Signs of Fall

The trees have finally started to turn -- it's a late autumn this year.

I think I take this photo every year. There's still a lot of green, but the foliage has thinned to let in a luminous glow.

Lon & Dakota as we come up to "Three Rivers Campground". (Haven't camped there for years. There's a small tree growing in the middle of the campfire ring!)

Early yesterday afternoon the moon was setting behind the mountain. You can see that some of the trees have their fall color.

A less welcome sign of fall are the Japanese multi-colored lady beetles (or lady bugs if you want to be entomologically incorrect). It's a warm day after a week or so of night-time freezing, and they are swarming looking for a place to spend the winter. They squeeze through ridiculously small cracks, but die within hours indoors. From now through April we'll be sweeping and vacuuming them up daily.

A closer look at the lady beetles. I didn't want to get close enough for a good photo, so this is just an enlargement from the previous photo. These are nasty: they are aggressive, bite, and when they die they stink. This is a real invasive alien species!

Pittsburgh - Step Trek 2018

Step Trek is an annual urban hike through Pittsburgh's South Side Slopes. Much of the route is over streets that are just steps. We took a leisurely three hours to walk the "Gold" route that meandered up and down the western part of the Slopes.

Both the Gold and Black routes start and end at the end of 21st Street under the Mission Street Bridge. In addition to ticket sales and free water and fruit, there were six food trucks serving everything from donuts to Indian take-out.

The 15th Street pedestrian bridge over the Norfolk & Western railway tracks.

Lauer Way steps are an example of a typical Pittsburgh "step" street.

Great views of the city were frequent. The Birmingham Bridge is in the middle of this photo, and the tall dark building on the horizon is the Cathedral of Learning (University of Pittsburgh) in Oakland.

To the left was downtown Pittsburgh. Those billowing clouds portended rain to come.

At the top of the Germantown Square steps (265 of them!) was a bell to ring to mark the longest step climb of Step Trek. Amos climbed ALL of these steps himself.

One part of the climb was on the Knoxville Incline Greenway Trail.

We were getting close to the end when those threatening clouds burst forth into a short downpour.

As we ate lunch at the food trucks, the clouds parted -- temporarily. We still got soaked by a second downpour on our way back to David & Maria's house.

Night Photos

I've also been fooling around trying to take good star and Milky Way photos. I'm still learning, but it has helped to have acquired a decent tripod and a remote shutter trigger.

I started by trying to capture low clouds illuminated by the street lights of Clifton Forge three miles to the east.

This has been a good summer for viewing planets. Back in July it was possible to see all five naked-eye planets: Mercury very low in the west at sunset, Venus very bright and low in the west, Jupiter high in the south, Saturn in the southeast, and Mars just rising in the east right after sunset. Now only four are visible (Mercury is lost in the sun's glare), and Mars is rising earlier every night. In the photo above, Mars glows orange-red Mars in the southeast between Sagittarius and Capricorn.

I must have bumped the focus as I took this picture of the Big Dipper, but it does make the stars standout!

Scorpio is lying on its side above the southern horizon. The evening fog/haze usually obscures everything by 11 PM.

I finally achieved modest success photographing the Milky Way in Sagittarius. Mars is the large orange object to the left, and Scorpio is in the right third of the photo. Saturn is just above the "teapot's" lid (Sagittarius).

I still need some more practice, but I'm getting better at capturing the Milky Way.

Sky Photos

The last few weeks have seen a lot of unsettled weather, so I've been taking way too many photos of clouds and other sky phenomena.

I'm a sucker for a good sunset. Unfortunately, our homesite has a mountain to the west, so the sunset is usually obscured. But a few nights ago, it looked like the mountain was on fire.

A closer look at the "fire".

On a different evening, storm clouds to the east were catching the final rays of the sun.

The moon in a wisp of clouds.

A nearly first-quarter moon.

With lots of "pop-up" thunderstorms, there have also been a lot of rainbows.

It was still raining when this double rainbow appeared.

Deer in the Back Yard

We had a buck and a doe wander through our "back yard" -- really the drainfield for our septic system. I want it to become a "meadow", Lon thinks that's a stretch!

First a buck just beginning to grow his antlers wandered into sight.

His growing antlers are oddly asymmetrical.

A minute or two later, a doe joined him.

Troll Hunt - Morton Arboretum

If you find yourself in or near Chicago this summer, be sure to stop by the Morton Arboretum (just off I-88 in Lisle) and go on a Troll Hunt. The six trolls (and their hideout) are crafted from reclaimed wood by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. We walked seven miles (11.3 km) over three hours to see all the trolls. You can drive or bicycle to them, but you will still have to walk a bit from the parking lots.

East Side Trolls

Joe the Guardian

You don't even have to go to the Arb to see Joe the Guardian. He stands on a hill just to the north of I-88 (the road in the bottom left of the photo).

Joe peeks over the hill as we approached on foot from the east.

It's difficult to really appreciate Joe's size until you get up close.

Joe's hair is made from small branches. His spear pole is a pine tree log, and the spear point is wood.

Rocky Bardur

The next troll you are likely to see is Rocky Bardur, who has destroyed a car (a Ford Focus) in the main parking lot. It must have been quite an effort to get that rock inside the car!

A full view of Rocky Bardur as he gets ready to toss another rock. Rocky is a small troll.

Sneaky Socks Alexa

It's easy to sneak up on Sneaky Socks Alexa, just a short stroll from the main parking lot.

From the other side, Alexa is hoping to catch an unsuspecting critter in her trap.

Alexa awaits prey.

Furry Ema

Furry Ema awaits deep in the woods, in amongst the maples, and farthest from the Visitor Center. She, too, is hoping to trap an unsuspecting critter. When the trolls were first put on display, this basket was swinging off the ground, but it became so popular that it was "grounded" so that it would last the summer!

West Side Trolls

Niels Bragger

Niels Bragger hides (as best as a 20-ft (6 m) high troll can) among the trees on a hill top on the west side of the Arb.

Little Arturs

If "Little" Arturs we standing, he would be 60 feet (18 m) tall!

I thought Arturs was yawning, but the troll was made so that you could climb inside his mouth and it would look like he was eating you! The popularity of the trolls has made it necessary to ban all climbing on them.

You can get a feel for the scale of Arturs here.

Troll Hideout

You are supposed to use clues to find the trolls' forested hideout: it's not shown on the Troll Hunt map.  But if you follow the Troll Hunt signs on the west side, you will come across it. #trollhideout

The Hideout is a teepee-like structure with all the comforts of a good home. There are places to cook and eat, places to sleep, and places to play.

The necessities of troll personal care: a toothbrush, hairbrush, and a spoon.

Almost everything in the sculptures will biodegrade over time. (Rocks won't, of course, and neither will the screws that hold the sculptures together.) The trolls will remain in place until they become a safety hazard, so it will probably be possible to see them through the winter. Sounds like another trip to the Arb will be in order!

Pittsburgh - Phipps Conservatory

We spent the last week visiting family. Phipps is one of our favorite spots in Pittsburgh - especially on a day that threatened rain.

Amos wanted to see "the" waterfall, so we visited all of the waterfalls (and other water features) in the conservatory. This one is outside.

The waterfall (above) drops into a small lotus pond.

I've seen plenty of white lotus flowers, and purple ones, but I can't remember seeing an orange-yellow one before.

The outer layer of this palm tree looked as if it had been woven.

I liked this giant hiding in plain sight in the Serpentine Room.

The Victoria Room showcased a number of Greek-style statues. Several heads with botanical headgear were positioned to reflect in the still water of the central pond.

More heads with living hats.