Monday, October 25, 2021

The Ant and the Aphids




   















I did a little research and found the ant and the aphids have a symbiotic relationship.  The ant "farms" and protects the aphid colony from other preditory insects and the aphids secret a little honeydew that the ant loves to eat.  Some ants actually "milk" the aphids by stroking their little abdomens to get them to secret just a little more of that honeydew.  I think that is what this ant was actually doing today in Charlestown Meadows.  I watched him!!  Wild.
 

Saturday, October 23, 2021

The Hawks are Having a Field Day!!

The big field along Gulph Road in Valley Forge has recently been mown.  The hawks were having a field day looking for voles and grasshoppers.  I spent a good two hours just having the time of my life shooting these two beautiful birds.




 
    




Wednesday, October 20, 2021

The Moderna Booster and the Marchwood Pharmacy

 I am leaving for two weeks in Kenya on November 1.  My good doctor said it is quite important that I get a booster for Covid 19 and suggested I go to CVS and ask for a booster.  I went, told the good people there my story and they responded that - no can do.  The FDA and the CDC have not yet approved the booster.  I said O.K., told my doctor and she said try Walgreens.  I went to Walgreens and they said the same thing....  I am getting worried.  I am leaving in less than two weeks.  Even if the FDA and the CDC agree to approve, the bureaucracy in this country is so tangled that I probably could not get an appointment in time.  So, my wonderful husband Tom said why don't you try the little independent drug store called the Marchwood Pharmacy in Exton, PA.  What the heck.  I looked up their number, gave them a call and a nice woman answered the phone on just about the first ring.  No push 9 for pharmacy, push 8 for directions, etc.  It was actually a nice woman.  I told her my plight.  She said, "Why don't you come in next Tuesday at 11:00 and we will give you a booster, and bring your husband too."  Ahhh, my faith in the goodness of humanity has returned.....  And to top it off, these yellow rumped warblers posed for me soon after the call.



Sunday, October 17, 2021

Cabin in Fall Colors was Published in the Philadelphia Inquirer today!!

I got a note from my friend Walt today saying he was looking at today's paper and there was my photo of a cabin in the Woods in Valley Forge.  Yowza!!  I had gotten a note the other day from the Inquirer asking if they might be able to use the photo in an upcoming article.  And the rest is history!!!  (We had already read the paper and it was in the recycling bin before Walt saved the day.....)
 

Monday, October 4, 2021

Giant Marbled Orb Weaver

                                                                                                

I was walking in the woods in Charlestown Meadows today when this giant spider came into view.  He crawled back into his leaf before I had a chance to take his picture.  I set up my tripod with my big lens, then went over to the spider and tickled him into coming back out of his leaf.  He came out and posed for a million pictures.