Melissa Hassey » Nature

What’s been eating our rose bush!

melissa — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:04:08 +0000

Recently I noticed that our rosebush was being eaten away. Each day more and more leaves were disappearing. They still are…. I started to investigate, hoping to not find aphids. Last year, we had a bush overcome with those pests which led to us putting the poor plant out of its misery. This time, I am determined to remedy the situation early.

Looking under the leaves I found these two caterpillars?/ cabbage loopers? Does anyone know exactly what these are? Like any good photographer, I took them into my home “studio”, photographed them with my macro lens and then tossed them gently into the empty lot behind our house. If you know me well, I can’t even crush an ant or swat a fly. I tend to capture bugs and take them outside. Catholic guilt, I guess… One exception… I don’t like bugs that hide when the lights come on!

Anyway, do you know what these little guys are? They are cute but seem to be doing so much damage! My plan right now is to continue to check the plant and pick these guys out, spray the bush with a strong hose on full blast under the leaves to release any eggs and maybe try some garlic spray. Any other natural recommendations welcome!

They didn’t move much, but one did do this….. and, yes, it’s what you think:

More Snow in Philadelphia!

melissa — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 06:22:50 +0000

Tonight I decided to brave the blizzard with my camera for some “fun” snow photographs. So…. I booted up, threw on my hat, scarf, fold away mittens and then wrapped my camera up into a plastic bag. Professional, I know. I thought that I would frolic around the neighborhood like a little kid…. but once I actually stepped outside into the blistery snow, I realized that that (future discussion: the awkwardness of using “that that” in a sentence) would not be happening. I guess that I lasted about 12 minutes or so before I could no longer use my frozen finger to press the shutter. Carl lasted about 3 minutes before he turned around to go back inside…. I was lucky I got him out at all as I clearly pushed the idea! Anyway, here are a few shots of frozen Carl and our snow buried street….

Well the camera in the mirror shot is certainly cliche’ and a bit silly…. but for tonight, let’s just call it “classic”. Stay warm, friends!

Oh, and here are a couple of previous snow blogs….. just because!

http://melissahassey.com/2010/02/this-snow-broke-records/

http://melissahassey.com/2010/02/the-other-4-of-philly/

http://melissahassey.com/2010/02/diy-beer-sled/

Longwood Gardens…

melissa — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:28:13 +0000

Last Fall Carl & I took our annual day trip to Longwood Gardens. We both love going there! If you haven’t been there before and you love beautiful things…… GO! : )

Here are a few from our day….. And, yes, obviously, I am still dreaming of better weather. It’s just that this time it’s Fall!

us being cute…

us being strange…

…the rare natural smiling photo of Carl

Williamsport Vacation…

melissa — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:01:31 +0000

Yes, I am still dreaming of summer….. Back in August, we took a family vacation to Williamsport, PA to relax, enjoy the outdoors, and go to the Little League World Series. It was a great vacation and one of the very few full family vacations we have ever taken. With 3 siblings and 2 full time working parents, it just never really happened as kids. We stayed in a house and a cabin that was right on the lake. There was lots of kayaking, fishing, reading, card playing, camp firing and eating going on. Though I am clearly a city girl at heart, I love being in nature and really enjoyed our week there so much.

and here goes the family slideshow…..

Beautiful January Sun!

melissa — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:43:52 +0000

So…. I definitely have been feeling the winter “blahs” and can hardly wait for the spring…. let alone summer. I prefer to be baking hot than frigid cold. In fact, not only do I prefer the heat, I downright love it. Granted, I don’t so much love the humidity…. but who does? I definitely feel more inspired during the warmer months and have been aching to get out and do some nature photography.

Anyway, this morning after I made breakfast and was headed upstairs to my office to get down to business, I noticed the beautiful light streaming through our doorway. I instantly felt inspired and knew I needed to capture the light/ moment. It is these beautiful moments that get me through the winter, i suppose.

So…. I took a few photographs but then realized it would be more interesting with Santucci (our cat… named after my favorite pizza parlor. mmmmmmm). So, I guided him here and there…. which isn’t always easy. At one point, I actually picked him up, placed him in the light and sat him down like I would a dog. To my complete surprise, he stayed there long enough for me to get back to the camera and lie on our kitchen floor. I then tempted him with his favorite toy….. a hairband. He couldn’t resist! Here are the results::