|
Here and There…Now and Then |
Tomato Hornworm
After not being able to go out to the farm for three straight Saturdays it was nice to be able to again this morning. It was quiet and I enjoyed a little photography time in the vegetable garden. I came upon this caterpillar, which I believe is a tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) that is covered with eggs from some parasitic insect, possibly a Braconid wasp of some sort. A little less spectacular than Alien and no Sigourney Weaver but that’s the general idea.
Cæsar
Hanging upside down in his cage, as is is wont, the yellow-headed Amazon (Amazona oratrix), Cæsar, casts a wary eye at the photographer. (Except it turns out that he is a she, so perhaps we should call her Cleopatra, instead.)
Morning Glory
I rarely give this plant any name but bindweed and I spend a lot of time pulling it out of my garden. I do have to say, though, that for colors in the deepest registers, this is just about as good as it gets. The morning glory (along with the lowly petunia) has some of the most beautiful, deep, rich, colors in the world of flowers.
Katydid
I went out into the woods next to my building today and took a few pictures. As I was heading back I came across this Katydid, probably a Pterophylla camellifolia, who flew up onto the trunk of a tree as I approached. He somewhat reluctantly allowed me to get close enough for a few pictures.
I remember Cathy had one of these on her shoulder one time and when she noticed it but before she knew what it was, she totally freaked out. Pretty funny.
Cabbage White
The cabbage white (Pieris rapae) is cosmopolitan and ubiquitous. This one is in my back garden.
Sphinx Moth
Taking pictures of bees and butterflies on flowers is hard, but at least they land, if only momentarily. This is a sphinx moth and I’ve only very rarely seen one actually land. Certainly when feeding on flowers they tend to hover. Unfortunately this one was not in the sun, so it’s not shown as nicely as it might be, but beggars cannot be choosers. I’m guessing that this is Hemaris diffinis, the snowberry clearwing, but I really don’t know.
Alec and Audrey
This afternoon we had a nice visit with my cousin, Lisa, and her lovely family. This is Alec and Audrey, her two children and Dorothy’s second cousins. We certainly don’t see them as often as we should but it’s always a treat when we do. We shouldn’t need the extra incentive but Dorothy actually does have more reason to visit Tampa now, so perhaps we’ll make our way south sometime.
Hot Dog Bun People
OK, this is a little obscure. On the way to the beach back on July 30, while waiting in traffic on I95 south of Woodbridge, Virginia, we noticed an SUV with two bins and two coolers on the back. In one bin were games and in the other were lots of hot dog buns and a couple (clear) containers of Fruit Loops. They were going faster than we were so naturally we lost track of them.
About 220 miles further along on our trip, we stopped, as we always do, for barbecue at Parkers in Wilson, North Carolina. I dropped mom off and went to park in the only shady spot in the parking lot and guess who was right next to us? The Hot Dog Bun People. I even took a picture showing the back of their car.
Fast forward to today, seven days later. We’re driving west on I-40 out of Wilmington, North Carolina. We are about a hundred miles from Parkers, heading back home. The girls are quiet in the back seat, zoning out, when all of a sudden Dorothy had some sort of seizure. I actually saw the van about the time she did but the rest of the car had no idea what was going on. She was pointing out the window and babbling incoherently in a loud (very) voice.
As you can see from the picture (which matches the picture from last Saturday exactly except one cooler and one bin are gone) we had just been overtaken by… The Hot Dog Bun People.
Dorothy
We didn’t really do anything today but it’s the beach, nothing is what you do there.
This picture makes it look like it’s cold but it’s actually been quite hot here. Dorothy had just gotten up and was still wrapped up from being inside (where it IS pretty cold, particularly first thing in the morning).
Another Sunrise
Another sunrise at the beach. Every day is different but different in a beautiful way.
The Dawn Comes Up Like Thunder
Sleeping in is one of the nice things about being on vacation. That being said, getting up at 6:30 has its advantages, as well. It isn’t exactly the road to Mandalay (and there were no flying fishes, as far as I know) but even in North Carolina, the dawn sometimes comes up like thunder.
Green Lynx Spider
In the Green Swamp, green lynx spiders (Peucetia viridans) live on pitcher plants, enjoying the insects that don’t quite make it into the death trap. Bwah-ha-ha!
Beach Umbrella
This is a beach umbrella reflected in a thin film of water on the sand. I like it as an abstract image.
Ocean Isle Pier
It’s been pretty hot but this is the beach. I like this nearly monochromatic image of the ocean and the pier to the east of our house.
Dinosaur and Chicken
It was cool enough in the car that Dorothy wanted to wear her dinosaur suit today. Outside, where this chicken was, however, it was pushing 100°F. We stopped there for lunch and Dorothy asked if she could have her picture taken with him.
The Redhead
I came home today to find a girl at my house who looked a lot like Dorothy. But something was different… Actually, I quite like it.
Colored Chalk
I was up in Baltimore this evening with Iris, taking a few more pictures for her. While waiting I noticed these pieces of colored chalk and thought they looked nice. I’m glad to see it’s not all white boards yet. I guess I’m old fashioned but I like chalk better. If nothing else, it reminds me of playing in a chalk pit in England as a boy (but then perhaps this should be “coloured chalk”).
Be Glad
Gladiolus, that is.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
This is a male eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). These and more of the silver-spotted skippers (see photo in yesterday’s Extra gallery) were out in force today feeding on the teasel (Dipsacus sp.) flowers in the lot next to my office.
Turk’s Cap Lily
My dad had these growing in his garden and was spreading them by planting the bulbils that form in the axils of the leaves. After we moved in 2006 Cathy started collecting bulbils and planting them here, as well. They are doing nicely and add a nice splash of color this time of year.
