"I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter."
― Blaise Pascal
It's been a smoky August so far, thanks to the lingering haze from the Canadian wildfires. I've been dragging a bit, battling a surprise double ear infection (what the heck?), but still managed to get out on Saturday. That said, the mid-summer tiger beetle lull seems more pronounced this year. There were none at the Sauk Canoe Launch and only three along the Wisconsin River near Vintage Brewing Company.
Here's one of two Bronzed found:
And just a single Hairy-necked (note the tiny grasshopper lower-right):
I know there are lots of Punctured Tiger Beetles out at different habitats right now, but I was a little surprised how few beetles there are along the river. The sandbars and shorelines are usually reliable even during the slower weeks of summer, so the drop-off kind of stood out. The second emergence will soon begin and I hope there are more Splendid Tiger Beetles than I found during spring.
Ironweed and Obedient Plant were in bloom along the shoreline, adding a splash of color to the otherwise muted landscape. Even with the haze, the purples stood out vividly against the late-summer greens.
This is a more abbreviated blog post, as I didn't spend as much time out in Nature as I would've liked. Between the lingering smoky haze and my double ear infection, I definitely felt my energy level take a hit. Still, it was good to get out, even if only briefly.
Birddigiscoper Domain Status:
Turns out my domain got hacked, with lots of files deleted or altered—including scripts. To fix it, I ended up deleting the entire public_html directory and uploading a backup. While some older blog images might still be missing, I believe I restored over 90% of the content. For now, I've set up a simple redirect index.html that points to this blog. Unfortunately, BlueHost offered zero help unless I paid extra for malware removal and backup restoration—services I think should be included in basic domain-hosting fees. I'm still unsure if I'll keep the domain long-term.
All images © 2025 Mike McDowell