Lounging Wood
I saw this piece of wood lounging on the patio table this afternoon. Doesn’t it look relaxed? I also have a nice picture of a digger wasp (Scolia dubia) but Dorothy thinks I’ve posted enough stinging things on mountain mint.
Monthly Archives: August 2011
Self-Portrait
Self-Portrait
I guess this is what I look like to a lot of people. I thought I’d post something a little different today. I did go out in the early afternoon, since it was such a beautiful day and there is a picture from my wandering in Extras. This is a self-portrait I did as I came back to the building. It’s a reflection in the mirrored glass door to my building (and then flipped so as not to be a mirror image).
Logs
Logs
As I approach the ⅔ mark in my year-long project, I find that I’m not particularly motivated. It isn’t that I’m not enjoying taking pictures and I’ve managed to take pictures every day, I’m just not motivated to go looking for pictures lately. I’m not sure what to do about it. Life is like that sometimes — you just do what you are supposed to do even though you don’t really fell like it.
I did take a few pictures of the trees I’ve been cutting up in the back yard. These range in size up to about 10 inches in diameter. The larger pieces are yet to be cut, though. Still, it’s a start.
Jenny and Nayo
Jenny and Nayo
I asked Dorothy for help picking a picture for today and this was her favorite. It’s hard to argue with her — these are two adorable girls. That’s the secret to taking good pictures, by the way. Only take pictures of attractive people. Hard to go wrong with this pair.
Tire Swing
Tire Swing
It was so wonderful to spend a little more time with Erin and her lovely family today. Thanks for putting up with us. I especially enjoyed pushing Marit and Zeke on the tire swing. What a delight your children are. God speed and and a good voyage to you all.
Pale Beauty
Pale Beauty
I saw a few of these little moths today. I believe it is a pale beauty (Campaea perlata).
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Campaea, Campaea perlata, Insect, Insects, Lepidoptera, Moth, Pale Beauty
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Parking Lot Accident
Parking Lot Accident
A friend and coworker asked me to take some pictures today of what happened to her car in the parking lot. Someone driving a Chevy Impala hit her car in the rear left corner hard enough to push it (violently) into another friend and coworker’s van. In this picture, you can see how far the car has been moved.
We know it was an Impala and we know the license number. One weird thing about all this is that the driver of the car parked it and walked away. He was watched from a window. He left the car right there. He didn’t leave a note or anything, just walked away. As I was leaving work he had returned and was changing his tire (which had blown in the accident). Yes, I took another picture then. Thanks for asking.
Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar
Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar
This thing is huge. It’s as big around as my thumb and as long as my middle finger. Actually, I think it’s pretty amazing that this big, squishy, green blob turns into a beautiful (and quite large) moth. In this case, a Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus). It’s named after the Cyclops Polyphemus in Homer’s Odyssey because of the large “eye spot” on its hindwings.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Antheraea, Antheraea polyphemus, Caterpillar, Insect, Insects, Lepidoptera, Moth, Polyphemus Moth
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Green Hair Man
Green Hair Man
A funny thing happened on the way to an earthquake. Actually, I was driving to the Verizon store to get new phones for all of us when I looked in my rear view mirror. This is what I saw. This picture was taken from the driver’s seat, stopped at a light, with the lens pointed into the interior rear view mirror. Not a bad picture, considering that. Anyway, that’s about the greenest hair I’ve ever seen.
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk
A juvenile red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), flying over the parking lot outside my office today. He gave a single scream which alerted me to his presence and I got quite a few half-decent pictures (with my less than decent long lens). Gotta get me a good telephoto.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Buteo, Buteo jamaicensis, Hawk, Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk
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Wacky Sophomores*
Wacky Sophomores
School starts on Wednesday and the sophomore and junior classes had a joint “back to school” party this afternoon. In this photo, Dorothy and some of her friends are… well, I’m not sure what they’re doing.
*I know, Hannah is a junior. Sorry.
American Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
The horizontal wire just above the bird bothers me a bit but otherwise I really like this picture. It is a female American goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) taking off from a dried sunflower growing between rows of grape vines (which is what the wire is for) at Rocklands Farm.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: American Goldfinch, Bird, Birds, Carduelis, Carduelis tristis, Goldfinch
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Mowing the Lawn
Mowing the Lawn
A good friend of ours said she liked mowing the lawn because it was the only thing she could do around the house that her two sons couldn’t undo in half an hour.
I think Cathy does it for a similar reason to why I do the cooking. She considers the lawn in need of attention before I do. I consider dinner in need of attention before she does.
27th Anniversary
27th Anniversary
Cathy and I went out to dinner tonight to celebrate our 27th anniversary. The waiter brought us this dessert, which was delish.
Black-eyed Susans
Black-eyed Susans
The black-eyed Susans are the predominant source of color (except for the color green, of course) in the garden right now. They are holding up their end marvelously, I might add.
Oh, and I passed the 20,000 mark on my camera today. This is photo number 20,004 (since Christmas).
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Black-eyed Susans, Blooms, Flowers, Hardy Perennial, Native Plants, Perennial, Yellow
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County Fair
County Fair
The county fair is always a good source of interesting photographs. Taking three kids (ages 1, 5, and 7) plus Dorothy should make it even better. Unfortunately I forgot to put the memory card back in my camera this morning. So, this is a picture of Zeke on a camel, taken on Dorothy’s phone (but by me, don’t worry).
Monarch
Monarch
This is the first monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) I’ve seen this year. All of a sudden there are lots of them in the yard, on the buddleia, the black-eyed Susans, and here, on the Conoclinium coelestinum.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Butterfly, Danaus, Danaus plexippus, Lepidoptera, Monarch, Orange
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D
D
Youth pool party this afternoon and I was allowed to come take pictures. This is Darien (a.k.a. D) on his way to a belly-flop.
Tomato Hornworm
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.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Lepidoptera, Manduca, Manduca quinquemaculata, Moth, Tomato Hornworm
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Cæsar
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.)
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Amazon Parrot, Amazona, Amazona oratrix, Cæsar, Parrot, yellow-headed Amazon
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