Imagine Ink on Paper

Indoor Pursuits

2012-01-03T16:38:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year.
And a beautiful day it was: warm and sunny and most unlike the season. While I'm happy about the weather, I blame it for the stupid, stupid sore throat I've got, which has caused me to miss the Muppet exhibit in Astoria yesterday, and cancel tonight's plans for tacos and margaritas in Long Beach. Stupid, stupid illness.
That's enough whinging and sighing, now. What can we do while we're stuck indoors?
One thing would be to watch the birds on the window feeder:

Okay, so that wasn't the most exciting clip. I did get a couple of still shots that weren't too bad, except for the window reflection:

Once in a while they'll try the purple berries of the Callicarpa, but I gather those are somewhat bitter, and are a food of last resort.

And then, lunch was over and they flew away.
What now? I could wander over to my desk and start thinking about making Valentines:

Or I could get distracted by a computer file of old family portraits:

Those old studio portraits of family members long gone are a bit melancholy, especially when they're accompanied by plaintive inquiries like, "Do you know who this is?" (Sigh. Whatsamatter, didn't they have pencils in the first half of the twentieth century? They couldn't write a name on the back?)
But one thing I've always found charming is the studios' exquisite logos. Aren't they evocative?
Let's take a look at a few:

Okay, that's enough puttering about. Better go take a nap and get well; the first workday of 2012 starts tomorrow.

Boxing Day, And The Feasting Continues

2011-12-27T10:28:00.000-05:00

Here's one creature in our household's orbit who's happy to put on a little weight before winter sets in. This chickadee is checking out the suet feeder that's now in the Norway pine. It's a challenge for my avian friends to find the suet feeder each morning, as I need to change its location every day or two to foil the squirrels, who would otherwise nom it empty in no time.

The sparrows and starlings also enjoy their fattysnax. Peck away, friends! And then tomorrow, look for it in the blue spruce in the backyard! Sshh! Don't tell Rocky, let him look for it.

Squeezed To Meet You!

2011-12-03T22:16:00.001-05:00

Okay, I think we can see these are not your average, lazily-smothering-the-old-tree-type vines; these are some strangulatin' vegetable-constrictors that mean business. Having gotten hold of a strong young sapling, they are Taking. It. Down yessirree.
You'll understand why I made sure to keep moving, and not stand for too long in one spot, when I walked around the Knollwood ruins in Muttontown Preserve with my brother yesterday. The English ivy was so vigorous, so extensive... I swear it was grabbing my shoelaces...

More Out-Of-Title Work

2011-11-16T18:55:00.000-05:00

A young woman holding a big SLR camera (nothing like the one pictured) comes to the desk and wonders if I can help her. Of course I will, if I can. She explains she's taking a photography course. Okay! What does she need: a book or two? A local camera club? Help with Flickr? No...she wonders if I can show her how to load her camera with this thing they call..."film." Yes, yes, of course I can. We're a full-service agency.

Gruesome Fun

2011-11-15T10:46:00.001-05:00

Looks like the kids next door have already gotten this season's hot new toy, Decapitate Me Elmo!

Running For The Fun Of It

2011-11-13T17:31:00.001-05:00

I've been getting out a little more on the bicycle, but yesterday I enjoyed my exercise vicariously, watching the DH run in another local 5K . I made myself useful taking finish-line photos for a local running shop that had looked in vain for a volunteer photographer. It was a perfect day for running: clear and sunny, cool and dry. Here he is coming over the finish line:

He makes me so proud. No excuses, no extreme training, he just goes out and runs because he likes to. What a guy.

Oh, Autumn, How Could You?

2011-10-29T12:39:00.000-04:00

Mother Nature, I thought we were pals. But first Irene's brackish floods turned the leaves from green to brown with no inbetween, and now this, the untimely arrival of sn...no, I won't say its name. I will only say where, oh where, are the crunchy piles of rainbow-colored leaves and the smell of woodsmoke in dry, crisp air? Release my rosebuds from these individual miracles of crystallization instantly, I insist! Really. Am putting my foot down. And then, wiping it carefully before coming back inside, because it is snowing out there. (Oops!)

Thanks For Pointing That Out!

2011-10-23T20:42:00.002-04:00

You know you're in California when even the traffic signals direct your attention to the natural wonders surrounding you.

If You've Filled It, They Will Come

2011-10-20T21:38:00.000-04:00

...the wee, greedy sparrows, that is...and they will bicker and spat like the Three Stooges with wings. They'll be so busy tussling, in fact, they won't even notice they're being recorded.

A New Leaf

2011-10-19T10:57:00.001-04:00

Oh, look at that; I've been away so long Blogger has gone and changed the dashboard on me. Well, let's see if we can't get this party (re)started. The pond lily above posed for me at Longhouse Preserve on a recent Saturday roadtrip I took with my brother. We visited the South End Cemetery in East Hampton, where the caretaker powered down his weedwhacker long enough to talk about some of the interments and gossip a little about former locals like Lee Krasner, for whom he provided landscaping services. We also hit a couple of tag sales and stopped at the Big Duck, in addition to strolling Longhouse, which combines gardens with outdoor sculpture. Then we headed back and to the north, broke the fast with the Bode clan, and finally headed home. Stella Luna put on two hundred and twenty-five miles! (She's usually a homebody, but she loves to get out and kick up her hubcaps sometimes.)

Something Old, Something New Year

2011-01-02T12:49:00.016-05:00

It's nice to start the year with something new, which is what we got at Fire Island yesterday: icebergs! Icebergs floating past us as we walked along the beach below the lighthouse. Much smaller than the ones in Juneau, but much closer to home.

Here's a photo of Ken in front of the icebergs. For scale, of course.

The sun was out on the causeway, and so was the welcome wagon:

It was otherwise quiet along the shore, and barren but for some seagull's lunch wrapper:

We did see this fine example of the elusive "Moe Howard" variety of seaweed:

and the eversharp eye of Ken spotted this squee-ishly small starfish. Just look at it next to my monstrously large forefinger:

Anyway, Happy New Year. Hope everyone's year really "goes to eleven." In a good way.

Dig Out Your Snow Boots...

2010-12-27T10:19:00.013-05:00

...then proceed to dig out everything else, because that right there is Fort Fiona, and the little kitter inside needs water and food and, after last night's howling winds, probably a lot of reassurance.

I will need boots. And perhaps, a plow.

I don't think there's a newspaper on that driveway, anyway, so let's not even consider shoveling that.

Almost there, honey. It'll just be another, um, half-hour or so.

I asked if she'd be going out today; she couldn't shake her head "no" fast enough. Okay, hon, I'll crack the ice on your water dish and warm up some Fancy Feast...you go on back to sleep...

70

2010-10-09T12:09:00.000-04:00

This Dog Won't Hunt

2010-08-15T13:56:00.009-04:00

He won't come when you call, either, but isn't he delightful? Sniffin' the breeze.
We were out near the beach today to look at my brother's new place. Leaving, we drove down a particular street to see a house under construction, and wound up going in the wrong direction. Serendipitously, the wrong turn revealed an ice cream place that had just been recommended to us, so we stopped and got a couple of cones and walked around the neighborhoood, where we stumbled upon this handsome guy.

Big Weekend

2010-08-02T06:00:00.002-04:00

Weather by Disney: sunny and warm, clear blue skies all weekend. Saturday took us out to Montauk to celebrate the Marks patriarch's 80th birthday: huzzah! Lots of wonderful people, lots of good stories. A few of the grandsons dashed off a tune to mark the occasion. Click and watch!

Sunday morning, the vibe continued with more picture-perfect weather, so I took my bike out to the park. Leaving my house with the bike is quite a production, as I have to prop open the storm door, open the inside door, wrestle the bike down the five steps without it getting away from me, kickstand it, go back and lock the inside door, unprop and close the storm door, adjust my helmet, and get on the dang bike. It's a spectacle, I tell ya. So Sunday morning as I completed this routine, a neighbor walking by with his dog stopped to compliment me on the front yard, which is not-a-lawn. He introduced himself as Doug, and said that someday soon -"not today, and not tomorrow, but someday soon"- he'd like to come by and hear how I put it together. I thought that was very nice. A nice neighbor, and he likes my garden! Although I thought it was strange that he didn't introduce his dog. Or is it strange that I would expect him to introduce his dog?

Later in the day, we gathered at the Newmans' for Mike's 18th birthday. Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln, where did the time go?

Only the tiki guitar god knows.

Dog Days of Summer Can Be Fun

2010-07-14T10:12:00.005-04:00

...if you're hanging at the beach with these guys, that is. I posted this on my Facebook page, but had to add it here as well for my non-FB buds. For more about the group that trained the goggies, check out this article.
(Did you watch the video?? C'mon, you gotta watch the video. Click on the first link. That's it! Good dog!) If the link doesn't work, go to YouTube and search for "Dog Party On The Beach;" it should be the first vid to come up, from Tallahassee Pet Connect.

Graduation Weekend!

2010-06-29T06:53:00.001-04:00

Two great nephews, two great futures in the works: Michael (in red) graduated from South on Friday, and Devon (in blue) received his diploma from Oceanside on Sunday. Both earned extra points for remaining very handsome in wilting heat while encased in flowing polyester robes.

Thereby Hangs A...

2010-06-24T23:00:00.000-04:00

Life isn't all lounging-on-the-warm-rocks for these guys. Clearly, they have their misadventures.

Did You Know?

2010-06-22T23:33:00.000-04:00

The middle of the ocean hosts an unobstructed one of these every day.

Count Your Change

2010-06-20T16:45:00.000-04:00

Always one to spot money-in-the-street, the DH was surprised to see a handful of change discarded in a planter on the St. George dock last week in Bermuda. It turned out to be demonetized British currency.
This penny's worth only that, and only in Bermuda, but it reminded me of a recent entry in Futility Closet:

"On April 12, 2006, numismatist Scott A. Travers bought a pretzel in Times Square and paid for it partly with a 1914 penny worth $350.

In the same week he spent a 1908 penny worth $200 and a 1909 one worth more than $1,000. “I’m planting a seed,” he told the New York Times, “and I hope that a new generation of people will come to appreciate the history that coins represent.”

In the weeks that followed, seven people came forward claiming to have found the $1,000 penny. “The coins were real, but none of them was mine,” Travers said.

In January 2009, the New York Daily News reported that all three of Travers’ coins were still unclaimed. That doesn’t mean they’re still circulating — but they might be."

DeBaun Is DeGone

2010-06-18T08:40:00.007-04:00

It was just about two years ago that Camp DeBaun, an Oceanside day camp, closed its doors after 58 years of family ownership. There's no reason I should be nostalgic about it; I never went to camp there, nor even knew anybody who had. Still, I had occasion to drive past it quite often, and the shady plot of colorful, well-kept buildings was a landmark. Plenty of other folks remember it quite fondly, (it has a Facebook page, naturally) and I hope they took all the pictures they needed to before yesterday, which is when I snapped this one. You can just about see the camp name on the blue building to the right. I saw the big earth-movers as I drove past on my way to the nursery, pulling up great chunks of brush like awkward dinosaurs. It does seem a shame that so many fine old trees have to come down in order to make way for....what? A 24-hour, 60,000-square-foot supermarket, apparently. Oh, good. Because the other three supermarkets within a half-mile radius are, like, a half-mile away.

Bermudaahhh...

2010-06-16T23:48:00.000-04:00

We're back, after only a week. That doesn't seem long enough, does it?

Always A Trip, This Flower

2010-06-14T23:20:00.002-04:00

All of a sudden, three foxglove plants sprang up not far from where I planted one four years ago. Volunteers!

How Quiet?

2010-06-12T23:06:00.000-04:00

"Library quiet?"
I'd guess the retailer wants to emphasize how very quiet this unit is, and perhaps where they come from, libraries are very quiet. All I can say to them is: welcome to New York City. How can I help you?....(louder)I said,
How can I help you?
I'm also intrigued by the "stainless steel flavorizer bars" noted on the grill to the left.

Old Faithfuls

2010-06-10T23:06:00.000-04:00

We have lots of different kinds of daylilies around here, thanks to the DH's old hobby, but over the years and the moving them around, I really don't know which one's which anymore. Anyhow, this is the first one blooming, and doesn't it cheer the joint up?

More Color To Rest The Eyes

2010-06-08T22:26:00.000-04:00

Serene blue bellflower

Clematis

2010-06-06T22:59:00.000-04:00

This vine hides in the dogwood tree; you have to work to see the blooms.

Finally! Something Pretty

2010-06-04T09:33:00.000-04:00

Enough with the brown insects, empty nests, and grey sweaters. I'm tired of them too. Let's look at a flower every day instead, shall we? Here's what's blooming at the moment: this sweet pink tuft-flower-thing, whose proper name I've lost around here someplace.

Angry Insects

2010-06-02T21:09:00.000-04:00

The DH spotted this on his way to get the paper. This formation went for six feet. Zillions of ants look to be having a gigantic, panicky fire drill, or some sort of evacuation procedure. "Everybody out! Mill around!!" But more likely it was something like a big pesticide application driving them out from underground.

This little guy has HAD it with me chasing him all over the table with the macro on, and he's turned to fight, belligerently putting up his two wee front legs like a boxer. Cracked me up.

Gone Baby Gone

2010-06-01T10:52:00.005-04:00

In fact, they've been gone for days and days now, I've just been neglectful. Having resolved this year not to bother them five times a day like last year, the time just flew (ha ha) by, and I never saw even one of the three leave the nest like last year. I don't see them around the way I saw the juvies last year being fed on the ground, and then gradually on branches higher and higher up until their flight skills improved. Hope the new guys are making out okay, wherever they are.

In The Dressing Room

2010-05-27T22:03:00.002-04:00

I haven't come across this before. Is it softer than grownup camel-hair? Are we running out of angora? Is this from farm-raised camels? What if I took the sweater home and it spit at my other sweaters, could I return it? Too many questions. I put it back.

How Big?

2010-05-26T07:13:00.002-04:00

Sooooo big!

Baby Birds Update

2010-05-20T07:17:00.004-04:00

I promised to leave them in peace this year, but I had to take one little peek to see if....yes! There was successful hatching! There were four eggs, and I can pick out just three heads here, but we'll see. I won't try for another shot for at least a week. It's harder to get the camera in the tree this year, because the nest is in the exact same place as last year, but the tree's branches have grown a few inches longer, making it harder to get the camera close. I don't want to risk rocking the cradle. Imagine the karmic toll that would be taken if I knocked a nest of baby birds out of a tree for the sake of a blog post...

This'll Do

2010-05-16T21:32:00.001-04:00

A day of beautiful weather here on the island shaped like a fishie.
Our good friend Al Fresco arrived for his annual four-to-five-month visit this morning, when the DH and I took advantage of the perfect weather to reinstall the gazebo canopy for its third season. Here, Queen Fiona inspects the Restoration Of The Summer Palace. That's what I'm calling it now. I never liked the word "gazebo" very much, and it's not exactly a screenhouse...so, "The Summer Palace" it is. Queen Fi is very much looking forward to lazy, shady mornings spent lounging in a chair. She loves the thing.
It didn't take long to get the roof on, so while I put the curtains up, DH had time to dig out the big gnarly roots of the evergreen shrubs I cut down last week, and then mow our remaining area-rug-sized scrap of lawn. Then, we did a little outdoor reading to make it official: summer's here.

Silent Disapproval

2010-05-12T21:49:00.002-04:00

Unlike the loudmouth avian tribe mentioned yesterday, these guys don't vocalize at all, at least as far as I can tell. But I'm pretty sure they're unhappy that I cut down two big old worn-out junipers in the side garden, as it gives them a little less cover. Don't feel too sorry for them, they still have ninety percent of the front yard, and a fair-sized bit of the backyard too. When I walk to the mailbox it disturbs their sunbathing and sends them skittering in all directions, like I'm Godzilla and they're a herd of tiny dinosaurs. So funny.

Small Body, Big Mouth

2010-05-11T21:56:00.001-04:00

Such a racket this little guy can make. The melodious chirping and long, pretty warblings of courting season have given way to loud, repetitious squawking intended to assert authority and drive away competitors. A handful of these house sparrows, three or four starlings, and my robin couple all have been flying-and-crying, swooping-and-whooping all over the place today, letting everybody know whose territory is whose. This loud posturing is necessary, I guess, because they've all got to live within sight of each others' nests, inner suburbia being as crowded as it is, and trees being as scarce as they are around here.

And Away We Go!

2010-05-10T11:36:00.003-04:00

Something catches her attention here, and once she decides to go, it's up to the kids to keep up...

Mother Goose

2010-05-09T05:23:00.001-04:00

We met this big momma at Mill Pond early yesterday morning. She's got a brood of seven to keep track of. Click the link to watch the littlies scurry under her wing. So cute. Happy Mother's Day, and remember to check your shoes after leaving the park...

Other Nests in the Neighborhood

2010-05-08T18:09:00.003-04:00

Kenny spotted this nest in Hendrickson Park. Not difficult to do, as it's out in plain sight, and marked with a red flag, so someone's watching it. It's a duck nest, according to our friend who saw a white duck sitting on it one day. In trying to find out what the red flag means, I came across this interesting article. That gives me an idea...

This Year's Clutch

2010-05-07T13:56:00.004-04:00

Here they are, looking exactly like last year's photo.
I want to leave them in peace this year, so that's the only close-up I'm going to take. Otherwise, I'll just be observing them with binoculars from behind a lilac bush about 23 feet away. And unfortunately, that's just too far away for my zoom to pick out the nest, which is quite thoroughly hidden from almost every other vantage point.

New Construction

2010-04-28T23:52:00.004-04:00

So that census report I just sent back is already outdated; I think last year's robin couple has come back to stay with us again this year. It might be a different pair, but the new nest has been constructed in the exact same location on the same branch of the spruce. (I removed the old nest last year after it was abandoned.) It's currently empty, and not quite as impossibly-neat-looking as a robin nest usually is, though it's a tightly-woven little thing. No sign of the contractor.

On Pushing Through, and Coming Back

2010-04-03T08:07:00.000-04:00

I didn't clear away the oak leaves last fall, but that didn't stop the tulips. All over the bed, they just keep unfurling, ever so slowly, and go not around the obstacle but straight through. The force is with them, the one that through the green fuse drives the flower.
(Oh look it up; you're in front of the internet anyway...)
The lizards have woken up and started to scamper, everything's coming up green, and crowds of robins are urging me to "cheer up! cheer up!" as they search for real estate to settle down on. I tell ya, it's like a Hallmark card at times.
Things have been quiet here since the end of the summer, when a spanner was thrown in the works, and I've spent the last six months being inspected, resected and injected. It's not quite over, but it will be soon, and trust me, when it is, we'll be getting back up to speed here. For what that's worth.
In the meantime, here's a snowdrop in the Clark Botanic Garden, on the first full day of spring.

How's My Hair?

2010-03-19T12:56:00.000-04:00

The music of chainsaws fills the air every day now, and will for some time to come.
It was a week ago already, that mighty wind on Saturday. It took down half a dozen 30- to 40-foot evergreens around the block, but spared us any harm. A gigantic branch from a neighbor's tree broke off and fell onto our garage roof, but remained supported by a lower limb, so the roof was undamaged. Our good ol' brother-in-law Newman came over with a power tool; he and Ken climbed onto the garage roof, and I stayed inside and kept them from falling off by concentrating very, very hard. I did not take pictures of that. We did lose a piece of downspout,(I think) and/or a length of leader pipe from the gutters. Something unexciting like that.
Elsewhere, just across the street and down the block, there was much more damage:

I think contractors and landscapers will have a very good season this year.

Pointless

2010-03-01T01:00:00.000-05:00

The March March March has been undertaken undertaken (almost) every year since 1979, by people in the town of March, in Cambridgeshire, for no reason other than to refer to it as the March March March.

Recommended For You

2010-01-17T14:45:00.006-05:00

For a good time, visit That Is Priceless, because I promise you, you will laugh.

Winter Arrives With A "Whumpf!"

2009-12-20T09:19:00.004-05:00

There'll be no more basking in unseasonable warmth; Gaia decided to throw on a thick ermine shawl to celebrate the winter solstice, which occurs tomorrow at 12:47 p.m. EST. We got about six or seven inches of snow.
Kenny immediately set to work on the first order of business: digging his way to Fiona and refreshing her frozen water dish. Is he the best or what?

Spruce Basking: Now With Video!

2009-12-05T07:45:00.001-05:00

Yes, more lizards, you thought you'd heard the last about them for a while, but no, they are still up and around every sunny day between 10:30 and noon, even now it's December. Here's one guy who let me follow him for a minute (until I lost my balance.) They climb up the dwarf Alberta spruce and take in the southern exposure for a couple of hours. I don't know how they can stand scurrying around on those needles, which are quite prickly, at least to my unwebbed fingers.

Cultural Offerings Close To Home

2009-11-20T12:43:00.000-05:00

There's no excuse for not seeing a Marks family member in a stage performance this weekend; whether you like the rock and the roll, or you prefer the legitimate theatre, we have a talented relative to suit your taste. On Saturday, November 21st, be sure to catch Vacancy at the Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre, just off Sunrise Highway. That's Devon on vocals and rhythm guitar. Doors open at 2 p.m., and VACANCY hits the stage around 4 p.m. (Yes, not exactly rocknroll standard time. Perhaps AARP is sponsoring the show. But hey, it leaves your whole evening free!)
And with that free evening, stop by Temple Emanu-El on Neptune Avenue in Long Beach Saturday at 8, Sunday afternoon at 3, to see my dramatically talented sister Janet bring to life the role of Gwendolyn Pigeon in the Long Beach Theatre Guild's production of Neil Simon's magnum opus, The Odd Couple. I mentioned this to someone who averred they'd never seen The Odd Couple, not in any incarnation: not the play, nor the movie, nor even an episode of the television series. I found this hard to believe.

A Sweet Gig

2009-11-08T14:36:00.002-05:00

Were you passed over for the position of NPR librarian? Take heart, there are still some excellent gigs out there, like this one. Makes me wish I had some archival experience...

Arachnophiles Only Read On

2009-11-06T12:07:00.020-05:00

Here now is the late (very late indeed) late-summer roundup of Spiders In The Backyard, 2009 Edition. We will be starting with egg cases, but later there will be big hairy spiders, so you are aware. This summer we had a number of Cribellate Orb Weavers (Uloborus) on this one low evergreen shrub. They build a horizontal orb web, and sit around all stretched out with their legs before and behind them in a line. Odd. Here's a shot of what the egg cases look like. Naturally, I missed the emergence. Very hard to catch these things.

Here's the Uloborus stretched out, as is its wont, in the center of the web.

Here she is, stretched out (again) to the southwest with one egg case behind her:

So that was something new and different. There were plenty of familiar octopeds, too.

Here, it was a cool day, and this guy was sleeping under a buddleia leaf just off his web.

Look at the design on this spider's abdomen. It reminds me of a woven tapestry or rug:

Click to enlarge and check out the child-like flower image on this spider's abdomen, a brown flower with two leaves on a cream background:

( I don't know what's for lunch, but it looks like there's plenty of it... )

And last but not you-know-what, here's a belly-view of a late-summer badass, the kind that build giant webs across frequently-traveled paths...

Hiding In Plain Sight

2009-11-03T09:16:00.010-05:00

Would you look at that? Do you see what's in the seed pod, beside seeds?

I usually cut down the daylilies' flower stalks before they develop seed pods, but the ones I miss have, by mid-October, been dessicated into lacy cups of glossy jet beads, like the ones here. I thought it made a nice image, with the shadow and the contrasting textures, and photographed them two weeks ago. Only now do I see.....the snail. (Make that snails. That's one in the left pod, too!) These guys get everywhere. It's not unusual to see the little critters poised at the end of an eight-foot-long willow branch that must have taken them hours to traverse the length of, from the ground to the very tip where now is being chewed up the tenderest, juiciest new growth. But really, you climbed all the way up the stalk, into the seed pod... Did it eat and fall asleep? Was it attacked by a predator and left there, an empty shell? Went looking for that same stalk and seedhead today, but it's gone; it's been two weeks of rain, wind, leaves falling, sun, rain, etc. So. Something impossible to look out for next year...

Hey, A Job's A Job

2009-10-24T14:26:00.002-04:00

and this one pays ten thousand for five weeks' work. Is it worth it?

Moth Heart (No, Not The Playwright With A Lisp...)

2009-09-30T13:02:00.005-04:00

Still slacking off here.

Coming soon: gruesome life-and-death struggles in the suburban backyard paradise.

Until then, this one's for Clytie!

Easier On The Eyes

2009-09-24T09:43:00.003-04:00

I apologize for flaking out and leaving that giant spider up for weeks as the only thing to greet you, my welcome visitors. While I will continue to flake out for a few days, until I drum up something to say or show, let me post a prettier placeholder here. Normally, I bore you all with Latin names, but honestly, I just plain forget what this is. It's not a daisy. I bought it in the spring at the nursery; I think it's a perennial, the flower petals are rosy, purple, blue or white, all on the same plant, and the centers are all this great navy-blue.

Oh, wait! I found out. It's an osteospermum, probably the cultivar "Passion Mix." Should be perennial. Anyway, it's very pretty all season long here in zone 7; I recommend it.

It's Giant Spider Season

2009-09-06T17:30:00.004-04:00

Late summer brings out webworld's big boys! Thanks to Ken for the scale-providing half dollar.

Key West Final (People and Other Critters Edition)

2009-09-02T23:31:00.004-04:00

The streets were lively at night; this man had music playing as he cruised the main drag:

Oh, Peter, you should have gotten a teaching license to fall back on...

Michael and Alex with a stormtrooper:

We also saw some pretty strange sights during the day.

This is a conch eye:

and this was the spider that changed my mind about walking down that particular "nature trail;"

it's a spiny-backed orbweaver:

Time For Another Insect Closeup

2009-08-31T23:24:00.000-04:00

Look what I found on the tomato plants this evening! A tomato hornworm, parasitized by the cocoons of brachinid wasps. I've read about these, but this is the first time I've seen one in real life. He's a goner now; a luckier hornworm would have eaten all the tomatoes and tomato leaves he could hold, then metamorphosed into a sphinx moth. You can see from these photos that the tops of the little white cocoons are mostly all open, so I guess the wasps have emerged already, and all the excitement's over.

Olivia Does Key West, Part 1

2009-08-30T22:46:00.002-04:00

Ken let Olivia drive the last leg of the trip into Key West. (I thought it set a bad example for the boys, what with her being unlicensed and all, but she brings out the scalawag in everybody!) He had to work the gas and brake, of course.

It turned out Olivia was well-know in the southernmost city; here, Ken and Alex give her a boost so she can pose next to her name on the street sign:

Well. I can't begin to tell you how excited Olivia was when we arrived in Key West to find out her name was all over town. She was pleased as punch to have so many photo ops, but I confess I didn't do a very good job of lighting her in the street scenes. Mea culpa, sweetheart. We'll shoot more in the daytime next trip.

Olivia Does The Keys, Part 2

2009-08-30T22:45:00.001-04:00

Our pale-pigskinned beauty does not (perish the thought!) have a tanned hide, as you know, but the beach at Bahia Honda was so beautiful, Olivia couldn't resist a brief go at sunbathing:
She basked in the sunshine on Ken's T-shirt for a few glorious, golden moments, until the delicious aroma of bacon began to draw a crowd...

then everyone cooled off with a little snorkeling:

Sooner than we thought, it was time to head home.

Olivia kept the boys entertained with all sorts of rascally antics during the long drive back to the airport.

Despite a few diva-licious moments that I promised Olivia were forgiven and forgotten, she once again proved herself a hardy, adaptable little traveling companion who plays well with others.

Shameless Huckstering

2009-08-26T20:24:00.010-04:00

Come on out to the Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre, this Friday night, that's the 28th, two days from now - and check out the newest blood on the rock and roll block. 60 N. Park Avenue. $10 cover.

Tell the guys at the door you're there to see Vacancy. They come on about nine.

You won't regret it!

Key West (Butterflies and Bird Edition)

2009-08-23T23:44:00.000-04:00

A surprise hit with the teenagers: The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. Myself, I never pass up one of these places. I was thrilled that everybody else liked it, too. This one had a lot going on in the nursery, where pupae and chrysali and whatnot were hanging and hatching and drying their wings in plain view. Not to mention, button quail chicks = so cute. But it was hard to take photos of that because of the glass and the lighting. (It's always some excuse with me, isn't it?) So no chrysalis photos, sorry.

Lunchtime. Overripe banana, anyone?

This very fancy finch fit right in. A few varieties of finches and Chinese Button Quail live in the huge aviary as well.

Recently hatched, wings now fully inflated and dried, this one was later brought outside to join the big boys.

Blue morphos, from South America, win my vote for Most Disneyfied Look, as they often fly in groups of three or more, following each other in an erratic, cartoon-y line through the air, right past your nose. At rest, they usually fold their wings to display the dull brown pattern of the underside. This one below, who's more than a little ragged, was quite lethargic, too tired maybe to fold up, so we were able to get a good look at its metallic blue coloring. So that's my recommendation: take the kids, even if they're old, jaded teenagers. I'll bet they like it.

Key West (Floral Edition)

2009-08-21T23:12:00.000-04:00

Key West in August is very warm, very humid indeed. On the bright side, everything's in bloom.

Ken took the shot above, the one below, and the one below that, the banana tree.

Look up there! Bananas!

I think this one of the fan palm is his, too.

Key West Chickens

2009-08-20T23:12:00.000-04:00

Chickens were far more visible than cats last week in Key West. They were all over the streets near our inn. It seems unfathomable, I'm sure, that I never obtained the iconic crossing-the-road shot that would have made the whole trip worthwhile, but the chickens would all wait, quite cannily, until I let go of the camera and then they'd dart out! in front of us, into the road and on to the sidewalk across the street. Go ahead, ask the others if that didn't happen.

See those chickens? See that road? They crossed it, I swear. I just didn't get it down in pixels.
This one here is mocking me.

Key West Cats (and one from Long Island)

2009-08-18T23:37:00.008-04:00

While we made friends with the southernmost felines below, our own four-legged Fiona stayed up north, the royally-treated guest of my ever-patient brother. (With this, her second stay, Fiona reached "Purr-furred Guest" status at the Murphy Meow-iott. How exciting!)

This is Pumpkin, a member of the staff at the Westwinds Inn, Key West. He's most attentive during the poolside buffet breakfast. He sees you have too much cream cheese for that bagel, he'd be glad to clear it away for you.

These other two were just passersby in the streets, they didn't have much to say for themselves.

Unfortunate Layout, That...

2009-08-17T22:25:00.000-04:00

...skimming the headlines of the Sunday magazine supplement....

You Got a License For That Tongue?

2009-08-14T11:12:00.007-04:00

We were having coffee outside, and I was deadheading some flowers, when all of a sudden there was barking and pitiful yelping and a man shouting out front; I ran down the driveway to see this massive canine making a mouthful of a tiny dachshund. Armed with pruning shears, I ran over to help the guy, (my neighbor Mr. P) who also had another small dog on a leash. The dachshund got away, and I grabbed its leash and brought it into my garage, while Ken got hold of the big dog, who turned out to be a gigantic, slobbering sweetheart. The little dog seemed fine, (if half-drowned in drool) so Mr. P loaned us a leash, and Ken secured Cujo to the front railing. I set him up with water and some dry cat food, and the big softie ate and drank and sat on the steps whimpering like a three-year-old lost in the mall. I walked up and down the block showing his photo (thank you digital camera) to the neighbors, and was able to return the dog to its owner, who lived just a few houses away from the canines he'd terrorized.

Then, two sheriff's deputies in an unmarked vehicle stopped to ask if everything was all right; it seems they'd been on my block, serving a warrant on a house five doors down from me. What?! Um...yeah, one of the houses I'd knocked at, but had gotten no answer from. (Whew!)

The little dog is getting checked out by the vet, but he seemed uninjured and I don't anticipate any problems. On the bright side, I met a couple new doggies. The dachshund, Hunter, is an absolute doll, and that gentle, drooly giant above is Beamish. (On the dark side, what was that warrant for? Who are those neighbors? Should I worry?)

All's well that ends well, but that's enough excitement for one day, thanks.

Now THAT'S Exfoliation

2009-08-11T22:56:00.001-04:00

There are two praying-mantises around this year, I think. And from the looks of this molted skin, one of them just got a little bigger!

Grey Doily Of Death

2009-08-08T22:23:00.004-04:00

From a lizard's perspective, it's quite a pretty tent, isn't it?

From here it's a ragged lace handkerchief thrown on the shrub.

From here it looks like an invitating oasis, a miniature landscape of frozen delights, with a cave you should probably not approach, if you know what's good for you.

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

2009-07-31T17:23:00.004-04:00

Driving through Broad Channel last month on our way back from an appointment, we passed a sign for the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and decided to stop in. I'd never been there before, though everyone else I've spoken to since is all "...yeah, of course, all the time...since I was a kid..."

Well, it was new to me. And what a nifty place! Birds birds birds. We only saw a few during our midday visit: swans, egrets, red-winged blackbirds...but there are lots more: ospreys, being brought back from the brink of extinction with the help of custom-built nest platforms like the one I wrote about years ago, and barn owls, who are given barn-sized birdhouses. There are houses erected for smaller bird species, and special ones built for just for bats. Quite spoiled, the lot of them. Here's the big barn-owl boudoir:

The refuge is also home to diamondback terrapins, and many of their nests are right next to the trail, as you can see in the photo below. I can't tell you how long we stood there, marveling at the metalworking capabilities of the turtles, so cleverly protecting their nests, before we realized there was an adult right there, just beyond the cage, watching us! Remarkable creatures.

There are lots of sweeping vistas across the salt marshes, alternating with shady avenues of greenery. In the distance, way beyond the free avian housing, you can see the Empire State Building:

There were lots of insects as well, dragonflies and spiders and bees. And snails, of course.
This guy was in the middle of the path, in the blazing sun. I don't know what he was thinking.

He'll be extinct in no time, behaving this way.

We tried not to startle this tall, exotic specimen:

I was clearly a "casual" visitor, without a great big lens, or even a hat, and felt strangely out of place for not carrying a tripod. Everyone else was fully equipped. The bright sun made it hard (for me) to photograph the flora, but it was there. Much of it, sadly, undesirable, like the Japanese knotweed that was strangling the native yucca in a picturesque, spiralling manner.

If it ever stops raining this summer, I recommend you visit the refuge, which is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. There's an informative and well-equipped visitor center, the trails are easy for people of all ages and abilities, and it's free. Oh, and bring your camera.

aarrrggh...

2009-07-27T22:12:00.002-04:00

Really, I don't even have the energy to drum up the snark to caption this one....y'all are welcome to try. I'm just too, too discouraged....

Happy Birthday Fiona!

2009-07-23T06:24:00.000-04:00

Since we don't know exactly which day in July Fiona was born, I just pick a random day to celebrate her birthday. Let today be the day!
Can you believe this agile little girl is fourteen already? Look at her hop that fence like a teenager coming home late:

It seems like only yesterday she arrived...

She was a wild little weeks-old kitten, rescued from the feral life (quite against her will) by my sister Janet, who brought her to us on August 24th, 1995. We were still mourning our mild-mannered, highly-affectionate cat, Mouse, who'd died just a few weeks before at the age of seventeen, and darned if this scrappy little furball wasn't the spitting image of him.
Quite literally spitting, at my sister who'd rescued her, at the hand that fed her, and at everyone else in the vicinity. It was a long time before she settled in, and while she's never been a lapcat, she does seek out our companionship, and we know she loves us. In her way.
Anyway, here's how she'll spend her birthday, and pretty much every other day, this summer:

She'll get up early and make her rounds before it gets too warm. (See movie above.)

If the humans are having coffee in the screenhouse, she'll join them there.

She'll eat breakfast alfresco, and wave to us with her tongue as we leave for work.

She'll spend time inside the screenhouse. No, outside. No, inside. No, outside. Wait! Both at once!

There's feline nirvana in this fabric wall, which allows her to be Inside and Out at once.

She'll have a nap. Maybe ten. When she hears the car return, she'll come to greet us/demand dinner. And we, being her humans, will comply.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FIONA!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Gaudy Girls And A Syrphid Fly

2009-07-19T22:56:00.008-04:00

This lantana, above right, is quite the show-off in the sunshine, especially next to the blue campanula. It's been impossible (for me) to get a satisfactory shot of the flowerheads for some reason. There are too many florets, somehow, for the focusing to ever look perfect. Oh well.

These little hoverflys are exquisite for their size; here's one on top of a lavender spike for scale. I found out what kind they were by submitting this photo to BugGuide.net, which is a very helpful site for the amateur naturalist.

Another Small Surprise In The Stacks

2009-07-17T22:21:00.001-04:00

"God prosper and illuminate all who read this"

That's how John B. Keane, a wonderful modern Irish writer, inscribed this copy of his play Big Maggie to our library. I wasn't there, of course, this all happened in...what does that say, there, 1987? Wait a minute, I was here then, we didn't host John Keane here.

Hrm. Is it strange to be a little upset that I might have missed something, when it happened twenty-two years before I even found out about it? I'll have to ask around.

"How Come?" No.1

2009-07-16T08:23:00.000-04:00

How come when I so much as open the door for two seconds to go in or out, three flies follow me each time and get in the house, but restaurants commonly open their windows like this in the summer and nothing flies in? No fans, no zappers, either. Just, nothing flying around here. It's the darnedest thing. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. It's nice having the windows open. Just wondering.

Tell Us How You Really Feel, Don't Hold Back

2009-07-16T08:18:00.002-04:00

The Show Goes On Forever...

2009-07-13T13:02:00.000-04:00

...and the fireworks never end! Rockville Centre traditionally throws their Fourth of July show after the fourth, and we remembered it at the last minute on Saturday, as we drove home from dinner and wondered, why are people setting up lawn chairs in the Waldbaum's parking lot? We parked the car on Sunrise and walked over to Mill River Park with our own folding chairs. Got a great spot, too! Look, live action:

Recent Acquisitions

2009-07-11T22:22:00.003-04:00

The Dee's Nursery in Oceanside holds a local-legendary 4th of July Sale annually, when everything-but-everything sells for 50% off list. It's mobbed, even at the 5:30 (a.m.!) opening.

I didn't go this year, and only went to the nursery this morning, more than a week later, to get some stakes for the tall stuff that was falling over. I was happily surprised to find that the half-price sale goes on for "a week or so," according to the cashier, and there were still a number of healthy, not-yet-potbound bargains. I scooped up a white dicentra (alba, a cultivar that blooms after the classic pink variety is done):

another coral bells called Plum Pudding for its purple leaves:

a clump of fescue 'Elijah Blue'

and two clematis plants: the dark-purple 'jackmanii' and a white sweet-autumn variety. They're not in bloom right now. But we half-price gardeners are patient. Oh, and I got another fern, a marginal shield fern:

...so named not for a dearth of the characteristics shared by shield ferns, but for the fact its sporia develop on the margins of its leaves.

Oh, and in an update on the habits of fireflies, I had occasion to observe this one for quite a few hours over the course of planting this afternoon, and my anecdotal scientific conclusion is that yes, they do in fact do nothing, and eat nothing, all day!

Shine On

2009-07-08T22:32:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, DH observed as how there seemed to be an extra bucketload of fireflies this year (not his exact phrasing,) and it's true. Many of them spend the daylight hours hanging around the screenhouse. As larvae, they made themselves useful eating snails and slugs and earthworms - wait a minute, earthworms? - but in their adult form, apparently, they don't do anything - at least not while any researchers are watching. Entomologists "think" some firefly species eat other insects, some "may" feed on plant nectar, and some species "probably" don't eat at all once they reach adult form. How interesting to find out such a common insect remains so mysterious to science. (Oh sure, there are 600 billion species of beetles, I know, we can't know everything about all of them, but this is a lightning bug we're talkin' about! 800 million backyard scientists have studied them at close range, over decades of time! How can so little be known??)
Anyway. It seems like there are a lot of them this year. It's pretty.
(Slap!)
Sure wish mosquitos would light up so I could avoid them.

First Seeds Of The Season

2009-07-06T13:46:00.004-04:00

These are from the clematis, whose blooms are spent now. The seeds themselves are miniscule, but beautifully tricked out for travel with long curvy manes of golden fibers. They remind me of fishing lures.

2009-07-04T13:37:00.000-04:00

A Day In The City

2009-07-01T21:39:00.001-04:00

A month ago we spent the day wandering around lower Manhattan, because I got it into my head that I wanted to see the South Street Seaport. So, we did that.
Meh.
I guess the Seaport's not my thing. Then I wanted to ride the Staten Island Ferry, as I did not remember ever having done that, though I'm told that's how we got out to Staten Island the time we went to see Richard Thompson play in Snug Harbor. (That was, like, back in the nineties. Who remembers?) So, we did that. It was pleasant, but hardly the most romantic thing. Don't see what all the fuss is about for a ferry.
We were not at all tired, we were probably a step or two below "merry,'" and we rode back and forth just once.

It was Fleet Week in the city.

Seemingly, they cannot get enough of boats. They rode the ferry, too.Then we wandered around the Wall Street area, which was deserted except for tourists like us, walking slowly, admiring the nifty architectural details, like the brass on 120 Wall St.:
and this, see creatures? yes, sea creatures! here:
the seahorses on the Maritime Exchange Building at 80 Broad St., a thirty-five story building dedicated in 1931 to the cause of water-facilitated commerce.

Not far away:
this mosaic dome on the southwestern entrance of the ITT building depicts commerce uniting the hemispheres with electricity. (Commerce is a popular theme in the neighborhood.)

We weren't able to get into Federal Hall, as it's closed on Saturdays, but I took a photo of this, because it looks like George Washington is imploring the pigeon to perch somewhere else.

We also visited Trinity Church, and its cemetery, the one where Alexander Hamilton is buried along with well over a hundred thousand others. Love a good cemetery. Didn't take good photos, though.

And that was our weekend trip one day last month, back in the Time Of Less Rain when one could do such a thing...

We Have Something For Everyone

2009-06-23T22:05:00.001-04:00

drawing by W.S. Gilbert

Early evening.
A couple looking to be in their late twenties approached the desk. The man asked if we had westerns. "Yes we do," I said, and walked them both back to those shelves. As the man started looking at the books, the woman turned to me and whispered, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," I said.
"Do you have pornography, like?"
As it happens, the short-story anthologies are shelved right next to the westerns, and several collections of erotic short stories are right there, at eye level. I pulled them out for her, and as she browsed the covers, turned some pages, and murmured "Oh, this looks nice," her companion looked up from the westerns with a big smile on his face and said, "Take your time, hon, this is gonna take me a while."

I walked back and cut two more "happy customer" notches in my desk.

The Rest Of The Vacation Slides

2009-06-17T23:10:00.003-04:00

Okay! No more twee stories about insensate objects; let's just breeze through a few last photos from our weekend in Niagara. Leaving out pictures of the people we were with (they're shy,) wineries that pretty much look like wineries anywhere else, and more pictures of Big Water, here's what we're left with: We visited the butterfly conservatory in Niagara Park's botanical garden:

Did I mention that Olivia came with us? She had a blast:

And look! everywhere we go: baby birds!

The Niagara River is a major nesting area, especially for gulls, and we were there in the middle of chicky-time! Above is a common herring gull and chick. There were hundreds of thousands of gulls around the falls and in the islets on the Niagara River.

In the Dufferin Island nature area we saw red-winged blackbirds, including one who opened a can of Hitchcockian whoop-ass on Ken for trying to take her picture. (She must have had a nest nearby.) There is no photograph of her for that reason.

Flowers were more cooperative:

A wooden walkway crossing part of the river had wide spaces between its slats, and you could look through them and see thousands of little fish in the turquoise water.

And finally:

This! The misty, shady area around the "Cave of the Winds" at the base of Bridal Veil Falls encourages some mighty fine tree fungus.

And that's it! For some moving images of the Big Water, visit my YouTube channel, where there's a clip of the view from our hotel window, as well as a brief moment from the Journey Behind The Falls. Almost like being there! Except you're not wearing a poncho.

Hometown Couple

2009-06-14T10:29:00.006-04:00

Couples from all over the globe come to visit Niagara Falls. What about the ones who live and work on the river's edge?

Theirs is a poignant story. She (or is it he?) stands immobile on the esplanade, around the clock. During the day, surrounded by throngs of footloose folk, she looks where they look, and she envies their freedom of movement. Through the small hours of the night, she gazes at the falls (or the restaurant, or the hotel, or in whichever direction the last tourist has left her pointing...)

She waits, she lives, for the dawn, when her True Love arrives, driven by that nice man in the raincoat, who always finds a reason to park, thus giving this local couple a few tender moments alone in the early morning mist. (sigh) It really is the most romantic place.

Falling For Niagara

2009-06-10T12:56:00.006-04:00

We spent the weekend past in Niagara Falls with a couple of friends. All of us but Ken had vacationed here before, but in our pre-pubescent years. It was harder to see over the railing then, and I for one was distracted from the scenery by the pain of the vise-like grip kept on my hand at all times. It's hard to enjoy the grandeur of it all when you're a little kid distracted by trivial things, balking at the "strange" food, being nagged about not climbing the fence - oh, who am I kidding? I can't remember a thing because it was forty-two years ago. So it amounted to a first-time visit for all of us. Hoping for an image that was a little different from so many others, I rose at five-thirty the first morning to catch the sunrise. It was worth it.

Babies Everywhere

2009-06-07T19:16:00.006-04:00

Aside from the birds, about whom I can't shut up, late spring is alive with lots of other little forms of life. Above, you see the cutest little pest ever. Look at that shell, it's transparent! And so exquisitely small, for a sense of scale, consider those huge grooves he's crawling over: those are my fingerprints. Go on, look at your own fingerprints; that's how tiny he is. Ah, but he wants to destroy my vegetation, and so he, along with his many older relatives, was handpicked off the creeping phlox and daylily leaves and sidearmed into the street, where the birds are waiting to make breakfast out of him.

Below, hoping the birds don't make breakfast out of him, is a very young lizard, poking his head out from under the house shingles, where I believe he enjoys the warmth of the sun heating up the shingle. Also, it's very easy to skedaddle up and under and out of harm's way.

Flight Time

2009-06-05T18:52:00.004-04:00

As it turns out, that last post on May 30th wasn't the end of the story; the juvenile robins are being raised in the surrounding trees. Every day since the last one left, I've seen one and sometimes two together. Usually I'm tipped off to the location by now-familiar calls-and-responses. For the first couple of days, the young'uns were not very high up in the old bent pine tree, where I took the photo above. See the black-and-white speckling on the red breast? That, and the overall "fluffy" quality, let you know it's a juvenile. (Oh, also the insane cheeping when it's time to eat.) Most interesting is the way the mom encourages them to fly: I saw her tugging worms out of the tomato patch, loading up her beak, then she flew to a branch next to the kids, sat there a few seconds while they raised a racket about the lunch she was holding, then she flew away, higher up into the next tree, and they followed! I guess they'll be trained to find their own worms once they're stronger, swifter flyers, and it's safer for them to be on the ground. Songbirds are much different from baby goslings and ducks, who walk right out of the shell and commence swimming and feeding themselves more or less immediately.

In Which I Disappoint A Customer

2009-06-04T14:15:00.000-04:00

College Student: "Do you have Cliffs Notes for the Republic, by Plato?"
Me: "Sure, right here."
College Student: (frowning) "Oh. You haven't got the skinny one?"
Me: "The skinny one?"
College Student: "There's a Cliffs Note for this that's skinnier..."
Me: (gently) "I'm sorry, that's the least substantial one available."

The End Of The Story

2009-05-30T21:09:00.005-04:00

What motivates the last one to leave the nest? After all, there's pl-en-ty of room in there now that the other two are gone. Mom's still feeding the others, as they venture into the surrounding trees. Won't she continue to bring your share to the old place? Hm. You can certainly hear both parents chirping up a storm of encouragement as the last little guy stands uncertainly on the branch above, looking around before taking his leap of faith.
And quite a leap it was! At 7:45 this morning, just a moment after I snapped this, he jumped up and flew about eight feet....directly into the side of the neighbor's house! (oh, ouchie...) But he's okay! As you can see from this movie, he got right up and hopped under a bush. The screechy chirps, very audible at the end, are the parents, yelling at him in a firm but loving way.

And that's it, I suppose. Probably won't see them again. Let's hope they beat the odds and all make it through the summer. Thanks for the experience, guys!

The Last Lonely Eagle

2009-05-29T22:57:00.004-04:00

Okay, not an eagle. The last of the robins. Early in the morning, I saw there were still two in the nest, and then I wandered to the back of the yard to look at the clematis, which had just bloomed. I noticed a big *splat!* of white on a lower branch of the scrub pine, and another on the dark brown mulch below that. Well, I can put doo and doo together...and looking up I found the little one who'd jumped out yesterday! He's a good 12-14 feet up in that pine tree, where I hope he's safe for now. Just before we left for work, around noon, I checked the nest and there was only the one above, left all alone and looking so fierce, I didn't dare get closer, so I apologize for the poor focus. I have no idea where the second one went.

Needless to say, Fiona remained in lockdown today, and she can't wait until this is over. Her favorite chair is right next to the tree! And she has a lot of napping to do out there!

Can't believe I have to go to work tomorrow. My friend Anne Marie is right - I need to ask for birdternity leave....

Into The Great Wide Open

2009-05-28T19:23:00.004-04:00

I was at work today when DH actually witnessed the first little one leap from the nest, to the top of the fence, and from there...who knows? It was gone by the time he got back with his camera. It was a good time to go: there was a gentle drizzle all day, so neighborhood cats were not on the prowl, and I kept Fiona confined to the garage; with a little luck, the brave one is stashed someplace safe. Above, the remaining two appear apprehensive. One of them will probably leave tomorrow. (I'll bet it's the one giving me the fisheye...)

Crowded House

2009-05-26T14:51:00.005-04:00

Things are getting a bit crowded in chez spruce tree. Let's see: I think they were born on the 14th, so it should be only a day or two before they start moving out; they should all leave within a day of one another, and then remain under cover on the ground, in separate locations, still being fed by their parents while they hop around, learn to hunt their own food, and in a week or two, develop the ability for sustained flight. That's the best-case scenario, and it may happen for one of them, or none; according to this University of Michigan site, only a quarter of young robins survive their first summer. The breeding pair that raised these three will probably produce another clutch of eggs this season, but the female will build a new nest in a different tree. Truly, these are some hard-working parents; all day every day has been devoted to brooding, feeding, hauling away waste, and feeding again, about every fifteen minutes during daylight hours. (Yes, I have spent quite a lot a time watching them. I figure I won't have another opportunity like this, and it's my vacation, okay?)

More Wrms, Plz?

2009-05-20T13:29:00.012-04:00

Above: Monday, the 18th.

Above and below: Tuesday, the 19th. (Eyes open! Then, zzzzzzz.)

Above and below: Today, Wednesday, the 20th.

I thought human kids grew quickly, but they don't beat these guys. Just yesterday they wore nothing but a few threads of white down over their wrinkly pink skin, and this morning - pin feathers have sprouted! They sleep a lot, they're pretty much asleep even when their mouths are open. Now, sad to say, it looks like there are only three chicks in the nest, not four. The last few nights felt awfully cold, and I'm afraid one was lost, possibly on Sunday night. Or perhaps, that fourth egg never did hatch and the 'rents did what they had to do. It's hard to tell from any of the photos exactly how many heads there are in that nest. (It's crowded.) The forecast for the next few days is warm and sunny, though, so that's one less thing to worry about. Now I can concentrate on the, um, flu-like symptoms I fell ill with yesterday. (uh-oh!)

Other Denizens Of The 'Burbs

2009-05-18T19:36:00.005-04:00

Welcome to Jurassic Park! What with the birds and lizards, we're rockin' a prehistoric vibe here in the backyard habitat. The Italian wall lizards are more numerous and somewhat less skittish than last year. (By "less skittish" I mean it takes them two nanoseconds to disappear, instead of one. See how much closer I got to this one? Thank you, zoom lens.)
And here below, a tiny dancer, who's probably trouble in search of a tender green shoot, but today, I'll live and let live.

(New baby bird photo from today is on my Facebook page.)

The Weekend Frontier

2009-05-17T16:10:00.002-04:00

We almost never see movies in a theatre anymore, but hey, it's the new Star Trek! Ya need a big screen for that. Only the second weekend, and it was a cold, gray day, so we expected a crowd and left ourselves plenty of time.

Um, guess we didn't need to do that. Maybe two dozen people were there, including us. But we loved it, the people behind us loved it, the guy in front of us, conducting the music and pumping his fist in the air definitely loved it, and I bet you will, too. (Unless you're expecting a Gene-Rodenberryesque-social-sci-fi-informed-by-the-Cold-War kind of treatment. It's not that.) But folks, it was awesome.

Bird nest update: Cold again, still gray and drizzly. Must take back my remark about the male robin; he's bringing food to the nest, and I think he even takes a turn sitting now and then, though not as regularly or for as long as the male mourning dove did. I can't tell the two robins apart ("I'm a librarian, Jim, not an ornithologist!") but I think he spells her so she can stretch her wings and get a bite to eat herself. Here's how they look on Day 3:

Now We Are Four

2009-05-16T12:35:00.003-04:00

The fourth egg hatched successfully and mama is spending all her time sitting and feeding and flying off to get more food. (Papa robin, it seems, has no hand in the domestic chores; he's strictly in charge of security.) Here's a short piece of movie from this morning.

It's Their Birthday!

2009-05-15T19:00:00.005-04:00

This morning we noticed a lot of to-ing and fro-ing from the spruce, and upon her return the mama robin would fuss about inside the nest. When she took off again, I stole a photo and a snippet of movie. Three of the eggs had hatched! It was so hard to leave for work after that. We won't be back until after dark, so it's not until tomorrow that we'll get to see if the fourth egg hatches...

Ken Gets A Shout-Out

2009-05-11T18:40:00.011-04:00

Usually, our postal mail is boring. Bills, ads, solicitations. But today, today there was a package, and what did it contain but two inscribed copies of a new hardcover novel by Kim Ablon Whitney. In the acknowledgements, she thanks Ken for reviewing the manuscript! I am proud as punch, and so pleased to have this soapbox from which to shout it.

So today, we interrupt the never-ending saga of What's Going On In My Backyard to mention this great new novel for young adults, The Other Half of Life.

It's based on the true story of the MS St. Louis, which left Germany bound for Cuba, and eventually the U.S., on May 13th, 1939. She carried 937 passengers, most of them Jews escaping Hitler's persecution, and a ship's crew of Nazis. Whitney's novel imagines the lives of two of the passengers, illuminating this heartbreaking but little-known event.

Blue On Blue

2009-05-08T09:27:00.008-04:00

After a solid week of rain, unfortunate accidents, and then some very sad news yesterday, it was a balm to see the sun this morning. All the neighborhood birds were on the move, fanning out across the yards looking for food, and chasing one another across the street in midair. From the kitchen window I watched a bird fly into the blue spruce next to the house. It sat there; I could just see its head. It didn't fly out again. This, I discovered, is why:

It's about six feet up in the tree, which is, itself, only seven feet tall. Once again, the vari-angle display on my Canon point-and-shoot was invaluable in obtaining the shot. You can't see the eggs from the ground; I had to hold the camera way above my head and shoot down. Yes, the morning light is harsh around the edges. I'll try to do better next time, if there is a next time. I don't want to scare off the 'rents.

Olivia's Spring Break

2009-05-02T09:24:00.013-04:00

So, guess who stowed away in Ken's carry-on when he went to Florida last week?

The little girl had to be in the center of the action.

Olivia tried some extreme sports while down south......although the sailing lessons didn't go well...

She had a great time hanging out by the pool, enjoying the flowers...

...and relaxing in the shade.

In the evening she hung out, goofing around with the guys. Here she is posing with Ken as though she's got Daffy Duck on the end of her fishing pole. What a stitch!

Of course, spring break came to an end, as all things do, but the memories would be there forever.