Pangolin Hiker

Photo of a tan and black German Shepherd dog lying down on a large rock in the woods. She's wearing a pink harness and her mouth is open in a doggy grin.

Today's hiking buddy

Photo of a reddish-purple flower with a cluster of white stamens

Photo of a reddish-purple flower with a cluster of white stamens

Photo of a pale yellow-green flower with a cluster of white stamens

Lenten rose aka hellebore

Photo of a cluster of pale purple flowers with bright yellow stamens

Photo of a pale purple crocus flower

Photo of a yellow crocus flower

Crocus

A photo of a cluster of cheery yellow daffodils growing from leaf litter

Photo of a deep purple pinwheel-shaped periwinkle flower, with a little bit of green vine and leaves showing amongst dead winter plants

Photo of orangey-peach colored witch hazel blossoms, which look very spider-like

Photo of yellow winter aconite flowers with a little greenery amongst leaf litter

Spring is on its way! Daffodils, periwinkle, witch hazel, and winter aconite

Lady Baltimore statue draped with snow: A stone statue of a woman seated with formal clothing, the face has been worn down by time and looks somber.

Abstract pattern photo of a stone patio with snow lining the edges of brick-laid tiles.

Photo of the multiple trunks of a crape-myrtle tree, which are streaky tan and chestnut colored.

Photo of an open snowy vista with a circular stone fountain in the foreground a lovely row of various tree species covered in snow in the background.

Photo of a stone mansion with a square turret and a large snowing bush/tree blocking most of the first and second floors.

Photo of a stone mansion with a square turret, seen through a leaf-less snowy tree.

Photo of a portion of a stone mansion with a staircase guarded by stone lions, with an ornamental balcony and three narrow/tall ornamental windows.

The Cylburn mansion is iconic, and looks especially lovely contrasted with snow.

Photo of tan ornamental grass dotted with clumps of snow like cotton balls

Photo of the seedy top of an ornamental grass stem against a solid snow background.

Photo of an evergreen branch with small round pine cones, covered with snow.

Photo of the head and neck of a white tailed deer looking straight at the photographer

Snow day in Baltimore, so I took one of my dogs to a favorite spot for snow photos, Cylburn Arboretum

Photograph of a large black beetle with mottled white spots, including two large eye-like spots near its antenna. It is crawling on firewood.

Yes! I leaned of them a few years ago, and soon thereafter found one on my firewood!

A fallen log covered with green lichen and off-white parchment fungus

A thin branch with two dangling orange tomato-like fruits from a Carolina horsenettle plant

A bristley grass seed head arching over, backlit by the sun.

Fluffy goldenrod seeds on a branch backlit by the sun

Fluffy goldenrod seeds lit by the sun

Barren winter trees in a blue sky over snowy ground

Went in my first dog hike in weeks today.

A snowy scene of a row of many evergreen trees coated in snow at the top of a snowy hill.

Streaks of snow falling in front of snowy evergreen trees

A dog's paw print in ice

This is the snowiest winter we've had in years, and I'm loving the views (and a spouse who's home to help shovel!).

A red fox curled up to nap on dry grass next to a spruce tree, with snow patches around. Its eyes are open and looking at the photographer.

A red fox curled up to nap on dry grass next to a spruce tree, with snow patches around. Its eyes are now closed.

A red fox curled up to nap on dry grass next to a spruce tree, with snow patches around. It's looking sleepily off to the side.

A red fox walking away, on dry grass by a spruce tree, with patches of snow around.

Fox was aware of me inside taking photos but didn't mind. However when a neighbor came outside it decided to leave.

A red fox walking in the snow

A red fox yawning while standing next to a spruce tree on a patch of brown grass with snow on the periphery.

A red fox curled up on dry grass by a spruce tree, with snow nearby.

A red fox curled up but with nose in the air and hind paw reaching up about to scratch his neck/ear.

One of my fox friends came back for an afternoon siesta.

Red foxes playing in the snow

A red fox with a plush coat of fur standing on snow in front of a green spruce tree.

A pair of red foxes engaged in a playful fight in the snow. One fox is mid-jump with forefeet in the air to bat at the other.

A red fox running in the snow, holding a dog's lost stuffie toy in his mouth.

A pair of red foxes engaged in a playful fight in the snow. Both are crouched down with mouths open.

What I love about the suburbs is getting to this out my back window. This pair of courting red foxes played for 20 minutes at sunrise this morning.

P.E.I. homeowner captures sound and video of meteorite strike on camera, and scientists believe it's a first | CBC News A man in Prince Edward Island got doubly lucky last July, recording a meteorite's impact on his home security cameras. The space rock also landed in the exact spot he'd been standing minutes earlier.

In less depressing news:

It's amazing how after all these cameras and all these recording and all these years, this is the first time we've caught a meteor strike on video.

It's fox mating season here and so they are romping around more in the daylight than usual. Such pretty red coats against the snow!

I also got a roll of stickers to pass out to the awesome nurses, to tell them they were awesome. Being a little bright spot in their day reflected cheer back at me. Won't work for everyone, but did for me. 2/2

I really enjoyed getting a Bl
uetooth speaker because TV got boring on long infusion days (and a carefully crafted playlist of music that lifted my mood without being annoyingly upbeat). 1/2

A photo of three small purple-pink flowers with white spots.

Ah, one more non-native, but this was from a very different location, deptford pink. It's so cute.

A photograph of a cheerful daisy (that's redundant, all daisies are cheerful)

A photo of a purple flower

A photo of a pair of cornflower blue flowers

Last of the non-natives by the lake, oxeye daisy, crown vetch, and chicory.

A photo of a cluster of bright red raspberry-like berries

A photo of a different cluster of bright red raspberry-like berries

I just learned (or re-learned after forgetting) that wineberry is a non-native bramble. I guess I can eat them without feeling guilty as I'm removing the seeds from getting naturally spread.

A photo of a white trumpet-shaped flower with a brown and yellow beetle with long antennae on it.

A photo of a pale pink and white trumpet-shaped flower

A side-view photo of a pale pink and white trumpet-shaped flower

Non-native hedge bindweed, with a banded longhorn beetle.

A photo of a flower stalk with a few small yellow five-petaled flowers; another stalk is out of focus in the background

A close-up photo of a flower stalk with a few small yellow five-petaled flowers with visible tiny spots on them.

Last native near the lake, spotted St. James wort

A photo of several flower heads that are not yet in bloom

A photo of an almost-spherical flower head covered in pale purple blooms and fine hairs.

A photo of a cluster of tiny white flowers

A photo of a cylindrical flowerhead covered in small pale purple blooms

More natives: mountain mint, wild basil, yarrow, and self-heal.

A closeup photo of a flower stalk with a few small lavender blooms

A photograph of a cluster of green plants with lavender-colored flower stalks; in the background is a sandy beach and lake, with Canada geese lined up along the shore.

Canada germander, up close and pulled back so you can see the Canada geese hanging out nearby.

A photo of a buttonbush flowerhead, which is a perfect sphere covered in tiny white flowers with long stamens

A photo of a buttonbush flower that is not quite in bloom. It looks like a white firework just started to explode

A photo of a buttonbush flowerhead, which is a perfect sphere covered in tiny white flowers with long stamens, with a bumblebee on it.

One of my favorite natives, buttonbush. It's spherical flowerheads are adorable! Also, the bee visiting the final one is apparently known as the perplexing bumblebee.

A photo of a branched plant with multiple clusters of small white flowers

A cluster of white flowers that look like small fireworks

A couple of small white flower clusters with tri-part meadow rue leaves

I found a surprising abundance of native plants in bloom in a narrow band around a big lake the other day. First up is tall meadow rue. It's in the same genus as rue anemone, a spring ephemeral. The flowers look very different, but the leaves are the same.

In my case, I signed up for it. I work minimal part time and manage the domestic stuff, while he brings in the big pay check. But I have so many friends who were SAHM and then went back full time and still have to do every inch of domestic labor, and that sucks.

Yeah. Spouse is also Pizza Guy, which is a huge hit. But I buy the ingredients, prep the dough, and clean up. And I think this is probably the norm for when a guy cooks, that a lot of the associated labor, mental and physical, is still done by the partner.