Finding pictures in clouds

I am out at a lakeside in western Maryland and enjoying the view. I am making pictures in the clouds as they pass by. Go and enjoy the day, Meet Me Outdoors

Light City

I went to the Light City festival yesterday. After work I walked all along the harbor watching them set up for the evenings festivities.

I enjoyed seeing the harbor come to life with the families all around.  Some of Baltimore's landmarks tricked out for the festival as well as livening up for the beginning of spring time.

Along my walk a saw many dragon boats were out on the water.  Something I have not done since I was a kid visiting Baltimore many years ago.   I found the Inner Harbor Water Wheel, working to clean the harbor of trash that sadly ends up there as litter. 

As the sun set the lights started to turn on and it was a more colorful glow than usual in the city. Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse had an amazing light up design on it for Light City. The picture I have is before sunset, but after sunset it was amazing but I was too far for a picture.

One of the attractions for the festival was this colorful peacock.  The lights were definitely mesmerizing.  There is something really cool about all the lights at night. Even the cotton candy sticks were colorful blinky light wands.  Lots of light up swards, too. 

I was also amazed by the sunset yesterday I saw it between the buildings as I was finishing my walk before dinner. After dinner I went back to the light festival which was super crowded with families and adults taking in the amazing feature, concerts and general festivities.  But the fiery glow of the sunset really made me smile.  Hoping to explore more festivals throughout the summer season. Be sure to check out the local ones near you, Meet Me Outdoors

Spring is here!

I went on a walk during my lunch break and saw all if the cherry blossom trees were in bloom.  These were in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Baltimore.  The National Cherry Blossom Festival is going on in Washington DC is going on now through April 17. Since I can't make it down to DC to see the festival this year, finding the cherry blossom trees here is a treat.

This week at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore we have a new festival called Light City.  I might try sticking around after work to see it.  Enjoy spring time, Meet Me Outdoors.

Joys of a Snow Storm 2016

Beginning of storm

Midway through

The first big snow storm of 2016 was a really big blizzard for the mid-atlantic region. After watching cars get buried under snow over the last 3 days, it was time to dig out the car.
Thankfully, I got a lot of help from the neighbors in digging, threw some snowballs for fun, and once the bulldozer came through it was time for a break. I am looking forward to my hot tea. Stay warm everyone, Meet Me Outdoors.

I found my car!

Cleared but still needing to dig around it.

 

Field Trip to Ladew Gardens

Today, I went on a field trip with fellow coworkers to Ladew Gardens. Ladew Gardens has a wide variety of gardens and many topiary displays as well as a Butterfly House full of local butterflies. Our group was divided into two with half wandering the gardens first and the other half went to the butterfly garden.  I was in the wander the gardens group.  With map in hand and my big sun hat and sunblock on it was time to explore with my group.

The gardens were made up of garden rooms which were highlighted by color, plant or theme.  The topiaries throughout the gardens had themes as well from one garden room to the next.  Some were still getting trained so you would see a frame and a topiary still growing to fill it. The first image is of the Hunt Scene you can see the hound dogs on the left and 'hopping' over the fence is a man on a horse. Off frame is the fox topiary.  The second photo is from the Sculpture Garden. See if you can figure out what some of the topiaries are supposed to be. Not easy, is it?

After exploring the rest of the gardens it was time for my favorite part, the Butterfly House.  All around the enclosed garden are host plants as well that if they find eggs or caterpillars on them the staff may clip them and bring them inside.  As the main plants are being eaten by the caterpillars they would bring in some clippings from outside so the ones planted in the garden can have a chance to recover.  Throughout the Butterfly House you can find butterflies in all stages of life from egg to adult and the docents are happy to point them out to visitors.

Fritillary

I have tried to capture some of the butterflies and caterpillars in pictures. (If it is out of focus: blame the camera. It doesn't like accept where I want it to focus so it tends to have the background in focus and the object I center the focus box on a bit blurry.) To identify what was in the butterfly house they had some signs around the marking the plants and the type of butterfly that would use it as a host plant.  There was a pamphlet that was available to help ID some of the common butterflies in the garden. For those at your home gardens and you can get a good picture of them there is a good website for North American butterflies and moths.
Some of you may notice that a few of the butterflies are missing part of their wings as shown in the picture of the fritillary on the right. This is part of their defense, if some predator comes by they may only get a bit of their wing while the butterfly can flutter off and escape being eaten. The swallowtail butterfly, named because of the little tail bit at the bottom of their hind wings, has that small section of the wing for that reason. 

Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar

Ladew Gardens is great for families, kids and school groups alike. My group went as part of an exchange, they had some of their staff visit the Science Center and we went to visit them at their gardens.  For those who know me may remember that not too long ago I also worked at a couple different butterfly gardens. Ladew's was unique in that they only do local butterflies. So you won't find any tropical ones that would have to be shipped in from butterfly farms.  I really like that everything they had in the Butterfly House was something I may see in my own backyard.  Many of which I have seen before and some were new to me.  They even provide a list of caterpillar host plants and what caterpillar only likes those plants so you can add those to your garden. Just be sure that they are pesticide free and get local plants to your area. 
There was a nature walk path that we didn't have time for, I still had a great time exploring the topiary gardens and seeing the butterflies.  Go visit explore a local botanical gardens near you, Meet Me Outdoors

Monarch Butterfly