Monday, 19 November 2018
Found this cement hare and vaguely remember seeing it in this yard before…perhaps in a different location? Vague is the operative word here.
Personally, I’m convinced that Mosquito Joe’s chemicals turned a squirrel into this monster; however, my analysis may be off a tad.
Sunday, 28 October 2018
Title refers not so much to geography as photo subject matter.
We sprang for a mechanical carwash over at the BP to reduce the grime accumulated yesterday on the Explorer. It was reduced, but not vanquished. Now, for better or worse, we don’t look like we’ve been out in our hunting camp.
I looked in the bird book, and still I don’t know what kind of waterfowl these are. My guess, from a place of extreme ignorance, is goldeneye or lesser scaup. I’m probably looking in totally the wrong section of the ID book, however.
I assume arachnid (eight legs). You can assume I was totally surprised when I looked at the photo as when I was taking it I was trying to get a good focus on the lichen, and totally missed noticing the critter.
I looked up the lichen, too, and I’m in over my head there, yet again. Maybe an eastern candlewax or a greenshield?
Tuesday, 18 September 2018
I was just getting ready to settle down in a comfy chair with my first cuppa when I heard this critter just outside the window by my chair. Of course: photo time! This was through the screen, and pretty early on an overcast day, so mostly it just proves there was a pileated working on the hemlock.
A little later, down by the lake…very quiet (tiny off-shore breeze, so only the teeniest shusssshing waves), and very overcast. Stayed overcast all day, and cooler than we’ve seen since right after we got here. The fall color is beginning to show up stronger, but still the leaves are overwhelmingly green.
Monday, 17 September 2018
Oh, I thought, so picturesque…the crocks on the neighbor-deck with a new-fallen leaf.
Then, later, I looked under our maple, and sure enough, this is the day the leaves began to fall. There were the odd two or three here and there before…but today they came down by the dozen. And not because it was super windy, or even more windy than usual (mostly).
Down at the beach, I caught the eagle soaring out of a tree back from the beach, and looping around the point to leave me alone. Eagles are loners, most of the time.
Follow-up on the weather: sometime before sunset, the weather went from hot/rather humid, to cooling off more than it has in quite some time (very early in Sept). It’s now in the lower 60s out…and dropping. Extra blanket tonight!
Friday, 14 September 2018
I went out while the coffee was dripping to catch a few shots of the fog obscuring the trees on the other side of the field. I thought I’d improve the framing by getting the legendary hillfort basil in the foreground. So often a surprise…this time…
…on the left lateral branch of the ancient apple tree…a chipmunk feeding or stuffing her/his cheeks…and, in the distance, a deer, after snorting, turning her/his back and running away, white flag high.
Later I returned to the basil, trying to decide when to make pesto, or a basil purée…not today, but soon…. [Perhaps you can discern, under the right-pointing leaf, a daddy-longlegs (or spider with similar physiology).]
Tuesday, 11 September 2018
I’m not sure that the spiders who festoon the window screen are all that successful. Makes a pretty pattern, however.
We took a pre-cocktail stroll down to the beach to see the waves rolling in (kinda). They were pretty tame compared what Florence is kicking up in the Atlantic!
I spotted a swimming leech from the dock and zipped back to dry land to divest myself of shoes and socks. Took me a while to find it again. Several attempted tosses and I lost “him” in the water, then found “him” again a few minutes later. Still wasn’t sure if I managed to throw “him” out of the water (hope so).
And, yes, the pebble was in the shell when I found them among the wrack.
Monday, 10 September 2018
Over in the Refuge, we found this bee. I don’t know much about insect types, but this merged yellow-and-orange striped tinting of this bumble? bee, doesn’t seem familiar.
Also on the wildlife walk, we found rose hips. No rose feet, however. And, no, we didn’t collect any. National property regs, you know.
I don’t think we’ve ever skipped visiting the mouth of Hurricane Creek when we’ve been up that way. We found that the present configuration has a long sand spit channeling the brownish river water to the west before the actual merge with Lake Superior. [No lampreys attached to rocks—that I could see—this time, unlike in July.]
Look at this bright green stone! Seems out of place among the browns and greys! For a moment, I even wondered if it was a plant! Not a plant-plant, but a joke-fake-plant. Skeptical me!
Thursday, 6 September 2018
Ah, autumn flowers…Goo_ing suggests that this is a late purple aster. Looks like an aster. Color can accurately be called purple. And it’s late in the season. So, on the surface, I’ll take “late purple aster…” plus the photos match—heehee.
Sorry to those who are not fans of fluttery creatures. I could not tell what was up with this one (fluttering but “stuck” to the plant)…however, I did manage to get a frame of the wings (reasonably) “in focus,” not an easy task!
Stay warm; it’s getting chilly out!
Sunday, 2 September 2018
In the fields and open areas, the predominant bloomer during this phase of the season is the goldenrod. Sooooo many times it sports these galls…I forget which insect has deposited the next generation in the stem, and the plant makes the gall around the eggs/whatever.
Yesterday’s wind made beach foam!
I wondered if it left us discombobulated leeches, too…only found two small ones…maybe the cycle of life means mostly/only small ones/new crop…. TMI, I’m guessing.
Friday, 17 August 2018
Out and about, I stood under a large pine (mentioned before here) and I was in a rain of cone-parts. Here’s a spent cone amidst conifer detritus.
This afternoon, after two brief rain-events (with sunshine between), I spotted this rodent eyeing the street (unfazed by my activities). Is this a belly-cooling pose?