mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote2021-08-09 08:30 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2021-08-09 08:30 pm
Entry tags:
Hudson Gardens
Good news!
I don't have covid! Thanks, vaccination!
So in celebration of my non-plague-rat status, we did go to Hudson Gardens. The air quality today was... not better. But the gardens at least are a nice slow walk, even if it does still involve breathing. If we do anything tomorrow, I think we'll stay inside.
We missed most of the roses (and a lot were just destroyed by the Japanese beetles that have gone wild this year.) But here was a very pretty candy-stripe bud that was just opening.
And the highlight of the day for me was...
Frogs! We got to see several, and I love them.
There were some very large bumblebees!
We also saw a monarch butterfly (or possibly two), which I was delighted by! We don't have very many come through anymore. Of course, it/they never sat still enough for me to get a picture, but still.
We went to the little cafe and I got a pineapple smoothie and Alex got a mocha. He started to not feel great (probably the air - he felt crappy this morning, too.) We sat for a while until he was feeling a bit better.
A chickadee! There were a ton, snacking on berries in some of the bushes nearby.
Cicada husks, marching up the tree. The cicadas were LOUD. VERY, VERY LOUD.
The bee hives! Lots of happy honeybees. <3
In the little water pond near the hives, a dragonfly, nicely posing.
There were a TON of dragonflies. Lots of the black and white ones, as well as some smaller vibrant red ones. There were also a few of the enormous blue darners, the ones that are 5-6 inches long.
We saw a garter snake as we walked along the edge of the pond, which is the first (only) snake I've seen this year! No turtles this time, though.
We were getting slightly discouraged by lack of frogs when we got to the water garden, having only seen a couple likely splashes.
And then we found like... seven or eight frogs, lol, including the one from above the cut. That one didn't care to move at all, haha.
Froglet! It still has a tail!!
Another frog, being extremely Classic under the lilypads.
And another!
At least one of these bullfrogs was "singing". I still think they sound like an elk grunting.
We also saw a crayfish that was climbing around in the waterlilies.
And then we found a cicada - a very different one than the little ones I found on previous hikes.
It was laying in the middle of the pathway and I thought it was dead. Then I picked it up and a few seconds later it started vibrating, lol.
On my arm. I think you can probably tell this one is WAY bigger than the little black ones I found on Mount Falcon or at Matthews/Winters. And it wanted to climb me like a tree, lol.
(I still think they're adorable.)
Afterwards I did put it on one of the big cottonwoods that clearly had lots of cicadas in it, and it marched back up, so I hope it's doing well and screaming loudly.
We skipped the songbird garden and the cascades, because Alex was still not feeling the best.
There was a black-crowned night heron fishing in the smaller pond. I took pictures, but they didn't turn out great. It was fun to watch, though.
A very flat and terrified looking rabbit. It was the only thing in the field, so I'm not sure what it had to be so scared of, lol.
It was nice to get out and do something, but we both definitely felt how shitty the air was. We'll have to see about doing something tomorrow, but if so, it'll probably have to be inside. I typically don't think of myself as being super sensitive to things like that, but my sinuses are killing me, and it's like I have allergies in overdrive.
Still, I'm glad we went back to the gardens! It's a shame we missed the roses, because their rose garden is beautiful when it's in full bloom... but usually it's more fun to see all the bugs and birds and reptiles/amphibians that live there, anyway.
I don't have covid! Thanks, vaccination!
So in celebration of my non-plague-rat status, we did go to Hudson Gardens. The air quality today was... not better. But the gardens at least are a nice slow walk, even if it does still involve breathing. If we do anything tomorrow, I think we'll stay inside.
We missed most of the roses (and a lot were just destroyed by the Japanese beetles that have gone wild this year.) But here was a very pretty candy-stripe bud that was just opening.
And the highlight of the day for me was...
Frogs! We got to see several, and I love them.
There were some very large bumblebees!
We also saw a monarch butterfly (or possibly two), which I was delighted by! We don't have very many come through anymore. Of course, it/they never sat still enough for me to get a picture, but still.
We went to the little cafe and I got a pineapple smoothie and Alex got a mocha. He started to not feel great (probably the air - he felt crappy this morning, too.) We sat for a while until he was feeling a bit better.
A chickadee! There were a ton, snacking on berries in some of the bushes nearby.
Cicada husks, marching up the tree. The cicadas were LOUD. VERY, VERY LOUD.
The bee hives! Lots of happy honeybees. <3
In the little water pond near the hives, a dragonfly, nicely posing.
There were a TON of dragonflies. Lots of the black and white ones, as well as some smaller vibrant red ones. There were also a few of the enormous blue darners, the ones that are 5-6 inches long.
We saw a garter snake as we walked along the edge of the pond, which is the first (only) snake I've seen this year! No turtles this time, though.
We were getting slightly discouraged by lack of frogs when we got to the water garden, having only seen a couple likely splashes.
And then we found like... seven or eight frogs, lol, including the one from above the cut. That one didn't care to move at all, haha.
Froglet! It still has a tail!!
Another frog, being extremely Classic under the lilypads.
And another!
At least one of these bullfrogs was "singing". I still think they sound like an elk grunting.
We also saw a crayfish that was climbing around in the waterlilies.
And then we found a cicada - a very different one than the little ones I found on previous hikes.
It was laying in the middle of the pathway and I thought it was dead. Then I picked it up and a few seconds later it started vibrating, lol.
On my arm. I think you can probably tell this one is WAY bigger than the little black ones I found on Mount Falcon or at Matthews/Winters. And it wanted to climb me like a tree, lol.
(I still think they're adorable.)
Afterwards I did put it on one of the big cottonwoods that clearly had lots of cicadas in it, and it marched back up, so I hope it's doing well and screaming loudly.
We skipped the songbird garden and the cascades, because Alex was still not feeling the best.
There was a black-crowned night heron fishing in the smaller pond. I took pictures, but they didn't turn out great. It was fun to watch, though.
A very flat and terrified looking rabbit. It was the only thing in the field, so I'm not sure what it had to be so scared of, lol.
It was nice to get out and do something, but we both definitely felt how shitty the air was. We'll have to see about doing something tomorrow, but if so, it'll probably have to be inside. I typically don't think of myself as being super sensitive to things like that, but my sinuses are killing me, and it's like I have allergies in overdrive.
Still, I'm glad we went back to the gardens! It's a shame we missed the roses, because their rose garden is beautiful when it's in full bloom... but usually it's more fun to see all the bugs and birds and reptiles/amphibians that live there, anyway.
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Froggie!
I would not take well to a giant cicada on my arm. You're braver than me
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The frogs were great to see! I love them.
And haha, insects have never bothered me, as long as I know they're there. If they surprise me, that's when we have a problem, haha
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Love the photos! That rose is gorgeous!
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And thank you! The rose was lovely - it was nice to see one that hadn't been eaten yet!
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