meeyauw

Chickadees and Catkins

2012-01-27T10:00:00.001-05:00

Black-capped Chickadee munching on Alder catkins

In August, the alder trees produce catkins. That's when the chickadees are really, really happy. They crawled over every stand of alder and ate till they burst. They were right-side up, upside down, hanging by one toe . . . anything to get at all the catkins.

Female alder catkins

We have green (or mountain) alders (Alnus viridis) here that grow in bushy groves. They like water. They have male and female catkins. The male catkins are long, dangly, soft and fuzzy. The female catkins look like tiny pinecones. Alder are food for so many birds and insects that I can't list them. Look around and see if you have any!

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Wordless Wednesday: Spiny Puffball Mushrooms

2012-01-25T20:30:00.001-05:00

Lycoperdon echinatum

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A Couple of Bugs

2012-01-23T19:54:00.001-05:00

Common House Fly (Musca domestica)

Green Stink Bug nymph (Chinavia hilaris)

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Oscar’s Toes Part II

2012-01-22T09:59:00.001-05:00

Peering at his captured grasshopper

Oscar’s Toes Part I is here.

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Monarch Butterfly Laying an Egg on Milkweed

2012-01-21T22:39:00.001-05:00

Danaus plexippus

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The Longest Ovipositor. Ever.

2012-01-20T18:21:00.001-05:00

Ichneumon Wasp (Megarhyssa macrurus)

That is an ovipositor, not a stinger. These wasps use that long ovipositor to drill holes through the bark of trees in order to lay their eggs. One of my goals next summer is to see the drilling live and close-up. They keep the ovipositor at a 90° angle to their body while they are drilling. This Ichneumon wasp was in the house in the window. After photographs, we took the screen down and let it out into the wilderness to lay those eggs. I wish I had followed it.

The wasp is quite lovely.

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Lyndonville Heifers

2012-01-19T19:45:00.001-05:00

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Scenes from a Summer’s Hike in Lyndonville

2012-01-18T19:58:00.001-05:00

The sign showing the beginning of the trail behind Lyndon Institute

The pond at the beginning of the hike

An invasive snail in the pond

Invasive Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

A pond scene

White water lily

Spotted Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)

White Cohosh (Actaea alba)

A squirrel or chipmunk midden

Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)

Another midden

Squirrels and/or chipmunks vertically potted dozens of pine cones along the trail and in the woods.

A third midden

Marsh Bellflower (Campanula aparinoides) (Campanula uliginosa)

A view of Burke Mountain

Trail sign in fern forest

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Gingerbread Houses

2012-01-15T07:35:00.001-05:00

On the day before Christmas break, the 8th grade made gingerbread houses. It was a fun class (even if it did not have too much to do with math!). We could have calculated the volume of each house, but we ran out of time. Good memories!

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The World's Longest Cadillac Parade

2011-12-30T10:11:00.002-05:00

On August 17, 2011, Barton hosted the world's largest Cadillac Parade, which kicked off the Orleans County Fair at Roaring Brook Fairgrounds in Barton. The parade was over an hour long and lots of fun as the entire town turned out to view it. Lori Seadale organized the parade, and I don't know how she did it and did it so beautifully. The library and stores in the village closed as the cars rolled by. My camera battery died, but young friends of mine saved the day and ran into the library to get my other battery for me. I was going to post only my favorite Cadillacs in this post, but there were too many to show, so I give you the slideshow of all of the cars that I photographed (I shot over 250 of the 298 cars in the parade).

The Cadillac Parade was the world's longest parade of Cadillacs. The Guinness Book of World Records was on hand to count and certify the achievement. The record was easily broken, but the count of 298 would have been bigger except some cars overheated in the parade and never finished the route. I heard that other Cadillacs were late, and there would have been almost 350 cars but for these problems. But the day was a wonderful success and I am amazed by Lori's efforts and achievement! Congratulations!

You can read more about the parade here:
Guinness Book of World Records
New York Times
General Motors Cadillac Press Release

You can view individual photographs here.

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Wordless Wednesday: Who Else But Oscar?

2011-12-28T12:33:00.001-05:00

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Bent Wood

2011-12-27T09:38:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when a tree falls on you.

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Grumpy Buddy, Stomping Oscar

2011-12-17T20:17:00.003-05:00

Buddy wants to go thataway . . .

. . . but grumpily follows Oscar. . .

. . . as Oscar shows off his two-legged Godzilla stomp.

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Two More New Flowers

2011-12-17T19:54:00.001-05:00

Clingweed (Galium aparine)

When I was out I liked the looks of this slender, tiny flower. I didn't think to identify it at the time, but this week John saw the photo and knew exactly what it was: clingweed. He says that when it goes to seed, there are small burrs that will scratch you and adhere to you. It is also called also called Cleavers , Clivers, Goose Grass, Catchweed, Sweet Woodruff, Goosegrass, Stickywilly, Stickyjack, Stickyweed, Stickyleaf, Robin-run-the-hedge and Coachweed. Whew!

Indian-tobacco (Lobelia inflata)

Indian-tobacco is another very small flower. Again, I never thought to identify it (and it has been in the back of my mind to look for it for years). If I had found that it was a new species for my portfolio, I would have returned for a better photograph. Don't smoke this — it causes hallucinations and stuff.

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The Common Yellowthroat

2011-12-13T08:36:00.002-05:00

Geothlypis trichas

This little bird has occupied my life the last few days. My sister-in-law, Marcia, told me it was a Common Yellowthroat warbler. Unconvinced, because the web photos I saw showed a little fluff of feathers with a black mask, I posted this bird to Google+ and got a mess of responses. But I now agree with Marcia because of this photographer and comments by other birders. This is an immature Common Yellowthroat. These photos were taken on a beautiful August morning when the cats and I were taking our daily walk.

The little bird followed and watched us closely.

I caught it flying to another perch.

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Oscar’s Bugs

2011-12-11T08:02:00.001-05:00

Leaping Oscar

Oscar became our best mouser after a summer of bug hunting. His stalking and leaping skills were finely honed. He won't touch ladybugs and continues to enjoy cluster flies. These are three of his favorites from the summer.

Carolina Grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina)

I ended up spending the summer stalking Oscar as he lept after bugs.

Two-Striped Grasshopper (Melanoplus bivittatus)

Skidding to a dusty stop.

Female Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa)

I managed to rescue the dragonfly above and release it outside. But unfortunately, Oscar often brought in other dragonflies. He ate all but the wings. I never saw which species he would catch.

Oscar, 4 months, relaxing after hopper hunting.

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An Abandoned Penstock and Turbine

2011-12-08T21:05:00.001-05:00

I wanted to find the flumes that everybody talks about in the summer. They are in Westmore on Mill Brook on the Long Pond Road. I am trying to learn how to photograph water scenes better (because I don't like landscape photography). On the way down to the brook, we found the relics of a large penstock and turbine. We don't know what they powered — a sawmill? village water? But it's all there in the woods and it looks nice and historic.

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Wordless Wednesday: Wind Towers Over Crystal Lake

2011-12-07T21:41:00.001-05:00

August 3, 2011

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Oscar’s Hopper Up Close

2011-12-07T21:06:00.001-05:00

Dissosteira carolina

This is what one of those flying Carolina grasshoppers with black wings looks like up close. I think this is the only time I got one face on. I usually only get their behinds. I don't think Oscar ate this one.

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Oscar the Hopper Chopper

2011-12-06T19:58:00.001-05:00

Yup, that's Oscar, our little yet great grasshopper chomper. Here he is after leaping through the air and catching, in flight, a Carolina Grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina). Those are the big grasshoppers you see during the last half of summer flying with the black wings. We probably all think at one time or another that they are huge butterflies, but they are big, prehistoric grasshoppers. You can view the original photo size here for more detail. After spending the summer learning how to expertly catch these hoppers, Oscar is now the champion mouser of the family!

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Monkshood (Don’t Touch This)

2011-12-05T20:35:00.001-05:00

Aconitum napellus

We finally did it — we found a rare plant. And wouldn't you know it, it's deadly poisonous. I'm glad we didn't pick it for identification later. We frequently do that but we were on our way to photographing Common Wood Nymph butterflies on Telfer Hill Road when we found it. We pulled by the side of the road just to give me time for quick shots for an ID and we pulled out.

Aconitum Napellus commonly named 'Monkshood' is one of the most toxic plants known to man. In Europe the poison, that was collected from this plant was used to kill Wolves and mad dogs hence its other name Wolfsbane or Dogsbane. Monkshood is a genus of over 250 species of Aconitum that belong to the Buttercup - Ranunculaceæ family of plants.

All parts of the Monkshood plant are poisonous and it must be handled with care. You should wear gloves and wash your hands after touching it as even a mild dose of its poison can cause a serious allergic reaction that can render the 'victim' in need of medical treatment.

You don't have to take in the poison by mouth, it can be absorbed through the skin. Be it the stem, the sap, the petals or the roots, this plant is a killer if not given all due care and respect. Many people through the ages have been killed either accidentally or even on purpose by this plant...the assassins (sic) plant of choice !

Source: Killer Plant: Monkshood

So be careful out there next summer! Monkshood sort of looks like vetch (it did to me), but close up I knew it wasn’t. The leaves are lobed (vetch isn’t) and the color, height and stems are different.

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I Want Some Elecampane

2011-12-04T09:37:00.001-05:00

Inula helenium

I found a field of elecampane up on Telfer Hill Road this summer and I want some. John and I returned to to the field to chase butterflies that afternoon. I don't know why I didn't dig up some of these wildflowers then, but I will next summer. The field was alive with the buzzing of insects. We think the bug in the photo above is a bee mimic fly of some sort but aren't sure. It could be a type of hover fly. In the days to come, you'll see the photos of the other bugs we captured there.

Elecampane looks like a tall, frilly sunflower. It is actually an aster, though. In France they use elecampane to make absinthe. The scientific name helenium is because legend says that where Helen of Troy's tears fell, elecampane sprung up. It is also, I learned on that marvelous afternoon, a butterfly magnet.

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One Single Impression Prompt 197: Sapid

2011-12-03T20:11:00.001-05:00

Visit One Single Impression for weekly poetry prompts.

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Wordless Wednesday: A Great Big Dog

2011-11-30T20:02:00.001-05:00

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Thanksgiving Sunset

2011-11-27T18:45:00.001-05:00

The snowy roof of the Duquette Barn is in the distance

I don't like shooting landscapes or sunsets, but I couldn't miss this sunset Friday night. I wanted more practice with the next two nights, but I read through the one on Saturday night and I napped through tonight's sunset. Hopefully, they were cloudy sunsets so I didn't miss much at all!

After I shot this photo, I downloaded The Photographer's Ephemeris software (available for PC, Mac, Linux and Apple and Android apps). It tells you the astronomical data you need to shoot sunrises and sunsets. TPE gives you elevations and all sorts of information you need to get your outdoor photography lighting done well. Try it — it's free.

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Links for 2010-02-26 [del.icio.us]

2010-02-27T00:00:00-08:00

Freelensing! Turn any Lens into a Tilt-Shift or Macro

Links for 2009-05-24 [del.icio.us]

2009-05-25T00:00:00-07:00

Frogs of New Hampshire - N.H. Fish and Game

Links for 2009-05-02 [del.icio.us]

2009-05-03T00:00:00-07:00

Interactive weather map for Barton, VT

Links for 2009-03-15 [del.icio.us]

2009-03-16T00:00:00-07:00

Pyramids, Stonehenge, Easter Island and the Great Pyramid explained by ...
a retired carpenter figures out how ancient civilizations built their marvelous creations

Links for 2008-10-24 [del.icio.us]

2008-10-25T00:00:00-07:00

Games on Graphs
active games for math class; discrete math games

Links for 2008-10-09 [del.icio.us]

2008-10-10T00:00:00-07:00

Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild
rug hooking; free classes on Nov 10

Links for 2008-10-02 [del.icio.us]

2008-10-03T00:00:00-07:00

Photojojo’s Guide to Macrophotography
Macro filters, reverse mounted lenses, microscope photography, make your own macro lens, great article