A bit of birding excitement for the noon hour

A rare Kirtland's warbler was spotted on west campus this morning by a student walking along Kinnear Road on his way to main campus.  A good ear alerted him that there was a Kirtland's warbler flitting about on the 900 block of Kinnear road.  He put the word out and it didn't take long for birders to flock to the area to get a good look at this very rare bird.

Kirtland's warblers are amongst the rarest species in North America, and one can usually only see it in a very small area of northern Michigan.  It was quite nice for this singing male to pay our campus a visit.  This is a life bird for my list, and very welcome, indeed.

Virginia bluebells

Virginia bluebells, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Another image from my spring garden. I really look forward to seeing how many of the plants come up from seed, and how the ones that were growing the previous year are doing the next one.

Samaras

Samaras, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

A companion pic for the one I posted yesterday. Samaras are the one-seeded fruits of the maple tree. I guess you could also describe them as winged achenes. I still have my childhood enjoyment of watching these little 'helicopters' disperse in the wind.

Blowing in the wind

Blowing in the wind, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

April was the rainiest month I can remember having since moving to Ohio. There were just a few days where we had sunshine or partial clouds in the sky. This image was captured April 21, 2011 -- one of the few days where it was sunny outside and Steve and I could take a walk around the neighborhood.

It was sunny, but the wind was pretty fierce, which made photography a bit more challenging than usual. I was glad to see the maples in flower and on their way to fruiting. When I first started studying botany, I was really intrigued that our hardwood trees were classified as angiosperms (flowering plants). From that point on I made an effort to see the flowers of all the trees in the eastern deciduous biome. It's a habit that is ingrained in me now, and I look forward to spring just to see the beautiful spring ephemerals and the trees in bloom.

Chamber Musician

Chamber Musician, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Quartet Toujours opened for the Fry Street Quartet at the Southern Theater last night. This is Ruthie, the celloist for this CMC competition group. Quartet Toujours has been winning accolades all year long, winning the grand prizes at several competitions over the past couple of months, plus being featured on NPR's "From the Top."

Mertensia virginica

Mertensia virginica, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

aka Virginia Bluebells. When we moved to our current house, there were a few of these plants growing in the front garden. Each spring I've collected seed and spread them around the garden so that now I have a literal prairie of these beautiful spring plants in my yard. I'm so lucky!

So cute!

So cute!, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Of the thousands of visitors who came to see Woody, OSU's first Titan Arum to bloom, I got the biggest kick out of the kids who were fascinated by it. The sheer size, odor, and uniqueness of a Titan Arum is a delight to kids who are dwarfed by it.

Up against a brick wall

Up against a brick wall, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

"The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough." - Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture)

Central Ohio Woodturners meeting, April 12, 2011

Walt Betley, my neighbor across the street, is the turner who first encouraged me to try my hand at woodturning.  He's going to be 90 in just a few months and is still actively turning.  Mostly he is doing small projects these days (e.g., pen turning).

He was to do a demonstration for the February 2011 meeting of the Central Ohio Woodturners, but Mother Nature decided to dump a bunch of snow on Columbus that day and so the meeting was canceled.  He was rescheduled for this month.

I've had a really difficult time getting to the club meetings this past year.  Mostly that is because I have band practice that night with Aisling, the Irish band I've been in since 1997.  However, I made sure that I was able to make it to the meeting for Walt's demonstration. 

Walt always seems to have a great time at the club meetings.  I'm not sure what he was laughing about here, but it must have been good.

Walt took a few minutes during the business meeting to pitch a project in support of our troops overseas. 

During the break between the business meeting and the main program, everyone takes a look at the show and tell tables.

This month there was also a President's challenge on turning eggs.  There were some interesting ideas presented.









Some of the show and tell session is informal; just a few people taking a close look at a project.

Walt's topic for his demo was inside-out turning.  He did some explaining before he started the evening's project.

He had a few finished pieces and some works in various stages to show the layout, the use of a story board, and his process of measuring.

There was a pretty good crowd gathered to watch the demo.

There were also a lot of questions from the group.

One of the most important tools for this kind of spindle turning is a good caliper.

We use a LCD projector to show the action so that everyone can see what's going on.

Standing room only.

While Walt was doing the main demo, there was a beginner's corner demonstration on methods of sharpening.

We're using a couple of technical labs over in the Ag-Engineering building.  They are well-equipped and I bet the students who work there enjoy that environment.

 Close-up of one of the tools Walt uses.

Working the camera angles.

OK - now it's time to do the turning.

More Q & A

The fun thing about inverse turning is that you have to be able to visualize what the final product will be as you are doing the turning.  The blank is four square pieces glued at the ends.  The design turned on the exterior surface ends up being a silhouette on the interior surface.

After the turning demo, Walt passed around some completed projects and the demo piece.  It was an interesting demo, and I enjoyed watching Walt turn.

Titan Arum leaf

Titan Arum leaf, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

The biology of the Titan Arum is fascinating. It has an underground storage organ (a corm) that can weigh up to 200 pounds. The corm needs to be at least 35 pounds before the plant has enough stored energy to produce an inflorescence.

This is the leaf of a Titan Arum. The plant produces a single leaf, which resembles a small tree. This leaf is about 12 ft tall and 15 feet across.

After a period of dormancy, the corm sprouts. The initial bud of a leaf and a flower are very similar, so it's a matter of waiting to see what happens each year. This plant may be coming into flower next year, given the size of the corm last fall when it entered dormancy.

Inside the spathe

Inside the spathe, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Ohio State University currently has a Titan Arum in bloom. It opened Saturday evening, April 23, 2011. This is a view of the female flowers at the base of the spadix.

To see a time lapse video of the inflorescence blooming check out these links:

ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-595895

www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0Mvtle2qCM

and

www.facebook.com/home.php#!/video/video.php?v=1838904847200

Time Lapse video of the OSU Titan Arum flowering

Amorphophallus titanum (Araceae)

Amorphophallus titanum (Araceae), originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Woody, the OSU Titan Arum is now open and ready for visitors. Stop by the Biological Sciences Greenhouse on the Ohio State University Campus on Sunday, April 24, 2011 from 1 - 9 p.m. to see this magnificent plant in bloom.

The OSU Biological Sciences greenhouse is accessed via the elevator tower. The entrance is between Aronoff Lab and Parking Garage K. Parking is available in the Neil Avenue Parking Garage.

The plant will be in bloom Sunday and Monday only. This rare plant is definitely worth seeing (and smelling). The common name is Corpse Flower - and it is aptly named.

I photographed the entire sequence of blooming this evening over the course of 6.5 hours. Photos are posted here:

Woody, the OSU Titan Arum's Facebook Page

Pretty in Pink

Pretty in Pink, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

Yesterday Steve and I walked the neighborhood, cameras at the ready. There are so many trees in bloom, including the Weeping Cherries that are so common around here. I think we're going to buy one of these trees to plant in the back yard.

Blue cranes

Blue cranes, originally uploaded by andiwolfe.

The national bird of South Africa is the blue crane. All during the drive from Cape Town to Sedgefield, I had been trying to get a photo of a blue crane. I sure didn't have success during that leg of the trip, but on the way to Arniston Beach, I was able to get a decent photo of a cooperative pair.