Musings

I took a morning stroll down to the beach, because: well, it’s there, and pretty, and interesting, and fine. En route, I found a flitting monarch, just where you’d expect it to be.

At the beach, by the dock, I was surprised to see this guy/gal. I’d seen only a few living ones, and the parts I’ve seen (for years?) have been of much smaller specimens. This one was perhaps 15cm, tail to tips of the claws…and those of lovely blue. You don’t see much blue in critters, no?

Posted at 7:09 PM | No Comments »

I went for my lake-bath as the sun was dropping low, here behind the treeline. BTW, those stones were obscured by sand a week ago…the lake, she recreates the shore constantly.

Posted at 8:54 PM | 2 Comments »

All distant views throughout the day were tinged with smokeaze, that is, smoke haze (and thus the AQI suggested lesser activities, with little deep breathing). This photo, however, is just plain out of focus, so not honoring the sweet peas.

Posted at 8:04 PM | No Comments »

Another hot day, after a not-so-cool overnight, so I sure enjoyed my lake bath, today rather late, around 8pm, when the lake was quiet, as you can see. Tonight’s supposed to be cooler, whew!, and tomorrow the high will somewhat more reasonable…all of, get this: a mere 78°F.

Hmm, I’d better find a blanket, a light one, mind you, but still: a blanket.

Posted at 9:40 PM | No Comments »

I left my late-day swim duds on the line overnight. Special morning with the dew-fog (which kept the duds over-moist). I’m calling this shot Line Art. 🤣

Elsewhere, this thistle is festooned with spider webs, a big one on the right, and a small one on top. I really do not want the thistle seeds to disperse (they’re noxious weeds!); tomorrow morning, if I get out when it’s still cool, these will become compost or otherwise be…eliminated…from the gene pool.

Again, I took a late-day lake-bath, hence the shadiness in this shot. This feather truly is floating on top of the water, although it looks like it’s airborne and above the surface.

Posted at 8:53 PM | No Comments »

I always get a bit excited to see this long-view of the mountains, even though the powerlines-strung-with-orange-caution-balls disrupts the skyscape, as it signals that we’re leaving the Piedmont…in short: we’re On The Road!

Not pretty enough? Here’re some asters at dusk three states to the north.

Posted at 9:03 PM | No Comments »

Every once in a while, I visit the BBC/Scotland webpage (link), and scroll down to find a selection of readers’ pictures from the week. Some are artistry in heightened saturation, some are long-lens captures (puffins are a favorite), a few are closer to snapshots, and some are of fabulous sunlight or sky moments. The ones I linger on the most tend to be patterns in nature. This is a mediocre example, but you get the idea.

Posted at 9:41 PM | No Comments »

I could write something about fall-blooming anemones, that is: nice flower-talk….

Otherwise, I’ll get into the non-existential (or is it existential?) crisis of the Southern Ocean’s potential transition toward persistently reduced sea ice coverage resulting from rising salinity. Is the latter (link) too boring? Too hard to grasp? Possibly; you have my sympathy—but such salinity shifts and the attendant oceanic changes are way toooo important to dismiss. Important as in global climate change. Bonus: follow the link and you’ll read about polynyas—I’m betting it’s a new vocab word!

Posted at 8:54 PM | 2 Comments »

This was a sunny afternoon five days ago. I’m over a thousand miles south of this beach, no lakes or sandy shores nearby. I’m torn about relocating, but quite glad to no longer be on the road. 😅

Posted at 8:09 PM | 2 Comments »

This morning’s murky sky was from moisture; in fact, it may well be raining across the lake, as the trees there are scarcely visible. BTW, this log was out in knee-deep water yesterday—shows the power of breaking waves.

These bushes are heavy with blossoms, denser than we remember from previous years. Of course, the blooms additionally are heavy with rain accumulation. I can’t remember what The Botanist called them; with a little help from plant recognition software, I’m pretty sure they are Kolkwitzia amabilis, beautybush to everyday folk.

Posted at 9:32 PM | Comments Off on Dead birch no-society