Dogs in Wilderness

If they say your dog isn't allowed somewhere please don't be a jerk about it and bring them in anyway. If it's 80 degrees out don't think a happy compromise is to lock him in your car in the sun with the windows cracked. Go somewhere else...with your dog. Certainly don't wait for the attendant to leave, then sneak in, you still look like a jerk. If the signs say dogs allowed on leash, KEEP THE LEASH ON YOUR DOG. If you were too lazy to leash train your dog you were probably also too lazy to teach him to walk loose without running up to every person, dog, or horse that comes by. I'm sorry, but your dog shouldn't be off leash if you have to call it's name every 3 minutes either... I don't care if your dog is "nice." All it takes is one to ruin it for everyone and next thing you know NO DOGS ALLOWED, because of someones dog that wasn't following the rules anyway. There are enough places dogs aren't allowed already. There are places dogs aren't allowed for reasons. Mainly dogs don't stay on trails, they wander where there nose goes, even if it is through those endangered orchids... Any sanctuary I've been to that doesn't allow dogs has infinitely more kinds of plants, fungi, and insects than the ones that allow dogs. There are other places that allow dogs to run off leash. If you must bring your dog, and can't stand the sight of him confined to only peeing 6 feet from you, go there... For the record I have two dogs. I follow posted signs, and get extremely ticked off about people blindly wandering around pretending their dog isn't pooping in the woods, or that it didn't just jump on me. I also don't bring them to sanctuaries with obvious signs saying NO PETS.

Indian Pipe and friends

Great morning for Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora.) I saw dozens of patches hiking in Moose Hill in Sharon this morning. I didn't find anymore Ebony Jewelwings (Calopteryx maculata) as I'd hoped. Much as I like Garden in the Woods, I don't like being unable to find what I'm looking for somewhere I already have a membership. There were plenty of mosquitos, and I saw a Morning Cloak butterfly from quite far away, but not much else by way of critters. Some but not much fungus was peeking out after the hard rain we had yesterday. I was hoping for more, but I went down the pine trail, where I haven't had much luck before, hoping I'd find the damselflies. I also should have hauled the tripod, but regretted taking the camera bag, so would likely have hated the tripod as well.

Why you shouldn't buy "Clearance" Pond Plants

3-5 years til you see anything but lily pads Four or five years ago I built a pond. It was to keep me from putting waterlilies in tubs all over the yard, and forgetting about the mosquitos just long enough for them to learn how to fly. I had one water lily then. A huge 'Attraction' that by some miracle bloomed all the time, in spite of the fact it was a five dollar dry plant from a big box store. That of course went in the new pond. Every year I got suckered into the end of season plants. That pond pickerel that is just a stump now, but weakly will put out leaves next year., or the irises with nothing but floppy leaves. And roughly 7 more water lilies in various states. I got three with names. A Sioux, which is growing in a yogurt container it was so small, an 'Alba', and something scented that's supposed to be orange I think. Requiring names has cut down the collecting considerably. The fact that there isn't room in the pond for another one isn't really stopping me. Anyway, none were bought last year, and I was so lazy last October that I just dropped all the pots to the bottom of the shallow above ground pond, and hoped I could start over. Nothing died... I ended up with just as many as last year, even though the pond froze down to a block of ice. Last week one bloom from 'Attraction' came up, which I've come to expect. This week I got another bloom from a different plant, and a third is peeking up from yet another plant... They are definitely getting left outside next year if this is the result. They were wintering in the basement in minimal light and heat. I'll still move the fishies though.

Hunting Dragonflies

This was my prey. Ebony Jewelwing - Calopteryx maculata. It has been almost a year since I saw them last. I've only seen this critter in two locations yet, Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA, and Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary in Norfolk MA. They're worth the search, though I still haven't managed a great picture yet. They like hiding in the darkest areas. Basically sunlit trails. Easiest place to find them is on the Curtis Trail in Framingham, but bring the mosquito spray. I found a dozen or so but paid for each one with a bite. Other dragonflies were less shy, the meadowhawks in particular. I convinced several to sit on my fingers by slowly moving it up behind them and they just moved their feet to perch on me instead. They'll even stay still with a camera less than an inch from their faces. Makes for an easy subject.

Of Dragonflies and Sunlight

Widow Skimmer (Libellula lucatusa) Common Pondhawk (Erythemis simpliciollis) Widow Skimmer (Libellula lucatusa) Sunny afternoons are ideal for dragonfly photography. They're especially fun after a week of violent thunderstorms with hail predictions. Elm Bank in Wellesley MA has several great places to spot dragon and damselflies. Most Useful are the Day Lily Garden, and the Herb Garden. Weezies Garden for Children is good for butterflies. Dragonflies can also be found off the canoe launch, leading to the Charles River. Moose Hill in Sharon MA has fields full of darners in the afternoon, which would be wonderful to photograph if only they would stop moving...

Weird Pets

This is Bruce, by far my largest "exotic" pet. Bruce is a Ball Python, most likely captive reared but not captive bred, which is what happens when you buy from a pet store, though I didn't buy him. Bruce had an injury to his side that made him unsellable, so I adopted him for free. His side has since healed fine, though it is still quite noticeable where he cut himself on one of his many bids for freedom. He's approaching 4 feet long now and was barely 18 inches when I got him almost 5 years ago. I'll admit I would not recommend the Ball Python as a beginner snake. He's finicky, can be quite fearful, and is very nocturnal. If I wasn't checking to see if he wanted to eat every week, I'd only see him about once a month. He refuses to eat most years from late October to February, which I worry about every year, but he always seems fine. For ease of care I much prefer my skinnier but longer corn snakes, Char and Red. Neither of them has ever refused a meal, or seriously tried to bite me and succeeded. However, neither Red or Char are very hefty, nor will they sit still for any length of time. You can't beat a Ball Python for bulk, though I find the shyness can be an issue, and they are no where near as "domesticated" as corn snakes. Balls just don't have the number of captive bred generations behind them selecting for ease of feeding and temperament that corn snakes boast. Bottom line if you want to get a pet snake and have no idea what you're doing, skip the garter snakes completely, avoid anything in the larger constrictors, and get a corn snake. Yes, they cost more. Mostly because they didn't go through all that stress of being caught and stuffed in containers then shipped and sold. At least corns were almost all captive born and bred, and don't stress out anywhere near as much over shipping and such. And they come in dozens of colors to boot.

Beach Trash

This July family reunion trip to Cape Cod (it's an annual thing) I decided to go off on my own a bit more. I also cut it short by 3 days, as I really hate a vacation when I just read books while paying $50 bucks a day for the dogs to be kenneled. I visited three of the five Cape Cod National Seashore Beaches (I'm only counting the park service controlled ones, not the town ones.) I went on a number of the nature walks I've been carrying around a map for from 2 years ago, and I went to the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at low tide. If you've never been at a sanctuary beach at low tide you're missing a treat. Fiddler crabs run across the trail at many points, so numerous you think they're bugs. You even get a chance to see birds that aren't gulls. I'll admit I mostly go for the footprints. Lots of bird prints on the sand just waiting for me, without many people footprints to get in the way. All the neat stuff low tide tosses up is still there, rather than carted off by the first person who saw it. These are a sampling of the over 1,000 pics I took on vacation. I'd also recommend visiting as much of the National Seashore as possible. Lots of stuff to see...

Fireworks

This July 4th was the first time I went to a fireworks display and discovered the fireworks auto setting on my camera. Obviously, I've been to fireworks before, though I've never been overly fond of the noise levels. This year it actually occurred to me before they started that my camera has a setting for it. I completely missed out last year, since I don't go out of my way to find fireworks. Here are some pics, with slight editing. I had to remove a lamp from some of them, as my town has very "safe" areas to view fireworks, meaning way too well lit to actually enjoy them. I might be able to take less wavy ones with a tripod, but I'd need to find a different viewing location, as there were way too many people at this year's event. This post actually created on September 07, 2008. Inserted here for continuity.