Sunrise on a Cold Morning

I am a morning person. Earlier this week the sun was coloring the clouds pink as I was coming down the stairs for breakfast. What a great ‘first scene’ for the day! The light coming through the narrow windows on the sides of the front door and the transom window over the door let some of that color into the entry hall.

Fortunately my camera was handy and I stepped out the front door to take the image of the trees silhouetted against the morning sky….and discovered the very chilly fall air.

Resolution for the next few months: observe sunrise more frequently. One of the compensations for the longer nights and shorter days of winter is the ease of savoring the sunrise. 

Catoctin and Cunningham Falls

Just prior to write this blog post, I wrote a simple poem one about the scene from my office window and plan for the day. Do you see the title down the middle?

It sets the stage for my collection of images from Catoctin Mountain Park and Cunningham Falls State Park - now about 2 weeks old.  We stopped at the Catoctin Mountain visitor’s center as we usually do and then walked across the street to the short Blue Blazes Still Trail. There was a tree riddled with woodpecker holes and several kinds of shelf fungus (one fungus group had a slug feasting) that I include in the slide show below. The trees still had quite a few leaves. There was lots of color.

We drove over to Cunningham Falls State Park and took the steeper trail to the falls (I was sore for the next few days from that scramble).

As usual - there were a lot of people at the falls….and they were crawling all over the falls. It was hard to get any waterfalls without people!

I settled for the smaller scenes of moss, leaves, and fungus. Enjoy the slideshow!

Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Connecticut was a very short distance off the highway along our route from Newport, Rhode Island back to Maryland. It was well worth the stop. I’ve already highlighted the jellyfish in a post earlier this week. It’s hard to choose my other favorites from the few hours we spent at the place.

Of course there were lots of fishes.

I found myself more intrigued by the frogs. What a variety! The colorful poison dart frogs were very active in their habitat.

The freshwater turtles were active too. Some would stay on the rocks but others were constantly climbing up on to the rocks and moving around to slide back in the water much as children do if there is a poolside slide available on a hot summer day.

On particular sea turtle seemed to like the way I looked and swam back and forth in front of me - and right up to the glass! I wondered what the turtle's perception was of the situation. 

The meerkats were very active - and fun to watch. They seem to love the hammock in their habitat.

Fall Arabesques

I’ve been photographing leaves on the ground for the past few weeks and am sharing them today in celebration of fall. The leaves had to be positioned just as they had fallen - or been blown into position.

Some of the colors are muted yellow or brown. The vivid greens and reds are there too.

The backdrops are varied too: grass - asphalt - pebbles - forest mulch - bricks.

What about the other things in the pictures with some of the leaves? A feather, moss on a fallen log

How many trees can you recognize by their leaves in these pictures? Poplars - oaks - maples - dogwood….at least.

The Zen of Jellyfish

On the way back from Newport RI, we stopped at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk Connecticut. I particularly enjoyed the tower tank of jellies with LED lights. It is in an area that is dimly lit otherwise so the jellies glow as they move gracefully through the water. I sat and watched them…letting the outside noises and strains of the day fade into the background. I took quite a few pictures and selected some for the slide show below.  Even with their motion frozen, the forms are soothing. Enjoy!

The aquarium has a Jellies Web Cam here if you want to see the jellies in motion.

Zooming - October 2014

Most of my zooming collages are of plants and animals. This month my focus is external architecture and ornamentation. The images show form, repairs, corrosion, and patina of age. Materials are quite varied: stone, paint, plaster/cement, copper, bronze, wrought iron, cedar shingles, and glass.  Enjoy the show!

Newport RI - Day 3

Day 3 in Newport was full of photography opportunities: sunrise from the Cliff Walk (40 steps), Blithewold Gardens, and Green Animals Topiary Garden.

Sunrise from the Cliff Walk

The sunrise was colorful - in the sky and the water. The cliff walk offers expansive views to the horizon and close views of waves crashing against the rocks below.

Enjoy the sequence below from just before sunrise to the brightness of early morning.

Blithewold Gardens

There is a mansion but it was not open on the day we were there. We were tired of house tours from the previous day in Newport anyway. I liked the stone steps and fountains near the house.

The garden include a sculpture exhibit. My favorite was feathers. Unfortunately, it was not a breezy day so the feathers were not moving enough for the chimes at their base to move.

And everywhere there were paths leading through lush vegetation.

The slide show below includes a photo toward the sky from inside the bamboo maze and a bee on a Franklin Tree blossom!

Green Animals Topiary Garden

There is a house in this garden that includes a display of antique toys. But the draw for this place is the topiary forms. I couldn’t resist including the pictures of a bee on a dahlia and monarch butterfly (one of the few I’ve seen this year) in the slideshow below - along with the topiary.

Newport RI - Day 2

Our second day in Newport RI (we were there 9/6-10/3) was all about Golden Age mansions: The Breakers, Rosecliff, Marble House and The Elms (outside only).

The Breakers

The Breakers is the one that most people immediately equate with Newport and we planned to be there as soon as possible after it opened. Our first view was of the gates from the parking lot across the street - closed because we had arrived a little before opening.

We decided to take a short walk along the Cliff Walk that passes between the house and the Atlantic. The wrought iron and pillars continue there!

And there is an easy view of the house over the chain link fence. I was surprised that the mansions did not have more gardens. The season was short and the houses themselves were the overwhelming focus rather than gardens.

Pictures are not allowed inside any of the houses so the ones I am posting here are of the exterior.

The ceilings of the loggias on the back of The Breakers were my favorite aspect of the house. It is hard to imagine any other part of the house as being ‘comfortable’ at all; the decoration in most cases is overwhelming.

Rosecliff

Rosecliff was my favorite house of the day. The ball room with windows on both sides was my favorite room (it seemed like a room that could be used in a lot of different ways) although the dragon holding the light fixture at the entrance was attractive too.

Marble House

I like marble generally but this house was overwhelming. It seemed like it would always be cold with so much stone.

There is a Tea House in the back which has a glorious view of the ocean. I enjoyed the warmth of walking there more than listening to the recorded tour of the house!

The Elms

We returned to The Elms to walk around the gardens. I took note of the sculpture particularly: the angry man (Athamas)

The oddly whiskered lion,

The tortoise fountain, and

The fountain of pans.

These mansions were originally used for 6-8 weeks during the summer season. They were built to be a showplace of wealth - provide a stage for a regimented series of social activities. It was a fragile, and relatively brief, way of life. And now they are windows into that time.

Newport RI - Day 1

Our first day in Newport RI in a nutshell: sunrise and 3 mansions!

I was up early enough to catch the sunrise colors on the horizon and water from the balconies of our rooms. It was very quiet compared to the party noises from the night before along the waterfront. The forecast was for a near perfect day for walking around Newport.

There are a lot of architectural features in houses,

Churches,

And buildings that are much easier to scrutinize on foot rather than driving/riding.

Many structures have been restored and other others seemed to be in the process of being restored; crews were getting a head start as the tourist crowds thinned and the weather was still reasonable.

My favorite of the three houses we saw on the first day was the Isaac Bell House. The porches and interesting roof line probably clinched it for me but the guided tour through the empty rooms - showing how restoration is done - was more interesting that the overwhelming opulence of many other Newport mansions.

Kingscot was too Gothic for me but it was fun to learn about the ‘weeping’ trees that were deemed by landscapers of the time to be in keeping with the architecture. The brow over the windows was to deflect water!

The Elms was the last house on the first day. We took the tour of the house just before closing time and decided to go back another day to look at the gardens. I enjoyed the small preview of the sculptures and clipped hedges on the quick walk through on the first day.

Bluebirds

There are a lot of bluebird boxes in our area of Maryland. Sometimes they house swallows or other birds that are similar size and nesting habit to bluebirds - but it is probably true that there are a lot more bluebirds around these days than before the nesting boxes.

I was on a walk along a long driveway recently - and managed to get a picture of a male and female bird on a telephone wire looking out over a grassy field with mowed edges.  There were many others about but I was not coordinated enough to get close enough to capture better images with my camera.

A few days later I saw more of the birds but was guiding a nature walk at the time…..no time for photography.

On another walk with a group we started finding blue feathers - three in all. The color of the feathers changes as they are moved. It turns out that almost all blue feathers are produced with structural color rather than pigment!  The Cornell AllAboutBirds site has a page about it.

I am celebrating the beauty of bluebirds today!

Backyard View - September 2014

I am starting a backyard photography project for this fall: taking a picture of our backyard trees about once a week. September was my time to decide on the logistics. The camera positions are marked on the deck railing with duct tape and red marker. I decided to take two orientations and then pick a favorite for each month. So far the red marker seems to be holding up better than the tape. The duct tape seems to stick but then curls up on mornings when there is a thick dew.

The first day I took the picture at mid-morning. Too much light…and a tweak to the plan: take the picture as soon as possible after sunrise or make sure the day is cloudy.

For September - I like the portrait orientation so they are the images I selected for this first slide show. As the leaves change on the maple and tulip poplars there should be quite a change seen in the October series. It’s also clear than lighting makes quite a difference even when there is no direct sunlight.

Belmont

I’ve participated in several programs at the Belmont Manor and Historic Park as a Howard County Conservancy Volunteer over the past month. September is a good month to see maturing seeds - in the trees: Maple

Dogwood

And sweet gum.

There are other plants going to seed: grasses

And fluffy seed pods in the meadows.

The flowers are mostly done for the year although I did photograph a chicory that was growing at the edge of mowed path.

But it is the very air of the place - looking up to into an old sycamore,

The top branches of other trees,

And starlings swirling - that is the most special.

Belmont is a place with a long history and one looks out from the mansion that is somehow not as important as the vista.

Chaos Garden in September 2014

The chaos garden has onions in bloom (I am letting them go to seed so there will be more next summer),

Cone flowers going to seed (more flowers for next year’s garden), the new rosemary growing tall, lemon balm coming back from old roots, and so many other plants that have found their way to the patch.

But I spent the most time photographing a red spotted purple butterfly posing near the hydrangea. It posed on a leave near the hydrangea for several minutes - tired from an afternoon of cool breezes, opening and closing its wings, moving its proboscis.

After it fluttered away I noticed how much the news leaves on the hydrangea had been browsed by the deer even at this time of year when there should be plenty of other food for them.

Zooming - September 2014

Late summer and early fall is a time of transition…lots of changes to capture in photos. There are seed pods

And seeds.

Insects going about the business of feeding,

Mating and growing large enough to move to the phase of their life to overwinter.

The birds are through their nesting and getting ready for migration. There was a bright yellow mold that emerged from a knot in our deck railing after a rain.

And - last but not least in this collection of zoomed images - the bright colors of flowers and chard stems.

HC Conservancy - September 2014

I took a walk around the Howard County Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant farm before a volunteer naturalist training session last week. The walk around the meadow started out cloudy and the temperature was near perfect. I took a picture of the dogwood just beginning to turn to fall colors along the drive to the farm house as I walked from the parking lot.

The sculpture of the owl in the natural play area for children is taking on a darker patina as is weathers.

I took lots of milkweed pictures; the pods are maturing and beginning to split…and lots of milkweed bugs.

The meadow has some fall blooms. Purple is a popular color (thistles and ironweeds and poke weed)

But yellow of goldenrods are overwhelming.

There was a cut up tree trunk along the stone fence that had quite an assortment of shelf fungus.

Along that same stone fence were two snake skins - one hanging from a tree that seemed to be growing roots into its own trunk and another along a tree branch.

A tidy nest was visible in the very young tree - probably fresh from this summer but now abandoned.

And last but not least - a huge caterpillar of a cecropia moth! I’m glad one of my fellow hikers spotted it!

Great Falls of the Potomac - Part 2

Day before yesterday I posted about our visit to the Maryland side of Great Falls with a focus primarily on the water. Today my focus shifts to plants.

There are rocks on both sides of the boardwalk out to the viewing area for the falls. These rocks may have been scoured by the river at some point but it has been quite some time. Lichens are quite thick in many places and tiny leaves have found enough decayed rock and dust in some cracks to support their roots.

Mosses carpet some areas - usually a lower place in the rocks that holds water.

Taking a broader view of a side channel of the river that is still enough to reflect the rocks and small trees - the size of the trees tells the tale of how long it has been since the last big flood along this stretch of the river.

The water of the C&O Canal bed is placid and it is late enough in the season that some of the grasses are heavy with seeds. Do you see the moth resting on the top of this one?

Jewel weed is still blooming. It is interesting that the plant was used to sooth poison ivy but often grows in the midst of the itch producing bane of summer for many.

Great Falls of the Potomac - Part 1

The Maryland side of the Great Falls of the Potomac are part of the C&O Canal National Historic Park. It was our Labor Day outing this year. Quite a lot of people had the same idea. The parking lot was already half full of cars and there were joggers and walkers - people on their own, couples, groups, families. Starting out the path between the canal and river shows the slower, shallow edge of the river through rocks.

I noticed a tree growing on what looked like solid rock.

The roots cling to each nook and cranny in the rock. Even in the zoomed view below it does not appear that there is much soil.

And then we get to the end of the boardwalk that lifts us over the side channel and over the last rocky ridge to the make falls. The rocks here are scoured bare by water.

To give you a sense of scale - the picture below shows the platform for visitors to view the falls from the Virginia side of the river.

Even with the scouring of the water, there is an algae film visible on some rocks.

When I looked more carefully at one of them I noticed a large pothole had formed. The water level on Labor Day was not high enough to scour it….but the water must get high frequently enough to form it. I’ll look for it every time I go from now on!

Coursera Experience - September 2014

September is going to be a lull in terms of Coursera courses. For most of the weeks I will only have one or two courses. That is probably a good thing since I am attending classroom-based volunteer naturalist training during the month as well.  There is no shortage of learning opportunities!

The Globalization and Social Psychology courses are ended…although there is still some reading to do. Both of them were among the more thought provoking classes I’ve taken.

The Camera Never Lies is providing another insight into history and historians. I’ve appreciated the lectures which have included interviews with history grad students. I have considerable reading and video to view for this course as well.

The Symmetry course has been enlightening on several levels. I particularly enjoyed the references to tiling. The segment of the course that focuses on crystals is just starting and I expect it will be as challenging as the Systems Biology or Volcano courses earlier this year.

I am looking forward to the American Poetry course starting soon and am anticipating that I’ll be celebrating how different it is than courses I have been taking recently.

October is going to be overwhelming. There are 4 courses I added to my list….and now that I am looking at the list again, I still want to take all of them!

Tiger Swallowtail - 2014

There have not been as many butterflies in our area this summer so I was delighted to photography two enjoying my deck garden in August and this week. In August, the butterfly weed and marigolds were the big attraction. Note how battered the edges of the wings look in this view of the feeding insect (with the butterfly pot decoration overhead).

I’m always surprised at how hairy the area where the winds and body overlap looks…at the powdery blue…at the delicacy of the whole wing.

From the side, the body looks robust compared to the legs and the proboscis. This insect spent quite a lot of time with the marigolds - so maybe the flowers will produce a lot of seeds.

This week the draw for the tiger swallowtail was the zinnias. When the wings are held vertically they are folded a little as well. Their ribs show more.

It was a breezy day so the insect would flatten itself to maintain its stance on the flower. The wings look very symmetrical when they are fully extended.

Notice that the edges of the wing are battered in this one too. This butterfly spent quite a long time at with the zinnia - flying away for a few seconds and then returning - and I’ll keep the seeds that develop over the next few weeks.

National Arboretum in August 2014

I posted about the magnolias right after our visit to the US National Arboretum a few weeks ago…but there was a lot more to see. There are so many areas of arboretum. Even the parking lot near the visitor center hosted large crepe myrtles with their shaggy bark!

There was a lot of construction around the administration building. The koi pond was dry but the garden around the fenced area still included a pine with forming cones standing at attention among its needles.

We headed to the China/Asian Valleys - having learned from previous visits to not try to see the whole Arboretum in one visit. The garden was shady and inviting on an August day. Many of the flowers had faded so the overwhelming color of the garden was green. We picked up a map but decided to simply follow the paths rather than look at it. The walk was easy but generally downhill toward the river (and we knew we would have to come uphill eventually).

I like the moon shape in the lantern among the foliage.

The one pink bloom left on a hydrangea was a welcome relief from the green only scenes.

The steps up to the pagoda were part of the climb back to the upper part of the garden…and the exit.

Just as the crepe myrtle bark in the visitors center parking lot - this flower with the ants on the border of the parking area near the magnolias!