learning new things

I follow a couple of Facebook pages on nature in Minnesota. Many of the photographers are able to capture pictures of tine things very close up. I'm learning how to do that without buying an expensive lens for our camera. The top insect is a crane fly and the bottom is a Monarch caterpillar.

I also learned how to make the © symbol, as many of the real photographers do. I'm not sure if just saying something is copyright protected means it is necessarily so, but it was fun to learn. I really don't care if someone snatches my pictures anyway.

We have been trying to enjoy the patio but as always this time of year, the bugs are waging a major campaign against us. We cooked on the grill the other night for the first time in a month. I think we're going to cook some brats made with Yuengling beer tonight. I'm using the Challah bread recipe to make buns. I hope that isn't a sacrilege. 

Dan, the city forester, came to cut down our red maple the other day. It suffered during the drought, then had some winter die back. Not a good result. They cut it down in short order, trimmed the locust, and will be back to grind up the stump and plant a swamp white oak. It turns a gorgeous red in the fall.

Back to rhubarb jam making!