June Bugs

The June Bugs are coming out in droves.  I can't say that I remember  noticing them earlier than, well, June.  But a few nights ago, as I was coming back up from closing in the chickens for the night, I kept hearing this strange buzzing noise coming out of the soil.  Perhaps their larval grub-like bodies were awakened early by all the rain soaking into their cozy dirt and grassroots homes.

June Bugs are a type of scarab beetle in the Family Coleoptera.  I'm sure you're familiar with them.  In our Easter regions they are brown-rust in color and invade our after dusk campfires.  They are very attracted to light, and often swarm our porch and other lights.  Though harmless, they tend to give you a scare as they make a beeline for our heads.  Or so it seems.  Each year the females bury their eggs back in the soil where the larva will pass through a different stages, over winter in the dirt, then emerge as adults in the spring (this was what I was experiencing).  If you're a gardner, you may have accidentally dug up some of these larval grubs (see below).

So don't be frightened by these harmless little beetles the next time one lands on your arm of flies at your face.  Their legs may feel spiky, but they don't bite let alone eat eyeballs.  And as the old saying goes, "They're more afraid of you, than you are of them."

Phipps Conservatory

Last Friday I went to the Phipps Conservatory with my friend Karin.  I had only been there once before, and it was many years ago.  This place is really amazing if you are a plant lover like me.  It just so happened that we got the break in the rain that I was so desperately hoping for (almost a whole five days of rain-free weather!), and that it corresponded to the plant/craft sale that was also going on outside on the Phipps grounds.  We meandered through the crowds and booths for about an hour before we finally found our way inside.

At the top of the stairway, just before entering into the green houses, we found the most amazing hanging glass sculpture.  It had to be 5-6 feet from top to bottom.  Karin told me that they had recently had a huge glass exhibit and that this piece had been donated to the conservatory.  As we wondered through the greenhouses, other magnificent pieces of glass work could be found hidden all over the place.  Here are a few others:

These were all so beautiful, but my personal favorites were found in the orchid room:

These ghostly glass figures could be found hiding everywhere: from dancing on the log above, to wondering through the stream flowing through the greenhouse, even hiding amongst the orchids.  Here are a few more:

So if you are even in Pittsburgh, even if you are not as passionate about plants as I am, stop by the conservatory and wonder through.  There's something for everyone to see and enjoy.  I will be post some of the other pictures I took on my Flickr site, including the amazing orchids, for ease of viewing.

Back-Posts

Blogger's been having some issues this past week and I couldn't seem to get anything to post.  Determined to get my 31 days in for May, I am going to back-post and get caught up.

My husband is taking a photography class this month.  However, this is not one of his pictures.  I've always wanted to take 'close-up' pictures of the moon phases.  My little Sony camera, while it has done it's job well, does not have the capability to zoom in enough to effectively take the shots I'm seeking.  So I got creative - I shot this picture through my field goggles (binoculars) with my camera, and here's what I got.  It's not great, but I was impressed that it even worked to begin with.  I am hoping to get some better moon photos if ever this rain will pass and acquiesce to the clear night sky.  Preferably with a bright full moon.  This time I will use my husband's camera instead of trying to balance mine and my field goggles.

And by the way, the term 'field goggles' was learned from my dear old ornithology professor way back when.  I've never been able to go back to 'binoculars' since.

Banjo Equinox Summer

I'm finally learning how to play the banjo (clawhammer style).  I bought this old banjo at a garage sale a few summers ago and plunked around with it (bluegrass style) here and there.  I've never been a great picker even on my guitar, so I got discouraged.  Then earlier this spring I got the motivation to join another group of new banjo players inspired through Cold Antler Farm in what was being called the Banjo Equinox summer.  Every so often we need to post a video of ourselves playing a selected tune from Wayne Erbsen's book Clawhammer Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus.  So far we've made two posts and are gearing up for our third.  I've only been playing for a little over a month, and while I'm certainly no seasoned frailer, my banjo is actually sounding like a banjo.  I never thought this possible.  Wayne has a number of other books for Ignoramuses out there (you can find them here) and I highly recommend them for ANYONE who has ever wanted to learn to play a mountain music instrument.  And to prove my point, here's my last post:

So hop on over to Wayne's Native Ground site, pick your instrument, and get started!

Moonshine Over the Greening Hills

Happy Mother's Day

Mothers come in many shapes, sizes, personalities, and types.  Whether you are a person mom, a pet mom, a spiritual mom, or a mom of any other sorts: Happy Mother's Day.

Henny Penny

We have a hen; we named her Henny Penny.  She is a Speckled Sussex, hatched last year.  The only noticeable physical difference between her and her sister, Stella, is that she has orange eyes, and Stella has grey eyes.  I figured this out a few days ago.  However, they have different personalities.  While both are the two friendliest hens on the farm, Henny Penny follows us around like a puppy.  Even right into the house.  If we're outside, she's beside us.  When we walk into the house, she comes in too.