Archive for category Oddities
Tailfins!
They don’t make tail fins like this any more:
It’s a 1962 Cadillac Fleetwood encountered on a walk around the block.
Those are a mere shadow of their former selves, though, as per Wikipedia’s photo of a 59 Caddy:
Nothing exceeds like excess!
Hawk vs. Praying Mantis
A young Coopers Hawk swooped across the yard, landed on a branch, and proceeded to dismantle something yummy, scattering little bits on the driveway below. One piece fluttered down like a feather, but, after the hawk flew off, we found this:
It wasn’t a feather, it was an entire wing!
A few feet away, we found another:
Not that there was any doubt, but these parts clinched the identification:
Some days earlier, we admired eight Praying Mantises on the decorative grasses and bushes out front. Perhaps it was this one:
Or this one, a few feet away:
We don’t know what, if any, the difference between brown and green wing covers might indicate. Age? Gender? Attitude? Skill level?
It’s a food chain out there!
Walnut Husk Fly Damage
A recent Amazon purchase of three 3 lb bags of walnuts from a known-good seller arrived with many damaged nuts:
The damage matches what I read about Walnut Husk Fly infestations: shriveled kernels and terrible taste.
In round numbers, I found 8 oz of damaged nuts in each 3 lb bag, enough to ruin the entire batch. The seller immediately refunded the purchase price for all three bags, so there’s that.
It’s definitely not one of the counterfeit products plaguing Amazon, but I wonder why that lot didn’t fail incoming inspection.
I’m loathe to buy more walnuts for a while, though.
Memo to Self: Always inspect incoming purchases, even from reputable sellers!
Monthly Image: Praying Mantis vs. Monarch Butterfly
Posted by Ed in Oddities, Photography & Images, Science on 2019-09-15
The Butterfly Bush in front of the house attracts all kinds of insects, including Monarch Butterflies (shown here on the Goldenrod planted in the garden):
This year, the bush also attracted a Praying Mantis:
Then lunchtime happened:
A closer look:
Now, if that isn’t enough nightmare fuel for you, find some in your own neighborhood.
Rail Trail Tree Clearing
Posted by Ed in Oddities, Recumbent Bicycling on 2019-09-08
Trees along the Dutchess Rail Trail fall over for no obvious reason and sometimes block the path:
But my tool hand is strong:
The DPW folks can haul off the trunk, as it’s more than I can move.
Floor Sweepings from eBay
Posted by Ed in Machine Shop, Oddities on 2019-09-07
Ordered 100 stainless steel M3 washers from a “US Seller”, received this:
Yeah, it looked a bit short to me, too.
The chopped and bent washers in the upper right corner suggest the seller got floor sweepings from his source, which is about what you’d expect for a bottom-dollar vendor.
The seller refunded half, which wasn’t particularly generous, but I wasn’t ready to go to the mat for two bucks.
Rt 376: Clearcut From Red Oaks Mill to Maloney Rd
Posted by Ed in Oddities, Recumbent Bicycling on 2019-08-31
NYS DOT Region 8 Dutchess South recently did enough over-the-rail clearcutting to make Rt 376 bicycle-able from Red Oaks Mill to Maloney Rd!
To the best of our memories and judging from the tree stumps along the rail, it’s been a decade since DOT last clearcut that section; the Japanese Knotweed has definitely taken over since then.
Here’s what the Knotweed looked like in June, just north of Maloney Rd, after a trimming in May:
Now, it’s not nearly so snug out there:
Here’s a slide show starting with Dutchess North’s routine grass mowing in Red Oaks Mill and ending with Dutchess South’s clearcut just north of Maloney Rd:
The Wappinger Creek bridge seems to be a no man’s land between the two Residencies, but we can generally take the lane:
We hope Dutchess South’s over-the-rail maintenance will become an annual event and prevent the brush from taking over again.
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