Monthly Archives: August 2025

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Photograph taken on Saturday, August 30, 2025 by Henry
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

We went to the C&O Canal today, parking at Violet’s Lock, and walked down stream past Blockhouse Point. We saw this great blue heron (Ardea herodias) on our way down and again on our way back. We sat on the wall next to the towpath near Blockhouse Point and chatted with a man cycling from Maryland back to his home in Ohio. His plans were to stop for a few days for a jazz festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He shared some pawpaws that he had collected. We had looked for them but hadn’t found any that were not still on the tree and not yet ripe. He also asked us if we’d ever tasted tamarind. I had but let him give us a few pods, which we broke open and ate. A bit further on I also got a few photos of a pair of black vultures (Coragyps atratus).

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Mushroom Puzzle

Photograph taken on Wednesday, August 27, 2025 by Henry
Mushroom Puzzle

Mushroom Puzzle

This mushroom puzzle was considerably easier than those we’ve done lately. There were a few tough bits, but the colors being so varied helped us to know which pieces went in which areas. Personally this is the sort of puzzle I like best. It’s somewhat abstract but it still has “real” things in it. I also like the bright colors. That’s not to say I don’t also like the challenge of some of the others we’ve done, because I definitely do like them, as well. Our next puzzle, for instance, is going to be a considerable challenge. But you’ll have to wait until we finish it to see if you agree.

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Croyden Creek Woods

Photograph taken on Saturday, August 23, 2025 by Henry
Croyden Creek Woods

Croyden Creek Woods

Cathy and I went to Croyden Creek and walked the large loop today. This starts at the Nature Center and then goes on a trail into the woods to the right (east) of Avery Road down to the top of some rocks overlooking Croyden Creek. We crossed the creek and walked the trail down towards Rock Creek. Before it reaches Rock Creek, though, it climbs up the ridge and circles back towards Norbeck Road. Eventually it meets the sunken roadbed of the former Avery Road. Just across from there are the foundations of an old house. We continued on the trail past that, which leads down towards the creek and crosses it, coming out onto the lawn at the northwest corner of the Glenview Mansion property. Then back along that and into the woods again and up to the nature center. It’s a nice walk and we like it well enough (except we did see a copperhead snake there last year, so Cathy is always on the lookout).

Sometimes we see quite a few birds but this time not many at all. I took a handful of photos and in particular like this one of the bright August sun on the greens and browns of the woods with the intense blue sky showing through.

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Roadbody in Gettysburg

Photograph taken on Friday, August 22, 2025 by Henry
Roadbody in Gettysburg

Roadbody in Gettysburg

There was a benefit concert on the square in Gettysburg this evening for the Four Diamonds organization. One of the groups playing, starting at 7:00 PM, was Roadbody, this time consisting of just Dorothy and Andrew. it’s quite an experience being right on the square, especially on a beautiful late-summer evening with college kids back in town and a constant stream of traffic. There was everything from cars and motorcycles to huge rigs and fire trucks passing behind them as they played. There was a good crowd and I think it went very well. After they were done playing, Cathy, Dorothy, and I ordered carryout from Kitchen 101, just before they closed, and ate it in the dark on their outdoor tables. We caught the first few songs by Emberglow at Pilger Ruh, playing without Jeff, who was in Colorado helping with the teams fighting the Elk and Lee Fires.

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St. Louis Style Ribs

Photograph taken on Sunday, August 17, 2025 by Henry
St. Louis Style Ribs

St. Louis Style Ribs

I smoked two racks of St. Louis style ribs today. We had our good friend Jean and her mom Phyllis (who is also a good friend) as well as Dorothy and her friend Lydia (whom we count as our friend, as well, but Dorothy had her as a friend first). In addition to the ribs, I melted cheddar cheese over some cauliflower and also made a deconstructed salad. That is, I had all the ingredients for a salad and let everyone make their own. That includes a big bowl of greens and smaller bowls with chopped cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, diced pears, diced onions, and sliced almonds. Finally, I made mashed sweet potato with honey, butter, and cream. We had a really nice time and I think the ribs turned out well for my first attempt. I don’t think they needed the sauce that I added near the end, but no one complained.

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The Pond

Photograph taken on Saturday, August 16, 2025 by Henry
The Pond

The Pond

We were at the farm today with Dorothy and her crew. Their non-profit had two residents the last two weeks and we went up to help them celebrate the end of that. One thing I did that I’ve been meaning to do for a while is identify a bunch of the trees that dad planed in the picnic field. I took latitude and longitude readings on my phone and wrote down the species (if I knew it) or an identifying name and corresponding photographs for those I wasn’t so sure about. I’ll need to come back with a key to the oaks for a couple of them, although I knew more of them than I expected. I’m hoping to make metal tags with information about the trees so this exercise doesn’t have to be repeated.

Later in the day I took this HDR photo of the pond. The color is a little more intense that reality, but it was a very pretty day.

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Sistine Chapel Puzzle

Photograph taken on Sunday, August 10, 2025 by Henry
Sistine Chapel Puzzle

Sistine Chapel Puzzle

We did another hard puzzle, this time of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The repeating patterns were both a blessing and curse for this one. My plan of attack was to pick one repeated feature and find all the pieces that included part of that feature. Then I worked on finding which version of that feature they all went to. One issue was that there isn’t really a ‘right way up’ for this puzzle. When you’re in the chapel, you’d be looking straight up to see this. I still have vivid memories of being there in 1971, although I think The Last Judgment on the west end of the chapel, behind the alter, is even more impressive.

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McKee-Beshers Birds

Photograph taken on Saturday, August 09, 2025 by Henry
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)

Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)

Green Heron (Butorides virescens)

Green Heron (Butorides virescens)

We had a nice walk at McKee-Beshers today. We first walked to fields 3 and 4, which were planted with sunflowers this year. It’s a bit of a walk, almost 7⁄8 of a mile, getting nearly to the river. The two big sunflower fields were well past peak bloom. The sunflower heads were there but almost all turned downwards. We heard quite a few birds but didn’t see all that many. We heard a lot of goldfinches and indigo buntings, as well as cardinals, but we also heard a yellow-billed cuckoo, which was a treat. I’d have been surprised if we had actually seen that. I got this photo of a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) circling overhead and a few nice photos of this eastern wood-pewee (Contopus virens). We returned to the car and then want to the shallow ponds at the western end of Hunting Quarter Road where we saw this green heron (Butorides virescens).

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Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis

Photograph taken on Friday, August 01, 2025 by Henry
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

Cathy and I drove to the eastern end of Ocean Isle this afternoon. First we went to the pier at Ferry Landing Park. This area was closed for renovations after Hurricane Isaias damaged the pier in 2020 and didn’t open again until the very end of 2024. After a short visit there, we parked and walked on the beach. Between November 2021 and April 2022, a groin was constructed perpendicular to the beach at the eastern end of the island. This has dramatically improved the beach stability. We looked for (and found) some pieces of coral as we walked. I carried my long lens and took a few pictures, including some of a double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) at the end of the groin and a few of this flying brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis).

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