Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

Photograph taken on Sunday, July 06, 2025 by Henry
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

After church today, and before we visited Cathy’s mom, we stopped at the Agricultural History Farm Park and enjoyed a few minutes in the demonstration garden. There were Crocosmia in bloom, among other things. From the garden, we walked down through the meadow, which was rich with Helianthus and Monarda. I got one good bird photo, this time of a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia). It’s not the flashiest of birds, but, as the name suggests, it’s a songster with a varied repertoire. The heat of the day in the summer isn’t the best time for bird photography, but I’ll take what I can get.

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Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Photograph taken on Saturday, July 05, 2025 by Henry
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Cathy and I took a walk from the Sandy Spring Friends Meeting to Sandy Spring this afternoon. We saw and heard quite a few birds today, which we don’t always do on this particular walk. In particular, we heard and then saw a Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) but my camera refused to focus on it so sadly I was unable to get a photograph. I did get this photo of an eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus), however, and I think it’s a pretty good one. I also got half-decent photos of an indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea), a few red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), and a few pretty blurry photos of a nuthatch (not even good enough to know if it was red- or white-breasted).

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Computer Carcasses

Photograph taken on Friday, July 04, 2025 by Henry
Computer Carcasses

Computer Carcasses

Over the years, I’ve collected a pretty impressive collection of computer remains. Some were my primary computer at one time or another. Others were given to me to see if I could repair them and turned out to be beyond repair. Still others were servers of some kind. One was a firewall, a few had been web or mail servers. All of them, however, were well past their sell by date and needed to be hauled away. I took the hard drives out of them and will deal with those separately. In addition to the 13 computers in this photograph, there was a large box of peripheral cards (including three 33.6kbps modems), another box full of cables, an old CRT monitor, and a few miscellaneous items. These all went to the electronic recycling station at our local recycling center.

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Roadbody

Photograph taken on Thursday, June 26, 2025 by Henry
Roadbody (Dorothy, Andrew, and Vince)

Roadbody (Dorothy, Andrew, and Vince)

It was a busy day today, starting with work where I had a few long meetings as well as getting a copy of a website that we’re moving from government servers to ours (the company’s, not mine). These sorts of things take a fair amount of planning and that’s good, but it can also be draining.

Cathy and I then left at 5:00 and drove up to Gettysburg, where Dorothy, Andrew, and Vince (a.k.a. Roadbody) were playing at Ploughman’s Taproom on the square. We sat with Jeff, Anna, and Rachel and enjoyed the show. I prefer when Dorothy plays the acoustic guitar rather than the raspy electric guitar, since the latter tends to drown out her voice, which to me is a big part of her songs. Nevertheless, we know her songs reasonably well, so even when we could not hear her voice or make out the words, we could sort of sing along.

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Tire Swing

Photograph taken on Saturday, June 21, 2025 by Henry
Tire Swing

Tire Swing

All of the ‘local’ family met up at the Pennsylvania property today. It was a hot and humid day, but still really nice to all be together and outdoors. Dorothy and Jeff had just finished putting up this tire swing on the walnut down near the pond. The old tire swing was on a large maple tree that we had to have taken down in August 2023 because it was threatening to fall on the cabin. The kids (and some of the adults) really enjoyed the new swing and the kids in particular played well on it for hours.

The adults mostly just sat around and talked because it was too hot to do much else. Dorothy and Jeff didn’t come until mid-afternoon, having been with some friends earlier in the day. We cooked dinner over the fire (in spite of the added heat) and then headed home around 8:40. Cathy and I stopped at Rutter’s to buy bottles of refrigerated water and enjoyed the air conditioning in our car on the way home.

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Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Photograph taken on Sunday, June 15, 2025 by Henry
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

We went to Pennyfield Lock on the C&O Canal today, walking upstream just a little less than 2 miles. We took it fairly slowly and stopped to listen for—and even occasionally photograph—birds. The Merlin app identified four vireos (red-eyed, white-eyed, warbling, and yellow-throated), as well as indigo buntings, orchard oriole, and a few different fly- and gnat-catchers. I got a few nice photos of a great egret (Ardea alba), a couple great blue herons (Ardea herodias) and this turkey vulture (Cathartes aura). I also got photos that aren’t all that good but at least allowed me to identify a ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), an immature male orchard oriole (Icterus spurius), an indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea), and some black vultures (Coragyps atratus). The three smaller birds were way up in tree tops so the photos were not very good at all. Google lens tried to convince me that the orchard oriole was an Asian golden weaver (Ploceus hypoxanthus). Even when I included ‘Maryland’ in my description, it insisted that the picture was not from Maryland because that bird doesn’t exist here. The Merlin app did a better job with it.

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Van Gogh Puzzle

Photograph taken on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 by Henry
Van Gogh Puzzle

Van Gogh Puzzle

We finished another difficult puzzle recently. This is (as you almost certainly know) Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Similar to the puzzle of Monet’s Water Lilies, there are a lot of shades of blue in this. Also, the swirls make it hard to know which way is up for many pieces. Eventually, however, we got it done. We’ve been given a bunch of puzzles by a friend and we’ll work on a few of those next. They are mostly 500 pieces, instead of our standard 1,000 piece puzzles, which makes them considerably easier (but still a lot of fun).

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Longwood Gardens

Photograph taken on Saturday, June 07, 2025 by Henry
Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens

We had a great visit to Longwood Gardens today, going there with our good friends Krystal and Mike. It was drizzling when we first got there but we were equipped for it. If you like gardens and have never been, I highly recommend it (or even if you have been, truth be told). I picked this weekend because I knew the roses would be in bloom, and they really were. It’s a pretty good drive, or we might go more often.

As you can see, the weather cleared and it was a beautiful day, getting warm later in the day. Then it started raining as we were leaving and we saw a nice rainbow.

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Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Photograph taken on Sunday, June 01, 2025 by Henry
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

We went to the Agricultural History Farm Park today and, among other things, we saw a lot of eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis). We also saw a couple song sparrows (Melospiza melodia), European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), a mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), and an eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus). Not bad for a short visit. The photos of the bluebirds turned out quite well, I think showing off their colors really nicely. This is probably out best place to go to see those, although we’ve seen them even in our neighborhood.

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Laura and Grandma

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 31, 2025 by Henry
Grandma and Laura

Grandma and Laura

Cathy’s niece, Laura, arrived last night and this morning we all went to see her grandma (a.k.a. Cathy’s mom, a.k.a. Margaret). Her face really lit up when she saw Laura, and we had a really nice visit. It was a pretty whirlwind visit, though, and we took Laura directly to the Metro to get down to Union Station to catch her train back to New York in the early afternoon. We worked around the yard for the rest of the day, going inside when it started raining and then coming back out again when it stopped.

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The Pond

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 24, 2025 by Henry
The Pond

The Pond

We went up to Pennsylvania today to spend the day with Dorothy and Jeff. We started out going to King and Saint Cafe in Shippensburg, where we met them. Then Cathy, Dorothy, and I went to or property, where this photo was taken of the pond. After doing a few things there an enjoying the pretty day, we headed into Gettysburg where we met Jeff at a music festival going on at the Gettysburg Recreational Park. Then we walked over to the National Cemetery for a while before heading back to Dorothy’s and then home. It was a busy day, but lovely.

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Birds at McKee-Beshers

Photograph taken on Sunday, May 18, 2025 by Henry
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)

Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)

Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius)

Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)

Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)

Green Heron (Butorides virescens)

Green Heron (Butorides virescens)

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

After the last two weeks, Cathy and I really needed a break. The trip to the National Arboretum was wonderful but even that was a place with lots of people. Today we went to McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, out River Road.

We didn’t really know what to expect but it turned out to be one of our most fruitful bird outings ever, with thses nine birds photographed and a half dozen more seen and heard. We are big fans of the Merlin app by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Having that listen for and identify birds by their song helped us find birds we might not have otherwise seen. I recognized the oreole songs and of course the red-winged blackbird, but I never would have found the red-headed woodpecker or the prothonotary warbler. The night heron was actually at the C&O Canal near Riley’s Lock.

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Family After The Memorial

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 17, 2025 by Henry
Family

Family

Mom’s memorial service was this morning. There were a few technical hitches, such as a tree down and power lines down across the road so getting to the church was difficult for folks coming from that direction. While power had been restored around midnight, the internet connection was still out, so we were not able to life-stream the service for those who could not be there. Also, while we had a microphone and that worked for folks in the room, we were not able to get the audio fed directly into the video camera. Nevertheless, after some creative editing, we got a video with passable audio. You can read mom’s bio and find links to the video and slide show on HartleyFamily.org.

After the service, all the local family and some from out of town came to our house for the rest of the day. Others from out of town drove home the same day, but it was good to see everyone and we’re very thankful for the love and support of our family and friends.

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Vultures On The Church

Photograph taken on Sunday, May 11, 2025 by Henry
Vultures On The Church

Vultures On The Church

Cathy and I were quite late getting to church this morning and when we got there the parking lot was pretty full so we parked in the overflow area in the woods. As we came down the hill to the church we saw these vultures on the roof, enjoying the sunshine. I went back and got my long lens so I could get a few good pictures a bit closer than with the 100mm I have in my camera bag. And yes, I generally have my camera at church because I photograph baptisms and various events of that sort.

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Steve, Dorothy, Jeff, and Judy

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 10, 2025 by Henry
Steve, Dorothy, Jeff, and Judy

Steve, Dorothy, Jeff, and Judy

As you may or may not know, Dorothy and Jeff are engaged. His parents have met Dorothy a few times but Steve and Judy wanted to meet Jeff’s future in-laws. So, they drove up from Raleigh for the weekend. After visiting a little while at our house, we all drove to Great Falls and walked out to the Olmsted Island overlook. I carried my camera, as I usually do, and took a few pictures, including this one of Steve, Dorothy, Jeff, and Judy, which I think turned out nicely.

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Adiantum pedatum (Northern Maidenhair Fern)

Photograph taken on Thursday, May 08, 2025 by Henry
Adiantum pedatum (Northern Maidenhair Fern)

Adiantum pedatum (Northern Maidenhair Fern)

Years ago my dad planted this northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) in his back yard. It had to be moved when the got air conditioning in their house and I took a large piece of it to our garden in Gaithersburg. I brought some of that with us when we moved to our current house and recently I divided it into five different pieces that are doing pretty well in various, more or less shady spots in the garden. I’m quite happy with it and plan to divide it again to spread it a bit more.

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National Arboretum Rose Garden

Photograph taken on Wednesday, May 07, 2025 by Henry
Cathy in the National Arboretum Rose Garden

Cathy in the National Arboretum Rose Garden

We decided to take a break from dealing with things and drove to the National Arboretum today. There were a few early roses that were still blooming but this is pretty close to the same date we’ve gone the last two years. Nevertheless, it was a really nice visit and we enjoyed the flowers very much. It wasn’t nearly so crowded as it was earlier in the year when we went on Sunday and the cherry blossoms were in bloom. We had come for the camellias rather than the cherries.

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Akebia quinata

Photograph taken on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 by Henry
Akebia quinata (Chocolate Vine)

Akebia quinata (Chocolate Vine)

Years ago my dad planted both three- and five-leaved akebia at the land in Pennsylvania. I haven’t found any of the three-leaved type but there is some five-leaved Akebia quinata, also known as chocolate vine. Although it is listed as a noxious weed in some states, and while it’s managed to survive without any care here, it hasn’t spread in a way that’s concerning, especially when compared to the hardy kiwi that’s nearby. I love the leaves, as shown here. It has interesting, purple flowers and one of the more unique fruits I’ve seen. From the Missouri Botanic Garden’s Plant Finder, “Flowers give way to sausage-shaped, violet fruit pods (to 4” long) which split open in fall to reveal small black seeds imbedded in a whitish pulp. The whitish pulp is edible.”

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Easter Sunrise Service

Photograph taken on Sunday, April 20, 2025 by Henry
Easter Sunrise Service

Easter Sunrise Service

Dorothy and I are big fans of Easter sunrise services. In particular, we have gone to the Fourth Presbyterian Church Easter sunrise service pretty regularly for quite a few years. I’ve been to a few others, including one at a little Moravian church in south central Virginia that was quite nice. Cathy isn’t quite as big a fan, liking the service well enough but not so fond of having to get up at 5:00 AM to get to the church by 6:00. Once we’re there, she enjoys it well enough. Some years it’s been quite cold. Last year, with an early Easter (March 31) it was in the low 40s. Two years ago is was right around freezing. Three years ago, however (April 17, 2022), it was very cold.

Between the sunrise service and the first ‘regular’ service we all went to the upper room for breakfast, which is a nice time to visit with folks that we don’t see often (since this isn’t our church). The 8:00 AM service is always nice, especially in terms of the music, singing familiar Easter hymns (except one where they unaccountably changed it up on us) and with an orchestra. The service ends with the choir and congregation singing George Frideric Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, which after all these years I’m almost able to get through properly.

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Dorothy and Kid Goat

Photograph taken on Saturday, April 19, 2025 by Henry
Dorothy and Kid Goat

Dorothy and Kid Goat

Cathy, Dorothy, Jeff and I went out to Rocklands today. Among other things we had a nice, fairy long visit with Janis over a bottle of wine and a pizza. We also walked up to the road where Dorothy had done so much brush clearing a few years back. We also ran into Anna and her kids and we talked with them. Anna’s kids also had a kid, which Dorothy is holding in this photo.

We were there longer than we had expected but it was a beautiful day and nice to be out.

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