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Here and There…Now and Then |
Kendra, Briannah, and Dorothy
Kendra’s mom to Kendra, Briannah, and Dorothy to Merriweather Post Pavilion to see (and hear) Gotye in concert. It was a bit cool and they got rained on but were able to move into the pavilion, which was nice. They ended up with very good seats and had a great time.
Turning Maple Leaf
It’s that time of the year and the leaves are starting to turn all the bright colors of autumn. This maple leaf was sitting on the prostrate juniper in the back of our yard. I love this time of year, don’t you?
Neon Sign
Dorothy finished Driver’s Ed this evening, making up the day she missed back in July. We went to York Castle to celebrate. Actually, she didn’t feel like having ice cream, so only Cathy and I did. Anyway, this is a neon OPEN sign in their window.
Halyomorpha halys (Brown Marmorated Stink Bug)
Over the last several years this has to have become everyone’s least favorite insect around here. The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is a serious pest, even for those of us not trying to grow crops. This is the direction most of want to see them going (i.e. away from us) but mostly we like to see them dead.
Today is the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson’s pernicious book, Silent Spring, which was in large part responsible for bans on use of DDT. As we now know, her book was very poor science and the benefits from responsible use of DDT far outweigh the costs. We can only hope that restrictions on its use can be eased and the poorest countries of the world, those that need it most, can benefit from it’s wonderful bug killing and disease preventing properties.
Power Lines
I spend a fair amount of time trying to keep power lines and other utility poles and wires out of my photographs. Sometimes you just cannot and that’s the way it goes but generally when taking landscape pictures, particularly natural scenes, they are a distraction. This evening, though, I was stopped for gas on the way home and decided I’d do it the other way around. So, I give you “Power Lines.”
Angie and Solomon
Sadly this is six days late for International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Anyway, Solomon paid a visit to Angie’s kindergarten class today. They are learning about pets and how to take care of them. If I was going to help, it was either Solomon or a fish. He did very well. He didn’t freak out and no one got bit, which is good. After all the kids were gone Angie posed with him on her shoulder, which I thought was pretty brave. They look good together. Avast, me hearties!
UMBC Campus
Dorothy had the day off from school today so I took her and her friend Hannah to UMBC for a college visit. Our friend Kadie gave us a nice tour of the campus and then we went up to Stephen’s dorm room for a while. It’s a nice campus. The academic buildings are gathered together but there is a fair amount of open space, as well. It’s a little bit surprising to me that having lived in the area nearly my whole life I’ve never been here before, but there you are.
Bombus impatiens (Common Eastern Bumble Bee)
When I see a big black bee with a blond, hairy thorax, I tend to call it a bumble bee whether that’s really what it is or not. There are plenty of bees of this general size and look, but I think this actually is a common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens). They are actually quite hard to photograph on my mountain mint because they don’t stop moving. Some bees actually stop for short while not and then but not these chaps. Busy as a bee applies to them. This is as good a photo as I was able to get but it’s a bit blurry. Sorry.
Double Rainbow
We had a brief but strong rain shower this afternoon and then the sun came out, so we were treated to this beautiful rainbow.
Two Piglets
We went out to Rocklands Farm today and, among other things, enjoyed seeing three very young piglets. They were with there mother eating acorns on a large oak tree that came down in the last few days. This picture shows two of them and you can see how small they are. Cute little things, destined to be turned into bacon, sausage, chops, and ribs. If that bothers you, then you probably don’t want to know what’s in my freezer now.
Mushroom
It’s mushroom time in the yard again. These clumps came up last year for the first time and since we lost a tree a little before that, I have to assume they are growing on the rotting roots of that tree. At least, that’s what I hope. I certainly don’t want them to be growing on the rotting roots of trees that are still ready to fall on our house. Last year they came up and were all over the yard for a few days. Then they turned to mush and were filled with fly larva, which I assume we’ll see again this year. Lovely.
Nemoria bistriaria (Red-fringed Emerald)
Dorothy called me into the kitchen this evening saying there was something for me to photograph. On the sliding glass door from our kitchen into the back yard was this little moth. It’s only about 2 cm across. I got the tripod and put the flash on the camera and was able to get a pretty good shot or two. I also got some extreme close-up pictures that show the hairy scales on the wings, which are pretty cool.
I’m not 100% certain of the identification. There are more than 20 species and they all look fairly similar. Since identification photos tend to be from above (dorsal) and this photograph is from below (ventral) I’m at a disadvantage. Still, that looks right and we’re in the right part of the country for that species.
National Honor Society Inductees
Dorothy was one of ten students inducted into the National Honor Society today. Naturally we were proud of her. Here is a picture of all ten with the one returning student who was inducted last year. Well done, ladies.
Sushi
I went to Lowe’s at lunch time today to pick up a few things and decided to go into Whole Foods to grab a few (other) things since I was right there. Whole Foods prices are high and they aren’t really very convenient to where we live. One of the only reasons I ever made the effort was to buy proper, dry cured bacon. Naturally I’d buy a cartload of things while I was there but it was the bacon (and cheese) that got me there. Giant and Safeway (and Shopper’s and Harris Teeter) only carry brine cured bacon, which is fine, but I prefer a good, thick cut, dry cured bacon.
Well, it turns out Whole Foods doesn’t carry bacon any more. In fact, they don’t seem to carry any bacon, dry or wet cured. They have something oxymoronically called “uncured bacon” which is basically sliced pork belly (except much of what they have isn’t even pork!). There was a time when they had a better selection of cheeses, as well, but that’s no longer true, either. So, there is now no reason for me to go out of my way to Whole Foods.
Since I was there and since it was lunch time, I bought a pack of sushi for my lunch. As I got back to work it started to rain very heavily. I decided to run into the building and got soaked for my trouble. I had a nice relaxing lunch, although my clothes were a bit sopping.
Dodge Pickup Carrier
I dropped our van off at the mechanic’s today and while I was waiting to be picked up I took a few pictures, including this one of the carrier and ring gear for a Dodge pickup rear differential.
Orange Mums
Cathy and I went to Johnson’s Garden Center west of Olney early this afternoon. Cathy wanted to buy a few more asters for her mom’s front garden. There were a lot of asters (polyaster?) and mums, as is normal this time of year and I carried my camera around and took a few pictures. I like this orange mum, which is a nice autumnal orange. We also looked at hydrangeas but didn’t actually buy any.
Maydot and Lexi
We got a text last night from our friend, Jean, saying her daughter, our god-daughter, Lexi, was going to be running in a cross country meet this morning not too far from us. Cathy had a soccer game so she couldn’t go but I did and saw Lexi run. She did a good job and improved her time but considerable. I was also happy to see our good friend Amy and was able to cheer on her son, Jon, who finished in eighth place in the boys race. This picture is of Lexi (on the right) and her friend, Maydot (I’m not sure of the spelling).
Pork and Mushrooms
With Dorothy away for the weekend, Cathy and I decided to have a nice dinner together. We sort of skipped doing anything for our anniversary last month so let’s say this was for that. We went to a little Italian place in Olney named Al Sospiro Trattoria. It’s a little on the pricey side but the food was excellent. I mean, really, really good. After mussels as an appetizer, I had this pork loin wrapped in bacon and served with sautéd mushrooms. It was about as good as it gets.
Clivia miniata
We’ve had this in our kitchen for a few years now and this is only the second time it’s bloomed. It seemed happy enough but we decided to move it out int the back yard for the summer. We found a mostly shady spot for it, since full sun burns the leaves, and it’s very happy and decided to thank us by blooming. As you can see, the flowers are very bright and cheerful. You’re welcome.
Iris domestica (Blackberry Lily)
Back on July 5 of this year I posted a photo of Iris domestica in bloom. This is the same plant after it’s gone to seed. The seeds look (if you don’t look to carefully) like huge blackberries, which gives the plant its common name, blackberry lily. I think they’re as pretty, if not as colorful, as the flowers. In a few weeks I’ll pull these off and spread them around the garden in the hope that I’ll have more in years to come.