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Here and There…Now and Then |
Lily of the Valley
I love these little bells. We brought lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) with us from George Street only to buy a house where there was a significant amount already planted. I’ve seen it forcing its way up through pavement, so it’s quite tenacious once it gets established. I could only wish the flowers lasted longer.
Yellow Jacket
I went out hoping to get a better butterfly picture today. I got a few but they aren’t enough better than yesterday’s picture to justify putting them here. So, here’s a picture of a yellow jacket on a garlic mustard flower.
Eastern Tailed Blue
These little guys don’t sit still for long and don’t like being approached but I managed to get a reasonable shot of one today. Eastern tailed blue, Everes comyntas.
Follow-up: I have two more pictures of this butterfly taken on April 27 in my Extras gallery.
Lightning
I know that this isn’t a particularly good picture but I’ve never actually caught lighting before and although it’s partially off the side of the frame, I’m still pretty stoked that I was able to get even this. It was a pretty but fairly hot and humid day and this storm came crashing in at about 4:00 PM. Totally awesome. Anyway, it’s my picture for the day. I’ll be posting a few more pictures from today in another gallery and I’ll add a link here when that’s done.
Epimedium x rubrum
Since tomorrow is Easter, here’s a cross shaped flower — Epimedium x rubrum. If you’re looking for an interesting and different ground cover, this would be a good choice, although not really evergreen in our climate, it’s got beautiful leaves with red highlights and lovely flowers, although they are sometimes hidden by the foliage. There are also white and yellow varieties (see Extras for the white).
Flowering Almond
We planted this flowering almond when we first moved into the house. It was given to Cathy by a friend. It never gets more than about three feet tall and dies back almost to the ground every other year. Still, when it’s in bloom, it’s pretty nice. And it doesn’t need any pruning.
Karlee and Dorothy
We don’t get to see Karlee nearly enough since her family moved to Virginia but she came and spent the night with Dorothy, which was a treat for all of us.
Dogwood Blossoms
I know I’ve already done dogwood flowers but a) I never said I wouldn’t repeat and b) I like this picture. In the Extras gallery there’s a pink dogwood flower, as well.
Marking My Keys
I’ve been meaning to mark my keys for a while but I actually did it this evening. Each of the steel rods in this set have a different letter or number. They are placed on the surface to be marked and whacked with the metal hammer. I hate having keys and not knowing what lock they fit. You feel like you can never throw them away, just in case.
Forget-Me-Nots
Getting close again today after a few days of not. The forget-me-nots are starting to bloom so I’m posting one now before I forget.
Zubbles
We spent an enjoyable afternoon visiting Iris in Baltimore for her birthday. It was pretty windy but Iris and Dorothy enjoyed blowing Zubbles on the ninth floor patio.
Did Someone Say Murder?
After spending the morning editing pictures from last night, I spent the afternoon and evening at the Olney Theatre again. Here’s the cast and crew after today’s second and final performance.
Did Someone Say Murder?
Sorry for the delay in getting this up. Friday I went from the office to the Olney Theatre to take pictures before and after the WCA performance of Did Someone Say Murder? by David J. LeMaster.
Maple Samaras
What a beautiful day. Pity I couldn’t be out longer.
Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells)
Cathy and I walked to Bluebell Island after work today. Unfortunately the rains last night raised the creek too high and we couldn’t get out onto it. I turned around when the water was up to the top of my thighs and I wasn’t even out in the fast water yet.
We enjoyed the flowers on the near bank, anyway, including bluebells (Mertensia virginica), Downy Yellow Violet (Viola pubescens), Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum), Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), and Rue Anemone (Anemonella thalictroides).
This photo was taken with the camera on the ground looking up at the bluebells, which accounts for the white sky.
Dogwood Buds
It was quite windy this afternoon so I had a hard time getting a sharp photo but these dogwood buds are pretty cool.
It Isn’t Raining Rain, You Know
….
It’s raining violets.
And when you see clouds
Upon the hill,
You soon will see crowds
Of daffodils;
So keep on looking for the bluebird,
And listening for his song,
Whenever April showers come along.
Though April showers
May come your way,
They bring the flowers
That bloom in May;
And if it’s raining,
Have no regrets;
Because, it isn’t raining rain, you know
….
April Showers, by Buddy DeSylva, 1921.
The Forests Have Eyes
The trees are watching you.
Godspell
We had an enjoyable evening today, capped off with the wonderful performance of Godspell by the teens at Covenant Life Church. They did a terrific job and we thoroughly enjoyed the show. If anyone seeing this knows any of these kids, please tag them.
Tap and Die
When I demonstrated simple machines to the second graders a week or so ago, they asked how screws are made. So, I got out my tap and die set to show them how threads can be cut, both on the outside of a screw or bolt and on the inside of a hole to receive it.
