The writing spider.

Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the yellow garden spider, black and yellow garden spider, yellow and black garden spider, golden garden spider, golden orb weaver, corn spider, scribbler spider, writing spider and McKinley spider. In 1896, one …

Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the yellow garden spider, black and yellow garden spider, yellow and black garden spider, golden garden spider, golden orb weaver, corn spider, scribbler spider, writing spider and McKinley spider. In 1896, one reportedly predicted the U.S. presidential election by weaving McKinley's name in her stabilimentum.

Audubon featured in this week’s column

By Al Batt

For the Birds in The Caledonia Argus

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting 

 I put cow manure on my strawberries this year.

 I’ve heard that’s a good thing to do.

 Maybe so, but I’m going back to whipped cream next year.

Driving by Bruce’s drive

 I have a wonderful neighbor named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: “Knock, knock! Who’s there? Hutch. Hutch who? Bless you, but remember we’re in a pandemic.”

 I’m fine, thanks. Other than I must be parked in an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” People have been spring cleaning for over four months and many have racked up more screen hours each day than there are hours in a day.

 My wife made me a mask. She said it was reversible. The first time I wore it, she told me I was wearing it inside out. Maybe it was a color-coordination faux pas. We’ve upgraded our behavior during a time when every sneeze is writ large. 

I wear a mask, social distance and wash my hands hundreds of times each day. I wear a mask because I don’t want to take the chance of being the male equivalent of Typhoid Mary and I haven’t found a single soul unworthy of my concern. 

Masks are good for the economy. People are spooked when masks are lacking in stores. It’s a red flag. I don’t want the scariest Halloween costume to be someone not wearing a mask. 

Perhaps a health insurance company will give discounts to mask wearers? I don’t hate anyone, but I hate this damndemic and cancer. I’m doing my best to figure things out. I’m trying to piece things together by choosing to be happy. 

Conjured memories 

 I’m part of the “get out” generation. I had to get out of the kitchen, the house or the drugstore with the comic book library. A neighbor, Tom Miller, told me what to do when I couldn’t get out. 

If I used the tube from an empty toilet paper roll as a megaphone to yell “too doo to do,” a concerned citizen would bring a new roll of paper at the exact time it was needed the most. That may have worked in the Miller home, but not in mine.

 Donna Ferguson of New Richland, a wonderful woman I knew as Ma Fergy, died recently. Some called her Ma Ferguson. In 1924, another Ma (Miriam) Ferguson of Texas and Nellie Ross of Wyoming were elected the nation’s first female governors. Coincidentally, both Ma Fergusons had a husband named Jim. 

The Texan Jim had been elected governor in 1914. During his second term, he was impeached for misapplication of public funds and declared ineligible to hold public office. When his wife ran for office, she promised “two governors for the price of one.” Ma urged voters to restore Pa’s honor by voting for her and he governed over his wife’s shoulder.

I’ve learned

 Uncomfortable chairs become antiques because no one sat on them.

 Each day, the weather answers our questions from the day before.

 Baseball was more fun to watch before every pitch and swing was analyzed from every possible angle.

Nature notes

 A red-tailed hawk flew low enough that I could see the prey item it carried was a vole. The vole is the “potato chip of the prairie” — a popular food for many animals.

 Large insects flew short distances before landing on the ground. They were Carolina locusts, a kind of grasshopper, that make crackling sounds called crepitations in flight. Their grayish-brown color blends into dry soils. Rainbow on wings, dragonflies and damselflies are fierce predators of flying insects. 

The two operate each of their four wings independently allowing for nimble flights. Damselflies are more slender than dragonflies and fold their wings over their bodies while at rest, while dragonfly wings are held horizontally.

Naturally

 The Royal Guild of the Stable Fly Appreciation Club met. There was no one in attendance. I hoped the darner and meadowhawk dragonflies find the flies appetizing. 

 Bull thistle is more robust than Canada thistle with redder flowers. Yellow flowers of goldenrods and sunflowers delighted. Dew-covered spiderwebs proved photogenic.

 Young Baltimore orioles swamped the jelly feeders. As the great philosopher Adam Sandler sang, “Oh, so many things for me to wonder. Oh, I love grape jelly!” 

Q&A

“How many species did Audubon discover?” John James Audubon practiced the first bird-banding in North America in 1804, ringing silver thread, yarn or wire around the legs of eastern phoebes. 

Audubon claimed 40% of his tagged phoebes returned home. An “Archives of Natural History” paper doubted that as larger scale studies found much lower return rates and suggested Audubon was in France at the time of the phoebes’ return. Audubon’s method of painting birds was specimen-based ornithology. 

He killed them with small shot, before arranging them with wire into natural-looking tableaux that might include nests, stumps, branches and/or predators. He compiled his works into a masterpiece called “Birds of America.” 

It was common for authors to seek subscriptions from members of the public willing to pay for the work’s completion. In 2010, a copy of “Birds of America” sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $11.5 million. Audubon is credited with discovering around 25 species and 12 subspecies, but there are other mystery birds that appear nowhere but in Audubon’s watercolors: the Bartram’s vireo, carbonated swamp-warbler, Cuvier’s kinglet, Townsend’s finch (or Townsend’s bunting), small-headed flycatcher, and blue mountain warbler. 

They were likely hybrids, birds with aberrant plumages, immature birds, sexually dimorphic specimens or birds no one else saw. Audubon had been known to stretch the truth. And then there was the Washington eagle. Audubon first saw one on a trip up the Mississippi River in 1814. 

A few years later, he shot one in Kentucky and according to his measurements, it stood 3 feet, 7 inches tall and had a wingspan of 10 feet, 2 inches. The journal “American Naturalist” opined that it was a large, immature bald eagle. Was it a case of avian misidentification or a con that duped people for financial gain (subscriptions)? Either way, he was a brilliant bird artist.

 The Massachusetts Audubon Society began in 1896 when people became alarmed at the number of waterfowl being killed for use as feathers in hats. The National Audubon Society was founded in 1905.

Thanks for stopping by

 “Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit.” — Elbert Hubbard

 “That which is hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the whole Law. The rest is commentary. Now go and learn.” - Rabbi Hillel

 Do good.

©Al Batt 2020

No murder hornet. It’s a cicada killer wasp.

No murder hornet. It’s a cicada killer wasp.

It’s a parsleyworm all grown-up and it’s a knockout! Black Swallowtail butterflies accumulate likes and followers in my yard.

It’s a parsleyworm all grown-up and it’s a knockout! Black Swallowtail butterflies accumulate likes and followers in my yard.

It’s a parsleyworm all grown-up and it’s a knockout! Black Swallowtail butterflies accumulate likes and followers in my yard.

“A wonderful bird is the Pelican. His beak can hold more than his belly can. He can hold in his beak Enough food for a week! But I'll be darned if I know how the hellican?” ― Dixon Lanier Merritt

“A wonderful bird is the Pelican. His beak can hold more than his belly can. He can hold in his beak Enough food for a week! But I'll be darned if I know how the hellican?” ― Dixon Lanier Merritt

Cuddling Gray Treefrogs.

Cuddling Gray Treefrogs.

Blue Cohosh. Cohosh is an Algonquin word likely meaning “gnarly root.” Blue is a color found in the entry-level box of eight Crayola Crayons.

Blue Cohosh. Cohosh is an Algonquin word likely meaning “gnarly root.” Blue is a color found in the entry-level box of eight Crayola Crayons.

Wednesdays can be difficult when you have to share a cubicle with three others as these Steller Sea Lions in Sitka, Alaska, have to do.

Wednesdays can be difficult when you have to share a cubicle with three others as these Steller Sea Lions in Sitka, Alaska, have to do.

Wednesdays can be difficult when you have to share a cubicle with three others as these Steller Sea Lions in Sitka, Alaska, have to do.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly — male or female.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly — male or female.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly — female.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly — female.

The exoskeleton of a cicada.

The exoskeleton of a cicada.

The exoskeleton of the Annual (Dog Day) Cicada and the cicada that jumped out of that cake.

The exoskeleton of the Annual (Dog Day) Cicada and the cicada that jumped out of that cake.

To cormorants, pelicans are fish locators.

To cormorants, pelicans are fish locators.

A Red Squirrel, likely not named Milo, ignores milo seed.

A Red Squirrel, likely not named Milo, ignores milo seed.

A Red Squirrel, likely not named Milo, ignores milo seed.

This apple tree shows repeated visits of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. That bird prefers to feed on the sap of pine, birch, maple and apple trees.

This apple tree shows repeated visits of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. That bird prefers to feed on the sap of pine, birch, maple and apple trees.

I found this Argus Tortoise Beetle busily doing Argus Tortoise Beetle things in Kansas.

I found this Argus Tortoise Beetle busily doing Argus Tortoise Beetle things in Kansas.

This Yellow-headed Blackbird had just eaten a spider — intentionally.

This Yellow-headed Blackbird had just eaten a spider — intentionally.

Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.

Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.

The American Goldfinch — king of the grapes

For the Birds: Butterflies populating gardens

By Al Batt

For the Birds in The Caledonia Argus

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting

I tried your advice on fixing my lawn mower.

Did it work?

No.

That doesn’t surprise me. It never works for me either.

Driving by Bruce’s drive

I have a wonderful neighbor named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: Some years ago, as luck would have it, I found myself in Luck, Wisconsin. 

It was my good luck or good Luck to be working in the “Yo-Yo Capital of the World.” In 1946, Duncan started manufacturing yo-yos in Luck, producing as many of 3,600 of them in an hour. Kids had yo-yos instead of video games in those bygone days. 

Napoleon and his army were said to have relaxed with yo-yos before the Battle of Waterloo. 

I don’t have video games or a yo-yo. I have Zoom. I taught a class on Zoom recently. I’ve taught writing, birding, journaling, storytelling, etc. classes, but always in person. 

I did the first few minutes of teaching trying to emulate my good teachers before I realized that my video screen had cut off my head. It wasn’t Zoom’s fault, it was mine. I’ve been married long enough to know when there’s a problem — I’m it. My only excuse was that I had none. The class expected a brainless instructor, but they got a headless one, too. I should have used a yo-yo. 

A good stick

I went for a walk. I looked for a stick. A good stick is a walking stick, cane, pointer and sword. A bad stick can be all of those things, too, but not as good. When I was a boy, it wasn’t a day without a good stick made from a maple branch or sapling. I could toss an acorn into the air and hit it with the stick as if the combination were a baseball and a bat.

Somebody told me that Minnesotans and Iowans are good at milling about. As a kid, I walked about, but I called it “walking around.” At a fair, I’d declare to my parents, “I’m going to walk around.” I did the same thing in a store or at Allis-Chalmers Days or John Deere Days. I still do that — with or without a good stick.

Nature notes

A sulphur butterfly landed on me. I hoped it brought good luck. Butterflies and fireflies are people pleasers. The neighbor’s rooster crowed as no politician or pundit could. Bee balm or wild bergamot (Monarda), a native plant, bloomed. It’s attractive to bees and butterflies. The bergamot oil added to Earl Grey tea comes from an entirely different plant. Mints bloomed on square stems. Ponds were covered with duckweed, a tiny, flowering plant. Barn swallows gathered on utility wires. They are the swallow species with what we think of as swallow tails.

Naturally

If there is a low-pressure area or storm in the region the winds will blow day or night. Windy nights are more common in the cold season. The night wind, as strong as the growing corn, had blown in a genial day. Each day, the weather answers our questions from the day before.

My day’s goal had been to not upset the blue jays. A lot of things irritate them and my wife has told me that if I don’t know what the problem is, it’s me. One day, I saw the source of their outrage had a yellow bill and black eyes. It wasn’t me glaring at an ancient invoice. It was a barred owl.

Butterflies filled the yard. It was their home, I was just walking through it. The air was made of painted ladies, red admirals, sulphurs, cabbage whites, monarchs, question marks and azures. 

My wife said it was the butterfly version of the movie “The Birds.” It was in a believable and benign way. Yellow was the predominate color of the insects. It was just another day at the sulphur butterfly factory. 

Butterflies don’t have lungs. They breathe through tiny openings on the sides of their bodies called spiracles that carry the oxygen through tubes to their bodies. 

Frass is the excrement produced by insects. I don’t know why I added the part about frass, but it makes a worthy replacement word for any reader who has a penchant for creative cussing. Just remember, bears do not frass in the woods.

Cicadas called. Folklore says that cicadas start singing six weeks before a frost and their singing heralds warm, dry days ahead. Their heads-up frost warnings aren’t known for their accuracy. When I was growing up, cicadas were called locusts. They aren’t. Locusts are a type of grasshopper, while cicadas are related to crickets. Cicadas typically sing from July to the first frost.

During the late summer, small, obscure insects known as insidious flower bugs or minute pirate bugs make their presence known in a convincing manner by biting with an impact out of proportion to their size. They are small enough people call them no-see-ums and can make them disappear by removing their eyeglasses — from their faces, not the insects’. They can be an annoyance, but I remain thankful that raccoons can’t fly.

Q&A

“Does anything eat the berries of the jack-in-the-pulpit?” In autumn, the plant bears a cluster of bright red berries. Few mammals feed on this plant as it contains calcium oxalate crystals that could burn the mouth, which makes the plant unpalatable and poisonous. Some birds, including wild turkeys and pheasants, eat the berries.

“I heard a female cardinal sing. She was good. Do many female songbirds sing?” A female cardinal sings a similar song to the male. A 2016 study found that in a sample of over 1,000 songbird species from around the world, 64% had females that sing.

“Why is it called a whooping crane?” The name probably originated from the loud, single-note vocalization given repeatedly by the cranes when they are alarmed.

“Are rattlesnakes poisonous or venomous?” Poisonous is used for anything that poisons (unloads its toxins) you if you ingest it. Venomous is used for anything that poisons (injects toxins) you if it bites or stings you. Rattlesnakes are venomous.

Meeting adjourned

Staying positive doesn’t mean being happy all the time. It means that on hard days you know there are better ones coming. Be kind.

Thanks for stopping by

“Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, shall all be saved.” - Jane Goodall

Do good.

© Al Batt 2020

The American Goldfinch — the king of the gapes.

The American Goldfinch — the king of the gapes.

When I was a dear boy, I called the Painted Lady a “thistle butterfly.” Thistles are host plants for the caterpillars.

When I was a dear boy, I called the Painted Lady a “thistle butterfly.” Thistles are host plants for the caterpillars.

A pheasant fellow told me that a Ring-necked Pheasant may not travel over more than 700 acres. No Disneyland for this rooster.

A pheasant fellow told me that a Ring-necked Pheasant may not travel over more than 700 acres. No Disneyland for this rooster.

The American Bison has a shaggy coat that is so well insulated that snow could settle on its back without melting.

The American Bison has a shaggy coat that is so well insulated that snow could settle on its back without melting.

While singing in the rain, a wet Red-winged Blackbird doesn’t smell anything like a wet dog.

While singing in the rain, a wet Red-winged Blackbird doesn’t smell anything like a wet dog.

While singing in the rain, a wet Red-winged Blackbird doesn’t smell anything like a wet dog.

A Cedar Waxwing searching for food or a lost contact lens.

A Cedar Waxwing searching for food or a lost contact lens.

The famed swallow that returns to Mission San Juan Capistrano is the Cliff Swallow. When I was a dear boy, it was called a “bridge swallow” and returned to the dentist’s office once a year.

The famed swallow that returns to Mission San Juan Capistrano is the Cliff Swallow. When I was a dear boy, it was called a “bridge swallow” and returned to the dentist’s office once a year.

The famed swallow that returns to Mission San Juan Capistrano is the Cliff Swallow. When I was a dear boy, it was called a “bridge swallow” and returned to the dentist’s office once a year.

The famed swallow that returns to Mission San Juan Capistrano is the Cliff Swallow. When I was a dear boy, it was called a “bridge swallow” and returned to the dentist’s office once a year.

I am enchanted by the white around the eye of a female Wood Duck. Her call is a loud "oo-eek" whistle.

I am enchanted by the white around the eye of a female Wood Duck. Her call is a loud "oo-eek" whistle.

A beautiful day in Sitka is no fluke if there is a fluke around.

A beautiful day in Sitka is no fluke if there is a fluke around.

A beautiful day in Sitka is no fluke if there is a fluke around.

I was told the name Sitka derived from a Tlingit phrase meaning “on the outside of Shee [Baranof Island.” I believe that, but I’ve been told a lot of things.

I was told the name Sitka derived from a Tlingit phrase meaning “on the outside of Shee [Baranof Island.” I believe that, but I’ve been told a lot of things.

Emily Dickinson wrote, “Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all. - Baltimore Oriole.

Emily Dickinson wrote, “Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all. - Baltimore Oriole.

I’m finding Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to be extremely good company. A tiny bird makes a big difference to me.

I’m finding Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to be extremely good company. A tiny bird makes a big difference to me.

I’m finding Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to be extremely good company. A tiny bird makes a big difference to me.

Another kind of “terrible twos.” Soon, their gangliness will be replaced with fluidity and fleetness. I don’t think “gangliness” is a valid Scrabble word, but it fits them.

Another kind of “terrible twos.” Soon, their gangliness will be replaced with fluidity and fleetness. I don’t think “gangliness” is a valid Scrabble word, but it fits them.

An American Coot takes a big shoe.

An American Coot takes a big shoe.

Red Milkweed Beetles eat milkweed leaves, buds and flowers, and my spare time. I love watching insects on milkweed and goldenrods.

Red Milkweed Beetles eat milkweed leaves, buds and flowers, and my spare time. I love watching insects on milkweed and goldenrods.

He had those cute chipmunk cheeks

He had those cute chipmunk cheeks.

He had those cute chipmunk cheeks.

A Carolina Locust trying to look like dirt and succeeding. It makes crackling sounds called crepitations in flight.

A Carolina Locust trying to look like dirt and succeeding. It makes crackling sounds called crepitations in flight.

A Marsh Wren afraid to let go.

A Marsh Wren afraid to let go.

Rattles, trills and gurgles. It’s a Marsh Wren solo.

Rattles, trills and gurgles. It’s a Marsh Wren solo.

For the Birds: Amazing acrobatic chipmunks

By Al Batt

For the Birds from The Caledonia Argus

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting

What’s wrong?

I called my eye doctor, but he can’t see me.

Sounds like he needs glasses.

Driving by Bruce’s drive

I live about 3688.12 smoots from the nearest post office. A smoot is a unit of measurement equal to 5 feet 7 inches. 

In 1958, a fraternity at MIT used one of its pledges, the 5-foot-7 Oliver Smoot, Jr., as a unit of measure to mark off the Harvard Bridge in 10-smoot increments. 

I used to mosey many smoots out yonder with remarkable regularity. I’d drive some roads over and over. Some had so much traffic it was obvious that someone had left the gate open. Others had so little traffic I had time to notice things. 

I drove by one house in Nebraska so often through the years that I recognized changes. I paid attention when a different car lived in the drive or the garden’s size changed. 

Last time I went by, the white house had been painted yellow. I had to circle back for a second look. I didn’t approve of that modification.

Nature notes

Count the number of cricket chirps in 15-seconds. Add 40 to that number to get an approximate temperature in Fahrenheit.

Five weeks after Canada geese hatch, the adults molt, which renders them flightless until the goslings can fly at 9 to 10 weeks of age. That’s typically during the second half of July.

Pam Martin of Great Bend, Kansas, said when she was a girl, her cousin had a pet crow that mimicked the sounds of human sneezes and ringing telephones. It was so good, it fooled the family’s telephone-hating dog into barking.

A temporary Texan 

“The sun has riz, the sun has set, and here we is in Texas yet.” I could drive a long time without leaving Texas. 

It seemed right to read some of Larry McMurtry books in Texas. I enjoyed “Lonesome Dove,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning, 843-page cattle-drive epic that was turned into a TV miniseries, “The Last Picture Show (made into a movie), and “Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen.” 

In 2008, the American Film Institute voted “The Searchers” the greatest western of all time. It was filmed at Monument Valley, a wild and sparsely populated region on the Arizona-Utah border, of which John Wayne said, “Monument Valley is the place where God put the West.”

Despite claims, the role of Matt Dillon on “Gunsmoke” wasn’t offered to John Wayne. Wayne considered TV unworthy of his talents. 

Wayne, born in Winterset, Iowa, was 6-foot-4. James Arness, born in Minneapolis, was 6-foot-7. Arness played the laconic marshal of Dodge City, Kansas. 

According to “True West” magazine, Dillon was shot 56 times, knocked unconscious 29 times, stabbed three times and poisoned once in the 635 episodes of “Gunsmoke” that spanned 20 years. 

Arness was shot in the leg at Anzio Beach during WWII. His brother, Peter Graves, starred in the TV show “Mission Impossible” and the movie “Airplane.”

Naturally

There’s more beauty in my ZIP code than I could see or hear in two lifetimes. Sweet sounds of goldfinches greeted me. What is yellow, weighs 4,000 pounds and sings? A two-ton American goldfinch.

The catbirds fed on suet more than I’d seen before. Smithsonian scientists reported 79% of fledged catbirds in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., were killed by predators before reaching adulthood, with 49% dispatched by domestic cats. Maybe the suet feeder is a “catbird seat,” a reference to a position of great prominence or advantage. 

I was filling bird feeders when I frightened a chipmunk from a hanging feeder. It jumped from the feeder into the birdbath. I’m sure that wasn’t intentional. He splashed down, jumped from the water and scurried off after a dive that would have made Greg Louganis proud.

A blue jay grabbed a peanut shell holding two peanuts and swallowed. It snatched another hull covering two goobers in its bill and flew away. A jay can transport food in its throat and upper esophagus — an area called a gular pouch.

I tossed a small pizza crust on the lawn to see what would become of it. A crow found it quickly. Later, while mowing the lawn, I found a crow feather in the spot where the pizza had been. A coincidence or a quid pro crow?

Cicadas called. They declared it to be summer. I watched a great horned owl land twice in the yard not long before dusk. I didn’t see it catch anything. It might have attempted to find relief from being mobbed by jays, robins, chickadees, nuthatches, catbirds, woodpeckers and grackles. Mobbing is a loud expression of outrage and a behavior birds engage in to defend themselves or their offspring from predators. The smaller birds worked together like an indignant committee to annoy the owl from the yard. The night would prove generous with its stars.

Q&A

“Do deer really eat birds?” Yes, they will eat eggs and baby birds as trail cams and eyewitness reports have seen.

“Did storks ever deliver babies?” They did until they were required to provide child restraint systems.

Thanks for stopping by

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.” — Bertrand Russell

Do good.

©Al Batt 2020 

The cranes made me look

The cranes made me look. Sandhill Cranes along the Platte River in Nebraska.

The cranes made me look. Sandhill Cranes along the Platte River in Nebraska.

Sandhill Cranes in search of lost kernels of corn.

Sandhill Cranes in search of lost kernels of corn.

Dreams of Chilkoot Lake near Haines, Alaska.

Dreams of Chilkoot Lake near Haines, Alaska.

Chilkoot Lake near Haines, Alaska. A place to rest and feel better about the world.

Chilkoot Lake near Haines, Alaska. A place to rest and feel better about the world.

I’ve trained my pet Bull Thistle to attack any raccoons that are doing what I don’t feel they should be doing.

I’ve trained my pet Bull Thistle to attack any raccoons that are doing what I don’t feel they should be doing.

And circle gets the square.

And circle gets the square. Baltimore Oriole.

And circle gets the square. Baltimore Oriole.

Each year, right around this time, I give a happy whoop when I see a Silver-spotted Skipper.

Each year, right around this time, I give a happy whoop when I see a Silver-spotted Skipper.

Each year, right around this time, I give a happy whoop when I see a Silver-spotted Skipper.

Each year, right around this time, I give a happy whoop when I see a Silver-spotted Skipper.

Grape jelly, the official breakfast of Baltimore Orioles.

Grape jelly, the official breakfast of Baltimore Orioles.

As the great philosopher Adam Sandler sang, “Oh, so many things for me to wonder. Oh, I love grape jelly!”

As the great philosopher Adam Sandler sang, “Oh, so many things for me to wonder. Oh, I love grape jelly!”

A Painted Lady. Some nasty rumors claim that Miss Kitty on the “Gunsmoke” TV series was a painted lady. A different kind of painted lady, I guess.

A Painted Lady. Some nasty rumors claim that Miss Kitty on the “Gunsmoke” TV series was a painted lady. A different kind of painted lady, I guess.