Steven Kutcher, of 63 years, is an artist from Los Angeles that paints using insects. spiders, flies, bees, butterflies, crickets and cockroaches are some of the insects that this artist uses to elaborate his works, although in fact the paintings are done by the insects and not by him.
Insects possess segmented bodies supported by an exoskeleton, a hard outer covering made mostly of chitin. The segments of the body are organized into three regions, or tagmata; a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. The head supports a pair of sensory antennae, a pair of compound eyes, one to three simple eyes (“ocelli”) and three sets of variously modified appendages that form the mouthparts.
The thorax has six legs (one pair each for the prothorax, mesothorax and the metathorax segments making up the thorax) and two or four wings (if present in the species). The abdomen (made up of eleven segments some of which may be reduced or fused) has most of the digestive, respiratory, excretory and reproductive internal structures.
It's certainly no secret that I am passionate about animals. I feel that God's creatures are often overlooked in the charity department. I help people. That's just me. I'm charitable and love to help those in need; including animals and even insects. I even threw a fit when my older sister had my son outside killing snails with salt. I talked to my son about it and told him how, even though they can't show it, they have feelings just like we do and we should respect all life, no matter how insignificant it may seem. The kids listen to me when it comes to things like that. They catch bugs that are in the house and put them outside. From Ladybugs, Crickets, Beetles, and even non-toxic spiders, they've rescued many "tiny" lives. My husband is supportive of my activism, but he often complains that sometimes I go "overboard". Take last Saturday for example. I had to take him back to his truck and he was driving our van on the way there. There in the road close to our house was a HUGE turtle just sitting there afraid to move. My husband went around him and I begged him to take me back so that I can help him get out of the road before he gets hit. My husband complained with remarks such as "it's just a turtle" and "I'm going to be late if we turn around." Eventually, I won the argument but was afraid as we turned around that I may have been too late. When we got back to the turtle, he was still there and had not moved from his spot. There were cars avoiding him as we parked on the side of the road. The poor thing was so scared. I got out of the van and picked him up (gosh he was so heavy) and moved him into the little stream that ran along the side of the road. He sat there and I walked away. When I returned back on the road about an hour later, he was no where to be found so I assumed that he had not wandered back into the road and was quite smug when I announced that to my husband.
The point is, that no matter how small or insignificant a creature may seem to us, we should always do our best to help them. As always, I love you guys and know that you can be a hero daily, even if it's to a snail. :)
P.S. I wanted to share this picture of me and the "late" Mopsy with you guys. I was in my pj's and my hair was not fixed so I debated putting it up, but for you guys, I will! I miss Mopsy so much so when I found this pic, I was sad. I love you guys!
The Rainbow River is located in Dunnellon, Florida, USA, which is in the southwest corner of Marion County Florida, USA, about 20 miles southwest of Ocala, 100 miles northwest of Orlando and 100 miles north of the Tampa Bay area. The Rainbow River is formed by a first magnitude spring (Rainbow Springs) that is ranked fourth in the state for volume of discharge. In addition to the springs located at the headwaters, there are many smaller springs that discharge from numerous caves, rock crevices, and sand boils the entire length of the river.
The Rainbow River is a gently winding river that is 5.7 miles long and merges with the Withlacoochee River at Dunnellon Florida. The headwaters, Rainbow Springs, is the anchor for the Rainbow Springs State Park. This first magnitude spring is not one large vent but is numerous vents that issue 400 – 600 million gallons of crystalline water every day. The Rainbow Springs State Park is a popular destination to swim, snorkel, canoe, picnic, or stroll on the walking paths to enjoy the many plants and animals that abound here.
Once named Wekiwa Creek, Blue Spring, and Blue Run, archaeological evidence indicates that the waters of The Rainbow River have attracted and sustained human inhabitants for over 10,000 years. The crystal clear water, abundant with fish, wildlife and vegetation along with the constant water temperature of 73 degrees, has attracted a number of modern day activities.
The Rainbow Springs and The Rainbow River became popular in the late 1880s when hard rock phosphate was discovered in the area. A small community called Juliette flourished near the springs during this “boomtown” era. In the 1930s the spring was developed as a tourist attraction. Sea walls, a lodge, gift shop, the waterfalls, and a reptile exhibit were developed. Under new ownership, the real heyday for the attraction occurred in the 1960s. During that time activity greatly increased with glass-bottomed boat rides, riverboat rides, log raft rides, a gift shop and cafe, an aviary, a leaf-shaped gondola/monorail system, a horse rodeo, and submarine boat tours. Not faring well when traffic began using I-75 instead of U.S. Highway 41, with many tourists heading to a new attraction called Walt Disney World, the attraction closed in 1974.
The Rainbow River was designated as a Registered Natural Landmark in 1972, an Aquatic Preserve in 1986, and an “Outstanding Florida Waterway” in 1987. The state purchased the original area that was the Rainbow Springs Attraction in 1990. Volunteers cleared the overgrown park and opened the park on weekends to the public. The Florida Park Service officially opened Rainbow Springs State Park on a full time basis on March 9, 1995.
Rainbow Springs State Park comprises 1,459.07 upland acres (which includes around 100 acres of wetlands) and 12.83 submerged acres. The most significant natural feature is the first magnitude headspring basin which produces between 400 – 600 million gallons of fresh water per day, forming The Rainbow River. The looking glass waters of Rainbow Springs come from several vents, not one large bubbling spring. The river itself supports a wide variety of fish , wildlife, and plants, many within easy viewing by visitors.In total, the park contains 11 distinct natural communities, including sandhills, flatwoods, upland mixed forests, and hydric hammocks. Visitors are able to see a variety of wildflowers in season; oak, longleaf pines, magnolia, dogwood, redbud, and hickory trees; gray squirrels, red-shoulder hawks, swallowtail kites, barred owls, whitetail deer, and a wide variety of wading birds. The relative peace and quiet of the winter season offers much for the nature enthusiast. There is an interpretive room located in the visitor center displaying historical, natural, and cultural resources of the park.
