August Walk
Peter, Pearl, and I had a lovely late afternoon walk today. Goldenrod, cattails, and loosestrife.
It was breezy and cool, and the light was beautiful.
Lots of queen anne’s lace, too.
Eyes
Cris and I will often sit out on the deck and have a drink at the end of the day. For the last week or so, I have been looking at this white birch and seeing eyes looking at me. (Maybe it’s the beer.) It’s not creepy or anything, but it makes me think of people who claim to see Jesus’s image on a potoato chip or in a coffee stain on their stove-top. If you can’t quite see it, just squint or take off your eyeglasses.
Ducks on the Pond
Thanks to everyone who has sent along condolences about Mavis. We are really missing her, especially Pearl. / We walk alot near the UMASS track facility and just close to where we park the car is a small pond that starts out very clear in the Spring and over the Summer becomes filled with some kind of very green algae. For a while this family of ducks was hanging around. They couldn’t be bothered by the fact that we were checking them out.
Tustin Walk
Peter and I had a nice walk around the neighborhood today. It is very hot, but there is a bit of a breeze and there is always something interesting to see. Plants just grow out here, many of which I have never seen before. This round thing is about twice the size of a basketball.
This El Camino SS 396 is parked just down the street. We’ve been driving by it all week and I especially wanted to get some photos before we leave.
Concrete flowers
I love plants that seem to grow out of concrete. As usual, I have no idea what these flowers are but help in identifying them is welcome.
Ladybug (family Coccinellidae)
I have always liked ladybugs. For some reason they make me think of my mom. Looks like this one is drying out one of his wings. / I seem to be spending more time out on the deck following the progress of the tomatoes and herbs. Everything is still growing nicely. This beetle is sitting on the thyme enjoying the morning sunshine.
Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
This is an amazing year for the Mountain Laurel. Some years it barely flowers, and some years it is nice but nothing special. This is the best I have seen it in a very long time. The woods are alive with it. In fact, this whole Spring/Early Summer has been interesting. Everything is flowering like crazy, and we have had 2 black bears in the past few days. On Thursday a smallish youngster and yesterday morning its mother. She was huge and looking to come up on the deck to have a go at the bird feeders. I was bummed to have to bring them inside. The hummingbirds have been draining their feeder every few days and I had just started to see the rose breasted grosbeaks. Oh well, I’ll still try to hang them during the day and hope for the best.
Yellow Flower
I’m not sure what this flower is. It is probably a weed, but it looked nice in the early evening light.
Pink Lady’s Slippers (Cypripedium acaule)
A few months ago I mentioned Pink Lady’s Slippers in a post and I have been waiting for them to show up in the woods next to the house. We have had so much rain lately and very little sun, so I wasn’t sure if we would have a good showing. Each year they seem to spread a bit wider and this year is no exception. There are at least fifty within a hundred feet of our deck. / The US Forest Service has a good description here.
They will be around for another week or so and then disappear back into the forest floor.
Jardin Botanique de Montreal
Before it started raining heavily yesterday, Cris and I got the chance to go to the Botanical Gardens out near the Olympic site. Since it was so early in the season, there was no charge to enter. The daffodils and some of the tulips were out, and the Alpine garden was especially nice. / Back to the States in an hour or so. It’s been fun.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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