Peanuts In My Pocket

I try to take one good photo each day. Today, with a pounding headache and little motivation to do much, I turned my lens toward the backyard. My usual subjects include a variety of birds, when they cooperate, and the occasional unexpected guest. Today, it was fig beetles (Cotinis mutabilis) and the stray cat that frequents my hedge.

The beetles were impossible to photograph. Like drunken teenagers, they bounced erratically off everything in the garden, rarely settling long enough to focus. The cat, however, struck a pose.

Fig beetles are active for just a few weeks each summer. They’ve now replaced the butterflies and moths that fluttered through my garden just weeks ago. With their arrival, spiders emerge, filling every open space with webs. Last night, while stargazing, I noticed shimmering webs stretching between tree branches and across patios. Clearly, the spiders are eating well.

I’ve learned to be cautious around them. Two years ago, while taking out the trash at night, I walked face-first into a web. The spider ended up on the lens of my glasses, right over my left eye. It looked enormous under the circumstances. I panicked and punched myself in the face, breaking my glasses. That led to a flashlight search of the yard for the scattered pieces. I never did find the spider, but my face ached for days.

I’d hoped to photograph an oriole that has been teaching its chicks to drink from my hummingbird feeders. But it didn’t appear today. Instead, the neighborhood stray poked its head above the hedge as if to ask, “Might I trouble you for a juicy sparrow?”

I take a firm stance on these cute little murder machines. I don’t feed them, and when they become a nuisance by stalking my birds, I encourage them to move along. Strays don’t tend to last long here. The coyotes that roam the neighborhood are efficient hunters. When my dog was alive, we’d often find the remains of cats, usually just tails and paws, scattered along the sidewalk. I’d collect what I could and inform the neighbors through our Facebook group. I avoid using Nextdoor for this; the level of cluelessness on that app is truly astonishing. (“Did anyone hear that boom?”)

I’ve taken at least one photo a day since the iPhone became available. I use the images as prompts for journaling and as tools to improve my photography. These days, I rely on a combination of my iPhone—for capturing events and quick moments—and one of my dedicated cameras for higher-quality images. My current daily goal: one good photo and 500 words in my journal. Occasionally, I post these ramblings here on Peanuts in My Pocket. It’s much easier to keep up with now that I’m retired, though, admittedly, a bit less exciting.