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. 

A LOVEABLE DONKEY

 I have combined two posts here from my old blog.  The dates published were in summer and fall of 2013.

We stopped by an old wooden gate to take my photos. I hung around quite a while waiting for her to look up hoping for a better picture, but she was too interested in munching on all that sweet grass. We were on a relatively short ride in the countryside, not too far from here. I believe she is a Miniature Mediterranean donkey. I visited several websites online and it was the closest I could get to an ID. I learned the following information from this website. It belongs to the Rosamind Gifford Zoo at Burnett Park in Syracuse, New York.

"Miniature Mediterranean donkeys originated in the Mediterranean area of Northern Africa, and have been established in the areas of Sicily, Sardinia and the United States. Their diet in the wild: grasses, shrubs and desert plants. At the zoo where I found this information, they are fed hay and mineral supplements.

Their life span in the wild is 25 to 30 years old. In human care, 30 to 35 years. There are three categories of donkeys: Miniature (36 inches tall and under), Standard (37 to  54 inches tall, and Mammoths (greater than 54 inches tall).

The miniature Mediterranean donkey uses vocalizations to communicate with other donkeys. Some of their vocalizations are so loud that they can be heard from over a mile away.

Miniature Mediterranean donkeys curl their top lip and show their front teeth when they discover a new or interesting smell. This response is called a "flehmen response," and it helps to move smells to an organ that processes new smells.

Male donkeys are called "jacks" and females are called "jennets" or "jennies".  Baby donkeys are called "foals", just like those of a horse."

I read elsewhere that they were imported into America in 1929 by Mr. Robert Green, a New York Stockbroker. He is quoted as saying, "Miniature donkeys possess the affectionate nature of a Newfoundland pony, the resignation of a cow, the durability of a mule, the courage of a tiger and the intellectual capability only slightly inferior to man". More information can be found at this link.

They are considered to be without doubt the most charming, sweet-natured and affectionate animals on earth.  

They are intelligent, easy-going and easily trained, and become very attached to their owners and to other donkeys they live with.  They make wonderful pets for both young and old.

It is also important to note that they are social animals and need company as they will pine if they are left on their own. This sweet little donkey was in a field with several goats.

I decided to combine another post for today. The same donkey with his other companions in the field, the goats mentioned above. These photos were taken in the Fall a few months later. It was dreary weather and drizzled steadily. However, this didn't deter us from stopping at the gate entrance. When traveling on the same road we usually see lots of goats and a solitary Mediterranean donkey. They weren't as close as they normally are, no close-ups this time. We observed one interesting interaction between the donkey and a young goat.

There was the donkey, doing what donkeys love to do, chomp on tasty grass.

He looked up and stared at us briefly and then went back to eating.  My attention turned to the metal cut-out of the goat on my right.  It wasn't there on our last visit a few months ago.

A little grainy but I saw a young goat eating out of what looked like an enormous pumpkin. He was looking towards to the rest of his tribe/trip. What do you call a group of goats? A tribe or a trip.  

He decided it was time to join his family, maybe its mother had called him, who knows.  As he was walking past the donkey, something odd happened.  

The donkey's ears flattened and he started chasing the goat.  

That young goat took off as fast as its little legs could go.

When the goat rejoined its family, the donkey stopped and they were joined by a little white dog, that saw us looking from over the gate and barked very loudly at us. We took the hint and thought it was time to move on. Good little guard dog and for such a tiny body he had a very loud bark.

Something else I learned today, I didn't know a donkey could move that fast! Why do you think he behaved that way?  Normally whenever we have seen both donkey and goats, they have been quite amicable towards each other.  Is it a protective instinct on the donkey's part, a herding instinct like that of a sheep dog? All I know is that I absolutely adore donkeys, goats too but my special spot today goes for the donkey.

Thanks for visiting everyone, and 

I hope your week is going well.

CHIPMUNKS AT GREEN SPRING GARDENS 9-7-24

Gregg took all these photos. It is hard to see but there are two chipmunks in the photo above, a few feet off the ground. One is on the righthand side next to the single pink flower, and the other is more to the left above the group of pinks flowers. The only reason I found them was all the rustling and movement that was going on as we walked by. You can enlarge the photo for a better look.

It turned out that they were very interested in this yellow flower - Wholeleaf Rosinweed - munching away not on the petals but on the bud that was left after the petals had been taken off. They could have eaten those too but all I saw was them munching away at the buds. Very entertaining!

This one was the most cooperative for photo taking. He did a great job of balancing, and I was fascinated to see the long toes and nails on his feet.

There are actually 25 species of chipmunks. All species are native to North America, except one, the Siberian chipmunk. You can find our eastern chipmunk in most of the eastern half of the United States and Canada. Western chipmunks inhabit the western states as well as most of Canada. The Siberian chipmunk is the only species that is found outside of North America. Its range extends throughout northern Asia, from central Russia to Japan.

These industrious little things never stopped while we were there. Apparently, chipmunks in captivity have been found to sleep 15 hours a day. I am not sure if they know how much these little ones in the wild would need.  Weighing in at 1 to 5 ounces (28 to 142 grams), chipmunks are among the smallest members of the squirrel family. They are also related to woodchucks and prairie dogs.

They like to live in burrows in woodlands and other areas that provide adequate camouflage. Some do make nests in logs or bushes, but most prefer to dig vast underground burrows. They make a camouflaged entrance hole and the tunnel they excavate can be from 10 to 20 feet (3 to 9 meters) long, There is a food storage area, and a nesting chamber that is kept immaculately clean and lined with leaves and other plant matter. 

What always amuses me is how you can see their cheek pouches expand as they stuff as much food into them as they can. Then they will make several trips back to their burrows for storage. One chipmunk makes as many trips as he can to transport more that 165 acorns that he has collected in a single day.

There is a wealth of information out there if you want to find out about this cute little animal. Baby chipmunks are called kits, kittens or pups. They are born blind, hairless and totally helpless in the spring. Their litters usually contain three to five babies, and they look like a pink jelly bean. Weighing in, pups are only three grams but develop quickly and leave the nest after only four to six weeks of age. 

This is just a small portion of what I have read about these very interesting little animals, and I hope you have enjoyed what I have shared today.

Thanks for looking and have a great day.

 

LARGER THAN LIFE GLASS FLOWERS EXHIBIT AT THE MUSEUM OF THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY IN WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA

 

We were here on July 16th, 2024, but because of the high heat and humidity, we didn't get to see but a very few of the pieces from the Garden of Glass Flowers Exhibit. You can read about that at this link.

Next is information on the artist who made them all. You can enlarge each photo for an easier read. In fact, all the photos can be enlarged if you would like to see more detail.

I saw more sculptures than I had thought. Firstly, there was something over the entrance of the gate, a pretty blue glass display, but I missed the info...

and my photos don't give any of these the justice they deserve. As mentioned in this post, we were in the middle of a heatwave. I found myself rushing through, not giving much thought to how I was taking my pictures, and finally we gave up. But, I think it will give you an inkling. 

 For the next one I read online that this was made in 2021 by Mr. Smith. 

It was inspired by the original celluloid hollyhocks used in the production of the "Wizard of Oz" which he saw during a backstage tour at Disney World.

Glass Wisteria overhanging one of our favorite sitting areas.

We are near the pink house shown in my previous post.

Daffodils

Lily of the Valley

Placed in the middle a produce garden where they were growing cucumber, kohlrabi, squash and leeks, there are glass anthuriums.

That's all the glass pieces for now. I am hoping we will be back but will pick a day when we can walk around the whole garden. With August being the hottest month of the year normally, our next visit may not be until September. We will have to keep an eye on the weather forecast.

I have other photos from the garden, and also inside another gift shop in the museum. Another browsing session which was enjoyable. I will share them soon.

Thanks for stopping by and 

I hope you are all having a great week.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER...AM I TOO NOISY?

Everything was okay, they were just asked to not be so chatty, or at least if they were chatty, to take it up to the trees and keep the decibels down.

This noisy bird scenario came from something that happened to me in 1982.  Going back to our navy days, there was a time that Gregg was being sent to a school in northern California. I had three close friends in the neighborhood, and every morning we would meet at 5.45 a.m. to get some exercise. I can't remember why we chose that early hour, probably because we needed to be back for husbands and children who were all off to school. I remember dragging myself out of bed but once we started walking and talking, I woke up and had a whole lot of fun, was back in time to say goodbye to Gregg for the day and wake up our son who was only three at the time.

Our route took us through a wooded area, then through navy housing and then another wooded area. There were times when we would get very animated in our conversation, we'd laugh and just chatter away and generally enjoy each other's company. 

One morning, after doing this for about a month, a security guard pulled up beside us. Apparently, someone had complained and called them, telling them there were these really annoying women waking them up every single morning, and they needed to be told to either quieten down or change their route. We were shocked as we had no idea we were that loud, or that we could be heard inside these homes.  

We didn't change our route and continued walking every morning. However, when we came anywhere near the houses, we would zip our lips and do a fast trot until we reached the other side of the woods, so that we could continue that animated conversation.  

The security guard was more amused I think.  Occasionally I would see him elsewhere. He smiled and pretended he didn't recognize the woman whom he could use as a loudspeaker, without needing an actual loudspeaker, if ever he needed one. He was so nice to us, I'm sure we would have volunteered without hesitation. And there were no more complaints after he had a friendly chat with us.

When I started looking at these photos, wondering where my bird chatter was going today, this is where it went.  Funny what pops into your head. I haven't thought about that for years. 

Thanks for joining me today, and I hope I didn't talk too loudly!  Truthfully, I am the last person who talks at all these days.  I much prefer listening and adding snippets here and there.

Have a great weekend my friends.