Man Obsessed With Cicadas

LOL

Now, It's Dragonflies

First one I've seen this summer.

 

"Lucky" Me

Wow, for the second time in ten days I've come across a cicada nymph going the wrong way, away from the trees.  And this one was quite obviously malformed, looking dwarfish and bent over.

It was clearly unwell, crawling slowly and arduously in the middle of a vast nowhere (from its POV), and I was worried for its safety, as it was completely exposed and obvious to anyone (or any bird or cat) who came along.

So I picked it up carefully and tried to place it on a nearby tree, but it even had trouble grabbing onto the bark, so I went to another tree that had a semi-horizontal bend and put it down.  It just stayed there unmoving as I stood watching for a little while.  I'll have to check in on it tomorrow.

Errant Airplane

Today the temps were bearable due to the hard rain that had started falling during the previous night and continued, off and on, most of the daylight hours, so I first took a walk around the neighborhood relatively early (collecting another big bunch of nymph shells -- wet soft ones -- in the process), then went to my doctor's office down the block (yes, the mini-mall in my apartment complex actually hosts a doctor's office;  my doctor was a little shocked that I hadn't eaten anything for a full day to prepare for the recommended blood test -- yes, Koreans are big eaters;  btw the phlebotomist had a very hard time drawing my blood;  I actually joked that I don't seem to have any blood left), then walked around some more, and came upon this:

It was so adorable I briefly considered keeping it, but then I realized that pin at the front was supposed to have a propeller on it.

I didn't like the thought of bringing a broken toy into my home (Hans Christian Andersen wrote about a defective toy in "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" and look what happened to it), so I put it back.  So call me superstitious, but it saved me the trouble of having to throw salt on it and burn sage and pray over it with texts from Christian and Buddhist scriptures to cleanse the negative energy.  Just kidding.

A Stretch

to the point of absurditiy?  Perhaps, but purely in visual terms, the resemblance really is striking.

I have absolutely no idea what that thing stuck to the railing is:

All I know is that the moment I laid eyes on it I was instantly reminded of this display I saw several years ago on a visit to an establishment called The Love Museum in Hongdae (which sadly doesn't exist any more),

which was a hilariously kitschy piece of decoration(?) from China based on this beautiful, though somewhat scandalous (for its time), painting by Ingres:

Just Playing Around

I turned up the color and contrast and did a few other things with this image and now it looks like it belongs on a cheaply printed poster for some cosmic disaster-type sci-fi movie.  Titled The Day Atlas Still Shrugged.

The Jar Is Now Full

of cicada nymph shells, collected over three summers.

Now I need to figure out what, if anything, I should do with them.  Get a bigger jar, maybe?

Cell Division

Mitosis or meiosis, I couldn't tell.

A Zombie Staircase

This stairway may well be considered "dead", since its useful life has ended;  however its physical existence continues, so maybe it's better to call it a "zombie" staircase rather than the "ghost" of one.

Rather Remarkable

I was just walking by when I happened to look up and saw this tree branch.

It was visually a little confusing at first due to the profusion of greenery, but I quickly realized that it was a dead branch, a disconnected limb that was all that remained of a tree that was no longer there.  But then, I wondered why the branch had not been removed along with the rest of the tree and instead was left to hang in the fence.

I stepped closer, and the answer became clear.

The branch had not grown through the fence, but rather had engulfed that bar like an amoeba, incorporating it into itself, and continued to grow.  Why was it allowed to grow that way? -- it must have taken many years for it to happen!  Was it simply neglected until the branch grew so far out over the sidewalk as to create a possible hazard to tall pedestrians, or at least a bothersome obstacle, by which time it was too late to remove it from the fence without undue effort?

Jailbreak

 

Cicada Grubs

Otherwise known as nymphs.

Not this kind

But these:

I think I'll call those squaring-off ones Hector and Achilles.

*A Small Death

Today I went back to the tree from yesterday, to see if I might find that cicada nymph's discarded shell.  Sadly though, this is what I found instead:

 

It looks like the nymph did undergo the final molt and emerge as the imago, but it had been so weakened by the arduous climb that its strength gave out and it died without ever taking flight.

How can I be sure it was the same one from yesterday?  While I cannot be absolutely certain, the fact it was the only one left on the tree (I'd plucked the lower shell on the tree to take home);  it had begun to veer toward the right when I left;  and that when I discovered it, it was crawling away from the tree rather than climbing it, could have been a sign of some genetic defect, one that was affecting its navigation faculty and maybe some other functions as well.  Evolution at work, ruthlessly weeding out individuals that are not up to species' standards.

*"A Small Death" is the title of the short story I once wrote, described here.

It's Been A Year Already

Or, to paraphrase Truman Capote, "It's cicada weather!".  On my evening walk earlier I came upon a cicada nymph slowly making its way across the sidewalk.  Only, it was going the wrong way;  it was crawling away from the tree whose roots it had presumably emerged from, instead of climbing the tree.  So I carefully picked it up and placed it on the tree trunk.  I stroked its back for encouragement and watched it climb for a little while, then left.

Four Descents

 

Butterfly On A Wet Afternoon

Creepy Eyes

I was out on my usual evening walk when I noticed this shadow on the ground.

In my mind's eye:

Related post:  Monster Eyes In The Sidewalk

"Paper-Thin" Stairs

I de-colorized this innocuous photo of a sun-drenched rooftop cafe, and suddenly that shadow under the stairs looked like the side of a solid staircase.  Actually, the stairs are just a steel sheet folded to form steps.  Looks almost like one of those visual illusion photos.

(Dead) June Bug In July

Found a June bug on the pavement that had been partly crushed (I had to blur out its spilled-out innards;  it was just gross).  I guess June bugs are pretty much the same everywhere -- it looked just like the ones I remember from back in California.

Pareidolia

of a somewhat eerie kind.  Reminds me of a pirate flag.  Or even the "Yorick's skull" scene from Hamlet.  If this is the effect the builders were going for, I guess they succeeded.

Five Days Later

Today was supposed to be -- if not cool, then at least less hot, so I decided to set out on foot in the middle of the day (haven't done that in a while) to revisit the flower I liked so much last week.

It was no longer alone.

Lake Spider

For one who experiences the "normal" aversion to spiders and such, I've posted quite a few spider and other bug images.  Could it be that I actually find them interesting and attractive -- under some circumstances at least? 😏

Bug On A Leaf

Some subspecies of tiger beetle, I think.

 

More Spontaneous Order

A paper cup that somebody crumpled and thoughtlessly tossed on the market floor, flattened under the wheels of many a cart pushed along by inattentive patrons...

The fold along the rim of the cup alignes perfectly with the edge of the vinyl floor tile.

Escher Would Be Proud (I Think)

As usual, I was going about at random, checking out whatever happened to strike my fancy.  So I happened upon this rundown old building (natch), I entered, and I started photographing the interior, paying particular attention to the stairwell (also natch).

I had a feeling about this particular shot.

So I got rid of the most obvious visual cues to its original orientation, turned it upside down, and it became quite disorienting.  In fact, there were moments while I was playing with the image when I actually became confused as to which direction was the true "up".

Then I got the bright idea of reversing the chiaroscuro, and the confusion became compounded.

Because in actuality the top photograph is the upside-down one;  the second one is the right-side-up original!  The sequence starts with the image "flopped" (not to be confused with "flipped"), but it sure looks normal, doesn't it -- at least to the casual gaze -- especially in the negative version.