28 September 2026

Same but different. Last week I photographed whatever caught my fancy. Today I found three pairs of photos connected by their similarities and differences. Tales of Two Things.

Saturday morning 26 September was chilly with heavy dew. At Frick Park I found two purple flowers with different approaches to the day. The spotted knapweed, at top, had been closed and was just starting to open at 9:50am. New England asters in the same meadow were fully open.

Schenley Park still has old incandescent streetlights in operation. This one on the Panther Hollow Bridge framed a tiny cloud on 24 September.

On 25 September I discovered a paper wasp nest inside the bulb area of this streetlight at the edge of Panther Hollow Lake. The wasps were flying in and out. Obviously the light is not in operation.

Panther Hollow Lake (actually pond-sized) keeps going through changes. About six weeks ago it was in flood. When I photographed it on 21 August the water level was falling with duckweed coating up to the high water mark.

The lake kept draining and now, on 25 September, it is the lowest I’ve seen in a long time — even lower than the drain. Again duckweed is coating the concrete edge up to the most recent high water mark. Hmmm.

Will it stop draining before it’s empty?