Friday, September 23, 2022

Nature Around Waterloo Region

     An eager naturalist is never absent from a world overflowing with fascinating creatures - and so it is with us. This post contains a grab bag of what we have been seeing of late.

At home

     Upon leaving the house one morning I saw this interesting insect.


     A little research reveals it to be a Heleormyzid fly in the genus Suillia. This is usually about as precise as I can get with Diptera.
     European Earwig (Forficula auricularia) is a creature that seems to engender revulsion in all who see it. 


     It is primarily a nocturnal scavenger, seeking dark hiding places during the day, but it is also known to predate some agricultural pests, including aphids.
     I found a solitary Silverfish (genus Ctenolepisma) in the kitchen, much to my surprise.


     I have not seen one there before or since, and I remember that when I was a child a single insect indicated there would be more. This seems not to be the case, however - thank goodness!
     A Hemina Pinion (Lithophane hemina) had compressed itself into a mortar joint in the brickwork in the porch.


     Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) has been seen frequently this year and this individual fluttered into the house and we lost sight of it. A couple of days later it was found on the floor, dead.


     Pillbug (Armadillium vulgare), a terrestrial crustacean, is either less common than one might  expect it to be, or it is very capable of staying hidden.


     Introduced from Europe, it has now become widespread in the gardens of North America.
     We thought this handsome specimen especially appealing. It is a Grass Spider in the genus Agelenopsis, probably Agelenopsis pennsylvanica


     It is an ambush predator and the female commonly cannibalizes the male during mating, taking ecstasy to a whole new level, I suppose. A sexual liaison and a fine dinner. Does it get any better?
     The spider was in the house, a female based on size, and we decided that she would be better served in her romantic pursuits outside so we carefully transferred her onto the deck. I wish her good fortune - the same can hardly be said for the male!

Benjamin Park Trail, Waterloo, ON

     We are lucky to have this park almost directly behind our house.


      It looks especially splendid at this time of the year.


     I bet that every one of you, right now, is wishing that you could take a stroll there with me.
     There is little doubt that a Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) would not be long in greeting you.


     In late summer, early fall, Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) come together in impressive flocks in anticipation of migration.


     To wait by a cattail marsh at dusk is to witness one of nature's great spectacles as thousands come in to roost for the night. There is safety in numbers.
     New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) is a beautiful native plant, widespread throughout the region, with a mouthful of a scientific name!



Health Valley Trail, Waterloo, ON

     The early morning temperature was pleasant and the sun shone brilliantly as we set out on our walk.
     A Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans) no doubt felt secure partially hidden by grass.


     Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) are still visible on their favourite perches but, will ere long be joining the great migration of birds unable to spend the winter with us.


     When most people think of a Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) a resplendent male springs to mind - with good reason - but we had to be content with a couple of youngsters who are not quite there yet.


     Here's what they will look like next spring.


     The path meandered through different habitats, always rewarding. Lots of vireos and warblers were moving through, but we were unable to get pictures.


     Within a few weeks the deciduous trees will be ablaze with colour; already there are hints of what is to come.


     A Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) was still working the river, but always on the opposite side and quite far away.


     
This caterpillar is equipped with a fearsome defensive armour, and although I had an idea what it might be, I have been unable to identify it with confidence despite checking all my references. If anyone can help feel free to leave a comment below.


     Never in my life have I been so attracted to Common Water Strider (Aquarius remigis) but this year is has captured my attention as never before.


     Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) is a very common fungus in eastern deciduous woodlands.


     Whenever I see a downed tree like this, returning nutrients to the soil and providing shelter and food for many organisms, I am reminded that it once stood tall in the forest and dominated the canopy. So shall we all succumb one day.


     As we parted company with the river a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) patiently stalked for food. For a fish or two it will be their last swim in the Conestogo River.


     I have blogged about bees frequently of late, and have read even more about these enchanting, yet vital, insects.
     The following infographic drawn from the internet is a stark reminder of the key role they play in the lives of all of us.


     We would do well to magnify our protection of them. Nothing less than our continued survival is at stake.
David M. Gascoigne,
David M. Gascoigne,

I'm a life long birder. My interests are birds, nature, reading, books, outdoors, travel, food and wine.

68 comments:

  1. Yes David, I would love to walk there with you. We could look at the beautiful native flowers and all the birds in the area.
    I have seen many woodpeckers here lately. I have got me a new birdfeeder, and some of the food is with a lot of fat.
    Hugs and kisses, Marit

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  2. Hari OM
    A lovely collection, again, David. The caterpillar looks like it might be one of the many 'tussock moth' species, displaying similar spike tendancies. That graphic at the end... phew... YAM xx

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    1. My initial reaction was a tussock moth, YAM, and it certainly does have many similarities. Hickory Tussock Moth is common here but this is not its caterpillar. There are others that are similar, but so far I am drawing a blank when it comes to fixing the species.

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  3. I'm not sure that I have ever seen a blog post from you, David, with such a wide variety of content. Fascinating stuff - even if some of the subjects are a little less than attractive.

    I wish we had a Benjamin Park Trail close to home!

    That last image is so poignant. My main fear is that, with the likes of Putin around, if humans go extinct they will take the rest of the world with them.

    On that happy note, I'll wish you and Miriam all the best - - - Richard

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    1. I agree with your reflection on Putin, Richard. Even if we could get rid of him we know that sooner or later another will take his place.

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  4. Oh yes, no bees, no life! You saw a lot of different specimens on your walks, including all those creepy crawlies which still send me running! Sigh! Hugs!

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  5. David!
    I can always watch interesting creatures on your blog.
    I was delighted with the beautiful Wood Duck.
    Greetings to Miriam and to You:)

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  6. Hello David, having a park just behind your home with beautiful views and a lake offers lots of opportunities for nature walks, and wildlife encounters. I can't remember you sharing this one before, but you probably have. Insects are fascinating creatures, even the scary ones. The caterpillar is a fabulous example. I don't get Silverfish in my home, but I do get Centipedes, both small and hairy, and the thick rubbery looking large ones. I saw two Pillbugs on my balcony wall just yesterday, and the Water striders are common here too. The Magnificent Wood Duck is probably my favourite duck of all. The reminder of if bees go extinct couldn't be clearer. Yes, indeed we must protect them. Thank you for such a varied post, David.
    Sending you hugs as always.
    All the best.

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  7. Le canard est très joli!
    Beaucoup de petites bêtes, le froid est de retour, bientôt les couleurs de l'automne seront la. Bon weekend

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  8. Hello David,
    Great collection of nature photos and a nice outing. I have to say the birds are my favorites, I love the Wood Ducks and the Kingfisher. The flowers are pretty! Take care, enjoy your weekend!

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  9. ...that wood duck sure is handsome.

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  10. Your are so right. How I wish that I could wander with you and Miriam, to revel in the life and beauty on display. Thank you.

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  11. Fantastic picture of the green frog! And congrats on a great report of such wonderful creatures. Many info I didn't know.
    You made me laugh with the spider's sexual liaison and fine dinner :-)

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  12. Lots of insects some of which I would not wish to find in my house. As for your caterpillar, I think you need a picture from another angle. There are a lot of furry caterpillars to choose from so I would need to see any of the distinguishing features. Maybe you will run across him again and can do a picture study of all angles :( Your water strider is far more attractive than I realized. They are so small when you see them on the water ... and it is amazing to me how they travel about on the surface.
    Your analogy between fallen trees and man could be taken a step further. I see so many fallen trees taken down for the wrong reasons and it always breaks my heart. I think mankind is violent and kills not just his brothers and sisters, but all forms of nature without good cause. Trees are victims but will have the last word in time as we loose the quality of our atmosphere. Well, enough agonizing ... your info graphic says the same about the bees. I fear for what our children and grandchildren will have to endure if we don't wake up ... but for now, I enjoy sharing your love of nature. There is indeed an up side :)

    Andrea @ From the Sol

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    1. Thanks, Andrea, Wonderful comment as always. Man is indeed violent - and now we have Putin nuclear sabre-rattling again. Someone has to get to him somehow.

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  13. We passed on paying to see insects at the Insectatarium (sp?) in Montreal on Wednesday. Instead I got a view of lots from you. The only "nature" hike/walk we had was all over the Botanical Gardens in Montreal. Weather cooperated that day.

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  14. Love the photo of trees just beginning to show their golden autumn colours - the caterpillar appears to resemble that of the tussoch moth but they come in such a huge variety of different colours. We found one last week that was equisitely covered in baby pink hair.

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  15. A wonderful post, David! So many great photos! It brought back many memories of insects I've known in my past. It's arid where I live on the edge of the high plains, so we don't have a lots of bugs around our house except for spiders ~ lots along the creeks though. We were reared on earwig horror stories around the campfire growing up. We terrorized the next generation with the same stories. Terrible I know! I still freak out when I see an earwig. Have a great weekend!

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  16. I really love this post. So many bugs and birds. Have a great day today.

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  17. You are a born naturalist David - so much variety and so much beauty that you are discovering in your world, yet so many sadly just seem to never notice. I feel if more people were aware of the life going on around them, then they may be more interested in protecting it. Keep up the great photos, you may just convert a few people :)

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  18. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Margaret.

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  19. Your last photo says it all. Humans "win" for being the most destructive creatures, even to the point of destroying their one and only home. But some bugs might have the last say. Spiders are resourceful and have gained respect with help from such books as Charlotte's Web but there's also (a myth?) about spider's having a sip of water from sleepy human eyes, especially in hospitals and retirement homes. :/

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  20. If those wood ducks grow up like the one you showed, they'll be dazzlers! And I'm glad you have a Harry, too! (I saw mine today!) It's all beautiful.

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  21. Of course you're right - yes, I would love to walk there. How wonderful to have this practically right behind your house. We are not that fortunate, but we have great nature close to us, but it still needs a short drive in a car. Anyway, I love all the tiny creatures that we so easily overlook. As for the last image - it looks like a pretty good idea if humans went extinct.

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    1. There is a very good chance that we will, Carola. Putin is threatening to do it for us.

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  22. A collection of lovely images (well, I might not call the spider lovely), and walking outdoors in autumn is such a delight. Nature is well worth protecting, from the little insects to the large predators.

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    1. We should never forget that we are part of it, Lorrie, not apart from it.

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  23. Hi David, I'm delighted to reconnect with your blog and continue learning from the enormous knowledge that you show in each of your new posts. A big hug friend.

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  24. Wonderful selection of wildlife, David. The spider and insects are not all familiar but most are. Love that frog. They’re not easy to see. The Turkey Tail is a beauty! The downy and the heron are so different in size…hard to believe they have so much in common.

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  25. I suspect the herons here have already headed south.

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  26. Thanks for the walk and the wonderful pictures. That infographic is spot on!

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  27. Wonderful pictures. Never seen a Belted Kingfisher before.

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  28. Love hearing bees and our lavender has been taken out both hedges as it's old but there are roses in the garden that will attract them hopefully this season coming.
    Lovely collection of photos and information, a nice area at the back of your house...not fond of spiders but tolerate them.

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  29. This was another beautiful walk you did.
    You have seen so many different insects.
    I like spiders.
    I wish you a very nice weekend.
    Greetings Irma

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  30. Lovely pictures from the inside and the outside !
    Nature is indeed beautiful ! Fall will bring you more beautiful photos I'm sure..
    Have a nice weekend !
    Anna

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  31. I like your minute observations. You see so many lovely creatures. Another enjoyable post!

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  32. Another round of beautiful walk photos. I especially love your meme at the end about extinction. My bees have been very active lately, all on the back deck where I still have flowers in bloom. Well I did have flowers in bloom until our very cold temps last night. My deck was buzzing as loud as the inside of the hive. I wonder if I could leave out the pollen patties (that I put in the hive for me honeybees) for native bumblebees to feed on? Now I have a good question to research. I hope you have a great weekend David. Hugs-Erika

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  33. Ya lo creo que son muchos los que quisieran dar un paseo por ese bello lugar acompañado de tu presencia y de tu buen hacer amigo mío. Seguro que sería una experiencia inolvidable.
    Hoy nos traes un bello reportaje, un poco de todo y como siempre tan digno y bello en compañía de tu grata experiencia.
    Siempre es un placer leerte querido amigo y disfrutar y paladear de tan buenos reportajes.
    Recibir un afectuoso abrazo y os deseo un espléndido y bello otoño.
    Feliz fin de semana amigos.

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  34. Thanks for your good wishes. I certainly wish I was doing a nature walk with you today, though it's a beautiful early fall day in NYC.

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  35. Always a wonderful virtual hike with you David and yes we ignore bees at our peril. Migration of the birds never ceases to affect me emotionally. Huge, huge distances. And all are so tiny.
    XO
    WWW

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  36. Hi David,
    Yes, I want to walk with you because you have the ability to always find the wonders of nature. On day may be ..... I would like and I hope
    Thank you once again for this immersion in a fabulous world. Far from the reality where everything is destroyed by the Man.
    See you soon David, the birds from elsewhere call me !!!! Big hug

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  37. He visto esos pequeños insectos de tu fotografía, que tan mala prensa tiene. Pero como a la mayoría de las personas disfrutamos más con las aves, las plantas y las mariposas. Sin olvidadar, por supuesto, los animales de compañía.

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  38. I love to find out what I see. You really discover many beautiful and interesting critters.

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  39. Yo, como te he dicho en varias ocasiones sí, estaría encantada de pasear contigo y Miriam. Gracias por mostrarnos tantas cosas bonitas. Abrazos.

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  40. Fascinating stuff, David.
    How wonderful to see so my different critters on your walks.

    Happy Sunday!

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  41. The kitchen bug is dangerous - it multiplies very quickly. He escaped from a humid environment, where he had no food.

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    1. Silverfish can be a realm nuisance, I know, but i would draw the line at "dangerous". They do no transmit disease. In any even it is the only one we have seen.

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  42. Could it be the caterpillar of a salt marsh moth?

    Your post this week is like reading from a book of nature at its finest. Thanks for linking in!!

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    1. You may well see the very attractive Salt Marsh Moth where you live, Anni, but it is not known to occur in Ontario.

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  43. The photos are beautiful as always, the insects and other very similar rthropods and some of the same ones that are here many kilometers to the south. Among the birds I never get tired of seeing the amazingly colorful Wood duck. A big hug my friend.

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  44. I think people react badly to earwigs because of their name, as if it would happily crawl in your ear. It will be a while yet before our fall asters bloom, still hot as hell and humid here.

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    1. You could be right, Ellen. I had never thought of that.

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  45. Dear David,
    unfortunately, the infographic hits the nail on the head. Personally, I know so many people who I hope, they will NOT die out, and you probably feel the same way - but a widespread decimation of those members of the human species who do not care about the preservation of nature or those who are massively working on nature-destruction would perhaps help...
    In your post you again show many smaller and larger "building blocks of nature"; did you see - under the hemina pinion there is also some light brown, translucent insect? Some of these critters don't elicit great enthusiasm from most people, including me, but each of them is important. By the way, I also rescue any spiders, European Earwigs and many other animals with six or eight legs (or sometimes even more) that stray into our house. And of course the one with 4 legs too. (For example, a common toad was once sitting between the wall and our washing machine. We only discovered it because one of the cats was staring very interestedly into this niche...) But I have to admit that the photos of the Woodpecker, the Kingfisher & Co. brought much more joy than the one from the spider ;-) , I've never seen Red-winged Blackbirds (I think) before... I also really like the Turkey Tail!
    All the best and a happy new week!
    Traude
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2022/09/strudlhofstiege-gartenpalais.html

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    1. The insect under the Hemina Pinion is the same fly as is shown in the first picture, Traude.

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  46. What a wonderful collection of photographs, I think my favourite is the wood duck, such fabulous colour and markings.

    All the best Jan

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  47. Beautiful pictures...I love woodpeckers!....Abrazotes, Marcela

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  48. Maybe your caterpillar is of the Sycamore Moth. I really like the funnel weaver spiders. We have a type here that weaves their funnel webs in the corners of our porch and deck walls, and between the screen and glass of our front windows. Earwigs...what a lousy name to give a creature that looks like that. I used to think, as a child, if one got into the house, it would go for my ear while I slept. I've gotten used to them since then. One must in the South, they are so plentiful. I think they rate right up there with cockroaches in most peoples minds. You are fortunate to live so close to a beautiful area. As always, your photos and the information with them never disappoints.

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    1. Hi Yvonne: To the best of my knowledge Sycamore Moth is not found in eastern North America.

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  49. Lovely Post! Most of us don’t pay enough attention to tiny creatures around us.

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  50. in gedachten loop ik met je mee want fysiek zal dat niet meer gaan maar je kan het heel mooi laten zien en heel mooi illustreren

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  51. My favorite among your insects is the pillbug. I sometimes find those in the house, and appreciate how easy they are to pick up and 're-home' in the great outdoors. I love the photo of the gathered birds in the tree. I once saw a flock of Waxwings similarly gathered, but only once, and it was before the time when I would have dashed for a camera. No matter; the memory still is imprinted.

    Many of our migrants arrive and are noticed first by sound rather than sight. I heard the first rattling call of the Kingfisher last week, and began watching. Before long, I found the bird in its unmistakable, dipping flight. The seasons are changing!

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  52. I don't like to see bugs that much, but I must say that tree filled with birds was an awesome sight. I have never seen so many birds in a single tree in my life.

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  53. It’s nice to have your own bit of woods to track through the seasons. Also nice to see a spot of fall color here and there, right? We just returned home from camping in the mountains and saw a touch here and there in the last couple days.

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    1. I am very happy to welcome fall, Cynthia. Summers over the past twenty years or so have become unbearable - my least favourite time of the year.

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  54. Interesting insects. Some are familiar, some I have never seen before. Oh yes, I would love to join you on your walk. Thanks for the virtual walk.

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  55. I had a good laugh about the Grass Spider! Yes, I do wish I could take a stroll in in Benjamin Park - looks lovely, and the Wood Duck is a handsome fellow. Your last photo certainly puts things in perspective.

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  56. Hi David - funny ... I loved seeing the earwig and the wood louse (your pill bug) - while Mrs Spider is the lucky one ... so I hope she's happier outside ... and yes the Wood Duck is staggeringly attractive - also all the other photos ... cheers Hilary

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  57. hello David
    I haven't really taken a close look at my roommates yet, but maybe I will.
    Greetings Frank

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