Inside The Sycamore

From the other side this sycamore looks solid and nearly invincible.  When walking around it you quickly discover there’s a gap at least 5 feet in length, exposing the inside of the tree.

Old Decking

This was wooden decking may have been part of a boat, long ago.  Now it sits, slowly decaying along the shore of the river.

Glimpse At The Impermanence Of A Trailer

I like the color, the texture and the irony of this photo.  The irony that the bolt, which helps hold the trailer together, required a hole to be drilled through the metal, which is ultimately causing it to fall apart.

If you click on the image you can see a larger version of it, which really highlights the texture.

Rough Stink Bug on Ficus

wildlifehub

I believe our subject is Brochymena arborea, also known as the Rough Stink Bug.  After photographing it I did a little research and was surprised to learn there are several beneficial species of stink bugs, the Rough Stink Bug being one of them.  While many stink bugs feed on plants and cause crop damage there are also species, such as this one, that prey on caterpillars and other crop damaging insects.

Virginia Integrated Pest Management published the Field Guide to Stink Bugs which explains how to identify stink bugs in the Mid-Atlantic region and identifies the beneficial ones.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Lost in the Details

While having lunch I noticed the intriguing pattern of lines at my table.  The wicker place mat was crossed by the shadows of the blinds, which were themselves crossed by the stitching.  All this seemed like a fun way to make something out of the utterly mundane.