3 Cicadas in One Shot!

20120729 Cicada Triple Threat, a set on Flickr.

There's a particular tree I watch for signs of cicada activity. The bugs have been chittering away since late June in my neighborhood, but my tree had remained cicada free until the beginning of July.

In the past they've tended to appear in this tree about mid-July, so I personally considered that first one to be a bit early. After that first one, almost nothing and those that made it above ground seemed injured, flawed, or perhaps simply tired from the hard dig, until now, at the end of July.

Cicadas grow up underground and the drought conditions we've had caused me to suspect they'd be late this year, being unable to dig up through the hard, dry soil. The ground is packed rather densely around here.

Sure enough, last week brought some much needed rain and here the cicadas are, in abundance! I found a total of 4 on Sunday night, two almost right next to each other and a third on a nearby branch. The number wasn't unusual, but the fact that there were all in about the same stage of emergence was unusual. Also, the initial two were in closer proximity to one another than I've seen in the past.

Later the same evening I found the fourth one, on another side of the tree, who hadn't been on the tree at all an hour or so before.

I'm curious to learn how fast a healthy cicada can move before it exits it's shell. Those I've seen in action have all been extraordinarily clumsy, unable to stay upright, or right themselves when they tumble. I suspect they were somehow unhealthy or defective, though no signs were obvious except their inability to transport themselves effectively. All 4 from Sunday night seemed quite well.

I spotted three new shells on the tree Monday night, one with it's former occupant still nearby. Many more will come soon, I'm sure.

St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Dayton, Ohio's historic Oregon District were enthusiastic. I was in the shop most of the time and was unable to adequately document the happenings. I did take some photos for my own purposes; mainly as an attempt to set up my camera, which has been sadly idle in recent months. The bars were closed about 1:30am (bar time, or 1:15am actual time ET). I took a walk down East Fifth Street to see what could be seen. I was stopped by a pair of girls who asked me to take their photograph. I don't recall their names, but I told them I'd post the photo so they could find it. Thanks to them I'm sharing 3 other images which would otherwise have remained in the vault, for obvious reasons. I hope to shoot and share some interesting things soon, if time and life allow me to get out and shoot. Thanks for stopping by my blog, and enjoy the humble photographic offering.

Green Hoodie & Jean Jacket with Mickey Mouse Shirt

I hope these girls find their photo. I told them I'd label it so they could find it by searching for what they were wearing. I suppose adding the word Aeropostale might help them track it down. Enjoy!

Bicycles - an attempt to fine-tune my night shooting settings, so I could avoid using flash. I couldn't quite get things the way I wanted them. Also, waiting for a break in the passers-by so I could get a clear shot took a while.

A view across the street. While I keep the bookstore open, naturally it's important to stay nearby.  There's not a lot to see from my vantage point near the front door, but I took aim across the street. The book store is in a location between bars. During party events like St. Patrick's Day, most folks are simply passing by on their way to the next watering hole, which explains the seemingly sparse crowd. There are plenty of folks East and West of my spot. This was taken about 9:30pm. Later in the night the street became filled with traffic and people even in this between-zone.

This is simply another of many, many photos I take inside the book store whenever my camera is at the ready and I'm stuck inside. There are hundreds of such photos that I'll never bother to upload.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I hadn't planned to share any of my photos from tonight, but I felt I should share something more than just the two girls who asked me to take their picture. Honestly, sharing these forces me to take consider my lackluster photography knowledge and the clear need for improvement. Feel free to visit my galleries on Picasa (Google+), Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere else my images end up. Relevant links can be found in the sidebar. Again, thanks for stopping by, and expect to find better and more interesting things here in the near future.

Charleston Falls, Tipp City, OH - Autumn 2011

Charleston Falls, Autumn 2011, a set on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Fall foliage colors were reported to be at their peak in our area this weekend (10/7~9/2011). My wife and I chose to visit Charleston Falls on recommendation from a friend. I tried a few more of my 3-D stereo pair images and am happy with the results. Having grown up in areas to the north of Dayton, OH, I was surprised to learn of this place. I'd never heard of it before! It's a beautiful setting with waterfalls, cliffs, and a lot of hiking paths through forest and field settings. Many of the paths, especially near the falls, are old, narrow, and otherwise rather challenging with rocks and tree roots making for uneven footing. Casual walkers with a fear of heights or claustrophobia may not do well here. Footwear with ankle support is recommended, and be sure to watch your step, as some trails are immediately adjacent to steep slopes. Despite concerns about the trails, it's a beautiful site and worth the bearing of it's challenges. We'll certainly be visiting again and may even take the dog with us for a walk on some of the safer trails. Don't miss this place!

Sporangia of Stemonitis splendens (a slime mold)

In the course of discovering what it was I'd shot in these photographs I learned some disturbing facts. My research uncovered details of living things I believed to be fiction; things that, nevertheless, jad haunted my childhood and have, conceivably, dimmed my overall life experience ever so slightly. I'll explain...

First, I have to point out that Stemonitis splendens (Stemonitis sp.) typically does not appear as in my photos. When it runs out of food, or conditions become otherwise unfavorable, it sprouts super-thin black hairs on which brown spore groups grow. The spores eventually fall off and are spread by wind, and possibly other means. I don't know what this slime mold looks like in its normal thriving state. Perhaps it's not very noticeable when it's normal. It only grows sporangia when it must.

So, Stemonitis sp. is a type of slime mold. There are different forms of slime molds, but this one is particularly disturbing (to me) because it's basically "The Blob" until it becomes hairy, as in my photos.

I saw the Steve McQueen version of "The Blob" when I was a little kid. The memory of "The Blob" gave me frights as a child when I'd notice shadows under doors and caused me nightmares for many years. The most recent nightmare was just a few years ago... The dream was one of those commonly experienced 'chase' situations that most people have from time to time, in which someone or some 'thing' is after you. Also, "The Blob" ruined my desire to enjoy puddings and gelatins. I'm over that food problem now and will eat such things, but, if I have a choice between pudding/gelatin and anything else, Else always wins.

So, slime molds (slime/s), like Stemonitis sp., are large single-celled organisms containing multiple nuclei and lacking cell walls. Such organisms are called 'plasmodia' and are made up of protoplasm, the same stuff inside most single cells. They move by pulsating, though I have no idea how they manage to pulse in the first place.

Stemonitis sp. are different from other molds and fungi in that they do not grow roots into surfaces. Rooting would hinder their ability to move about in search of food. They creep along, blob-like, enveloping bits and pieces of organic matter and 'consuming' those bits. Unlike "The Blob" they do not subsist on living matter, but may pass over living plants in their search for other organic debris foodstuffs.

Stemonitis sp. are not edible by humans. Even if they were, they would barely make a decent snack. However, they do provide food for slugs and other creepy crawlies, which will eat just about any debris they find. I often find slugs feasting on the poo residue on scoops we use outside to clean up the yard when our dog has to go #2.

For the sake of posterity, my first impressions upon seeing the mass of sporing slime were as follows:
I thought that someone had stuck a patch of stringy brown fuzz to the window frame. Why would someone do this? I don't know, but I've seen far more random things than a patch stringy brown fuzz on a windowpane.

I should mention that, in this sporing state, the slime is not readily visible, perhaps having dried out. I suspect the slime was thriving in our remarkably rainy Spring. Then, the recent day and a half of no rain, plus a wee bit of sunshine, may have dried out the slime enough to cause this batch to go into spore mode.

The black stems, at first glance, resembled a patch of black velcro to which the stringy brown fuzz was attached. As I leaned in for a closer look I noticed the dusty brown stuff laying on the windowsill beneath and to the side of the fuzz and recognized it as spore dust. Even after discovering that this was a patch of mold I thought it looked like something else. The storefront where this was found had once been home to a dealer of saltwater aquariums, fish, corals, etc. and I considered the sporangia to resemble a sea anemone.

Spring is a good time for finding many odd things. Later, in the evening of the same day,  I found a large Cleopatra moth at a local convenience store. I have photos of it to post as well.

I hope this information will be of use to someone else in the future.

Thanks to http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wood/club%20and%20coral/species%20pages/Stemonitis.htm for the scientific details concerning my strange find.

Hey Dayton!

kb.ultra's photostream on Flickr.

Patrick Dougherty Woven Wood Scupture!
Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark has a new attraction. Photos don't do it, or the park, justice. Go see it for yourself!