Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Last "Monitoring" of the Season

The plant monitoring season ended October 23.  

There wasn't anything to actually count, but we collected seeds for the Metroparks to plant and reintroduce to new park sites.

It was a beautiful morning.

Ostrich Barrens
You can just see the "blow out" on the right at the crest of the hill. 

Diane walking along the pipeline with Mary's Savannah on the right

Denise, Louise, Diane and Larry collecting seeds

Red Oak in Mary's Savannah

Red blueberry leaves under the Oaks in Mary's Savannah

Around Loudonville

Last weekend my friend Cathy and I found ourselves sans husbands.  

So we made a girls weekend of it in Loudonville.

I have always been attracted to rural scenery and the gently rolling hills of central Ohio make it just that much more beautiful.

We spent most of our time riding around and storing up as much of the sights and smells of autumn as we could.

We'll need those memories in a month or two.

Fall Color Tour

On October 10 Dan and I joined the Porsche Club of America Rally Sport Region Color Tour in Pinckney, Michigan.

We reminisced about our first Porsche - a 993 (silver car on right).

It was a beautiful day.

The leaves were just beginning to change.

We all took a break in Mason, Michigan.  Dan and I had a snack at the Daily Scoop Ice Cream Shoppe. 

Mason has a beautiful court house.

We finished up at Johnny Carino's in Brighton, Michigan.  

We ate dinner with an engineer named Dan - whose wife was named Jonna.  Unreal.

Leather-leaved Grape Fern

A few highlights from monitoring this past Friday:

Leather-leaved Grape Fern near the old Scout garage

A sleepy bumble bee

Rattlesnake Root 

This rare species is a favorite of deer, so it is uncommon for us to see an intact plant.  This one was at least 6 feet tall.

The colors are just getting started.  This is across the street from the wet meadow (below) where the Rattlesnake Root was found.

Lunar Eclipse

It was a little cloudy last night...

…and I think the light was reflected on the clouds...

...which totally obscured the view about 20 minutes after this photo.

Maybe next time!

Non-working Dogs

I was tickled to see so many dogs out and about on our recent trip to Scotland.  They may not have been obviously working (like the Sheepdogs), but in their own minds they perhaps thought they were performing important duties.

A Scottish Terrier in St. Andrews

An unknown breed on the road to Glen Affric

A Spaniel at Loch Ness

A Collie and Chocolate Labrador Retriever at a pub on Loch Ness 

(next to seated owners at far picnic table)

A barking Yorkshire Terrier at Loch Ness

On our way to Loch Lomond

Two West Highland White Terriers on Loch Lomond

Statue of Greyfriars Bobby

He was a famous Skye Terrier who lived in Edinburgh.

I have never been particularly fond of Skye Terriers.  

However on our recent visit I learned they originated on the Isle of Skye.  

It turns out I originated on the Isle of Skye as well (in a way).  My grandfather's grandfather was born there.

Working Dogs

Just returned from 10 days in Scotland.  

What I most enjoyed were all the dogs.  They seem to be a big part of life there.

This is a shepherd who gave a sheepdog demonstration at Leault Working Farm, south of Inverness.  He is holding a 7 1/2 week old pup.

The white material on the field is wool.  Some of the puppies would play with or rest in it.

There were several adult dogs and several puppies.  The shepherd worked the adults 2 to 3 at a time.  The others mostly watched.  

Two of the older dogs stayed with the visitors, coaxing people to pet them.

The shepherd used whistling in addition to voice commands.

After the adult dogs demonstrated the basics, the shepherd put the 7 1/2 week old pup down (to the right of the flock).

He had learned all the commands just by watching the older dogs.

This 5 week old pup thought it looked pretty easy.  He spied a sheep that had separated from the flock while the shepherd was talking.

The sheep had no intention of being herded by a puppy and returned the chase.

The puppies resigned themselves to tackling a leash instead.

Skipper to Skipper

Friday we finished up monitoring the Prairie Fern-leaved False Foxglove around the Monclova Sandpits.  

There were many of these skippers flitting around.

Next we went looking for Scaly Blazing Star in the big meadow northwest of Reed and Wilkins Roads.  

There is a beautiful Chestnut Oak there, just north of Reed Road.

We had to ask for help identifying this immature male Indigo Bunting.  The biggest clue is the blue patch on his wing.  He was not shy and that should have been another clue.

There were quite a few American Copper butterflies puddling on the wet sand of the dunes.

The same skippers were nectaring on the Rough Blazing Star there as well.

If I find out what species of skipper this is, I will update the post.

Swamp Milkweed

The Swamp Milkweed has been flourishing with the wet weather.  

It has spread in the garden around the patio and is attracting a great variety of butterflies and bees.

The photos above and below are of a hummingbird moth.

Below is a Giant Swallowtail.

The Giant Swallowtail is the largest butterfly species in Ohio and is uncommon in developed areas.

This is the first time I have seen either of these species.