Monthly Archives: June 2017

Asiatic Lily

Asiatic Lily

Asiatic Lily

This is the first of our Asiatic lilies to come into bloom. We have been adding these every now and then and I really love them. They have such loud, hot colors and are such beautiful, symmetrical flowers. I don’t know that I could ever have too many of them. I think my favorites are the solid colors, particularly the orange and deep reds but I saw a mix of orange and yellow the other day that was out of this world. This one is relatively short, with the flower less than a foot and a half from the ground. I like that because it means it’s easier to look down into the flower. The tiger lilies are much taller but since the flowers hang down, that works out really well.

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Rose ‘Cutie Pie’

Rose ‘Cutie Pie’

Rose ‘Cutie Pie’

I’ve mentioned this rose a couple times so I decided that I’d finally get around to posting a picture. This is a miniature rose called ‘Cutie Pie’ and it is, really. I’ve found two roses named ‘Cutie Pie’ listed in commerce. This is WEKruruwel, Bred by Tom Carruth and introduced by Weeks in 2016. So, it’s a new rose. I’ve planted it in the large bed in the middle of our back yard where there used to be two trees. That bed needs a bit more variety and this was my start at that. I plan to add a few more roses, two at least and maybe as many as four. I’m looking at a few of David Austin’s English roses. We’ll see.

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Insect Exuviae

Insect Exuviae

Insect Exuviae

I was out in the yard taking pictures this evening and after taking a few of the rose I just posted, I noticed that there were a lot of little insects moving around in the grass. When I say little, I’m talking about insects in the 2 to 3mm range. As I walked around, they leapt away from me. I got down on the ground but when they were not moving, they were hard to find. What I did find, however, was this exuviae, the exoskeleton of some small insect that left it behind on a blade of grass. It’s about 5mm long and appears to be from some sort of grasshopper or cricket. The word exuviae is Latin and means ‘things stripped from a body.’

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Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Arum)

Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Arum)

Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Arum)

Ralph told me that the other day he noticed a vulture perched on the kids old jungle gym in his back yard. Later he noticed more had gathered. At first he wondered if some animal had died and attracted them. But no, that’s not what it was. It was this plant, a dragon arum, (Dracunculus vulgaris, formerly called Arum dracunculus), a native of the central and eastern Mediterranean. This plant attracts pollinators by mimicking the smell of rotting meat. It does a good job and fooled the turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) which find dead animals primarily with their highly developed sense of smell. Black vultures (Coragyps atratus) find food primarily by sight and by following turkey vultures.

On the Missouri Botanical Garden’s page about Dracunculus vulgaris it says,

Avoid planting this perennial near windows, doors, sidewalks or other frequently populated areas where the brief but overpowering odor from the spadices will be found objectionable.

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Skipper on Coreopsis

Skipper on Coreopsis

Skipper on Coreopsis

I sat on the patio for a while this afternoon, just enjoying being in the sun. It was actually a little hot for my taste, but still nice for all of that. Also, the light is better for macro photography in the sun, when you want as much depth of field and as fast a shutter speed as possible. I was watching the insects around the potted flowers on the patio and got a few pictures of this skipper (family Hesperiidae) on a coreopsis (a.k.a. tickseed) flower. The insects aren’t around it the huge numbers we’ll have in a few weeks, particularly when the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) starts to bloom, but they are certainly here and I really enjoy them.

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Tanacetum parthenium (Feverfew)

<em>Tanacetum parthenium</em> (Feverfew)

Tanacetum parthenium (Feverfew)

This comes up all around our yard. It isn’t so invasive that it cannot be kept under control by judicious pulling and it certainly adds a bit of interest during a time when there isn’t a huge amount in bloom. The early spring flowers are done and the summer flowers haven’t really gotten going yet. There are Asiatic lilies blooming and the day lilies will be starting pretty soon. The Verbena bonariensis has started but the black-eyed Susans are still a good way off. Feverfew doesn’t have the most striking flowers around but they are certainly pretty enough. And there are plenty of them.

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Tulip Poplar Leaf

Tulip Poplar Leaf

Tulip Poplar Leaf

I went out into the woods next to my building today. There wasn’t a lot that I decided to photograph. Mostly I took pictures of the sun shining through leaves. I love leaves (and I’m frond of ferns) and especially like looking at them with light shining through them. This is a leaf of a tulip poplar, or tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) and it has large leaves of a unique and easily distinguished shape. While you can easily identify dogwood by its bark, the tulip tree is identified by its leaves.

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Lobularia maritima (Sweet Alyssum)

Lobularia maritima (Sweet Alyssum)

Lobularia maritima (Sweet Alyssum)

As I’ve mentioned, Cathy bought a bunch of annuals to go in containers and in a few locations around the house. One that she often gets is sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima), a pretty little thing with masses of small (7 or 8mm) flowers. This variety has a purple tint and it really lovely. I think they are particularly nice up close. On the other hand, I think a lot of things are interesting up close, which is why a significant proportion of my photography is of small things, viewed up close. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these little flowers.

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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

As I drove into the parking lot at work this morning I saw out of the corner of my eye that there was a heron on the pond between my building and the rest of the campus. Before I went inside, then, I decided to see if I could get a picture or two. I happened to have my 75-300mm lens this morning, so I was able to get a few reasonable shots. It let me take them, continuing to fish for a little while (I even got pictures of it with a fish in its beak). Then if flew away and I was able to snap one picture as it headed off. It is not as sharp as I’d like and I’d prefer a background that is more different to the color of the bird, but I’m fairly pleased with the composition overall.

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Kristine, Cathy, and Brandon

Kristine, Cathy, and Brandon

Kristine, Cathy, and Brandon

Look who we had breakfast with this morning! If you know who these people are, then I suspect you’re jealous. If you don’t know who they are then you want to. Well, you may not know that you want to but you do.

It’s hard to believe how much Brandon has grown since we saw him last, which was about two years ago (two days short of two years, to be precise). He was very good to sit with us as we talked with his mom for over an hour (closer to two). We did talk to him a little and when I asked what his favorite classes are in school he said math, science, and history. Actually, he named all his classes except English. And he likes to read, so that’s not so far behind. When I asked what he likes to read, he said fiction and non-fiction. Well, that just about covers it.

Kristine caught us up on the goings on with Brandon’s four older sisters. Never a dull moment for Kristine and Bill. Sorry, Bill, that it’s been so long since we’ve seen you. We’d love to have breakfast with you, if you ever came to town. Just let us know. And of course we caught Kristine up on what’s happening with us. We could have talked for hours more but I did have to get to work (what a hassle!). Maybe Cathy and I can go visit them sometime, before too long.

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Ralph and Kai

Ralph and Kai

Ralph and Kai

We went up to the Farm today and everyone was there, which was great. I took what some might consider a lot of pictures and baby Kai was in his fair share of them. There are a bunch of Kai with grandpa Ralph and that’s what we have here. It isn’t the best angle for seeing their faces but if I went to one side or the other I’d get the back of one head. I got a bunch that I think are good but decided to go with this one, which I like pretty well.

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The Kids Are ‘Helping’

The Kids Are 'Helping'

The Kids Are ‘Helping’

Actually, after church these kids do help put things away. They put all the Sunday School and Nursery things back into the bins, they load those bins onto carts and bring them all to the storage area, where they get stacked (that part is generally done by an adult). Meanwhile, other things (generally larger, heavier, and more delicate things) are being put away, like the sound equipment. Some of the older kids help with that, as well, putting the music and microphone stands into the carrying bag. All in all, it’s a pretty well run process (as long as no one is away that week).

Today, after everything was put away, someone (and I don’t know who) decided to give the kids a ride. They came into the room and I told them to wait while I got my camera and took a few quick pictures. I also took some pictures of clematis blooming outside, but pictures of flowers are a dime a dozen.

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Speyeria cybele cybele (Great Spangled Fritillary)

Speyeria cybele cybele (Great Spangled Fritillary)

Speyeria cybele cybele (Great Spangled Fritillary)

I drove down to Lake Needwood on the way home today and stopped to take a few pictures. I followed a pair of fritillaries for a while and got a few half decent pictures. I also went after a great blue heron but wasn’t able to get anything worth while there. This is a great spangled fritillary and apparently there are at least 7 subspecies (and depending on who you ask, more than that). I naively assumed they were distinguished by variations in the patterns on their wings but apparently they are identified by distribution. Who knew? This was identified by the good people of BugGuide.net as subspecies S. c. cybele. Note: the red in the background is my car. I tried to get pictures without that but for this one, which turned out the best of the butterfly, it was unavoidable. Oh, well.

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The Guys

Steve, David, and Juan at The Old Town Pour House

Steve, David, and Juan at The Old Town Pour House

These guys, Steve, David, and Juan, (plus me and a few others from time to time) have been meeting regularly for over a year and a half (since October, 2015, I just looked it up in my journal). Mostly we meet at the church office but now and then we go out for dinner. This evening was such a time and we mat at the Old Town Pour House in Downtown Crown. The food was quite good, although I’d say it was overpriced. I had a duck Reuben and it was really tasty but $14 for a sandwich? Really? The beer was good and there is a pretty broad selection to choose from. I went with a beer called Bivalve Saison brewed by Evolution Craft Brewing Company of Salisbury, Maryland. Nice. As usual, we talked about life. That can keep us busy for a while, as you might guess.

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Ralph and Kai

Ralph L. Hartley
June 10, 1958 – June 14, 2017

Ralph and Kai

Ralph and Kai

Life can be hard and I’m not really sure what to say about this picture. As I get older I find, not surprisingly, I suppose, that there are fewer and fewer people that have known me all my life. My parents, of course, knew me when I was first born. My grandparents, aunts, and uncles, basically, as well. But my dad is gone and so are my grandparents and many of my aunts and uncles. And now my older brother, Ralph. He was only 18 months old when I was born, but he has been there since my beginning and I have known him my entire life. Being so close together in age, we did a lot of things together, especially as kids. We fought, of course, but we played, as well. The family traveled a bunch, going out west and back a few times when we were young. Then in 1971 we moved to England, camping through much of Europe on the way. Ralph and I went to the Cambridge Grammar School for Boys that year. We explored castles and designed our own. We took another trip out west when Ralph and I were in high school, hiking down the Grand Canyon. We went to Greece for eight weeks in 1981, camping almost the whole time. Ralph only stayed for half of that but it was a really good time (and boy, did he have hair then!).

It was about that time that he met Tsai-Hong. They were married in 1982 and have had a wonderful marriage and two amazing children, now both married. In December of last year their grandson Kai was born. Late in 2015 it was clear that Ralph was ill. In January, 2016 he was diagnosed with lymphoma. In January of this year he had a bone marrow transplant and although the transplant was successful, the cancer was still there. They decided to do some traveling and went on a cruise in the Galapagos and another in southeast Alaska. Ralph was an avid and experienced caver and he took five of us into a ‘starter cave’ in West Virginia a few short weeks ago (see Saturday, May 06, 2017).

We all knew it was only a matter of time before he was gone but it came much more quickly than any of us expected. My mom called me early this afternoon to say that Ralph’s breathing had become labored and that I should come over. He was able to hold his precious grandson one last time before he left us, and that was so sweet.

We disagreed on many things and we fought from time to time (sometimes, particularly as kids, physically). But Ralph was the first friend I had and for most of my early life, my best friend. Some of the memories we shared were shared by no one else. I’m amazed by how rich I am in terms of friends and family. Richer than I could ever possibly expect or deserve. But, to quote something I read once, “the cultural memory of our little family has been dealt a terrible blow…. In what seems like the blink of an eye, whole volumes of institutional memory have simply vanished. And that is a terribly lonely thought, that no amount of company and condolence can ease or erase.”

UPDATE: I’ve fixed a few typos, including two years, which were wrong.

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Kai

Kai

Kai

If you don’t like baby pictures then I suggest you look away. There may be a few of them over the next few days. After yesterday, you won’t be surprised to learn that we’ve spent a little time with family. Spending time with family generally leads to pictures of Kai. So, you shouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow’s picture is of him, too.

He’s a cute little beggar and getting cuter at a ferocious pace. He’s also making progress towards talking and crawling. On the other hand, he’s so often in someone’s arms I don’t know how he’s ever going to learn to crawl. But he will, I suspect, and then life will get more complicated for his parents (and all of us when they come over).

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Stephen and Kai

Stephen and Kai

Stephen and Kai

It’s been a long couple days and we’re slowly beginning the process of recovering from Wednesday. Yesterday we spent much of the day with family. Today we just hung out at home most of the day but had everyone over in the evening. In the normal course of things I would have gone out to take pictures in the yard but I just didn’t feel up to it today.

We had Indian food from Bombay Bistro this evening and were together again, doing not much of anything in particular. Of course we played ‘pass the baby,’ as we do in these situations. And I took pictures.

This isn’t the best picture of Kai that I’ve taken but it’s good enough. It’s about time I got a good one of him with his dad (and I think it’s quite a good picture of Steve). There are others, of course, including pictures of the dogs, but it’s Kai-week, so here you are. I’m not saying that there won’t be pictures of Kai again coming soon, although I think tomorrow will be something else. But you never know. And I’ll get back to flowers (or better yet, insects) soon.

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Will’s Baseball Game

Will's Second Base Hit

Will’s Second Base Hit

Ben asked me this morning if I’d like to go with him to Baltimore to watch Will’s baseball game. They are playing in a tournament and the game was at the Johns Hopkins Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium (at the corner of West Universith Parkway and North Charles Street. They had, unfortunately, lost the first game and we got there shortly before the second game started. Will played a pretty good game, with two base hits on three at bats, scoring both times for two of the team’s three runs. This is his second hit. Unfortunately they couldn’t hold the other team and ended up losing six to three, but it was a pretty good game and it was nice to be out and about (even though it was a little warm).

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Corned Beef King

Corned Beef King

Corned Beef King

Have you seen a pictures of people with their fathers on Instagram, Facebook, or other social media outlets? They are fairly ubiquitous. I could dig out a photo of me with my dad from back in the day. Or I could post a picture of Dorothy with her father (that’s me, of course). But instead I thought I’d show you where she took me for lunch. We see these trucks around town quite often. I’m a dedicated meatitarian, of course, so they sound pretty good to me. They are based in Olney and in addition to the trucks, they serve from a counter inside the Exxon on the corner of N. High Street and Georgia Avenue. If you like corned beef (or ham, roast beef, turkey, etc.) then you could do a lot worse than having a sandwich at Corned Beef King, either from their fixed location (as we did) or from one of their trucks. Thanks, Dorothy.

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American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis)

American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis)

American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis)

We have a fair amount of Verbena bonariensis growing around the yard. It’s somewhat of a weed but for the most part, we let it go, just keeping it barely within bounds. There are a few reasons for us letting it go. First, of course, is that it’s pretty on its own. I mean, the purple adds a bit of contrast to all the green in the early summer and it’s generally still in bloom when the black-eyed Susans really start to go crazy. But I think the main reason is that the American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) really seem to like it. Usually I’ve been unable to get close enough to get even a poor photo of them before they fly away but this afternoon I got a reasonable picture showing three finches. They are such lovely birds and we enjoy watching them bounce around on the tall stems of the Verbina.

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Sunset

Sunset

Sunset

We had a rip-roaring thunderstorm this evening. We didn’t lose power although it flickered once. The lightning was near by for a while, though. It rained quite hard for a while, then rained most softly off and on for a while longer. As the sun was setting, it began to clear and the sky turned orange for a little while, mostly close to the horizon. It wasn’t the most spectacular sunset I’ve ever seen but it was very pretty for about fifteen minutes. Then the color was gone and it got dark. A nice ending to a hot, muggy day.

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Lonicera sempervirens

Lonicera sempervirens

Lonicera sempervirens

Dorothy went to camp this morning so I gave Jonathan a ride to the farm. He plans to stay there for the week and Dorothy will pick him up on Friday. While I was there I took a few pictures of this trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) growing on a post in front of their garage. This is a native honeysuckle to the southeastern United States. The flowers are not fragrant but are quite pretty, with scarlet to orangish red on the outside and yellowish inside. They are attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies and bees.

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Fleabane

Fleabane

Fleabane

At one point today I needed to get out of the office. It was a lovely if somewhat warm day and I went to the empty lot next to my building. The western part of that is mostly woods now, having been empty for about 25 years. The eastern part is much more open and covered with a waist-deep herbaceous perennial of some sort (I really should look it up). Anyway, I took some pictures of this fleabane. I don’t know for sure what it is but my guess is annual fleabane (Erigeron annuus).

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Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)

Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)

Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)

The coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) has started to bloom. I often have a difficult time getting good pictures of this, because the ray florets (the ‘petals’) are often eaten into by some insect or other. They are still pretty from a distance and in mass but individually, they get to look a bit tattered. I also took some pictures of day lilies today but they put out new flowers each day and they fade before the critters have a chance to do them any harm. So, they will be around for more pictures on another day.

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Eryngium

Eryngium

Eryngium

I went over to pick up something from Tsai-Hong this afternoon and decided to take a few pictures in the garden. There is a small clump of Eryngium in the front garden, beside the driveway, and that’s what is in this picture. I have no idea what species it is or if it is a hybrid of some sort. We had three or four different Eryngium species in our garden in Gaithersburg and this reminded me that we need to get some for our current garden. They are mostly blue or purple and add such a nice point of interest in a sea of green. They are not really related to the holly (Ilix), of course, but it’s easy to see how they came by their common name, sea holly.

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Gea heptagon

Gea heptagon

Gea heptagon

Cathy did a bunch of work in a small garden this morning, clearing out the overgrown sedum and making room for annuals that have been waiting to be planted. She said I should come out with my camera to take some pictures of this little spider that was doing really well gathering the small insects that are present in our lawn by the thousands. It is a Gea heptagon, one of the orb weavers (family Araneidae) and I think it’s a really cool little spider. The abdomen is painted with red, yellow, and pale spots that are quite pretty, especially in the sun. I’ve photographed this species before, with posts on Monday, September 05, 2016 and Saturday, August 20, 2016.

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Ellen and Dan

Ellen and Dan

Ellen and Dan

Cathy, Dorothy, and I were privileged to be allowed to witness the wedding of our good friend, Ellen. She married this guy Dan, who, by all accounts, is a pretty nice guy. He better be, that’s all I can say. Seriously, though, we hear good things about him and Ellen has her head screwed on pretty well, so I’ll take her word for it. The wedding was very pretty and we were glad to see Ellen so joyful. As you can see (and this will come as no surprise to anyone who knows her, she was a beautiful bride.

I was going to post just the one picture from the wedding but then decided I liked this second one, also, taken at the reception. Ellen is the middle of three girls and this is a picture of the three of them, Hannah, Ellen, and Katie. Our two families have known each other for nearly 20 years. It’s been a pleasure to see the three of them grow up into the beautiful young women you can see here.

Hannah, Ellen, and Katie

Hannah, Ellen, and Katie

If you’ve been following this blog for a while you might remember that we traveled to England with Ellen and her family from August 5 to 19, 2013. That was a fun trip and timed very well in terms of the four girls (these three plus Dorothy), just before Ellen went off to college and life got more complicated.

We wish Dan and Ellen every happiness, of course, and hope to be able to keep in touch in the years ahead.

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Jumping Spider

Jumping Spider

Jumping Spider

I know many of my followers are less than thrilled with my spider photos. Nevertheless, at the risk of chasing off either of them (my followers, that is), I’m going to post another. I went for a short walk early this afternoon. There is a section of the road behind my building that has a well along the sidewalk, above a stream. Growing on that wall are Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), wild grape (Vitis species), porcelain berry (Ampelopsis glandulosa), and of course, the ever present poison ivy, (Toxicodendron radicans). I stopped to take a few pictures of bumble bees on the Virginia creeper flowers and then noticed this little jumping spider on the underside a leaf. Kind of cute, I think.

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Bumble Bee Balm

Bumble Bee on Monarda Flower

Bumble Bee on Monarda Flower

I’ve been able to get a fair number of flower pictures so far this year but the insects are not out in all their force yet. I’ve seen many around but haven’t been able to photograph many of them. This is my first bumble bee of the summer. It isn’t the best bumble bee picture I’ve ever taken but it makes me happy, with the brightness of the bee balm (Monarda didyma) contrasting with the black of the common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens). I’m sure there will be many more to come. As for the title of this post, it’s the sort of thing that shows up in crossword puzzles fairly often, two words or phrases that overlap in the middle. Bumble Bee and Bee Balm.

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Sue and Gordy

Sue and Gordy

Sue and Gordy

We were happy to be able to attend this year’s Erick’s Hope dinner and also happy to see a few friends that we don’t see often enough. This beautiful couple were high on the list. There are a few people who epitomize who I’d like to be or what I’d like to be like when I grow up (assuming it’s not too late for me to actually grow up, of course). These two, either one, are on that list. There are others, of course, but they all have some things in common. A genuine care for others is one thing. Also, natural grace and style (which is hard to learn, being natural, of course). Anyway, Sue and Gordy, I think you’re the cat’s whiskers.

This post is also a modest plug for Erick’s Hope. If you have any interest in working with a small non-profit to help children, you could do a lot worse than throw a little money their way (OK, better to actually talk with them and find out what they are up to, but you get the drift). They can be reached through their web site, http://www.erickshope.org/.

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Callicarpa americana (American Beautyberry)

Callicarpa americana (American Beautyberry)

Callicarpa americana (American Beautyberry)

These tiny flowers of the American beautyberry Callicarpa americana are, you won’t be surprised to learn, followed by beautiful berries. There will be clusters (called cymes) of the slightly pale, purple berries (called cymes) around the stems at each leaf axil (see December 7, 2013). The flowers are not nearly as showy as the fruit, or maybe it would be called American beautyflower. I still think they are pretty, though. And judging by the proliferation of berries, the insects sure must like them.

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Scudderia Nymph

Scudderia Nymph

Scudderia Nymph

I went out to take some pictures of flowers this afternoon and that’s what I did at first. Well, first I got a few pictures of a rabbit (an eastern cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus). Then I took a few flower pictures but I noticed this little fellow on a coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). It is the nymph of a Scudderia, a genus of eight species in our area comprising the bush katydids. This is just a small portion of the larger group of all katydids, of which there are nearly 250 species in 49 genera in eastern North America. Anyway, I think this is a cute little guy and I took quite a few pictures. Enjoy.

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