Charlie and Rhododendrons

Yesterday afternoon I took Charlie to the park in Edinburg. After a short walk, I wanted to take pictures of the rhododendrons near the pool.  Charlie became focused on something under the branches and as soon as I got a picture composed, he pulled on the leash.

After a few failed attempts, I was able to get decent pictures of the pink blossoms. 

Then a butterfly showed up! Again I struggled to get a clear photo, but between the dog pulling on his leash and the screen on the iPhone being overly sensitive, I failed and the butterfly flew off.  (It seems like the phone switches modes if I so much as breathe!)

Then the tiger swallowtail returned. I pointed the phone at it and accidentally switched on “portrait” mode. That’s why the picture has a black background. I could’ve modified it in editing, but I decided to keep it.

By the time I corrected the setting on my phone, but butterfly disappeared again.

As you can see, some of the leaves look stressed. This could be from the prolonged drought or from the sudden frost, or both. 

When I reviewed the pictures, I saw a blue abstract that I did not recognize. It must have been taken as I pulled the phone out out of my pocket. My pants have a knit pattern in these colors. They’re some of my favorite colors so I didn’t delete the picture.

Killdeer and Robins

 Shenandoah County, VA

My dog was with me when I took this picture of a bird by the North Fork. I used my cell phone at zoom setting, holding a leash in my other hand. The picture came out slightly blurred so I tried to fix it using the Picsart app.The filter is called Indie2.

My iPhone identified this as a killdeer, and that appears to be correct. I think this is the first time I’ve captured a recognizable picture of a killdeer. They don’t come to my yard, but they do hang out by the river.

American Robins are a common bird in Virginia. This week I photographed one with Great North Mountain in the background,  and another one in my neighbor’s driveway

Stickers and Feathers

Luray, VA

I saw these items in the shop that was going out of business. The funny thing is that I passed this store for years and never went in until I heard it was going to close. I decided I should take a look before it was gone.

A Big Tree and a Tree Mural

Last week I went to the dentist in Front Royal. My appointment went quickly, and afterward I stopped at a farm store called The Giving Tree. I wondered if the name was inspired by the huge tree at the edge of the parking lot.

Inside the store, there’s a colorful collage-style mural of a tree.

When I looked at the big tree outside, I noticed it had the seed pods of a maple, but the leaves looked different. I took a picture of a leafy branch and asked my phone to identify it. It’s a box elder, which is a type of maple. There are also other names for it, and the latin name is acer negundo.

Box elder saplings sometimes grow in thickets near rivers. I remember feeling very concerned when passing through them because they looked like poison ivy, and I am quite allergic to it. Later I felt foolish when I found out what they were, but I was just now relieved to read in Wikipedia that saplings are often mistaken for poison ivy. I am so glad it was not just me being paranoid!

Also, the leaves are so different from other maples that some botanists think they are a totally different species. The seed pods, however, are distinctly maple-like, and will eventually turn brown and float down, spinning like helicopters. 

Mosaic Monday / Murals

Mother and Child

Naptime in a thrift store

A Royal Beagle Report

Hi, I'm back already with a critter report. I've been hearing about a king with a name like mine. I wonder what it would be like to be King Charlie.

The King of England visited Front Royal, which is not too far from here. I’ve been there a few times, and sometimes Mom goes there without me because she has to go to a dentist and a foot doctor there.

There was a picture on Mom’s phone of King Charles with a lamb. I’ve seen lambs but not as little and cute as that one.

Also, he went up to Dickey Ridge on Skyline Drive. I’ve been there too, and I saw deer. I don’t know if he saw any.

That’s enough about him. I’ll tell you about what I saw at the County Park this week. I saw a pretty dog, but we did not get to play.

I saw some men with a Frisbee, but I did not play with them either.

Here I am watching for Miss Deborah to come with Sadie so we could take a walk together. There was a truck in front of my house and some men were working across the street. They blocked off part of the sidewalk and now I can’t walk there.

Today I went for a ride with Mom and Miss Deborah. Look what I saw in Mount Jackson! It’s a goat, and its name is Billy.

Billy did not wanna play either. Luckily, we went back to Miss Deborah‘s house and I got to play with Sadie. I hope you got to play this week.

Fruit and Patterns

The City Daily Photo theme for May 1st is "Fruit." I took a picture of apples in a grocery store, but I hoped to find something more interesting.

 I stopped at a produce stand today, but they just had some melons and one other fruit. I don’t have any fresh fruit at home because I can’t eat raw fruit without my gums swelling, and my tongue feeling sore. I can eat certain cooked fruits, and my standby is applesauce. That’s definitely not photogenic.

I looked around my kitchen and found some canned cherries. I opened them, but they were dull-colored and mushy. I ate some with dinner. 

I did notice that a pan full of water caught a reflection of the window blinds. I shook it lightly and created patterns.

Tennis, Anyone?

When I took Charlie to the W. O. Riley Park on Monday, the parking lot was full and the tennis courts were busy. Students were playing, apparently in a tournament. Families were there watching.

It was a nice day for tennis: Not too hot. I still remember taking tennis lessons as a young teen, and it was summer and very hot. I walked home with my brother with sweat pouring into my eyes. I finished the series of lessons, but decided not to pursue the sport because I didn’t like getting sweaty. 

A Flash of Red

It rained all afternoon. My dog let me know that it was time for his 3 o’clock adventure, but the rain was coming down hard. I opened the back door to show him that it was raining, and a pileated woodpecker surprised me by flying up into a tree. Before I could take a picture, it disappeared. Here’s an old picture of one from my files.

While I was trying to photograph the woodpecker today, I saw a male cardinal. This picture of him isn’t the sharpest because it was raining. 

By the way, I did take Charlie out in the car for a quick trip to Tractor Supply, which welcome dogs. We did get rained on, but he got a dog biscuit from the clerk. 

Here is a feeder cam picture of a cardinal. His head is close to the lens, so it looks extra big.

This female seems to have spotted the lens, but it must not bother her because she keeps coming back.

White Azalea Blossoms

Azaleas are blooming in spite of our up and down temperatures. Many of our other blossoms suffered from frosts that followed early hot days. I hear that the apple blossoms were hard-hit, and orchard owners will take a loss this year.

My childhood home was surrounded by azaleas and dogwoods, as well as tall oaks.