Tag Archives: nature

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Photo Friday: Silvery Checkerspot

Another crazy week gone by, another month in the books for 2020: the year that lasted forever and yet somehow flew by. I honestly don’t understand what has happened to my sense of time.

This butterfly has been hanging around in Nancy’s garden, mostly on the Cheyenne Spirit Echinacea, with two of his friends. He is a Silvery Checkerspot, a not-so-common garden and open country butterfly that can be found in much of the Eastern U.S. With his wings open, he is barely two inches across. I won’t tell you how many photos I had to take of him to get a couple of good ones. Let’s just say he wasn’t the most cooperative butterfly I’ve ever encountered…

Wishing you a wonderful weekend. Be well, be good to one another.Silvery Checkerspot I, by David B. Coe

Silvery Checkerspot II, by David B. Coe

Blogging, David B. Coe, Not at all Writing Related

Photo Friday: Who Is That In the Cloud?

Good morning! Another week is ending, which means it’s Photo Friday here at the blog. Today’s photo was taken during an early morning walk a week or so ago. I had only my phone with me, but the image came out well, capturing the majesty of that cloud, the stillness of the lake, and that lovely light-limned edge of cloud reflected on the water’s surface.

I see a face in the cloud. I wonder if you do, too. I haven’t been able to decide who it looks like. Suggestions?

Wishing you a safe, healthful, lovely weekend.

Morning Cloud Reflection, by David B. Coe

Blogging, David B. Coe, Not at all Writing Related

Photo Friday: A Butterfly Fly-By

Another hot, lazy summer week has sped by here on the Cumberland Plateau. Nancy’s garden is in full glory, though I’m sad to say that butterflies have been far less numerous this year than in years past. I’m not sure why, though it could have something to do with all the rain we’ve had so far this summer.

In any case, early this morning this Silver-spotted Skipper stopped by for a visit on the Liatris Spicata, which is also known as Prairie Blazing Star or Prairie Gayfeather. This is among our favorite flowers in the garden, in part because year after year the butterflies love it. This species of skipper is one of the most common butterflies in Tennessee, but this year we’ll take what we can get.

Wishing you a wonderful, healthy weekend. Be safe. Be kind.

Silver-spotted Skipper on Gayfeather, by David B. Coe

Blogging, David B. Coe, Not at all Writing Related

Photo Friday: A Friend On My Walk

Found this guy about a week ago on my walk and then saw him again this morning. He is an Eastern Box Turtle, and, yes, I really do know that he’s a male, based on eye color and the bright coloring on his head and legs.

The funny thing is — and I swear this is true — the place where I see him is also the place where I always see a hare. (The rabbit is too quick for me; I can never get a good photo.) So, I assume that either they race everyday, or they’ve set their rivalry aside and have just become good friends.

Wishing you a wonderful, safe holiday.

Box Turtle II, by David B. Coe Box Turtle I, by David B. Coe

Blogging, David B. Coe, Not at all Writing Related

Photo Friday: My Morning Walk

Photo Friday has rolled around again. Seriously, where do the weeks go? I don’t understand.

Just about every morning I walk for 3+ miles along the rails-to-trails path here in our town. I have written about it before, and posted this black and white image during the winter. But I thought I would give you a photo of what it looks like this time of year, with the trees in full foliage, and the understory lush and verdant. It’s really quite beautiful.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. Be safe, be good to one another.

Mountain Goat Trail, Summer, by David B. Coe

Blogging, David B. Coe, Not at all Writing Related

Photo Friday: From the Archives — Beach Photos

Every now and then, a week comes along when I haven’t had a chance to take my camera out for photos. This week has been rather plain weather-wise. Some flowers are blooming in Nancy’s garden, but nothing too spectacular. And, I will admit, I have been rather glum.

My mood is almost too frivolous to discuss. My family and I are healthy, we’re generally happy, and have very little cause for complaint. But, due to Covid-19, we have had to cancel our annual family beach vacation. Problems of the privileged, I know. Hence my reluctance to bring it up. The fact is, though, I love our time at the beach. It’s always just the four of us – Nancy, our two daughters and me. We rent a house right on the shore. We have no particular schedule, few chores, little work. We swim and take walks on the beach and nap when we feel like it and eat good food and drink good wine. What’s not to love?

We had a reservation, but for reasons relating to the pandemic and its effect on Nancy’s work, not to mention concerns about traveling with the virus still raging, we have cancelled it. We should have been heading to the coast on Saturday. Obviously, we won’t be.

So today, I offer you a couple of photos from the archives – images I captured the last time we were at the beach. I hope you enjoy them.

Enjoy your weekend. Be safe; be kind to one another. And to all my fellow dads, have a great Father’s Day.

Laughing Gull, Topsail Island, North Carolina, by David B. Coe Coast Storm I, North Carolina, by David B. Coe

David B. Coe, Not at all Writing Related

Photo Friday: Climbing Color

Another week coming to a close and another photo to send you off into your weekend. We have grown accustomed to the annual rhythms of Nancy’s gorgeous flower garden, and this time of June is when her Clematis bloom. They are one of my very favorites. Climbers, a bit wild and unruly, with spectacular blooms. Enjoy!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend. As always, stay safe and be kind to one another.

Clematis Blooms, by David B. Coe

Blogging, David B. Coe, Not at all Writing Related

Photo Friday: Little Wood Satyr

Yesterday, while taking my morning walk along the Rails-to-Trails path in our town, I spotted this beauty. It is a Little Wood Satyr, a woodland butterfly identified by those four prominent eye spots along the margin of the wing. They are very small, as you can tell here by the relative size of the maple leaf on which it’s sitting, and they patrol forest floors with a sort of bouncing flight that can be difficult, if not infuriating, to try to follow. This one, though, was quite cooperative as I edged nearer to take my photos.

I hope all of you have a wonderful, safe weekend. Be good to one another.

Little Wood Satyr, by David B. Coe

Blogging, David B. Coe, Not at all Writing Related

Photo Friday: One Foot Out The Door…

Another week gone by. I swear, I don’t where the time is going right now. I can keep track of the days, but the weeks… Anyway, for today’s Photo Friday post, I offer you a set of images captured literally right outside our door. Nancy is an avid gardener and her Japanese Irises are blooming right now. They’re gorgeous, especially after a light rain. So here are a few photos I’ve taken over the past week or so.

Enjoy, and have a wonderful, safe weekend.

Japanese Iris IV, by David B. Coe

Japanese Iris I, by David B. Coe Japanese Iris II, by David B. Coe Japanese Iris III, by David B. Coe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blogging, David B. Coe, Not at all Writing Related

Photo Friday: A Shaky Image

For this week’s Photo Friday post I offer you a slightly different sort of image. Last weekend, early Sunday morning – 3:33 am, to be exact – I was awakened by something I hadn’t felt in years: an earthquake. The initial tremor was followed about 30 seconds later by an aftershock. Neither was very large: The first was 3.1 on the Richter Scale, the second 2.8. But they were forceful enough to make a rumbling sound that woke me from a sound sleep, and they did make the house tremble a little. And the reason for that was that they were centered, I kid you not, about 4 miles from our house here in Tennessee. They were also shallow – only a few miles into the earth’s crust.

I lived in California for several years. Nancy and I were in Mountain View for the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, which disrupted the World Series, caused enormous damage, and resulted in many casualties. This little set of tremors was nothing compared to that. Still, an earthquake centered four miles from our house? Yeah, that’ll get your attention.

There is a major fault – the New Madrid Fault – centered around the shared boundaries of Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois. The network of minor faults from that seismic zone reaches our home. Which is cool. Sort of.

Anyway, the image below is the readout from the seismograph in the Geology Department at the university.

Have a great weekend. Stay safe, be good to yourselves and to one another.

Seismograph Readout