David C. Simon

Photo of a very large mosquito in brown and cream with striking gold bands on its abdomen, and gold and blue on its legs and proboscis.

Australian Elephant Mosquito (Toxorhynchites speciosus).
A most welcome sight in my garden. The adults don't drink blood at all (they prefer nectar and sap), while the larvae consume other types of mosquitoes!
#insects #invertebrates

Well since the career change didn't pan out, I have to go back to making art as a living so here we go opening comms for March and April!

Please reach out through e-mail only: elhyanart@gmail.com
Here's the price sheet
(and some example of past pieces in the next post)

RTs are always helpful!

Elizabeth Sampat @twoscooters Follow I don't wish we could abolish gender, I just wish it were less an identity and more of a hobby. So you'd get people who are like "Oh yeah, l'm a woman when I have the time," or "I'm a man but I'm not very good at it yet" along with the CrossFit gender types who are SUPER INTO IT

A friend just saw this in the wild and you know what? I stand by it

Photo of a very large mosquito in brown and cream with striking gold bands on its abdomen, and gold and blue on its legs and proboscis.

Australian Elephant Mosquito (Toxorhynchites speciosus).
A most welcome sight in my garden. The adults don't drink blood at all (they prefer nectar and sap), while the larvae consume other types of mosquitoes!
#insects #invertebrates

kill the imposter syndrome in you head because not only is there someone out there doing it worse than you, they're also using chat gpt to do it

Anyways.

Photograph of a mature male Satin Bowerbird holding a shriveled dead leaf. The bird is black satin with a blue sheen and bright violet eyes. The leaf is shriveled and dead.

Satin Bowerbird with a leaf.
#birds

Photograph of a mature male Satin Bowerbird holding a shriveled dead leaf. The bird is black satin with a blue sheen and bright violet eyes. The leaf is shriveled and dead.

Satin Bowerbird with a leaf.
#birds

I met Katy Manning. She was lovely.

Actually I think my last (and only) con was 1992. I would have been about 14 at the time. It was a small combined Doctor Who/Star Trek convention in Western Sydney called Q Who.

She's lovely! Here's a false Garden Mantis from my own garden.

Macro photo of a small Isopod on a concrete driveway. The Isopod has 14 segments (including head and tail) and is dark brown with small light brown flecks. It is walking on cream-coloured legs, has purplish antennae, and dark, faceted eyes.

Unidentified Isopod on my driveway (Family Armadillidae, aka Tropical Pill Woodlice)
#invertebrates

I was a Bungie fan before it was cool.

my9games.com

Photo of a small honeyeater with green leaves and yellow/green flowers that look like a bit like cotton candy. The bird is shades of brown with a black, white, and yellow face mask, and dark blue eyes. it is facing the viewer with its head turned to one side.

Yellow-faced Honeyeater.
#birds

If you're doomscrolling, guess what? So far there are 51 kākāpō chicks hatched and thriving this season, the same number of birds as we had in TOTAL in the 90s! Only one chick has died and there are still fertile eggs waiting to hatch!

I've decided to go to @paxaus.bsky.social this year.
My first con since 1990.
I have six months to prepare - financially and mentally - but I'm already in panic mode.

Photo of a small honeyeater with green leaves and yellow/green flowers that look like a bit like cotton candy. The bird is shades of brown with a black, white, and yellow face mask, and dark blue eyes. it is facing the viewer with its head turned to one side.

Yellow-faced Honeyeater.
#birds

Photograph of a medium-sized bee hovering in front of large Corymbia flower, side-view. The bee has a furry yellow and cream thorax and head, black and blue/green banded abdomen, and mottled green eyes. The flowers are bright red/pink with yellow centres. There are main raindrops collected on the flower anthers and a large drip of water is gathering under a bud near the bee.

A native Digger Bee (Zonamegilla sp.) investigates a Corymbia flower during a brief break in the rain.
#insects #bees

Photograph of a medium-sized bee hovering in front of large Corymbia flower, side-view. The bee has a furry yellow and cream thorax and head, black and blue/green banded abdomen, and mottled green eyes. The flowers are bright red/pink with yellow centres. There are main raindrops collected on the flower anthers and a large drip of water is gathering under a bud near the bee.

A native Digger Bee (Zonamegilla sp.) investigates a Corymbia flower during a brief break in the rain.
#insects #bees

Photo of a small grey and white bird with a buff belly on a branch. It has white eyebrown and a white chin. It is quite round.

Grey Fantail.
#birds

Photo of a small grey and white bird with a buff belly on a branch. It has white eyebrown and a white chin. It is quite round.

Grey Fantail.
#birds

we created the "dont fucking do this" scenario from battlefield 3's "dont fucking do this" plot

Photograph of a small honeyeater perched on the stem of a Corymbia bud with flowers on either side. The flowers are bright red with yellow centres. The bird is shades of brown, orange, and black, with dark eyes and a long curved beak.

The young Eastern Spinebill lets me get a little closer each day while it's in the Corymbia.
#birds

I just want a world in which I can say wow these dill-flavored Triscuits hit the spot without feeling like I'm stealing time from absolutely necessary screaming from absolutely everyone including me

Photograph of a small honeyeater perched on the stem of a Corymbia bud with flowers on either side. The flowers are bright red with yellow centres. The bird is shades of brown, orange, and black, with dark eyes and a long curved beak.

The young Eastern Spinebill lets me get a little closer each day while it's in the Corymbia.
#birds

Photo of a very small honeyeater perched on a branch with a large red callistemon (bottlebrush) flower in front. The bird is black and white with a bright scarlet head, black mask, and mottled red on its breast.

Same subject, side view. The bird's youth can be identified by the shortness of its beak and its light-coloured gape.

Same subject with the head raised and the breast feathers clearly visible.

A lifer in my very own garden!
I've heard Scarlet Honeyeaters before but in my 13 years living here I'd never actually seen any until this young male visited one of our callistemons. They're Australia's smallest honeyeaters!
#birds

Photo of a very small honeyeater perched on a branch with a large red callistemon (bottlebrush) flower in front. The bird is black and white with a bright scarlet head, black mask, and mottled red on its breast.

Same subject, side view. The bird's youth can be identified by the shortness of its beak and its light-coloured gape.

Same subject with the head raised and the breast feathers clearly visible.

A lifer in my very own garden!
I've heard Scarlet Honeyeaters before but in my 13 years living here I'd never actually seen any until this young male visited one of our callistemons. They're Australia's smallest honeyeaters!
#birds

Photograph of a very small passerine bird standing in shallow water on a concrete water tank. The bird is shades of brown with white striations on its neck and - to a lesser extent - its forehead.

Striated Thornbill on the neighbour's water tank.
#birds

Same. It's all kind of overwhelming at the moment, but if tiny birds can carry on then so can we.

#birds