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Here and There…Now and Then |
Nature’s Snow Globe
There was a enameled bowl on the concrete bench in front of our house and it had filled with rain water (and a leaf). Dorothy noticed it this morning and turned it out onto the bench and I took some pictures of it. It doesn’t move like a regular snow-globe, but otherwise, it sort of looks like that, I think. Anyway, pretty without much effort, which is always a treat.
Celastrus orbiculatus (Oriental Bittersweet)
Cathy and I went for a walk on the Blue Mash trail in Laytonsville. It’s just behind a landfil and is mostly reverting to woods but there are some areas kept open, as well. There is a small pond and around it there were fairly dense stands of oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), also known as climbing spindleberry. It is a non-native, invasive species and grows much more vigorously than the native C. scandens (American bittersweet). I know we’re not suppose to like invasive species but I find it quite pretty and (probably because I don’t have to do battle with it in our yard) don’t mind it too much.
The Family At The Groaning Board
We gathered with family for Thanksgiving today. Thanksgiving is more than just a meal, of course, but the meal is certainly a part of the day. We did take a more traditional family picture, with everyone in nice, neat lines, but I thought I’d post this one, showing us ready to being the meal. I won’t bother to list everything we ate, but suffice it to say, there was plenty. We are truly blessed. But more than the food, of course, it was wonderful to be with family.
Pre-Thanksgiving Snow
Well, the forecast was for snow. I thought it was supposed to be overnight but when I got up this morning, it had only been raining. It seemed to be on the edge of freezing as I came in to work. Later in the morning I got an email from my brother George saying there was a dusting on the ground in New Jersey. Albert replied that it looked about the same here. That’s when I turned around and saw the snow for the first time. I guess I was concentrating on what I was doing.
This wasn’t any sort of record in terms of earliest and certainly not the heaviest but it was still rather early and rather heavy for this area. It was coming down quite hard for a while, although it never really stuck to the roads, just to grassy areas and on cars.
1936 Vultee V-1AD Special
I drove to Virginia to pick up Dorothy for Thanksgiving this afternoon. I left a bit early because I knew that traffic was going to be a problem. I also knew that she would not be ready to leave until about 5:30, so I was going to have to find something to occupy my time until she was ready. I decided to stop by the Virginia Aviation Museum at the Richmond International Airport.
My post for Sunday, February 16, 2014 was of an SR-71 Blackbird, on loan to the museum from the U.S. Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. I thought it might be nice to see what else they have and it’s a nice little collection. This plane, a 1936 Vultee V-1AD Special, was custom-built in 1936 for William Randolph Hearst, Sr. and is the only known surviving V-1AD in the world.
Olives, Chorizo, Tomatoes, and Stilton
When I got home this evening, I knew that Cathy was going to work a bit late. Since I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, I wanted something to tide me over until she got home and we’d have dinner. So, I made myself a plate of antipasti. In this case, it was not a traditional Italian antipasti. There were Kalamata olives (from Grece), chorizo with smoked paprika (from Spain), small tomatoes (which I guess is traditionally Italian, although, of course, they come from South America originally), and a few slices of Stilton (from England). Traditional or not, it was just what I wanted.
Cathy with Operation Christmas Child Boxes
Operation Christmas Child is one of Cathy’s favorite things of the season. We aren’t terribly good at planning way ahead but in this, she does a pretty good job. She shops at back-to-school time for pencils and crayons. Sometimes as early as January or February she will see something and say, “Operation Christmas Child” as she buys it.
A couple years we loaded boxes into our van from the school, filling the back of the van with the seats removed, delivering them to a local collection point. She is going to an OCC facility this week to volunteer. I can’t say exactly what she will do, because she hasn’t done that before. We’ve helped at a collection point but this will be the next step along the process.
This picture is of Cathy (obviously) with her two boxes for the year, as she dropped them off at Redland Baptist Church.
Jared and Justin
Do you know Jared and Justin? They are sons number three and four of five (and children four and five of six) of Carey and Marilyn. If you have known Carey for any length of time, you have probably seen this look (on Jared, on the left). I knew that Jared looked more like his father than any of his siblings but I didn’t realize until I saw this exactly how much he looked like him, not just in looks but in manner. It’s a bit uncanny.
Cathy With a Colander
It was recently Cathy’s birthday and we had arranged to meet our friend (and Cathy’s friend since high school) Jean for dinner. Because she was coming from Virginia and because there was heavy traffic on the beltway (heavier than normal, even), we met a little later than we might ordinarily have done. Before meeting her, we took a small load of things to donate to Attic Treasures, the rummage sale at the Washington Christian Academy Christmas Bazaar, which is tomorrow (November 22). It’s a fundraiser for the senior class and is pretty well organized for a rummage sale.
We looked around at other things that had been given and sat chatting for a while on some nice, vintage, (and pink) motel chairs. Then Cathy decided she’s buy this colander to plant sedums in. Naturally I took her picture wearing it as a hat (or helmet, perhaps). I didn’t buy anything but the next day (tomorrow, at the sale itself) I bought three books.
Cathy and Jean
From the school we drove to Rockville and met Jean at Ruby Tuesday in Federal Plaza. We got there ahead of her (because the traffic on the beltway was worse than expected) and I did a quick shop at Trader Joe’s while Cathy bought a few things to fill out her Operation Christmas Child boxes. Then we had a delightful time with Jean. Because we live so far apart (and yet so close) we don’t see her anywhere near often enough. Naturally we stayed at our table much longer than we normally do, but we had missed the busy time and there were empty tables, no one was waiting for us to leave so they could eat. After we left, I took a couple pictures of Cathy and Jean outside in the cold.
Henry, Cathy, Brian, Lisa, Goldie, and Kippen
We had a treat yesterday and today. I got a call from our good friends, Brian and Lisa, who were driving from Georgia to Massachusetts and wanted to stop in to see us and spend the night. Brian came to our youth group with me, since I couldn’t very well get out of that at such short notice (I was teaching). Then we stayed up late talking. This picture was taken about four minutes after midnight, so it counts as a picture for today (I did take other pictures today but you don’t care). We were trying to get both dogs to look at the camera on its tripod but, as you can see, only had limited success.
Funnel Weaver Spider
Those of you who didn’t like the photo of the millipede that I posted on November 4 probably won’t like this photo any better. I admit that I am a bit squeamish when it comes to spiders. Maybe that’s the wrong word, maybe chicken would be better. But I generally let them be, because they kill and eat things that I like even less. This one was on the floor at church and some of the kids were a bit freaked out that I was down on the floor taking pictures of instead of stepping on it. It’s the way I am. Sorry. This particular spider is a funnel weaver (family Agelenidae), one of 15 North American species in the genus Coras.
American lobster (Homarus americanus)
Cathy and I went to dinner with her mom for Cathy’s birthday this evening. We went to Red Lobster and had a good meal and a nice time together. As we were leaving, I stopped to take a few pictures of the lobsters (not yet red) in the tank inside the door.
Growing up, there was a book on our shelves called Animals Without Backbones by Ralph Buchsbaum of the Department of Zoölogy at The University of Chicago. One of my best friends in high school happened to have the same book in their house. We were both amused by the caption for a picture of a lobster at the top of page 268-8 which read as follows:
The lobster, Homarus, is mostly dark green when alive; but when boiled, like this one and like millions of others every year, turns bright red. Abouot half an hour after this picture was taken this lobster was reduced to an empty exoskeleton.
Nice.
Morcela Caseira, Eggs, and Goat Cheese
I know this won’t look in the least appetizing to many of you, but this, to me, is just about as good as breakfast gets, particularly when paired with a strong cup of tea with a drop of cream. I have labeled the picture with morcela caseira to spare those of you who would be put off by the term “blood sausage.” For those of you afraid of blood sausage, let me say that there is blood sausage and then there is blood sausage. Personally, I like most of them, but this is probably my very favorite. Find a Portuguese or Brazilian market and give it a try. That’s where I get it.
Musical Instruments
Cathy and I drove Dorothy back to Richmond this evening, having a longish drive down but clear sailing coming back. It’s amazing how even a few short slow stretches seem to make the drive feel worse than it actually is. Of course, in this case, it was over three hours one way and less than two the other. Anyway, I took a few pictures while we were in Richmond before getting back in the car to come home. This is one wall of Dorothy’s apartment, shared with six other women. I think there must be some music coming from this place from time to time. I’d love to stay and hear it, but tonight wasn’t the night.
Frost on Vinca
This isn’t our first frost of the year. There have been two or three days when many of the lawns in our neighborhood have been touched with white in the morning. But this is the first time this fall it’s been enough to include the shady areas of our back yard. Waking up and seeing frost in the yard is a good way to remind us of how fortunate we are to have heated homes. So naturally, I went out back to lie on the icy grass to take some pictures. I did put something down to lie on, of course, which made it a bit more comfortable. I love the way the ice limns the edges of these vinca leaves.
Cornus kousa
Outside my office building there are quite a few trees. At the front, just around the corner from my office there are kousa dogwood trees (Cornus kousa). Then in the back at the far end there are more. These are in the afternoon sun and this time of year they are quite lovely, blazing in their deep, fiery, orange-red leaves. I know it’s not hip to prefer a non-native but there is a lot to recommend these over our native dogwood. I don’t think there is any danger of the native trees being put out of business any time soon.
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.
