August 26 at Bethany Beach

Honor and parents on the beach:

Same group in the dining room eating crabs (except Honor):

Grandma and Granddaughter:

August 25 at Bethany Beach

Up to now, Pam has been absent from these pictures because she took them. Here, finally, is the lovely lady with her sister Kathy:

Once again, Honor, the star:

And Honor with her parents:

August 24 at Bethany Beach

Pam called these stairs Honor's "office."

Honor, Sean, and me in the living room of the beach house:

The group at the beach:

August 23 at Bethany Beach

Kathy and Bernie joined us the second day:

Becky and Honor on the beach:

Honor:

August 22 at Bethany Beach

She was the center of things always:

Honor and her Mom and Dad at dinner the first day:

At the beach:

In Brooklyn with granddaughter

First is granddaughter with her parents:

Then two with granddad:

Then two with grandma:

More wildflowers around the pond

Baseball is back for me

Watched the Nationals beat the Marlins Tuesday night with neighbor Jim. Had a nice time.

Wildflowers around the pond

Beavers have come to Paint Branch

When I first noticed this collection of branches and leaves, I thought it may have been just a random collection that occurred when some large limbs got caught in the rocks of the rapids:

Then this appeared recently:

A few years ago, we had beavers in the pond who soon became nocturnal to avoid human contact, so I'm not surprised I haven't seen these during my morning walks. Here is another photo of their dam taken from the new bridge:

They're gone but have left signs of their presence

Brood X of the cicadas emerged this year, and for weeks in the late spring/early summer their calls were heard throughout the area. Although they are now gone, they left their mark on many trees as we were told they would. After mating the female leaves the eggs in a cut she makes into a small branch, and after hatching the nymphs fall to the ground where they burrow into the earth up to eight feet below the surface. In the case of Brood X, the nymphs live for 17 years in the ground before emerging as adults, and once again the mating cycle repeats. Although the adults die soon after mating, the marks on the trees the females make by their cuts remain visible as the small branches have died as if partially pruned and left hanging as shown in this picture of a nearby oak:

Having lived in this area all my life, I can mark my lifetime in those 17 year increments of the Brood X emergences. I was six years old when I was first introduced to them, and we called them the seventeen-year locust. I graduated from college 17 years later when they next emerged, but although I was aware of this natural phenomena I was too distracted by other events to pay much attention to them. In 1987 I had moved into my present house and now remember the interest my children took in the sights and sounds of the cicadas, much as I had when I first experienced them as a child. When they next emerged in 2004, I was at the height of my flyfishing obsession and tied flies to imitate cicadas which proved effective in catching bass, bluegills, and huge carp on a local reservoir. This year as an old man, I merely enjoyed this natural wonder of my surroundings.

Swallowtail buttterfly in the yard

Pam's photo:

Evening in the park

Pride Day at the park

Gay Pride parades have been common in American cities for many years, and now they have come to the suburbs. I was unaware of the local parade (which was actually called a walk) until hours after the event when I took my own walk in the evening and noticed chalk messages on the asphalt and colorful small flags along the trail. The only photo I took was of a festive decoration placed on one of the trees:

Evening at the Pond

Northeast corner of the back yard

Young geese are growing up

The goslings seem to change almost daily. At this point their adult colors are almost complete although they are still distinguishable from the parents by their size. I believe the young ones can walk and swim early, but it takes time for the flight feathers to grow strong enough to fly. Until that happens the parents keep close watch.

Our seasonal yard look

Pam took this shot of our mahonia and ninebark plants in the back yard:

It's nice having these evening promroses along the driveway. People walking by the house have asked about them.

The Pond: Two views

Paint Branch

North end of backyard

A year or two ago, we had a tree removed from this area, and since then Pam has been working on a garden there.

Geese hatch in the Park

Despite park management's efforts to keep down the Canada Geese population, four goslins were born recently, the first babies we've seen in a couple of years. This morning I spied a fox skulking nearby, so I checked to see that the new-borns were okay. They were fine and looked to be similarly healthy when I checked again this afternoon.

House and front yard in late April

The pond: morning and evening

This was around mid-day a week ago:

Then an evening sunset:

Visit to Brooklyn

Pam and I were there from Monday, April 5th through Friday, April 9th. The main attraction was our granddaughter, and here is Pam, Honor, and Honor's dad, Sean:

Honor and me:

Honor seemed to be interested in her grandfather's toes, and here she is getting ready to bite them while her father and mother, Rebecca, look on:

The lake in Prospect Park, taken on one of my many walks:

Sunset following a short fishing trip

After noticing rising fish on some evening walks, I strolled down to the pond recently with a fly rod. Spent about twenty minutes casting a dry fly and caught a small bluegill. I haven't seen many trout caught since the stocking. Took a picture of the setting sun before walking home.

Another Great Blue Heron visit

I like the rippled tree reflections on the surrounding surface.