Random pics from this winter

Moon phase: Waning gibbous
Weather: Cold and windy
Phenology: Spicebush is blooming

Sunset over the pond at Martin Luther King Park in White Oak, Maryland.

An old oak in the fog. This tree has unfortunately been cut down since I took this picture, which upset me because it was a background figure in many a childhood memory. It didn't even look like it was dying, so I'm not sure why they cut it down.

This adorable fungus is called turkey tail (Trametes versicolor), according to Urban Pantheist, who did a post on it recently. (And thank the gods he did, because I know absolutely nothing about fungi and would never have figured it out otherwise.)

Natural History Museum

Moon phase: Waning gibbous
Weather: Cold & cloudy
Phenology: Daffodils are blooming

Three pictures from a recent trip to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. I love how museums in DC don't cost anything; I remember visiting a museum in New York once when I was a teenager and being amazed that you had to actually pay to get in. I guess I just grew up assuming that all museums are free.

Great Falls

Moon phase: Full moon
Weather: Cool & clear

The Washington Monument & downtown from the National Cathedral grounds. The next few are from a trip to Great Falls this winter.

Birds

Moon phase: Waxing gibbous
Weather: Warm
Phenology: Forsythia is blooming

A peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) soaring above the National Cathedral.

A zoomed shot of a peregrine. The picture's fuzzy, but you can see the pointed wings and long tail.

A turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) at Great Falls. Turkey vultures are a wonderful mix of hideous and beautiful; I love watching them soar.

This white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) crashed into my back door. She sat there stunned while I went out to take some pictures, and when I came back she was gone.

Here's another photo of the cathedral in the afternoon light.

Tom Fox

Moon phase: Waxing gibbous
Weather: Warm

Tom Fox, an American taken hostage in Iraq, has been found dead. I was thinking of doing a post on him anyway, because I've been so worried about him, but now I really have to.

First of all, Tom Fox was a Quaker and a member of the Christian Peacemaker Teams, and he was in Iraq to promote peace and help out the citizens affected by the war. I didn't know Tom Fox, but it's a small small Quaker world, and I know people who knew him. I've probably seen him at Baltimore Yearly Meeting gatherings, which I went to a few times as a teenager. He was a member of Langley Hill Meeting in Virginia, and of course there a many ties between Langley Hill and the meeting I grew up in, Bethesda Friends.

More moon photos

Moon phase: Waxing gibbous
Weather: Really really hot
Phenology: Pennsylvania bittercress is coming up

A gibbous moon on my college campus last winter.

An almost-full moon last October. I had to fiddle with the brightness and contrast in Photoshop a bit to get the features to come out.

The crescent moon in the evening, from the National Cathedral grounds.

A gibbous moon with the cathedral facade.

A gibbous moon nestled in the branches of an oak.

A full moon hiding behind the trees across the street from my house.

Fall photos

Moon phase: Waxing gibbous
Weather: Feels like spring
Phenology: First violets are coming up

A group of what I believe are tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera), aka tulip poplars or yellow poplars, catching the afternoon light in Rock Creek Park.

I'm not sure what this orangey shrub is because I didn't take a look at in the field, but looking at the photo I think it might be a juneberry (Amelanchier).

Trees and branches reflecting in the calm waters of Rock Creek.

Rock Creek again, with Beach Drive in the background.

Snow-covered tree in late fall.

National Cathedral again

Moon phase: Waxing crescent
Weather: Warm & clear
Phenology: Day lily shoots are coming up

I had the privilege of working at the National Cathedral over the holidays, in the gift shop. The job was okay and the pay was good, but the best part was just getting to be there in that building every day. I got to know the crypt level like the back of my hand, and I even saw a pair of peregrine falcons that seem to live in the towers (Update: pictures of the peregrines are here). The preceding pictures are just some random ones I took of the cathedral last fall. (Previous post on the cathedral here.)

More random photos

Moon phase: Waning crescent
Weather: Warm & clear

Sunset over Wheaton Regional Park in Maryland.

A dragonfly at Kenilworth Gardens in DC.

A black walnut tree (Juglans nigra) at Woodend Sanctuary, where I volunteered this fall for the Audubon Naturalist Society.