Category: My Photographs

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Wednesday Wild: Antlers

© Loree Griffin Burns

Yesterday Ellen Harasimowicz and I tagged along as Dr. Maya Nehme went out into the wilds of Worcester county to check the Asian Longhorned Beetle traps we’d watched her set earlier this summer. (You can read about that adventure here.) While snapping photographs, Ellen managed to spot a small antler in the grass. Just as I was saying, “Keep your eyes open, because I read somewhere that deer usually shed both antlers at the same time …”, I stepped on a second antler! I’m not sure who was more excited: Ellen, me, or my daughter, who posed for the photo above as soon as we got home.

Have a great and wild Wednesday!

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Wednesday Wild: Honey of a Bee

© Loree Griffin Burns

On Sunday I watched this honey bee, most likely living in the hives my neighbors keep, work our sedum plants. In fact, it’s possible that I watched her collect nectar that will end up in my tea–in me!–come winter. Humbling.

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Wednesday Wild: Mystery Mushroom

© Loree Griffin Burns

On my bedside table at the moment is David Arora’s MUSHROOMS DEMYSTIFIED. I’m not very far along yet, which may explain why I can’t tell you what kind of mushroom I’ve captured in the image above. I can tell you that mushrooms were plentiful in my part of New England this past Saturday; I saw dozens of species on a single trail at the Trout Brook Reservation in Holden, Massachusetts. And couldn’t ID a single one. Guess I’ll keep reading David’s book ….

Have a wild Wednesday!

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Wednesday Wild: Spotted Surprise

© Loree Griffin Burns

Spotted salamanders are famous for their springtime congresses, when males and females migrate in huge numbers from the woodlands where they’ve spent the winter to the vernal pools in which they will mate. I’ve spent many a warm and rainy spring evening hanging out around the local vernal pool with a flashlight strapped to my head, hoping for a good show. (No, I’m not the only whackadoo that does this sort of thing; for a sense of what draws us out there, read this. Or this.)

Anyway, I have never, ever seen a spotted salamander outside of that spring migration. But on Saturday, a day before Hurricane Irene crashed through Massachusetts, my husband unearthed this little fellow in the garden. He was kind enough to pose for a picture.

Here’s to some wild in your Wednesday …

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Wednesday Wild: One Cozy Nest

© Loree Griffin Burns

I wish I could figure out a way to make a better photo of this massive bald-faced hornet nest. It’s hanging from a Japanese maple in my back yard, about three feet off the ground. When I first noticed it earlier in the summer, it was the size of my fist. Now it’s bigger than a Chihuahuaua. The hornets that call this masterpiece home have been busy this week, and I didn’t dare interrupt them for a photo shoot. (Um, yes, I was scared to get any closer. These are NOT honey bees!)

If I can keep Mr. Burns from finding and removing the nest, I’ll take another pic in a couple months, when the hornets have died off.

Here’s hoping there’s some wild in your Wednesday …

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Wednesday Wild: An Introduction

© Loree Griffin Burns

Lotsa new on the old blog this week: new platform, new colors, new sidebars, new, new, new. Why not add a new feature? I have long been intrigued by the Wordless Wednesday posts seen here and there around the blogosphere, because photographs make me happy. But it turns out I’m not so good at the wordless part. (Shocking, I know.) Anyway, I’ve reworked the concept a bit. Welcome to my first Wednesday Wild post. A photo from somewhere in my wild world. A few words. A new weekly feature.

So … that there is a house wren, and it is raising a family in my garden. I’m not sure yet how many babies are in the birdhouse, but its enough to make a decent racket when they are hungry. I hid in a blind of sunflowers for forty-five minutes yesterday, listening to the squawk and taking pictures. They were some of the best minutes of the day.