This squirrel was eating seeds off of the back patio this morning and didn’t run away when I came up to the glass door, so I was able to get a few pictures. Unfortunately I had the camera set wrong so these pictures are a bit grainy, but I’m still reasonably happy with them. I’m not a huge fan of squirrels, which are basically furry tailed rats, but they can be fun to watch. This is the melanistic form of the grey squirrel, which is very common in our area.
Monthly Archives: June 2014
Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
Grey Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
Dorothy spent much of the day at my mom’s house today and I went there to get her after work. I took a few pictures around the yard, including some of a clematis that looks very much like the one I have here (and which I posted a picture of recently). There was a grey catbird in the birdbath in the back yard and I was able to get close enough for a few good pictures before it flew up into the camellia bushes.
Syrphid Fly
These little flies are all around but are very easy to go unnoticed. They are quite small and don’t bother people much. I think they’re pretty cool looking. In particular, I like the pattern on the abdomen. I don’t know how much variation there is in that pattern, or if it is reliable for identification of the species. There are over species 800 in eastern North America, so making a reliable ID takes more knowledge than I have.
Acanthocephala Species
This is one of the Acanthocephala species, one of the leaf-footed bugs. I’m not sure which, although I’m leaning toward A. terminalis. It was on my pant leg but I wasn’t going to get a good picture of it while it was there, so I brushed it off into the grass. Then, of course, I got down on the ground and got as close to it as I could.
Graduation Day
I could post quite a few pictures for today but I’m going to limit myself to two. I took over 500, including multiple photos of each of Dorothy’s 21 classmates walking across the stage. I considered posting one of Dorothy receiving her diploma from Mr. Chamberlain or of Mr. Hawes moving her tassle from the right to the left of her mortarboard, but in the end I decided I’d post this one, of Dorothy and one of her two grandmas (who were both there).
After the graduation ceremony, we all went back to the school for a reception. The graduates came down the central staircase in the school (to live trumpet music), and they went out in front of the school for the traditional “hat throw.” I decided to go with a a wide angle lens shooting from near the ground, and I’m pretty happy with what I got.
Dorothy is a good student and we are very proud of her achievement. In some ways, celebrating high school graduation is a little like celebrating mile three in a marathon. Everyone is glad glad you made it this far, but you aren’t really nearing the finish line yet. On the other hand, the amount of growth between Kindergarten and 12th grade, at least for Dorothy and most of her friends, has been substantial. Well done!
The Fox Is Back
We’ve seen the fox a few times since the winter when I got pictures of two of them playing in the back yard. One of them, I’m pretty sure, was killed by a car. The other is still around and this morning was in our garden. From downstairs he (or she) could barely be seen. Cathy noticed him from upstairs. Occasionally he’d look around and I got a few pictures from the kitchen. After I had as good a picture as I was going to get, I went out the front door and slowly went around the side of the house. I was able to get a few pictures before I was seen. He looked right at me as I squeezed off two quick shots and then he was gone (like a shot).
Nick Weber’s Rose Garden
As usual I was at Nick Weber’s Heritage Rosarium on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, but as I mentioned at the time, very little was in bloom. Because I was off work letting my eye recuperate from surgery most of this week, and because I was feeling well and it was a beautiful day, I visited again this morning. Even now it isn’t in full bloom, although much more than it was almost two weeks ago. When I compare this image to one taken from the same spot on May 28, 2011, I can see that it’s really only just starting to come into bloom.
Previous posts with photos from Nick’s rose garden are May 24, 2014, May 25, 2013, and May 26, 2012.
Rose ‘New Dawn’
The wonderful, very light pink rose ‘New Dawn’ is in full bloom on our back fence. It’s partially obscured by the rugosa, ‘Roseraie De l’Hay’, which has grown up to about seven or eight feet tall. On either side of that, and just a little over top of it, however, ‘New Dawn’ is in full bloom.
Last year I posted a photograph of the rose ‘Dr. W. Van Fleet’ growing in my cousin Lyn’s back garden. As I mentioned when I posted that picture, ‘New Dawn’ is a repeat flowering sport of ‘Dr. W. Van Fleet’ found at Somerset Rose Nursery in 1930 and has the distinction of having been the first plant to receive a U.S. Plant Patent (it is plant patent #1) on 18 Aug 1931.
In addition to the flowers which are lovely, it has glossy, green leaves that are not bothered by black spot. That and the repeat flowering are enough by themselves to recommend a rose. I was given this by my friend and work colleague, Kamala, as a cutting from hers and I’m very grateful.
Ophthalmological Instruments
As many of you know, I had cataract surgery in my left eye yesterday. I had a follow-up appointment this morning and all seems to be going exactly as planned and hoped. Here are three instruments in the ophthalmologist’s office. On the left is a phoroptor, used to determine the eyeglass prescription needed. The instrument is familiar, even if the name isn’t. Then, in the middle, is a keratometer, which is used to determine the shape of the cornea. Finally, on the right is a slit lamp, used to examine eyes. I’ve spent a lot of time behind this last item over the last five years or so.
Clematis
At the south end of the house I have a large trellis for a climbing rose. I thought the rose had died completely but it’s coming up from the ground and appears not to be the root stock (it’s blooming with the same flowers as the rose had in the past).
Also growing on the trellis is a clematis. It’s small as of yet, but doing well and has a good, sunny spot. I don’t know what variety this is, but it’s got very simple flowers with only four petals. Still, it has a very nice burgandy color.
Pink Multiflora Hybrid
The roses are really starting to bloom, finally. This is one that only blooms once during the year but it’s beautiful when it does. It also have very healthy, disease resistant foliage, so it looks pretty good the rest of the year, although it’s just green, of course. This is a found rose and seems to me to be mostly R. multiflora. The wonderful pink flowers, however, speak of some other genes in the mix. I think this rose might contribute to some interesting breeding work and for years I’ve considered it, but so far, haven’t actually done anything.











