Cardinal and Lanternfly

This Northern Cardinal appeared in my yard and I grabbed a picture with my cell phone. I hoped to get a clearer shot but it flew away.

I’m pleased that I accidentally caught it in flight.

There’s a connection between the cardinal and the spotted lanternfly. Cardinals are among the birds that have been seen eating spotted lanternflies, an invasive insect that is considered a pest. 

Links: Birds eat Spotted Lanternflies

Wild Bird Wednesday

Pretty Dog, Fuzzy Bee

When I went to the ophthalmologist earlier this month, I was greeted by his dog, Annie. She’s a gracious hostess who will share her toys with you.

My left eye has recovered from cataract surgery. It took almost two years, and the doctor agrees that I don’t need to have the other cataract removed from the right eye yet.  I think my left eye reacted to the surgery because it is odd anyway, for it is “tonic,” that is, the pupil stays large, even in bright light. The term for this is Holmes-Adies syndrome, and it showed up in my fifth decade. The doctor said I could start using pilocarpine eye drops again to shrink the pupil when I’m going to be in bright sunlight. They give me a temporary headache, but it’s preferable to the pain of light in an enlarged pupil. 

While I was waiting for my appointment, I took a picture of this toy bee that’s on top of a partition. My guess is that one of Dr. Viti’s patients gave it to him because he is also a beekeeper who raises honey.

University Mural in Walmart

Harrisonburg, VA

Today I walked into the Walmart in Harrisonburg and saw this mural at the entrance. It features the “diverse community of students“ of James Madison University and Duke Dog, the mascot. The artist is Cris Clapp Logan.

Walmart has a Community Murals Program and I’ve documented some of them before, including one in the store in the west side of Harrisonburg. 

There are actually two dogs in this mural, so let’s take a closer look.

Monday Murals

More Camp Roosevelt Pics

Camp Roosevelt was the first Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the nation. It opened in April 1933, providing housing and work for young men as part of Franklin Roosevelt’s program to ease the Great Depression. 

Yesterday I took Charlie for a short walk there, and remembered that I needed some close-up shots for a photography project. My iPhone did pretty well considering its size.

Made into a collage for Mosaic Monday.

We followed a short path and paused at the marker where the CCC wash house was located.

A funny thing is it that as I was planning this post, I thought maybe I shared a picture of this feature before. It turns out that exactly three years ago on this very same day, I posted this sign and a similar picture!

Is that a coincidence or am I drawn to the same places at a particular time of year? This sort of thing has happened before, but Camp Roosevelt is in the forest away from my regular routes, although it is only about a half hour from home.

Sadly, this camp and many other historic sites in the National Forests are not well maintained, although someone cleans up trash and fallen trees. I wonder if this will get fixed up before the hundred-year anniversary of the CCC, which is only six years away. I should probably call my congressman. Our Forest Service is not very well funded right now.

I have a photo to share just to answer the question, “Why do so many photographers wear black?” I took a picture of a plaque on a bench and immediately wished that I had worn a black shirt instead of a red one.

Charlie’s Adventure Report

Hi! I am ready to drive as soon as Mom will let me. I would drive to Sadie‘s house to play, and maybe I would go get a pup cup or a hamburger! I’d go to the dog park if I could remember how to get there. There’s a map thing, but I don’t know how to make it work.

I did go to Sadie‘s house a couple of times this week. We like to chase a ball and go for a walk. I play with her toys and she barks at me. We have a snack.

Here’s a Caturday picture for those who celebrate.

One day I noticed something different on the deck. I went to investigate.

It looked suspicious. Mom said it was the bird camera and she had put it on the floor because of the storm the night before.

We had some good adventures this week. One day we went for a walk behind the old mill.

A boy was feeding the ducks, but I was not allowed to go down there because ducks are scared of dogs.

Yesterday we went to Seven Bends State Park down at the river.

We watched some people bring kayaks to shore. It turned out to be Ranger Tom and his family. I got to meet his children and his sister-in-law.

Today Mom took me to Camp Roosevelt to walk in the woods.

On the way home, we drove by a place that has horses.

This was a good week for me. I hope you had a good week too.

Beagle and Reflection

Poor Charlie! He gets tired of me taking his picture.

Here he was watching me through the storm door, but he looked away when he saw the phone pointed toward him.

A Month after the Summer Solstice

Even though the longest day of the year was June 21, we’re still enjoying daylight after 8:30 in the evening. The weather has been nice enough to be outside in the evening this week.

Yesterday I was walking with Charlie at 8:35 and noticed that the sky was getting pretty. I decided to sit on the bench in my front yard to watch for the sunset.

Soon the sky turned pink in the west. Towards the south, the moon was visible until clouds moved in front of it.

Robins and Excuses

Today I'm sharing pictures of American robins, and I apologize for the quality. My excuse is that I was excited that my experiment with the Birdfy cam was successful in getting pictures of birds at the birdbath.

The Birdfy device had to be moved when the painters re-stained the deck, and I decided to place it on the patio table facing the birdbath. So far, the only birds that it has captured are robins.

This evening, I took a cell phone picture of a bird on a streetlight. Again, I’m offering an excuse, and that is that the light was quite dim at 8:45 PM, so don’t look too closely. I’m pretty certain that this is a robin as well. I see them often, and they don’t seem to be as shy of people as many birds are.

For a closer look, here’s a robin that I photographed last year.

Arts and Flowers

Crape myrtle is blooming! These blossoming trees are not native to Virginia, but have been widely planted, often along roads and parking areas. 

I noticed them in Harrisonburg yesterday. I actually arrived in the town early because I allowed time for traffic and a long detour around the Route 33 overpass, which is a construction zone. I decided to stop at a cemetery to look for interesting memorials. I found a lovely version of a traditional mourning sculpture. 

This is part of the Floros family memorial group. I learned that they owned a popular lunch spot.

Also in Harrisonburg is this sign, displayed in the food co-op and numerous other places. 

“No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbor.”

Available as a yard sign, it was co-created by Pastor Matthew Bucher and members of the Immanuel Mennonite Church community in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It became popular locally in 2016, and then nationally. The creators were glad to share the design and it is available online.

Back at home, I found some flowers blòoming, and some weeds too.

Garden Affair / Mosaics

Today I took some close-up shots with my iPhone. The spotted lanternflies are starting to morph into adults. They are colorful but invasive, and not only eat leaves of the tree-of-heaven, but also feast on grape leaves and Virginia creeper.

Is it a Dogwood Tree?

No, it's a tree of dogs!

Monday Murals

This is painted on the wall of a dog boarding facility call All Pawz. Photos of doggie guests are affixed to the branches. 

I took Charlie over there for a tour last week while his regular daycare was closed for a thorough cleaning operation. I wanted to have a backup plan in case they are closed when we have an emergency. Often my sister-in-law is able to watch him, but sometimes she has important things to do. Charlie still has severe separation anxiety. I cannot leave him alone for very long because he panics and tries to get out the door. He has damaged the door frame, and I worry that he’ll get hurt.

Charlie was nervous touring the place, and was startled when he heard big dogs barking. He does not want me to leave him anywhere, but this place seemed nice to me.

Charlie the Beagle