Bald Eagles in Florida - November 2013

The bald eagles at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are birds the come back when the heat of summer is gone. They arrive earlier than many of the other winter birds. The best viewing of the eagles with their nest is actually on the bus tour of the Kennedy Space Center rather than areas accessible in the wildlife refuge although there are some favorite snags in the refuge - just barely within viewing distance from the road - where the eagles like to survey their territory.

I can remember the first time I saw a bald eagle. It was about 24 years ago and at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The bird flew overhead as I held by baby daughter as we looked up from the visitor center parking lot.

Even though there are more bald eagles in the world now than 24 years ago, it’s still a ‘little celebration’ any time I see one!

Sandhill Cranes in Florida - November 2013

Sometimes spectacular birds are sighted in unlikely places. About an hour after we saw wood storks near the MacDonald’s parking lot before we got to Orlando, we saw Sandhill Cranes in the cell phone lot where we pulled in to wait for my daughter’s plane to arrive.

They did not seem bothered by the cars driving slowly and parking or pulling out. There was a mother with a young child walking in the parking lot. Neither the birds or the people made any sudden move; a comfortable distance was maintained.

These are large birds and their different postures can make them appear very different. Compare the three birds in the two images below. They are the same three birds!

Herons in Florida - November 2013

The two types of herons that were easiest to spot in Florida when we were there in November were the Great Blue Heron and the Tricolored Heron (formerly known as the Louisiana Heron).

The Great Blue Heron is a bird we see in Maryland as well and I’ve posted pictures of it before. They look the same everywhere. Some of these pictures include mangroves - a sure indication that these birds are much further south than Maryland.

The Tricolored Herons were new to me. Their range is much further south than Maryland; they thrive throughout Florida. These herons run in the water as they pursue their prey - very different behavior than the patient stalking style of the Great Blue Heron.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 7, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

The Snowman - Our family’s favorite holiday video - now available on YouTube.

Goldenrod Seeds - Chris Helzer’s photos posted to his ‘The Prairie Ecologist’ site

Khan Academy - I’m taking two Coursera courses about education (E-learning and Digital Cultures from The University of Edinburgh and Emerging Trends & Technologies in the Virtual K-12 Classroom from University of California, Irvine). The number of resources I’m discovering on the web through these courses is staggering. This is one of them.

Psychedelic Images of Terrifying Viruses - The colorization of microscopic images of viruses is done to make it easier to study the structure. You can look at them from that perspective or enjoy them as art! Be sure to look at the comments section for Luke Jerram’s glass sculptures of microbes (other images of the glass here).

Cherry Basil Crumble Bars - I am intrigued by the idea of using beans in the crust/topping and pairing cherries with basil

Are MOOCs the Future of Online Education - Infographic about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that includes currents statistics and some pros and cons about taking a MOOC.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #55 - I couldn’t resist including this one. My favorite, of course, is the peacock.

Ye Old Parasites - A study of decomposed feces from one of a castle’s latrines has shown high concentration of roundworm and whipworm parasites that plagued crusaders around 1200. Aside from being an interesting footnote to history on its own, it helps explain why so many crusaders died of malnutrition. The detailed genetic information of the parasites from 1200 compared to their modern forms can also guide treatment development to parts of the genome that are less likely to evolve (and become resistant).

What it’s like to grow old, in different parts of the world - Jared Diamond at TED.

Photos of Tiny Animals on Fingers - Enjoy!

Enjoying the Birds at Florida Beaches

The weather was too cool and windy to swim, so we enjoyed watching birds on the beach instead….at Canaveral National Seashore, Cocoa Beach and the beaches near Melbourne.

The wind made for some ruffled feathers. The terns would quickly turn into the wind and preen to resume their usual sleek look.

Or sometimes they just tolerated their ‘punkish’ look.

A willet and sanderling fed side by side on the goodies left from the waves rolling in. 

And the best of the rest are in the slide show below!

Road Trip to Florida

Our destination was Melbourne FL and we did the calculation between flying/car rental and driving - deciding that for two people without significant time constraints, it was less expensive to drive. The drive from Maryland to Florida is a trek on I-95. One passes around Washington DC and Richmond VA and then I-95 becomes a highway that misses any major city. I had thought we might see some fall color as we traveled southward; there was a little in Virginia but by the time we got to North Carolina, the pines dominated the roadway. There were miles of them. Sometimes there was a cotton field visible along the highway. Once past the Roanoke Rapids, there were more swamps and broad rivers. It was still sweat shirt weather all the way from Maryland to South Carolina where we stopped the first night.

By the time we got to Florida, it was warm and wet. I enjoyed the dolphin sculpture at the welcome center. Since it was raining, we stopped for lunch at MacDonald’s rather than picnic.

As we got out of the car the rain slowed down and I noticed two wood storks on a grassy area next to the parking lot. What a great way to start out our week in Florida! I’ll be posting more about our time in Florida over the next few weeks.

The road trip to Florida included a return trip too. On the way back I captured the sunrise in Georgia. We were up early for a long day of driving to get back to Maryland.

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 23, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Bob and Evelyn’s Seven Decade Dance - A short biography of a couple that met and married during World War II

Monday macrobug: milkweed bugs on milkweed pods - Milkweeds are probably my favorite wild plant.

The Future of Travel - It’s not about destination as much as it is about purpose. The larger version (easier to stare at) is here. From Richard Watson.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #52 - I can’t resist including these in my gleanings. My favorite of this batch is the macro shot of the Indian peacock’s head….although the spotted owlets are a close second.

Oklahoma vs. Texas (Water, Not Football) - Oklahoma has set its target to recognize the limitations of its water supplies, and the adaptability of its people, Texas has defined its dwindling water supplies as a problem in need of money. It’s good that the governments of both states are recognizing the challenge rather than ignoring it.

America’s First Amphetamine Epidemic 1929–1971 - This article is from the American Journal of Public Health in 2007...but I just found it recently. The author writes that “consumption of prescribed amphetamines has also reached the same absolute levels today as at the original epidemic’s peak.” Scary observation.

6 trashy exercises: Robin Nagle on thinking more creatively about garbage - How many of these have you tried? I’ve done 1, 2 and 4…but they are exercises that are easily repeated.

Increase in U.S. State Government Expenditures for Research and Development - Usually articles about R&D funding are grim…but the trend is upward for state governments. As our economy improves maybe there is more strategic thinking at the state level - at least in some of the states.

Stunning Portraits of Colorful Siamese Fighting Fish - In lieu of visiting an aquarium…a fishy feast for the eyes

Is Solar Worth It? - The answer is ‘it depends.’ This article identifies a way to figure out the answer for your situation.

Morning Sounds in the Neighborhood

I have been a morning person my whole life. It appeals to me that there are others in the world that are like me - not that I necessarily want to interact with them (the best morning times are solitary ones). Hearing the sounds they make is enough. These are the waking up in the morning sounds of my neighborhood:

The rumble and clanging of trucks and bins happen twice a week: recycle day is Wednesday and trash is Friday. They come right around 6:30 AM. In the summer they have full light but most of the year it is dark or the very beginning of the day. Our neighborhood must be one of the first on their route.

The school buses start about 7:30. The buses come through three times - matching the levels of schools: high school, middle and elementary with the high schools being the ones that have to get to the stop the earliest. The students are usually quiet. If there are sounds - they are happy ones: chatter of school friends, barks of dogs enjoying the walk to the bus stop, morning greetings between parents, goodbyes as the bus loads.

There is the quiet hum of cars leaving - people leaving for work. It happens slowly…the earliest is around 6. It seems like the time has broadened over the years with more people having flex time and working at home some days.

Bird noises crescendo in the early morning just around dawn. Our neighborhood is at the edge of a forested area and has mature trees in yards….and bird feeders. It is unusual to not hear birds in the morning.

What do you hear in your neighborhood on a November morning?

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 9, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Cool Plants for Kids: 8 that Explode, Eat Bugs, or Stick to You -  Cool plants for more than just kids: puffballs, jewelweed, beaked hazelnut, pitcher plants (below), sundew, burdock, beggarticks, Norway maples.

London’s Wasted Heat - It’s intriguing to realize that there are places in London - and probably most cities - where heat could be used rather than vented. The trend should be toward ‘less waste’ and this is certainly one area that could be worth pursuing.

US Preterm Birth Rate Drops to 15-Year Low - But the US still gets a ‘C’ grade when it comes to preterm birth rates. It’s very sad for the individual children fighting to overcome the impact of preterm birth and preterm births cost about 12 times more than an uncomplicated healthy birth. For the report card for each state - see the March of Dimes site.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #51 - I always like the collections of bird photographs. My favorite in this batch is the common kingfisher with outspread wings….but I also enjoyed how many of the birds in this set were finding something to eat.

Norwegian Vikings Purchased Silk from Persia - Trade has been going on for a long time….sometimes longer than our ‘history’ has realized.

9 ways mushrooms could drastically improve the world - From a TED talk by Mohamed Hijri

Breathtaking Autumn Colors Viewed Atop Oberg Mountain - These image from Minnesota were posted in early October….I just got around to taking a look at them.

Saharan Star Dunes - These dunes are formed when the wind changes directions…swirling.

US Cities In Which The Fewest People Drive To Work - Biking…walking…mass transit - is it a surprise that New York, Washington DC, Boston and San Francisco are at the top of the list?

Gartner's dark vision for tech, jobs - The upcoming wave of machines replacing people now is entering into Gartner’s projections….it is within the near term rather than outside the span of our lifetimes. 

La Sal Mountains - Utah - October 2013

It was cold the morning we drove up into the La Sal Mountains in southeastern Utah. The peaks had snow and the edge of the pond was icy.

The grass and seed pods around the pond were coated with thick frost.

But the lower slopes were covered with colors of aspens and pines.

We watched cattle being herded by men on horseback; it was the time of year to move to lower pastures. And over it all - we heard birds (and sometimes saw) birds enjoying the forest before the big freeze of winter.

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 2, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Pumpkin and Ginger Scones - New York Times Recipes for Health - Yum! The prospect of the melding flavor of pumpkin, ginger, and maple syrup seems to suit my mood for this season. Since I cooked a whole pumpkin this past week, I have plenty of pumpkin to make these scones.

London’s Health - There is a new website that organizes historical ‘Medical Officer of Health’ reports for London from 1848 and 1972. There are several ways to search. I looked for ‘smallpox’ references as my first search.  

Inside the American Kitchen - An infographic about kitchens. Did you know that the three most popular features for kitchen projects are: islands, roll-outs/pull-outs, and drawers?

Cornell Lab FeederWatch - If you get the urge to enjoy birds at a feeder but don’t have one of your own - enjoy the one at Sapsucker Woods near Ithaca NY. There are almost always birds around (and if they aren’t at the feeder there are bird noises that indicate they are nearby).

Massive 80-Room Tree House Stands Almost 100-Feet-Tall - I enjoyed visiting this Tennessee tree house in summer of 2012….and took some very similar pictures (the one below is mine). It is so large that it is hard to capture the entire structure!

Thawing Permafrost: The Speed of Coastal Erosion in Eastern Siberia Has Nearly Doubled - Coastal erosion in areas there permafrost and sea ice were the norm for large parts of the year until recently is increasing rapidly. The materials used for the article include more graphics about how it occurs.

Take a trip over the surface of Mars - A 4 minute video presentation of images from Europe’s Mars Express that has been orbiting Mars since 2004.

The World's Strangest and Most Magnificent Gardens - I love gardens so couldn’t resist including this on the ‘gleanings’ list for the week.

Message From a 50-Year-Old Flamingo - A conservation success story - for now….but there is a lot that could still go wrong for the flamingos left in this world.

Restoration: Another Layer of History - Some examples of industrial/military areas that are repurposed into more public spaces.

Monticello, Utah

We opted to stay in a vacation rental in Monticello, UT rather than Moab on our recent vacation. Monticello is higher (and cooler) than Moab and is further south. My husband had prioritized ‘Monument Valley’ as a destination for one of our days and the location of Monticello made it an easier day trip.

The small town turned out to be scenic too. The second morning, a dusting of snow became visible as the sun came up. It flocked the grass and provided a white backdrop to the fall foliage in the ‘rough’ of the golf course.

After the snow melted (it only lasted a few hours) - the green grass was visible again and the bright sunlight caused all the colors to glow.

Deer came to visit - seemingly used to people being near.

My eyes were drawn again and again to a tree that had lost its leaves already. The green of the golf course surrounded it - and I wondered if it was dead or just some tree that always lost its leaves early.

There were many birds around too - but only this one sat still long enough to be photographed.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 12, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Massive Growth of Electric Cars in US, + Who Drives Electric Cars - Infographic

21 Glorious Photos of Double Rainbows around the World - Any rainbow is special….but double ones are rare enough to be extra special

First Ever Global Index to Measure Wellbeing of Older People - Uses measures of income security, health status, employment and education, and enabling environment. For more details, the Global AgeWatch Index is here.

These Breathtaking Cliffside Walkways Will Give You Vertigo - I don’ want to go to any of these places…this pictures are enough!

Nut-and-Seed Energy Balls - I’m going to make the goodies this weekend.

12 Fantastic Photos of Fall Trees Exploding with Color - I like to think of fall colors as the last hurrah before winter. It is a visual feast.

Save Energy & Save Money Using The Sun Intelligently in These 10 Ways - How many of these are you already using?

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #48 - I always enjoy a series of bird pictures. I like the blue and gold macaw in this set.

Ancient Printing Rituals Form Intricate Sand Patterns - This looks more fun than sandcastles!

Top Travel Trends - From Richard Watson

Longwood Gardens Sunflowers - September 2013

Sunflowers in the sun! They are one of my favorites for late summer and into fall. The sunflowers pictured in this post were at Longwood Gardens in September.  The large headed one was in a demonstration garden and the smaller ones were at the edge of the meadow (closed for renovation and expansion). 

The group of flowers I spent the longest time watching had gone to seed and birds were enjoying their bounty.

Kitchen Windows

This week it occurred to me that there is been a window over the sink in the kitchen in every house I’ve owned. I’ve always enjoyed the view to the outside from all four - 

• a newly planted peach tree,
• a yard shaded by large oaks where moss was more common than grass,
• a maple tree that shaded the window in the late afternoon while I prepared dinner, and
• now a deck with pots of zinnias, mint, basil, and cardinal flowers.   

Having a window over the sink is not something that I consciously required when I chose these houses, but now that I realize how much I've enjoyed them over the years, I am quite sure my next house will have one too.

Recently, I’ve been standing at the sink while I eat an orange for my morning snack…enjoying the view. Birds seem to show up frequently and sometimes I am fast enough to get the camera and take pictures. The chickadee and hummingbird are my favorites.

Dove on a Park Bench

Last weekend, while walking around Brookside Gardens, I noticed a dove walking on the ground. I tried to get positioned for a good picture but it kept moving away. Then - it fluttered up to the arm of a park bench. The bird looked perfectly relaxed and ready for a picture.

After posing on the arm for a minute or so, it moved up to top rim of the bench's back…for a bit more posing. The feathers were ruffled making the bird look bigger.

Then it flew into a nearby tree and waited patiently for me to get a few pictures. After I took the picture below, the bird turned in the other direction. Was there some important bird-logic about keeping the left side facing me?

Cardinals in the Desert

A male cardinal survey the yard from a particular bush every morning we were in Tucson in June. He stayed around long enough to be photographed. The favored bush had seeds that the cardinal particularly enjoyed. One morning he was content to simply gorge.

The next morning he brought a female friend and proceeded to offer her part of the bounty.

The last morning he ate quickly then posed - back and then with upraised tail - before he flew off for the rest of his day in the desert.

Feathers

A feather on the ground always catches my attention. I learned to be on the lookout for them when my daughter was young and carried an old bread bag that contained her feather collection with her on every outing. It was surprising to me how frequently we found a feather to add since I had never really looking for feathers before. Now - almost 20 years later - I still find myself noticing feathers. These days I simply photograph them and leave them wherever they are -

Battered in beach debris

Pristine in the sand....matted on harsh concrete

Fluffy on a tile floor...Arcing on top of the water

On the top of water - held aloft in relative dryness....and beginning to get wet

Standing at attention in the rocks

What is it that is so fascinating and appealing about feathers? 

• Is it their relationship to flight
• Or their shape
• Or their structure - the central bib and fine barbs
• Or simply that they are so different from any part of us? 

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 6, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

18 Jaw-Dropping Ocean Photos - Aptly named BuzzFeed posting

Can city farms feed a hungry world? - Experiments in urban farming around the world….the future of food in the cities may depend on their success.

Stunning Shots of Reine, the Most Beautiful Village in Norway - Snowy pictures for a hot summer day!

Modern Technology Aids Repairs to 14th-Century Kiva at Bandelier National Monument - Bandelier is probably my favorite place in New Mexico. I’m glad it’s getting needed repairs.

Oral History….DNA from Ancient Tooth Tartar - Bacteria in the mouth have changed over time (large changes with transition from hunter/gatherer to farmer (more soft foods) and then with the advent of refined carbohydrates and concentrated sugars).

Amount of Dust Blown across the Western U.S. is Increasing - The technique that they use to determine how much dust is blowing is the most interesting part of this gleaning.

Magical Long Exposures Photos of Fireflies in Japan - It is easy to image fireflies as fairies in these forest images.

X-ray images of women in corsets show skeletons in a bind - I am very glad corsets are in our past rather than our present or future!

Opinion: On Living Longer - A thoughtful piece about memory loss and aging.

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #44 - As usual, I can’t resist the bird photographs. My favorite in this group is last one - of the southern carmine bee-eaters aerial ballet.

Madera Canyon

Madera Canyon is about 30 miles south of Tucson and 30 miles north of Nogales in the Santa Rita Mountains. It is in the Coronado National Forest - a pleasant addition of trees to the cactus and scrub of the Sonoran Desert. We took an easy hike and ate a picnic - with almost no one else around - when we visited Tucson a few weeks ago. There was no water in Madera Creek; nonetheless, the birds were plentiful as we had anticipated. They were so quick that we didn’t get many pictures until we stopped at a gift shop and found benches overlooking bird feeders. It was a great finale to the outing.