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Here and There…Now and Then |
Hannah and Dorothy
Dorothy had a half day at school today. She and her good friend Hannah went out for lunch after school and I picked them up a little before 3:00. Hannah went with Dorothy to her art lesson and that’s where this picture was taken. Dorothy teacher buys silk to use in her art work and gave Dorothy the small scraps of silk used to tie up the pieces, which is what Dorothy’s using as a mustache.
Flowering Almond
We have this little flowering almond in our front garden. It never seems to get bigger than about four feet and it died to the ground a few years ago. This winter was milder than average so it’s doing quite well. Maybe it will do better this year. Anyway, it has very double flowers about half an inch across which are quite lovely. Imagine a tree full of these.
Wilted Tulip
The forecast was for a frost overnight and our thermometer read 27°F this morning. The ground is warm and I don’t expect any significant damage to plants and flowers in the yard. This tulip, the only one of ours that is actually blooming so far, didn’t appreciate the cold, though.
Redbud Slippers
I’ve always thought that Redbud (Eastern Redbud, in this case, Cercis canadensis) is misnamed. On the other hand, neither Purplebud nor Pinkbud sound quite right. I never noticed before how much these little flowers look like pink slippers, though. Pretty neat.
<em>Anthrenus verbasci</em><br />(Varied Carpet Beetle)
I wasn’t particularly pleased to find this tiny beetle in my house today. It is a varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci and it is quite small (those are millimeter markings on the ruler next to it). Fairly common, apparently, I had never seen one before. Not as bad as finding termites, perhaps, or even having a problem with wool eating moths, it’s still not something you want when you have “treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy.”
Lucky Cat
We moved the new aquarium into the kitchen today and got it situated. As you can see, it doesn’t have any water in it yet, that will come. For now, it’s home to a lucky cat and some Clementines.
…It’s Raining Violets (and cherry blossoms, bloodroot, kale, periwinkle, spiraea, and forsythia, among many other things. Here are some examples, along with water droplets on blades of grass. Surface tension is a wonderful thing.
Hydrangea quercifolia (Oakleaf Hydrangea)
Last year I planted an Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) in a shady part of the front yard. It’s doing well and leafing out and I like the lines of the emerging leaves.
Scilla siberica var Spring Beauty
The flowers have been nice so far this spring and they keep on coming. I didn’t plant as much scilla as some of the other things and now I’m wondering why. It’s a pretty little thing. Siberian Squill, Scilla siberica var Spring Beauty.
Cherry Blossoms
Well, they are mostly out and looking good. This is one of the two cherries in our yard. The other hasn’t started to come out yet, which is actually nice because it means we get a longer period of bloom.
White Flowers
I like this picture. To me, although its a fairly good likeness of these flowers, it actually makes it hard to see what they are. It’s the size, I guess. the photo makes them look big to me, like they are camelias or something. Actually, they are each about 3/8 inch across. It is a spirea in our back yard.
Wascally Wabbit
Shh. Be vewy, vewy quiet. I’m hunting wabbits.
I came home to find this fellow chomping away in our garden this evening. No, it didn’t go after it with the rake a la Mister McGregor but I can’t say the thought didn’t cross my mind.
Bradford Pear Trees
The Bradford Pear isn’t really the best tree for lining a road. Not long term, anyway. They get to a certain size and then start breaking apart. This time of year, though, they make a pretty impressive display.
Soaring
I took a two minute break today and stood at my office window enjoying the clouds and the multitudes of green that are beginning to appear on the other side of the parking lot. Looking up I saw this hawk circling overhead, looking for a meal.
A few of my very favorite flowers. Muscari are terrific. I only wish they were around longer. Even more fleeting are the beautiful white flowers of bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. I’ll try to get some pictures of the flowers tomorrow morning while they are still open. Soon they’ll be gone and the interesting hand shaped leaves will open up. There were lots of birds out this afternoon. A cardinal was singing off and on all day. There were also a bunch of chickadees around but only one got close enough for a picture.
… and pinks and whites. The first of these was actually taken yesterday but the rest were from today, all in our yard. I love Chionodoxa (Glory-of-the-snow, so-called because it blooms early when it’s still cold, except is hasn’t been). I’m particularly fond of the blue varieties but this pink one is nice and has the added advantage of being tall enough to bloom above the Pachysandra. Most varieties are too short for that.
Cathy at Redrock Canyon
With Dorothy out of town, Cathy and I had a quiet evening out today, which was a nice way to end the week. This is Cathy waiting by the fire at Redrock Canyon Grill. The wait wasn’t very long, the food was decent (although not as good as the price implied) and it was nice to be out together.
Ant on Spicebush Flower
The spicebush is in bloom and the little things that like flowers are active. It was another warm day today and I took time to go out and enjoy it a little. I wandered around in the woods next to my office and took pictures of spicebush flowers as well as some daffodils that are blooming there. There was a tiny spider on the daffodil and this ant on the spicebush.
It was a beautiful spring day today, more like May than March. Cathy and I took a walk around the block at lunch time and I took a few pictures. The star magnolia picture was taken at Cathy’s mom’s house after work. Not the most reliable bloomer in our climate, often being hit by a late frost, but not this year.
Shortly after we moved into our house our good friend Erin gave me some bulbs. There were daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths. Here are the daffodils and crocuses. They are all in bloom right now, ahead of the rest of the bulbs that are coming up fast and furious as the temperature was in the upper 70s today.
Dorothy flew to Florida today to visit her friend, Simone. Simone’s brother Eric and his friend Brian were on the same flight, which was nice since it was Dorothy’s first time flying without us. Here are a few photos from Reagan National Airport, the first airport I remember being in as a child.
Dawn, Kendra, Dorothy, and James
Dorothy and two of her friends went to see Young The Giant this evening. This is them, just before they left. Dawn, Kendra, Dorothy, and James.
It was cool this morning and again in the evening but in the afternoon it was very pleasant out. We worked in the yard and I hauled off a load of sticks to the dump. That seems to be a never ending task. When I got back I took a break to enjoy the flowers that we have around the yard. I’m particularly fond of blue flowers and like Chionodoxa a lot. Small but very nice.
Duck On A Bike
He used to have propellors on his head that spun around when he moved but they have fallen off. I know where one is but without all three he isn’t balanced properly and he falls over, which is sort of useless. Still, a duck on a bike is a happy thing. Thanks, David.
Kendra
Kendra came over this evening and hung out with Dorothy. We took pictures of each other with our cameras and this is the one of Kendra we decided we liked best.
Toad In The Grass
It isn’t as sinister as a snake in the grass but a toad in the grass is something to look out for. Cathy came across this fell while working in the yard this afternoon. After I took a few pictures I tried to clear the grass away for a better shot but he didn’t like that and backed down into the ground and disappeared.
We had another beautiful sunrise this morning.
Bartholomew Cubbins
a.k.a. T.J.
I’m not sure how many hats TJ is actually wearing, but probably not 500.
5 US Cents,
5 Danish Kroner, and
2 Canadian Dollars
I emptied my pocket onto the table this evening and found, among other things, these three coins. Why were there 5 Danish Kroner and 2 Canadian Dollar pieces in my pocket? You may well ask. I assume I had taken them out of one of the pockets of my camera bag recently and they’ve been in my pocket ever since, moving around with the rest of my change as I changed clothes. I’ve always felt that U.S.A. money is not as nice as the rest of the world. I guess I like the idea of different presidents on different denominations well enough, but maybe we could be more creative with the reverse. Also, I like the two-tone Canadian coin. I’m also a fan of the £1 and £2 coins (and the £2 is also two colors). Unlike our $1 coins, the £1 coins can be differentiated from other coins while still in your pocket, which I think it vital. Make $1 coins smaller but thicker and they might catch on. I think $2 and $5 coins might be nice, as well.
