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Here and There…Now and Then |
Night Lights
On my way home this evening, after work and a meeting at the church, I realized I had only taken a couple pictures today and I really didn’t know how good they would be. I don’t promise that my pictures will be good and I think sometimes that I live down to that promise. Anyway, I used my dashboard mount on the way home to get some long exposure, abstract images. As usual, most of them are not worth looking at but I sort of like this one.
Butterfly Wing
When I got home this evening I noticed three butterfly wings on the sidewalk. No idea where the fourth was. Anyway, I propped one up on some plants and took a few pictures. If you look closely you can see the tiny scales that give the wing its color.
I haven’t looked it up but at a glance I’m thinking a fritillary, but that may be wrong.
Moon and Clouds at Sunset
I really would like to have a good long lens to get great moon and sunset pictures but tonight it actually worked best to have only a moderate telephoto with me, as I wanted to get the colorful clouds in the picture as well.
Synanthedon scitula (Dogwood Borer)
Synanthedon scitula (Dogwood Borer)
I was taking pictures of wasps on the mountain mint again today and happened to see this little critter on the black-eyed Susans next to me. At first I thought it was some odd wasp but it didn’t really look right for that. The next thing I thought was that it looked more like a sphinx moth than anything but it was too small (about 1.5 cm long) and not really like any sphinx moth I’ve ever seen.
Armed with that impression I did some searching and discovered a fairly large family of moths called Sesiidae or clearwing moths (about 1370 species in 151 genera). If I’m right (and I’m waiting on confirmation by an expert), this is a dogwood borer (Synanthedon scitula). If not it’s something very like that. Their larvae bore into the bark of many ornamental, fruit, and nut trees. They do significant damage to dogwoods but are also a significant problem in apple orchards.
Anyway, I’d never seen one before so, despite their generally unwelcome nature, I was a bit excited to get a few pretty good pictures of one.
Two Different Colors
I’ve mentioned a couple times recently that we’ve been stripping the wallpaper in Dorothy’s room and getting it ready to paint. Well, the painting started today. We let Dorothy pick the colors and while I don’t think I would choose them, they look alright. I don’t know that they show up in this picture the same as they do in actuality, but they are reasonably close. We went with Olympic paint and the pairs of opposite walls are each painted a different color. The yellow on the larger walls is called Fall Gold (A17-5) and the purple on the wall with the window and on the wall with the door and closet is Grape Popsicle (A42-5).
Dorothy In The “Flower Room”
From the time we started stripping the wallpaper in Dorothy’s room she moved the lion’s share of the things that had been in her room into what was going to be our guest room across the hall. For about two years that was her dressing room, play room, and basically everything except sleeping room. Much of the time it looked as though a tornado had come through, since she had more clothes than dresser drawers.
On a few occasions she cleaned the room and got things reasonably organized but there was simply too much stuff for the space and entropy inevitably won the day. This week Dorothy began what can only be described as “the great purge.” She went through everything and decided what she wanted to keep and what she was willing to give away. To her great credit, she was fairly ruthless and I would say that about half her clothes and more than half her things were put in the “get rid of” pile.
So, here is “the flower room” in a state that it hasn’t seen since, well, it seems like forever.
Gabby and Dorothy
Dorothy was not happy about going to the back-to-school class party. She said a back-to-school party is like a wake for summer, which I suppose it is. Still, we went. As usual, I took pictures. I’ll post a few more on Facebook when I get the chance but my photo for the day is one of Dorothy and Gabby.
Dorothy, Cathy, Diana, and Janis
It’s been a while since we have been out to see our friends at Rocklands Farm so when I got a message from Janis asking if we wanted to come for the evening we were delighted. There were some of the young and beautiful dancing and having a nice visit with each other and then there were the people we knew. Actually, I chatted with and even took pictures of the others but not many and it would be a little creepy if I posted a picture of people I don’t know. Not that I haven’t done it before but I decided to be non-creepy this time.
Oncopeltus fasciatus (Large Milkweed Bug) nymphs
There are only a few fading flowers left on the Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) in our yard and there are masses of gossamer bejeweled seeds. While taking the previous post’s picture of a butterfly I noticed masses of these nymphs of the large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus). Like many insects that feed on milkweed, they are colored orange, telling would-be predators, “don’t eat me, I don’t taste very good.”
Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady)
I went out to take pictures of skippers on the Verbena bonariensis but ended up with a pretty nice picture of a painted lady (Vanessa cardui) on a black-eyed Susan. It’s a pretty little butterfly, not particularly rare but I’ve found them difficult to get close to. This one let me get a few shots off before fluttering away.
Joel and Margaret
There are people we see all too infrequently and these are two of them. Since they spend much of their time overseas it is understandable, of course. I was wondering how we’d be able to make time to see them this summer when I got an e-mail saying they would be heading our way this week and would like to see us. Naturally I was thrilled.
So, for those of you looking for more bees or butterflies, sunsets or flowers, sorry, it’s just another picture of people. But such people as this…
Ellen, Katie, and Hannah
Here’s another photo that doesn’t need much description. The three beautiful daughters of Stuart and Donna.
From left to right, Ellen, Katie, and Hannah.
Thanks for letting us intrude when Hannah came home for a few days.
Harold The Classy Scotsman
I’m not sure what to say about this post. It’s a photograph of a drawing and while I took the photograph (which earns it the dubious right to be posted here), the drawing was done by Dorothy. We were at a friend’s house and Dorothy started drawing on their whiteboard. This is how it ended up. Interesting.
Note that Harold is wearing argyle socks and wing-tip shoes. Also, I’m informed that he is wearing tails but you can’t see them from the front. He thinks that bow-ties are cool.
Julia and Dorothy
If it’s worth doing, it’s worth taking your time and doing it right. On the other hand, we have a tendency to stretch things out a bit more than they absolutely need to be stretched out. Case in point. We started stripping the wallpaper in Dorothy’s room in July 2010 although it wasn’t until January of this year that we really got most of it down. Anyway, Julia came over and they worked on washing the last of the wallpaper glue off the last wall. That one needs the most work with the spackle because the wallpaper had been put directly on the drywall and the paper layer was pretty torn up. We’re making progress now, though.
Rachel and Rick
Two of the nicest people I know and a third of one of the nicest families I know. That’s saying a lot, because I know a lot of nice people. This is Rachel and her dad, Rick, who I don’t get to see nearly often enough.
Strymon melinus (Gray Hairstreak)
I went out in the back yard today to take some pictures of a couple spicebush swallowtail butterflies (Papilio troilus). Those pictures didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked so I decided to post this one of a much smaller little butterfly, called a gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus). I was working without a tripod because the swallowtails were up too high in the buddleia, so even this one isn’t as sharp as it should be.
Collin’s Colorful Coif
Collin has been the middle-school director at Fourth Church but is moving, with his lovely wife, to the south and the next stage in their journey. They will be missed greatly. A farewell party was held for him (and for them) this evening. He’s a pretty good sport and let the kids color his hair a bit. Bon voyage, Collin and Kristen.
Antheraea polyphemus (Polyphemus Moth)
So, lots of moths lately. This is a Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus) and is another that was on the side of my office building. A coworker came to my office and told me about it and I went down and took a few pictures. When I left for the day it was still there but had its wings folded which gave a nice reflection in the glass on the side of the building. This was taken with flash.
Polyphemus was a the cyclops that Odysseus ran into on his journey. He was the son of Poseidon and Thoosa. The moth is named after him because it has a single eye-spot on each wing. They don’t really show up well in this picture and are more obvious from above.
Atteva aurea (Ailanthus Webworm Moth)
With the proliferation of Ailanthus trees throughout our region, it isn’t too surprising that the Ailanthus webworm moth is also fairly common. They are quite distinct and fairly easy to spot, with their white, orange, and black wings. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get both wings and head in focus in one shot. This was the best I could do without a tripod.
Cycnia tenera (Delicate Cycnia)
For those who were not happy with the first post from today, here’s one that should be less of a problem. This small moth was on the door to my office building when I arrived today. Very pretty little thing.