Mt. Pleasant Farm - August 2015 (part 2)

I am continuing the series of nature photos from my trek around Mt. Pleasant Farm last week. Friday’s post contains the earlier ones.

The last hike of the day started in the Honor’s Garden….and a frog in the lily pads. It sat very still ---- plenty of time for the campers to get a photo.

There was one water lily flower nearby….quite a scene in the small pond.

The garden is planted with plants native to the area. It is full of summer color in August.

There are several water features.

And the Joe Pye Weed is very popular with all kinds of insects.

I was pleased to photograph both a male

And female tiger swallowtail within a few minutes!

Just outside the garden was a sweet bay magnolia with seed pods is very stages of development.

We hiked down toward the meadow and along the path that borders the stone wall and line of large trees.

We reached the stream and many of the campers focused on trying to capture ripples and reflections. I liked the small leaf that was the bright color in the rocks along the bank.

We started back up the hill from the stream and noticed that dark, angry clouds were taking over the sky. We took a few more pictures as we walked back…..and were very close to the nature center when the first rumble of thunder came. That was the end of the outdoor nature photography for the afternoon!

Zooming - May 2015

May is always an excellent month for outdoor photography. I had no trouble at all finding a lot of zoomed images to create the collages below. Can you find the

• Dandelion,
• Buttercup,
• Dragonfly,
• Azaleas,
• Dogwoods,
• Trillium,
• Solomon's seal,
• Tulip poplar, and
• Celandine poppy?

Road Trip to North Carolina

We are back from a road trip to North Carolina - focused on the coastal National Wildlife Refuges. I have a series of posts planned for the next few weeks. Today my focus is the getting away.

We had decided to leave a little later to avoid the weekday commuter traffic around the Washington DC beltway so we took our time packing the car. It had been very wet the previous day and there were earthworms that had taken shelter under the garage door - to keep from drowning. Some of them had stayed to long but others were already making their way back over the asphalt to the lawn. There was also a tiny frog on the driveway that was evidently too cold to move.

My husband decided the traffic was light enough for us to leave earlier than he’d planned…and we were ready. We were on the road by 8:30. It was such a gray day that it was not a scenic drive. The non-native pears trees (escaped Bradford pear trees) were in bloom in the brushy areas along the highway. The new leaves of the season provided a hint of green.

We stopped to stretch our legs at the rest stops almost every hour….made very good time. It was still gray and cold as we drove over the bridge near Norfolk and saw larger ships.

And then we arrived in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina and discovered that our room had a view of the Wright Brothers National Memorial (on the side of the barrier island facing the mainland) and about a block from the beach in the opposite direction (on the side of the barrier island facing the Atlantic). We hoped for a warmer and sunnier tomorrow!

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 14, 2015

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.

Behind the Photo: Paul Nicklen’s Leaping Penguins - Video of leaping penguins….and how it came to be.

This Scientific Paper Proves That Nature Never Stops Weirding Us Out - Did you know that frogs retract their eyes into their heads to push crickets down their throat?

Older adults: Double your protein to build more muscle - Maybe the recommended daily allowance for older adults needs to change.

Your Two-Minute Break to Enjoy Wildlife Along The Moose-Wilson Road In Grand Teton National Park - A short video….I enjoyed the reminder of how much I enjoyed a vacation at Grand Teton National Park years ago.

Expert panel recommends new sleep durations - Is your sleep duration within the new recommended range? Mine is. I was intrigued that there were two new categories added for this study: Young adults (18-25) and older adults (65+).

A surprisingly accurate map of the U.S. made with 600,000 bridges — and nothing else - Map created from data in the National Bridge Inventory maintained by the Federal Highway Administration…includes bridges that are longer than 20 feet. That’s a lot of bridges!

6 Wildlife Facts for World Wetlands Day - World Wetlands Day was Feb. 2….enjoy the facts and photos.

Fake Meat Gets Real - There are lots of new ways to get protein…some better than others. I liked the last sentence “you’re better off getting most of your protein from whole foods, including legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.”

Review of nonmedicinal interventions for delirium in older patients - Good! My observation has been that older people on multiple medications have side effects (like increased delirium) that are often worse than the symptom being treated….so it seems prudent to resist adding medications unless they are absolutely necessary.

An Inventory of Protected Bike Lanes - Bikes are becoming more popular for recreations and transportation in many places around the country. Bike lanes are one way cities are responding. By the end of 2014 there were 191 around the country. I hope the trend continues!