At the rear of the residence is a little grotto that Mr. Bannerman used to sit in to pray and meditate. The view from it is looking south on the Hudson River.
Grotto at Bannerman
Nature
Bannerman Castle 2 of 2
The gardens around the castle are lovely. In the kitchen of the home is a stone commemorating the Massacre of Glencoe – Wikipedia.
Bannerman Castle 1
We took a friend along with us to visit Bannerman Castle. It is a short boat ride from Beacon, New York. We enjoyed the two excellent tour guide’s narratives. It is well worth reading the history: History | Bannerman Castle
Flat Brook Park
We stopped briefly at a little nature sanctuary, Flat Rock Brook in Englewood, New Jersey. I hadn’t seen it before. Here is the history page About — Flat Rock Brook
Greenbrook Wildlife
Dappled deer and a Japanese beetle – Wikipedia
Greenbrook Plants
I’m trying to identify grasses. I can usually ID the main families.
Greenbrook Moss and Lichen
From the little nature sanctuary on the Palisades by the Hudson River in in New Jersey. It felt cool amongst all the greens.
Marine Park Fiddler
Sand Fiddler Crab (Uca pugilator) at Marine Park. Many little ones are eaten by Yellow-crowned Night Herons.
Handedness in crabs (from Copilot):
“In most fiddler crab species, males have one greatly enlarged claw (the major claw) and one smaller claw (the minor claw), and the side on which the major claw grows is called the crab’s “handedness.”
The myth that losing a major claw causes the crab to “switch” to the other side is false — the crab regenerates a new major claw on the same side, and the small claw stays small
In many species, males are evenly split between right- and left-handed (about 50:50) www.fiddlercrab.info.
The exception is the genus Gelasimus, where males are almost entirely right-handed (often >95%) www.fiddlercrab.info.”
