A mandolin is a wonderful kitchen tool. It is a hand-operated, razor-sharp blade that can make quick work of slicing cucumbers for pickling. However, if you are too fond of cooking shows and like to emulate the techniques you learn from them, you might throw caution to the wind and slice up said cucumbers without the knife-proof glove that keeps you from slicing off body parts.

No one on Chopped uses the glove.

So, a small chunk of the tip of my ring finger is no longer part of me. Not medically interesting, not even all that bloody, but boy does it hurt. And typing doesn’t help.

I’m sure a week of no typing will clear things up nicely, but in light of all the excitement, this week’s blog post is going to consist of recent photos taken on the preserve and captions. Perhaps next week, I will fill your head with my voice, but until then, be grateful for the silence.

If there were a fly civilization, they would create huge statues that look like this. A truly heroic fly.

This is a female blue dasher dragonfly. She is maybe two inches long.

This is a close-up of her head. I have no idea whether that iridescent blue spot is functional or decorative. Either way, I want one.

Another amazing fly. I cannot guess what adaptive function all that magnificence is in service of, but wow!

And that person at the top is a juvenile katydid on a hibiscus. I know they are a juvenile because the antennae are striped and they have not yet grown wings.