NOT AGAIN! ????

 I was merrily answering comments last night and got several done when all of a sudden, I got an error message. A little different this time. It did allow me to push the publish button, but the error message popped up saying my message could not be published. I am hoping by tomorrow that too will have been temporary and will try again. Has anyone else had a problem tonight? It happened at around 11.00 p.m.

The surprise I had the night before was this handsome fellow on our patio door above my head. I took my nightly look out the back window before going upstairs, and it was staring at me right in the face. I don't know who was more startled, yes probably the katydid. I couldn't see it properly and used the light on my phone, and then took a photo also with my phone. I made several attempts and all but this one were blurry. The ID online said it was a Katydid, also known as a Bush Cricket? It did say that this might have been after its first or last molt, can't remember which now. You can read about them at this link if interested. If any of you know for sure, let me know would you please? I had fun playing with one of the apps and came up with this.

A while ago I mentioned that several of the old homes that had been around for years, a mile so down the road, were finally torn down. This is the first house that has been built. I was amazed at how fast. We kept passing by and they looked like they were hollowing out the ground for a basement as there was this big hole. That seemed to take forever. A few days later this appeared. I will try and remember to take a photo once it’s finished. The place before was less than a quarter its size. I miss the old house.

This building is a church we pass by. When we moved here over 30 plus years ago it used to be a farm property where people kept their horses. I loved passing by and counting them. 

It wasn't such a wide road back then and we could slow down and sometimes stop to take photos. The church went up I want to say about 10 years ago. I still miss seeing the horses. Here's a closer look of the church.

I had a good time taking photos of clouds. The skies were full of them that day. It was hot but hardly any humidity, which is always a plus.

“Bows and flows of angel hair, and ice-cream castles in the air.” 

Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now

I captured a plane on its way into Washington-Dulles Airport. I wish I had remembered to look at my airplane app to see where it departed from.

“I am the daughter of Earth and Water, and the nursling of the Sky.”

Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Cloud

The truck was huge and parked on the side of the road. There are town homes across the street, and this strip runs several hundred yards where people from those homes can park overnight. Parking spaces are at a bare minimum where they live, and the powers that be let them park there, for the time being anyway. This was still early so no one had made it home yet from work. Usually they are parked bumper to bumper.

It was a great day to sky watch. 

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day. 

HUMMINGBIRD MOTH

This is hubby’s photo of a hummingbird moth taken at Walney a couple of days ago. I have been looking for them but we always arrived at the wrong time. This day he lucked out by spotting it just as we were leaving. Another extraordinary insect and you can have a proper look at this link. I have also found other posts of our own photos here and here and lastly here. You will have to scroll down a bit for the last one. It’s a real pretty one on the last post called a White-lined Sphynx Moth. 

Unlike most moths, they fly during the day (diurnal). They hover in place over flowers and use a long, straw-like mouth called a proboscis to drink nectar. They have thick, fuzzy bodies, clear wings with dark borders, and fan-like tails. 

When I saw one for the first time, I actually thought it was a hummingbird. Real hummingbirds, however, are much larger with feathers, while hummingbird moths have visible antennae and clear wing patches. 

From a distance it can be confusing. The first time I saw the difference, I was very, very surprised. I had never seen a Hummingbird Moth before.

Thanks for looking and 

I hope your day is a great one.

 

A MILKWEED TUSSOCK MOTH - FOUND IN THE FRONT GARDEN BED OF WALNEY VISITOR CENTER

 We were at Walney yesterday afternoon (the 24th) around 3 o’clock. I was very happy when I saw this beautiful caterpillar on one of the milkweed leaves. I wasn't looking for it in particular, more for the milkweed bugs you can see in the second photo. It was a nice surprise. I positioned my cell phone low and directed it upwards to get this and was delighted but very surprised it turned out reasonably well.

As many of you already know, you don’t ever want to pick one of these up with bare hands. They have a great defense system against predators. That applies to many other caterpillars. And while we are on the subject, as beautiful as nature is, we need a good dose of common sense about it all don’t we, and a bit of knowledge helps? This is something I have learned myself over these many years. I feel like I am still learning every day just by stepping out the front door.

There is a very interesting article to read here.

I will say more in another post. It's late and time to put my laptop away. 

RANDOM PHOTO AND AN OLD FAVORITE

I took this photo ages ago and came across it recently. It is one I saw sitting on the stem of a dried-up lotus pod.

It shows a male Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis). It is easily recognized by its powdery blue abdomen, striped thorax and striking green-blue eyes. A pale face, banded markings on the thorax and clear wings with dark veins. Frequently found near ponds, marshes and slow-moving waters across North America, so I read.

Here are other interesting facts that I found on Google.

The only "Dasher": it is a monotypic species, meaning it is the sole member of its entire genus (Pachydiplax).

The "Obelisk" Handstand: to avoid overheating on hot days, it raises its abdomen straight up towards the sun. This obelisk posture minimizes the surface area exposed to solar radiation.

Illusory "Long Wings": its species name "longipennis" translates to "long wings". However, its wings are quite average; the name exists because females have an exceptionally short abdomen, making their wings look much longer by comparison.

Illusion of Blue: the powdery, chalky-blue color on the male's abdomen is not actually caused by blue pigment. Instead, it is an optical illusion created by a waxy coating called pruinescence, which scatters light.

Pollution Tolerant: unlike many delicate insects, the blue dasher is highly adaptable and thrives in polluted environments, storm drains and urban runoff parks that other species flee.

Fierce Mosquito Hunters: they are incredible assets for pest control. A single blue dasher can capture and eat hundreds of mosquitoes and gnats every day.

Rapid-Fire Egg Layer: when breeding, a female can dramatically lay between 300 and 700 eggs in a span of just 30 seconds by tapping her abdomen on the water's surface. This website here has photos that show the difference between a male and female and also has a lot more information.

Extreme Aerial Territory Battles: males are aggressively territorial. They guard their hunting perches by executing frantic, high-speed loops and vertical rocket chases against rival males.

Gender Color Shifting: juveniles and females primarily sport yellow and brown stripes. However, as females age, they can gradually turn a dusty blue, mimicking the males.

Aquatic Underworld Beginnings: before taking flight, they spend the vast majority of their lives (up to 11 months) underwater as aquatic nymphs, breathing through internal gills and aggressively hunting tadpoles and small fish.

If you are curious about these fascinating insects, there is a wealth of information out there online.

Thanks for looking and 

I hope your week is going great.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST IN ONE NEAT LITTLE PACKAGE

When we went on a walk the other day, ending up at the Walney Visitor Center, what I was looking for were butterflies. I didn't see one unfortunately, not even skippers, but there were lots of bees, a few milkweed bugs and an interesting, pretty little creature that you can see in my next photo. I found it on a milkweed plant. I thought to myself what a little beauty. When I got home, I found that this was Beauty and the Beast in one neat little package.

What I read surprised me and I was disheartened by my find. It is an Invasive Spotted Lanternfly nymph. What strikes me is that they are the most beautiful insect but horribly destructive to crops. Because they are an invasive pest in Virginia, local agricultural departments strongly encourage residents to destroy them.

These nymphs go through four developmental stages (instars) and I am getting all this from Google). The first three are black with bright white spots, while the final stage turns bright red with black stripes and white spots. They are wingless, powerful jumpers and feed on plant sap, excreting a sticky substance called honeydew.

These are their four distinct stages: nymphs hatch from over-wintered egg masses in late April or early May. They grow through molting stages (instars) before transforming into adults in mid-to-late July.

1st to 3rd Instar: very small about 1/4 inch wingless and black with distinctive white spots.

4th Instar: larger (about 1/2 inch) and bright red with black stripes and white spots. This seems to be the one I found.

Diet and Damage: nymphs use straw-like mouthparts to pierce the tender stems and foliage of over 70 plant species, extracting nutrient-rich sap. While feeding, they excrete excess sugary fluid called "honeydew", mentioned earlier. 

Sooty Mold Threat: the excreted honeydew coats surrounding plants and surfaces, promoting the growth of a thick black "sooty mold" that blocks sunlight and can harm or kill the host plants.

Jumping ability: because they don't have wings yet, nymphs can't fly but they have strong hind legs and will jump and hop rabidly when disturbed.

Here's a YouTube on how we can take steps to get rid of them and there is plenty of other information online if you have found them in your area. 

The following photos were on Wikipedia here and where you can see the adult. Quite beautiful as you can see from the middle photo at the bottom.

According to a study done by Penn State, this YouTuber says they have caused $50,000,000 worth of damage, and the loss of 500 jobs per year.

This was only my second introduction to the Spotted Lanternfly. The last one I saw was an adult in a Winchester shopping center three years ago. I had no clue as to what it was but I remember thinking it was one of the most beautiful moths I had ever seen. However, it isn't a moth despite its moth-like wings. It is actually an invasive planthopper that belongs to the order Hemptera (which includes true bugs, cicadas and aphids). Moths belong to the order Lepidoptera. And now I know.

Have you seen them in your area?

Thanks for looking and hope you are all staying cool in all this heat. To those of you on the other side, hope you are staying warm.

ANN'S 4TH OF JULY CARD PLUS...

A few things today but first of all I wanted to share and thank Ann for her lovely 4th of July card. It's beautiful. All the components go so well together, a lovely color and pattern combination. 

Thank you Ann! 

Whenever I think you can't send anything prettier than what you have sent before, you do! It's beautiful!

I enjoy Ann’s blog too. It’s called Ann’s Snap Edit Scrap and you can click here to visit. 

I also want to thank everyone who sent me a birthday card, family and friends, and to everyone for your birthday wishes. It was lovely getting all of them.You are all very special and kind.

Not only that, but many of you gave great advice on my birthday meal. I still can't quite believe that ever happened. Not even a cheerful countenance and pleasant conversation saved that dinner, and letting me know what you would have done, gave me a clearer mind about it all. But there you go, into every sunny day a little rain falls to remind us not to take these things for granted. The lady avatar above I put together a few days later just for fun, and the eye rolling gave me a smile. It was like looking in the mirror, wink, wink! 

I was given a lovely birthday gift, which I will share later when I have it set up. The gift I can show you now are these. A pair of dangly earrings that I saw the other day and were a birthday gift to myself. I couldn't resist them. They are just costume jewelry, nothing expensive but I was drawn to them. Just for fun I tucked them into a sunflower for the photo.

My birthday flowers from Gregg, son and daughter-in-law. Those put a smile on my face too. I have separated them into vases and placed them around the family room.

I am a little late answering your comments. Over the last few days I have felt slightly under the weather. I went out in the heat and think I overdid it, even though I took my container of water with me to stay hydrated and wore my sun hat. I should have known to turn back earlier but I can become laser focused when looking for those butterflies! I have been out a few times to get some exercise, but today I knew better and made it a very short one. 

We went over to Walney Visitor Center to see if we could see butterflies but didn't even see a Skipper. A few bees and... 

a couple of interesting insects. The one below looks like the kind Ginny identified the other day, a milkweed bug. There weren't many but I expect they will soon be abundant. It seemed to be very taken with the milkweed pods.

I saw a hummingbird but not close enough to take a photo. It was for the mind's eye only and what a treat. Everywhere there have been mushrooms. Must have been all that rain we've had!

That's it for now. Thank you again for your delightful 4th of July card Anne, and everyone else for my birthday cards, wishes and great advice. Thank you for helping me feel better after my birthday post. You are all the best!

Take good care of yourselves, don't stay too long out in that heat like I did. I wish you a wonderful rest of the week.

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - REVISITING A TRIP TO FLORIDA TAKEN IN JANUARY 2013

 We woke up this morning to wind chill warning as low as 10 below zero. Can cause hypothermia if you are out in this too long. Temperature is 12 degrees F.  People east of us have worst conditions than we do, and probably further north. Please stay safe out there. Gregg just sent me this from his cell phone. Neither of us remember experiencing this before.

Now back to my ‘warm weather’ post.

The information below was found years ago, so may not be up to date, though I have checked and fixed the links when needed for this redo post. They do over the years keep changing. What you read below was done in 2013.

Today I thought I would share some photos I took when we were on vacation in Florida a while back. It was a fun experience taking photos of birds we don’t get in our state, definitely a bird-lover’s paradise. Some of these were taken in the Everglades and others at a bird rehabilitation centre found while driving down to Key West.

We found this beautiful Green Heron when looking around a Marina.

The Stork was having fish for lunch under a pier in Sebastian. A fishing boat had just pulled in and one of the men from the boat tossed a bucket of leftover fish bait to the birds.

A Brown Pelican found also in Sebastian.

We found these pelicans at the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center in Tavernier.

As we did the Great Egret.

I have included a couple of maps showing Florida in the first map, and the Keys in the second. You can see the location of the rehabilitation center. It's very much worth a visit.

I was surprised to see all the restaurants pinpointed too. If you travel down Rt. 1, you can see the sanctuary approximately two-thirds of the way down. You can enlarge any of the photos for better details by clicking on them. I sometimes forget to do that when I am visiting blogging friends.

But now we are in the Everglades where there were many, many photo opportunities to take photos of Cormorants close up without using a zoom. It was an incredible experience. They must be very used to visitors and they should be. The Everglades typically welcome 1 million visitors per year (I added this information on Sunday, 2/7/26)

I saw several with outspread wings, drying them in the warm sun after diving and swimming for fish.

This pretty little bird is a Palm Warbler. 

And now for the bugs we found on the palm trees. These are the Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, young nymph (Romalea microptera).

2-7-26: thank goodness for old photos when the well is running dry, so to speak. I have been trying to take photos of bird out back and am not very successful at capturing them. My reflexes are definitely slowing down and the camera with our zoom is getting heavier it seems. Still, I never give up, says I smiling.

Thanks for looking everyone.

Have a great day.

GREEN SPRING GARDENS AND CHATEAU DE CHANTILLY CAFE BAKERY AND COFFEE

I only have a few photos taken at the garden (these photos are from the beginning of November). Lining one side of the parking lot are flower beds, and beyond is the garden. The garden mums (maybe Harmony mums) were looking very healthy. The sun was shining which felt so good and I didn’t need a coat. At first I thought there were dozens of bees buzzing from one flower to another, and was again surprised as they should all be safely tucked away for the winter. I looked closer and knew they weren't bees, for all the similarities. They were Drone flies. 

The Drone fly has brown and orange markings, and it looks very similar to a male Honeybee but is harmless. This mimicry helps protect it from predators while it gathers nectar. 

The key differences between this fly and the male Honeybee include its lack of a stinger and ‘waist’, and only one pair of wings. You can usually find them in gardens and urban areas. The Drone fly not only mimics the Honeybee in looks, but also in the way that it moves about, following the same flight patterns. Many of our often-overlooked insects are important pollinators for all kinds of plants, including those which we rely on like fruit trees. As I nibble on my apple, I will think of them very kindly. Splendid little things for what they give us, and we must do our utmost to protect them, along with all the other hardworking pollinators.

The Painted Daisies weren't as abundant but still beautiful and healthy looking. The Drone flies were enjoying them too. 

A very enjoyable trip to the garden and a nice surprise. This was one of those flying visits.

Another flying visit was to our favorite bakery of the moment, the Chateau de Chantilly Cafe, for a pastry and a cup of coffee. Santa was at the door greeting us.

Thank you for visiting.

Have a great day.