Cicada Killer Wasp

I was working in the yard and heard an occassional loud buzzing sound. I assumed it was a carpenter bee or something similar, until I saw this scene:
a Cicada Killer Wasp hauling her prey up the gutter on the side of the house. They are truly a sight to behold, not only because of their size (I'm guessing this one was 2 inches long), but also because of their impressive hauling ability. The cicada is about the same size as the wasp. She eventually managed to get airborne and sailed around the side of the house, off to a burrow someplace.

For more info: http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~hollidac/cicadakillerhome.html

Woodworking

My brother-in-law has gotten really good at building things from wood. Whether it's nature, nurture, or adaptive behavior on his part, the fact that my father-in-law built two of their homes from the ground up probably explains some of Gus's aptitude.

He started out building custom products such as rabbit display stands for PetsMart. He has since amassed an arsenal of power tools and the skills to use them. Their family recently finished building a house south of Atlanta, and all of the woodwork -- from the cabinets to the doors -- was built in their shop in the basement. Yeah, they're hard core.

These days his main product is custom fish tank stands which he sells to Atlanta-area stores and individuals. He has also built a few things for family members, including bed frames. So when we started a search for new bedroom furniture, we were excited when he agreed to build it for us.

As with other design decisions, it took a while for Andrea and I to agree on a style. After a long online search for ideas, we narrowed it down to a handful of designs that had both modern and traditional elements.

Once we had a direction, I returned to my trusty Google Sketchup and for the first time tried my hand at furniture modeling. I was going after something very simple and clean, inspired primarily by Shaker styles.

Below is one of the final design concepts that I explored and shared with Gus. We decided to do night stands as well. He recommended a few changes and adjustments, mostly to do with the practicalities of putting it together.




Once we agreed on the basic design, he and Andrea went to shop for wood. We decided on walnut for its dark color and grain patterns. Gus specifically looked for unusual swirls and coloration to give the piece a unique character.

After that, he went down to the shop with the raw lumber and worked his magic!

Here is the headboard in mid-construction:



And here is the final result. He really did an amazing job. Furniture of this quality is rare these days.

I have to add this caveat:
Andrea is still looking for a complete set of bedding for the room, so I did the best I could with what's there. The funkadelic pillows are stolen from the living room. I figured they were an improvement over the plain white pillow cases. But maybe not?!

Don't Touch This

I've often thought I could have been an entomologist. E.O. Wilson, co-author of "Journey to the Ants", is a hero of mine. The fascination with bugs started young, growing up on a farm in Illinois where I spent a lot of time exploring fence lines and turning over rocks. So now when others are ready to squish them underfoot, I am just as likely to scoop a bug to a safe leaf out of harms way.

Apparently, my good will is lost on them.

In spite of a lifetime of fondness and acts of insect rescue, I have not been rewarded with sufficient good karma to shield me from their defense mechanisms. Maybe it's my lack of compassion for some insects, such as mosquitoes.

Cases in point:

A few weeks back I learned the hard way that the wheel bug can inflict a really painful bite. It looked innocuous to me, and so naturally when I saw it in the road I tried to move it to the yard. I won't be rescuing wheel bugs in the future.

Yesterday while doing some yard work, a screw fell out of the saw I was using. As I reached down to find it, my hand brushed some leaves on a shrub and I got another painful zap. After putting some ice on my hand to reduce the pain and swelling, I went back to find the bug that bit me. I knew I'd found the culprit as soon as I saw this:

It's a Saddle Back caterpillar, one of several types of stinging caterpillars. In these closeups he does look quite fearsome (and alien), but he's actually quite small, about 3/4". The hairs on his back are connected to venom glands.

I wish I had seen him sooner, because like other potential predators, his bright colors and imposing appearance would have told me to "stay away." The technical word for these adaptations is aposematism .

I struggled to get sharp photos here.
I think I should have used a tripod and a smaller aperture for more depth of field.