Blog: Insect Collection Photographs – Part II

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I remember my own experience making an insect collection during the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of high school. I used thin black pins from the local university book store and found some light green Styrofoam that I cut to fit in a rectangular box. One of my friends and I made insect nets: Netting sewn into a sock-light shape with the open end gathered onto clothesline wire that was looped and duct taped to a dowel or old broom handle. They worked reasonably well! Butterflies and moths were my favorites – but I also was very pleased with dragonflies I captured as well. I included at least 2 cicada killers but not captured with the net; I put a jar over the hole I saw them disappear into! It was a memorable experience  from the late 1960s.

I never did see a cecropia moth back then…but my son-in-law has several specimens. The one with the bushier antennae below is the male. The female is the larger of the two.

There are adult and pupae in my son-on-law’s boxes.

He even managed to preserve a caterpillar with emerging parasitoid larvae! I never developed the expertise to find and preserve anything like that.

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Insect Collection Photographs – Part I

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My son-in-law has an insect collection that he’s mounted in wooden boxes – carefully labeled – to use for reference and outreach. He took the top covers off to make them easier to photograph.

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The dragonflies look very much as they do when alive.

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He pointed out the Dobson flies – what hellgrammites (benthic macroinvertebrates) grow up to be. It’s always very exciting to find the larvae in our stream surveys…we don’t see the adults as often. Both specimens appear to be females since the males have longer mandibles.

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Not an invertebrate I want to see in a house when it’s alive!

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Some of the insects are pinned to display their wing patterns with one side folded…the other unfurled.

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I’ll share more for other boxes tomorrow….butterflies and moths.

Decorating for Christmas

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Our decorating has lagged this year because of my travel at Thanksgiving and then the flurry of volunteer gigs right after I returned. My husband put the wreath on the door before I got home from Springfield, Missouri but it wasn’t until this last weekend that we put the tree up.

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We are keeping it simple this year – just lights and Zentangle coasters on our white tree. I’m still creating more coasters so there will be others added to the tree as the month progresses. I started with about 40 this past weekend.

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I put the cards from past years on the door scrunchies as I usually do….and more cards will be under the plastic on our breakfast table.

Festive…without a lot of effort.

Natural Holiday Sale

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Last weekend Howard County Conservancy hosted their annual Natural Holiday Sale. I volunteered – as I have for the past few years – to keep the refreshment table full of goodies. So many people brought in loads of cookies…it was easy to keep the variety of delicious cookies (dried fruit for garnish). Making the Russian tea from the powdered mix and taking it out to the urn took more coordination!

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There were garden clubs and other vendors filling the room…and live music – piano in the morning, harp in the afternoon.

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The usual collection of natural materials took some space – lots to choose from to make ‘critters.’ I took my pictures just before the event opened to the public with the glue guns and materials were still relatively pristine!

There are so many ways to combine the materials….lots of creative minds at work on that side of the room!

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There is quite a food tradition in the kitchen for volunteers and vendors: scones and coffee for the morning

Then BLT salad and soups/chilis for lunch. My favorite is the chicken chili with tomatillo salsa.

Overall – a great way to finish off the volunteering with HCC this year!

Maryland Water Monitoring Council Annual Conference

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The 25th MWMC Annual Conference was held last week. It was my third time to attend and it was, once again, a great opportunity to catch up on water-related research and Maryland specific plans, activities, and accomplishments. The two themes in the sessions I chose to attend were watershed health and remote sensing. I am hoping the agenda with links for the presentation material will come out soon since my note taking is not all that legible.

I also enjoyed the vendor tables. One of the companies that did the stream restoration at Howard Country Conservancy’s Davis Branch had a table – and a post card picturing the project (before last summer’s drought)!

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One vendor had a great ‘Got Bugs? Banner and another had macroinvertebrate stickers.

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There were other giveaways too – lip balm, pens, a frog shopping bag, and a folding card Field Guide to Aquatic Macroinvertebrates.

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The conference was the largest every – with over 600 attendees.

Last 2019 Student Event at Mt Pleasant

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Last week the annual Howard County Conservancy ‘Weather to the Extreme’ conference was held for 6th grade students from half the middle schools in our county. I volunteered as a session moderator. As usual – I was too busy to take pictures after the students arrive…but there was a little time just after I arrived. As I got out of my car, I heard a noise in the trees just above me and the squirrel continued to work on the black walnut long enough for me to take pictures. It’s amazing that the squirrels can get through the tough shell of these nuts.

There was a tiny amount of snow overnight…still evident in a few areas…no enough to cause any traffic challenges.

The witch hazel is still blooming, and the seed pods will be forming soon. There are buds on the witch hazel that blooms in February now. I’ll try to check them every time I go to Mt Pleasant over the winter.

Very few of the cone flower seed heads look intact. The birds enjoy the seeds….and probably knock some to the ground that will grow next spring.

There are always things to see around Mt Pleasant….even on a cold and damp day!





Gleanings of the Week Ending December 7, 2019

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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.

Red Tides Under the Microscope | The Scientist Magazine® - It’s surprising what we don’t yet know about the organism responsible for red tides – Karenia Brevis. Spanish explorers of Florida in the 15th and 16th centuries described fish kills in Gulf waters. The first official documentation was in 1882 – published in the Proceedings of the US National Museum. This article is about what we know….and where more research is needed.

The woman who reshaped maths - BBC Future – Hilda Geiringer…a refugee from the Nazis. A BBC Future column celebrating a ‘missed genius’ whose contributions are still notable in the world today.

NOAA weather balloons find no zero-ozone regions above South Pole during 2019 ozone hole season | NOAA Climate.gov – A little science…a little history…a projection. The positive message – if the trend continues, it’s estimated that the ozone layer will recover around 2070.

Abrupt shifts in Arctic climate projected: Likelihood of an abrupt increase in wildfires also noted -- ScienceDaily – With specific modeling of permafrost as it continues to degrade….it appears that the changes won’t be as gradual as  previously assumed.

Lake On Bottom Of Halema‘uma‘u Crater At Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park Now Bigger Than Football Field – The lake was noticed back in July….and is being studied with instruments on drones. More information is at the National Park Service site for the park.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week: Wild Birds – National Geographic Society Newsroom – I always enjoy the bird photography compiled by National Geographic every week.

Offshore Wind Has the Potential to Fulfill Global Electricity Demand 18 Times Over - Yale E360 – Hurray for this potential….the transition is the challenge.

AP: At least 1,680 dams across the US pose potential risk – There is a link to an interactive map that shows where the 1,680 dams are located. The last paragraphs of the article are the most troubling. There are a lot of dams with unknown status. Roughly 45% of Texas dams are exempt from regulation…in Missouri safety inspections are only done on 650 of its more than 5,000 dams. And states that know about problematic private dams often can’t identify the owners to address the dam’s issues.

Aging in good health: The inequalities are widening -- ScienceDaily – A study with over 11 million people tracked for 25 years!

Susquehanna Sediment in the Chesapeake Bay – Imagery of big rivers and the Chesapeake Bay after a storm at the end of October…. close to where I live. On a positive note - the sediment (even after the record rains earlier this year) has not damaged the underwater grasses on the Susquehanna Flats as much as was initially feared.

Christmas Cactus

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My daughter got a cutting from her grandmother’s Christmas cactus a few years ago. It is much travelled; the cutting originated in Texas…was potted in Pennsylvania… moved to Missouri last summer.

It has grown into a lush plant and is getting ready to bloom – right in sync with the season. It is on a glass topped table in front of a window…making the cloudy and cold days more cherry.

I took some closeup views of the buds. I like the curves and the color fade from white to pink to red. The spines at the base of the buds show up as well.

Springfield Conservation Nature Center

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One of the places I wanted to see while I was in Springfield, Missouri was the Conservation Nature Center. The weather was wet and cold when we arrived. I took a few pictures of the oak trees in the parking lot – noting a school bus (a group that might have been on a field trip) too.

The triangular logo was on the building as we made our way to the door.  The emphasis is on conservation rather than natural resources or nature as in Maryland where we have a Department of Natural Resources. It seems to be a semantic difference that may have some broader implications although it wasn’t obvious looking at the displays in the Springfield Conservation Nature Center.

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The foyer space was used for bird shapes – on the floor and overhead. It was a good display to compare relative sizes of birds.

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There was a wall of windows that looked out onto a small pond and bird feeders. The November birds in Missouri are the ones I recognize from my feeders in Maryland: titmouse, Carolina wren, downy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, nuthatch. I talked with the volunteer there about the types of naturalist groups in Springfield…and volunteer opportunities. It would be easy to find similar volunteer gigs in Springfield that I have in Maryland; another bit of information for when (and if) we move to Missouri.

There were some live exhibits – turtles, frogs and snakes….some fish.

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I enjoyed the kite-sized mobiles of butterflies and moths overhead in one of the display areas.

It was a good short outing for a late November day. Next time I am in Springfield, I will take to the trails around the nature center.

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Road Trip to Springfield

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The Friday before Thanksgiving I started my drive to Springfield MO. The route was familiar from the trips last summer – with scenery changes with the colder season. I was also driving on my own. I took pictures at every stop. The first was at the South Mountain rest stop on I70 – western Maryland. The stones and signs encourage more exploration off the highway, but I had a long driver ahead, so I simply took my pictures and continued on.

I stopped at the Sidling Hill rest stop on I68. I hadn’t remembered the building looking like something in the southwest! It was too cold and damp to walk for a better shot of the large road cut.

By the afternoon I was in Ohio

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And then Indiana. The sun was getting low on the horizon during the last hour of my drive. I saw sundogs and then contrails from flights in-out of Indianapolis turn pink with the sunset. I didn’t stop for a picture. I was anxious for the drive to be over.

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I stopped for the night in Cloverdale, Indiana – just off I70. The hotel room had a US map made of license plates.

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The second day of the trek to Springfield MO started shortly after 7 AM. I had taken in the plants I was taking into the hotel (to avoid them getting too cold). I was glad I could park close to the room since it took more than one trip to get everything into the room.

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It took 2.5 tanks of gas to get to Springfield. The day was gray and damp.

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Illinois had signs about wildflowers in one rest stop…but none bloom in the cold.

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In Missouri, I stopped at the Route 66 rest stop less than an hour from Springfield. I was glad to be near the end of the trip.

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Eight days later I reversed the trek…driving back to Maryland.

30 years ago – December 1989

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30 years ago – I did my first airplane travel with my daughter. She was 3 months old and I flew from Maryland to Dallas to introduce her to my family in early December. My husband went off to a conference in San Francisco the same week. We had two suitcases to check --- or maybe I checked three. I know I carried the diaper bag on the plane and the baby was in a denim carrier on the front of me….so that I could use my coat to keep her warm and have both hands relatively free. Note the old style suitcases; one had wheels but they were tiny for the size of the suitcase. At least the security at the airport was not as strict as it is now – no taking off shoes and all outerwear and all liquids in 3 ounce sizes in a quart sized Ziploc.

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I had barely gotten the baby to enjoy formula from a bottle before the big travel day….making it easier to feed her on the plane. I’d taken the bottle with water in it and used powdered formula so that it didn’t spoil. The plane was not full for the trip to Dallas. My sister and her husband met us as at the airport and wondered where the baby was (in the front carrier almost completely hidden)!

3 months is a time of more baby smiles and interactions with others. She had a growth spurt will we were in Dallas and wanted to nurse all the time…and then sleep. My father snapped a picture of us both getting a quick nap between feedings.

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When she was awake, the baby was holding toys and trying to roll over.

Once we were all home again – there was more snow and Christmas cards. It was a very family and friends focused month. I was still on leave from work; a few of my colleagues came by to see the baby. I was still adjusting to motherhood…my husband was feeling a little neglected!

eBotantical Prints – November 2019

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All the books added in November were from the same authors. Charles and Edouard Morren were a father and son. They produced 35 volumes of La Belgique Horticole from 1851-1885. Both men died in their early 50s and there was no continuation of the publication after the death of the son.  This monthly post has sample images from 28 of those volumes and I will continue the series into December (posting the images for those volumes in early January). The illustrations are quite varied. They are often illustrations rather that full botanical prints – still beautiful and particularly appealing this time of year when our gardens here in Maryland are mostly brown. I’m looking forward to the upcoming volumes. The list for the individual volumes from this month is after the sample images; for a list of all the volumes Internet Archive has – check here.

The volumes are all freely available on the Internet. The whole list of more than 1800 books can be accessed here. Sample images and links for the 28 new ones are provided below. (click on the sample image to see a larger view) Enjoy!

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V1 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1851

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V2 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1852

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V3 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1853

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V4 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1854

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V5 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1855

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V6 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1856

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V7 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1857

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V8 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1858

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V9 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1859

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V10 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1860

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V11 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1861

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V12 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1862

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V13 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1863

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V14 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1864

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V15 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1865

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V16 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1866

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V17 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1867

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V18 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1868

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V19 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1869

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V20 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1870

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V22 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1872

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V21 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1871

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V23 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1873

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V24 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1874

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V25 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1875

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V26 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1876

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V27 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1877

La Belgique horticole : Journal des jardins V28 * Morren, Charles; Morren, Edouard * sample image * 1878

Zentangle® - November 2019

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The 30 tiles I picked for November were all ‘project’ tiles. 28 of them are 3-inch paper coasters with patterns made with red Sharpie Ultra-Fine pens. The round coasters are thick enough that both sides can be tangled. My plan is to punch a hole in the coasters and use them as ornaments on my Christmas tree or hanging between the newel posts of my stair and loft railings. I’ll be making more in December and will post about how I am displaying them.

The other projects were 4-inch tiles made with window plastic…patterns made with Sharpie Fine point. These tiles will go in the corner partitions of a glass paneled door at my daughter’s house.

Overall – this continues my tilt over the past few months toward Zentangle tiles with a purpose beyond the Zen of their creation.

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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. "Zentangle" is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 30, 2019

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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.

US-born residents more than 5 times likely to use prescription opioids than new immigrants -- ScienceDaily – Evidently new immigrants are often healthier than non-immigrants despite their poorer background….which is a clue that there is something about American culture that influences opioid use.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week: Spectacular – National Geographic Society Newsroom – Enjoy the birds! We are enjoying the birds coming to our feeder and (heated) bird bath…in the trees around our house. They are easier to see now that the leaves have fallen from the tees.

50 Fish, 50 States: Small Stream Wonders – Cool Green Science – Lots of small fish! When we are in the streams with high school students, we often find small fish but since they aren’t what we are looking for – we simply put them back without identification. Maybe I should look for a simple small fish ID to take a long and start to photograph them too.

A Giant Treehouse 'Like A Castle' Is Destroyed By Fire In Tennessee: NPR – My sister and I visited this giant treehouse in 2012 when we were in that area of Tennessee. Sad that it’s gone.

Hurricanes have become bigger and more destructive for USA -- ScienceDaily – An expensive trend.

When Turkeys Attack – I’m glad the wild turkey population is recovering….hope we can develop strategies to co-exist!

Scientists study impact of sediments and nutrients from Conowingo Dam on Chesapeake Bay -- ScienceDaily – Close to home. The base of Conowingo Dam is where we go to view Bald Eagles. There is a lot of concern now about the sediment build up in the reservoir --- state governments and the utility are working to determine best options for prolonging the energy generation capacity of the dam and improving water quality into the bay.

Big Box Stores Leading the Shift to Renewable Energy - News | Planetizen – Wal-Mart and Target are all in….what about other big box stores? What about owners of shopping centers? Lots of stores are in leased spaces.

Five Architectural Firms Retained to Redesign National Mall Tidal Basin – Another ‘close to home’ in this set of gleanings. This one is in the District of Columbia. Think of the Jefferson Memorial and the cherry blossoms. Flooding has increased over the time we have living in this area (now over 35 years). Hope they can develop a good design and get the funding to implement it.

Manta Ray Populations Have Complex Social Structures | The Scientist Magazine® - A study of the reef mantas as they aggregate around the reefs of the eastern Indonesian archipelago Raja Ampat. The study showed two distinct groupings: one dominated by older females and the other a mix of sexes and ages.

Zooming – November 2019

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November was busy with activities that didn’t include a lot of photography…..but still enough to show off some great zoom photos. Museum photography is easy using the zoom since I can get the shot I want while standing well back from the object to avoid reflections off glass cases. Usually the lighting of objects is concentrated so that my camera’s autofocus works very well. Then there are the pictures from outdoors – birds and autumn scenes. The zoom allows me to frame the picture the way I want – avoiding the need to crop later.

All the images this month were taken with my small point-and-shot Cannon SX730 HS rather than my larger Canon SC60 HS bridge camera. The smaller camera is easier to carry in my purse and faster to turn on and get the pictures of birds at my feeder!

Ten Little Celebrations – November 2019

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Today is Thanksgiving here in the U.S….so I’ll start out my list of celebrations for this month with that holiday. It’s a day to reflect on what we appreciate in our life. There is so much to be thankful for. I even remembered to put the Indian corn on our front door the day after Halloween so I could enjoy it all month.

Robinson Nature Center - I am celebrating the new volunteer opportunities…more indoors that my other gigs. This winter won’t be a lull in volunteer activities!

Fennel – I celebrated that there was organic fennel in my grocery’s produce section!

HoLLIE lecture – An interesting lecture….and a reminder to celebrate the richness of learning opportunities close to where I live.

A sunny fall day – The month had some cold temperatures. I realized that seeing the sun on those cold days (even if through a window) is a little celebration.

Zentangle Christmas ornaments – I managed to start early making designs on both sides of paper coasters with a red Ultra-fine Sharpie. They are a celebration to make…to display…to give away.

Witch hazel blooming – Something blooming in November…with streamers…just when the trees are losing their leaves. Worth noticing and a celebration.

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Mowing leaves – It works! The yard looks good and my back doesn’t hurt. A strategy to celebrate.

Howard Country Conservancy preK – 3rd grade field trips – October was the peak of the field trip season but the ones in November had their own challenges – some cold, some wet…some windy. Overall – they were a good time in the outdoors for all – celebrating fall.

Road trip to Springfield MO– Road trips on my own are always a good time to think and enjoy the open road…celebrating with family when I get there.

Mt Pleasant in November 2019

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The Howard Country Conservancy fall field trips for elementary students are over for the season. I took a few pictures at Mt Pleasant as the place moved through the fall – between hikes with the students. The meadow is shades of brown now. The students almost always ask about the yellow fruits of horse nettle that are nestled down in the grasses; the color makes them stand out. Many times, we see black or turkey vultures soaring over the meadow.

Some of the dried foliage and seed pods are worth a closer look….for their complexity or the seeds attached to fibers that easily carry the seeds away (thistles and golden rod and milkweed).

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There are vines on some of the trees that are colorful – invasives like oriental bittersweet usually.

On a very cold day, I rolled over a small log. I didn’t see any squiggling critter but there was a small mushroom and amber droplets (maybe fungus?).

On a log at the edge of a brush pile, fungus was continuing its decomposition; the bark had already sluffed off.

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There is always something interesting on every hike….I’m always in awe of what the student notice and ask about….glad that they enjoy being outdoors as much as I do.

3 Free eBooks – November 2019

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So many wonderful books available online. Here are three I explored this month.

Freer Gallery of Art. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery; Smithsonian Institution. Annual Records for 2003-2010. Asiatica 2003-2010. 8 volumes available from Internet Archive here. Images (and short articles) from the annual record of these museums. I choose a sample image from each of the 8 volumes.

Mason, Otis Tufton. Aboriginal American Basketry: Studies in a Textile Art without Machinery. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1904. Available from Internet Archive here. A large book – over 800 pages with over 200 plates (a few in color). Some of the baskets are simple and utilitarian…other are works of art (and maybe still utilitarian as well).

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Cort, Louise Allison. Seto and Mino Ceramics. Washington: Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution. 1992. Available from Internet Archive here. Dark-glazed, conservative Chinese-inspired ceramics from two Japanese ceramics centers.

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Red-Bellied Woodpecker

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My favorite birds in our backyard this month has been a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers. They are probably the largest bird that comes to our feeder. They contort themselves to move seeds around until they can get the larger sunflower seeds. Both the male and female take turns. The red feathers extend to the top of the head on the male…and are just on the back of the head/neck on the female. These birds both look like they are in prime condition.

I’ve also discovered that our neighbors have a feeder that the birds frequent. The birds are getting a lot of support in this neighborhood!

Sometimes the birds fly away with their seed and sometimes they seem to take it to the roof edge of our covered deck. I am beginning to wonder if they are slipping the seeds under the shingles for storage. Both the male and female seem to be doing it.

Most of the time I haven’t been able to photograph the birds in the trees but now that more of the leaves are gone in the red maple, maybe I’ll see them more frequently.

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Cranberries

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I am enjoying cranberries almost every day this month!

In breakfast smoothies (together with vanilla flax milk, walnuts, and a banana), salads (chopped with nuts, raw sweet potato, celery plus flakes of canned chicken, a dressing of mayo and ginger preserves), stir fry (any time I want a tart fruit flavor with the veggies), baked with an apple, a few pecans and a dab of butter.

Cranberries are easy to freeze so I’ve been stocking up and freezing them…using up almost all the small plastic containers I have. I’ll be enjoying cranberries long after the season is over.

When I want a pretty smoothie – I add some fresh or canned beets to the smoothie along with the cranberries. Very pink/red…a great seasonal start to the day.