Links – January 29, 2011

Kindergarten Daffodils (c) 2010 Patty Hankins

Here are some sites I found interesting recently. Links post is a day late this week – our power wasn’t back on until Friday afternoon.

Photography and Art Links

Photo Attorney has Copyright Office Tries Easier Method to Register Photographs

PetaPixel has  Government Issued Internal Notice Affirming Photographers’ Rights

Plagiarism Today has  Why Mass Copyright Lawsuits Must Stop

Flowers, Plants & Gardening Links

NYTimes has Spread of Deadly Virus Tied to Forest Decline

Christian Science Monitor has  Plants’ global warming dilemma: climb to escape heat or stoop for water? and Nobel Peace Prize winner finds spiritual values in planting trees

Science Daily has Islands in the Sky: How Isolated Are Mountain Top Plant Populations?

Associated Content has  Obtaining Native Wildflowers for Your Garden or Woodsy Area

The Guardian has New to Nature No 29: Mastigostyla torotoroensis

The Orange County Register has Wildflower worries at Anza-Borrego

National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links

National Parks Traveler has  North Carolina Man Reportedly Thought it Would Be “Cool” To Carve His Name On Rock Art Panel At Glen Canyon NRA, House Natural Resources Committee Plans Keen Oversight of National Park Service, Other Land-Management Agencies and  State of Wyoming And One of Its Counties Again Seeking Permission To Sue Over Yellowstone National Park Snowmobile Limits

Consumer Traveler has  A natural gem in the midst of historic Philadelphia

Wildlife Links

NPR has Elaborate Nest Decorations Show Bird’s Vitality

National Parks Traveler has  Exhibit At Great Smoky Mountains National Park Addresses White-Nose Syndrome in Bats,

BBC has Two forms of world’s ‘newest’ cat, the Sunda leopard and Seahorses’ body shape explained

ABC Science has Smaller corals take the heat

Environmental Graffiti has Nepal Successfully Relocates Wild Tiger For First Time

Delaware Online has Petition seeks protection for Delmarva fox squirrel

The Bay Citizen has  Butterfly Could KO Antioch Power Plants

Art & Other Adventures with Narca has  A Snow Goose Named 5-1V

The Library of Congress had  Hawk Rescued from Main Reading Room

Miami Herald has  Invasive species continues to spread despite supposed obstacles

Field Thistle – Cirsium discolor

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

One day late last summer I was photographing wildflowers along the side of the road near where I live. I noticed there were several thistle plants – which are  pretty common site here in Montgomery County. Instead of ignoring them like I usually would do – I decided to stop, take a closer look at them, and take some time to photograph them. I was really happy that I did. For a plant that many people consider to be a weed – I was surprised at just how beautiful they can be.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

 

Field Thistle (cirsium discolor) is a member of the aster family native to the eastern half of the U.S. Also known as pink thistle, purple thistle and pasture thistle, cirsium discolor is considered a noxious weed in Iowa and Arkansas. It prefers to grow in full sun with good soil, but can grow in soil filled with clay and/or gravel. It’s preferred habitats include open prairies, woodland areas, pastures and along the roadsides.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

 

Field Thistle is a perennial that grows between two and eight feet tall. The leaves are very distinctive – spiny, green on the top and white with fine hairs on the underside. The flowers are pink/purple and up to two inches across. At the base of the flowers are a series of overlapping green bracets that resemble fish scales.

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

 

Thistle’s of all sorts have had a poor reputation over the years. In the Bible, God told Adam “Cursed is the ground because of you. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you.” Shakespeare referred to them as “rough thistles.” In the early twentieth century, Australia fined people who didnot destroy thistle plants in their fields.

 

They have also been appreciated by humans and wildlife. Goldfinches love eating thistle seeds. It is the larval host for the Painted Lady butterfly. In Scotland, the leaves were used as a food source for livestock. The leaves can be used in salads or roasted. The flowers of the Golden Thistle are used to make golden thistle wine.  Thistles have long been used for medicinal purposes. A poultice made from the roots was used to heal wounds and treat boils. An infusion of the roots was traditionally used to treat stomachaches. As always, information about traditional uses is providing for informational purposes only – and is not a recommendation of medicinal use.

If you’d like more information about Field Thistle (cirsium discolor), some online sites with additional information include

Illinois Wildflowers

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Native American Ethnobotany

USDA GRIN Taxonomy for Plants

USDA Plants Profile

WildCrafting

 

 

Wonderful Peonies

When I think about late spring and early summer in the garden – I immediately think about peonies! Their big bold flowers are an absolute joy to see and smell.

Pink Peony (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Peonies are native to parts of Europe, Asia and North America. Most are herbaceous perennials growing up to 8 feet tall. They tend to have lobed leaves and fragrant flowers.

Archangel Peony (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

 

Peonies were named after Paeon – a student of Asclepius – the Greek god of healing and medicine. According to traditional myths, Zeus turned Paeon into the peony flower to protect him from the wrath of Asclepius.

Dawn Pink Peony (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

In Asia, peonies have a long symbolic tradition. Along with plum blossoms, peonies are one of the traditional floral symbols of China. It has often been used symbolically in Chinese art, and is often referred to as the “flower of riches and honor.”

Moonstone Peony (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing some of peony photos. I don’t know about you but I’m about ready for spring and summer flowers.

Petite Porcelain Peony (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Petite Porcelain Peonies (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Morning at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona

One of the more unusual photo shoots of my trip along Route 66 in December was the morning we spent photographing at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona. The trip itinerary had us meeting in the parking lot about half an hour before sunrise and we were scheduled to be photographing for a couple of hours. I will admit I had no clue what we’d be photographing for that length of time

But I figured – Alain knows what he was planning – so I was ready to photograph before the sun was up. I was really glad I did get up for sunrise – it was a beautiful sunrise – with pinks, purples, oranges, reds & yellows.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Once the sun was up – I was a still rather perplexed and unsure what we’d be doing for the next hour or so. After all – we were in a motel parking lot – surrounded by wigwams and old cars. It turns out the cars were what we were going to be photographing.

My guess is there were probably 20 cars from between the 1940s and early 1960s in the parking lot. Now I’ll be honest – old cars aren’t something I know much about – much less have much interest in photographing. So it took me a while to get into the spirit of the photo shoot. Fortunately, some of the guys in the group were able to help me see some interesting things to photograph on the cars. Once I started looking at the details of the logos, the chrome and the hood ornaments, I was able to find some things to photograph.

As I spent more time looking at the details of the cars I realized they were actually pretty neat – and had a much greater sense of style than the details of any car I’ve ever owned!

So here are a few of my photos of the cars at the Wigwam Motel – and no – I have no clue what type of cars these were from – but I’m sure some of the guys on the trip can tell you!

Hood ornament on a Ford

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Side mirror on the same car

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Airplane shaped hood ornament on another Ford

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Even the gas tank covers had a sense of style

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

And one last hood ornament – practically glowing in the early morning light!

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Despite my initial skepticism about finding anything to photograph – I did get some interesting photos that morning. However – it wasn’t interesting enough that I’m likely to seek out more old cars to photograph! So chances are this is the only set of photos like this you’ll see from me. Hope you’ve enjoyed them!

 

 

Links – January 21, 2011

Arizona Sun Blanket Flower (c) 2010 Patty Hankins

Here are some sites I found interesting recently. Hope you enjoy them.

Photography and Art Links

Mike Spinak has How to Isolate Subjects Part 1 and Part 2

Christopher Schneiter at Luminous-Landscape has Do You Need An HDR Intervention?

PhotoAttorney has  The Other Side to the DMCA Takedown Notice

Flowers, Plants & Gardening Links

Smithsonian Science has  With specialist pollinator absent, Himalayan gingers must adapt

Freshare has  Wildflowers Give Subtle Direction to Butterflies

National Wildlife Federation has Garden for Wildlife

NYTimes has Tiny Flower Saved from Extinction

Karen’s Garden Tips has   Botany for Gardeners: The Leaf-Shape

National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links

National Parks Traveler has  Civil War Preservation Trust Saves 49 Acres of “Wilderness Battlefield” From Development, A Day At Big Cypress National Preserve In “The Dry”, Watching Climate Change Across the National Park System and National Park Service Looking For Kids Interested in Becoming Junior Civil War Historians

NPCA has  Coalition of Clean Air Groups Bring Actions Against Federal Government For Failure to Protect People and National Parks

Wildlife Links

Friends of Blackwater NWR has  Welcome to a New Season! The blog will have updates on the Blackwater NWR Eagle Cam. There are 3 eggs in the nest this year!

The Telegraph has Cameras for tiger study capture poachers at Orang and ‘Extinct’ Bornean Bay Cat spotted in Malaysia

Refuge Watch has  Stranded Dolphin Calf Rescued at Ding Darling NWR,  USFWS Proposes Wolf Killing at Alaska Maritime NWR and Birds Die During Rat Eradication at Alaska Maritime NWR

St Petersburg Times has Lovesick whooping crane Romeo gets home with his Juliet in Homosassa Springs

 

Monument Plant – Frasera Speciosa

Last summer while I was photographing wildflowers in Colorado, I kept seeing groups of really tall plants. Finally on my last day of the trip, I was able to get close enough to some to get a good look at them, and photograph them. Now that I’ve figuredout what they are, I wish I’d spent more time with them.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

The plants are Frasera speciosa – commonly known as Monument plants, Elkweed or Green Gentian. A member of the Gentianaceae family, it can grow to 8 feet tall! The ones I photographed were probably close to that size. I certainly couldn’t see the tops of them without backing up and looking up. Long thought to be a biennial, research has shown that the Monument plants have a much more unusual life cycle. They are monocarpic plants  having a lifespan of up to 80 years – and flowering only once during their lifetime. After they flower, the plants die. Another well known monocarpic plant is the century plant.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Scientists suspect that environmental factors can cause a mass bloom like was seen in 2010 in Colorado. Research by Dr. David Inouye of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory indicates that 4 years after a wet July & August, the monument plants form the flowering stalks.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Monument plants are native to much of the western United States. They tend to grow in open mountain meadows, which is where I found them. They can grow to 8 feet tall with pale green lance shaped leaves of up to 18″. The flowers have either four or five sepals, are greenish white with purple glands and stiff hairs. The ones I photographed had four sepals and I didn’t see any of the purple glands. In some photos I’ve seen of the plants, the purple is very distinctive.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

Apparently I was very lucky to have seen this many monument plants blooming in Colorado last summer. I wish I’d been able to identify them earlier in the trip and had taken more photographs of them. Oh well, I can always hope to see more of them on future wildflower photography trips.

Some online sites with more information about Frasera Speciosa include

Southwest Colorado Wildflowers (I just found this site while researching the Monument Plants – it has lots of wonderful information!)

USDA Plant Profile

The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture

Turner Photographics

Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness

Botany Photo of the Day

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

A Few More Roses

As I’ve been going through my files, I keep finding sets of rose photos that I’ve never shared with you. With as gray as it has been here in the Washington DC area, I’m already wondering when spring will be arriving. If you’re feeling the same way, I hope these additional rose photos help remind you that winter will end and we will see spring and summer again.

 

The Madame A. Meilland Rose (also known as a Peace Rose) has a wonderful history. In the late 1930s, the French horticulturist Francis Meilland developed this amazing pink and yellow rose. Fearing the impact of the coming German invasion of France in 1939, Meilland sent cuttings of the rose to horticulturists is several countries. One cutting is said to have left France on the last plane to the United States before the war – the cutting went to the Conrad Pyle Company that propagated the roses.

Madame A Meilland Rose (c) 2010 Patty Hankins

During World War II, the rose became known by different names in different countries. In France – it is known as the Madame A. Meilland rose. In Italy – Gioia (Joy). In Germany – Gloria Dei (honor of God). In 1945, Meilland contacted Field Marshal Alan Brooke thanking him for his efforts to liberate Europe and asking if he could the rose after Brooke. Brooke declined and suggested that the rose be called “Peace”. Delegates to the inaugural meeting of the United Nations in 1945 were all given Peace Roses with a note that read “We hope the ‘Peace’ Rose will influence men’s thoughts for everlasting peace.”

 

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

Honey Bouquet Rose is a floribunda rose known for it’s soft yellow color and large blossoms. It was introduced in 1999.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

 

Mrs. R.M Finch Rose is Polyantha shrub rose. Originally introduced in Australia in  1923, it has wonderful cupped semi-double rose-pink blossoms.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

And finally the Walking on Sunshine Rose. This is a very new rose – a 2011 AARS winner. It should be available this year. The flowers start in a bright shade of yellow gradually fading to a paler shade.

 

Dinosaurs Along Route 66

One of the photographic themes from my trip along Route 66 in Arizona last month was dinosaurs. Many species of dinosaurs lived in what is now Arizona as far back as 245 million years ago. Their fossils are still being discovered in the state. There are some wonderful educational dinosaur exhibits and displays throughout the state.

And there are the dinosaurs I photographed along Route 66 . . .

The first set were at Stewart’s Petrified Wood Shop just outside of Holbrook. Their dinosaurs were unusual to say the least – constructed of paper-mache, strung with Christmas lights and most had a mannaquin attached to them in some way.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

We found more dinosaurs to photograph across the highway at the Painted Desert Indian Center. Since we were traveling Route 66 in December, it was nice to see the dinosaurs getting into the holiday spirit by wearing Christmas bows!

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

And then finally I photographed one cute little dinosaur at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook.

(c) 2011 Patty Hankins

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Route 66 dinosaurs. They definitely helped get everyone on the trip in right frame of mind for photographing some of the fun sights we saw.

 

Links – January 14, 2011

Harmony Dwarf Irises II (c) 2010 Patty Hankins

Here are some sites I found interesting recently. Hope you enjoy them.

Photography and Art Links

Photo Attorney has  Q&A – Copyright Registration Issues

Dan Williams has  What Makes “Fine Art” Photography

Guy Tal has Teach Yourself Photography in 80 Years

Serious Amateur Photography has  Getting Tack Sharp Wildlife Shots

Light Stalking has  The 7 Keys to Improving Your Photography This Year

Alain Briot has  Preparation In Fine Art Landscape Photography – Part 1 of 2: Field and Studio Preparation

A Photo Editor has Thinking Of Working For Free?

John Paul Caponigro has  The Art of Packing

The Art Newspaper has Art world up in arms at “light bulb” law

PDN Online has  Shepard Fairey, AP Settle Copyright Lawsuit

Flowers, Plants & Gardening Links

BBC has Single peat moss plant ‘conquered America’

National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links

National Park Service has Free Entrance Days in the National Parks – first one in 2011 is this weekend – January 15-17.

Refuge Watch has Salazar Announces Proposal for New Everglades Headwaters NWR and Interview with Refuge Filmmaker Emily Scott

National Parks Traveler hasPhoto Spot: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and  Grant Will Help Blue Ridge Parkway Ranger Collect Oral Histories

The Natural Capital has Nature Centers in the DC Area

Wildlife Links

Christian Science Monitor has  What’s killing bumble bees? Some species’ numbers down 96 percent.

Climate Progress has Globe’s coral reefs suffer second worst bleaching on record during 2010

BBC has  Drive to save the world’s most endangered coral species, Feeding garden birds such as tits delays dawn chorus, ‘Unethical’ flipper tags are damaging to penguins’

and  Giant pandas ‘need old-growth forests’

National Parks Traveler has  Annual Count Shows Huge Decline In Yellowstone National Park Elk Herd, But How Accurate Is It?

Environmental Issues Links

Christian Science Monitor has Gulf oil spill study’s surprisig find: Bacteria ate methane in three months and Gulf oil spill report warning: US must watch offshore drilling more closely

NY Times has  Scope and Pace of Gulf Cleanup Is Criticized and Figures on Global Climate Show 2010 Tied 2005 as the Hottest Year on Record

National Parks Traveler has Report Lists 10 U.S. Ecosystems Whose Species Are Most-Threatened By Climate Change

Washington Post has  Farmers group seeks to block EPA’s plan to clean Chesapeake Bay

More Lovely Lilies

Last week I posted photos of some of the wonderful pink lilies I’ve photographed recently. I thought today I’d post some of the white and yellow lily photos that I haven’t shared with you yet.

First is a Legend Lily – a pure white lily with a bright yellow stripe down the center

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

A Nellie White Lily  – frequently displayed at Easter. Known for it’s pure white trumpet shaped flowers

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

A Siberia Lily – known for it’s many plumes of snowy white blossoms

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

A Tarragona Lily – a lily with bright yellow center and creamy white edges

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

And finally a Golden Stargazer lily – another lovely yellow & white lily

(c) 2010 Patty Hankins

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing these lily photos. I love finding new varieties of lilies to photograph – so I’m sure I”ll be posting more lilies in the not too distant future.