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Here and There…Now and Then |
Abbie
Dorothy was in D.C. yesterday stayed through the weekend. This evening she was going to spend the night with her friend, Abbie. Abbie works at Panera Bread (in case you were not able to figure it out from the picture) and had to work until closing this evening. We went there for a late dinner and then Dorothy stayed to wait for Abbie to get off work. I took a couple pictures of Abbie. They may not be great pictures but it’s hard, actually, to get a bad picture of Abbie.
Woodland Ground Beetle
My go-to site for insect and spider identification, http://BugGuide.net/, is not responding this morning, so I had to identify this the old fashioned way, with my handy Peterson Field Guide to Beetles. I’ve identified this as a ground beetle (family Carabidae) and most likely a woodland ground beetle (tribe Pterostichini). Once BugGuide is back up, I’ll confirm that and try to get a genus and species. In any case, it’s a pretty beetle and not a pest to farms or gardens. I found it on the ground at church before youth group and put it in a paper cup in the fridge (to slow it down). Then I photographed it at home afterward, on a piece of white cloth on our dining room table. This is what Cathy puts up with. I released it into the front garden when I was done, none the worse for the ordeal, I believe.
Frozen Peas
I was fixing dinner and thought about taking pictures of what I was making. Food pictures can be somewhat cliché but then, sometimes, that’s all I think of to take pictures of some days. When I got the peas out of the freezer, I thought, may that would be slightly less cliché. Peas are one of my favorite vegetables (not speaking botanically, of course, where they are seeds, not stems or leaves). They are also nearly as good when frozen as when fresh, so make one of the easiest vegetables to buy a lot of and have on hand for any occasion. I always try to have peas, Lima beans, and edemame in my freezer at all times.
Colored Pencils
After a busy weekend in Richmond, today was relatively quiet, photography-wise. I didn’t get out of my office except for meetings and didn’t have much opportunity to take pictures. This evening I was looking around for things to photograph and I came across these colored pencils, tied into a bundle with a rubber band. I don’t suppose it’s the most original photograph I’ve taken and I’m not really terribly excited about it, but it’s a picture. The colors are nice, I think, and I like the texture that the sharpener leaves on the conical ends of the pencils.
By the way, I’m posting this on November 22, 12 days after it was taken. Sorry for getting so far behind in my postings but I’ve just taken photos off my camera through today and will do my best to get caught up this week.
Dorothy, Katy, and Cathy at Perly’s
For lunch on Sunday we went to a little place called Perly’s, on Grace Street. It’s a restaurant and deli that’s been a Richmond landmark for more than 50 years. In September, 2013 it closed, but then reopened September 2, 2014, the same day that we took Dorothy down to Richmond for her internship year. The new owners reworked the menu, but it’s still a comfort food type place. We had a table in the back, which was fine with us, and both the service and the food were terrific. This is Dorothy, Katy, and Cathy waiting for our table (which took less than 5 minutes).
Dorothy, Cathy, and Emily Celebrate Autumn
We had a nice day in Richmond today. Part of the morning was spent at a “Friends of the Library” book sale where each bought a few books. Then we went to the Jefferson Hotel to enjoy its beautiful lobby. After lunch, bought at Nick’s International Foods we went to Hollywood Cemetery. We saw the graves of two presidents among many others (people are dying to get in there) but we also enjoyed the fall color throughout the grounds.
Antique Store, Richmond
Cathy and I went down to Richmond today to spend the weekend with Dorothy. Let’s call it Parents’s Weekend. It wad First Friday and we enjoyed walking through many of the galleries on Broad Street and seeing the sometimes bizarre things that people have created. There are some talented people. Then there are those wo maybe shouldn’t quit their day jobs, unless making those things is their day job.
Later we went up to Carytown, another part of the city, and happened to go into a little antique or curio shop. I didn’t realize it when I was taking this picture but it’s a self portrait.
Tree By Moonlight
I was out this evening and just before coming home I enjoyed looking at the moon for a while. It was fairly high in the sky at this point (about 9:30 PM) and there were clouds speeding across the sky, creating a broad glow around it. Clouds lit by the moon are quite beautiful but very difficult to photograph. Our eyes are such amazing things and anyone who thinks there are no improvements to be made in camera design hasn’t stopped to think. The moon is so bright compared to the clouds lit by its reflected light. To our eyes, the clouds are just a little dimmer than the moon but a camera isn’t fooled and isn’t so capable. To get the moon exposed correctly, you have to stop down enough for daylight. But the clouds are not in daylight and they go black, regardless of how bright they seem. To expose the clouds well, the moon becomes a washed out blob. So, no picture of the clouds and the moon this time.
Instead, here is a tree, just about ready to sleep the winter away. It is lit by the light from the moon in this 15 second exposure. Here’s something that the camera can do that we cannot—store up the light into one big packet and see in the dark.
Sokho
As many of you know, I have been the acting youth director (or is it student ministries director?) at church for almost exactly a year. It wasn’t something I had planned, but circumstances were such that I felt it was the right thing to do. I had been working with the youth (this is both middle school and high school aged kids) pretty much since the summer of 2011, when my good friend, Bill, asked me to take his place for a trip to Toronto, with Center for Student Missions. That reminds me, I really need to thank Bill again for that.
Anyway, from the start I was clear that I don’t feel equipped to run a youth program but that I was willing to be used. God spoke through Balaam’s ass (Numbers 22:28) so I knew he could speak even through me. Nevertheless, when Jeff told me that he wanted to hire Sokho as an associate pastor and that he would lead the youth ministry, I was quite pleased. I’m so thankful for this young man and look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead.
Millipede
This tiny millipede was crawling across our kitchen floor this evening. I grabbed my camera and got down with him (or her, I have no idea). There are a lot of millipedes and I don’t have any idea which tis one is. It’s very small, about two millimeters in diameter and about no more than four centimeters long. The thing tat made it hard to photograph was that it kept moving. Maybe if I put it in the fridge for a few minutes it would slow down, even when I took it back out. But I didn’t try. When I was done, I put it in the pot of one of my large house plants.
Cathy and Her Zinnias
Earlier in the year the county cut down an oak tree (nearly dead) that belonged to them because they had planted it in the right-of-way back when the neighborhood was built. Around the stump, Cathy planted zinnias and marigolds and they did really well this year, blooming brightly all summer. Late last week we got a note to call someone at the county about the stump. They were going to come grind it down and he wanted us to know because it would pretty much be the end of the flowers. They showed up this morning but before they took everything out, I got a few pictures of Cathy with her flowers.
Nature’s Stained Glass Window
I already posted a picture from today, my Autumn Color, Domesticated Version, but I also wanted to post a few less suburban images. This afternoon, Cathy and I took a walk in the park, which is really a walk in the woods. The path runs through the woods by a stream and in a couple places crosses the stream on bridges. This first picture is of sycamore leaves reflected in the stream from one of those bridges. I was struck not only by the color but by the patters made in the moving water. This is a still picture, of course, and loses something by that lack of movement, but it still reminds me of a stained glass window, made entirely by the creator of all things.
Sunfish Pond on a Clear, Autumn Day
After crossing the creek (wait, it was a stream a minute ago, is it a creek now?) between bridges and also crossing the orange fencing put in to keep us from doing that (the county has been “rehabilitating” the creek for a couple years now, and it looks to continue for a long time to come) we made our way to Sunfish Pond. The mid-afternoon light on the pond was beautiful, As we walked around so that the sun was to our left, the colors deepened and the reflections stood our more brilliantly. I often find myself jealous of people living in Alaska, Colorado, Wyoming, or northern California, where mountains and lakes are so spectacular. This may not be up to the likes of Maroon Lake in Colorado or Lake Louise in Alberta, but for a small pond in a suburban park, I think it’s rather pretty.
Appalachian Melody
I use Appalachian Melody, October 25, 2012 as the title of a photograph similar to this one of the beech leaves. Nevertheless, that’s what autumn leave make me think of, so I”m using it again. Appalachian Melody, as I said in that earlier post, is the title of a song (and album) by the late Mark Heard, and one of those songs that stays with you (or with me, anyhow). It is one of my favorite songs and I think of it often, usually (naturally) this time of year.
Forest Fire
While the first of the four photographs in this post reminds me of a stained glass window, this last one does, as well. The woods were the normal mix of sun and shade this afternoon but in places the sun would hit a tree that still had enough leaves that it would light up in brilliant color. This is one such tree and it was like a blaze in the otherwise brown scenery.
I didn’t actually go check but my guess is that these are beech trees, which often turn a bright yellow before fading to a copper brown later in the fall. They often stay on the tree over the winter, especially on younger trees, giving the woods a bit more character. We are blessed to have both the native American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and the beautiful European beech (Fagus sylvatica) growing locally. They are similarly beautiful trees and there is not much that can compare to a huge old beech tree, either as a specimen in a lawn (but you need a large lawn and a lot of time if you’re going to try this at home) or in a woodland.
Japanese Maples, Dark and Bright
This is the first of two posts for today, both featuring fall color. As the title says, this is the “domesticated” fall color post. The two Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) in this picture have been bred for their fall color (among other things). The one in the background, on the left, is a dark, Burgundy color which is fairly common but still quite nice. The tree on the right, however, which is obviously the main subject of this picture, is an amazing color. I’ve photographed this tree before and even posted a picture, titled Lollipop Tree (November 06, 2013), of leaves from it. It’s got pretty remarkable color and it is consistent from year to year. If I knew what variety it is, I’d plant one, but there are so many varieties, getting one as good as this seems like a long shot. Maybe I should approach the owners and ask if they know the variety and even possibly ask if I could take cuttings next summer (June is the time, apparently). That’s a slow way to get a tree but for this sort of show, it might be worth it.
Crazy Cat Lady and Eve
We went to a Day of the Dead party this evening at the home of one of Cathy’s soccer teammates. This picture is of Cathy with our hostess. Cathy, as you can see, was dressed as a crazy cat lady. Ara was Eve (played by Tilda Swinton) from Only Lovers Left Alive. I was dressed as a chef, complete with a length of blood sausage in my jacket pocket (because, I mean, blood sausage).
The best costumes we thought were the best were the samurai and ninja couple but a lot were very clever and a few were seriously elaborate. I’ve never really been crazy about costume parties but that’s almost certainly because I have such a hard time coming up with any good ideas for a costume. Being able to put something on an hour before leaving and having it work is about all I can hope for. That worked this evening, but a little planning ahead could go a long way. I already have been thinking about what I might do for a future party. Now if I can only get the work done ahead of time, so it’s ready when the next party comes…
Cherry Tomatoes
I know you are probably expecting pictures of kids dressed up for Halloween for today’s picture but I don’t have any. We had 49 trick-or-treaters come this evening but I didn’t take any pictures as I didn’t (to my knowledge, anyway) know any of them. They were mostly older kids although some may have been in fourth or fifth grade. So, this is a picture of the tomatoes that I cooked for the omelet I made Cathy for dinner. Tomatoes, spinish, and cheese. I pretty good combination.
Solomon and Cathy
Cathy took Solomon to the vet today to get his nails and beak trimmed. If having your toenails worked on is a pedicure, what’s the word for having your beak trimmed? The Latin word rostrum is the beak of a bird (as well as the “beak,” or prow, of a ship), so perhaps “rostricure.” Anyway, that’s what he had done. When I got home he was sitting on top of his travel cage, which was on the floor of our family room. When Cathy went to put him back in his regular cage, I had them pose for a few pictures.
Asters
I had a follow-up appointment with the ophthalmologist who did my cataract surgery this morning and all seems to be as it should be. Before returning to work, I took enough time to take a few pictures of a hedge of asters growing along the building across the street from the eye doctor’s building. It’s quite a nice hedge, growing about three feet tall and maybe six feet wide, running nearly the full length of the property, and absolutely covered with flowers. As is often the case with bluish flowers, they turn out more pink if photographs than they appear to our eyes. In this case I have not attempted to fix that and this photo shows them the way the camera saw them.
Late Season Flower and Bee
I had a meeting in the next building over today and decided to take my camera with me. After the meeting, I figure I could go through the woods and take some pictures. When the time came, I went a different route, though. There is a pond between our buildings and I normally would walk along the path that crosses the dam. This time, I went down the slope before crossing and walked up that side of the pond, crossing the stream at the top, instead. There are quite a few little aster-like flowers blooming in the sun. They aren’t particularly showy but nice enough, with their bright yellow centers. This one had the added interest of a green bee, possibly a cuckoo wasp. It’s hard to see in this picture but the wasp is a bright, metallic green when viewed in the right light. I did get a few that show it, but they didn’t have the flower, so, I went with this one.
Dogwood Leaves
Do you know how you can identify dogwood? By its bark. Also, this time of year, by its leaf color. It seems to me that the trees in our area were taking longer to change colors than normal and I was getting myself ready for a less than amazing year in terms of fall color. In the last few days things have really started to change. The two dogwoods in our front yard are pretty amazingly red. It may not set any records for most colorful, but this year is turning out pretty well.
A Little Fall Color
After church today Cathy and I paid a visit to the cemetery where her father’s grave is. We put flowers on his grave and that of a close family friend who died in 1998 and whose grave is fairly close to Jim’s. It was a beautiful, fall afternoon, cool, bright, and clear. This picture could have been taken anywhere and doesn’t really show that we’re at a cemetery, but I thought it was pretty, anyway.
