The spirit of adventure burns brightly in Brian - he's not the least bit bothered about splitting infinitives...

No snails were harmed in the making of this photograph.

The theme for "Looking Close on Friday" for the 5th of July is "bugs & co", where a photo of an insect or other creeping or crawling small invertebrate (such as: spider, centipede, ant, wasp, moth, cockroach, beetle, butterfly, snail, caterpillar, cicada, damselfy, grasshopper, fly, bee, worm or ladybird) is required. Being winter here in Melbourne there aren’t that many insects around, however my mind was cast back to last spring on a delightfully sunny day with glorious blue skies, when I went for a stroll. As I walked down a street I came across a white sakura cherry blossom in bloom. Not only was it beautiful, but the air around it thrummed as dozens of bees flew happily from flower to flower, enjoying their sticky pollen elevenses! There are few things more pleasurable to enjoy than happy bees busily buzzing away! I hope you like my choice from my archives, and that it makes you smile!

A cherry blossom, also known as a Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of trees in the genus Prunus or the Prunus subgenus Cerasus. Wild species of the cherry tree are widely distributed, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. They are common in East Asia, especially in Japan. They generally refer to ornamental cherry trees, not cherry trees grown for their fruit. The cherry blossom is considered the national flower of Japan.

For Looking Close…on Friday theme of Bugs & Co., here is a little katydid that landed on our picnic table, attracted by the pollen and tiny petals.

GROUP: SLOOKING CLOSE ON FRIDAY

THEME: BUGS AND CO.

SUBJECT: SKIPPER FEEDING ON LANTANA

I hope my US friends are having a HAPPY, PEACEFUL, SAFE and a BLESSED Independence Day!

Looking close...on Friday: Bugs and co.

Google reveals all -- this little hole-borer is a Rose Curculio, and apparently it is doing its best to kill this poor rose bush.