Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)

Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)

Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)

Native to the Himalayas and the Russian far east, the blackberry lily (Iris domestica, formerly known as Belamcanda chinensis), is a lovely and well behaved herbaceous perennial. It self-seeds pretty well and we promote that by distributing the seeds fairly widely. We’re getting to the point where we might actually pull a few up if they aren’t where we want them, but generally we let them go wherever they come up. They have wonderful, bright orange flowers in succession during the early summer and then the fruit ripens in pods that open up to reveal the “blackberries” that give the plant its common name.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)

Physostegia virginiana

Physostegia virginiana

Physostegia virginiana

We have a patch of Physostegia virginiana (obedient plant) in the back border. This area of the garden was one of the worst in terms of being out of control and we did a lot of digging there this year. Cathy did most of it, although I did help a bit with some of the deeper digging. It was overrun with goldenrod (Solidago) and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), which we wanted to get rid of completely, but even the things we grew on purpose, like the Monarda and this Physostegia, were out of control and needed to be thinned out. So, we still have this, but less than we did. It’s a fairly aggressive perennial, spreading by both rhizomes and by self-seeding. So, grow with caution.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Physostegia virginiana

Wolf Spider

Wolf Spider

Wolf Spider

I’m pretty sure this is a wolf spider (Family Lycosidae) but with about 240 species in North America, and with this not being all that great of a photograph, I’m not really going to try to narrow it down any more than that. It was in the grass near our car and I could only get at it from behind without moving the car, and that would have scared it off. There are a lot of spiders in our yard. I’d be surprised if there were not a lot in your yard, too. Most are small and totally harmless to humans. They also eat things we generally don’t like. So, thank a apider.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Wolf Spider

Monarch Wing

Monarch Wing

Monarch Wing

Underneath one of the buddleias in our back garden I found the remains of a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). Just last Friday I had photos of a monarch caterpillar (see Friday, September 11). This is the other end of the life cycle, the death of an adult butterfly. Monarchs are quite widespread, being found throughout much of North and South America (and apparently have been introduced in Australia). The color on the wings of a butterfly are made up of very small scales. In the full size version of this image, they are visible, especially in the orange areas.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Monarch Wing

Crystal City

Crystal City

Crystal City

I went to National Airport this morning (a.k.a. Reagan Airport) to pick up Dorothy. Because I had no idea what traffic would be like I left a bit early and pulled off in the Roaches Run parking area, just past 395 and the Pentagon. It’s billed as Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary and while that’s technically correct, it’s a bit misleading. You sort of expect some sort of viewing area or at least a trail or two. It’s just a parking area near some water. There is one “interpretive” sign, but that’s it. I think it’s mostly used by Uber and Lyft drivers waiting for business from the airport. For that, it’s well suited. Anyway, this is a panorama of the buildings in Crystal City across Roaches Run.

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Crystal City

Passiflora alata ‘Ruby Glow’

Passiflora alata ‘Ruby Glow’

Passiflora alata ‘Ruby Glow’

Cathy and I went to Brookside Gardens this afternoon. It was really nice to be out in such a lovely place. There were quite a few people there but it wasn’t as crowded as I sort of expected it to be. We generally go in late winter and then early spring and I don’t remember when we’ve been at this time of year (if we even have). There was a lot to see and we enjoyed it very much. I got a few rose names that I’m going to look for, as well. This is a passion flower (Passiflora alata) called ‘Ruby Glow’

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Passiflora alata ‘Ruby Glow’

Paper Wasp (Polistes Sp.)

Paper Wasp (Polistes Sp.)

Paper Wasp (Polistes Sp.)

I’m not at all sure what this wasp is but I’m going to guess it’s a Polistes species, possibly P. fuscatus, the northern paper wasp. I like this head-on shot, although I’d like to have a bit more depth of field. The wasps and bees were thick in the mountain mint and buddleia this afternoon. Autumn is arriving, though, and it’s been cooler, so the insects are not quite so nemerous except in the heat of mid-day. I also got a few pictures of a beewolf (Philanthus gibbosus).

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Paper Wasp (Polistes Sp.)

Monarch Caterpillar

Monarch Caterpillar (Danaus plexippus)

Monarch Caterpillar (Danaus plexippus)

We have some white swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata ‘Ice Ballet’) in a frequently wet part of the lawn. It bloomed for a nice, ling time this summer and as it gets more established I expect it to do even better. Yesterday Cathy noticed a caterpillar on it and I took some photos. I took a few more today. This is a monarch caterpillar (Danaus plexippus). Although I generally don’t encourage insects that eat the leaves on our plants, I make an exception for these little guys. We really enjoy the monarchs in our yard and so we put up with the feeding habits of their young.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Monarch Caterpillar

Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain

It rained off and on yesterday but today it really came down. I don’t know that it’s the heaviest rain we’ve ever had but it was probably right up there. I went out onto the back patio under an umbrella and took a few pictures. When it rains hard, we get these streams across our back yard and between our house and the next door neighbors. That’s good, of course, because it means the water is flowing past the house and not into it. Generally, in heavy rains, it looks about like this. Later in the day it was three or four times that width. So, more than we’ve seen in a long time. Our trash can had a good six inches of water in it. Not to say we got six inches of rain (the trash can isn’t a calibrated rain gauge) but it was a lot, anyway.

Categories: Sunrise/Sunset/Sky | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Heavy Rain

Rose ‘Munstead Wood’

Rose ‘Munstead Wood’

Rose ‘Munstead Wood’

It rained today and I didn’t really get to go out until pretty late. The water on this rose, (the David Austin rose ‘Munstead Wood’) was pretty so I took a few pictures of that. This rose was only planted this spring and it’s doing quite well. The flowers are now up above the top of the hardware cloth fence that I put around it to keep the rabbits off. The flowers are now blooming just below the level of the black-eyed Susans and soon they will be above them. I’m really looking forward to the display we get from this next year.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Rose ‘Munstead Wood’

Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Spotted Cucumber Beetle)

Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Spotted Cucumber Beetle)

Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Spotted Cucumber Beetle)

I was down on the ground taking some photos of a skipper on some blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) when I noticed this spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) just to my right. I got a handful of photos of it before it flew away and I actually got a fairly good one of it just taking off. I think this is a better picture, overall, though, so I thought I’d use it. This is a destructive insect and really I should have squashed it, but it flew away before I had the chance. They do significant damage to many field crops “including cucumbers and other squashes, corn, soy.”

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Spotted Cucumber Beetle)

Limenitis arthemis astyanax (Red-spotted Purple)

Limenitis arthemis astyanax (Red-spotted Purple)

Limenitis arthemis astyanax (Red-spotted Purple)

We took an outing today to Rocklands Farm and Winery and had a lovely visit with Janis. She and Anna took us to see Anna’s flowers and then we circled back around behind the winery. The grape must that had spilled on the ground outside the work area had attracted quite a few butterflies, including this red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax). To me, it looks more like an orange-spotted blue, but what do I know. Their colors are a bit variable, anyway. Nevertheless, this is a pretty distinctive butterfly and always a treat to see.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Limenitis arthemis astyanax (Red-spotted Purple)

Fall Flowers

Fall Flowers

Fall Flowers

I suppose you could say these are late summer flowers, rather than fall flowers, but there’s no hard line between summer and fall. The black-eyed Susans are summer flowers and are just finishing up. There are still quite a few of them blooming but not nearly so many as there were. The autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) is just about in full bloom, as is the blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum). The blackberry lily (Iris domestica), which blooms in early summer, is nearly in seed. All together, it makes a pretty nice combination of colors and textures.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Fall Flowers

William, Margaret, and Beth

William, Margaret, and Beth

William, Margaret, and Beth

William and Beth drove down for a visit today and it was so nice to have them here. With the whole Wuhan virus quarantine going on, we are somewhat starved for human contact. Having people visit is a risk, of course. We’re at the point, however, that we need to see people and this was exactly the sort of visit that we needed. Cathy talked a lot with them about family history, and they all looked at pictures. We showed them the work we’re doing with Margaret’s memoirs and with the big scanning project that we’re ramping up.

Categories: People | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on William, Margaret, and Beth

Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)

Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)

Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)

Cathy and I took a walk on the west side of Lake Frank after work today. The heavy rain we had yesterday meant that the water level was high, but the trail wasn’t too muddy. We enjoyed being in the woods, hearing the birds, frogs, and insects, and being away from traffic and people. We saw large patches of partridge berry (Mitchella repens), which we hadn’t notice there before. Today’s photo, though, is of the ubiquitous Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), a common perennial in our woods.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)

Rainbow

Rainbow

Rainbow

It rained pretty hard last night and continued raining today. We can usually judge how hard it’s raining by the streams across our back and side yard and this rain was relatively hard. There were tornado warnings but the wind was never really all that strong here. There was a lot of lightning, though, and at one point the rumble of thunder continued almost continuously. The storm was moving fairly fast and as it moved out, the sun came out and we got another rainbow, which is always a treat.

Categories: Sunrise/Sunset/Sky | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Rainbow

Vulcan

Vulcan

Vulcan

Dorothy asked if we’d host a dinner for the Fourth Fellows this evening and we did, with all but one of them coming. I made a pretty large batch of spaghetti sauce and we all ate out on the back patio. The plan was for them to stay outside but when the rain started we had them move indoors. Sarah asked if she could bring her dog with her and we said yes. This is Vulcan. He’s a large but relatively gentle creature with a face that reminds me a bit of Scooby-Doo.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Vulcan

Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (Goldenrod Soldier Beetle)

Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (Goldenrod Soldier Beetle)

Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (Goldenrod Soldier Beetle)

This goldenrod soldier beetle, (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) is well camouflaged against the petals of the black-eyed Susan in our back yard. Often when looking for insects, it’s a matter of looking for motion, because they blend in so well with the background. I spotted this on after taking a few photos of a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), also on the black-eyed Susans. They are starting to fade, but there will still be plenty of color for a while yet. One interesting thing about this beetle is that the species epithet, pensylvanicus, is the correct spelling and the version with a double n (i.e. pennsylvanicus) is incorrect.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (Goldenrod Soldier Beetle)

Begonia grandis (Hardy Begonia)

Begonia grandis (Hardy Begonia)

Begonia grandis (Hardy Begonia)

I had a picture of the leaves of this Hardy Begonia (Begonia grandis) earlier this month. Now it’s in bloom and adding a little brightness to the shady spot outside our front door. It’s a great plant to have and looks like it shouldn’t be sturdy enough to survive our winters but it does and it actually does quite well. It won’t grow well too far to our south because of the heat of summer or too far to the north because of the cold winters, but here it’s quite reliable. Highly recommended.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Begonia grandis (Hardy Begonia)

Church Steeple

Church Steeple

Church Steeple

In mid-March, like most churches, our church began broadcasting its services electronically, through Facebook and with BoxCast. Even when they started having outdoor services in the parking lot, we decided to stay home because we’re a somewhat high-risk household. We continued to watch the services on BoxCast through a Roku device attached through a few adapters into our 1986 console television. Nevertheless, we missed seeing people and of course, the service, especially the music, isn’t really the same when watched on TV.

This week the church leadership decided to celebrate communion and Cathy and I decided we would attend in person. We sat in the shade of a small maple tree along with others scattered around the parking lot, some in the sun, some in shade. It was a gloriously beautiful day and we’re really glad we went. We still couldn’t really great people the way we would have and talking with masks is always a bit annoying, but it was very nice to see people in 3D.

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Church Steeple