Climbing Bittersweet

Celastrus scandens Climbing Bittersweet

AKA:  American Bittersweet, Bittersweet.  Well-drained soils and woodlands, it is a sturdy perennial vine  It sometimes kills saplings by restricting further growth.  It helps create a colorful table centerpiece.   

Celastrus scandens Climbing Bittersweet

Colorful orange fruits are the size of a pea and poisonous to humans when ingested.  It is native to central and Eastern North America.

Celastrus scandens Climbing Bittersweet

This time of year, the fruit starts to ripen and split open.

Celastrus scandens Climbing Bittersweet

 Inside, you can see the seeds.

Thanks to Gorman Nature Center for the opportunity to capture these images.  Thanks to Wikipedia for the information provided. 

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Common Milkweed

Common Milkweed With Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

I planted the seed of the milkweed I brought home last year?  Not last year, I think it may have been 10 to 15 years ago.  I planted it out behind the garage and watched hopefully for it to emerge.  It finally did after 3 to 4 years but it did not bloom.  Each year I noticed that it was a little bit larger but no blooms.  Last year it had some puny blooms and puny seed pods but nothing to note.  I foregot to look at it this year until recently and this is what I found.  I'm sure it had beautiful blooms!  Sorry I did not see them.  

Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs in 9 of 2005

The shot of the bloom below is from GNC in July of 2005.

Common Milkweed Bloom with Honey Bee

I recently learned that they hatch and congregate on the milkweed pod because the nymphs must eat the milkweed seed to grow. 

Common Milkweed

I have to tell you that I am extremely excited about these shots.  Having been gone from GNC for several years, I am glad to look into my view finder and the mikweed.

Common Milkweed

The grass provided me the best backdrop I have ever had for Milkweed.  

The image below is perhaps the only exception.

Milkweed Seed Pod

Thanks to Gorman Nature Center for the opportunity to capture these images.

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Chabazite

Chabazite

Chabazite is a tectosilicate mineral  (Ca,Na2,K2,Mg)Al2Si4O12·6H2O  It was named chabasie in 1792 by Bosc d'Antic and later changed to the current spelling.  Chabazite is found in India, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland, Bohemia, Italy, Germany, along the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Oregon, Arizona, and New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  This sample is from John Dyer's quarry, Gickerville, PA

I consider this the best of all my shots of Chabazite.  I not only used my image stacking technique but my High Dynamic Range technique obtain this one image.

I believe the light yellow crystals are Chabazite as well as the clear/opaque crystals with the internal patterns.

Thanks to Wikipedia and Mindat.org for the information provided.  

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Ford Tri-motor Aircraft

Ford Tri-motor Aircraft

This image was captured 7-2-04 at Port Clinton, OH, airport.

AKA Tin Goose, the trimotor was a transport aircraft produced in 1925 by Ford Motors.  Production ended in 1933 after 199 were made.  It was used around the world of that time.

A tidbit of trivia: The control surface wires were mounted on the outside.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the information provided.

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Black-and-Yellow Argiope: Special Halloween Edition

Black-and-Yellow Argiope

AKA Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Zipper Spider, Corn Spider, and Writing Spider.  It is distributed throughout the World.  This spider won the right  to be displayed in the special Halloween edition!

Black-and-Yellow Argiope

The carapace is typically covered in silvery hairs.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the information provided.

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Cuprite

Cuprite

Cuprite is a minor ore of Copper, Copper oxide: Cu2O.  This sample comes to us from Morenci, Arizona.

This is my best effort at photographing it from early last month, September.  I have been trying for two years.  I must thank my brother for suggesting cross polarization to eliminate the bright highlights.  I added some filters within the Fotodiox Portable Studio, LED 440 that I use.  I added a linear polarizing filter to the softbox filter already in use.  I than added a circular polarizing filter on the lens, adjusting it for minimal reflections.  I had to add an additional light because all the polarization filters reduce the amount of light available.  I found the the Clar Surface Series 24B LED helpful in solving this problem. This process is awkward when shooting focus stacks as I have done here. This stack contains 149 captures which were combined in Helicon Focus software.  It is difficult to see the effect as I rotate the filter because of the super shallow depth of field.  I suspect that I may be able to do better when I have more patience. 

I learned that Cuprite is rarely used for jewelry because of its lack of hardness.  It was first described by Wilhelm Ritter Von Haidinger in 1885.  There is only one place worldwide which yields crystals of enough quality and size to be gem quality.  It is in Seeis, Namibia.

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Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

 The B-52 first flew on 15 April 1952.  I was finishing 1st Grade.

It was almost replaced by the B-1 which first flew 23 December 1974.  Jimmy Carter's administration cancelled the B-1 giving the B-52 a new lease on life.

The B-52 has been upgraded many times since 1952.  It has received new avionics, more power and numerous new weapons to deploy.  I believe I recently heard there are plans to keep it in service until 2040.

It started as the B-52A and is now up to the "H" model.  Thanks to Wikipedia and Mindat.org for the information provided.

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