Buckeye and Bug

Buckeye bloom and bug

 

The rain has moved away and the sun was out. It was a good afternoon to take a stroll. On the way toward the bayou I noticed the buckeye bushes are in bloom. Red buckeyes (Aesculus pavia) are small trees or bushes here near the Ozarks. They are a common understory plant in our location.

I grew up 100 or so miles from here and the buckeyes were less common there. The fruit of the plant is a largish round nut-like seed that was considered good luck to carry in your pocket by some folks. Our family wasn't much into superstition but there were one or two tucked away just for the show and tell interest (a phase I have never grown out of apparently).

Butterfly

The buckeye that I photographed had a bug on it. I think it may be an assassin bug, but remember my disclaimer, the Husband is the adept at insect identification. If there are any other entomologists in the audience, please feel free to shoot us a name.

This bug was slow moving enough that even I was able to get some shots, but then the phone/camera didn't cooperate very well. I did mention that my photography skills are limited although I am highly enthusiastic didn't I? A pair of swallowtail type butterflies also appeared but they were feeding and not posing so I didn't get any good shots there.

Tick

I also managed to collect my first sizable tick of the season. Actually he found me. Ticks were never that much of a problem until the deer population exploded. Several people on our road have had tick borne diseases. Deer are beautiful, but I wish they didn't carry this nasty price-tag. Life is like that. There are things that are good, but somehow they have become entwined with things that are not. I wish people could accept that some solutions are complex and that the best answers we have may not be that satisfying. That is reality, but I don't have to let it rob me of my enjoyment of the good things.