The morning after a rain is so lovely. I am attracted to the glistening raindrops still hugging the plants and flowers ...
and decorating the spider webs.
Puddles kept the birds happy, splashing away and gathering food!
I watched as many insects drank from the raindrops and bathed themselves.
I watched as the yellowjackets continued their work, stripping my deck of wood to make their nests. And gathering mud to help glue their nests together.
Note the fly ...
As I went to snap a second picture of this fly, a yellowjacket made off with it. Though they do not usually feed on other insects themselves, they do chew them up to feed to their larvae which thrive on proteins (insects and meat). The larvae then excrete a sweet, sugary substance the adult yellowjackets relish, as their diet consists of sugars and carbohydrates. This exchange among the adults and larvae is known as trophallaxis (your science trivia of the day...ha!). As summer nears an end, the larvae reduce the amount of sugar in their excretions, making it not enough to meet the adult's requirements, and this is why you see them harrassing picnickers ... wanting soda and fruit ... anything sweet.
Every drop of rain radiates its own beauty.
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