Monthly Archives: June 2021

Cicada

Cicada

Cicada

This was taken on June 3, almost two weeks ago as I’m posting it. That was just about the peak of the so-called Brood X cicada swarm. It really was quite noisy. In the past I would sometimes go outside if I was on the phone. Not only is reception better, but I can avoid the parrot noise that sometimes interrupts phone calls. But with the cicadas, it really wasn’t practical. It’s interesting how variable it is throughout the neighborhood and the woods. Some places you’d expect it to be bad seem to have very few. They are pretty thick right around us, though.

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Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Our outdoor church service has been moved forward from 10:45 to 9:30 because of the heat. After church we decided to go for a walk on the Blue Mash Trail on Zion Road, behind the Oaks Landfill. We enjoyed being out, although it was a warm day, close to 90°F. Thankfully there’s a fair amount of shade. In addition to this daisy, there was a purple flowered vetch (Vicia species) and a few other wildflowers showing off for the insects. After our walk we stopped at Johnson’s because Cathy wanted to get some black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’). They didn’t have any. Then we had a picnic lunch at Olney Manor Park with sandwiches from Jersey Mike’s before coming home.

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Silas Turns Three

Silas Turns Three

Silas Turns Three

Silas had his third birthday earlier this week and we all got together for a family dinner and a birthday party. It had been planned for last weekend but kids and infections don’t necessarily work to a schedule. The weather was nice and we were both inside and out for the party. Iris had a huge bubble wand and made giant bubbles, which Silas and Kaien really loved. We had a nice dinner from Don Pollo and the cake that Iris made for Silas—a rainbow cake with candy in the middle. There was also a piñata and of course. Some of us (well, one of us) even had cicada for dessert.

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Platycodon grandiflorus (Balloon Flower)

Platycodon grandiflorus (Balloon Flower)

Platycodon grandiflorus (Balloon Flower)

A few weeks ago we went to Stadler’s with our friend Yvette to buy a few plants for her. She wanted to plant something in memory of her nephew and wanted something blue. She settled on a balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus), which is actually more blue to the eye than it appears here. It’s a really pretty perennial that should do well as long as it’s got the right amount of water. We bought one, too, and have it in a container outside our front door, greeting us with these big, sky blue flowers, and reminding us of Jack, as well. It’s native to the northern far-east and is quite hardy and easily grown. The only thing to watch out for is wet or poorly-drained soils (which is why growing it in a container is easier for us).

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Eutrochium purpureum (Joe Pye Weed)

Eutrochium purpureum (Joe Pye Weed)

Eutrochium purpureum (Joe Pye Weed)

I stopped at the Croyden Creek Nature Center on the way home, figuring there might be something to photograph there. The swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) was just starting to bloom and I took a few pictures of that with bees on it. Around the other side of the nature center there was some Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) coming up. It’s a native, herbaceous perennial and I find it sort of humorous that garden centers actually are able to sell it, since it grows wild around here. I don’t know who Joe Pye was but I’ve seen one story that he was a Native American medicine man who used the plant for various treatments. Anyway, I was attracted to the symmetry of the leaves and the way the light was shining on them at the top of the stem.

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Mini Art Gallery

Mini Art Gallery

Mini Art Gallery

We were over at Dorothy’s this evening and enjoyed dinner and a short visit. I only took a few pictures, because it wasn’t really a picture sort of evening but I did take a few. She has put up a fair amount of art in the bathroom nearest her bedroom. This picture doesn’t really do it justice and I’m not sure any would, unless I did a 360 panorama. And even that would be tough. As you can see, it’s a fairly eclectic collection of things, from a key chain to a partially painted deer skull, with various prints and photographs as well. I’ve been to a few art galleries that were more like this, with a wide variety of things on the walls, not just one painting after another, evenly spaced and all at the ideal height. The old Barnes museum, before it moved into downtown Philadelphia was something like that, although it’s collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings are clearly in a class of their own. Nevertheless, it uses a lot more wall space than in a more traditional gallery. I have no idea if the new location has preserved that look and feel, but I would assume so.

Another gallery with the walls more crammed with things is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. This is one of my favorite museums and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Boston, unless of course you don’t care for art. But I love it. Of course, I’m not saying Dorothy’s bathroom reaches the level of the Barnes or the Gardner. But it has that same feel to it.

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Justin and Sara’s Wedding

Justin and Sara's Wedding

Justin and Sara’s Wedding

Without going into the details, we were sort of uninvited to a wedding today. Well, on Thursday, but the wedding was today. As a sop, we were invited to view the live-stream at the home of Doug and Kato, who graciously accepted us into their home along with a huge crowd of five other adults and two young boys (not all shown here, obviously).

When I was in Junior High, there was a guy in our Phys. Ed. class who dubbed the lower group—those of us with less athletic ability—the Double-O Nummies. I’m not sure where the name came from, possibly from this guy’s fertile imagination. Anyway, I think we were the Double-O Nummies of wedding guests. Also, the live stream froze just before the bride came down the aisle, so we never saw her or the rest of the ceremony. But the Champagne was cold and we were in an air conditioned house. Just the small thing of not actually seeing the wedding.

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Rocklands Garden and House

Rocklands Garden and House

Rocklands Garden and House

It was a hot and humid day today. After church, we were home for a while but then decided to drive to Rocklands Winery for the late afternoon. I’ve been asked to take some photos for them, so we wandered around a bit and I took a few of the back of the sandstone house. We enjoyed a beautiful, if somewhat sticky evening before returning home. It’s supposed to cool off in a few days, so we may go back next week. If you’ve never been, I can recommend it. https://www.rocklandsfarmmd.com/

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New Blinds

New Blinds

New Blinds

Dorothy ordered blinds for her the windows in her new room and I went over to install them today. It’s not exactly rocket surgery, but it’s significantly easier after the first one. If you’re ordering blinds, I can sat that it’s a little easier if you make them about a quarter inch shorter (side to side) than what it measures. Every one I’ve put up (one at home and three here) were just a little too long. The plastic end pieces come off and that shortens them just enough, but they’d be better with those still in place.

I also brought over a wall mirror for one of the others in the house, but forgot to bring the mounting pieces, so that will need to wait for another visit. Finally, they had just bought a used refrigerator and have put that in the basement. The doors open the wrong way and I started to switch them to have the hinges on the left instead of the right but some of the screws were just too tight for me to get out with the tools I had on hand. They are square drive screws and I only had the bits for my drill, which are not as strong as those in the Greenlee drivers I have at home. I’m hoping that between those and a little penetrating oil, I’ll be able to get them out.

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Paul and Carolyn

Paul and Carolyn

Paul and Carolyn

I visited a couple old friends yesterday. I first met them in 1975 and while I don’t see them as often as I might, they are very dear to me. When I was in high school (and before and after that, for more years than I even know) they opened their house to as many high schoolers as wanted to come. I’m pretty sure that at one time it was every week but in my years there, it was once a month. For my group of friends, it was the place to be. We sat in the living room and talked about this and that, good times and hard times and how life is for us in these pandemical days. One of my favorite things was to work on a puzzle in their living room. It was an oasis of calm and quiet amidst the chaos. I could go on and on here, but I won’t. For those who don’t know Paul and Carolyn it wouldn’t mean much and for those who do, it’s not necessary. Suffice it to say they are among the best.

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Gooseberry Pie

Gooseberry Pie

Gooseberry Pie

After Albert died, Brady asked if I would like the gooseberry that he had planted. I took it and it’s doing really well in my back garden. It’s having a particularly good year and I went out and picked a quart of berries from it today. That was nowhere near all the berries, although because it’s situated against the fence, it’s a little hard to get to the far side of the bush. It’s also pretty well protected with spines and I think it might be worth actually pruning some stems off to get at their berries as well as to make room for new growth.

In the evening I made a crust and baked a gooseberry pie which I served with freshly whipped cream. I think that good vanilla ice cream would have been better, but I can’t say the whipped cream was bad.

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Cathy and Maureen at Rocklands

Cathy and Maureen

Cathy and Maureen

Cathy and I spent the evening at Rocklands Winery). I was there to take pictures for them, so we invited our good friend Maureen so that Cathy would have a companion when I went off to take pictures. We had burgers from Boxcar Burgers, a food truck that is often there (and if you think you don’t like pickled beets, you really should try a Boxcar Burger. Really good. We also had a glass each of Rocklands’ new Montevideo vintage, a very nice red wine. I’m not really a great person to recommend a wine to anyone, but this was very nice. It was an absolutely lovely evening, not too hot, and everyone there seemed to be having a really nice time. If you’re looking for something to do, you could do worse.

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The Big Train

Walter Perry Johnson Statue

Walter Perry Johnson Statue

Cathy and I spent a good part of the day running errands. Between two of them, I happened to turn on Monroe Street. A few blocks south of the County Courthouse there is a circular piece of land with apartment buildings on it, with Monroe Street going around it. It’s sort of odd and even odder that the circle has been there for quite a long while—it shows up on the 1923 USGS Topographical map. I’ve not found any explanation for the circular road, but I assume someone had property and the road went around it. As I say, it’s an apartment complex now.

At the south end of Monroe Street is Dogwood Park, owned by the City of Rockville. I didn’t know the park was there and I was also surprised to find this wooden statue of Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), also known as “The Big Train”. I’ve taken and posted photos of his grave stone in Rockville Cemetery. I also went to Walter Johnson High School. But I was surprised by finding this statue.

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Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

While not a native, common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) was introduced to North America in colonial times, and has since naturalized throughout the United States. It’s considered by some to be an invasive weed, although we’ve never had a lot of luck with it surviving in our garden. This specimen is a cultivar being grown in the Master Gardener’s demonstration garden at the Agricultural History Farm Park and it’s a lovely color. It certainly makes me interested in giving it another try. There are paler versions, as well and some really nice yellows. We have plenty of yellows, though, so I think I might go for something like this.

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Lightning Bugs (a.k.a. Fireflies)

Lightning Bugs

Lightning Bugs

I’m not sure how well this will show up unless it’s viewed on a largish screen. Anyway, I decided to try taking long exposures to capture the flashing lights of lightning bugs, otherwise known as fireflies. They didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked, because when I used a long enough exposure to get a lot of flashes, parts of the picture were so bright that it looked like day time. That was mostly due to electric lights from our neighbors. If I get a chance, I may try to find a darker spot and see what I can do. The trails of lights are generally made by individual insects, flying along flashing as they go.

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Tiger Swallowtail on Milkweed

Tiger Swallowtail on Milkweed

Tiger Swallowtail on Milkweed

I stopped at the Croyden Creak Nature Center again this afternoon. I took a picture of Joe Pye weed here two weeks ago (see Wednesday, June 16, 2021) and wanted to see if it had started to bloom. It really hadn’t but it’s getting close. I walked around and took a few pictures, anyway, including a few of this eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) enjoying the swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). There was also a nice buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) in bloom. It has spherical clusters of tiny flowers that like little pincushions.

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