I came across this horse rolling around in the grass at Stonecrop Gardens.
Taken with a Sony NEX 5n and 18-55mm kit lens in June 2013.
Horse at Stonecrop Gardens
Spider in a Train Station Window
When I was working I took the train every day from Scarborough Station in Westchester County to Grand Central Terminal. The platform is right on the Hudson, separated from it by a number of windows. Before they renovated the station a few years ago the windows were covered with spider webs. Here’s one of the spiders. After the renovation the spiders seem to have disappeared.
A 2010 vintage shot taken with a Panasonic Lumix ZS-3.
Morning Visitor
We have lots of acorns this year: it seems to having been “raining” them for months. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of them scattered around in piles in our garden. Needless to say this attracts chipmunks and squirrels. I caught this one munching away on our patio yesterday morning. I’m not usually quick enough to get them, but on this occasion I had a suitable camera/lens right next to me on the table. I had to take the picture through our living room window, which caused some problem with the focus. Also I suspect that the glass degraded the picture a bit. And as I was rushing there’s probably some camera shake too. Still at least I got something this time.
A Couple of Snakes
A couple of snakes have recently made their way into my life.
First, I was scanning some old negatives when I came across the picture above. It shows a younger me posing for the usual ‘cheesy’ tourist shot in a market outside of Bangkok, Thailand. I would guess that it was taken sometime in the early 2000s. The snake is, I believe a Python. It was heavy, very strong but not at all ‘slimy’ as I had expected. In retrospect I’m not sure it was such a good idea to put it around my neck. If it had decided to constrict I doubt that there was anything that I, or anyone else could have done about it. I can’t take any of the credit (or otherwise) for the picture as I clearly didn’t take it. It was taken with my camera though.
Then while walking the dog the other day I came across the snake in the picture below. I believe that there are three types of venomous snake in NY State: timber rattlesnake, the massasauga, and the copperhead. While I’m certainly no snake expert I didn’t think it was any of these (although there is a passing resemblance to a copperhead). I looked it up when I got home and I believe it’s an Eastern Milk Snake. Interestingly, when I stayed stationary (e.g. when I taking the picture) it would turn and start to move in my direction. When I moved, however, it would rapidly move away.
I wonder if I’ll come across any more in the near future? I could do without an encounter with any of the venomous snakes though.
Harley and the Bird Houses
Another picture of our dog, Harley sitting in what seems to have become one of his favorite locations. We took him to be groomed a week or so ago and he looks quite different from the way he looked before. Below – the old look Harley sitting in virtually the same spot, but before his grooming.
