Category Archives: Friends Photos

Intergrade

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Jenny sent these photos to me some time ago.  Taken in July 2006, they show yet another visitor to her backyard garden.  You might remember the black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) seen here and here.  Suffice it to say Jenny has gone to great lengths to make her garden attractive to butterflies, and this represents yet another example of her success in that regard.

What you see below is called an intergrade species.  Essentially, it’s a hybrid between the red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) and white admiral (Limenitis arthemis arthemis or Limenitis arthemis rubrofasciata) butterflies.  The species designation is simply Limenitis arthemis to show it is not one of the specific subspecies.

Thanks to Abe’s comment, I now know this is the black form female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus).  After looking at photos of this species along with several others, it made my head hurt because they all look so much alike.  Thankfully there are those who know a great deal more about them than I do and can offer informed direction—which I greatly appreciate.

Papilio glaucus

A Limenitis arthemis intergrade butterfly (2006-07-29 013)
A Limenitis arthemis intergrade butterfly (2006-07-29 012)

Swine abuse

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Ms. Jenny has been to the family farm on many occasions.  In fact, she’s considered one of the family and a trusted farmhand.

But there’s a dark side to her visits that we generally try to avoid discussing in mixed company.

It starts out innocent enough with a brief visit to see the adult pigs and to help with feeding and cleaning.

Jenny hanging out with the adult pigs

Now let’s be clear about this: Jenny’s not a large gal at all.  To be quite honest, she’s built low to the ground for speed and aerodynamics.  That means the adult pigs weighed more than she does.  In turn, that meant she had to behave with them since they could easily mow her down.

But then it was on to the juvenile pigs.

Again, the visit started out innocent enough with much petting and laughing and visiting, and even one of the younger swines leaning against her for a bit of affection.

Jenny hanging out with the juvenile pigs

But woe is the pig who messes with little Ms. Jenny.  As we watched in horrified dismay, she proceeded to assert her human superiority by sticking her foot in the mouth of one of those innocent, young, impressionable pigs.

A juvenile pig biting Jenny's foot

Oh the inhumanity!

That poor abused swine ended up emotionally scarred for life.  I mean… to have someone come marching into your home, pretend to be your friend, and finally stick their foot in your mouth…  How could the poor pig have come away from that experience unscathed?

[pictures via Mom]

We’ll pet the cows for you

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The first time Derek visited my family’s farm, the consummate city boy found a world very much unlike any he had ever seen before—at least in person.  Even Mom remembers well her own surprise when he mentioned he’d never been on a dirt road prior to visiting our East Texas refuge.  This fact shocked all of us.  It also tickled us because the farm rests in the middle of nowhere, so dirt roads are more than common in the area.

Another thing that surprised us was his lack of experience with animals other than dogs and cats… and possibly birds.  He’d never been around anything larger than a German shepherd.  Boy, was he in for a surprise.

My parents and I guided him out of the house and to one of the pastures where some of the cows were milling about in late morning sunshine.  Derek was fascinated by the large beasts.  That wonder grew as they came to the fence to greet us.  Unfortunately, he was intimidated by the bovines and, although he stood near the fence, he would neither touch the cows nor allow them to touch him.  The poor New Yorker…  Frightened of a cow and unable to overcome his sheltered life.

Oh how we laughed!  His wide eyes and childlike gaze were fixed on those cows, especially the one that came right up to the fence where he stood, yet he couldn’t find the strength of will to reach out.

Over the years that followed, he slowly grew more sure of himself around the farm.  That doesn’t mean he completely won the battle with his own apprehension; he did make progress, though.

In posthumous remembrance of his 40th birthday today, more than two years after his death, I present to you Derek’s first visit to a farm—and his first encounter with a cow.  This is as close as he would get to it despite our prodding him with tales of woe about how much the cow wanted to be petted.

Derek standing away from the fence as a cow approaches

Happy birthday, Derek.  And don’t worry.  We’ll pet the cows for you.

[picture via Mom]

Constantly asking the same question

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When taking Wylie for a walk at the lake—most notably when it’s hot—he wants nothing more than to swim.  The water calls to him like a siren to sailors of yore.  He loves to fetch in the water.  A simple stick is all that’s needed for him to literally push himself to the limits of exhausted collapse.  It’s necessary to temper his activity because he loves it too much and doesn’t know when to stop.

But when swimming is not on the menu, he still asks repeatedly.  With Frisbee time, each catch is followed by the same thing: him going to the edge of the bike trail and waiting for approval to cross.  One thing that’s great about Wylie is that he won’t cross a road unless given permission.  In this case, however, there’s no danger of a car zooming by because the road is for bike and foot traffic only.  Still, he chases the Frisbee, catches it, and immediately takes position next to the concrete barrier—and he waits.  All he needs is the right word and off he’ll go.

Swimming was not in the program during the trip personified in the photos below.  He had already done so earlier in the day, so this particular trip was a brief walk through the park and along the lake’s edge.  Nevertheless, as you can see, he kept asking the question and hoping to get a different answer.

Note that all of these photos were taking last June.  Also note I didn’t capture better photos because I was hot and miserable and didn’t bother to check the camera settings.  Also, I was walking the whole time, so each picture I took was an exercise in motion annulment.  The other photos I grabbed during the same walk can be seen here and here.

Wylie sitting at the edge of the road holding his Frisbee in his mouth (145_4516)
Wylie lying at the edge of the road holding his Frisbee in his mouth (145_4522)
Wylie sitting at the edge of the road holding his Frisbee in his mouth (145_4519)

Meet Sonny

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As promised, here are some photos and a video of Sonny.  He’s been here since about 11 A.M. and will be here until my neighbors get home.  You can be certain I’ll give them what for because they continually put him out on the balcony and leave him there all day, he inevitably gets down/falls down and winds up roaming about the neighborhood, and he’s declawed—so he can’t defend himself or even climb, let alone catch the tree when he jumps to it from their balcony (which I suspect is mostly how he gets down, although I’ve seen him standing on their handrail and think he might also be falling from time to time).

First, here’s Sonny being very nice while making clear he’d like the door to be open rather than closed.

Sonny standing and facing the bathroom door (156_5605)

So far as size goes, he’s about Kazon‘s size with a bit more meat on his bones.  Kazon is a lean cat, although he’s muscular and large.  Sonny is about the same size but is filled out a wee bit more.

Here he is lying in front of the door to make certain he’s ready when I decide to leave.

Sonny lying in front of the bathroom door so he's ready when I decide to leave (156_5623)

This is a perfect shot of him coming back for move lovin’.  He’s a very sweet cat who likes to sit on your back, rub against you, be in contact with you however possible, and generally absorb whatever affection you’re offering.

Sonny turning around to get more lovin' (156_5611)

Finally, the video.  He’s quite vocal as you’ll see.  That’s a good sign because it means he’s learned from humans to communicate openly (most don’t know cats are normally not very talkative and only learn from us at an early age that talking and responding is acceptable and expected, and that it gets results and passes on information).