Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#54)

As the sun was setting tonight, a momentary sprinkle of rain passed overhead. Just long enough to cause a perfect rainbow over the house.

Picture #54: Rainbow Sunset.

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#51-53)

My neighbour and her kids were remarking on the comings and goings of the Robin parents. They wanted to know the status of the nest so I decided to investigate. Again, no flash was used so that I disturbed them as little as possible.

Picture #51: Two Robin beaks poke out over the nest. Now let's take a look from above...


Picture #52: Inside the Robin nest it looks like 3 babies! I'm so glad that the blue egg (photographed earlier) hatched and that all is well in the Robin family.


Picture #53: Here's the nest with the beaks highlighted to make it easier for you to see them.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

I paint very large pictures. I realize that historically the function of painting large pictures is painting something very grandiose and pompous. The reason I paint them, however – I think it applies to other painters I know – is precisely because I want to be very intimate and human. To paint a small picture is to place yourself outside your experience. However you paint the larger picture, you are in it."
— Mark Rothko

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#49-50)

The last couple of days I've been noticing an inch worm slowly walking around the top of my new compost enclosure. He seems to love the thick wire.

When I came home from work today he was out there again so I decided to record him.

Picture #49: Inch Worm strikes a pose. I'd accidentally brushed against the compost cage and the sudden movement caused him to freeze, likely to mimic a small shoot off a branch. Hey little Inchy, don't just stand there, let's get to it. Strike a pose, there's nothing to it. Vogue, vogue, vogue, vogue.


Picture #50: Video of an Inch Worm walking. I just love the way they move.

Food Envy No More!

I have always wanted to be the person at the Chinese restaurant that was receiving the "sizzling dish". Oh come on, you have, too.

Well, yesterday I was that person!

Beef Szechwan with the sizzle:


The really fun part was when another customer asked the waitress what that dish was.

You can get your very own serving at House of Lam in Moncton. You won't be disappointed.

House Of Lam Restaurant
951 Mountain Road
Moncton, NB E1C 2S4, Canada
(506) 384-1101‎


View Larger Map

Tuesday Tooth Report

Everything is going very well this week. The back of my throat aches a little and my nose is sometimes instantly runny but that's all happened twice before throughout this process so I know that it's just because things are moving and the hollows of my skull around my mouth are changing.

It still amazes me that all this can happen to bone and that all of it is happening to me!

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#43-48)

The season is far enough along (I can't believe that tomorrow is the longest "day" of the year already!) that there are examples of all stages of the life of a poppy in my yard.

Picture #43: All 4 stages of the poppy's life in one photo.


Picture #44: Poppy bud.


Picture #45: Spittle Bugs love poppies; probably because of the protective 'hair' that covers all parts (except the bloom and seed pod) of the plant. Here I've shown the spit that the bug uses to protect itself as well as a close-up on a Spittle Bug.


Picture #46: Poppy in full bloom. So vibrant!


Picture #47: Aging Poppy with centre piece starting to form into a seed pod.


Picture #48: Poppy with dropped petals and seed pod fully formed.

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#32-42)

Today I decided to document the conversion of a tree stump into a flower container.

Last year one of our trees had to be cut down because it was rotting. The stump that was left behind was an interesting shape and a neighbour suggested that I make a flower pot out of it. I loved the idea so I set to work.

I quickly realized that my axe was getting me nowhere so I decided to scoop out the rotten centre and use the crevice only. Here's what I found...

Picture #32: Birch Tree stump. As it was cut down a year ago and left to the elements, I expected it to be easy to hollow out. Not so.


Picture #33: Rotten centre of our old Birch Tree. Scooping out the rotten bit was easy!


Picture #34: The wet, saw-dust centre was a mixture of loose mulched wood and pellet-like 'nodes' of wood; a lot like the crumbly quality of cut pie crust dough. I squished the pellets between my fingers. They were fairly compact but did break down into saw dust. No critters inside that I could see with the naked eye. Perhaps they were dung of some sort?


Picture #35: Millipede-like juvenile.


Picture #36: Centipede-like critter next to transparent egg-like spheres.


Picture #37: Close-up on the egg-like spheres.


Picture #38: Tiny, white egg-like sphere. I found a few of these throughout the sawdust.


Picture #39: Slug. One of four that I saw.


Picture #40: Rough Sowbug (which I have always called damp-dry bug). One of three that I saw.


Picture #41: A family of wire worms. I looked them up in my insect field guide but couldn't find them. Anyway, when I was a kid, I called them wire worms.


Picture #42: And, finally, a stump-based flower pot!

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#28-31)

At about 11 A.M. the clouds started to clear and I could tell that it would be sunny the rest of the day. So, I started planning what I'd get done around the yard.

Now that I have my compost pile set up, I decided to finally empty four bags of leaves that have been in my back yard for about a month. I figured there'd be an earthworm or two under them but nothing could prepare me for what else I found...

Picture #28: Earthworm


Picture #29: Earthworm with whip-tail (15-second video). The way the "tail" was moving to push the worm across the pavement was interesting so I thought I'd try to capture it in video but I'm afraid the most interesting part is the audio. Listen to the clinking of my dog's tags and her chomping of the grass next to me! It sounds like bad sound effects in a Giant Worm B-movie.



Picture #30: Soil Centipede (This one had 132 feet, not 100 as the name suggests. ;-)


Picture #31: Hornet nest with larvae. Yes, the beginnings of a hornet nest inside the bag of rotting leaves!

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#27)

Two rainy days in a row. But this time I was surrounded by a cacophony of bird song. I was hoping to photograph these birds so I ran inside to grab my camera. When I returned, I realized that I could only hear them — they were hidden in the trees!

One thing I could see though was how saturated the colours of nature are on overcast days. Just like these rain-soaked, wind-swept poppies.

Picture #27: Rain-soaked Poppies

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#25-26)

It being a rainy day, I'm having difficulty finding wildlife around the yard. I don't blame them. Who wouldn't want to be snug in their bed on a day like this? Even the flowers are tucked in.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I found these megafauna behind the house. Aren't they cute?

Picture #25: Megafauna #1


Picture #26: Megafauna #2

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#24)

One of the most beautiful leaves in nature is the fern. From immature fiddlehead to unfurled leaf, the fern is an incredible shape that's influenced so many. The Fibonacci Spiral, for example.

Picture #24: Fern

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me."
— Henri Matisse

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#23)

Having gotten home really late from work, I thought I wouldn't have time for a photo today. Then it hit me. I love my Moon Lamps — could a night photo work? Not at first, that's for sure. The problem was the shutter was open so long that any movement put the photo severely out of focus. I finally turned off the flash and got this more than acceptable shot. It reminds me of those bioluminescent fish that glow in the depths. I like the idea of creating your own light.

Photo #23: Sun-operated Moon Lamps

Tuesday Tooth Report

Yesterday I had my regular 4-month check-up at the Dentist. While I've got my braces on they want to see me every 4 months instead of once a year. The visit went very well. They were pleased with how clean I'm getting my teeth. They used a high-pressure spray that contained water, air and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to clean out the brackets. Apparently plaque collects on those, too!

Yard — a word worth a 1000 pictures (#18-22)

Today I'm covering the season's wild flowers. Believe it or not, there are quite a few wild flowers on this little urban lot. At this very moment there are five in bloom.

Picture #18: Purple flower with distinctly patterned green leaf. The next flower is almost identical in shape to this one. Its green leaves are similar, too.


Picture #19: White flower that grows with the purple flower above. Both are shade-loving. They are two of the very few things that grow in the back yard.


Picture #20: Forget-me-not flowers.


Picture #21: Strawberry flower. These small plants grow in both the front and back yard. Their tiny fruit only ripen in the front yard. Seriously! The ones at the back remain white for the whole season. Both taste excellent though.


Picture #22: Last but not least, the Dandelion. I think this is a wonderful flower even though it's not a popular opinion to have. Look at how cool it is up close.