Pointless pictorial essay of the day:

The Toronto office kindly made it unnecessary for me to blather today, so I won't. I will, however, introduce you to my father's rose bush.

Actually, you've already met my father's rose bush. It's the subject of a fair amount of pointless photography in this yard. You might not know why, though, so let's go into that a bit.

The rose bush is an old-style, no-idea-what-species transplant from my grandmother's yard. It's the type of thing that makes me wonder why people bother with fiddly hybrid tea roses. It grows like a weed, is very hardy, and has incredibly fragrant flowers.

It's also pretty much an ecosystem unto itself. The invertebrate life (read: insects and spiders) that calls the thing home is pretty diverse and, to a nerd like Yours Blatheringly, endlessly fascinating. As a result, between the creepy crawlies, the complex flowers, and the wonderfully textured leaves I spend a lot of time pointing the camera at this particular rose.

Here, then, is a look at some of what I found today. Today being a hot, sunny day so the photos aren't great... but they should at least give the idea. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

That's assuming anyone wants to enlarge them, of course.

If you don't want to enlarge them, don't click on the photos.

I't's just that easy...

Elongate Long-jawed Orb Weaver camouflaged on young leaves

Bumblebee

Some spider or other on a leaf. Aren't those great leaves?

Harvestman. This one's fuzzy (the photo, not the harvestman) but it was the only shot I had.

Find of the day. That's a Goldenrod Spider finishing off a hover fly. And... erm... that's my father's hand helping me get the photo.

Another angle for those who wanted it. Hey, I can pretend that someone wanted another angle, all right? Shut up.

That's it from sunny Alberta. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post, when I probably won't have anything worth looking at. That's the usual pattern, anyway.