Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in June 2017 – Magnolias

My last blog post about our visit to Kenilworth Gardens last week is about magnolia flowers – specifically flowers from the Southern Magnolia growing near the path back to the parking lot from the demonstration gardens. I enjoy photographing this tree because it has so many flowers that are easily viewed from ground level. I like to photograph flowers in various stages of development.

Sometimes even when the flower is brown – the curves are dramatic. This one is almost symmetrical and is probably my favorite of this grouping.

 Sometimes the center is just peeking through the white petals. Sometimes the spent parts of the flower accumulate in the curved petals. It’s surprising how read the base of ovary looks in the flowers.

The seed pod that is forming can do the same thing although the petals are mostly gone (the hood is a petal) and the leaves are the veil for the pod.

Previous posts about this visit: insects, water lilies, birds, lotus and turtles.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in June 2017 – Lotus

Our visit to Kenilworth Gardens last week was a little early for lotus flowers – which are the big summer show at Kenilworth. There were lots of big leaves and buds…a few more weeks and the flowers will be numerous.

I was surprised that there were quite a few seed ponds from last season visible in the ponds.

I took a series of bud pictures – surprised that none of the dragonflies were using them as perches as we’ve observed in previous visits (usually in July).

The leaves unfurl like a scroll rather than from the center like some water lily pads. They stand well above the water level as well.

Behind the visitor center and plant houses there was a demonstration pond that was full of blooms. Maybe they were started inside or the demonstration pond is somehow different than the main ponds. Enjoy the slide show from that small pond that is a few weeks ahead of the main ponds.

Previous posts about this visit: insects, water lilies, birds.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in June 2017 – Water Lilies

The waterlilies at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens were the best I’ve ever seen them when we visited the gardens last week. Usually we go for the lotus flowers; the water lilies are already declining their peak blooming by that time. I didn’t take any landscape shots (I realized when I reviewed my ‘take’ when I got home)…focusing instead on the veins in lily pads and the flowers.

The lily pads have a lot of red in them on the underside as they are unfurling. The jumble of plants in the pond often lifts them out of the water at least temporarily. The pads are rarely pristine. I’m not sure what nibbles on them but it is obvious that they are food plants for some (insects, turtles, geese?).

The flowers are always spectacular. I took several images zoomed past the optical range (i.e. into the realm of digital zoom) and that makes them look painterly.

Belmont – June 2017

I was asked to lead a hike yesterday at Belmont Manor and History Park – part of the ‘third Saturday’ program for June. There was a component for pre-schoolers that was done in the Nature Center. The day before the event, I decided to take the trail I’d planned for the hike (make sure things were as I expected). Unfortunately – a path that is usually mowed through one of the fields was not so I had to change my plans for hiking to the stand of Bigleaf Magnolias. I took a close-up picture of a mullein in bloom before walking back to the Carriage House to decide on a new plan.

I walked down the path and into the woods like we do for pre-schoolers. There were some interesting insects

But most of the plants along the way are invasives: multi-flora rose (below), autumn olive, and wine berries.

I decided to play it by ear and let the group that showed up to hike make some choices about what they wanted to do. The staff filled the bird feeders near the nature center so there were plenty of house finches around to observe…and mockingbirds and starlings and red winged blackbirds.

It turned out the group on Saturday included younger children and a couple were wearing flip flops. We decided on an easy hike down to the pond and saw bluebirds and trees swallows on the nest boxes. The bluebird babies were visible through the opening in the box! We also saw dragonflies and red winged blackbirds. The children found several black and white feathers during our hike as well. The younger children and parents went back to the nature center after the hike to the pond and the hike continued up to the Belmont Cemetery. We walked around talking about the research that has been done and spotted a box turtle! It was probably the high point of the hike (other than the birds).

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in June 2017 – Insects

We made our first visit of the year to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens yesterday. There are so many things I noticed in the gardens that I am doing multiple posts: insects, birds, waterlilies, magnolias, lotus, and turtles. There are three types of insects I’ll highlight: bees, butterflies, and dragonflies. The bumblebee I photographed was on a buttonbush. Most of the plants are not in bloom yet so the few lowers were very popular. I noticed that there was only one bee per flower! The pickerel weeds were in full bloom and they were attracting bees as well.

I photographed a tiger swallowtail on the pickerel weed. There were not very many butterflies around the garden yet. Perhaps there will be more as the summer progresses.

The main insect my husband and it try to photograph at the gardens is dragonflies. They seemed to be a lot of them flying around but not as many were sitting long enough to photography. I managed to get at 6 different kinds: greenish area around wing attachment with brownish ‘dash’ near tip of otherwise clear wings,

Could be a different perspective on the same kind…or not (the wing attachment area does not look green and the clear part of the wings has an amber tinge),

Brownish red coloring and smaller than the previous dragonflies,

Fuzzy at wing attachment and black markings across the wings (clear tips of wing) – maybe Common Whitetail male,

Brown body and black markings across the wings (dark tips of wings) – maybe a Common Whitetail female, and

Clear wings outlined in black around the tip.

I’m sure we’ll go to the gardens again this summer. I wonder if I’ll see the same or different dragonflies.

Volunteering at Wings of Fancy at Brookside Gardens I

My first experience volunteering at Brookside Gardens’ Wings of Fancy was earlier this week. It was a ‘trial by heat’ since it was a shift on a hot afternoon for 3+ hours. Before I left home, I collected things to take that would help be stay cool in the conservatory: water bottles with ice in the bottom, a mister, a hat, and a handkerchief. I took some peanuts for a snack. Everything went in a small bag with a penguin (a little psychology…thinking cool).

When I got there, I found a shady place to park (although it would not be shady there by the end of the shift) and took a short walk through the formal gardens. It was noticeably cooler in the shade…very hot in the sun and I was glad I had put sunscreen on before I left the car. I took some pictures quickly as I walked: a magnolia flower,

A pattern made of detritus on a pool of water,

The purple poppies past blooming,

An onion tangle,

A bit of blue in lots of green (and a shady place to stand),

And climbing roses.

Then the water came on. It brightened the colors of the rocks

And the plants in the rain garden area near the conservatory.

The butterfly sculptures marked the entrance to the exhibit.

I went in the staff/volunteer door, got my purple apron and other gear, and put my stuff in a locker. The shift started with a walk through of the stations and unique aspects of the day: slow because of the heat, a group had been due earlier but not arrived, etc. I started at the exit station and migrated to the discovery and caterpillar station (cecropia moth and Julia longwing). It was a slow afternoon with only about 15 people coming through the exhibit over 3 hours. There were times that there were no people at all in the exhibit….those times I wished we didn’t have a rule again cell phones and cameras while volunteering!

It was a good first experience although the next shifts I’ve signed up for are all in the morning. I now know that the two bottles with water frozen in the bottom (and can handlers to help them stay cool) which I fill at the water fountain just before going into the exhibit, will provide cool water for the entire shift and that the mister helps me handle the heat (misting around my neck and arms helps a lot). I also wet the handkerchief to cool ‘hot spots’ that I didn’t want to spray (like my face).

Prep for New Volunteer Gig – Wings of Fancy at Brookside Gardens

I’ve been preparing for a new volunteering experience for the past few weeks – to be a flight attendant or ticket taker for the Wings of Fancy (Butterfly exhibit) at Brookside Gardens. I’d noticed the call for volunteers as the first item on the Brookside web page back in May when I signed up for a photographers session in the exhibit; I talked to one of the volunteers during the session and decided that I would enjoy doing it too.

The process was not hard but more involved that I initially anticipated. The first part was online: signing up for training in the exhibit, filling out information to allow a background check (done now for volunteer jobs that interact with the public), and several e-learning modules about Brookside Gardens in general and then about the butterflies specifically. Last Thursday, I went to the training from 6:30-8:30 PM. It was an unusual time for me to be in the gardens and I got their early enough to take some pictures of the area near the conservatory (hence the pictures for this post). I'll probably take a few pictures before or after each shift - so will see a lot more of Brookside Gardens this summer.Horsetails

The two hours of onsite training were informative. Afterwards I felt like I do after most trainings before volunteering: knowing enough to be dangerous but not nearly as much as I will after I do it a few times. The gardens request 10 shifts (of 4 hours each) over the course of the season and told us that it may take as many as 8 shifts before volunteers truly feel ‘experienced’ in the role.

Stay tuned as I begin my journey as a Wings of Fancy Flight Attendant!

Hike from Mt. Pleasant to the Patapsco River – Part 2

Continuing from yesterday’s post….into the forest we go! The first stretch was down a tree covered slope with lots of leaf litter to a paved road that had a few houses at its end. We were just crossing the road. I paused long enough to take an upward picture of the canopy. We continued downhill to join a trail in Patapsco Valley State Park.

We saw two box turtles along the hike. The first one was in better shape than the second (note the elongated holes in the top of it). The growth rings on the scutes provide an estimate of the age of turtle; the first one is probably younger than the second one.

There were a lot of invasives carpeting the floor of the forest: wavy leaf basket grass with its crimped leaves and Japanese stiltgrass being the most numerous.

I celebrated when I saw native plants like jack-in-the-pulpits, mayapples or skunk cabbage…but there weren’t many of them. They are easily crowded out by the invasives.

We followed a stream down to the culvert under the railroad tracks that brings it to the Patapsco River.

Inside a small hollow log, a fishing spider waited patiently for its lunch.

There are many large sycamores. I took pictures of a leaf newly fallen into the stream and a new leaf on a low branch near the river. The trees are too large to try to photograph in their entirety!

We clamored up the railroad embankment and stood on two tracks to see the river below. There were horsetails (vascular plants that reproduce by spores) growing on the bank by the river.

We didn’t stay long at the river; the bank was too steep to climb down and no one wanted to stand on the active rail road track for long. We headed back uphill to Mt. Pleasant. The line of 30 people elongated as we all set our own pace – going silent in the steeper sections. The day had warmed. By the time I got up the hills, I’d finished the water I carried and headed into the nature center to get more!

Hiking from Mt. Pleasant to the Patapsco River – Part 1

Last weekend – before the higher temperatures came to our area – I joined a hike from Howard County Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant Farm to the Patapsco River. I arrived early enough to take some pictures with my new camera…make sure the connection between the camera and phone was adding geotags. It worked! After the hike, I used Photoshop Elements to display my pictures on a map and thus the path of our hike (click on picture for larger image).

I took pictures of two places at Mt Pleasant prior to beginning the hike: the plants blooming in the garden near the blacksmith’s shop

And some bluet damselflies at the pool in the Honors Garden…and bright flowers nearby.

The first part of the hike was along a mowed path that eventually went through hay fields with high grasses on both sizes. I’d worn long pants tucked into my socks to avoid ticks but being on mowed paths is still a good idea.

There were signs of civilization in the distance – but it was surprising how quickly signs of civilization are blocked by other vegetation.

My favorite picture for the first half of the hike was this wild chive among the grasses.

There was a butterfly holding onto a swaying stalk – I only got the one angle so am not sure whether it is a spicebush butterfly or a black swallowtail. I like the way the light comes through the wing.

Just before we entered the forest – I turned back for a picture of the mowed grass trail we had just come down. The second half of the hike to the river would be through the forest…and shady. That will be the topic of tomorrow’s post.

Our Yard – June 2017

There were a lot of rainy days in May and June – so far – has been relatively cool here in Maryland. The plants seem to be thrilled. I’ve already trimmed the bush beside our garage and it already needs to be trimmed again. My husband parks his car on that side of the garage and is keen for me to do the job ASAP.

The milkweed in the front flowerbed looks great – and there don’t appear to be any more caterpillars on it. Pooh!

I might cut down the plants toward the front of the bed so that the ‘predator’ lights will be more visible to the deer. So far the gizmo has kept them from eating the day lily buds.

The trees are still getting a lot of new leaves. The new maple leaves start out tinged with red.

The tulip poplar leaves are miniature (somewhat streamlined) versions of the larger leaves. Most of the flowers are fading now and the seed mods are forming.

Our oak tree is trimmed up so high (it’s close to the street and the country trimmed it high enough that fire trucks would not be damaged if they needed to come down our street) that I decided to take a picture of a leave that had fallen. The tree has grown a lot since we moved into our house 20 years ago and I like the shade it provides to the front of the house on summer mornings.

Celebrating the CSA Season

The season for our local Community Supported Agriculture (Gorman Farms) has begun! I selected to pick up my share on the first day available each week and went during the first hour of opening. A lot of other people did the same. Cars were coming and going almost constantly while I was there – not crowded but a steady flow.

I cleaned out the crispers in my refrigerator before I went and was glad I did. There is a lot of green with a few hints of red: lettuce, chard, garlic scapes, tatsoi, pac choi, scallions, kale, and oregano. I chose an extra head of lettuce as my overage item this week since I decided to just enjoy big salads – maybe take off a pound or two while eating the bounty of early summer lettuce.

I saved bins from buying salad greens during winter so I have plenty to use for storing the cleaned lettuces from the CSA for at least a week.

The first meal was a big ‘garden’ salad.

The second meal will be scrambled eggs with garlic scapes – one of my favorite meals after the first CSA distribution of the season. This is my 4^th year for enjoying CSA produce and garlic scapes are one the favorite ‘new’ foods the CSA has provided.

Road Trip from Tucson – Part 2

After a good night’s rest in Carrollton, Texas we headed out for two long days of driving to get to Laurel, Maryland. Our first stop was still in Texas: a Love’s in Mt. Vernon, Texas. We both got morning caffeine: coffee for my daughter and a soft drink for me.

The next stop was a McDonald’s in Hope, Arkansas. I remembered to send a text to my husband that we were on the road. We bought French Fries and Chicken Nuggets which I ate while driving. I eat the French fries first from the container on my lap. Then my daughter hands me my portion of the McNuggets.

The next stop was a McDonalds in Cotton Plant, Arkansas. We felt a little guilty because we didn’t buy anything; just used the facilities and continued our drive.

I was in the passenger seat when we were crossing the Mississippi River to Memphis so was able to take some pictures.

We stopped at a very understaffed Exxon travel station in Arlington Tennessee. I bought another soft drink to keep me going.

The only real rest stop of the day was in Benton County Tennessee.

We got to our stop for the night, an EconoLodge in Lebanon, Tennessee, and managed to park in the shade while we ate dinner (so the tarantula and spider stayed cool enough) and were back to the hotel about sunset.

We had a large breakfast so didn’t stop until lunch time (it came a little earlier because of the time zone change). It was a McDonalds but I got a salad this time. I drove while my daughter ate.

We made a stop at a Sheetz for gasoline…and another soft drink for me.

I started eating my lunch and then took some pictures of the greenery in eastern Tennessee throught the windshield.

The next stop was the only rest stop of the day – in Virginia. There was a dogwood near the building’s entrance with fading blooms.

We were close enough to home that we went for 3 hours without another stop. The car was power washed by some rain showers along the way. The road was drying by the time we got home. We staggered out of the car. The tarantula was out of it burrow and seemed glad the vibrations were finally stopping.

It was good to be home again!

Leaving Tucson

After 6 years of graduate school (and completing PhDs), my daughter and son-in-law are leaving Tucson. I went to help them pack the apartment (see moving in containers part 1 and part 2) and then drive with my daughter cross country in a very full car (upcoming posts). I was too busy to do any touring but I did take a few pictures around their apartment and then as we left Tucson for the last time.

They contributed a plant to the landscaping of the apartments; a solanum plant on the ledge of their patio dropped seeds everywhere and one of them grew quickly enough to be large enough (and blooming) that the apartment grounds crew evidently think it is part of the landscaping!

The scenes around the apartment were familiar: The lantana was blooming,

The tall palms caught the morning sun before the rooftops,

The screen of tall evergreens acted as a screen,

The fountain made watery sounds that could be heard inside the apartment if everything else was quiet,

The pinks and oranges of lantana…the shaggy bark of eucalyptus…all part of the walk down to their parking space, and

Crepe myrtle blooming.

We thought we would leave just after sunrise, but Arizona is not on daylight savings time so that became too early. It was still early and the streets of Tucson were mostly vacant as we started our road trip.

We might go back to Tucson someday on a vacation, but it won’t be the same as these past 6 years.

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 3, 2017

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #88 – My favorite is the roadrunner with the lizard!

American Trees are Shifting West – Based on analysis of tree inventories done between 1980 and one finished in 2015 and included 86 species of trees.

New York Marine Life Revealed at Brooklyn Photo Exhibition – Underwater views by photographer Keith Ellenbogen….raising awareness of the conservation needs of local marine wildlife and their habitats.

An inside view of Hong Kong’s hidden rooftop farms – Born out of fear of contaminated food! Fresh, locally grown vegetables are a luxury in the big city that imports more than 90% of its food.

Monarch butterflies: the problem with herbicides – Research that looks at the many factors that contribute to the decline of this migratory insect. I know that in our areas of Maryland there are a lot fewer Monarch butterflies than 20 years ago.

It’s Not Easy Being a Hatchling – 3 osprey hatchlings…growing fast….the live cam feed is available here.

New Online Database Catalogues 20,000 Threatened Archaeological Sites – Armed conflict, looting, tourists, construction….there are a lot of sites at risk. The link is an introductory article; the site itself is here.

The future of employment – There are quite a few categories of jobs that will be done by computers rather than people in coming decades. Some – like registered nurses and teachers – will still be performed by people.

Extremely Detailed Macro Portraits of Colorfully Exotic Insects – Insects….done with one shot, not stacked images.

Vacation at Toadstool Geologic Park – Sometimes out of the way places hold a charm found no where else!

Zooming – May 2017

I used the zoom on my camera so much in May that almost every picture was a candidate for this post. I picked some images that were no previously included in posts for the slide show below:

• A fly perched on a tiny yellow flower covered in water droplets
• New leaves at the tips of the maple branch – and a fly that I didn’t see until I looked at the picture on a big screen
• A butterfly head and shoulders…the zoom is enough that the individual yellow scales show in the darker part of the wing.
• New leaves on the sycamore. The size variation of sycamore leaves is very large: small fingernail to dinner plate.
• A resting butterfly
• Peonies: flower and bud
• An insect that looks like dried leaves
• A monarch caterpillar
• A butterfly – again the individual scales can be detected as ‘powder’ over the darker markings
• A chipping sparrow making a mess at the feeder
• A butterfly wing collage

Enjoy!

3 Free eBooks – May 2017

I am enjoying the Hathi Trust collection of books authored by Robert Sweet – a botanist, horticulturist, and ornithologist that published in the early 1800s. They are all beautifully illustrated….and I like the botanical prints and bird depictions in books from the 1800s.

The British Flower Garden has drawings by Edwin Dalton Smith. London: W. Simpkin and R. Marshall. There are 7 volumes available from Hathi Trust: 3 in the first series and 4 in the second published between 1823 and 1838.

The ornamental flower garden and shrubbery was a work selected from selected from Sweet’s work and that of David Don and published by London: G. Willis in 1982. It is listed as volume 1 on Hathi Trust so there could be other volumes that are just not available yet online.

Cage and chamber-birds; their natural history, habits, food, diseases, management, and modes of capture listed Johann Matthaus Bechstein as the author, HG Adams as the editor and Sweet as the source for all information on warblers more than a half century after his death. London: G. Bell and Sons. 1892. The book is available online here. I was surprised that so many of the birds were consider viable cage birds during that time.

Cistinae. The natural order of cistus, or rock-rose was published by London: J. Ridgway, 1930 and is available on Hathi Trust here. Sweet is listed as the sole author on this one.

Geraniaceae : the natural order of gerania was published by London: J. Ridgway, 1930 and 5 volumes are available from Hathi Trust here. During that time period there were a lot of varieties of ‘geraniums’ that were developed and cultivated. I’ve only gotten through the 1^st volume so far….still have the other 4 to savor!

A Walk Around Josey Ranch Lake – May 2017

I was in Carrollton, Texas last week and walked around the lake at Josey Ranch. This is the third time for this year (January and March posts). The coots, lesser scaup, and northern shovelers that were there during the earlier visits have left for their nest grounds in the north. There seemed to be even more Great-Tailed Grackles and I realized how different the females look than the males. My favorite picture was of a pair that were probably giving me the eye…keeping me clear of their nest.

The Desert Willow was in bloom.

The thistles were blooming in almost all the unmowed places around the lake.

Butterfly bush seems to be a favored planting and seems to be mostly contained my mowing except for this one near the bridge. It probably was not planted there.

People bring bread to leave for the birds. Sometimes there is a lot on the grass even after the people leave. The pigeons, grackles, and mute swans seems to be the biggest feeders. The ducks seem to prefer other food although they check the bread periodically.

The Mallard ducklings are about as large as the parents. In the picture below, the mother has orange in her beak…the others are her brood. The father was strutting between me and the group in the photo.

There were three turtles on a log. I thought they were all the same until I got home and looked at them on a larger screen. Two are red-eared sliders. The third one had so much mud and algae on its back that the shell pattern is hard to see; not sure what it is…but definitely not a red-eared slider.

Belmont Field Trips

I didn’t get much photography done during the times I was at Belmont for pre-school  ‘Nature Tales’ and 7^th grade ‘BioBlitz’ field trips. I am so focused on the students while they are there….my primary picture taking time is the lull before they arrive or after they leave! The grounds are lush now even though I still miss the huge elm that used to dominate the lawn in front of the manor house.

The pond has a path mowed down to it but I like the taller grass everywhere else.

I took a picture of the horse chestnut in bloom early in May (one of my favorite trees…but this is not a healthy tree, unfortunately).

There were two pre-school field trips on the same day and I had a picnic between the morning and afternoon sessions…and took pictures of birds (mockingbirds and a robin) that came to the lawn in front of the nature center.

I brought of the end of the hiking group through the woods and hurriedly took a picture of a flower along the trail.

And the BioBlitz group found some brightly colored fungi on some rotting wood….while they made their entry in iNaturalist…I got a picture too!

Carrollton Yard

I was in Carrollton TX last week and took some photos of the yard in the lulls between family visits. It is hotter in Texas than in Maryland. The red yucca is a popular plant in the area now but my Mother had it in her garden for over 30 years and it propagates! It was blooming and there were green seed pods already on her plants.

There was a ceramic duck in the foliage – that has seen a lot of freeze thaw cycles and is deteriorating in place.

There were several plants I photographed because of the way the light made them ‘glow’

And others that were highlighted simply because they were colors other than green.

There was an American Green Anole on rooster sculpture! He stayed long enough for a portrait…and then turns so I could photograph the other side.

Mt. Pleasant Farm in May 2017

The Howard County Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant Farm was a busy place in May: many field trips from elementary and middle schools and the flurry of construction on the education center expansion…trying to finish by the end of the month. There were the usual spring sights around the farm house: black walnuts leafing out and blooming,

Dogwoods in flower (this pink one is and near the rain garden).

And peonies.

The perimeter around the construction is mostly off limits – but the new sign in up.

Last week I took a walk out to the community garden to meet the buses for a 2^nd grade field trip and enjoyed the time before the other volunteers walked out doing some photography. There was plenty to see: dandelions gone to seed,

Water droplets in the grass,

Seeds of grasses and

Sturdy wild flowers in the areas no mowed recently.

The winds have broken some of the ties that held the fencing mesh around the community garden; I noticed it as I photographed goldfinches

And tree swallows. The tree swallows were in a nesting box near where the buses were going to unload. It sounded like there were already nestlings!