Heads or Tails: Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Arisaema triphyllum

We saw jack-in-the-pulpit flowers during our Wild Edibles walk, but this photo is from a walk I took on my road a couple of weeks ago. "Jack" is the spadix ("a floral spike with a fleshy or succulent axis usually enclosed in a spathe" according to Merriam-Webster. What's a spathe?) inside the tube that you see here. In the fall, this plant produces brilliant red berries that I photographed last year. The dried root of this plant has been used by Native Americans for colds, coughs, and to build blood. It was also used as a poultice for rheumatism, sores, snakebite, boils, abscesses and ringworm. Root tea was used as an expectorant, diaphoretic, asthma, colds, cough, laryngitis, headaches and as a purgative. This plant is extremely irritating. I would never try any of these remedies without expert advice.

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Camera Critters: Satin Moth

from About.com: Insects: Satin Moths:

The Eurasian native Satin Moth, Leucoma salicis, was introduced to North America accidentally in the early 1920s. The original populations in New England and British Columbia gradually spread inland, but predation and parasites seem to be keeping this insect pest largely under control. Satin Moths feed on poplar, aspen, cottonwood, and willow.

The Satin Moth has a unique life cycle with one generation each year. Adult moths mate and lay eggs in the summer months, and caterpillars hatch from those eggs in the late summer and early fall. The tiny caterpillars feed for a short time before they hide in a bark crevice and spin a web for hibernation. The Satin Moth then overwinters in the caterpillar form, an unusual way to survive the cold. In spring, they re-emerge and feed again, this time reaching their full size of nearly 2 inches before pupating in June.

This individual was on my porch screen on Friday night.

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My other Camera Critters post features amazing butterfly and spider photos.

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Amy Planted a Garden Today

Four Brandywine heirloom tomato plants. She uses planters because the soil here is very thin, rocky and we are on ledge of Barton Mountain.

Rosemary

Basil

Cat grass. Why? I have an acre of grass alone. Maybe more if you count the small field in back!

And she got me these dianthus plants for my ancient wrought iron kettle that I use as a planter. There are pansies still growing here that I planted two years ago.

I find this dianthus plant very interesting.

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The Beaver Repairs the Lodge

The sun was almost down, the beaver came, and I messed up the camera settings. But I offer these poor shots of last night when the beaver was building onto or repairing his lodge. It was a beautiful thing to watch.

Above he is dragging a medium sized, water logged branch up the side. At other times it appeared that he was putting mud on the lodge. This is the lodge after he was done for the night:

You can view the lodge from other earlier times by clicking here and here.

Technorati Tags: beaver, Castor canadensis
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One Single Impression: Pets

Ginger tabby drops in

from the woods and stays —
uneasy truces

What's this guy's name? We still don't know!
I say Ozzie, Amy says Louie.
One thing we know: after living in the
woods for who knows how long,
he will no longer go outside voluntarily.

UPDATE (6/9/08): I have decided to keep the word "truces" because this cat has to negotiate a seperate truce with each cat in the house. That is quiet a complicated task because of the power that the matriarch, Mouse, holds, and the aggression of the males. The "minor" cats (I call them minor because of their lack of power in the cat hierarchy — not because of their esteem in my heart) are no problem. They accept every cat that moves in. Also, I enjoy the sound of the word "truces."

And thank you to Zazzy for the suggestion of naming this guy George. Amy and I finally agreed that George is his name!

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My Bird Tree In Spring

This is the bird feeder tree in bloom this spring. There were not as many blossoms as last year (it seems to blossom profusely every other year). I think it is a flowering crab apple tree.

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LOL Cat Bible: Lectionary Readings for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Hosea 5: 15-6:6
Psalm 50: 7-15 (Ps. 50:23)
Romans 4: 13-25
Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26

Hosea 5

1 Listenz ta me, yu priestz! Payz attenshuns, yu Izraelitez! Hearz this, royal house! This here jugdzmentz is ‘gainst yu! You’z all been a snare at Mizpah, A do not want on Tabor.
2 Teh rebelz is deep in t eh killinz, Ai will punishes allz o’ dem.
3 Ai knowz ALL bouts Ephraim; Izrael can no hidez frum me. Ephraim, yu haz now only do BUTTSECKS (for monies, uv course) Izrael is vry vry bad.
4 Cuz uv teh thingz dey does, Ceiling Cat no wantz dem ‘round. T eh BUTTSECKS iz in their heartz Dey no care 4 Ceiling Cat.
5 Izrael iz snotty n it maeks dem luk REAL BAD Dey tripz over their sinz, Izrael n Ephraim doez. N Judah doez 2.
6 Wen dey taeks thur sheepz n thur more sheepz Ta find Ceiling Cat, Theyz not gonna findz him. Cuz he’s hidin’. Srsly. Iz hidin’.
7 Theyz unfaithful ta Ceiling Cat Dey haz childrenz wiffout bein’ mawwied. N dey haz dese crzy magik festivals Dat will eatz dem. LOL.
8 Soundz teh trumpetz in Gibeah, N in Ramah. N prbly uther places 2. Shoutz in Beth Aven; Leads us, O Benjamin!
9 Ephraim will be exploded On t eh deyz uv reckoning! Ai sez how it iz ta teh peoplez T eh peoplez uv Izrael!
10 Judah’s leaders r liek doze hoo movez stonez, wutvr dat mean. Ai will pourz out mah wrath! Li ek the waterz, cuz teh kittehs r ‘fraid uv wudder.
11 Ephraim gots it bad Theyz stoopid. Theyz worsheppen statchoos.
12 N ai’z a hairball ta Ephraim, N ta Judah 2, lol.
13 N wen Ephraim seez hiz owies, N Judah hiz own boo-boos, Dey sez ta King in Assyria “yoo canz helpz us?” But dis Kingz iz useless. Cannot fix boo-boos.
14 Cuz ai be a LYON to Ephraim, N ai be BIGGER LYON to Judah (cuz dey deserves it) Ai tearz dem up. Ai carries dem awai. N no 1 iz stoppen me.
15 Ai’z will sit on my warm spot, Till dey sez they’s sorri. Dey will seek mah face, But only cuz they iz mizzerable.

Psalm 50
Teh Song By Asaf

1 Teh mytee Ceiling Cat speekz to an sumuns teh Urf and teh uvva kittehs, frum teh sun cummin up to teh sunset, Srsly.
2 Frum teh Matrix, purrfect in booty, teh Cieling Cat Gloes.
3 Teh Ceiling Cat will beh cummin, and he wnt shup; uh fiyer eats afor him, and he iz in uh Storm.
4 Teh Ceiling Cat will make teh ceiling and teh urf come, Srsly, so tht he can watch teh uvva kittehs always.
5 He sed "Cum here my speshul kittehs, who pwomessed meh stuff by killin teh mices."
6 And teh Ceiling says tat Ceiling Cat is rite, cuz teh Ceiling Cat himselfs is teh judge, Cheezbrger.
7 Listen to meh kittehs! Cos ai iz gunna speek kittehs, and ai will testuhfai agaynst yooh!
8 Ai iz not gunnah shout a yooh kittehs fur yor sackriffisez or fur yor buhnt offrins what yooh alwayz gives meh.
9 Ai dunt want yor kows or yor horny beard kittehs frum yor howses.
10 Cuz ai alreddy haz all teh animulz in teh woodz, and all of teh cows on uh fowzand hillz
11 Ai'z frendz wiv orl of teh burdees in teh mowntins and teh creechers of teh feeld iz mine
12 If ai wuz hungree, ai woodnt tell yooh, ai would eet cheezbrgrz for ai can haz cheezbrgrz, and all tat is in dem
13 Do Ceiling cat eat teh skinz of kowz? or drinks teh blud of teh horny beardy kittehs?
14 Fank meh by killin teh d00ds like yooh pwomessed meh yooh wood, Srsly.
15 Ask meh for halpz when yooh wants it, ai will halp yooh, and yooh will return teh fayva

Romans 4: 13-25

13 Ceiling Cat tolded Abrahm an hiz kittnz dat dey wud run teh wrld bcz beleevn maeded dem good.
14 Bcz if teh popo on ur side jus bcz thay liek ur parintz, den beleevn equalz zeero cookies, so Ceiling Cat's resipe iz jus dum,
15 cuz teh lawz iz cookie taek awai. N whre theyre iz no popo, they iz no cookie taek away.
16 K so resipe iz in inbox if u beleev adn all Abrahmz kittenz gets it 4 free, evn if you popo or Abraham kat. Bcz Abraham iz evry1z dad kat.
17 It wuz wroted: "I haz maed you dad kat of mani breedz." He iz owr dad kat, adn teh Ceiling Cat iz lookin bcz Abruham beleevd in Ceiling Cat—teh kat thet raizes ded kats frm kat cmetery adn sayz "Thatz a dog!" whne itz rly a kat.
18 So it wuz a logn shot, but Abhram beleevd, adn so he wuz dad kat of mani breedz, jus liek soem1 saed 2 him, "Ur kittenz gonna be leik that."
19 Adn he stil beleevd, evne tho hiz boddy culdnt scampr ne more—bcz he wuz 21 yrs old (thatz leik 100 human yrs!)—plus bcz Sarahz kitty-maeker didnt scamper too.
20 Y, he ddnt stop beleevn, he jus bleevd moer, adn he siad good thignz abuot teh Ceiling Cat,
21 bcz he thouhgt teh Ceiling Cat haz big pawz adn culd do whut he saed.
22 Adn thatz y "he got tripll wrd score in hiz inbox."
23 Teh wrds "in hiz inbox" was wroted not jus fr him,
24 dey wuz rittn for us too. Ceiling Cat wil giv us credit for bleevin in him. He maeded Jebus com bak from teh dead.
25 Jebus dieded for our Invisible Errorz an comd bak to lief to maek thingz bettr.

Matthew 9: 9-26
A Matthew...Jebus has it

9 So den Jebus, he kep on walkin. Den he seez Matthew workin on sum taxes. Jebus was liek, "O hai, comes wit me lolz!" an Matthew did.
10 Laters, Jebus wuz eetin a cheezburger at Matthews houz wit sum frindz, and den sum shadee ppls all liek cames in n wuz eetin too.
11 But teh farisees got crazee mad and yelld sum and sed "WTF?! dese ppls is grose Y U EET WIT DEMS!"
12 Jebus was liek, "Shut up guyz, srsly. Who needin doctrs? Sick ppl, not helthy pples! DUHH u n00bs!
13 Member teh scripshur dat sed, 'Iz all bout sum luvn, not religuns lol!' Iz on Urths to help ppls, not hangin out wit farisees dat tink dere so kool and stufs."
Tawkin bout not eetin ur kibblz
14 So wun dayz John da Baptist, he wuz liek "Jebus, I has a fast, mai frindz has a fast, even dose farisees has a fast! Y dont ur disyples has fasts liek us?"
15 But Jebus wuz liek, "Do kittehs act sad on Caturday?! Noes! But wun day, Caturday be gone, den dey fast :( .
16 Wud u put sum grose old stuf on ur new cooky? Noes!
17 Wud u put sum fresh milks in a leeky bukkit?! NOES!"
D00d has gud fayths
18 Wile Jebus wuz tawkin, d00d frum a tempul sed "Mah dawter, she dide! But Iz not skeered. I knows u can maek her alyve agen if u puts ur paw on her lolz!
19 So Jebus was liek, sure d00d, and dey wuz walkin over dere
20 when sum ladie who had a bleedin in hur tummeh snuk up and toched Jebus's furs.
21 She was all liek, "if I can jus toch him, I be ok lolz!"
22 Jebus be liek, "wtf wuz dat?!" an den he saw de ladie. He sed, "Oh hai, be happie! U has sum gud fayths, now uz all bettur!!!1!" An she wuz.
23 Den Jebus got to dat d00d's houz frum bfore, an dere wuz a bunch of ppls and sum sad musics.
24 "Shoo, ppls!" he sed. "Dis gurl dont be ded; jus takin a napz lolz!" But dose ppls laffed at him.
25 But when does ppls lef, Jebus he hold dat gurl's hand, and she be standin up liek woa!!!
26 Evrywun heard bouts dis miracul, and dey were all liek, wtf. Srsly.

more cat pictures

Get ready now cuz the wild weekend is coming!
Board the Friday Ark at The Modulator
(submit your post here)

Weekend Cat Blogging by Sher at What Did You Eat
(see the weeks host to enter your WCB post
in the comments for the weekend roundup)

Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is at The Cheezits: Colby & Cheddar
Optional Theme: "Bachelor and Bachelorette Kitties"
(submit your post here)

The Carnival of the Cats at Pet & the Bengal Brats
at Pet’s Garden Blog Sunday Evening
(submit your post here)

Visit the Pet Prayer & Praise Blog

Technorati Tags: LOL Cat Church, LOL Cat Bible, Lectionary Readings, Prayer & Praise Blog, Weekend Cat Blogging

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Friday Fractal: Torus with Ribbons

There has been an update to Oxidizer to version 0.5. I've tried it and don't like it. The methods of scaling the images are so different and complicated that I didn't want to relearn everything. But I have kept it so that if there ever comes a day that I have nothing to do, I may play with it. As before, there is no documentation with the software. And as before, it is just as difficult to find this version again on the internets. So here is a link for you to poke around in if you want to try to use version 0.5. This image today was made with version 0.43. 

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Friday Fractal

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Wordless Wednesday: Apple Blossoms

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Cats Tuesday: Her Name Is Sweet Pea

Back on April 14, I asked for help in naming Anna's new kitten. She got so many wonderful suggestions. And guess what? She chose none of them! I am so sorry and thank you for your help. She seriously considered all of them, though. Two weeks ago I got these new photos of the kitten — and her name? Sweet Pea!

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Heads or Tails: The Legend of Queen Anne's Lace

New foliage of Queen Anne's Lace (wild carrot) taken during the
Wild Edibles walk on May 24

(Daucus carota)

from Plants for Dyeing: Queen Anne's Lace:

Queen Anne, wife of James I of England, was an avid lace maker, and is the namesake of the flower. The tiny purple dot in the center represents a spot of blood caused by a needle prick to the queen’s finger, and this tiny sliver of color was thought to cure epilepsy. Black swallowtail butterflies flock to them like cats to catnip. Farmers consider it an invasive weed, and the milk from animals that graze upon it is supposed to taste a bit bitter and carroty. The plant is also called bee’s nest, bird’s nest, crow’s nest, and devil’s plague (seems a bit harsh!). The carrots that we eat today are believed to be derived from this wild variety, and to revert to it when not tended or cultivated. Queen Anne’s Lace roots have also been used as a coffee substitute, like chicory.

from Ohio Perennial and Biennial Weed Guide:

• 'Daucus' is from 'daukos', which is Greek for carrot.
  
• 'Carrot' is Celtic meaning 'red of colour'.
  
• The are numerous legends about how this plant became associated with and was named after Queen Anne, wife of King James I of England.
  
• Devil's plague was a common name given by farmers who found this weed difficult to control; rantipole means rude and reckless.
  
• It is not known if there are benefits associated with having a purple flower located in the center of some flower clusters. A study showed that insects were neither attracted nor repelled by the presence or absence of the flower.
  
• The first year roots of wild carrot are reported to be edible, but care must be taken to not mistake poison hemlock for wild carrot.
  

Queen Anne's Lace is just beginning to grow here but will not flower for quite awhile. I call it the "fractal flower." And making one of these fractals is on my todo list.

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Odd Shots: Frostbite Damage

This is an ear of the new cat that walked into my life two weeks ago. He is two to three years old. He's no longer a tom cat, though. Amy got him fixed. We found that he has suffered frostbite on both of his ears — probably this past winter. Not severe enough so that he lost his ears. But I know for a fact that for the rest of his life, winter weather will hurt his ears. 

By the way, we have decided that we can't call this boy Ozzie. 

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Camera Critters: A Disagreement Between Geese

This pair of Canada geese were in the Duquette hayfield the other day. They were cheerfully together, until . . .

This one on the left said "Nope, it's better over here."

And the mate finally followed after a long goose dispute.

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My other Camera Critters post features Holstein calves.

Technorati Tags: Canada geese, Branta canadensis
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