Origami, Bugs, Bird, And Fish. Typical Wednesday.

Buckeye

Painted Lady

I have been collecting these pictures for a while now...but figured I had better post them before ultimate deleting them randomly.  So here they are...

First.   Butterflies!

Waiting outside Hobby Lobby.

A really fresh buckeye was hanging out for a while next to the cone flowers.  With the sun being so bright,  I had to rely on my camera figuring out the focus....  Which it did not do very well.

Very large Mantis!

Painted Ladies and Red Admirables are quite abundant this year.  It is easy to find them along the road.   They fly so fast it is difficult to photograph them on the wing....unless they are nice enough to hang out on a flower.  (Or are dead...like this one)

Don't poke at it! 

In front of Hobby Lobby the other day,   Cheryl noticed a Preying Mantis.   Here in Iowa, the Mantises are quite large.  ( compared to Michigan.)   I used to catch these guys and keep them as pets all summer... Feeding them grasshoppers and crickets.   Small note:  Never put two mantises together.   They will eat each other!

Hiro waits in Ambush!

Hiro the Cat has been enchanted with the hummningbirds as of late.   Mostly because the action has increased significantly since the young-uns have hatched.

Hummer in Flight

The "Dad" of the group.  

  The young birds throw caution to the find as they hit the feeder regardless of Mom and Dad's protests.   Seeing three or more dive bomb each other is not uncommon.

First attempt with gold paper

Second attempt.  More scales!

Gold Koi vs "Pinecone"!

And finally... Origami.   I have been focusing on insects,  but took a break to fold up some dragons and fish.   With the new paper,  I wanted to attempt slightly more challenging models.

 I finally have a Koi I can be impressed with.  It took a full two days to fold , however.   Making me think twice before attempting it any time soon.   ( scales take a long time....)

Hopefully the patter will work out.

New paper for next attempt

But I know I will attempt it again... eventually.   I have been working on some paper that might add a little color character to it.   We shall see how things go.