Monthly Archives: September 2014

Alobates pensylvanica (False Mealworm Beetle)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, September 10, 2014 by Henry
Alobates pensylvanica (False Mealworm Beetle)

Alobates pensylvanica (False Mealworm Beetle)

I went out to get some coffee this morning and when I came back I found this fairly large beetle on the floor of my office. I took a few pictures of it on the floor before moving it up to the spider plant on my window ledge, where I took some more photos.

I like beetles. The beetles are the largest order in the animal kingdom, with more than 350,000 described species worldwide, representing about 40% of known insects (per http://bugguide.net/node/view/60).

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Hens and Chicks

Photograph taken on Tuesday, September 09, 2014 by Henry
Hens and Chicks

Hens and Chicks

This morning I took a few pictures of a goldfinch on the black-eyed Susans outside our kitchen. Technically, that satisfied my goal of taking at least one picture today. They were not very good, though, so late this evening I took some of some plants, cacti and succulents, that Dorothy has potted up for herself. These are commonly known as hens and chicks and are in the genus Sempervivum which is in turn in the Crassulaceae family, known as houseleeks

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Bountiful Harvest

Photograph taken on Monday, September 08, 2014 by Henry
Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Beans, and Basil

Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Beans, and Basil

Cathy and I stopped at Albert and Brady’s after work yesterday. It was nice to visit and we ended up loaded with a bountiful harvest, as evidenced by this photograph. Albert and Brady have a vegetable garden and it’s gotten a little ahead of them. As you can see, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and basil all in profusion. We also got a lot of cherry tomatoes, which are really delicious. I made a big batch of tomato sauce this evening with almost nothing that wasn’t direct from the garden, and by “direct” I mean, picked today. Thanks, guys!

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Leucauge venusta (Orchard Orbweaver)

Photograph taken on Sunday, September 07, 2014 by Henry
Leucauge venusta (Orchard Orbweaver)

Leucauge venusta (Orchard Orbweaver)

I know that not everyone is particularly fond of spiders, so I apologize if this creeps you out. I actually don’t mind them in their place. Mind you, when walking through the woods, my face is decidedly not their place. But outdoors, eating other insects, they are good friends. They can also be quite beautiful and surprisingly colorful, to say nothing of the fabulous webs they often spin.

This is an orchard orbweaver (Leucauge venusta, with venusta being the Latin for beautiful), and they are quite common in our area (and I’ve never actually seen on indoors, which is just as well). This one is only about 8 inches off the ground, which made getting down under it for a photograph a bit of a challenge, but I think it’s turned out pretty well.

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WCA Picnic

Photograph taken on Saturday, September 06, 2014 by Henry
Sierra, Lauren, Abigail, Ayrianna, Sara, Eden, and Amy

Sierra, Lauren, Abigail, Ayrianna, Sara, Eden, and Amy

Even though Dorothy has graduated, we still feel a strong connection to WCA. We have a lot of friends there and still know quite a few students. This afternoon (in the about 100°F heat) WCA had its annual family picnic. We weren’t exactly invited but we brought a side dish and I took pictures, which will be available to the yearbook team, so I think it’s alright. Anyway, we had a nice time visiting with friends. Sometimes getting students to pose for pictures is easy, sometimes, not so much. This group had to be cajoled but in the end, they posed very nicely. I had my back to the building and couldn’t get far enough away to get them all in one shot, so this is actually two pictures, stitched together. Turned out quite well, I think.

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Reflected Lights

Photograph taken on Friday, September 05, 2014 by Henry
Reflected Lights

Reflected Lights

It’s been very hot this week, the hottest we’ve had all summer, in fact, and tomorrow is supposed to be the worst yet. Cathy and I talked about taking a walk somewhere this evening but we didn’t feel up to much. We decided to go to the Rio for dinner (Nando’s) and then walk around the pond. There was live music playing too loudly (and not terribly well, if truth be told), and it was still pretty warm but it was nice to see all the people enjoying themselves. This is looking back towards the restaurants from across the pond.

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Black-eyed Susan, From Behind

Photograph taken on Thursday, September 04, 2014 by Henry
Black-eyed Susan, From Behind

Black-eyed Susan, From Behind

I went out to take pictures this evening and didn’t find a lot new to photograph. There were some old mushrooms and I got pictures of them, but they were pretty ugly pictures of mushrooms turning to mush. There are still a huge number of black-eyed Susans and blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), a fairly prolific herbaceous perennial with frilly, pale blue flowers. I wanted something different so here’s a photo of a black-eyed Susan from behind, with a bit of mistflower in the foreground. Actually, we have some mistflower with white flowers. I don’t know if that’s a common, natural variation or not, but they are nice. I should photograph them at some point.

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Farm Wagon

Photograph taken on Wednesday, September 03, 2014 by Henry
Farm Wagon

Farm Wagon

Like the picture I posted from yesterday evening (which was incorrectly dated as September 3), I took a few evening pictures today as the sun was sinking into the west. This time, I happened to be near the Agricultural Farm Park on Muncaster Road so I pulled in to see what I could find to photograph. This is an old wagon sitting near the barn and the late-day sun was shining on it very prettily. After about five minutes of taking pictures, though, the sun was behind the trees and the light was gone. Pretty while it lasted, though.

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Dusk

Photograph taken on Tuesday, September 02, 2014 by Henry
Dusk

Dusk

I took a few pictures this evening although I can’t say that they are very interesting. It rained again this evening and as the sun was getting low in the sky, the whole area took on a beautiful, slightly yellow glow. This photograph doesn’t really do it justice and of course it’s just a photo of our neighborhood, so not a lot to look at, but perhaps it will give you some idea. If you’ve ever seen this, then you know what I’m talking about and maybe you’ll appreciate it. Anyway, this is all I have today.

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Drink Coca-Cola In Bottles

Photograph taken on Tuesday, September 02, 2014 by Henry
Coca-Cola Advert

Coca-Cola Advert

Big day today. We drove Dorothy to her new home for the next nine months or so, dropping her off in Richmond. All went well and we had no trouble with traffic except the last few miles, because it was morning rush hour by the time we arrived. Dorothy got settled into her new room, we met a few of her apartment mates, and we ran a few errands. Many of the old brick buildings have ghosts of painted signs on them but I noticed this one that’s not quite dead yet.

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Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans)

Photograph taken on Monday, September 01, 2014 by Henry
Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans)

Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans)

It was another sweltering day today. Summer seems to have arrived at last and at one point the thermometer out back read 98°F. In the afternoon we took a short outing to the Agricultural Farm Park to enjoy their garden. This little fellow, which I believe is a green frog (Lithobates clamitans) was in a little pond in the garden. While we were there, it started to rain lightly and shortly came down quite hard for a while. The temperature dropped more than 20°F, though, so the rain was more than welcome.

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