Had the opportunity to introduce another generation to this place. Most of our time was spent playing in the crystal clear, deep green holes upstream from this spot, the namesake of St. Mary's Falls Wilderness.
Images
Dogbane and Butterfly
Finishing off the week with a butterfly atop a flowering dogbane plant. You have to slow down to catch these little things! Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott
Sea Nettles
The most often-heard question regarding water sports in the Chesapeake is, "Have the jellies come in yet?" Seeking a specific high salinity, usually achieved in shallow water coves and inlets as the heat of summer kicks in, these Sea Nettle jellyfish get plentiful, and locals soon just have to stay out of the water.
Terp!
I'm not a University of Maryland fan, but I do like their mascot, the Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin). It's the only US turtle specially adapted to life in brackish (not salt) water, and they prefer coastal estuaries to either fresh water or full ocean salinity. Today, they have "near threatened" status, with limited populations from…Read more Terp!
Nectar
Bumblebees take their time searching for nectar and pollen in a patch of purple coneflower. Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott
Trumpet Vine
Another summer bloom - also known as Trumpet Creeper or Hummingbird Vine, the Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans) is actually native to eastern North America! But... because it is a quick-growing aggressive vine that also has showy flowers that attract hummingbirds, it has been cultivated and introduced elsewhere (Europe, Latin America, Canada, Western US) where it…Read more Trumpet Vine
Exploration
Sometimes the unintentional shot just works. The focus is on the water here. The boys are just passing through, as they paddle away into parts unknown. Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott
Nowhere Near a Barn
This was the ringleader of the gang. A whole group of about eight fledgling Barn Swallows was flying around the marsh, escorted by a couple adults - likely catching mosquitoes as they flew. Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott
Bald Eagles
The bald eagles were keeping a wary eye on all the ospreys. They weren't nearly as many of them, but a few made an appearance. Lynn caught this one doing its best impression of a quarter. Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott
Bandit
Another wildlife sighting at Mallows Bay. We were just quietly drifting along in a canoe, Lynn taking pictures, when this guy walked along the shoreline under roots, behind branches, stopping every once in a while to grab a morsel out of the mud. Visible for only about 30 seconds - we were in the right…Read more Bandit
Family Portrait
We took a trip out to Mallows Bay on the Potomac River this weekend, and the ospreys were everywhere - multiple nest sites, each with a set of almost-fully-grown chicks and parents. There were a LOT of ospreys - and quite a few bald eagles too. This family had a nest on the end of…Read more Family Portrait
Thunder Moon
There were only a few moments of clear sky tonight before the clouds moved back in, and that piece of sky was washed out by the Full Thunder Moon (also called the Buck Moon). The rays off of bright Tycho Crater (in the south highlands, just right of center) extend 1.500 km from the crater…Read more Thunder Moon
Scorpius’s Head
In my weekly astronomy post this weekend, I talked about looking for deep sky objects in Scorpius. The weather never did really cooperate, but the clouds added their own strange beauty. Here is a single, 4-second exposure of the head-end of Scorpius - bright red Antares in the "neck", and sure enough, you can faintly…Read more Scorpius’s Head
Summer Fun
As a rule, I don't typically post pictures of the family on this site - but this is outdoor summer fun right here!
Older and Wiser
Another backyard rabbit - but I found the comparison between the calm in this older rabbit and the alarm in the younger one we spotted a few weeks ago to be interesting. The photo captures a split second of course, but this one appears to be measuring ME up.
Flying Squirrel Outdoors 