Shortly after 7 am today, I stepped outside and was impressed by how cool it had become overnight — I nearly felt a chill, suggesting a temperature around 60 degrees F. I set off excited at the prospects of capturing a suitable 4th of July image. I recalled some Independence Day bunting along a neighbor’s wood fence about halfway down Piney Woods Church Road, and thought I would use one as foreground for a wide-angle landscape photograph, something I practically never do. I took several photos of an ancient tulip poplar in a pasture, with the decoration in the foreground as intended, but the lighting was poor because the morning sun had not yet topped the trees across the road. I thought I would try a different photo using one of the other decorations, but the wind had blown it upside-down over the top rail of the fence. I righted it, discovering this caterpillar as I did so. What a marvelous gift for this Independence Day! He (or she) had even positioned himself (or herself) on one of the stars, inviting a portrait. The caterpillar is almost certainly a Banded Tussock Moth (Halysidota tessellaris), a generalist feeder that is fairly common across the eastern half of North America. Today I broke with tradition to post two photographs; I cannot decide which one I prefer. Any votes?
