There are a couple of things I really enjoying doing in my spare time. Ok, maybe a few things.
Exploring in nature, riding my motorcycle and taking pictures. So it was really quite odd where a certain milestone occurred last weekend.
Before setting out from the WV place, I notice the odometer on my bike read 9,900. That meant I’d hit 10,000 miles somewhere during the ride home. As I rode, watching the miles roll by, I thought how cool it would be if that 10,000 occurred at some place worth photographing. I doubted that it would, but it was fun to consider.
Imagine my surprise when it did actually happen at an oddly coincidental spot.
One of the things I fantasize about is hiking on the Appalachian Trail (AT). Not the whole 2,000+ miles. That would be crazy. But at least pieces of it.
So how weird is it that my bike hit 10,000 at the exact spot on South Mountain outside of Boonsboro, Maryland where Alt-40 crosses the AT?
South Mountain AT Crossing
Here’s my bike by the AT sign.
My bike hit 10,000 miles on the Appalachian Trail.
Not super-exciting, I admit. But interesting.
Here are two more interesting shots to finish out this post…
Another happy coincidence.Our own personal pot of gold.
I’m not a morning person in the sense that it takes my brain a bit of time to start functioning properly after waking. But I AM a morning person when it comes to photography. Like any self-respecting photographer, I LOVE the morning light. Although I haven’t participated in You Capture much recently, I have been looking at and enjoying many of the pictures captured by other participants. S0 I decided it was about time to get some images of my own back into the rotation.
The focus on the above shot is nowhere near as sharp as it should be. I decided to share it anyway because it’s a very good example of the morning light peeking through the trees AND the softness of the light.
While the light is soft, it is often very direct, too. Maybe “selective” is a better word. As the sun rises and pokes through the trees, its rays break through in clusters illuminating individual plants and other things nicely.
Another example of that selective spotlighting I mentioned. Notice how some leaves are lit up nicely while most of the forest remains in shadow.
Every now and then, the sun surprises me as it rises. Here I was trying to capture some other leaves being illuminated when the sun jumped out from behind the leaves and hit me directly. I sort of like the way the shot turned out though.
This next picture isn’t specifically a “morning” shot. I did capture it this morning, but the reason for sharing the image is just to let everyone know that my caterpillar is still hanging around. You’ll have to read more about that caterpillar if you want to know more.
He’s in the exact same tree I moved him to four days ago.
And I just have to share this shot of the caterpillar from last night, which I took right after Hubby said, “Your caterpillar is still in that tree.” (I’d been away for three days.)
Hop on over to Beth’s blog, I Should Be Folding Laundry, to see some more brilliant morning You Capture photographs.
Last week one day, one of the blogs I frequent (The Old Nichols Farm) featured a post about a Monarch caterpillar. Jess, the brain behind the blog, is one of those people I met in cyberspace (aka the people in my computer) that I could totally hang out with. She’s funny. She loves taking pictures. She’s got three really cute kids. And a gun. She kills chickens. She likes bugs. And she’s got a great sense of humor about it all. I know I already said she’s funny. But having a sense of humor about life and being able to poke fun at oneself without being self-deprecating in a truly negative fashion is different than just being funny. It’s an art.
Anyway, Jess’s oldest child started school this year. On the first day, to keep the younger two occupied, she decided to go looking for a caterpillar. And they found one!
Later that day, she reported to me that it was already or in the process of becoming a chrysalis. I honestly don’t know much about the Monarch life-cycle, so I went looking for information. That’s where I learned that in only about 10 days, a Monarch butterfly would emerge from the chrysalis.
How cool for she and her kids to be able to see that!
I thought it was so cool, in fact, that I looked at the yellow plants those very friendly soldier beetles frequent to see if I saw a Monarch caterpillar. I did not. I didn’t really think I would. But one never knows.
Oddly enough though, as I was walking down Turkey Hollow Road under one very large pine tree, look what just happened to catch my eye…
The biggest caterpillar I have ever seen. It was at least four inches long!
That is not exactly what it looked like when I first saw it. That’s what it looked like when I returned. I love the way the sun is lighting up its hair.
This is what it looked like when I noticed it for the first time.
Caterpillar dangling from pine tree.
It was dangling pretty low. I walk under this tree every time I walk the dogs to the end of the road. The caterpillar was low enough that I could easily reach the branch it was hanging from.
How could I NOT take it home?
Hubby, who usually thinks my interest in critters is weird, was even impressed. Here’s a picture of it in front of Hubby’s hand to give you a better idea as to the size of the thing.
Hubby showing off our caterpillar.
It actually looks shorter in that picture than it did at time of capture. Here it’s a bit contracted . Can you blame the thing?
At first glance, I thought it was a Luna Moth. The only really big moth I knew about. So I looked it up on the Internet. It is actually an Imperial Moth caterpillar. One reference I read said it could get as big as a 6 7/8-inch wingspan. That’s bird-sized!
Unfortunately, I also learned that when it’s time for this one to make its little cocoon, it burrows underground. AND, even worse, it doesn’t re-emerge until June. No watching that metamorphosis. My luck, I’d put the thing in a jar, under some dirt, and forget about it. Then next summer we’d have a house full of bird-sized moths. No. Thank. You!
So I set the thing free.
Newly-liberated Imperial Moth caterpillar.
I released it in this little pine tree at the edge of our driveway.
Our Charlie Brown pine tree.
When I stopped by later to check on it, I got this really cool picture.
Imperial Moth Caterpillar (upside-down and facing camera)
Click on the picture if you want a full-screen view.
Speaking of really cool pictures, I also had to share this one I got of a grasshopper. Of course there’s also a soldier beetle in the picture. Those things are everywhere.
Grasshopper
I can’t wait to return to the WV place to see what other critters I can find.
Yesterday was a picture-perfect day for motorcycling. And we were thrilled to be able to take advantage of it.
We left the house around 11:00 and rode just over 190 miles from our WV place north through Maryland and into Pennsylvania. Then we headed west into West Virginia and south, skirting the far western edge of Maryland. We stopped briefly in Rowlesburg, West Virginia before heading east again into Maryland and then back into West Virginia.
Confused? This map should make it easier, depending who you are. Map-reading is one of those skills technology (GPS) seems to be making obsolete.
Today's ride map.
I love maps. Planning our rides is fun for me. Once I have the ride all mapped out, I write the route on a piece of paper and stick it in my tank bag, which has a special, see-through spot for that exact purpose.
It really was a great ride. Temperatures in the mountains were near-perfect. There were some repeat roads, but there were a few new ones, too. Some of the roads were a bit rough, but the scenery was so pretty, it was worth it. At one point, I was 95% sure I’d turned onto the wrong road and gotten us lost. But the road we were on was so pretty, I just didn’t care. One is never REALLY lost as long as one has a map.
I’ll show you a few pics from the ride shortly. But first, look what I saw in our backyard right before we left.
Mama and her baby just a few feet from the back patio.
Yes, I’ve seen plenty of deer before. But I have never, since January 2005, seen them this close to our house. It was cool seeing them that close, but it wasn’t the high point this post’s title refers to.
In Rowlesburg, West Virginia.
We got to Rowlesburg via CR-51 Salt Lick Road from Terra Alta. We’d been to Rowlesburg before, but had never arrived by this route. CR-51 is a pretty narrow, winding road. It may not be the quickest or most picturesque way to get from point A to point B, but it’s fun putting along roads like this seeing how folks live. The picturesque route would have been to take SR-7 west from Terra Alta then SR-72 south at Kingwood. This route, which we’ve ridden a couple of times previously, parallels the Cheat River.
Small park in Rowlesburg, which was perfect for a drink break.
Rowlesburg is a cute little town in a very pretty location, but it has seen better days. It’s one of those railroad towns of which there are plenty in the Appalachian Mountains that thrived in a different era, but struggles to hang on today. It’s doing better than most, however, so if you are in the area, be sure to stop by for a visit.
Hubby waiting for me to finish documenting the trip. He's a great sport.
Here’s a bit of Rowlesburg’s history if you are interested. Nice place, but still not aforementioned the high point.
After that, we continued to US-50 and headed east. I’d always wanted to visit Cathedral State Park, which is where we stopped for lunch.
Hubby posed with our little picnic spread of bread, cheeses, pepperoni and olives. YUM.
We found a nice little shady spot to eat our lunch, which we’d picked up much earlier in the day at the huge Martin’s grocery store in Lavale, MD.
The trail through the hemlock forest.
I want to go back to Cathedral State Park one day for a hike. Doesn’t it look like a nice place for a stroll?
Hubby waiting patiently. Again.
The picnic was awesome. But it’s still not the high point. Want to know what the high point was?
At 3,213 feet, Mt. Davis is the highest point of elevation in Pennsylvania.
This day, like this blog post, started off innocently enough.
Well, sort of.
We drove to the WV place last night after a hectic day of work. I did some more work when we arrived, so it was after midnight when I went to bed. We haven’t been here for a couple of weeks so the girls were extra-excited. They forced me out of bed at 5:45 AM.
It was stilldark.
I started the coffee brewing and got to work.
Did I mention that today was supposed to be my day off?
Around 6:30, I decided to take the girls for their walk down the hill. Temps were in the 50s. I was wearing my flannel house pants. You could see the steam rising from my coffee.
It was a bit “froggy” as my Dad would say, but quite serene. And cool! Yes, cool. Hubby actually described it as “almost cold.” (He and I have completely different body thermometers.)
A foggy morning at the WV place.
Hot coffee tastes SOOO good when strolling outdoors on a cool, almost-Fall morning.
Notice all the weeds along the driveway? The place is starting to look overgrown and abandoned.
Until you look closer. You know, stop and look at the flowers.
I wasn't the only worker bee awake.
I could not resist this early morning shot of a bumble bee and some soldier beetles. I have no idea what this yellow plant is called, but we’ve got LOTS of it. And it’s quite popular with the critters.
Plant with a cold?
This plant wasn’t looking very healthy. I don’t know what that snot-like substance is, but I’ve seen it hanging off of other plants before and even some trees.
Some of these bad boys are about eight feet tall (~2.66 meters).
I was just thinking about getting the weed whacker out and knocking back some of this overly abundant vegetation when I remembered the soldier beetles.
Those of you who’ve read this blog for a while may know where I’m going with this. It gets a bit x-rated.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you…
It’s the time of year when soldier beetles show up by the gazillions to, um, frolic on these yellow plants.
Soldier beetles frolicking.
I don’t know why it’s just this plant. The plants don’t have to have flowers so it can’t be a yellow thing.
Soldier beetles getting "better acquainted."
Actually, it is a yellow thing. Apparently soldier beetles (there’s more than one kind) are most frequently seen on goldenrod and milkweed.
Group fraternization.
Bugs intrigue me. I took these pictures to illustrate this annual oddity. Not because the bugs are, you know, doing it.
Seriously. Every year around this time, soldier beetles show up by the gajillions to gather on these plants. Not grass. Not trees. Not clover. Not the ground. On these plants with yellow flowers.
More fun in a crowd.
What I find even odder is that they seem to prefer large, group gatherings.
I guess we’ll just have to learn to live with the weeds. I don’t want to be the one responsible for interrupting hundreds of bug orgies.
There’s bound to be some bad karma associated with a stunt like that…
I would’ve taken more pictures, but that brief foray into the wild was my one bit of freedom for the day. I worked pretty much non-stop from 6:00 AM to just about 6:00 PM.
Since I knew we’d be spending the week at the WV place, I decided to fill the hummingbird feeder. You know, it only took those little buggers about two hours to find the thing! But that’s another story. This post isn’t about birds. It’s about flies. Some very BIG flies.
The weather was actually rather cool for a change (that was LAST week), so I spent the better part of each day working in my outdoor office. It just so happened that I hung the hummingbird feeder about 10 feet (3.33 meters) from my chair, which meant I got to watch them frolic while I worked.
As I observed the hummingbirds, I also noticed that there seemed to be quite a few butterflies around, too. So on Monday or Tuesday, I placed some watermelon rinds on the back patio thinking the butterflies would enjoy a refreshing snack.
Well, it wasn’t until Saturday that I finally noticed a butterfly on the watermelon. By then, of course, the watermelon was half-rotted and nasty. And there was also a fly hanging around.
Not just any fly, either. A very big fly.
Superfly
For serious, this was a BIG fly. The biggest fly I am sure I’ve ever seen.
Yes, I zoomed in. But this is no photographic trick. Honest. It is simply a REALLY big fly.
Superfly II
A little while later, I noticed another one. Shortly after that, there were like eight of those big-ass flies chowing down on the putrid, slimy watermelon.
An entire flock of giant flies.
Weird, eh?
Superfly III
So just how big were these freakazoid flies? I’d say their bodies and wings combined were an inch and a half long. Those small black blobs in the background are regular flies. If I’m being generous, I’d guess one of the regular flies at about 3/8 of an inch long.
Wanna know how Superfly and Regular Fly would look standing side-by-side? I did. So I put this lovely little image together…
Superfly vs. Regular Fly
I told you it was a big fly.
The tip of my pointer finger, not including my knuckle, is an inch and a half long, too.
Just imagine a fly that size buzzing around and/or landing on you.
