Looking Back

       This is mom and us kids, in 1967.  I'm not sure where the photograph was taken, but it was not around here. Dad must have done the honors.

     I remember the clothing.  Mom's dress was pink check and her purse was red. She would have had nylons stockings on, the end seams showing through her sandals.  I would later wear my sisters dresses.

     Deb is the farthest left, ready with binoculars and her brownie camera. Then comes Bill, James, Cindy and I.  Not a bad looking group.

More Pups

     Our friends Natalie and Dave just bought a pontoon boat and took me for a ride this weekend.  They had their new 5 month old pup with them - JJ.  Turns out he is an American Pitt Bull Terrier mix they adopted from a rescue agency.  This photo does not come close to capturing how snugly he was.  
     I did a little more Internet research this morning.  I was wrong on my earlier post about Toro. The Little Rascals dog was an American Staffordshire Terrier, or American Pitt Bull Terrier (I can't seem to find much difference between the two).  These are the dogs currently targeted by legislation in many areas, not Bull Terriers.  The Staffordshire or Pitt Bull Terriers have a breed trait of being aggressive toward other dogs and animals.  The best link I found on this was here. Interestingly, they are generally so affectionate toward people, they are called "Nanny" dogs in England and do not make very good guarders of property.  

McRury-Tebbe Tree Farm

     My Uncle Phillip and cousin Mary Lou own a tree farm in Morrow County, Ohio.  Uncle Phil has made a second career out of puttering around the farm.  Mary Lou and her family built a house on the farm last fall and yesterday my sisters and I went for a visit.  Uncle Phil often talks about the local auction, so we made a point of stopping by.  This is where the trucks pull up to unload.  There is an area on the far side for the buggies to unload, to accommodate the large numbers of Amish who attend.

     The produce was beautiful, bountiful, and a bargain.  The protocol is to follow an auctioneer (much younger than I had expected) around the rows.  There is one just to the right of the photo. My sisters and I were able to split 3 bags of pears and some apples and mums Uncle Phil couldn't help buying.

     Back at the farm we had BLT sandwiches and pickled beets after a tour of the chicken coop.  After lunch we took a walk to Mary Lou's pumpkin patch, her successful first attempt.  There was barely room to sit in the car by the time we headed home. 

Mystery Pup

     Hudson and I were out on a walk in the neighborhood a month ago when a gentleman carried a small pup across the street, placed him on the sidewalk in front of us, and walked ahead.  The pup could barely keep up.  It was such a comical sight, I couldn't help laughing.  The man kindly let me attempt a photo ("for my blog"), but the pup couldn't resist trying to climb into my lap.  I thought I might get another chance for a better photo, but never came across him again ........

.........until this afternoon when I saw my neighbor Elaine struggling to walk three dogs; the two I know she owns (a Weimaraner and a black Labrador Retriever) and this pup.  He is a Bull Terrier named Toro.  He is now 11 weeks old and is her husband's dog (except when he's not!).  I guess that means the other dogs were her idea.  
     There are two "take home" messages for me. First, Bull Terrier pups are unbelievably cute (even more so in person than in photos).  At one point (or maybe currently?) Toledo had an ordinance condemning them as vicious animals.  This is another example of "nurture" winning out in the "nature vs. nurture" debate.  This summer I showed my nephew several of the Little Rascals shorts.  He loved the dog, which turns out to have been a Bull Terrier (there were several dogs, actually, all of them Bull Terriers).  Further reading revealed the breed to be a very popular family dog at the time.
     Secondly, this is yet more evidence that I am not good at recognizing faces!  I know I met Elaine's husband at a party at their house a few years ago, yet I had no idea who he was when I met him with the pup last month.  I take some consolation knowing I'm not the only one.  Many people I meet know me only by my dog. I guess it's not surprising.  They're so much more distinguishable-looking!    

Sprinkler Man

         It looks like this may be one of the last days of the season to heat up to over 80 degrees F.  This is Hudson's favorite way to cool off - playing in (or attacking?) the sprinkler.

Blue Curls

     Trichostema dichotomum is another of our native plants in the mint family.  We came across this specimen last week when we were monitoring in Oak Openings.  It is common, but easily ignored (the plant grows to only 6 inches here).  It pays to take a closer look.  The dangling stamen remind me of the plume on Gambel's quail.

Moth Caterpillars

     This has been a good year for caterpillar spotting.  There were two of these little fellas in my milkweed patch earlier this summer.  They are most likely Unexpected Tiger Moth caterpillars.  You can learn more than you would ever want to know about them here.  As near as I can figure it, they are "Unexpected" because they are found in isolated populations only.

     This handsome fellow was crawling on a blueberry plant in our Oak Openings Metro-park.  I labelled him the "yellow shag carpet" caterpillar, until I was corrected on bugguide.net.  He is a Spotted Apatelodes Moth caterpillar.  It's a pretty cool name, although I like mine better.

Leonard's Skipper

     Butterflies are divided into five major families: Skippers, Gossamer Wings, Brush-Foots, Swallowtails, and Sulpurs/Whites.  Skippers have stout bodies, smaller wings, and usually hooked antennae.  This skipper can be seen locally in August and September.  The local host plants are Bluestem grasses and it feeds on Blazing Star flowers (although it is sitting on a Goldenrod).  They are known to be wary, but this one was fearless - or maybe just sleepy, as it was early morning.

Bunny Survival Training, Day #25

               Look closely and you will see someone has been working very hard at learning his survival skills, including camouflage (you will also see a lot of weeds!). Hudson feels the lessons must go on indefinitely. Mr Bunny doesn't seem to mind.