Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 29, 2025 by Henry
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

We went out to McKee-Beshers today, hoping to see a few birds. I saw and got a handful of photos of this red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) flying overhead but that’s pretty much all we saw. We heard a few birds but either didn’t see them or they were too far away to get a good look at, even through my long lens.

We did walk around and out towards the beaver lodge. It’s not clear if it’s actively in use, although there did seem to be some sign of recent activity. It was a beautiful day, in any case, and it’s great to be outdoors on days like that, especially when it’s cold and we tend to stay in doors. Being out in the sun is good medicine. Seeing hawks soaring is also pretty nice. We’ll be back here, probably a few more times, before spring but then especially once the spring season brings so many more birds back (see Sunday, May 18, 2025 for my best birding day at McKee-Beshers).

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Thanksgiving

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 27, 2025 by Henry
Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Getting everyone seated and happy for a family photo isn’t always easy. Doing it in the evening, after a bit meal, can be especially hard. Nevertheless, we managed to do it after our Thanksgiving meal today and Iris and Seth’s. Thanks to them for hosting and for providing the turkey, among other things. The kids played well together and are better and better at getting along as they grow older. That’s not to say there weren’t a few very loud moments, but that’s to be expected.

It’s lovely to be with family but it’s also sad in that it reminds me of those we no longer have with us. This is our first Thanksgiving without my mom, so that was the most notable, but as it also happened to fall on Ralph and Tsai-Hong’s anniversary he was also very much in our minds. Dad and Albert were also missed, of course. It’s good to talk about them all.

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Mushroom Puzzle

Photograph taken on Monday, November 24, 2025 by Henry
Mushroom Puzzle

Mushroom Puzzle

We finished this mushroom puzzle yesterday. The text at the bottom, giving the mushroom names, was the easiest part of the puzzle. After that we were able to put together a lot of the mushrooms but without knowing where in the grand scheme of things they went. That’s part of the challenge of doing puzzles without the lid, of course. Otherwise it’s too easy. I’d rank this about average in difficulty and we enjoyed it. We’re also partial to mushrooms in food, so it was interesting to see all the varieties (not that these are all necessarily edible, of course).

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Operation Christmas Child Boxes

Photograph taken on Monday, November 24, 2025 by Henry
Operation Christmas Child Boxes

Operation Christmas Child Boxes

Cathy is a big fan of Operation Christmas Child, which is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, an organization founded in 1970 by Robert Pierce (who also one of the founders of World Vision International) and with Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham as president.

Cathy set out to fill six boxes and as usual, ended up having enough things for seven. Actually, she was close to having eight boxes, but had a lot of a few things rather than a good assortment of things for that last box, so those things will be saved for next year.

You can see other Operation Christmas Child posts from prior years here.

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Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 23, 2025 by Henry
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

We walked to Sandy Spring today after visiting Cathy’s mom. We didn’t see much to speak of but I did get this slightly soft photo of a yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata) as we were heading back out. This is our most common winter warbler. We’re on the northern end of it’s winter range and the southern end (or just south of) it’s breeding range. It’s easily identified by it’s yellow rump, seen here, although it’s often hidden when perching.

We also saw them in Oregon last year, and I got a few nice photos of those, which can be seen on my posts for Wednesday, September 18 and Thursday, September 19, 2024.

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Cathy’s Retirement

Photograph taken on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 by Henry
Cathy and Some Coworkers

Cathy and Some Coworkers

early last month Cathy gave notice of her plans to retire at the end of November. Normally we would have had some sort of retirement get together near that date, but the Rockville buildings were scheduled to close on the 19th and the cafe a few days earlier than that. The new building in Bethesda wasn’t going to be accessible until December 1. So we scheduled her farewell party on the twelfth. She didn’t think a lot of folks would come but was pleasantly surprised and had more than I did two months ago. Part of that is that so many of the folks I work with are remote and scattered across the country. But she’s a lot more popular than she thinks and we all had a nice time visiting.

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American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 08, 2025 by Henry
American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)

American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)

We got a text message yesterday saying that Iris and Steve and their families were planning to go to the farm today, so we went, as well. As usual we spent most of the day outdoors and it was very nice. We all enjoyed watching the three ‘littles’ playing together. Dorothy wanted to harvest some persimmons (American Persimmon, Diospyros virginiana) so we shook the tree and the fruit rained down on us. It would have been a good idea to lay a tarp on the ground first, but we managed to get most of them. She took them to the cidery where she works to flavor some cider.

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View from Little Round Top

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 02, 2025 by Henry
The View from Little Round Top

The View from Little Round Top

We drove up to see Dorothy and Jeff today. We picked them up at Jeff’s and then drove into the battlefield park. We parked near Devil’s Den and walked up to Little Round Top. This image was stitched together from 6 images that were themselves HDR images made from three photos each. I think it turned out pretty well, although it took a while to put together. As you can see, compared to just a day ago at Sugarloaf Maryland, the fall color in southern Pennsylvania is past. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful day.

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St Pauls Episcopal Church

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 01, 2025 by Henry
St Pauls Episcopal Church

St Pauls Episcopal Church, Point of Rocks, Maryland

After our hike on Sugarloaf Mountain, we drove north into Adamstown. Then we headed towards Point of Rocks, but on winding, country roads, rather than going over the US 15. Shortly before getting into town, we stopped at this church and graveyard, which is St Pauls Episcopal. We don’t really know much about the church except that it was built in 1842 (per the plaque on the wall). We like cemeteries and graveyards, though, and Cathy enjoyed walking around looking at names, dates, and memorial stone art.

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Cathy on Sugarloaf Mountain

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 01, 2025 by Henry
Cathy on Sugarloaf Mountain

Cathy on Sugarloaf Mountain

It was a cool but absolutely lovely day today and we drove up to Sugarloaf Mountain, a privately owned but publicly accessible park. There were quite a few people there, which wasn’t at all surprising, but we found a good parking spot and headed up the fairly steep Orange Trail to the summit. There were a lot of folks milling around, enjoying the view, and climbing on the rocks. I took a lot of photos, including a very wide panorama. We came down by the Green Trail and the took the Blue and White Trails around the north side of the mountain.

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Rembrandt Puzzle

Photograph taken on Friday, October 31, 2025 by Henry
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee

We just finished this puzzle, which is of Rembrandt’s Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee. The original oil-on-canvas painting dates from 1633. It was purchased by art historian Bernard Berenson and was displayed at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston until its theft in 1990; its whereabouts remain unknown.

Cathy, Dorothy, and I really love that gallery and it’s very sad to me that this isn’t there. 1990 isn’t that long ago but I still wonder how something so recognizable can remain secretly hidden. My guess is that one day it will turn up, but I think it’s unlikely I’ll ever get to see the real thing. The museum has left the blank space on the wall where it used to hang.

This was quite a difficult puzzle. The ship itself wasn’t too bad, but the sky and sea are all very much the same color, so it took us a good while to complete.

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Silas Dressed for Halloween

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 26, 2025 by Henry
Silas Dressed for Halloween

Silas Dressed for Halloween

Iris and Seth invited us, along with the rest of the local family and a few friends, to a Halloween party this evening. We wore costumes, but honestly it was more about getting together than about dressing up. Eloise and Silas did show us their costumes. Eloise was a rain storm, with an “umbrella cloud” and Silas dressed in with this illusion costume being carried by a skeleton. It worked pretty well and occasionally he’d move his legs, crossing and uncrossing them, which really added to the effect.

Cathy and I wore fairly basic costumes. Cathy wore a Tajik dress, an Afghan hat and an Afghan scarf. I put on my cowboy boots, tied a bandana around my neck and wore my cowboy hat. I had already been wearing a denim shirt. So I was a cowboy.

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Cathy at Blockhouse Point

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 25, 2025 by Henry
Cathy at Blockhouse Point

Cathy at Blockhouse Point

We went to Blockhouse Point today, partly to enjoy the fall colors, which were lovely. There didn’t seem to be a lot of people out, which was a little surprising. After walking to the point, where this photo was taken, we walked on the Paw Paw Trail down to the north/east side of the C&O Canal. There were some interesting spots on the trail but in general, not a lot to see. The last bit is quite steep and we didn’t go all the way down, but now I’m wondering if we should have. Maybe next time. We also took the Callithea Trail to its end behind Callithea Farm Special Park.

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SPIRIT Club Mural

Photograph taken on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 by Henry
SPIRIT Club Mural

SPIRIT Club Mural

Through a friend of ours who works there, Dorothy got a commission to paint a mural at SPIRIT Club in Kensington. It turned out to be a bigger job than she anticipated, needing two and sometimes three coats of paint, but we all think it turned out quite nicely. This was one of two walls that were painted, along with three quotes, chosen by the manager of the club. Cathy and I enjoyed helping out a bit and experiencing a little of the SPIRIT Club experience. Their mission is “To offer a universal design for fitness that empowers people of all abilities to exercise successfully in a socially integrated setting.”

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Rose Hips

Photograph taken on Friday, October 17, 2025 by Henry
Rose Hips

Rose Hips

We walked from Woodlawn Manor to Sandy Spring and back today. It was a lovely day and I had some hopes of seeing birds, although I didn’t bring my long lens. We did see a few, but not many. The sun was out and the sky was blue and it was lovely, anyway. When were were going around the field near the spring, I saw these rose hips, probably from Rosa multiflora, which is quite an invasive weed, but still a pretty thing in its place. It was brought in as both root stock for hybrid roses and to be planted on highways, because it will generally stop out of control cars with less risk to the passengers than a metal, stone, or concrete barrier.

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Fort Frederick

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 12, 2025 by Henry
Fort Frederick

Fort Frederick

Both work and life in general have been stressful (work for Cathy, life for both of us) so we decided to go for a slightly longer drive today, heading up past Hagerstown to see Fort Frederick. The fort was built in 1756-57 during the French and Indian War primarily as a place of refuge for area settlers. Although it’s hard to imagine it now, this was the frontier at the time. The walls of the fort were rebuilt by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) in the 1930s.

We also stopped a few places along the river on the way home, including C&O Canal Dam #5 in Clear Spring and Cushwa Basin in Williamsport. It was a good outing and very relaxing, in spite of all the miles.

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Great Falls

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 11, 2025 by Henry
Great Falls

Great Falls

We decided to go to Great Falls today. Since I’ve gotten my lifetime pass to National Parks we feel freer to go there. We forgot, of course, that with the government shut down, there was no one to take the fee or see the pass, so it wouldn’t have mattered today. It was a lovely day and there were quite a few people enjoying the park. The Potomac River was quite low, as you can see from the photo. We’ve been there when all the rocks in the foreground of this photo are well underwater. It’s still a pretty place to be on a pretty day.

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Abutilon ‘Biltmore Ballgown’

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 05, 2025 by Henry
Abutilon ‘Biltmore Ballgown’

Abutilon ‘Biltmore Ballgown’

We went to Brookside Gardens this afternoon. There wasn’t a lot in bloom outdoors but even so, it’s a nice place to walk on a early autumn afternoon, especially on as nice a day as today. Before that walk, as usual, we went into the conservatory.

This plant, labeled Abutilon, also called flowering maple, is a variety called ‘Biltmore Ballgown’ and is quite pretty. The flowering maples have recently been reclassified in the the genus Callianthe, however.

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RCE Banquet

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 04, 2025 by Henry
Krystal, David, and Mike

Krystal, David, and Mike

One reason we went to see Dorothy yesterday instead of today was the Romanian Christian Enterprises (RCE) Banquet, which was held this evening. I had been asked if I would take pictures, and I did. As usual when taking event pictures, I took a lot that aren’t all that good but some that I like well enough and a few that I think are really good. This is one of the good shots, featuring our good friends, (from left to right) Krystal, David, and Mike. The sunflower came from Anna’s garden, which I featured two days ago.

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Dorothy’s Birthday

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 04, 2025 by Henry
Jeff, Dorothy, Anna, and Cathy

Jeff, Dorothy, Anna, and Cathy

Late this afternoon Cathy and I went up to Pennsylvania to celebrate Dorothy’s birthday. We stopped in Frederick to pick up dinner, going first to Cava where we bought food for Cathy, Dorothy, Jeff, and Anna and then to Black Hog BBQ where I got some meat for myself. Not the best BBQ I’ve ever had, but not bad. I liked the smoked sausage better than the Texas brisket. Nevertheless, I’d go again and try their Arkansas brisket and smoked pit ham.

We had dinner at Jeff’s apartment and then walked through town to Domino’s Pizza where we bought Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes. Instead of eating them inside or taking them back to Jeff’s apartment to eat them, they sat on the curb outside Domino’s and ate them there.

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