Tuesday, 3 June 2008
I have always enjoyed these delicate blooms, like white mini-church-bells decorating a garden at ankle level.
Watched a goldfinch out past the rhubarb for a while this morning. Somehow it managed to perch on (clutch?) a tall grass stem that waved in the breeze. I can’t remember the last time I saw one!
Monday, 2 June 2008
Before the afternoon got too hot this afternoon, we sat out on the patio and watched this chipmunk, who was engrossed in chipmunk-business even in this unplanted flowerpot.
Saturday, 10 May 2008
Given how many rodents populate the woods, and how much they like to chew on antlers (I guess for calcium, phosphorus, and other minerals, plus assistance with teeth-management), it’s rare to find one in this lovely, pristine, un-nibbled condition.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Today turned out to be bird day at Piedmont Park. Actually, it’s been Bird Week.
The most exciting was this green heron (Butorides virescens), which we saw along with the usual assortment of ducks, some Canada Geese, and one huge great blue heron (looked bigger than the usual one). And robins, grackles, sparrows—all the urban-tolerant types….
Earlier this week we saw a pair of chickens busily foraging under leaves. Go figure.
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Did I mention they’re big on dinosaurs at Fernbank?
Rainy off and on today. Which is good for plants and reservoirs (Lanier’s still almost 14 feet low and we’re still under exceptional drought conditions).
And will wash away some of the accumulated pollen.
Monday, 21 April 2008
I didn’t see this anole (Anolis carolinensis) doing any pushups, so maybe it’s a female.
I saw remarkably few birds on our walk yesterday. Maybe the (mostly) hardwood stands offer so little food, they’re barren of birdlife.
Speaking of a lack of resources, I’m worried that our current economic downturn is going to hit a bunch of people hard—people who don’t know how to live poor, either psychologically or the tricks and techniques for eating cheaply, scrambling for necessities, and the like. Which will make it worse for all of us.
Friday, 18 April 2008
All the bees* buzzing around this tree made it an audio-arbol [arbol = tree (Span.)].
For this first time, this afternoon felt like marginal-summer. Hot. Fresh-mown grass smells with a powdery dry backnote.
I’m not quite ready yet….
* Our bumble bees are called humble bees in Britain. Apparently, humble is a corruption of the German hummel, meaning buzzing. Webster’s online says this bee is also sometimes called a dumble-dor. Ah, she’s not so original, that JK Rowling….
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Turtle sunning at Lake Clara Meer.
Sunny today, with temps breaking 70°F. Shall I put away the heavy winter blankets?
high dynamic range imaging (often: HDRI/HDR; slow-load Wikipedia link), a compositing technique that yields an image with an exaggerated dynamic range, now easy(ish) to accomplish with Photoshop and its imitators.
Monday, 31 March 2008
Here’s the rescued turtle, almost certainly an Eastern Box Turtle (good info from Wikipedia and also Davidson College Herpetology Lab). And male.
Friday, 28 March 2008
I finally pulled a carpet of noxious weeds from the (empty) flower garden last evening, and this morning I noticed a robin out there grazing.
Poor robins. Their scientific name, Turdus migratorius fortunately means something more high-fallutin than it sounds. Turdus means thrush and it’s a genus with many species….
And, yes, it’s the state bird of Michigan (includes sound files)!