Life Up Close, A Walk to the Mailbox

As I went outside to collect the mail from the post box, I found more nature than mail when I arrived at the box.  As usual I couldn't resist capturing them.  I love nature!

 While I'm not going to get into the habit of identifying the species of insects pictured, this species of spider is particularly interesting...this spider is "Argiope aurantia" commonly called "Golden Orb Weaver" most recognized for it's zig zag patterned web.  The zig zag of it's web wasn't captured in my photo but you can go here for more pictures of these spiders and their webs.  They are really neat, I had never seen one before this photo.

I was able to get close enough to this grasshopper to capture the texture on the wings and the fine hairs on it's legs.  The main reason I get so excited about being this close up is that my pictures are all taken with the camera on my phone!   I wanted to combine the two since I always have my phone so I would always have the ability to capture nature in a split second.

And last but not least... lovely wasps building a nest under the box in the newspaper holder.  Thankfully we do not take the paper so they were not disturbed and did not sting anyone.  They have since been removed.

It's amazing what you see, if you slow down enough just walking a few feet from your own front door.  Enjoy your day :)