2014, Day 295 - Hunker down

After a long beautiful and mild start to fall we had our first day of heavy rain today.  It that rain that comes down so hard that you can hear it on the roof and is almost deafening when you're in the car.  Not our typical Pacific NW rain that is light but constant for days, this was a deluge complete with localized flooding.  With all this wet weather it was a good day to make a bowl of soup and watch some movies.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/500 sec @ 640 ISO

2014, Day 288 - Knotted

Day four, almost done with the challenge.  Another picture of my arachnid friend.  She's not so happy right now what with the strong winds, rain, and cold weather.  All summer she has been protecting her territory and now her claim is almost useless because there is little to eat and her webs keep getting torn apart.  Life will soon get hard for her and I can't help but feel a little sorry for the challenges she will face.

Today I challenge Terri Jacobson; five days, five black and white photos, and issue to challenge to a new person on each of the five days.

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 1000 ISO

2014, Day 285 - New project, old friend

I was relaxing this afternoon when I got an alert on my phone.  Apparently there is a new challenge circulating and I was nominated by my friend Chris Germano to take part.  It is a five day challenge and each day you have to post a new black and white image.  Seeing as I have my new infrared converted camera I decided it would be the perfect tool and went out into the yard to find my spider friends.  This lovely lady was very accommodating and might be an additional theme for this project.

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f2.8, 1/200 sec @ 1250 ISO

2014, Day 259 - Dangling

I found this lovely while wandering around the jungle at an indigo plantation in El Salvador.  It was an interesting place and I am told that most of the indigo collected is sold to a single Japanese fashion house for high end denim.  But back to the spider.  It was tiny, the body was probably about a quarter of an inch long, and in its mandibles there is some unusual object.  I suppose it is the remains of an insect but it has no discernible form so I guess we will just have to leave it at that.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 2000 ISO

2014, Day 250 - Eensie weensie

This is my grumpy little friend.  She was initially happy to pose but got a little testy after a while and I got her attack posture.  It is the same stance she would take while waiting to capture her prey.  Crab spiders aren't much for spinning webs, they are ambush hunters.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f11, 1/160 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 207 - Waiting

Some spiders wander and expend a lot of energy but others are a bit smarter and build tricky webs.  This guy built his web in front of a window near a lamp that is always left on so at night he got the most food delivered and, as you can tell from his size, it is a substantial amount.  But when the landscapers came they broke his web and I borrow a few minutes of his time to be my model.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f11, 1/200 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 176 - Spring

I love my bouncy little friends.  They're starting bask in the sun, when there is sun, so I keep seeing more and more of them.  I love the way they track activity around them; jumping spiders are active predators and it shows with their big eyes and their constant swiveling to keep potential prey in view.  These guys are so much fun!

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/250 sec @ 400 ISO

2014, Day 122 - Surprise!

Those who know me know I like all things with an exoskeleton.  As a child they fascinated me and I always brought them home despite my mother's misgivings.  I still enjoy finding my little friends in surprising places.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS Mark II
100mm, f11, 1/160 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 103 - Poised

I am so excited that I found my first crab spider of the year this afternoon.  While walking under the lilac in my backyard I saw this little guy poised to grab a snack.  This is one of my favorite sights, I love insects but spiders are my special favorite.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f11, 1/160 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 28 - Spying

There is something about the big eyes and fuzzy pedipalps that make jumping spiders the teddybears of the arachnid family.  I've always been taken with them, I like watching them bounce away when startled and pounce on potential prey.  They're entertaining and very animated and them always make me smile.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/800 sec @ 640 ISO

2014, Day 26 - Leap

I love finding a little friend in the house.  It is like having a tiny visitor who just wants to find a cozy place to call home.  We should be flattered that they want to be part of our families :)

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/320 sec @ 160 ISO

2014, Day 11 - Crabby

I wonder if I miss things sometimes when I am focused on little details.  Missing the forest for the trees, so to speak.  This is one of many crab spiders I found while in El Salvador and Mexico last fall.  They were everywhere and every time I found a bigger one I wanted a picture.  They all look pretty similar but I can't help myself.  This guy was eating something tasty and didn't mind having an audience at all.  I don't know why he has a triangular abdomen, it must aid in camouflage but I can't imagine how.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/320 sec @ 3200 ISO

2013, Day 317 - Recruiting

This morning we woke up early to rendezvous with our new guide Rosalia.  Although we woke up with plenty of time she was on time and we were late but it wasn't our fault.  The grounds of this hotel are huge and they have little shuttles to run you all over the place however the management is composed of jerks.  Rosalia is a licensed guide but they won't let her on to the property because we didn't book our activities through the hotel.  Fine, that is a cheap and obvious ploy to get us to use their  services so they can make more money off us but we can live with that.  So we asked them to take us to the entrance, they refused.  If we are using a service not booked through them then we have to walk to the entrance and it is raining.  They said it was all in the name of security.  Seriously?  She is a licensed guide and we're already on the property; they almost caused a security incident by refusing a series of simple requests.

So we walked in the rain and met with Rosalia.  She explained that this piece of fascist manufactured paradise is infamous for that practice.  Nevertheless we thwarted their nefarious plan and set off with Rosalia to visit Coba, the ruins of a sprawling Mayan community that covered some eighty square kilometers.  On the way she explained that the wet season started early this year and has been exceptionally prolonged.  When we arrived the parking lot was flooded and apparently has been for some time.  Not inches of water, it was many feet deep and totally unusable so we had to park on higher ground and do a little walking.

As we entered the site we saw little frogs everywhere.  All the standing water has allow for the frog population to boom and as we walked little waves of frogs would jump out of our way.  The lake that is the parking lot is filled with tadpoles and I expect soon ruins will be overrun.  As we explored I started recruiting frog soldiers to overthrow the management at our hotel.  Once inside we rented bicycles so as to cover ground more quickly and off we rode.

The gravel paths are well maintained and the breeze from riding was quite refreshing.  We biked a couple kilometers to the far side of the area open to the public and when we stopped I began sweating immediately.  Our first stop was at the Nohoch Mul pyramid.  It is one of the few Mayan pyramids that you can climb in the Yucatan and we made the ascent, one hundred and twenty steep slippery steps.  The view from the top was quite nice and it proved that Rosalia was telling us, the landscape is completely flat and the trees are relatively short because there is only a thin layer of soil covering the rocky earth beneath.

Next we made our way to what people tend to call the observatory, a large rounded mound of stone construction.  Rosalia said that it was really more of a marker to let travels on the ancient stone road know that they were approaching the pyramid that we just left.  Given the protracted periods of rain the Mayans build stone roads that were raised so that seasonal flooding wouldn't impede travel.  In some places these roads are nine foot high causeways.

We then moved on to a ball court.  It was much smaller than those we saw in Xochicalco but it had the same general layout.  There is a central aisle and angled ramps at the top of which was a stone ring on either side.  The contests held were not for entertainment purposes but rather were rituals with religious significance and the current thought it that it might play some role in a fertility rite.  We also found a large group of caterpillars munching on tree bark that I thought I would used as my air force once their metamorphosis is complete.  I also found a small basilisk eating a spider that would make a good general and more frogs to use as navy seals.

Our final stop as at the church, another smaller pyramid near the entrance to the archeological zone.  It was much like the larger Nohoch Mul pyramid but on a smaller scale.  By this time there were more tourists arriving and we moved a little more quickly through the press to see what we could and move on.  I recruited another larger basilisk to be a general in my army and we made our way out to where we parked so we could find some lunch.

Our meal was rather simple but tasty affair at a cocina economica, an economical kitchen, with a relatively limited menu.  Francene and I shared a number of appetizers and all were delicious but there might have been a little too much cheese for my tastes.  I guess I will have some odd dreams tonight.

Once we had eaten our fill it was back into the car and off to Punta Laguna nature reserve.  Here we had a Mayan guide who walked us through the jungle in the hopes of finding some monkeys.  I was looking forward to this because I need an admiral for my army and a monkey would be an ideal candidate.  Within five minutes he stopped two and I quickly recruited them into my army.  Holy war will be coming to the Grand Mayan Hotel!

Unfortunately it started raining pretty heavily so we took shelter as a wooden tower overlooking the lake.  We all climbed to the top and waiting out the worst of the weather.  It was a very pleasant way to spend fifteen minutes and we were soon making our way to a cenote.  The opening was a small crack in the earth with barely enough room to squeeze through as we were lowered in a harness on a winch.  Once through the aperture it opened up significantly and we were able to swim in the clean refreshing water.  It was quite dark and we could see bats flitting past us but I think we all found it relaxing and refreshing.  After a quick conference with the bats the agreed to anchor the moths in my air force.

By this time my army to overthrow the hotel management was quite large and satisfied with my progress we ascended the rope ladder one by one until we emerged from our little refuge.  It was well into the afternoon so we all changed into dry clothes and got back into the car to the drive back to Playa del Carmen.  On the was we decided to ask Rosalia for a restaurant recommendation explaining that if she dropped us off we would take a cab back to the hotel.  After some thought she had a place in mind and after the relatively an hour and a half she was leaving us at a local seafood place.  I had a filet of fish a la Mexicana and Francene and Evi split a seafood casserole.  My fish was amazing, cooked perfectly and well spiced.  It was probably may favorite meal in Mexico and we've already talked about going back for another excellent meal in the coming days.

Stuffed, we were able to hail a cab in the rain and came back to the room at our bastard hotel.  With our early start we've all looked at our pictures from today, showered, and a getting ready for a good night's sleep.

Below is a picture of one of my new basilisk generals having a Shelob-snack.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f4, 1/160 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 276 - Basking

Today we had a really wonderful break in the weather.  Still chilly this morning but with sun and by the afternoon it warmed up nicely.  While walking the dogs I noticed a couple large jumping spiders on their as-yet unripe tomatoes so when I got home i grabbed my camera and went back out the door.  He was still obligingly sunning himself on the green fruit and as I moved to take his picture from multiple angles he turned to follow me completely unperturbed by the camera.  Notice his metallic green chelicerae, on these daring jumping spiders (their actual name) they are either blue or green, and his orange coloring will generally fade to white as he matures so their is a pretty young guy.  Hopefully he is able to find a safe refuge from the approaching cold.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/160 sec @ 400 ISO

2013, Day 250 - Watching

I think this is the last photo of my little friend.  Although there are more in the series I suspect it gets old seeing him again and again.  Still, I like his dark hairs that look like horns and his big eyes.  Even still he looks so animated.  So in celebration of Spider Sunday here is my little jumping buddy one last time.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/640 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 247 - Pounce

With bees and flies zipping past this little guy was watching avidly, waiting for one to come within range of his incredible leap.  He kept turning back and forth, like someone watching a tennis match.  When a potential meal got close he would tense with anticipation but I never saw him leave his perch.  Hopefully he ended up with a well-earned snack.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/250 sec @ 400 ISO

2013, Day 246 - Hiding

I know most people would disagree but I think jumping spiders area adorable.  It is probably because they have big eyes and are fuzzy.  This little guy was waiting for a fly to come close so he could pounce and was animatedly tracking them as they flew by.  However, when a bumblebee rumble got too close he retreated back into the flower and waited for danger to pass.  I am probably going to inflict more photos of this little guy on you in days to come just so you can see his many poses and great excitement.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 230 - Hidden danger

I can't take credit for discovering this little beastie, my friend's daughter Ana found him.  This afternoon I went to collect Frankie from my friend Karen's house and when I arrived our friends Jason and Melissa were also there with their two daughters.  They are precocious girls and Ana picked this flower off of a clematis vine.  When she noticed the spider she brought it to Jason who in turn showed it to me.  Ana was gracious enough to allow me to borrow her flower so I could take a few pictures.  Later we saw the spider catch a small bee, it was really neat to watch and Ana was just as fascinated as I was to see how the drama of life played out.

Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 60/f2.4
60mm, f5.6, 1/1000 sec @ 200 ISO

2013, Day 222 - Trapped

I found another crab spider!  Typically lying in wait, read to grab and hold its prey while their innards are dissolved and slurped up.  Spiders are great and disgusting all at the same time!

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/100 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 216 - Delightful discovery

On my way to the gym this morning I stopped off to check a large patch of flowers for bees.  Unfortunately most of the flowers were past their prime and therefore there weren't a lot of bees but I did find this crab spider lying in wait.  His chances probably aren't too good what with the lack of prey but he remained hopeful and was a great model for me.  Too bad his camouflage isn't very effective on this particular flower.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/60 sec @ 400 ISO