More about the Horseshoe Crabs and other creatures... 2011

In the previous post, I included a picture of a crab pileup and quite a bit of information about the Horseshoe Crabs... this first image in today's post is of a breeding pair who are working their way to shore (although here, the waves seem to be carrying them out) so the female can lay the eggs (she's the front, larger one) and the male can then fertilize them. The female pulls him along behind her so he can do his part after she finishes laying the eggs.

This is a young Horseshoe Crab before it has developed the front claws which allow us to know whether it is male or female. Males have front claws shaped roughly like boxing gloves, the better to grip onto the rear of the female's shell as seen in the previous image. When a Horseshoe Crab gets turned upside down, it uses its long, spiny tail to flip itself upright. We assisted this one in righting itself at which point it headed for the water. When upside down, the crab is extremely vulnerable to predators. Also, its gills will dry out quite rapidly which means it will certainly die unless it rights itself and returns to the bay.

This is the same young crab, heading for the water after we turned it back upright to assist it. You can certainly see why they are referred to as living fossils... and they have been around since prehistoric time.

Sanderlings on the beach... a possible caption for this is "you go this way and I'll go the other way" as they search for crab eggs and/or the tiny creatures deposited as the waves recede from the shore.

I think this is an immature Herring Gull but am not certain. I'll have to do more research but it's almost 1:00 AM and time for bed so I want to wrap up this post soon!

The oddly shaped "rock" in the center of this image isn't a rock at all... it is a Sea Cucumber! It was spotted by one of our group and we weren't at all certain what it was. Our naturalist guide told us a bit about these strange creatures, most of which I've forgotten already. The one thing that stuck in my mind is that when it feels threatened, it will puff itself up and expel its stomach. A predator will then eat the stomach instead of the Sea Cucumber and the "cuke" will go merrily on its way and simply grow a new stomach.

Horseshoe Crabs and the birds that depend on them...

Although the first image is crabs, crabs and more crabs, the rest of this post (scroll down) will be birds who love to dine on their eggs. If I haven't missed the cutoff, I'll be posting this to World Bird Wednesday shortly. (am posting here instead of my other blog because this blog is where I post when the images tell more of a story than I want to tell on my photo blog... am WAY behind returning visits from last week but will be catching up before the weekend)

My cousin Jane, friends and myself went to Slaughter Beach, Delaware (and a few nearby spots) to view the annual mass breeding of the Horseshoe Crabs. They breed and come to shore, riding high tide in to the beach, in great numbers to deposit and fertilize vast numbers of protein rich eggs over a two week period (+/- a few days) every May. One of the best places to view this spectacle is Slaughter Beach on the Delaware Bay.

Blue Ridge Workshops provided a photography instructor and a naturalist guide for our "day at the beach" and some of us even got to try out HUGE lenses on our Nikon cameras. I failed miserably to get the hang of using a 600mm prime lens fitted with a 2x converter and think my Sigma 120-400mm zoom is much easier to use! (also would need someone to carry the rig for me if I were to use such a huge and heavy lens assembly) Too bad I forgot to pack the 1.4x converter for my Sigma lens.

And now for a few of the birds who dine on the eggs laid by the crabs...

Sanderlings with a few Ruddy Turnstones mixed in (look closely and you might spot the Turnstones)

The foreground Sanderling has a crab egg in its mouth. (larger view)

Laughing Gull, aptly named if you've ever heard them! Note Horseshoe Crabs on the beach too.

Willet with tail of Horseshoe Crab visible, sticking out of the water on the left.

A few Ruddy Turnstones with some blurry gulls on the water behind them.

The last part of the photography adventure...

Alright, I'm trying again to finish up the adventure I had the other day with my cousin Jane and our friend Susie. It seems that Google's blog service is having a bit of difficulty today because it keeps posting "Could not contact Blogger.com. Saving and publishing may fail. Retrying..." and then occasionally posts "Draft autosaved at..." So this last collage of images from our adventure may or may not show up today if I fail at publishing!

The two scenic images were both taken from the same spot... the James Rumsey Monument in Shepherdstown, WV. The "Opera House" is in downtown and is not an opera house at all but was built as a movie theater in the early 1900's and was in continuous operation as one until 1956. The Yellow Brick Bank building was, at one time, a bank but now houses a lovely restaurant.

More of the photography adventure...

I was going to add this to the previous post until I realized how much I'd already written about Del, his pottery and our visit there. So this post will be about the rest (or more) of the adventure... depending! ;-)

Our first stop of the day (upper left in the collage above) was at the "Scenic Overlook" on I-270 not far from Washington, DC where I took LOTS of photos and found that most of them did not please me (this one did). The lovely old church on the right had a corner-stone dated 1856; some of the graves in the cemetery were those of soldiers who died in our Civil War. The lower left is obviously a close-up of the gorgeous stained glass window and on the right, skipping to the end of the day, is a sunset taken in Boonsboro, MD.

We stopped for lunch in Shepherdstown, WV and wandered the town a bit both before and after lunch. The collage above includes an image (upper left) of the tower of McMurran Hall, part of Shepherdstown University... the clock in the tower is mainained, wound twice weekly and strikes the hour as it has since 1841 although in 1841 it was not in its present location. It was originally intended for the tower at Trinity Church but was moved to McMurran Hall in 1860. (information from the Historic Shepherdstown Walking Tour guide) Additional images are of a lovely old home and the main street, an old, stone Lutheran Church tower and a quirky coffee shop "bumper sticker" hanging on the wall of the Lost Dog coffee shop in Shepherdstown. This bumper sticker caught my eye for two reasons... it made me laugh and then I noticed that it was from a coffee shop in Sheridan, WY where we lived until 1955 when we moved to Billings, MT.

Rambling to Foxcross Pottery in Sharpsburg, MD with stops along the way...

Del of Foxcross pottery is a favorite potter of mine whose pieces I have been buying for over 30 years... his studio and home are both on the same property where he lives with his wife and works in his studio most every day. My cousin Jane and I had been discussing going off somewhere to have fun together while taking pictures for awhile now since photography is a passion for both of us.

Since it had been quite awhile since we had visited Del in Sharpsburg, MD, we thought making a day of it and heading up that way (slightly less than a 90 minute drive from my house if one doesn't stop at all en route) qualified for a fun adventure, especially since we decided to go up by one route and return by another... traveling a few back country roads and having lunch in Shepherdstown, WV either before or after visiting with Del at his pottery studio. Our friend Susie concurred and happily joined us.

The collage above (view large; right click link to select view in another window to avoid leaving this page... html tag target=blank isn't working for me any more) is a collection of images from our visit... Although I've visited Del many times, I learned a few things that I hadn't known before... the collection of old tools hanging on the wall are some that Del found on their property when they were clearing the land to build their home and the artifacts on the shelf (some bullets, uniform buttons and other items) are Civil War artifacts. Del used some of the old tools when building their home! Del is pictured above an old teapot that sits on a wood stove in front of the shelf holding the artifacts. To his right is the sign outside his studio. The stained glass window decorates their kitchen/dining area, the wooden shelf with several pottery pieces showcase 'pots' from potters who inspired Del when he was starting out and the rest of the pottery (the bowl with gourds and pine cone and in the lower right collage image) is all Del's work.

I will be adding to this post when I find the time to put together a couple more collages showing representative images of the rest of the adventure my cousin Jane, our friend Susie and I had the other day. In the meantime, there is a fairly brief slide show of the images I hope to organize better when I find the time. Who knew retirement would keep me so busy!

Catching up... again... this time from our Montana trip in June, 2010

I'm more behind than ever and before memory fails me completely... thought I'd try to catch up a bit and post some images and experiences from our June trip to Red Lodge, Montana where (as some of you may recall) we have a lovely home that is available for a vacation rental when we are not using it.

One of the best experiences from our visit this year was when I got together with a high school classmate for an adventure in the nearby Pryor Mountains where a herd of wild mustangs has roamed freely for many years. The Pryor Mountains span the southern Montana - northern Wyoming border not far from Red Lodge so making a day trip to search out the horses was easily arranged.

Cathy picked me up around 9 AM and we packed our lunch (provided by me) and my camera gear into her car and headed for Lovell, Wyoming where the Wild Mustang Center is located. After a quick stop at the Wild Mustang Center to pick up a detailed map of the area and to find out where the horses could be seen, off we went in search of horses. We found five (four adults and a young foal) right where the ranger at the Mustang Center told us they would be. All the images I posted from our adventure are viewable as a slide show... I've also included a few of my favorites below to whet your appetite for additional viewing.

Typical, wild, wonderful Wyoming scenery in the area around the Pryor Mountains. The red color is a result of iron in the soil.

The horses were some distance away when we first spotted them and we'd been advised not to approach too closely as they can be unpredictable. Here, they appear to be having a conference about something and the foal is almost completely hidden from view (look on the left side behind the front horse).

This was taken after the horses had moved from where we first saw them to a much more accessible location... and they seemed totally bored with our being there! This is the mother of the young foal that was with this group (see the next image for the foal).

The young foal was never far from its mother's side.

Although we never really tired of taking pictures of the horses, we did decide to go to the Canyon Overlook of the Bighorn River where this image was taken. There are a few more as well as a map of the Canyon Overlook area in the slide show which only has 16 images so it takes less than a minute to view it.

Big Sky Panorama... Montana, 2010

Is it any wonder we love visiting Montana... we were there in June, 2010 and I'm clearly way late in posting anything about our adventures from this trip. This image is a panorama, stitched together from several images taken off Route 78 and Fox Road outside of Red Lodge, Montana. (We have a vacation home there, available for rent when we are not using it.)

This is a teaser... I hope to post more from our trip soon and hope you'll enjoy this image in the meantime!

Catching up... St. Croix... the rest of the trip and future notes!

Since my last post (and not THE last post) about our trip to St. Croix, we've been to Montana for three weeks and to Illinois for 7 days so I'm definitely far, far, far behind on posting here. It seems that many things have intervened and kept me too busy to post...

1. first with things here at the house and two weekend trips the two weekends prior to leaving for Montana
• one from May 21-23, 2010 to "Dirt Fest" at Raystown Lake, PA (a mountain biking event Mike wanted to attend again this year and I accompanied him)
• a second trip (by me alone) to Easton, PA to visit Robin (brother) and Pat (his wife) over the Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day Weekend
  
2. and then with our trip to Montana (from June 2-23, 2010) which came about in a rather rushed fashion with a decision to go only about 3 weeks before we actually packed up and left
3. and last but not least, a trip to Illinois from June 27 - July 3, 2010 due to a death in the family (Mike's mother passed away on June 19 while we were still in Montana); viewing and a memorial service were held in Lovington, IL (where she grew up and where other family is buried)

SO... I will try to briefly wrap up the last few days of our stay in St. Croix before forging ahead with stories from the rest of our travels! In the days after attending my nephew's wedding (see previous post) and before our departure, we managed to fit in another family dinner at our villa that included picture taking at the request of some of us who especially enjoy the tradition of a photo of "the five" siblings, some more shopping, another snorkeling trip for "the boys" (Mike and Larry III), a visit to the St. George Village Botanical Garden to walk around the grounds and shop a bit more at their delightfully air-conditioned shop (it was HOT outside), a quick stop to see Jason and Keely's apartment high on a hill overlooking Christiansted, and last, but not least, a family dinner at No Bones Restaurant (Jason and Keely's favorite local dining spot) on our last night in St. Croix. A few images are included below...

One of several family photos taken on June 25, 2010 in St. Croix. This one shows "the five" siblings from left to right... Robin, Valerie, Larry, Victoria and Lukas. There is a slide show available for viewing the rest of the family photos including the ones from our last night together at No Bones Restaurant.

Larry III and Mike returning from snorkeling at a beach near Point Udall.

Just on the other side of the hill... better snorkeling than where Mike and Larry III snorkeled... but we saw it too late!

A very unusual flowering tree... the Cannonball tree... so named because its fruits resemble cannonballs when ripe... this image shows some buds and one fully opened flower.

A view of Christiansted (town and harbor), USVI from Jason and Keely's apartment... the road was pretty rough (steep with sharp turns AND muddy) getting up there but we made it!

An interesting building with exterior walkway and arches... I just like this one!

"THE END" of my St. Croix posts... on to the next adventures when I have some more time to post.

St. Croix, USVI - Wedding Day - April 24, 2010

I know I'm very late posting the rest of our trip images and stories... seems that many things have intervened since our return home on the 28th.

The day of my nephew's wedding dawned cloudy and there were several periods of rain showers throughout the day. But the weather cleared shortly before the ceremony was to start and the rest of the late afternoon and evening was marvelously clear and quite nice.

We arrived, as instructed by my nephew, 45 minutes before the ceremony was to start to find the catering crew completing the setup of tables and the bar and wandered around exploring the lovely grounds of the estate. As guests started to arrive, we saw family members we hadn't seen since the last wedding (Jason's younger brother Michael married Dawn in August of 2008).

Once all the guests arrived and were seated, following a short and joyous ceremony, Jason and Keely enjoyed celebrating their union with all of those in attendance. Partying LATE into the evening followed the ceremony and I have far too many images of their wedding to share in this space. I've uploaded a few here which may be viewed as a slide show if you want to see all eleven images (takes about 30 seconds depending on your connection speed).

I've included a few family images below ... and a couple of scenic shots from the grounds of the lovely Cane Garden Estate, St. Croix, USVI where the wedding was held. Enjoy!

Cane Garden Estate, main house. Jason and Keely had their wedding ceremony on the steps; we weren't allowed inside but peeking through the windows showed a gorgeously restored interior of this historic residence.

The lovely bride and handsome groom after the vows and just before marching down the aisle to "Another one bites the dust..."

Grooms uncles L-R back row: Tom, Lukas, Larry, Mike; front row: Duane, Larry III, Robin.

The kiss... Pat and Robin on a bench with the clear water and gorgeous countryside behind them.

Dress was island casual... we all took advantage of that! Family members L-R include Valerie (mother of the groom), Larry III, Larry, Tom, Chris, Lukas, Michael, Dawn and Pat.

Groom's family in the left photo L-R: cousin Evan, sister-in-law Dawn and brother Shane; brother Michael and his wife Dawn on the right.

St. Croix, USVI - April 23, 2010

Still trying to catch up on posts... our villa in St. Croix was marvelous... if you are ever inclined to go there... look up Amonoka Villa and see if it's available... 3 bedrooms on the main level (a fourth sleeping area in the downstairs apartment), 4-1/2 baths on the main level, huge common area that doubles as a dining room and sitting area indoors, pool with large deck and more dining area space as well as LOTS of lounging furniture to aid in loafing the day away if you aren't inclined to explore the island. There is also a large kitchen, wireless internet, generator (in case of power outages)... all in a gated community high up on the hillside on the north side of the island. The master bedroom suite has two bathrooms!

Anyone interested in tropical plants, birds, lizards (geckos) and/or insects will find plenty to enjoy in the grounds surrounding the villa... the gardens have fruit trees, many flowering plants and bushes and all manner of visitors if one sits quietly and waits. You might enjoy viewing a short slide show of the grounds and spacious rooms.

One day late in the week, we came back to the villa to discover a power outage had disabled the keypad (electricity required) that we used to enter the combination to access our private driveway. Once we realized that there was no power, a quick phone call to the emergency number led us to the caretaker who talked us through getting in the gate. Once inside, and still with no power, another phone call to the caretaker had him on site within 15 minutes to fire up the generator. We were VERY impressed to find out that the generator would give us full power at the villa until the next morning IF the power didn't come back on... but the power was restored within an hour or so which meant we didn't have to rely any longer on the generator.

Our evening adventure was a mixed failure/success... our dinner at The Waves was not so great (seriously overcooked red snapper which required cutting with a knife) and slow service (island time)... but the Mocko Jumbie show afterwards at Carombola Resort was quite entertaining! (Family and friends might like to view the slide show of pictures taken during dinner at The Waves.) We hurried to RumRunners after the Mocko Jumbie show only to find that the rehearsal dinner party crowd had mostly dispersed which meant we didn't get to party that evening with my nephew and his fiancee.

I'll leave you with another island sunset image (taken from The Waves Restaurant) and a photo and a bit of information (a teaser) about the Mocko Jumbies.

Mocko Jumbies (sometimes spelled Moko) have been in the Virgin Island cultural heritage for over 200 years and trace their history back to Africa as far back as the 13th and 14th centuries. More information is available elsewhere about their history and cultural significance. Mocko Jumbies are popular for their performances at many festivals as well as in shows for the tourists and locals who appreciate seeing these colorful dancers high up on stilts doing steps that some of us cannot even do with both feet firmly on the ground!

St. Croix, USVI - April 22, 2010

We've been home for a week and I've been playing catch-up everywhere... so today I've vowed I WILL post at least one more report from our week in St. Croix. After a lazy morning, we went into town for lunch at RumRunners (great spiced shrimp and good salads) and learned a bit about our excellent waitress who lives year-round on a 56 foot sailboat... traveling with her partner where the wind takes them and lighting here and there to wait tables whenever the spirit moves her! Since I'm not overly fond of heat and humidity (which St. Croix has), I'm not terribly envious of this life style.

I already posted a few images from yesterday in the previous post. We wandered around town and shopped a bit for snorkel gear (flippers for me, mask repair parts for Mike) and the best find... a hat for me to wear to the wedding! After lunch, we tried (and failed) to find the recommended supermarket and wound up shopping at Pueblo instead. Groceries are QUITE expensive in St. Croix since almost everything (except rum made locally) has to be shipped to the island. Dashing home afterward, we communicated with the rest of our immediate family members who were staying at a nearby villa that we would host dinner to save them having to go out after traveling most of the day!

For some reason, I don't seem to have family photos from our gathering but will include a few other images below...

View of yellow building with green doors (same building that appears in close-up of stairs and doors in the previous post).

Working on restoration at Fort Christiansvaern, the best restored of the many Danish built forts in the US Virgin Islands and now a historic site.

A shore bird on the rocks in front of RumRunners.

St. Croix - April 21-22, 2010

Arriving in St. Croix, we were met by the "Villa greeter" (holding a sign with our name) and my brother and his partner who had arrived "on-island" a few minutes before we did. Once we collected our luggage and rental car, we followed the greeter (caravan of two white Toyota Camrys) to our villa. We're in a HUGE sprawling villa with 4 bedrooms and who knows how many bathrooms (haven't counted those yet), a swimming pool, loads of lounge chairs for relaxing outdoors, beautiful gardens... luxury!

Staying at our villa are my sister and her youngest son (oldest is the reason we're all here as he is getting married Saturday), my youngest brother and his partner, myself and my other half and another one of my nephews. Maybe I'll try to get a group photo later!

Meantime, I'm posting a couple images from yesterday... a sunset from our villa and a portion of a most interesting building at Fort Christiansvaern, an old fort built by the Danish in 1749 to protect the harbor at Christiansted, St. Croix... The fort was was partially rebuilt in 1771 after being severely damaged by a succession of hurricanes. It is now a national historic site and is the best preserved of the few remaining Danish-built forts in the Virgin Islands.

St. Croix, USVI - April 21 - April 28, 2010

We're off on an island adventure as of tomorrow... house sitter lined up to take care of getting us to the airport. (what an incredible friend indeed since we must be on the road to the airport as of 4 AM!) And he'll feed the birds, take care of newspapers and mail and generally keep an eye on things.

My nephew Jason is getting married on Saturday... he's been living in St. Croix for several years and it is where he met his bride-to-be... the lovely Keely! I hope to find time to post a few images while we are there... but family vacations are pretty happening events with this crowd so we'll have to see what happens!

Hope also to do some snorkeling and see a bit of the island. And of course, take LOTS of photos to post here, there, and maybe elsewhere too.

September 15, 2009: Hanging out in and near Red Lodge, MT...

Mike's cousin Tom and his wife Helen came from Utah to visit us while we were in Red Lodge this year. They arrived the evening of September 14th in time for dinner... after a LONG day of driving. Our day together on the 15th was a bit low key with a somewhat late breakfast together before wandering around town.

Our house (which is available as a vacation rental when we are not using it) is in the "Hi Bug" area of Red Lodge which is where the larger homes were built by the "upper crust" of Red Lodge in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Several of the homes on our street were designed by the same architect, Seth Hunneywell, as our house was. Our walking tour of Red Lodge with our guests included wandering up our street all the way to route 78 and then back again, reading both from a book on the historic homes and a book on the history of Red Lodge as we wandered around.

Photos I've chosen to include today include some from our walk as well as a couple from later in the day when we drove up to Red Lodge Mountain and stopped at Silver Run before returning to town.

Chapman House was completed in 1902, having been built by W.S. Smith at a cost of $6,500 from plans drawn up by Seth Hunneywell. It was described as one of the finest residences in the state of Montana at the time.

Heading back toward town, a structure of a different sort... this grain elevator is no longer used for grain and currently stands idle. I'm not sure whether it will be eventually torn down or repurposed... the angles and shapes against the cloudy sky struck me as worthy of recording. The fencing in the foreground is part of a relatively recent addition to the town of Red Lodge, a childrens playground.

Trains no longer run to and from Red Lodge but this rail car is preserved outside the Art Gallery.

Family photo... Mike (on the right) with cousin Tom and Tom's wife Helen.

The parking lot at Silver Run outside of Red Lodge, MT is accessed by crossing the West Fork of Rock Creek. Silver Run is a multi-use trail with several loops that allow the hiker, biker or cross country skier (in winter, of course) to choose how long they want to make the trail. This photo of the West Fork was taken from the bridge one must cross to reach the parking lot.

September 13-14, 2009: Coaster Classic and House Guests...

If you follow my Photography Addict's Showcase blog or my Flickr stream, you may already know that on our return home from our western trip, I was invited by a local Bethesda, MD art gallery to have a show of my photography in February, 2010. SO... the excitement over that has kept me hopping recently and I'm way behind on finishing up the saga of our three weeks in Idaho, Wyoming (Yellowstone National Park) and Red Lodge, Montana. Before I forget entirely... thought I'd better work on finishing my posts of our adventures!

The day after Oktoberfest (previous post), the Coaster Classic (Cruiser Classic?) happens... an event involving bicyclists who have their bikes trucked up to the State Line (or to Rock Creek Vista which isn't quite as far up the highway) on the Beartooth Highway and then coast back down. The meet-up spot is on the Rock Creek Road at the campground parking lot where everyone gathers 10ish (timing isn't exact) with their bicycles and various vehicles involved in carting the bikes up the mountain. Of course Mike participated in this adventure but I'd fallen the previous day (on my way TO Oktoberfest) and had skinned up my knees pretty badly so didn't take part.

Without further blathering, I'll leave you with a few photos from the event... And a teaser about our house guests... Mike's cousin Tom (from Utah) and wife Helen arrived at dinner time on the 14th and there will be a couple of final posts about their visit and the end of our stay... will try to finish this trip before TOO long!

We, of course, were the first people at the parking lot... and witnessed a truck pulling into the parking lot with the driver rushing out, throwing up the hood, hollering did anyone have a fire extinguisher and throwing dirt on this engine block while hollering some more about needing a fire extinguisher! He was supposed to help drive bicyclists and bikes up the mountain... but was unable to do so... and I didn't get a photo because I felt bad for the guy... so enjoy this view of mountains from the parking lot instead.

The bicycle in front with the banana seat was ridden by an adult, all the way down the mountain from the state line (Montana/Wyoming border) on the Beartooth Highway.

These boys rode down the mountain too ... but from Rock Creek Vista which is a shorter ride.

The gentleman standing on the rear of the fully loaded flatbed truck is the driver of the flatbed and hauled MOST of the bikes up to the two drop off points... here he is giving instructions to the crowd and cautioning them that they ride at their own risk!

Fully loaded... Lucas drives riders up the mountain in his truck/van complete with couch for seating in the rear. Mike is on the right, bicycle helmet already on and ready to ride.