White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

Photograph taken on Friday, December 27, 2024 by Henry
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

We decided to go to Great Falls today. It’s probably the most interesting part of the C&O Canal that’s close enough to get to easily and since we don’t have to pay to get in (because we have an America The Beautiful, lifetime senior pass) the fee isn’t an impediment. After walking out to Olmsted Island, as per usual, we went downstream to Widewater. We saw a great blue heron and I got a few nice pictures of that, but since I posted on just a little while ago (and that’s a better picture than I got today anyway), I’m going with this nice shot of a white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). This is a familiar bird, best known for its distinctive “Poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody” song.

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Christmas

Photograph taken on Wednesday, December 25, 2024 by Henry
Christmas

Christmas

It was a slightly non-standard Christmas for us this year. Or at least a little different in its details to previous years. One difference was that Cathy’s mom is in rehab so we went there to see her. We sang Christmas songs, which was fun. Then we came home and a little while later my side of the family came for Christmas. We were able to get this photo taken early in the day. If we had waited, I think it would have been harder to get everyone together for it. As expected, it was a fun, if somewhat tiring time. There was plenty of good food and we sang songs here, as well, with Jeff joining helping lead by playing guitar.

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Flower Valley Santa

Photograph taken on Sunday, December 22, 2024 by Henry
Flower Valley Santa

Flower Valley Santa

Santa made his way through Flower Valley this evening. Cathy was visiting her mom but I went out and enjoyed chatting with neighbors until he came. I also enjoyed watching the kids enjoying seeing Santa. I don’t know who, specifically, organized this anymore, but I think it’s a great tradition, eagerly anticipated by most families, or at least all those around us, who mostly have little kids. The parents use it as an excuse to get together and talk, so they like it, too.

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Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 21, 2024 by Henry
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

We went for a short walk on the trails below Croyden Creek Nature Center today. There wasn’t a lot to be seen but it was still really good to be outdoors. Life has been a bit stressful lately and walking in the woods, particularly where there is water nearby, is good for us. This was the only bird we saw on the walk that I was anywhere near close enough to get a photograph. I did take a few of birds (goldfinches) on the feeders at the nature center, as well, but those didn’t turn out as well. This is our common, northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos).

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Iceland Puzzle

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 21, 2024 by Henry
Iceland Puzzle

Iceland Puzzle

We finished another puzzle in the last few days. This one wasn’t as difficult as some we’ve done, but of course they’re all challenging at some level. The sky, not surprisingly, was the hardest part of this one but the clouds certainly helped a lot. We don’t have any more on deck to do at this point, but don’t be surprised if someone gets one or two for Christmas. The mountain in this photo is called Kirkjufell (Church Mountain) and the waterfall is named Kirkjufellsfoss for the mountain behind it. It’s in western Iceland just west of the town of Grundarfjörður.

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Phalaenopsis Orchids

Photograph taken on Friday, December 20, 2024 by Henry
Phalaenopsis Orchids

Phalaenopsis Orchids

In the 2​1⁄2 years Cathy’s mom has been in assisted living, she’s been given quite a few flowers including two small, Phalaenopsis orchid plants which were in bloom when she got them. She was able to enjoy them and when they stopped blooming we brought them home and I’ve been keeping them on our kitchen windowsill. Recently both of them came back into bloom at the same time (the second time for one of them and the first for the other). I took the first to start blooming to her but then she was in the hospital for a little while and I brought it back home. They are now gracing our kitchen window with lovely blooms. I don’t remember who gave them to Margaret but I’m thankful for them every time I’m at the kitchen sink.

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Cooper’s or Sharp-shinned Hawk

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 07, 2024 by Henry
Cooper's or Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper’s or Sharp-shinned Hawk

An expert might be able to tell from this photo if this is a Cooper’s (Accipiter cooperii) or sharp-shinned (Accipiter striatus) hawk but I’m pretty sure it’s one or the other. Cathy saw this one and another both flying around our yard. This one landed under bushes on the edge of our yard and I was able to get a few worse photos and this one, that at least shows this much. I turned the on-camera flash on, because it was relatively dark out or this one would have certainly been as blurred as the others.

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Dendrolycopodium dendroideum (Tree Groundpine)

Photograph taken on Friday, November 29, 2024 by Henry
Dendrolycopodium dendroideum (Tree Groundpine)

Dendrolycopodium dendroideum (Tree Groundpine)

We drove out to Annapolis Rock Road today and walked on a series of trails there, part of the Patuxent River State Park. We thought that the trails would overlook the Patuxent River and according to some maps I’ve found, some of them do, but not those that we walked. It’s quite a maze of trails, actually, and since it’s almost all in the woods, it’s not easy to keep a sense of direction.

A few times we came across patches of tree groundpine, (Dendrolycopodium dendroideum), a native clubmoss. It’s a surprisingly green sight this time of year, and very pretty. Other than that, there wasn’t really all that much to photograph. Although we got to these trails on Annapolis Rock Road, this is not the Annapolis Rock off of the Appalachian Trail near Interstate 70 and US 40 about halfway between Frederick and Hagerstown. That’s a place we really should go at some point, but today was not that day.

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Thanksgiving Dinner

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 28, 2024 by Henry
Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Dinner

We had a lovely family dinner for Thanksgiving this year, hosted by Iris and Seth. It was something of a first for Cathy and me, as it was our first Thanksgiving without Dorothy there since she was born. There are two empty chairs at the table, because Danna was a little late arriving but she got there no long after the photo was taken. I think everyone enjoyed themselves and we did have a call from Dorothy so she was able to say hello to everyone.

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Rock Creek Bridge

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 23, 2024 by Henry
Rock Creek Bridge

Rock Creek Bridge

We parked at the Kengla House parking lot this afternoon but instead of walking upstream as we usually do from there, we went under Muncaster Mill Road and walked downstream. This is Cathy coming out from under the bridge. If the water was much higher it would not have been easy to do, but we managed today. It was a cool, overcast and somewhat dreary day and I didn’t take a lot of photos. There were a few spots with interesting color, mostly red oak leaves or berries on the barberry bushes. We saw a few people and heard a few birds, but that was about all. We got as far as the trail up to the Meadowside Nature Center before turning back and returning to the car.

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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 17, 2024 by Henry
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

As mentioned in the previous post, we walked upstream along the Potomac River from Great Falls today. After about a mile on a trail down by the river, we returned to the towpath because a stream blocked our way. We could have returned to the river’s edge above the stream but we were ready to head back, anyway. A short way back towards Great Falls we saw this great blue heron (Ardea herodias) on the canal, posing very nicely for us. I like him (or her, I have no idea which) against the green of the duckweed on the surface of the canal.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with the 150-600mm Sigma lens I got a couple years ago. It’s a lot to carry but it certainly allows me to get pictures that I wouldn’t get otherwise. This one was taken zoomed all the way out to 600mm, which when you multiply it by 1.6, gives an effective focal length of 960mm compared to a full-frame 35mm camera. This one was taken with the lens on a monopod, which is how I generally carry it. The exposure was 1⁄100 second at f/6.3.

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C&O Canal

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 17, 2024 by Henry
C&O Canal, North of Great Falls

C&O Canal, North of Great Falls

We went to Great Falls today. We started by going out to the Olmsted Island overlook, as we usually do. The water was quite low. Nevertheless, I took quite a few pictures. When we returned to the towpath, we walked upstream to just above the aqueduct intake and then onto a trail down near the river. We walked that for about a mile before returning to the towpath where a large stream crossed out path. This shot is from around where we left the towpath. Down by the river I took a few pictures of geese but not a lot else.

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Operation Christmas Child

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 17, 2024 by Henry
Cathy with Operation Christmas Child Boxes

Cathy with Operation Christmas Child Boxes

When Dorothy was little, Cathy would help her and Amy, who lived next door, put together boxes for Operation Christmas Child every year. They would fill them for girls the same age as Dorothy and Amy. Dorothy and Amy are grown and Amy doesn’t live next door any more (we both moved in different directions) but Cathy still puts together some number of boxes. She’s done as few as two and as many as 12. She generally plans to fill six. As you can see here, her six turned into eight, which is not at all unusual. She had bought one extra box, knowing she often goes over, but then took an empty box from church because she had enough things for one more.

Clearly, Cathy is a big fan of Operation Christmas Child, which is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, an organization founded in 1970 by Robert Pierce (who also one of the founders of World Vision International) and with Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham as president.

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Puzzle: Van Gogh’s ‘Cafe Terrace at Night’

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 14, 2024 by Henry
Puzzle: Van Gogh's ‘Cafe Terrace at Night’

Puzzle: Van Gogh’s ‘Cafe Terrace at Night’

Our latest puzzle is one of Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Cafe Terrace at Night’, a wonderful painting and a challenging puzzle. It was easier than some we’ve done but hard enough to occupy us for a while. Cathy was worried that we didn’t have any more after this but her birthday’s coming up so she’ll be fine in a few days.

We were at a friend’s house and he has a board that he made for puzzles that has a slight rim all the way around the edge, which is a good idea. Then he has another board that he can set on that so the table can be used as a table even if the puzzle isn’t finished. We have a card table with a 4′ by 4′ piece of MDF that works well, although the idea of adding a edge pieces is a good one. Maybe I’ll add that to ours. We have, on occasion, lost pieces off the edge of the board and they are sometimes hard to spot on the carpet.

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Beech Leaves

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 10, 2024 by Henry
Beech Leaves

Beech Leaves

After visiting Cathy’s mom this afternoon we drove to Woodlawn Manor and walked to Sandy Spring and back. I carried my camera, as I nearly always do, but only took a few photos. It was late in the day, overcast, and fairly dark. Even if I had seen birds, I don’t think there would have been enough light to get a good photo in the woods. I took a few pitures of horses before we went into the woods but they aren’t very good. I considered not posing any picture from today. I’m not bound to post a picture for every day as I was from 2011 through 2020, but I still try to post a picture from the days where I take any. I do make exceptions when the only pictures I take are not for sharing for some reason. But in general, if I took one or more pictures, I’ll post one.

I love beech trees this time of year. Our woods have quite a few American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and of course we also see the European or common beech (Fagus sylvatica) especially in yards, parks, and gardens. Most of the varieties available in nurseries are F. sylvatica. One that I love in the spring is the tri-colour beech, F. sylvatica ‘Roseomarginata’. There is one at Asbury Methodist Village and in the spring it’s a vivid scarlet. Its leaves can’t really take our summer sun, though, so it’s not really an ideal tree for our climate.

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Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 03, 2024 by Henry
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

As mentioned in the previous post, we went to the Rachel Carson Conservation Area this afternoon. We walked a fairly long loop, in a counterclockwise direction. The section down by the Hawlings River is our favorite part, along with the boulders in the previous post. I carried my long lens but we didn’t see much to photograph with that. Towards the end of the walk, though, we came across this hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus) who would move a little bit further down the trail as we got close and I was able to get near enough to get a pretty decent photo.

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Cathy and Henry, On The Rocks

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 03, 2024 by Henry
Cathy and Henry, On The Rocks

Cathy and Henry, On The Rocks

We took a walk at the Rachel Carson Conservation Area in Brookeville this afternoon. It was cool and fairly quiet but really nice to be out and about. There is a spot with a large outcropping of huge quartz boulders and I took a few pictures there, first of Cathy sitting on the rocks and then of the two of us. I balanced the camera on another rock and got it reasonably level and aimed about right. Then I turned on the self-timer, started it going, and ran to get into the photo. The first try didn’t work out well because when I jumped up onto the rock it tilted down in the back and I fell over backwards. That photo just shows Cathy and then me with my legs up in the air. This one turned out better.

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Rat Gallery DC #6

Photograph taken on Friday, November 01, 2024 by Henry
Andrew, Rachel, Katharine, Dorothy, Anna, and Jeff

Andrew, Rachel, Katharine, Dorothy, Anna, and Jeff

Sadly, Cathy and I missed the fifth Rat Gallery because we were in Oregon when it happened. But we were back on the scene this time for what we expect to be the final Rat Gallery at the 52 O Street location. Katharine is moving her studio so we don’t know where or when the next show will be, but good things are bound to happen, so keep an eye out on the Rat Gallery Web site. If you don’t already know, Rat Gallery is sponsored in large part by The Hartley Residence and you’re going to want to follow them, as well, because they have more going on all the time.

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Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 27, 2024 by Henry
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)

One more bird photo from our walk around Lake Frank today. As we crossed the dam at the south end of the lake we saw this bird on a tree with fall colors reflected off the water behind it. I’m assuming it’s a double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum). Regardless, I’m fond of this photo. Looking back I didn’t take many pictures in October and those I took were concentrated on just a few days. Our lives are just that way right now, I guess. I take what I can get.

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Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 27, 2024 by Henry
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

On the southeast part of Lake Frank is an old boat ramp from when the lake had road access to vehicles. Near that is a very tall oak tree. We’ve see one or the other of our local bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in that tree on more than one occasion. We saw it today, first from across the lake and then, when we got to that part of the trail from below. It was easier to spot, frankly, from across the lake. When you get close, you sort of have to know where to look. The best view turned out to be through the crook of this closer tree.

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