Skywatch Friday: Seymour Lake Skies

1:08

I worked in Morgan, Vermont for many years. I would often take my break time, at or around 12 noon, and photograph the skies over Seymour Lake. They were always different, yet seldom clear. These are some of them in an iPhone Memory video. The lake is about 10 miles south of the Canadian border.

Click here to see skies around the world,

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National Robber Fly Day

August 2, 2025

Click on photos to see them fullscreen and in detail.

There are over 1,000 species of robber flies in North America. They are large and (excuse me for judging) ugly. They have humpbacks and hairy mouths,  They are valuable because they eat insects. The problem is that they also eat insects I love. The robber fly here is, I suspect, eating a syrphid fly (a flower fly). They do not bite us or our animals.

Robber flies can live 2-3 years (they spend 1-2 years as larvae). They have stabbing and piercing mouth parts: they stab the prey, then inject digestive juices into it and slurp up their meal. 😲 

National Robber Fly Day is now, in the spring, because that is when the larvae emerge after winter. The eggs are laid in soil or plants. I usually see them later in the summer, for some reason. 

I hope you are lucky enough to see one very soon!

Family Asilidae; Subfamily Asilinae

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Wordless Wednesday: Schroeder Part 2 and a Schroeder Meme

Schroeder on October 1, 2025 at 7 weeks

Click to visit Comedy Plus!

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Awww Mondays: How Schroeder Began Part 1

On August 11, 2025, two men knocked unexpectedly on the door. They were looking for Amelia because they had heard she fosters kittens. One of the men held out a closed hand and gave Amelia a day old kitten, orphaned and found in a warehouse they were cleaning out in Derby. They had stopped work immediately and drove the kitten to her. These photos are from that day. Spoiler: Schroeder survived and is now an obnoxious teenager with many stories to post in future Awww Monday posts.

Dori (The Little Dog) supervised kitten feeding time.

Click to visit!

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Wordless Wednesday: How Nelly and I Sleep Each Night

She insists on covering my hand with hers.

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Wordless Wednesday: Eastern Boxelder Bug

Eastern Boxelder Bug

(Boisea trivittata)

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It's Been a Bit

My best shot of 2025

Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle

Harmonia axyridis

Eating Oleander Aphids on Swamp Milkweed

I truly dislike vague-posting but I have no explanations today. 

At least I have posted.

I welcome myself back.

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