in a holding pattern 20 comments
Six weeks since my last post. It’s probably time to write something to avoid the necessity of assembling a search party. The title of this post succinctly describes where things stand as of today.
In no particular order:
* We (Sabrina, Sage and I) are still here in eastern Ontario.
* The “new” (previously enjoyed) van finally arrived from the states.
* The farm is still for sale.
* Most of the contents of the house have been moved to a storage locker until next year.
* For several reasons, we never went to Nova Scotia in search of property.
* I have not decided where we will live if and when the farm is sold.
* I’m making arrangements and getting things prepared for the next few months of travel.
Apart from the above, the only thing of any real note as far as activity has been that I participated in a bioblitz in the Lanark Highlands area last weekend. It was nice to get away from the farm and see a few of my “biology friends”. I haven’t been up into that area since a couple of months before Don died last year. Our last trip up there was to Baird Woods. I stopped off there for a few moments and it is just as I remember, but seems a little strange to me now.
The bioblitz was held at the Alba Wilderness School near Flower Station. Most of my own sightings were of insects I’ve seen before, but the above fly, Chalcosyrphus curvaria, was a new one for me. I like the “black stockings” on those orange legs. Very flashy, indeed! (Click on all images for larger views).
Around home, let’s start with an insect sighting, and take it from there.
In early July, I found this huge bumblebee mimic, which is actually a robber fly — I believe it’s Laphria thoracica. I’ve included both a dorsal and lateral view so that you can get a good look at how much it manages to look like a bee while having the typical features of a fly — a single set of wings with just small knobby “halters” in place of the second set of wings, and short joined, stalk-like antennae between the eyes, instead of separate antennae. It also has a beak-like mouth for biting captured prey.
I wish I had more to report about insects, but I’ve been preoccupied with much less interesting activities such as moving belongings to a storage locker, and trying to keep the place tidy while a stream of gawkers comes by to take a look and occasionally make offers. To say that it’s not exactly a picnic would be accurate, but we’re managing okay. So, to while away the time, I’ve been plotting our escape route once I’ve got a few more things taken care of around here. I’ve pretty much arrived at the decision that, unless a good offer happens along in the next few weeks, I’ll be renting out the place for the winter and leave any other decisions until spring. Seems like a workable strategy.
One of my diversions over the past couple of months has been getting our wheels ready for this winter’s wanderings. As some of you know, I bought this van back in May. It took awhile to arrive here in Canada as it had to be shipped up from the southeastern U.S. In the end, a small army of turtles could probably have been employed to tow it here and probably would have arrived sooner, but eventually it was delivered in good order. It’s looking rather dusty in the above photo which was taken on a day after it had been busily transporting belongings to a storage locker located along a gravel road not far from here. However, when washed, it’s a pretty, shiny thing which is pleasing enough to look upon. The interior seems cavernous — or, at least it did seem that way until filled with a mattress on a pine frame above a storage space. Add two collie dogs and all of a sudden the size is somewhat diminished, but it is still far more comfortable than the little Windstar in which Sabrina and I set out last autumn.
So, for now, I’m taking care of a bunch of business that needs done before we leave. Last week, I bought a USB modem and arranged for wireless service for on the road. This is a new experiment for me. I’ve tried it out a couple of times while out and about and it works fairly well. It will be interesting to see how well it performs once we’re really “on the road”. Our route is slowly taking shape and looks as though it will roughly follow last year’s journey west out to B.C., then down into the states. Tentatively, I expect to spend several weeks along the Oregon and northern California coasts, and in the redwoods before swinging east to Arizona. I’m also feeling some twinge of desire to revisit the Steens Mountains region of central Oregon (last visited in 2006), so that might figure in our travels as well. As recently stated to a good friend, my plans are entirely nebulous these days. In fact, lately, my life is looking suspiciously like the photo in the above link.
Okay, that’s it for updates. I promise not to stay away quite so long next time. What has everyone else been up to lately? Hopefully, your summer has been better and more productive than mine.
20 Responses to 'in a holding pattern'
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You’ve been in my thoughts as I’ve regularly checked to see if you had posted anything. Am happy to see some of your insect portraits again. You’ve gotten plenty done in the last six weeks. Good to see the sturdy van you three will be traveling in.
The Steens Mountains region of Oregon has stayed with me, too. It must have been in 2002 that I traveled through there. Depending on when you leave Eastern Ontario (the later the better in this case) I recommend seeing Yosemite Valley if you haven’t yet. Last year I was there on October 1. It wasn’t unpleasantly crowded by then. It feels like a sacred place.
I recently came across a magazine article about John Muir having traveled to Ontario and having collected plant specimens there. Someone recently has photographed John Muir’s plant collection. Beautiful. I had not known that he traveled in Canada.
This summer I’ve been working on my book (s), preparing myself to be employed again and trying to find out if there is a medical reason that I barely have enough physical and emotional energy to get through each day, much less hold a job.
Except for the last few days of extremely hot weather, it’s been a beautiful summer in the coastal Pacific Northwest — dry, clear, sunny.
Sending the kindest of thoughts your way.
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Bev – is that a *lawn* I see under that dusty van? 😉
I’m afraid my productivity since April cannot match yours given all that you’ve been doing with the house and farm and van and so forth!
Your Chalcosyrphus of the bright merry legs isn’t there on Bugguide. I tried to find a distribution map for it, but no luck – in fact, there’s little about the fly at all, and what there is is from Canada. Not that that’s bad!, but I think it’s interesting to have such a delimited range. Do upload the image to bugguide – you’ll be the talk of the town. Very handsome fly.
As is your bumblebee mimic robber fly. The only one like it I’ve seen here is the death’s head bumblef**k, or at least that’s what I call it. Also a Laphria, and a fearsome one.
Funny about the robber flies – I’ve had Promachus species landing on me daily, as I sit on the front stoop reading in the afternoon. One had a poor pitiful muscid in its clutches. My role seems to have been that of dinnertable. Fortunately not dinner.
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Hi Am – Thanks for thinking of me and checking my blog for updates. I feel a lot better about traveling in this van than in the Windstar. Being from the south, there is virtually no rust on the body and eveything looks almost brand new underneath, so I think we’ll be much safer. Also, it’s a lot sturdier machine and rear wheel drive, which is better under a lot of conditions. I thought it would be kind of hard on gas, but have discovered that it’s actually very good, so it appears to be an all round good choice.
I look forward to when your book (books! will there be more than one) are in print. Let me know so that I can order copies!
That’s very interesting about Muir collecting botanical specimens in Canada. I’m sure I’ve never heard that before. I must mention this to a botanist friend who has worked in herbariums up here.
I’m going to take your tip on Yosemite. I’ve often thought I’d like to visit, but had heard that it can be very crowded. I probably wouldn’t get there until November and will have some time on my hands before I head for Arizona, so it might be a good place to explore for a few days.
I hope you find a solution to the “energy” situation. Be well.
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Wayne – Yes! You do see some *lawn* in that photo. You’d be justifiably horrified to see how much lawn I’ve kept cut this year. It seems that only entomologists and botanists have much appreciation for the advantages of a healthy, well-grown patch of vegetation!
I took your advice and uploaded the shot of the Chalcosyrphus to Bugguide. Here’s a link to the node where it appears. They didn’t have a node for the species, so I posted in the genus grouping. Perhaps someone will set up a species page. Maybe I’ll upload the Laphria too. I have sadly neglected Bugguide, but should really try to participate more. It’s really just a lack of energy to go around on so many of the nature related sites.
That’s interesting about the robber fly putting you to use as its dinnertable. I’ve occasionally had that happen with dragonflies, but not yet with a robber fly! -
Bev – this year I’ve come to some appreciation for a mowed area, as the vegetation has closed in. I like it the chaos, and I suspect I’ve become a dinnertable for robber flies because of it, but I know my parents would be horrified.
The bugguide folks do love a new species, so hopefully that node will open up now!
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Here’s a link to the book with images of John Muir’s botanical specimens from a variety of places, including Ontario:
http://www.heydaybooks.com/art/natures-beloved-son-rediscover.html
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It’s nice to have news of you, Bev and to hear about your plans for the winter.
The summer’s been slow in coming here, but I enjoyed the extended spring, traveling south to meet it and then north to have it again.
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Bev, I reckon that’s what a life should look like. Like that nebula: beautiful, impossibly complex and, for all practical purposes, infinite. The more my life looked like that, the happier I’d be.
Robber flies are among my favourite flies, but I’d never seen anything like that until I looked at your photos. Thanks for showing us the beast, and best wishes for your plans — may they remain so magnificently nebulous.
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It’s so good to see some words here, bev, and these great photos. Glad to see you taking good, long looks at very beautiful things again. It is the perfect balance to all the other stuff going on there.
I’m sure all the gawkers and real estate agents have very much appreciated your lovely lawn. Sadly, the wildness of the natural world is not on the list of things most home buyers are looking for.
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am – thanks for posting a link to the Muir book!
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laura – It’s interesting that you should mention moving from place to place and experiencing extended seasons. I’ve noticed that during my own travels. Last year, autumn went on forever as I left here in autumn and then it continued on all down the west coast into California, then on into Arizona. Spring was sort of the same thing in reverse except that it was very late here (still snow on the ground).
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pete – I’m glad to be able to put up photos of an insect that may not be familiar to others. That’s one of the things I like so much about the internet – being able to share the things that interest me. I agree with your thoughts on life being like a nebula. As time passes, it becomes increasingly obvious to me that it isn’t meant to be planned, predictable, or easy. It’s pretty much the opposite despite efforts to impose order. That’s what makes it all sort of exciting. (-:
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robin – It’s true. Recently, I have begun to look at nature a little more carefully once more. Somehow, spring and summer managed to slip by without me noticing, but lately, I find myself looking around as though I’ve just wakened from a strange dream. That’s how it felt when I stopped at Baird Woods last weekend. It seems strange that a whole year has passed without me being there to watch it. These are very odd feelings and a little difficult to describe and share. -
Beautiful flies! It’s good to hear from you again.
I know it’s not on your route for this winter, but have you visited the southern Appalachians? I think you’d enjoy them if you haven’t. I’m biased toward Pocahontas County, of course, but the farther south you go, the more interesting it gets. (IMHO, of course)
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Hi Rebecca – I’ve only traveled through most of NY state and dipped down into Pennsylvania a few miles, so it remains unexplored territory for me. I may well end up returning to Canada via that route next spring. A lot will depend on weather. This spring, I intended to take a course due east after reaching Salt Lake City, but that route would have taken me through many areas being hit with snowstorms. I’m planning to head for home a couple of weeks later next spring, so maybe it will work. If so, I may well make it to Pocahontas County!
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Interesting photos. And bugs, too. I’ll bet that fly can get a good leap into flight with those hind legs.
I envy your upcoming travels. I haven’t been able to do much of that lately (except flying to LA for work too many times last fall and winter). How are the dogs getting along?
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Mark – Yes, it’s true – with hind legs like that, you would think that fly could almost leap like a grasshopper. This year, my travel plans feel quite different. Last year, my plans were almost chaotic and it felt rather like fleeing from a disaster scene. This year, I’m just very tired and trying to work out a route with short hops of driving interspersed with camping in places where I can get some rest and vegetate for awhile. Sabrina and Sage are getting along quite well. There’s a bit of rivalry and some snapping and snarling at times, but nothing serious. Often, I find them lying facing each other with foreheads touching, so I take that as a sign that they’re pretty comfortable about being together. I guess our trip in the van will put that to the test! I have to take Sage to the vet to be spayed this week and am feeling some mild trepidation about that. I suspect it’s probably related to having spent so much time around hospitals last year combined with some anxiety about losing anything else in my life just now. However, they’re excellent, caring vets, so I know she’ll get the best of care.
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Glad to hear that you’re doing alright and things are slowly starting to firm up. It’s a pretty big transition you’re making, I’m not surprised that you’re taking your time.
Is that a cordwood house in the photo of the van? My boyfriend and I have set ourselves the goal of buying some land a few years from now and building a home on it. I’ve been toying with the idea of cordwood since we’d have to clear the driveway and building site anyway – free building materials. I haven’t known anyone who’s lived in a cordwood house, though.
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Hi, Seabrooke. Yes, my plans are slowly coming together. It’s definitely a big transition and sometimes I wonder if I’m doing the right thing, but there is no owner’s manual for life, so sometimes you just have to wing it and hope things work out. Yes, that’s a cordwod building in the photo with the van. We built two of them here on our farm .. a 22×40 foot barn, and then a 24×32 foot studio/garage building (that’s the one in the photo). They are very easy to construct. In this region, cedar is the best wood to use for the log parts. I’ve met a couple of people who have actually lived in their cordwood buildings year round. The biggest problem is that there’s some shrinkage in the mortar as it dries, and the wood can get checks running through from one side to the other, so you can get air leaks here and there. One of the people I talked to about his house said that he ended up putting a plastic barrier against the stackwall — I think he just stapled it in place — then put up a studwall, insulation and gyprock. He said that wasn’t entirely for the air leak problem either, but because he found the look of the cordwood on all of the walls sort of tiresome after awhile and liked having some white walls for displaying art and just brightening up the room. My studio building has one divider wall between the front and back sections which I painted white and it has old, multi-paned salvaged windows looking into the garage. That makes it pretty bright inside both sections.
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Bev, after the last post you made to my blog, I was getting very worried…but now I’m delighted to see this post! I’ve suggested in jest that I should explore buying your farm…maybe I should explore it beyond that wish.. Where can I find details from your real estate agent? It’s a long shot, but as you know, I’m ready to break out and do something totally different.
I envy your upcoming trip and I know it will be spectacular. My brother and his wife just left Oregon after spending their obligatory 6-8 weeks there; they’re now in central Mexico, experiencing cool weather and a welcoming culture. Your van looks like it will be a great companion…I know you mentioned before, but I don’t recall exactly how you came to own a van from Florida.
I’m ready to buy your place….of course I may need to mortgage my soul.
It’s great to see another post from you…and I am sorry I’ve been so reclusive with my comments and contacts with you.
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Hi John – I’m actually beginning to look forward to the upcoming trip. Until recently, getting things wrapped up here, and also preparing for the trip was feeling like a ton of work. I guess it will be, but I’m starting to feel like I can see beyond the work part to the time when I’ll feel like I’m free of a lot of the weight that’s been building up over the past couple of years. Although I’m making some route plans, I’m going to try to make a lot of it up as I go and just move at a very slow pace if that’s what a feel like doing once on the road. I feel this will be a very different journey than the ones last autumn and this spring — which is good. I’ll send you the listing on my place, although I suspect it isn’t for you — too far north! Your brother’s destination in central Mexico sounds a lot more inviting! I’m actually hoping to travel into Mexico at some point — perhaps for a short time this winter — but with the idea of spending a longer time there in winter 2010-11. We’ll see. Lots can happen between now and then and life is constantly in a state of flux.
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Just found your blog through Read Write Poem. I really like your insect photos. Very interesting to learn more about that robber bee… I really like the caption to the photo of your van, very clever!
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CGP – Thanks! Glad you found your way here from RWP. Aren’t these robber fly bee mimics interesting creatures?
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