September 14, 2018 by drkottaway

life on the water

I used my zoom lens for this water strider, about fifteen feet out in the lake. It was the leaf that caught my eye first:

I thought it was an insect stranded on a leaf, but no. It left the leaf quickly. How amazing! Family Gerridae, here. A college friend from Florida calls them Jesus bugs: they can walk on water. Over 1700 species have been identified. Think of being out in the waves on the water, no boat.

And prayers for those in the storm’s way and flooding.

September 14, 2018 by drkottaway

slick

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: grubby.

Grubby isn’t quite the right word here. At the lake we do get grubby, mostly living outdoors, but the word for this is slick and slippery! There was a burn ban when we first got to the lake, but it rained a lot the last couple of days. When it first rains, the rocks are terribly slick. I was very careful going down on the front rocks, but it didn’t occur to me to warn my daughter or partner. Both fell, feet shot out from under, launched! Both were thankfully fine, just startled and a little banged up! I showed them the alternate route back up the rocks.

The rocks and the lake are so beautiful in the rain. And I worried less about fires.