Day 16.202: I can't even

Summer has lurched between weeks of seemingly unending rain and spells of oppressive heat. The last couple of days have been the first dry-and-reasonable-temperature days for ages.

Some plants have been enjoying the constant deluge of water, some are looking like they feel the same way I do about it* - like this hydrangea:

* I'm exaggerating for comic effect - no need to stage an intervention about my mental health - not unless it starts raining again anyway.

Day 16.201: Exile #2’s Sunday Column #444

Exile #2 writes... 

We arrived at church this morning to find the fire alarm going off in the building we share. There was a fire truck outside and within a few minutes three more. When the second truck arrived, a team of firefighters jumped out and armed themselves with axes and breathing equipment. It seemed very dramatic but it was also, fortunately, entirely unnecessary. Apparently the equipment had been playing up all week and this was once again a false alarm. Satisfied that all was well, the firefighters reset the equipment and disappeared in time for us to get set up for the service. By the time most people arrives, it was as if they’d never been there!

Day 16.200: Next step: world domination?

Mourning doves have been regular visitors to the areas around our bird feeder whenever we've had one here in the US. However, they are usually on the ground underneath it clearing up he dropped seeds and having the occasional face-off with a squirrel. Sometimes one will land on top of the roof and look a bit clueless about how to get to the food within.

Yesterday, Exile #3 said that she had seen one actually on the appropriate part of the feeder and we joked that it would tell all its friends the secret.

Well...this happened today:

Who knows what else they may be capable of.

Day 16.199: Stormy skies

We've had some hot summer weather here the last few days - with some stormy intervals. The storms haven't really amounted to much for us, but it has made for some dramatic skies.

Day 16.198: Witches' butter

Last weekend, we were surprised to see this strange substance by the patio:

A closer look did little to clarify matters:

But it did give us enough to do a web search which turned up Fuligo septica and its delightful common name: "dog vomit slime mold". A further investigation found that it is known in the folklore of various European countries as "witches' butter" or as the vomit of troll cats.

Less disturbing names include "scrambled egg slime" and "flowers of tan" according to the Wikipedia article. Quite the fascinating addition to the beds.

Day 16.197: And a few other things

Last few things from our trip to Pismire: a dragonfly, some berries, a plant that we thought had very odd leaves, until we realized they were forming seed pods and not leaves, and some ghost plant - our favorite parasitic/saprophytic/mycoheterotrophic flowering plant:

Day 16.196: Fungi in the forest

A selection from the varieties we saw on our short hike on Sunday morning:

Day 16.195: Raymond Community Forest

Our walk yesterday was in Raymond Community Forest. We took the shortest route to and from the Pismire Bluff overlook (about a mile and half each way). Despite being short, it was an energetic climb with a marvelous pay-off.

Exile #4 at the overlook

As Exile #2 mentioned, we could see across to some distant and more significant mountains - I love these views as the mist emphasizes the distance:

My one-and-only bird-photography success was this mediocre shot of a red-eyed vireo high above us

Day 16.194: Exile #2’s Sunday Column #443

Exile #2 writes...

Exile #1, Exile #4 and I set out early this morning to hike before it got too hot. We headed for Pismire Mountain, a trail we didn’t think we’d tackled before. The shade of the forest was nice, and there were many interesting plants and fungi along the way. Although the trail was steep and we were soon feeling the heat and humidity, the climb was worth it, for the reward of a wonderful view across lakes and mountains as far as the eye could see (which was probably across into New Hampshire).

Day 16.193: Hazy at the beach

We didn't see many birds at the beach - a raft of distant ducks, a single tern (with a strange looking wing - in both this photo and another one I took) and some gulls. Other than that I enjoyed the views of distant boats through the mist.

Day 16.192: Musical MFA

On our way to find some lunch at the MFA we happened to pass the musical instrument collection, so naturally we had to take a small detour. 

Various brass instruments - not surprisingly - caught E5N1’s eye 

Who knew double-necked guitars had a long history?

The glass harmonica was invented by Benjamin Franklin and had works composed for it by Mozart, Beethoven and Saint-Saëns

This has a bit of attitude 

And this is a mouth organ - rather more literally than I’m used to. 

Day 16.191: Fireflies

It's that time of year again (watch carefully!)

Day 16.190: Just don't call it a woodhog

...or "groundchuck" for that matter (but ground chuck is a real if different thing).

I have confirmed for you that woodchuck and groundhog are interchangeable terms (but no mix-and-match).

Either way, Exile #2 took some great pictures, and since he was only eating weeds in the lawn, we had no problem with his visit. If he turns his attention to the garden beds, we will feel differently.

Day 16.189: Birds at the MFA

As I often do, I've saved the pictures of birds seen on our outing for a separate post - so here are some of the birds we saw when we visited the MFA in Boston last week. Including (in no particular order): bullfinch, golden eagle, peacock, kingfisher, swallow, cranes, Java sparrow and some unidentified finches: 

Day 16.188: Light, life, art

This pattern of light and shadow on our stairs caught my eye on Friday morning:

Later I remembered this picture we’d seen in the Hokusai exhibition and loved the way the curve of the fish is seen through the ripples: