May 31 - Memorial Day
Savannah and I have been taking Gretchen for walks. We often let her play around the edges of the ponds. She doesn't swim yet, but I'm not forcing the issue. Sometimes I'll take the camera for targets of opportunity, which usually end up being the dog.
I went out to Lowell's for fishing and caught about four bass on a fairly nice day.
I took the first bike ride of the summer on Sunday morning. I hadn't gone far when I spotted...
I thought this was the most bizarre wasp I had ever seen, until I got home and looked at this image. The eyes, antennae and mouthparts are all wrong. The little white haltere (near the center of its body) is a vestigial hindwing. That makes it a fly, not a wasp at all. Clever mimic.
People keep asking me what a vinagaroon is. It is an arachnid, and similar to a scorpion. It has no stinger, but can spray acetic acid.
Joe LaCount came over Saturday morning and helped me put the stock pipes on the motorcycle. OK, really he did all the work and I mostly watched. The results were better than I expected. It is super quiet now. We took a test ride out to the park. On Memorial Day morning Stacey and I took a ride out to the 18 Wheeler for breakfast. It had rained earlier and I got a nice spraying of dirty water on the bike. The restaurant has been remodeled, and the gas station converted to a big truck stop. There's the cab of a Peterbilt inside the restaurant, and the kitchen is a trailer. A Harley hangs from the ceiling. The food was only average, and it took forever to get it. We had a nice, cool ride home.
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| She smiles for the camera. |
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| Gretchen barks at a duck. |
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| The duck is unimpressed. |
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| Bumblebee takes off. |
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| Gray Hairstreak. Butterfliy populations look better this year. |
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| Eastern Meadowlark chirps at us. |
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| She turns on a dime! |
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| She leaps! |
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| She flies! |
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| The first crop of goslings is about half grown. Another is on the way. |
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| Jade clubtail |
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| Tree swallow. |
I took the first bike ride of the summer on Sunday morning. I hadn't gone far when I spotted...
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| ...a big, black rat snake. |
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| Look closely. |
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| The old iron bridge over the Wyaconda. |
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| Harvestman on columbine flower. |
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| Vinegaroon |
Joe LaCount came over Saturday morning and helped me put the stock pipes on the motorcycle. OK, really he did all the work and I mostly watched. The results were better than I expected. It is super quiet now. We took a test ride out to the park. On Memorial Day morning Stacey and I took a ride out to the 18 Wheeler for breakfast. It had rained earlier and I got a nice spraying of dirty water on the bike. The restaurant has been remodeled, and the gas station converted to a big truck stop. There's the cab of a Peterbilt inside the restaurant, and the kitchen is a trailer. A Harley hangs from the ceiling. The food was only average, and it took forever to get it. We had a nice, cool ride home.
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