|
Here and There…Now and Then |
Spencer
It’s a little surprising that Spencer’s picture hasn’t appeared here before now. He was mentioned in a post, when he gave some cookies to Dorothy and I took a picture of the cookies, but there hasn’t been a picture of him. So, here he is. Granted, this isn’t the best picture of him I’ve ever taken, but I think it does him justice.
Philanthus gibbosus (Beewolf)
I saw a new type of wasp today. Well, new to me, anyway. They’ve been around for a while. The genus Philanthus are known, collectively, as beewolves, because they prey on bees. The female hunts for bees, buries them in brood tunnels, and lays an egg on each. When the larvae hatch, they have a nice, readily available food supply.
This particular species, Philanthus gibbosus is the most common of the north American species. It’s not all that big, between 15 and 18mm in length but it’s brightly marked with yellow. You can see the three simple eyes (ocelli) on the top of the head, although if you didn’t know they were there, you might not notice them. This wasp, like many others in our yard, it particularly fond of the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum).
Sushi
Dorothy was feeling like pizza this evening but by the time Kendra got here and we got going, it was nearly 9:00. By the time we got to Angelo’s, it was just about closing time. We decided to try Armand’s, instead, since they are open later. We ordered two pizzas and waited around outside while they were made and cooked. This picture is from Wasabi-Zen, the sushi place in the same building. Since the girls don’t really eat fish, we don’t do sushi much, unfortunately. Anyway, the pizza was terrific.
White-tailed Deer Fawn
I didn’t get outside during the day today but I did get this picture from my office window. There were two fawns, actually, both along the side of the parking lot between our lot and the empty lot next door. I’ve seen deer in that empty lot a few times and have come across the bones of deer quite a few times. This is the first time I’ve seen them out in the open on our side of the fence (not that the fence is going to stop them — it’s low enough that I can step over it without any trouble).
Pine Cones
Cathy and I went for a short walk this afternoon, walking around my office building a few times. It was a pretty day, on the border between warm and hot. The sky was a rare, deep blue and very clear. As we walked I had my camera with me (like you do) and was looking for things to photograph. These pine needles and cones against the blue sky caught my eye, so that’s what you get for today. I like this photograph, but mostly for the green of the needles against the blue of the sky.
Dorothy Driving
Dorothy’s had her learner’s permit since the middle of October, last year. She drove a few times, starting out staying in our neighborhood and then venturing out onto larger and busier roads. She hasn’t driven since December, though. It’s been a combination of her not caring and us not pushing it. Today, we went out driving again. having been out of the driver’s seat so long, it was a little like starting over but she regained her confidence fairly quickly and she did quite well.
Dead Flowers
I’ve posted plenty of flower pictures here. Flowers are one of my favorite subjects, along with the critters that crawl on and fly around them. In 2010 I took a picture of some roses and other flowers in this vase that turned out to be one of the nicer pictures I’ve ever taken. It is certainly my favorite still life out of all that I’ve taken.
Today’s picture is of flowers that have been sitting a little too long. They looked very nice when they were put in this vase, but that was ten days ago. They still have a bit of color but have faded a bit. I probably should have worked harder to get a uniform background instead of having the far edge of the table in the frame. Still, I kind of like the composition and the blue tablecloth background with the faded pastels of the flowers. There are roses (the larger pink flowers), Verbina bonariensis (which have turned pretty completely brown), both white and purple Conoclinium coelestinum (which are mostly still white and purple), and two coneflowers (with their large, cone-like seed heads.
D’Argo
We went over to my mom’s for dinner this evening. There wasn’t really any special occasion. She had been at a sort of mini-family reunion in Virginia and had made quite a bit of curry chicken salad and had a pretty good amount left over. It needed to be eaten so we obliged and ate some. It was nice to get together just for the fun of it and nice that Steve and Maya are in town now, which I sometimes don’t remember for some reason. They brought their not-quite-new-any-more corgi, D’Argo, with them and that’s who is in this photo. I’m not sure whose hand that is.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Mostly when I’m photographing insects, or animals of any kind, I’m mostly interested in getting a sharp image, in focus, without blurring from movement, with plenty of depth of field, etc. I don’t always achieve it, but that’s what I’m aiming for. Sort of the field-guide-type photograph. Something that will show you all the distinguishing features of the creature.
This time, though, I was trying to capture the essence of butterfly-ness and I think I’ve done a halfway decent job of it. If you’ve ever followed a butterfly from bush to bush, trying to get close enough for a picture, trying to get it at the right angle, with the sun behind you, without a lot of hard, man-made objects in the picture, you know how mobile they are. Their wings are often a blur, as they move around on an individual flower, to say nothing of when the take off and flit to another flower, just around the back of the bush and out of sight. This, I believe, is a lot of what it is to be a butterfly.
Mushrooms
Cabbage Whites
Two pictures today, unrelated except for the fact that they were both taken in our back yard. The first is of some mushrooms. We’ve had these for the last few summers and I assume they are growing on the rotting roots of the trees we’ve had in the back yard. We lost a pretty big tree in July of 2010, right in the middle of the back yard. That would have had roots spreading throughout the back yard and I’m pretty sure the mushrooms started to appear after that died. We’ve take out two more big trees, so I’m guessing we’ll have even more of these mushrooms over the next few years.
They come up overnight in little bunches and last a day or two at the most. Then they turn to a rotting mush, all filled with maggots, which is really quite disgusting. All part of the cycle though.
The second picture os of two cabbage white butterflies mating. What I find most interesting about this is that they can fly around, still connected tail to tail. I’m not sure if only one of them does the flying and the other just hangs on, or if they both contribute to the flying effort. This is a family blog, so I won’t ask any more questions or make any more comments.
Skipper on Black-eyed Susan
The black-eyed Susans in the back yard are past their prime but are still providing a good splash of color. They continue to be magnets for the skippers and the whites. I haven’t looked closely at this one to decide which skipper it is, of the many varieties that seem to be in such abundance. I like the hairy head and half folded wings as it perches lightly on the black-eyed Susan, basking in the late afternoon sun.
First Day of School, First Grade (2002)
First Day of School, Twelfth Grade (2013)
As Dorothy moves into her senior year of high school, this will be a year of lasts. Today was her last first day of school. She does plan to go to college, but that’s different. Eleven years ago I took the picture on the left, as Dorothy started first grade at the Fourth Presbyterian School. On the right is from today, starting her senior year at Washington Christian Academy. Quite a change in such a short time.
Wendy’s
I sometimes wish I lived in Colorado, or Northern California, or possibly Montana or New Mexico. Even West Virginia or the mountains of North Carolina or Tennessee. Don’t get me wrong, this part of Maryland has some pretty places. But Rockville doesn’t really stand out as a beautiful place. The route between work and home is mostly filled with commercial buildings — not exactly picturesque. Now and then I think about moving somewhere prettier but we have a lot of friends here. It would be hard to leave.
This evening I took Dorothy to her friend Kendra’s house. On the way home I was thinking about the scenery. While sitting at a light, I decided to get a picture of the Wendy’s with a blurred car in the foreground. So, here it is.
Evening Sky
After two weeks traveling in England, where finding subjects for pictures was not really an issue, I had a harder time this week. It was back to work and back to my relatively boring schedule. After work Cathy and I went to pick up Dorothy from my mom’s house, where she had spent the day (mostly working on her summer math packet). We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and I took a grand total of two photographs, both of the sky. Here’s one of them. That’s it for today, I’m afraid.
Julia
Foam Party
we went to visit our good friend Julia this evening at UMBC. Dorothy and I visited the school one day last year but Cathy had never been. It was nice to see Julia’s dorm room and we also went to dinner with her. School hadn’t started yet, it was still orientation for a few more days, so not everyone was on campus yet.
After dinner in the dining hall we sat on a bench outside the dorm and watched as a foam party began on the lawn. It was an interesting time of people watching and to be honest, I can’t say it made me wish I was back in school.
A while ago I had a realization that was a little disconcerting but ultimately has been quite freeing. When in a situation like this, where most of the people are half my age (or even a third of my age), I don’t think I’m strange for wondering how I am seen by these young people. I don’t think it unusual for someone, particularly an older someone, to feel like they are younger than they are and want to fit it. The reality is that someone my age is mostly invisible to most people a third my age. Particularly in a situation like this, where the young people are probably more concerned with how they are seen, they are unlikely to care about that old man on a bench (even when two of his three companions are also a third his age). So, while they might see me enough to avoid walking into me, they are not liable to look at me long enough to have any idea what I look like or whether I’m liable to fit in. I’m virtually invisible.
Suzy and Calvin
I’ve had one picture of Calvin here before, when he was less than a week old. His big brother, Henry, has been in at least two posts (and possibly more — searching for his first name doesn’t help, because it’s on every page!). Here’s another of Calvin, now about four months old. I don’t know where he stands, percentile-wise, but he seems pretty big to me.
As you might expect for such a cute and even tempered baby, he gets passed around quite a bit on Sunday after church. This is Suzy who has him here and I think they make a handsome couple. She might be a little old for him, but he could do worse.
Oncopeltus fasciatus Nymphs (Large Milkweed Bug)
We have a few butterfly weed plants (Asclepias tuberosa) in our back yard. They are mostly done blooming and actually have mostly gone to seed. One of them is totally covered with these beautiful little nymphs of the large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus).
Hannah, Stephanie, and Lyla
I don’t have a lot to say about this photograph. As most people who know me know, I don’t really care for young people that much. These three, however, have been such good pals for a long while and I’ve enjoyed watching them grow from girls to young ladies. They spend much of there lives far apart, at their various colleges and it’s grand to see them together.
Evan’s Window Seat
One of my co-workers sons was in the office today. He didn’t make a lot of noise. In fact, I wouldn’t have noticed he was there except I happened to walk by him. He had found a window seat and was quietly reading one of the A Series of Unfortunate Events books, by Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler). I asked if he minded if I took his picture. Knowing his mother and how photographically oriented she is, I wasn’t surprised when he said something to the effect of, “whatever.”
Calycopis cecrops (Red-banded Hairstreak)
I went out after butterflies this afternoon. It was quite warm and they were all over the place, especially on the black-eyed Susans. This is one of two that I photographed. The other was an Eastern Tailed-Blue (Cupido comyntas) but they were not as good so that will have to wait for another day. I’m pretty happy with this picture, though. The tricky thing is to get both the head and the trailing edge of the wing in focus at the same time. I also like the fine line shadow of the antenna on the wing.