Unexpected Simple Pleasures

Part of my bi-weekly ritual is to do a heavy weeding about the yard.  I cut down the ever-pervasive Knotweed, weeded the shade garden, mowed the grass, turned over the compost piles, trimmed around the building, fertilized the gardens, and weeded the white garden.

As I was poking about the yard, I was surprised a number of times!

I came across spittle bugs!

Okay, know they aren't the nicest little critters.  Some people even take great actions to get rid of them.  But I remember these as a kid.  I was always amazed that some little insect could wrap itself in a cocoon of froth to keep safe.  I've read they can be destructive - but I've only seen them on Goldenrod.  I've never had a problem with them.  Live and let live I guess!

As I was weeding the white garden, I came across this patch of flowers.  They resembled Phlox, but the leaves seem wrong.  I wonder what they are?

I pulled a bunch of Goldenrod and Dame's Rockets.  Nested in them were several groups of Irises I had planted a few years ago.

That what is great about being in the yard - you never know what you will find!

Got It!

If you watched the news recently, you may have seen stories about the transit of Venus across the face of the sun.  It doesn't happen very often (it will be over 100 years before it will be visible from the Earth again).  I decided to drag out the telescope (I haven't touched it for many years) and see if I could capture this event.

I set up the scope (a 114 mm reflector), a new CCD camera, and my laptop.  I have a solar filter for the front of the scope.  I was hoping to get some digital photos.

The weather forecast did not look promising.  We had cloud cover projected for many hours.

I had to wait for a clearing in the clouds.  The transit started locally here about 6:00.  Off to the east there was a sliver of clear sky.  Maybe I would get my chance . . .

The sun popped through the clouds around 6:30!  I had to get the sun in the shot, get it focused, grab some shots.  I did not have the 'goto' unit hooked to the scope, so I had to try to visually get the picture.  I slowly panned the scope around, watching the sky slowly brighten on the screen as I got near sun.  It then appeared, but was out of focus.  I started to focus, but the bright sun made it hard to see the computer screen.  I ended upholding my netbook up to block the sun so I could see the screen while trying to focus the scope.

Suddenly, I could see Venus!  Got it.  I pressed the record button, and grabbed 5 frames in an AVI file (sorry for the high nerd-index of this post, but that is the nature of astronomy...).

I was able to run some stacking software to clean up the image.  Voila  . . .

Shortly after, the clouds came back.  I waited around for another hour.  The skies did not clear.  The sun was getting low in the sky.  My opportunity was over.

Still, I got a shot.  Pretty cool!

Did you get a chance to see it?

Feathered Guests

We finally saw our first hummingbirds for the season.  It was raining out, but the hummers still came to the feeder.

The birds have been eating a lot lately.  I just filled the feeder 2 days ago - it is empty already (the wife snapped this photo with the downy woodpecker nearby).

The wife got a photo of the most beautiful cardinal.  It has the deepest red we have ever seen.

I think she did a good job!

How are your feathered guests doing?

Susquehanna

After the flooding last fall, most of the boat launches near us on the Susquehanna River were closed.  They just reopened a few weeks ago.  It was a cloudy morning, but I decided to paddle on the Susquehanna.

I put in by Hickories Park in Owego.  Much of the park is still being repaired after the flood, but the boat ramp and parking were fine.

The flooing last fall was incredible.  I was parked over 10 feet above the river.  The sign by my car showed the height of the flood waters.  The 2011 flooding was over the 100 year level!

The river was calm, and it looked like the clouds were going to go away.  The air was still.  It was quiet and peaceful.

Some of the houses on the river are still in shambles.  I am surprised that many of these homes are repaired and in use.

There are huge tracts on knotweed along the rivers.  Knotweed loves wet, sunny areas.

There was not much wildlife.  I saw a female mallard of in the distance.  Being a larger river, it is hard to just round a corner and come across wildlife.

The force of last year's flood was obvious by the debris scattered on the islands.

 It was a short paddle.  The skies started to grow darker.  Rain was coming.  That doesn't bother me much (I am in a boat already).  My biggest concern was the chance of thundershowers.  I rounded the large island just east of the park, and headed back to the launch.  About 2 miles to go back.

There were small animals about.  Squirrels and blackbirds were all about.

I saw a female red-headed merganser on the shore.  She was waiting for me to pass by.

The rain came. It was coming down steady.  I was doing a little fishing, but nothing was biting.  The wind was coming up.  I was getting cold and wet.  Time to head back.

Splashing Raindrops

It was nice to get back on the Susquehanna again.  I need to get a long paddle in soon.

Feeling Blue

Well - not really!

It's been a great Memorial Day weekend. I've been off from work for 4 days.  Barbecues, fishing, friends, family, and time in the garden.

The gardens and wildflowers are in their 'blue' phase.  The vibrant oranges and yellows will be here soon.

Okay, maybe these are more pink (or mauve,or lilac..)!

The new salvia in the White Garden is doing well.

The large irises are really doing well this year.

Our rhododendrons are at peak.

The lonely azalea has never looked better (I need to move it away from the holly bushes!).

The late-blooming GIANT lilac was resplendent!

I really like the Dame's Rocket (it changes from white to pink to purple)!  What a great wildflower!  I let great swaths of it have its way in the yard!

Embrace the blue / pink / purple / lilac / mauve!

Contentment

Contentment is . . .


. . .   quiet ponds . . .

. . . perch-colored Rapala crankbaits . . .

. . . and hungry bass!

Enjoy!

Fishin' Hole

If you are lucky, there's a place down a dirt road . . . 

. . . where you can cast a line in peace and quiet.

It's not a big piece of water.  It doesn't  hold trophy fish.  Just some largemouth bass, a few perch, some bluegills.

It's a quiet place.  No motor boats.  People just fish from canoes or from the shore.  More often than not, there aren't many people there.

I'll be there this weekend.  I don't know if I'll catch anything.  

Like the saying goes, a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work.

Green Spaces

I just returned from another trip to China. This time I was lucky to spend a few days in Shanghai.  I have to say it is my favorite city in China.

I think one of the things I liked about Shanghai was the amount of 'green space' I saw.  There were a lot of parks all around.  Some were very tiny, others quite large.  For someone like me who likes to be outside enjoying nature, they were great spaces to recharge while being in the heart of the city (there are over 20 million people in Shanghai).

I enjoyed the trip, but it was good to get home.  I spent yesterday working on my 'green space' - mowing grass, trimming weeds, and finishing the planting of our vegetable garden.

The potatoes have emerged, the turnip, green beans and spinach have sprouted.  We put in the tomatoes, basil, hot peppers, some herbs and kale.  Our gardens are not as formal and large as those I saw in Shanghai, but they give me just as much pleasure.

I hope you are enjoying your 'green spaces'!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all in the Blogosphere.

And . . .

. . . Happy trillium day (at least its the first time I saw trilliums in bloom this year)!

(sorry for the low resolution - taken with my phone's camera when I was out cycling today)

I suppose I could also call it Happy Marsh Marigold Day as I saw them also!

Garden Time

A few years ago the wife and I had visited Sturbridge Village.  It is a recreation of an early 19th century New England village.  I overheard one of the farmers talking to one the the visitors.

"What are you planting?"

"Corn, beans and cabbage."

"What about tomatoes?"

"Oh - you must be one of those city folk.  Since you can buy staples in town, you must have time to grow tomatoes!"

I guess I am one of those city folk also.  I love to grow tomatoes.  But . . .

. . . it is still too cold to put out tomatoes in (or green beans, basil, lettuce, chilis, etc.).

We did put plant some potatoes, carrots and turnip today.  They don't mind the minor frosts we might still get.  The new raised beds should be great for them.

I put up trellises for the green beans.  

I already put up the tomato cages.  I decided to do something different this year.  Instead of pushing the cages into the ground, I put the cages into the beds upside-down before I put the soil in the raised beds.  I folded the long tangs over to strengthen the cages.  They are super sturdy.  I'll let you know how they work.

Yard Work

We had snow 2 weeks ago.  Temperatures were in the low 20's just a week ago.  I had been away on vacation, and came back to a yard which was in much need of mowing and weeding.

I started by weeding the shade garden.  A lot of grass, dandelions, and maple seedling had taken root.  I pulled a wheelbarrow full of weeds out.  I am glad to see my single trillium was back.  There appears to be a small second plant at its base!  Can't wait to see if it is a second trillium.  Maybe it will bloom this year.

I knocked back a lot of weeds in the white garden and by the compost bins.  There were a lot of fallen branched about.  I then spent a few hours mowing . . .

A little over a week ago it was cold.  Many of the trees were not in leaf.  Now, most of the trees are in leaf. The lilacs are also starting to come out.

It took me six hours to weed and mow.  Some do not like yard work, but I find it relaxing.  Do you like yard work?