What To Do, What To Do...

O.K., so I've got hoarder-ish inclinations.  I did have a vague idea before about using a few of these cicada nymph shells in a wall sculpture;  I gave up on that plan because it proved difficult to implement for various reasons, but I still kept collecting the shells.  Now I've got almost three dozen of these buggers (see what I did there?^).  At one point there actually were an even three dozen, but I accidentally damaged a couple and had to discard them.  Now I don't know what to do with them, except that I don't want to throw them out.

A Visit To Myeongdong Cathedral

I find that Catholic churches, no less than Buddhist temples, somehow manage to achieve an atmosphere of calmness and introspection even when they are located in busy, noisy city centers.  In the case of Myeongdong Cathedral this effect is especially pronounced, as the church is located just a block away from the crazy raucousness of crowded Myeongdong, the touristy shopping and eating district.

And Yet More Iridescence

 The skies are so much more interesting in wet weather.

'Tis The Season

And now back in the present, another friendly insect; taken yesterday.

July is the main month for monsoon rains in Korea.  Right now the southern half of the country is beiing battered with record amounts of rain, with floods and mudslides and accidents.  Up here in the north though, so far the rain has been minimal.  How is this even possible in this small country?  Well, anyway, I went for a long walk along the Cheonggyecheon Stream in Seoul yesterday - braving the heat and the humidity - and was rewarded with this pretty sight.

June Bug in July

A lucky shot taken on this very date, six years ago.  I like June bugs.  They are one of those select bugs/insects that I can deal with without a sense of revulsion.  Maybe in this case it's because they are big and stocky and so approach the lower limit of mammal- and bird-hood?  Perhaps.

Stag Beetle

Came across this guy just chillin', just like that, in front of my door.  I have no idea how or why a stag beetle would be found 11 stories up a mountain of concrete and steel, but there you are.

Anyway, so I gathered him up and took him inside, and placed him in a glass container.  He seemed pretty feeble, and I had this vague impression that he was near death, and I would soon have a cool addition to my hoardery.  Except he was fine a day later, and I had to admit I was keeping a creature prisoner, waiting for it to die.  It was such a repellent realization, I actually felt evil.  I had to let him go.

The Moon Doesn't Always Attract

Related Post:  The Strange Attraction Of The Moon