Judy Vorfeld – Page 3

Stunning Roseate Skimmer visits neighborhood

October 23, 2010 By Administrator

500-cmdragonfly-1

Joy! My next-door neighbors discovered a magnificent dragonfly on a hanging plant. It was kind of upside down and very still. I ran for my camera, and was able to get several good pictures. It never moved, although two of us and our cameras surrounded the poor little thing. Later, my neighbor moved the plant, and off it went.

My guess is that this little guy was near the end of his adult stage, as he was more blue than pink, and was very lethargic.

I’m pretty sure my dragonfly is a Roseate Skimmer: The Roseate Skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea) is a common southern dragonfly. The male of the species has a rose pink and red/maroon colored abdomen. Females of the species have orange-brown abdomens with clear orangish veins and a brownish thorax with a light stripe down back. The young have a bright pinkish or purple abdomen and when they are mature adults their thorax will develop a pale bluish tint.

Wikipedia: It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body. Dragonflies are similar to damselflies, but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most dragonflies are held away from, and perpendicular to, the body when at rest. Dragonflies possess six legs (like any other insect), but most of them cannot walk well.

Dragonflies, says Wikipedia, are valuable predators that eat mosquitoes, and other small insects like flies, bees, ants, and very rarely butterflies. They are usually found around lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands because their larvae, known as “nymphs,” are aquatic.

Wikipedia continues: The larval stage of large dragonflies may last as long as five years. In smaller species, this stage may last between two months and three years. When the larva is ready to metamorphose into an adult, it climbs up a reed or other emergent plant. Exposure to air causes the larva to begin breathing. The skin splits at a weak spot behind the head and the adult dragonfly crawls out of its old larval skin, pumps up its wings, and flies off to feed on midges and flies. In flight the adult dragonfly can propel itself in six directions; upward, downward, forward, back, and side to side.[7] The adult stage of larger species of dragonfly can last as long as five or six months.

Wikipedia continues: The wings are normally clear except for the narrow brown tips at the edges. The juveniles are brown initially in both sexes with pale stripes as well as the abdomen being uniformly brown.

A compound eye is a visual organ found in certain arthropods. The compound eye consists of between 12 and 1,000 ommatidia, little dark/bright sensors. The image perceived by the arthropod is “recalculated” from the numerous ommatidia which point in slightly different directions. In contrast to other eye types, there is no central lens or retina. Though the resulting image is poor in resolution, it can detect quick movements and, in some cases, the polarization of light. Dragonflies have about 30,000 facets to their compound eyes, giving them nearly a 360° field of vision.

The shining, intricate plumage of mallards

October 16, 2010 By Administrator

Recently I went to a nearby industrial park in Glendale that has some beautiful water birds. So far this fall I’ve only seen mallard ducks. This summer the pond was drained and left for awhile, and just recently did the mallards show up. I’m hoping the white-crested ducks make an appearance, and some gorgeous geese, but it probably depends on the management of the park. Unless they are independent, and park wherever they want.

Come to think of it, there were a couple of ducks in my back yard about five years ago. So who knows? Maybe the other ducks and geese have been up in the mountains during the summer. Can’t blame them.

The word duck comes from Old English *duce “diver”, a derivative of the verb *ducan “to duck, bend down low as if to get under something, or dive”, because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending (Wikipedia).

Mallards are beautiful creatures. The males are especially beautiful, but a thorough look at the females reveals a dignified, design-rich beauty as well. Just more subdued.

Wikipedia says that some people use “duck” specifically for adult females and “drake” for adult males, while others use “hen” and “drake,” respectively.

A duckling is a young duck in downy plumage or baby duck; but in the food trade young adult ducks ready for roasting are sometimes labeled “duckling.”

“Ducks are generally monogamous,” says Wikipedia, “although these bonds generally last a single year only. Larger species and the more sedentary species (like fast river specialists) tend to have pair-bonds that last numerous years. Most duck species breed once a year, choosing to do so in favourable conditions (spring/summer or wet seasons). Ducks also tend to make a nest before breeding.”

Adjectives as related to nouns and pronouns

October 5, 2010 By Administrator

This is a very simplistic explanation of adjectives. There are many types, including absolute, attributive, comparative, superlative, compound, coordinate, copulative, and predicate. Then there are adjective clauses and adjective phrases, along with prepositional and participial.

Never fear! We’ll keep this article easy and painless.

ADJECTIVE: a word or phrase that describes what kind, how many, or which one. Adjectives can consist of a single word, a phrase, or a clause. Adjectives modify (or explain) the meaning of nouns (see below) and pronouns (see below).

NOUN: name of a person, place, thing, activity, idea, quality.

PRONOUN: a word used in place of a noun, e.g., I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who, whose, which, what, that, these, those, each, either, any, anyone, someone, myself, yourself, himself, etc.

You usually find adjectives before the nouns they modify (her gray hair) but they can come at the end of a sentence (Her hair is gray).

Some words are also used as both adjectives and adverbs, e.g., “best, deep, fast, hard, quick and long.” You may need to look at the sentence and see the function in order to decide.

ADJECTIVE: He’s a *fast runner

ADVERB: He runs *fast

Adjectives can only modify nouns or pronouns. And if I may be blunt, don’t use adjectives (or adverbs) if you don’t need them. They have their place, but sometimes dilute the power of a sentence.

Resources:

All About Alliteration

November 19, 2009 By Administrator

Have you ever wanted to become an expert on alliteration? If nothing else, it’s such a beautiful word! Seriously, when one uses alliteration properly–especially in publications–it is subtly effective.

If you work on Web sites, e-zines, or print newsletters, this may be a good time for you to brush up on the amazing world of alliteration.

DEFINITION*:
Main Entry: al·lit·er·a·tion (pronounced uh-lit-tuh-RA-shun)
Function: noun – Date: circa 1656
Etymology: ad- + Latin littera letter
: the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables (as wild and woolly, threatening throngs) — called also head rhyme, initial rhyme

Generally one can use alliteration in business: in headings, headlines, and (very carefully) in letters, proposals, reports, etc.

Here’s some alliteration used recently by my local newspaper, The Arizona Republic, in one day’s main section:

1. Gaming talks a big gamble (better than …Gaming talks a big risk.)
2. Fisher hunt feeds tales for campfire (better than …hunt generates tales…)
3. Pope asks president to spare McVeigh (better than …Pope asks Bush to…)
4. Death spurs Ecstasy debate (better than …spurs Ecstasy wrangle…)
5. Tiny tribe in Conn… (better than …Mashantucket Pequot Tribe in Conn…)
6. Mexican Congress changes (better than …Mexican Congress shifts…)
7. …threatens power and popularity (better than …threatens strength and popularity… or …threatens power and reputation.)

In alliteration, the rhyming words don’t need to be next to each other; they just need to be in the same grouping of words. And the words used don’t need to begin with the same letter: they need to have a similar initial sound. Examples: night / knight … no / know … cede / seed … cell / sell.

*By permission.
From Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate(R) Dictionary at www.m-w.com by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.