard Bird Count And this is coming up in less than two weeks; February 13 -16. Are you in? I am.

Then there's Blogroll Amnesty Day; the idea is to link to 5 smaller blogs. I don't know about size, so here are 5 that I've found recently, and added to my GoogleReader:

Jehuite This one is in Spanish. The wild vegetation of Mexico. Beautiful photography, some "exotic" plants, some old familiar ones.

The ScienceBlogs Book Club : Bonk, by Mary Roach: Friday Weird Science has found its Patron Saint A two-fer. The Book Club blog, and the link to this book. I have read Stiff, by Mary Roach, and loved it, so this is on my list of must-buys. A warning, though; it is not to the taste of many people. If dead bodies make you squeamish, give it a pass.

The Book of Barely Imagined Beings. Science, with great photos, and interesting posts. Like "Earthworms save planet".

MMmmm…That’s Good Grub* « Drawing The Motmot An artists climbs to the top of the Amazon rainforest to paint, in this post.

Tyto Tony. "Life in a tropical Queensland wetlands". Beautiful bird photography.

And 6: (I can't count.) Wild Light. Photography using only natural light. Astoundingly gorgeous!

And even more goodies for the soup:

A natural history of Runswick Bay: Lugworms. For Wren.

Sunrise, sunset, daylight in a graph. I posted this a year ago, and it keeps turning up in my Sitemeter. I am surprised every time.

And because it was Groundhog's Day yesterday, and I missed it, here's Hugh's story: Momma Vole.

And a last bit of greenery (and reddery):

The weevil again, delicately tiptoeing through a thornfield.

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