Picture of the Day for July 31, 2015

Picture of the Day 2 Comments

Today’s full moon is called a Blue Moon, even though the moon isn’t any bluer than the full moon earlier this month. But once in a while there is a blue moon, when a volcanic eruption or smoke filters the Sun’s reflected light and makes the moon appear blue.

The original definition in the Maine Farmers’ Almanac defined a “blue moon” as the third full moon in a season with four full moons instead of the typical three. The second definition came about after an article by hobby astronomer James Hugh Pruett was published in the American magazine Sky and Telescope in 1946. He made a miscalculation, and claimed that any second full Moon in a calendar month is called a blue moon. A correction was printed but the mistake spread worldwide and is now the most common definition.

So the next blue moon by the original definition would be May 21, 2016 and next blue moon based on two in a month will be January 31, 2018. The true blue moon based on color isn’t as easy to predict since based on particles in the air.

Once in a Blue Moon

Not a Blue Moon

Picture of the Day for July 30, 2015

Picture of the Day 2 Comments

One small perk of mowing lawn, especially on my trails, is that you get to see what flowers are blooming and last evening as the sun was setting and while finishing the last sections, I spotted a rare find. It had been thirty plus years since I had spotted the Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid while walking through the cow pasture on the farm so I was thrill to spot one last night. It is found in the Eastern US, but in some of those states it is listed as endangered, rare, or threatened, although Wisconsin is not one of those state, it is not a flower that I see very often in this area. Probably since they prefer wet habitats but with the rain this summer, my lawn is a wet habitat!

So I will have to venture out today in the daylight to get more pictures of the showy inflorescence of pinkish-purple dancing flowers of the Platanthera psycodes, meaning ‘butterfly like’, referring the spreading fringed petals, before someone mows it off or a deer eats it!

Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid

Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid

Picture of the Day for July 28, 2015

Picture of the Day No Comments

The sun is starting to peek out after the rain, but it hasn’t cool off nor has the dewpoint dropped, so it is another hot summer day. The yellow blossom of  the common St. Johnswort looks like the sun bursting out its rays. But like many other flowers, this native one from Eurasia and North Africa was introduced into this country in the 1700s  as an ornamental and as a medicinal herb. Now it is considered an invasive and noxious weed especially since toxic to livestock as it crowds out native species and forage on pasture lands.

Common St. Johnswort

Common St. Johnswort

Picture of the Day for July 27, 2015

Picture of the Day 1 Comment

On another warm summer day, these little baby pot-bellied pigs might want to find a cool place but it won’t be in my house even if they are cute when little, but like all things, they grow up and soon there is a hundred pound pig, or larger, is wanting attention.

I might sweat like a pig on this hot day, but the pigs won’t as they don’t sweat much and it is why they wallow in mud to cool off. The expression “sweat like a pig” came from pig iron, a form of iron smelting which the iron ore is heated to extreme temperatures and is poured into a mold shaped like one long line with many smaller lines branching off of it at right angles. This looks similar to piglets feeding from their mother, so these pieces became known as pigs. The smelter has to wait until the liquid cools to move it  and as the metal cools, the air around it reaches the dew point, causing droplets to form on the metal’s surface. When the “pig” is sweating, it’s cool enough to be moved.

Sweat Like A Pig

Sweat Like A Pig

These pigs probably want the bowl filled back up with water to play in.

Picture of the Day for July 26, 2015

Picture of the Day 1 Comment

Hidden on top of St. Anne’s Hill, sits a quaint stone chapel dedicated to St. Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose feast day is today. The St. Anne’s Shrine consists of the fourteen Stations of the Cross, which line the path from St. Luke’s Catholic Church to the top through a cow pasture, a replica of the Lourdes Grotto in addition to the chapel.

Five years after a cross was first fashioned from stones on the summit of Council Bluff by Father Surges and two visiting priests, the shrine was dedicated in Plain, Wisconsin. Held on the Feast of St. Anne, the July 26, 1928, dedication was attended by more than 1,000 parishioners and guests.

Some of the “pretty” rocks in the communion rail came from my grandmother’s flower garden, but since I didn’t circle on the picture when she pointed her rocks, I don’t remember which ones they are.

Inside St. Anne’s Hill Chapel

Inside St. Anne's Hill Chapel

 

Picture of the Day for July 25, 2015

Picture of the Day No Comments

On a hot summer Saturday, I am sure the beach will be filled with people cooling off at Interfalls Lake in Pattison State Park. The twenty-three acre lake, containing several small islands, is downstream from the Little Manitou Falls. And the sound of the small dam and the roar of the Big Manitou Falls can be heard directly behind this spot. In a span of a short distance, the waters of the Black River makes a 30 foot drop before flowing into a calm lake briefly before it goes over the dam and then the big plunge of 165 feet until it makes its way to Lake Superior.

Interfalls Lake

Interfalls Lake

Picture of the Day for July 24, 2015

Picture of the Day No Comments

This odd looking wildflower called Indian Pipe, or Corpse Plant, contains no chlorophyll and therefore has to “borrow” or take nutrients from other sources. Its roots tap into the root-like threads of fungus, which the fungus tap into tree roots. The tree gives nutrients to the fungus and the fungus gives nutrients to the tree but Indian Pipes don’t give anything back and actually a parasite to both the tree and fungus.

I spotted a clump of them just peeking out of the ground with a couple that were further along. The flower head is bent down to prevent rain from getting in, but as the plant gets older, it raises the head to attract insects to pollinate. The blossom inside turns pink when fertilized and as the plant matures, the head is straight up. Eventually the plant turns black as it matures even more.

Odd Looking Wildflower

Odd Looking Wildflower

Picture of the Day for July 23, 2015

Picture of the Day No Comments

I don’t know what changed this year; whether more of the baby orioles survived or there is a better communication system pointing to the feed lunch but I am having trouble keeping the sugar water feeders and grape jelly can filled. The hummingbirds have to take a number as I have seen three orioles on the sugar water feeder at the same time and more than a half dozen lined up at the jelly, at least until the male Baltimore Oriole shows up. He scares the rest away so he can have it all to himself but the smaller Orchard Oriole male (the dark bird in the picture) has no trouble eating with the other females and youngsters.

Unlike  many other fruit-eating birds, Baltimore Orioles seem to prefer only ripe, dark-colored fruit like the deepest-purple grapes and will ignore green grapes and yellow cherries even if they are ripe. I guess that is why they like the grape jelly over other types of jelly. The orioles forage for insects, drink nectar from flowers and eat berries. According to the All About Birds website, Orchard Orioles “sometimes visit hummingbird feeders or eat orange slices or jelly at feeding stations.” Well the sometimes seems to be a constant thing this year with the number of jars of jelly and bags of sugar I have gone through so far this season.

The Grub Line

The Grub Line

Watch the video below to see the crowded grub line.

Picture of the Day for July 22, 2015

Picture of the Day No Comments

Train stations or depots were the hub of most towns and almost every town had one as it not only moved goods from town to town, but provided a means for people to travel to other parts of the country. But as the use of the automobile became more common, the local depot fell in its importance to a town and by 1950s the smaller towns and cities depots were closed and disappeared from the landscape. Some larger depots are still in use and some of the abandons ones have survived by serving another function such as housing a different business or as the local museum.

End of the Line for the Depot

End of the Line for the Depot

Proudly powered by WordPress & Skyrocket Themes

©  2024  SeS Photo, A Division of Share-e's Services, LLC

MENU

Navigation