Hurry Up and Wait

That's what air travel seems to be these days. Get to the airport early to get through security. And them sit around until boarding. I know, the definition of a first world problem. Annoying nonetheless.

Even more so when one is on the plane but going nowhere. The situation we found ourselves in on the first flight leg of our journey to Uganda.

Because of this. Storms in the area. (The link is to a video of lightning. Alas I was seated over the wing, which blocked the best parts of the lightning. Look for reflections of us in the airplane window.)

As it was an international flight we got there two plus hours early. The plane boarded on time. Left the gate just a bit late.* And then sat on the tarmac for two hours. I was genuinely worried we would miss our connecting flight. Which would really mess things up in Uganda.

We flew over night, landing the morning of the next day. And what would have been a comfortable layover of several hours became a mad dash to get to the connecting flight.

At least the signs in the Brussels airport were honest. And we did make the flight.

We flew across the Atlantic on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which has electronic window shades. Which make for some interesting tones. This is the first signs of sunrise.

And which can be controlled by the flight staff. Which is very annoying when looking out a window that suddenly goes dark.

Fortunately there were user controls as well.

For us, this would turn out to be the most stressful part of the trip, a trip which would be over all too soon.

⛈  ✈️  ⚡️  ✈️  ⛈

* Whether or not a plane leaves on time is measured not when it actually takes off, but when it leaves the gate. So while we left the airport more than two hours later then scheduled, the plane was listed as departing only twenty minutes late.

Bloom Time

All throughout the woods in our yard and neighborhood (and the Pinelands) Mountain Laurel is in bloom.

Look closely at the flowers. The stamens are held in pockets in the flower and when an insect such as a bee visits, the stamens spring out, spraying pollen on the visitor.

This fact, that at least to me, makes the flowers even more interesting and enjoyable.

Duct Tape

Not what you want to see on an airplane you're about to board.

But there it is.

The wing did not fall off on our flight from Brussels to Entebbe. So I guess I'm glad it was there.

Yard Critter of the Week - Black-billed Cuckoo

Black-billed Cuckoo

I was sitting on the deck, relaxing after working in the yard, when I saw a bird fly into a tree. A not unusual occurrence. But this time an unusual bird, at least for the yard.

This bird.

We've seen and heard Yellow-billed Cuckoos every year since we've moved here. But this is the first of the Back-billed variety I've seen in our little section of the woods.

I had heard, and recorded, what sounded like a Black-billed Cuckoo call a couple of weeks before. But it wasn't quite right. It had but two repetitions of the call notes, while the canonical call has three. So into the 'unknown' category it went.

This was a very cooperative bird. I called Patty to come see (I called on the phone as she was in the house and out of earshot). And after she got there I went back in to the house to get the camera. And it stayed all the while.

No doubt due to the abundant food supply.

I've since seen it, or another, about the yard a couple more times. And we've heard, but not seen, Yellow-billed Cuckoos as well. Very nice.

🐦  🐛  🐦  🐛  🐦

You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.

Bloom Time

While clearing the path for the deer fence I came upon a small cluster of these beauties.

Starflower.

A woodland spring ephemeral. Howard Boyd, in his wonderful Wildflowers of the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, notes, "Occasional and local along the edges of open cedar bogs and thin, moist woodlands", of which that latter is the habit I found it in. A pleasant surprise.

The Spiders and the Fly

The very next day after taking the images for this post, I came upon this scene outside our back door.

Not looking good for our Fishfly.

Is seems that is had found its way into a spider (or should that be 'spiders'?) web. And not one but two Common House Spiders have the Fishfly under control.

As Fishflies do not eat as adults the lifespan is no doubt short. But this is a nightmare way to go don't you think. I mean, spiders!

Sweet Dreams.

Yard Critter of the Week - Fishfly

Fishfly

A large insect and an ungainly flyer. We often see them attracted to our moth light, their uncoordinated flight making identification easy.

This is a female, as the males have feathery antenna. These critters are usually active at night, so I do not know why this one was crawling about on the cover of one of our deck chairs one morning.

While as adults they do not eat, and thus do not have any mouth parts, they still have some nasty pincers. And can inflict a bit of pain if mishandled. The males use their's for fighting over females. I've not been able to discover what the female does with hers, other than pinch unwary humans. Defense I suppose.

The females lay eggs on plant material above a still body of water. The larva then drop into the water upon hatching. Voracious predators, they live in the detritus at the bottom.

Other than the pinchers the adults are harmless and always funny to watch flying around lights. If you live in the continental US keep an eye out for them on spring and summer evenings.

🐞  🐞  🐞  🐞  🐞

You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.