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Here and There…Now and Then |
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.
Dorothy and Grandma C
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).
WCA Graduates
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.
Cathy’s Soccer Team
It was an absolutely beautiful day today and we did our best to spend some of it outdoors. Dorothy and I visited a few of the yard sales in our neighborhood. Every year a local real estate agent organizes a community wide yard sale so there are dozens throughout the neighborhood. Dorothy and I bought a few small things. Then, we went to see the end of the first half and all of the second half of Cathy’s soccer game. After the game I took a few team pictures. Cathy has been playing on this team (or some version of it) since before we were married, which means for more than 30 years.
Carol and Andy
Today was the big end-of-year award ceremony at school. While there are awards for the entire middle and upper school, there is a significant focus on the seniors. with honor awards of various kinds. The senior with the top thesis presentation gave a slightly shortened version of that (and Dorothy was thankful that wasn’t her “honor”). There were also departmental awards. Although they could go to anyone, the senior class tended to predominate. I won’t embarrass Dorothy by telling you how she did, except to say that she was embarrassed enough on the day.
I took pictures throughout the ceremony, as well as a few short videos (and one almost 10 minutes long). Most of the pictures are nice in terms of memories for us, but not particularly great photographs otherwise. A person walking onto the stage and receiving a piece of paper. Someone standing at the podium. That sort of thing.
After the award ceremony was over, I took a few more, but not a lot. Cathy took some of me with my mom, which was nice, but of course, my aim here is to post a picture that I took, not just something taken with my camera. The final picture I took is this one of Carol and Andy, grandparents of Dorothy very dear friend, Hannah. I hesitated to post this one, because the lighting is so harsh, but it’s a cute picture of a cute couple. So, here you are.
Rose de Rescht
This is a smallish rose on the smallest of my rose bushes. It’s actually growing in a container, which probably isn’t the best thing I could do for it, but up until now I haven’t really had a place to put it. We have a bit more sun now, with the biggest trees in the backyard being removed, so I have more options. Anyway, it’s a Portland Rose with a somewhat uncertain history. It is named for the city of Rasht, often spelt Recht in French, which is the capital city of Gilan Province, Iran. The rose appears to have been brought from there to England in the late 1800s and then rediscovered after World War 2. It’s a pretty little thing with an intense fragrance that cannot be beat.
Lauren, Toksie, and Dorothy
I took 65 pictures today but most of them are of individuals and I always have a hard time picking one picture out of a collection like that. Often I’ll make a point to take pictures in the garden on days like this, so I’ll have an alternative. Today, I didn’t.
Each senior at WCA is required to write a 12 to 15 page thesis on some topic of controversy, secure a short internship related to it in some way, and give a 10 to 12 minute presentation of their thesis to a panel of teachers, who then ask questions of the student. The top three presentations are given a second time to a different panel of teachers and the top one is selected. Today was presentation day. These three girls, Lauren, Toksie, and Dorothy, were the three to move on to the second round. The first picture I took of them, they were all frowning, because they didn’t really want to go through it again, but they all did really well.
Congratulations to all three, but especially to Toksie, who was given the well deserved honor of first place.
Pale Pink Peony
We only have one peony in our garden and that was here when we moved in. We really need to get a few more. Their bloom lasts far too short a span but while they are in bloom, they are glorious. The one we have is a very pale pink that I almost manage to capture in this photograph. The petals are as smooth as porcelain and delicate, with just a touch of color that is nearly hidden in the center of the flower. I also love the yellow of the stamens that you can only see from certain angles.
Iris ‘Eric the Red’
This is a Siberian iris called ‘Eric the Red’ and it’s growing along the sidewalk in front of our house. I’ve had it for many years, getting it for our garden at the house we lived in until 2005. When we moved from there, I dug up a bit and brought it with us, and it’s doing quite well here. Each year the clump gets a little larger. I should probably dig it up, divide it, and replant the pieces, but it never seems like the right time to do that.
Odontotaenius disjunctus (Horned Passalus)
According to Bugguide.net, the common name for this beetle listed by the Entomological Society of America is horned Passalus. The common name used by laypeople, however, is Bess Bug. This apparently comes from the French word, baiser, “to kiss.” That in turn probably refers to the sound it makes (stridulation), which sounds a bit like a squeaky “kissy” sound. They eat rotting wood, so it was no surprise this was found where it was, in an area that has a fair amount of wood for beetles to eat. This one is dead, as perhaps you can tell, which made it much easier to photograph, although because of that it lacks a certain something. Still, I think it’s a beautiful beetle. It looks to me like a quilter went over the elytra (the hardened forewings on its abdomen) an put neat rows of stitches down their length.
Honey Bee on Rosa micrugosa
We had a late spring this year in the mid-Atlantic region with snow and sleet up to the end of March and cooler than normal well into April. Most plants have been about two weeks behind normal in terms of blooming and the roses are no exception. I have one bush in bloom (and it’s glorious) with the others just about ready to start. I visited Nick Weber’s rose garden this morning knowing ahead of time that there wouldn’t be a lot to see. Of course, 2% or 3% of Nick’s roses is still more than most people have, but the best is definitely yet to come. I got to see a few early bloomers, which was a treat, and I enjoyed this honey bee on a R. micrugosa bloom.
Purple and Orange
Cathy and I went out to dinner this evening. While I usually have my camera with me these days, usually a crowded restaurant isn’t the sort of place I’m comfortable taking lots of pictures. I had the camera sitting on the table as we waited for our meal, however. I turned on the screen on the back and moved it around. seeing what I could see through the electronic viewfinder and taking a few pictures. This abstract image is one of those pictures. I’m not sure what it is supposed to convey, but there you are.
Aquilegia (Columbine)
We have a fair amount of columbine in our garden, scattered around in various places and even in containers. Most of it looks like this, dark red tending ever so slightly towards purple, with white around the edges. We have on that is pink and one that is almost blue and I’m quite happy for the variety. We really do need to get more colors, since they are available.
This is growing in the back corner of the yard, near the Lenten rose and epimedium.
Rosa multiflora
Cathy and I took a walk early this afternoon. The multiflora roses are starting to bloom, so I took a few pictures (sorry, it’s that or a disgusting deer skull, I’m afraid). As most of my friends know, I’m a fan of roses, but R. multiflora can certainly be a pest. It is a strong, vigorous grower and doesn’t seem to be bothered by many of the ailments that are so much trouble in the garden — blackspot and rust, to name a couple. The flowers are also very small and generally pure white, and of course, they only bloom once a season. But they are still quite pretty little things, when they aren’t your responsibility to get rid of.
Spanish Bluebells and Forget-Me-Nots
I didn’t exactly promise that I’d post a picture of the Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica) the other day, when I put up a picture of Lily of the Valley and Forget-Me-Not, but I sort of mentioned it. They are almost finished now, but there are a few holding on still and I took some pictures today. So, here are the Spanish bluebells, which are actually more closely related to hyacinths than to our native Virginia bluebells, along with the Forget-Me-Nots. These are growing in our shade garden, under a dying cherry tree on the north end of our front yard. I’ve planted an apple tree near this, so hopefully by the time the cherry finishes dying, there will be something big enough to replace it.