In Which I Shoot My Universe

Steve's blog suggests that he is out of town. Who will take over his efforts to document the beauty of Cape Ann for the blogosphere? Guess I'll have to step in. As is our wont, Leon and I drove around Cape Ann just after Christmas.


We begain at White Beach. A small nor'easter was winding down. The surf was decent and the wind quite high. Rain early in the trip limited photography, and the low tide kept the surf from being as spectacular as I would have liked.


We saw ducks off of the Magnolia shore, but the low tide and wave action kept them too far off shore to see well.


At Eastern Point, the wind kept us off the breakwater





Waves kept crashing over the rocks. Gale force winds made it difficult to hold the camera steady. I had hoped to see purple sandpipers here, but if they were around, they were further down the breakwater.


We did see them over at Bass Rocks. Photography conditions were generally poor today- however bad weather often means that harlequin ducks are just offshore at Marmion Way in Rockport. They were!

Over at Halibut Point we saw the strangest water creatures of the day. Surfers in a nor'easter off of a very rocky shoreline are a sign of complete insanity.

BioBlitz - Day 1: The Underwater Edition

On Friday and Saturday, the Indiana Dunes hosted this year's National Geographic BioBlitz. In a typical bioblitz, scientists converge on a particular area and intensively sample all of the biodiversity that they can find in a 24 hour period. This year, we attempted to demonstrate how few species can turn up on an extremely diverse site when the bioblitz takes place during a torrential rainstorm. The bioblitz began at 12:00 noon on Friay, and the rains began before 1:00. The last rains fell at around 9:00AM on Saturday. We got about 3" of rain in that time.

Drifts of lupine in the savanna at Howes Prairie

The Indiana Dunes is an incredible site, with lots of ecological diversity and many rare species. I was hoping to be able to take some nice digital photos of Olympia Marblewing butterflies (didn't happen). I had signed up for two events. On Saturday afternoon, I was to sample terrestrial insects at Howes Prairie (actually more of a savanna than a prairie). I was pleased with this site assignment, because there is an endangered butterfly called the Karner Blue there. I actually got very cold and wet while finding about a dozen arthropods. Not a dozen species, mind you, a dozen individuals. We found them by turning over logs and looking under bark.

A syrphid fly we found under loose bark on a dead tree

One of two Six-spotted Tiger Beetles that we found

The afternoon's tally included two tiger beetles, a few syrphid flies, some wood roaches, a June beetle, a millipede and a couple of centipedes, all collected under rocks or bark.

Note how wet this tiger beetle is

Finally, the rain became so heavy, we decided to call it quits about an hour early. By this time, I was soaked to the skin in spite of the fact that I was wearing a good Goretex jacket.

Soaked! Photo by Ann

The BioBlitz provided dinner for the scientists. We were so cold and wet, however, that Celeste, Jamie, Robin and I opted to go inside a warm restaurant and have Mexican food (and Margaritas!). Despite being indoors, I shivered for most of the meal.

My blacklighting setup at the Paul Douglas Nature Center

In the evening (8:00 PM-Midnight) I was scheduled for blacklighting at Miller Woods. We opted to set up the black lighting rig on the back of balcony of the Nature Center. This kept us (and my power supply with exposed electrodes) out of the rain. If you don't count tiny midges and gnats, a total of six insects showed up at the sheet: three scarab beetles (2 species), a Geometrid moth and a couple of stoneflies. It was still cold, and my clothes did not have a chance to dry. But we were out of the rain, and the company was good (Melinda even brought cookies!). Because we were in a National Park, we did nbot get to demonstrate a completely authentic black lighting event. Even worse than the bad weather, there was no beer.

Scarab #1 at the sheet


Scarab #2 at the sheet


The Honest Pero (Pero honestaria)- a Geometrid Moth

By 10:30, we decided to call it a night. The rain was still falling steadily, but my sleeping bag was dry, and I had secured one of the bunks in a cabin. I slept the sleep of the dead that night, warm and dry for the first time in over 12 hours.

It's Aliiiive!

Remember that horror film? You know the one I'm talking about. Right at the end of the movie, we all think the monster's finally dead. The hero turns his back for just a second, and the monster re-animates and attacks in one last attempt at mayhem before finally being vanquished.

So, it's supposed to snow again this morning. Friday's high temperature is supposed to be in the low 80s. I love living in a continental climate.

Snowy Bear Weekend with Ham and Crocus

It's been a fun weekend. Saturday, we hosted four bears for dinner. I served baked ham with prickly pear glaze, rice pilaf with golden raisins and apricots, steamed asparagus and sun-dried tomato foccacia. Michael L. brought squash and John brought the makings of banana splits for dessert.

John with a mystery bear. Any guesses who's behind the mask?
The mask itself is a bear tea cozy. How gay is that?

Last night it snowed. We got about 5 inches of very heavy, wet snow- apparently this year March has decided to go out like a lion.


Pretty, isn't it? Bu early afternoon, the sun was out. This late in the season, the melting was rapid. There's still plenty of snow on the ground, but it won't last long. By late afternoon, signs of spring were again becoming visible.

Soup for a Dreary Weekend

I have been very busy this past week, hence my very light blogging. Yesterday was the butterfly monitoring workshop. More about that in another post. The whole weekend has been dreary. It's been very dark and gray with lots of rain. We're having a thunderstorm right now. At least it sn't snowing. It's perfect soup weather. Let's make cream of mushroom and roasted red peper soup.


I've found that it's much easier to get the skin off of roasted red peppers if you char them until the skins are really, really black. This doesn't harm the flesh underneath, and gives it a nce flavor. Once the skins are blackened, I put the peppers in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let them sit for 10 minutes. Then I take the skins off under cold running water.


Next I sautée a coarsly chopped onion and some diced garlic in olive oil. The soup gets a better flavor and color if I do the onions first, and let them get nice and browned.When the onions are almost done, I add the garlic and continue just until it's nice and fragrant. Then I quench it with some dry white wine. I bring the wine to a gentle boil, stirring to bring up the browned bits off of the bottom of the pot. I add chicken stock. This time around I used turkey stock that was still in the freezer after Thanksgiving. A very tasty vegetarian version of this soup uses vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.


A couple of Portobello mushrooms and the chopped roasted red peppers go into the soup. It gets covered and sits on a low simmer. I let this one putter along for most of the afternoon.


I don't have a photo of me using my new toy. I puree the entire soup with the new hand-held blender that I got for Chirstmas. The entire puree then gets put through a sieve. The result is a beautiful rich brown soup stock. The residue that gets left behind is a great base for mushroom pâté. If you stop at this point, this soup freezes very well. I next add a couple of chopped mushrooms and a chopped roasted red pepper. The next time I make this soup, I'd also like to add a handful of pearl barley at this point. This soup is so full of great vegetables that it's really good for you.


Or not. I suppose it would make a fine soup without the heavy cream, but it wouldn't taste nearly as good. It's a great way to warm up during cold, dismal weather.

Skywatch Friday- The Frigid Edition

The scene shown is this photo from last Sunday isn't really terribly cold- it's in the mid 20s. The thin clouds veiling the sun are ushering in some truly frigid temperatures, however. As I type this it's -21° F (-30°C) out. It has not been above 0°F (-18°C) in about 36 hours. We will get above zero later today. I hope you are warm wherever you are.

Visit the rest of Skywatch.

Snowy Fen

Friday night and Saturday, we got about a foot of snow. The timing was pretty good on this one for several reasons. It didn't mess up my commute. Although it was snowing heavily by the time I went home Friday night, there was almost no traffic. Saturday, we stayed pretty close to home all day, and got to shovel out at our leisure. Mid week, it's expected to plunge into the deep freeze with lows south of -10°F. The thick blanket of snow will provide nice insulation for my garden. Today we went to the Fen for some winter photography.




The picture above demonstates one of the interesting fen features. The springs emerge at a constant 53°F year round. No matter how cold it gets, the areas right around the springs don't freeze.




By the time we left, we were getting peeks at the sun. Florida is in 2 weeks and 4 days!

Pure Florida

So not. Our rental car is from Florida, and I thought that FC and Thingfish might appreciate the irony. It's been snowing much of the day here on Cape Ann. We had no place we needed to go and nothing much that we needed to do. It was quite enjoyable.

Being of Good Cheer (Assisted)

It snowed today. We got about 4". Unfortunately, due to the economy and budget cutbacks, snow removal and salting have been drastically reduced everywhere. Perhaps it's a pay to play situation and the crooked and shameless scoundrel governor is getting payback after noticing that I didn't make a contribution to his last campaign. I left work at 2:00 to avoid the worst of the storm and ended up getting home at 7:00. During the entire FIVE HOURS that it took me to get home in a MEASLY FOUR INCHES of snow, I saw exactly ONE SNOWPLOW. If this sort of thing continues, I have two words for every pol in the state of Illinois who is even considering re-election: Michael Bilandic.

Imperial Tidbits
L-R: Tomatillo Salsa, Apple Ginger Marmalade, Raspberry Jam. Black and Blueberry Jam

In a case of great timing, something was waiting for me when I got home- a package from Mark and Rodger. It contained a variety of imperial tidbits- jams, salsa and the like. Mark and Rodger are excellent cooks and master canners. I'm especially looiking forward to trying the apple-ginger marmelade. I felt better instantly. Thanks Mark and Rodger!

Entertaining with Insects

Underneath all the canned goodies was another surprise- a book about how to entertain with insects. In this case, 'how to entertain' means how to cook with insects and then serve them to your hapless guests. I can't wait to try the honeybee souflée.

Another surefire method of coping with an afternoon like today's: purple ice cream.

Black Raspberry Ice Cream

A Change in the Weather

Last night when I went to bed it was 48°F out. This morning I woke to 8°F with a stiff wind (wind chill -12°F). During the transition that dropped the temperature by 40° in 7 1/2 hours we had sleet and freezing rain. When I left for work, I had to chisel my car out of a fairly thick layer of ice (all at 8 degrees). I leave for Key West in six weeks and five days.

Skywatch Friday - Tropical Depression Gustav

Chicago, Illinois
4 September 2008
6:07 PM

Go see more Skywatch.

About Last Night...

I'm back from Arizona. I'll be posting some more about my adventures out that way, but I've had a few adventures here on the home front. My flight home from Tucson was yesterday afternoon. My flight was scheduled to have a connection in Dallas/Ft. Worth. When I checked my bag, the agent asked if I'd like to switch to the direct flight, which would get me in about 3 1/2 hours earlier. Of course I would! I boarded the plane feeling very lucky. Little did I know.

As we were crossing the Mississippi River, I saw a truly impressive (and huge) thunderstorm out the left side of the plane. I remember thinking that I hoped it was still far enough to the west that we would be able to land. We landed, I got my bag, and was out at remote parking where Leon picked me up in very short time. We would go grocery shopping and head home for dinner.

As we drove west, the sky grew very ominous. Quickly, we started seeing a lot of very close ground strokes of lighning. As the sky grew very green, we decided to forgo shopping and go directly home. Things deteriorated quickly. Traffic signals were out, and downed limbs began appearing and blocking the route home. An overhead wire arced alarmingly. Although we could not hear it at the time, the tornado sirens were sounding. I had to go completely around the block to get to my driveway because a large tree had fallen in my street, taking the power lines with it.

Chicago is still reeling from the aftermath of the storm. Wind gusts to 94 mph were recorded and Elgin recorded a 75 mph gust. I feel very fortunate. We had no damage to the house- or to ourselves. If my original flight plan had held, I probably would not have gotten home at all last night. At the very least, I would have been delayed. The storm held off just long enough that my checked luggage was able to be unloaded promptly. They won't do that if there is lightning near the airport. We did not buy groceries, which is also lucky because my power may be out for several days. It was a wild night, and very uncomfortable sleeping with no fan.

The street in front of my house at 5:30 this morning.

Skywatch Friday: The Apocalypse Begins in 2 Minutes

Arlington Heights, IL. July 10, 7:30 PM

Today's Skywatch is dedicated to UrSpo, who loves a good Midwestern thunderstorm. We got a fine one this evening. About two minutes after I took this photo (while stopped at a red light). the heavens opened with a violent thunderstorms that included hail (my poor car).

It's been a day of violent weather here in Illinois. The above photo is from the second wave of storms that hit. I was lucky. We were out catching butterflies to breed in the lab (more on that in an upcoming post). The first wave of storms did not hit until we were done, and we were safely in the car and on our way before the violence started. We were treated to some dramatic skies on our way out.

Heading back to the car under mammatus clouds



Mammatus Clouds

As always, the other Skywatch posts can be seen at Wiggers World.

Skywatch Friday - Retreating Storm

Bluff Spring Fen - June 21, 2008

Last Saturday, I feared that the field session of my butterfly ecology course would be ruined by a thunderstorm. Just as the class was scheduled to begin, the sky began to clear, and offered this very dramatic view of the retreating storm.

See more Skywatch goodness at Wiggers World.

Denverensis

Greetings from Colorado. I've been here since very early Saturday morning on an entomological trip. It's been a successful trip, aided by some truly gorgeous weather. My hosts for most of the trip have been John and Mike in Arvada, a suburb of Denver. John is a very accomplished entomologist, and has taught my over 80% of what I know about beetles. I stand in awe of his capabilities, so it's always a treat to go out in the field with him.

Glenwood Canyon and the Colorado River

We spent the weekend up in the high country. Spring is a bit late in the mountains this year. We were unable to do any collecting in the tundra regions- they're still covered with snow. Saturday we met up with Bill, an aquatic entomologist and went collecting on the west slope. Our most successful spots were in Glenwood Canyon. We found lots of nice chrysomelid (leaf-eating) beetles on the willows. John is a chrysomelid expert, so that family always figures heavily when he's around. Also, I managed to take a very nice series of samples from a population of purplish coppers for DNA analysis. My new intern will not lack for things to keep him busy when he starts next week.

Calligrapha multipunctata
A leaf-eating beetle that feeds on willow.

Saturday night we stayed in Breckenridge. Sunday morning we awoke to this:

Fresh snow- June 8, 2008

I offer this for all my readers in the east who spent Sunday sweltering. Obviously this did not make for good collecting. We crossed back over the Continental Divide at Loveland Pass, and were treated to gorgeous vistas of peaks covered with a fresh skim of snow. Magnificent!

In Loveland Pass

Opting to avoid the interstate, we returned via Clear Creek Canyon. There were numerous opportunities to pull off the road and check out the bugs along the creek. We got into the usual kind of trouble.

The usual kind of trouble
Cicindela lengi- a new species for me

Monday we did a grueling hike up above the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. The collecting and insect photography on that trip were superb. I'll do a post on that later this week.