Sunday, July 15, 2018

Summer sigh-tings #phenology

We've made some interesting discoveries since last we posted:
  • we believe we saw a scarlet tanager at the feeder. It was backlit, making the colors hard to confirm, and the body shape is slightly leaner than our previous visitor, but that's our best guess for now, although we acknowledge it may be a Baltimore oriole.

    Scarlet tanager?   (Baltimore oriole?)
    Scarlet tanager?   (Baltimore oriole?)
    Photo by J. Harrington

  • a second monarch caterpillar has been found feeding on milkweed plants in the front garden. Since this is the first year we've seen any monarch caterpillars, we're happy about achieving a "personal best."

    monarch caterpillar on milkweed
    monarch caterpillar on milkweed
    Photo by J. Harrington

  • while checking the undersides of milkweed leaves, we found a recent hatch of what we believe are milkweed tussock moth larvae. We pulled and disposed of that plant to minimize competition with our monarch caterpillars. Maybe for Christmas we'll ask for one of those mirrors on a stick, to make it easier to examine the undersides of leaves without all the bending and stooping.

    milkweed tussock moth larvae
    milkweed tussock moth larvae
    Photo by J. Harrington

We're really looking forward to some cooler, drier weather this week, but today's heat and humidity will enhance our enjoyment later as we celebrate National Ice Cream Day.

Bleezer’s Ice Cream


I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER’S ICE CREAM STORE,
there are flavors in my freezer
you have never seen before,
twenty-eight divine creations
too delicious to resist,
why not do yourself a favor,
try the flavors on my list:

COCOA MOCHA MACARONI
TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY
CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW
CHICKEN CHERRY HONEYDEW
TUTTI-FRUTTI STEWED TOMATO
TUNA TACO BAKED POTATO
LOBSTER LITCHI LIMA BEAN
MOZZARELLA MANGOSTEEN
ALMOND HAM MERINGUE SALAMI
YAM ANCHOVY PRUNE PASTRAMI
SASSAFRAS SOUVLAKI HASH
SUKIYAKI SUCCOTASH
BUTTER BRICKLE PEPPER PICKLE
POMEGRANATE PUMPERNICKEL
PEACH PIMENTO PIZZA PLUM
PEANUT PUMPKIN BUBBLEGUM
BROCCOLI BANANA BLUSTER
CHOCOLATE CHOP SUEY CLUSTER
AVOCADO BRUSSELS SPROUT
PERIWINKLE SAUERKRAUT
COTTON CANDY CARROT CUSTARD
CAULIFLOWER COLA MUSTARD
ONION DUMPLING DOUBLE DIP
TURNIP TRUFFLE TRIPLE FLIP
GARLIC GUMBO GRAVY GUAVA
LENTIL LEMON LIVER LAVA
ORANGE OLIVE BAGEL BEET
WATERMELON WAFFLE WHEAT

I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER’S ICE CREAM STORE,
taste a flavor from my freezer,
you will surely ask for more.


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