Photo Sunday: A Strawberry Quiz

Barren Strawberry
(Waldsteinia fragarioides)

There are three species of strawberry growing here. One I bought as a ground cover for a cat's grave. All three produce berries, but one of these three is not edible. Of the edible ones, I once spent a day picking the tiny berries and made a jam with them. It was not as good as I expected, but I can see that in the old days it would have been great. Do you know which of these three does not produce edible berries?

Indian Strawberry (Duchesnea indica)

Woods Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

Update 08.22.2022: The answer is now in comments.

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Goodbye, Zorro

Zorro's mom, Matilda, with her kittens in August, 1996
Zorro is the black splotch in the middle of the pile

Zorro died peacefully yesterday, June 9, as I sadly held him. I didn't want to be there because my heart was broken. Zorro had been sick for a week. His blood test confirmed thyroid disease but he was not tolerating the medication and it had to be stopped. He lost 30% of his weight in seven days and had stopped going outside. He was jaundiced. I decided that any more treatment would be distasteful for this brave guy, and we let him go.

Zorro enjoyed his greenies

We buried Zorro in the back garden near the huge lilac bush that he loved to nap under in the summer. We placed the cremains of his mother and brothers and sisters with him. He was the last remaining member of the family. All of the others had died at various ages of EGC. We planted a snowball bush with them to mark their graves. Zorro’s doctor told me that the average lifespan of a cat is 13 years. Zorro would have been 16 in August. It still was not enough time for him or me.  I have chosen several photographs of his life to share and remember Zorro with.

Zorro doesn't like having a new dog (Scout) in the house in 2003

Zorro never was the big cat in the house; Buddy was.
Zorro was groomed by Buddy daily.

I never realized how thin Zorro had gradually become until I looked at these photos again.
He was never a plump cat; he was lean and tough.

The photograph of Zorro tossing a mouse (not seen here)
won The World's Toughest Cat Competition in 2007.

Zorro was a fierce hunter. Never birds, only rodents, although he did stalk turkeys and chickens. He always skinned his mice before he ate them — an odd habit, I always thought. His entire being required him to be outside, even in the winter. We always had a difficult time getting him inside the house after dark (because of coyotes), but he would eventually learn to return home at dusk and nap until dawn, when he would trot out the door with his tail high. When he lived in New Hampshire, Zorro's favorite prey was chipmunks. He would bring them home alive, and after praising Zorro's prowess to him, we would rescue and release the chipmunk.

This chipmunk was released unharmed.

A friend to all, Zorro and George enjoyed cat games.

Scratching, stretching, climbing and playing on an apple tree this spring.

Zorro's last photograph.
May 7, 2011

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A Couple of Problems

Tent caterpillars in apple tree

One of the apple trees has tent caterpillars. Probably more by now since we haven't done a thing to this nest. At least the birds will enjoy the tasty caterpillars. A friend in the village has or had a nest in one of her apple trees, too. She was going to cut the branch off and smush them all with her feet. I have to check with her about that, but this branch of ours is way, way high up — too high to cut.

Electricity to artesian well only 6" underground

Because of flash floods and flooding brooks, John re-graded the back yard this spring. Now last year, while re-doing all of the electrical in the house, he found all the circuits and wires except the one for the artesian well. He found it this spring with the backhoe. He dug very carefully because he knew the wire had to be somewhere back there. But he never figured it was only six inches underground! We could have dug into it at any time over the past few years! It wasn't in any pipe or anything. It was just lying under there. The wires don't go straight from the house to the well. They go way out to the small hill, as if they were going to go out to the spring well (which, of course, doesn't need electricity) and then snaked back to the well. For the past couple of weeks, these wires have been draped over the roof of the garage while the grading is going on. They will be properly buried when this digging is over.

Other than these problems, we have that mink from the winter sneaking into the garage to steal garbage. The weeds have almost taken over the day lily garden. The black flies have been the worst I have ever seen in my entire life. But worst of all is that two of my cats have illnesses.

Zorro

On their vet visit this year for rabies and distemper shots, I complained about Zorro's vomiting and weight loss. I had had him wormed and changed his food but it just gets worse. After a blood test we found that Zorro, who will be 16 years old in August, has hyperthyroid problems and is now on a little daily pill. I hope it works because he is still losing weight.

Possum

Sadly, Possum has EGC (Feline eosinophilic granuloma complex). It is manageable but is inevitably fatal and I have lost several cats to this. Right now she only has lesions in her mouth and they are so small they don't require treatment. But they will. I hope that researchers finally find a cure for this disease. She and Zorro are such sweeties. We have gone so many years without cat health problems that I probably was thinking these kitties were immortal.

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The Cats in Spring

Buddy resting while walking with us in the woods.

Buddy doesn't like our long walks anymore — he now prefers short ones close to home.

Buddy waited on this stump until we returned.

Zorro ran up and down the trees.

Zorro scratching the elm tree near the brook.

Zorro will be 15 years old in August.

Possum usually only grazes outside.

Possum is the most talkative cat I have ever known.
Pansy seldom goes outside and dislikes me so much I can't even get a photo of her.

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The Cat and I

April 10, 2011
What's missing from this photo?

Give up? It's snowless! On April 10, this front, south-facing corner of the house had no snow! So Zorro and I were out enjoying the warmth and sun (while John was getting rid of the snow out back).

Red squirrel

There was a red squirrel in the bird tree (which is right there at the same corner), and he could not leave the tree without catching Zorro's attention. So while the squirrel quietly watched us in the tree, I quietly photographed him. More of those photos can be seen here.

Zorro finally did notice the squirrel and half-heartedly went to the tree to inspect his chances for a kill. The cat was lethargic from the sun and never made an attempt at the squirrel.

Red-winged blackbird (male)

Later, I made my annual unsuccessful attempt at getting red-winged blackbird photos. They are difficult for me to capture successfully with the camera. Their black color and constant movement defy any new skills I learn over the winter. These are the best two shots that I got. And the one below is bad, but I include it and, while it looks like he is choking, be assured that the bird is only calling. One of the blackbird songs requires them to hunch over in a choking stance. I have no idea why. But I like the song.

Singing, not gagging

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Zorro Hunting in the Bird Tree

Not to worry, he never caught a thing this day!

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Why Cats Hunt Alone (Photo Essay)

The wait.

The pounce.

The catch.

Zorro, the interloper.

Buddy stomps off, alone.

Zorro follows.

Buddy calmly surrenders his catch.

Buddy even washes Zorro's face.

The mouse gives them pause.

Buddy has forgotten the mouse.

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Some Random Shots of Summer

One of our day lilies

I am fascinated by the stigma

A geometer moth

Another, different, brown geometer moth

Bumblebee on red clover

Five-toed raccoon track and tiny, round Zorro the Cat
tracks in the mud after a flash flood.

Dwarf zinnia that Ironman successfully planted

They bloomed continuously until the first heavy frost in September.

A Carolina grasshopper

Yellow woolly bear caterpillar

An unidentified warbler

Question Mark Butterfly

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