Today scores of butterflies visited the sunny flower beds at west-facing Clog-House, Est. 1935:
Gulf Fritillary
Cloudless Sulfur
Long-tailed Skipper
another brown Skipper – 2-3 white checks on wings
Zebra Long-wing
Friday, November 10, 2006
Today's Butterflies
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
United In Death - November 8
Today' mashup unites an American painter, a British poet, and a Scottish philospher, all of whom died on a November 8th.
Norman Rockwell 1894-1978, American painter
John Milton 1608-1674, British poet
Duns Scotus 1255/66-1308, Scottish Philosopher
Rockwell is best known for his cover paintings for the Saturday Evening Post.
Milton left Cambridge University following a fist-fight with his tutor. His work Areopagitica, published as a pamphlet, is a seminal reference that argues for freedom of speech. View his poems here.
An interesting discussion of the birthplace and philosophy of Blessed John Duns Scotus is available in the Catholic Encyclopedia.
mashup, Norman Rockwell, John Milton, Duns Scotus, November 8th
Norman Rockwell 1894-1978, American painter
John Milton 1608-1674, British poet
Duns Scotus 1255/66-1308, Scottish Philosopher
Rockwell is best known for his cover paintings for the Saturday Evening Post.
Milton left Cambridge University following a fist-fight with his tutor. His work Areopagitica, published as a pamphlet, is a seminal reference that argues for freedom of speech. View his poems here.
An interesting discussion of the birthplace and philosophy of Blessed John Duns Scotus is available in the Catholic Encyclopedia.
mashup, Norman Rockwell, John Milton, Duns Scotus, November 8th
Rumsfeld Is Bugging Out
Donald Rumsfeld is leaving the Bush administration. So said a brief statement on Reuters at 12:53 p.m.
President Bush confirmed it at 1:06 during his televised conference, and praised Rumsfeld for his service. Bush nominated Bob Gates to replace Rumsfeld, a former Director of Intelligence who has served in 6 administrations.
Donald Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld, Robert Gates, Secretary of State
President Bush confirmed it at 1:06 during his televised conference, and praised Rumsfeld for his service. Bush nominated Bob Gates to replace Rumsfeld, a former Director of Intelligence who has served in 6 administrations.
Donald Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld, Robert Gates, Secretary of State
Monday, November 06, 2006
More Dance and Music
Yesterday was a busy day for the Clog-wife and me. She had a series of performances with the Greenwood Morris side at the annual Gainesville (FL) Downtown Arts Festival. I put in a 3-hour stint with the newly-formed trio of which I am the guitarist, Fear No Weevil, playing for the Gainesville Old-Time Dance Society's bi-monthly contra dance. We played a series of energetic (gross understatement) old-time Appalachian fiddle tunes for the dancers. For three hours.
Fear No Weevil's lineup includes banjoist/fiddle leader Chuck Levy and fiddler Dave Forbes. Dave is an extremely accomplished instrument artisan. His banjos, produced earlier in his career as a craftsman, are one of the most sought-after instruments among 5-string clawhammer style banjo players. His bows are played in orchestras world-wide, and are the recipients of many awards. Dave currently also plays string bass in the Gainesville Fl Jazz band Hot Club de Ville, with band leader Marty Liquori, who you may remember as a legendary mile-runner from a former era.
dance, traditional music, Gainesville Florida, banjo, Fear No Weevil, old time music, David Forbes bow, fiddle, southern music
Fear No Weevil's lineup includes banjoist/fiddle leader Chuck Levy and fiddler Dave Forbes. Dave is an extremely accomplished instrument artisan. His banjos, produced earlier in his career as a craftsman, are one of the most sought-after instruments among 5-string clawhammer style banjo players. His bows are played in orchestras world-wide, and are the recipients of many awards. Dave currently also plays string bass in the Gainesville Fl Jazz band Hot Club de Ville, with band leader Marty Liquori, who you may remember as a legendary mile-runner from a former era.
dance, traditional music, Gainesville Florida, banjo, Fear No Weevil, old time music, David Forbes bow, fiddle, southern music
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Dance Magic Dance
The Clog-wife and I travelled to Jacksonville, FL to participate in a half-day dance workshop taught by Kieran Jordan. The workshop focused on fundamentals of Irish Sean Nos and Cape Breton styles of percussive dance.
The group was extremely fortunate to have live music to learn steps and dance to in the lively duo Laura Risk on violin and Paddy League on guitar and bodhran. The Clog Almanac wholeheartedly recommends Kieran Jordan's dance workshops and performances to anyone interested in exploring stepdance traditions, and likewise the music workshops and recordings by both Laura Risk and Paddy League. Follow this link to watch a video of Laura and Paddy performing on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center.
After the exhilarating workshop we hied to a traditional folklife festival in White Springs hosted by the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center, where two of the workshop participants joined fellow members of the Cross Creek Cloggers to perform several of their traditional Appalachian clogging routines. Just spitting distance from the beautiful and legendary Suwannee River. We drove home to High Springs as the sun was setting in the west and the full November moon rose in the east. That was a lovely end to a fabulous day filled with traditional dance and virtuosic live music.
sean nos, Cape Breton, stepdance, Kieran Jordan, Laura Risk, Paddy League, Celtic music, Suwannee River
The group was extremely fortunate to have live music to learn steps and dance to in the lively duo Laura Risk on violin and Paddy League on guitar and bodhran. The Clog Almanac wholeheartedly recommends Kieran Jordan's dance workshops and performances to anyone interested in exploring stepdance traditions, and likewise the music workshops and recordings by both Laura Risk and Paddy League. Follow this link to watch a video of Laura and Paddy performing on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center.
After the exhilarating workshop we hied to a traditional folklife festival in White Springs hosted by the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center, where two of the workshop participants joined fellow members of the Cross Creek Cloggers to perform several of their traditional Appalachian clogging routines. Just spitting distance from the beautiful and legendary Suwannee River. We drove home to High Springs as the sun was setting in the west and the full November moon rose in the east. That was a lovely end to a fabulous day filled with traditional dance and virtuosic live music.
sean nos, Cape Breton, stepdance, Kieran Jordan, Laura Risk, Paddy League, Celtic music, Suwannee River
Friday, November 03, 2006
Scottish Cello Music - CD Review
New in the mail yesterday: Castles, Kirks, and Caves - Scottish Music of the 18th Century, featuring the haunting and powerful virtuosity of cellist Abby Newton. Newton's restrained and nuanced interpretations of the selection of tunes are sublime.
I especially enjoyed the 5th track - Neil Gow's Lament on the Death of His Second Wife. This is a classic and well-loved tune generally played by the violin, but as she points out in the liner notes, this melody is a man's lament equally well-suited to the range of the cello.
I recommend the CD (RWMCD 5410) to anyone with an ear for fine music from the Celtic lands. Listen to track samples here.
cello, Abby Newton, Scottish music, 18th Century
I especially enjoyed the 5th track - Neil Gow's Lament on the Death of His Second Wife. This is a classic and well-loved tune generally played by the violin, but as she points out in the liner notes, this melody is a man's lament equally well-suited to the range of the cello.
I recommend the CD (RWMCD 5410) to anyone with an ear for fine music from the Celtic lands. Listen to track samples here.
cello, Abby Newton, Scottish music, 18th Century
Greenhouse Gases Up Up Up
Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are at an all time high. A senior scientist at the World Meteorological Association suggests that controls more stringent than those of the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 are required.
greenhouse gases, global warming, Kyoto protocol, climate change, anthropogenic emissions
greenhouse gases, global warming, Kyoto protocol, climate change, anthropogenic emissions
Thursday, November 02, 2006
The Decline of Fish
Get your seafood while you can. It might be all gone within your lifetime.
Remember those history lessons about the Grand Banks? That cod fishery collapsed and is probably gone for good. the same is now happening on a global scale.
Let's make it an object lesson. Scientists warned, politicians ignored the facts and did little to address problems and implement solutions, factory [over]fishing went unabated, and fish stocks went extinct.
Now apply that object lesson to other issues like global warming, international whaling, deforestation, &c, &c.
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
fish, fisheries, seafood, global warming, extinction
Remember those history lessons about the Grand Banks? That cod fishery collapsed and is probably gone for good. the same is now happening on a global scale.
Let's make it an object lesson. Scientists warned, politicians ignored the facts and did little to address problems and implement solutions, factory [over]fishing went unabated, and fish stocks went extinct.
Now apply that object lesson to other issues like global warming, international whaling, deforestation, &c, &c.
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
fish, fisheries, seafood, global warming, extinction
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Today's Birds
Observed at Chapman's Pond, a favorite birding stop on the Great Florida Birding Trail, Gainesville, Florida.
Boat-tailed grackle
Phoebe
White ibis
Tri-colored heron
Little blue heron
White egret
Coot
Blue-winged teal
The 30 or so teal (mostly females) were busy dabbling. Grackles were congregating in noisy groups among the cattails bordering the pond. The lone phoebe paused for a moment's perch atop a pole supporting a nestbox upslope from the pond.
I collected a handfull of achene/pappus "parachute" fruits of a couple of aster species that grew rampantly in waste areas around the pond, in hopes of getting them established in "natural areas" around the yard at Clog-House Est. 1935.
One couldn't have hoped for a prettier day, though the birding could have been better. There will be better days ahead.
birds, birdwatching, birding, Florida, Chapman's Pond
Boat-tailed grackle
Phoebe
White ibis
Tri-colored heron
Little blue heron
White egret
Coot
Blue-winged teal
The 30 or so teal (mostly females) were busy dabbling. Grackles were congregating in noisy groups among the cattails bordering the pond. The lone phoebe paused for a moment's perch atop a pole supporting a nestbox upslope from the pond.
I collected a handfull of achene/pappus "parachute" fruits of a couple of aster species that grew rampantly in waste areas around the pond, in hopes of getting them established in "natural areas" around the yard at Clog-House Est. 1935.
One couldn't have hoped for a prettier day, though the birding could have been better. There will be better days ahead.
birds, birdwatching, birding, Florida, Chapman's Pond
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Sumac Tea
I enjoyed a very pleasant walk in the woods south and west of Gainesville Florida the whole of this afternoon. The tract was former farmland. Trees along the wooded areas surrounding a cleared area exceeding 40 acres were predominantly very old live oaks, with scattered longleaf pines, post oaks, bluejack oak, turkey oak, occasional upland laurel and water oaks, Walter's viburnum, and American and yaupon hollies. There were gopher tortoise burrows, Opuntia cactus, 2 species of pawpaw, Agave, sparkleberry, and numerous wildflowers and grasses that indicated the land was once a sandhill community. It was very hard to go back to the office on this lovely Autumn day in Florida. The pressing thought was that this land needed to be burned to reset the clock to encourage those periodic fire-adapted species to reassert their presence in this area.
Before leaving, I picked a double-handfull of winged sumac infructescences: clusters of very small red drupes from which I will steep and make a strong sour "lemonade" this evening, flavored with fresh ginger and a stick or two of cinnamon, and a measure of honey or sugar.
On the balance, life is good. I try to make homemade music every day (guitar, piano, fiddle, banjo, pennywhistle), dance at least once a week, and walk through a local woodland two or three times a week. Life could be much much worse.
sumac, sumac tea, bluejack oak, turkey oak, Florida, sandhill, gopher tortoise
Before leaving, I picked a double-handfull of winged sumac infructescences: clusters of very small red drupes from which I will steep and make a strong sour "lemonade" this evening, flavored with fresh ginger and a stick or two of cinnamon, and a measure of honey or sugar.
On the balance, life is good. I try to make homemade music every day (guitar, piano, fiddle, banjo, pennywhistle), dance at least once a week, and walk through a local woodland two or three times a week. Life could be much much worse.
sumac, sumac tea, bluejack oak, turkey oak, Florida, sandhill, gopher tortoise
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
DANNY HAROLD ROLLINGS
Serial Killer Danny Harold Rollings was executed at 6:13 EST today. I had just moved to the University of Florida when he went on his spree to become a superstar criminal: the brutal mutilation murders of 5 local college students. Residents of the city of Gainesville were terrorized by this man who had vowed to kill one person for each of the 5 years he had been incarcerated for other crimes.
One consequence of the student murders that was never discussed: the number of big dogs owned by off-campus students and Gainesville townsfolk increased noticeably. American pitbulls were previously the dog of choice for the reddest of redneck men; the most unsophisticated of drug dealers; and congenitally inhumane illegal dog fighters - most of whom live off in the woods where their pathologies go mostly unnoticed and unpunished. Suddenly pitbulls were seen everywhere. Being led through downtown street art shows; marauding through the dog park; and happily defecating on the lawns of student apartments and curbsides of the most genteel of urban core neighborhoods alike. This canine unpleasantness continues to this day, more than a decade later.
Rollings killed 5 kids just as they were blooming into adulthood. The community is still horrified and reacting to his actions.
Danny Rollings, Gainesville Florida, execution,
death penalty, pitbull, bulldog
One consequence of the student murders that was never discussed: the number of big dogs owned by off-campus students and Gainesville townsfolk increased noticeably. American pitbulls were previously the dog of choice for the reddest of redneck men; the most unsophisticated of drug dealers; and congenitally inhumane illegal dog fighters - most of whom live off in the woods where their pathologies go mostly unnoticed and unpunished. Suddenly pitbulls were seen everywhere. Being led through downtown street art shows; marauding through the dog park; and happily defecating on the lawns of student apartments and curbsides of the most genteel of urban core neighborhoods alike. This canine unpleasantness continues to this day, more than a decade later.
Rollings killed 5 kids just as they were blooming into adulthood. The community is still horrified and reacting to his actions.
Danny Rollings, Gainesville Florida, execution,
death penalty, pitbull, bulldog
Monday, October 23, 2006
Katharine Harris - Only Good From The Waist Up
Florida Democrat Bill Nelson and republican Katherine Harris squared off tonight in a televised debate. The event was aired on my local north Florida television outlet.
Bill Nelson emerged as a composed, experienced, humble, down-to-earth, and moderate-thinking Floridian who convincingly argued that he has served Florida while remaining immune to the interests and money of big corporations and lobbyists; one who has served with the so-called People of Florida in mind. He stood on his record and seemed to defend and deflect the rehearsed challenges of his republican opponent; challenges which seemed to be contrived and designed to snatch whatever spotlight his record, personal philosophies and positions held.
Katherine Harris put on an unflattering variety of stage show worthy of a moneyed, rehearsed-with-consultants, yet still trailing-badly-in-the-polls political candidate. The performance was vaguely reminiscent of the risible, grinning, and badly ill-advised presidential debate antics of Michael Dukakis. Harris frequently strode from behind the podium to smile, show her legs, and speak patronizingly in turn to her opponent, to the audience, moderator, and panel. She battered viewers with stiff smiles and awkward gestures. She attempted to own the stage as if this were the true key to winning the votes she needs to overtake the front-runner Nelson.
In the end, Katherine Harris' legs seemed uncomfortably too big, too out of proportion to the rest of her and to her stage. Perhaps so with her ambitions to the Florida Senate and beyond as well.
Katherine Harris, Bill Nelson, Florida Senate, Senate Race, Florida
Bill Nelson emerged as a composed, experienced, humble, down-to-earth, and moderate-thinking Floridian who convincingly argued that he has served Florida while remaining immune to the interests and money of big corporations and lobbyists; one who has served with the so-called People of Florida in mind. He stood on his record and seemed to defend and deflect the rehearsed challenges of his republican opponent; challenges which seemed to be contrived and designed to snatch whatever spotlight his record, personal philosophies and positions held.
Katherine Harris put on an unflattering variety of stage show worthy of a moneyed, rehearsed-with-consultants, yet still trailing-badly-in-the-polls political candidate. The performance was vaguely reminiscent of the risible, grinning, and badly ill-advised presidential debate antics of Michael Dukakis. Harris frequently strode from behind the podium to smile, show her legs, and speak patronizingly in turn to her opponent, to the audience, moderator, and panel. She battered viewers with stiff smiles and awkward gestures. She attempted to own the stage as if this were the true key to winning the votes she needs to overtake the front-runner Nelson.
In the end, Katherine Harris' legs seemed uncomfortably too big, too out of proportion to the rest of her and to her stage. Perhaps so with her ambitions to the Florida Senate and beyond as well.
Katherine Harris, Bill Nelson, Florida Senate, Senate Race, Florida
Friday, May 05, 2006
Intl Respect For Chickens Day
Have you respected a chicken lately?
How could I have let yesterday pass without calling attention to this most fowl of holidays?
How could I have let yesterday pass without calling attention to this most fowl of holidays?
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Mr. Hiatus Returns
I'm back, but let me 'splain a little.
The Clog-wife has been hard at work with a couple of months of on-line graduate courses and has tied up the machine at home for many weeks now. My ability to sneak-post a daily entry or two to this blog while at work has drastically been curtailed due to departmental changes to "streamline the process" that have doubled or tripled everyone's workload. I'm talking a "since the changes I've started smoking and drinking/halucinating and crucifying my spouse" sort of new work environment.
Thanks to faithful readers and newcomers to this site who've clicked through despite my absence during the past few weeks. I'm putting my life and personal schedule in order and will be blogging regularly again. I promise. Ciao!
The Clog-wife has been hard at work with a couple of months of on-line graduate courses and has tied up the machine at home for many weeks now. My ability to sneak-post a daily entry or two to this blog while at work has drastically been curtailed due to departmental changes to "streamline the process" that have doubled or tripled everyone's workload. I'm talking a "since the changes I've started smoking and drinking/halucinating and crucifying my spouse" sort of new work environment.
Thanks to faithful readers and newcomers to this site who've clicked through despite my absence during the past few weeks. I'm putting my life and personal schedule in order and will be blogging regularly again. I promise. Ciao!
Thursday, February 16, 2006
I And The Bird #17
The Clog Almanac welcomes fellow bird lovers who have winged over from that choice blog carnival, I And The Bird, hosted this week by Wildbird On The Fly.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed my post and took the time to read what other more illustrious and dedicated birders had to share. Happy birding everyone!
Observed today at or above Chapman's Pond, in Gainesville Florida:
Blue-winged teal
Green-winged teal
Bufflehead (2 females)
Hooded Merganser
Pied-billed grebe
Coot
White ibis
Lesser yellowlegs
Palm warbler
Loggerhead shrike
Green tree swallow
Snowy egret
Osprey
Red-tailed hawk
Sandhill crane
Florida, birds, birding
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed my post and took the time to read what other more illustrious and dedicated birders had to share. Happy birding everyone!
Observed today at or above Chapman's Pond, in Gainesville Florida:
Blue-winged teal
Green-winged teal
Bufflehead (2 females)
Hooded Merganser
Pied-billed grebe
Coot
White ibis
Lesser yellowlegs
Palm warbler
Loggerhead shrike
Green tree swallow
Snowy egret
Osprey
Red-tailed hawk
Sandhill crane
Florida, birds, birding
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Glad Cheney Was In Texas
While Vice President Cheney was shooting quail and his hunting partners on the Armstrong Ranch in Texas, my tiny Florida hometown was having a hunting fiasco of its own:
In order to quash a long-standing wild chicken problem in the southwest part of town, the city of High Springs invoked the final solution and sent armed firefighters through the neighborhood shooting chickens. Residents were not informed of the residential hunt beforehand, and not a few were noticeably upset to find men with .22 caliber rifles running through their yards blasting away at feral chickens. Read the full story in its hilarity in the High Springs Herald.
Money quote: "Anything that was moving they were shooting."
In order to quash a long-standing wild chicken problem in the southwest part of town, the city of High Springs invoked the final solution and sent armed firefighters through the neighborhood shooting chickens. Residents were not informed of the residential hunt beforehand, and not a few were noticeably upset to find men with .22 caliber rifles running through their yards blasting away at feral chickens. Read the full story in its hilarity in the High Springs Herald.
Money quote: "Anything that was moving they were shooting."
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Great Flocks Of Robins, No Sh**
For the past two days flocks of robins, Turdus migratorius, have frequented the mature urban forest surrounding Clog-House, Est. 1935. Turdus? Indeed.
Flocks of robins numbering 100-200 birds, are common winter residents in north-central Florida. My first, and let's say astounding encounter with flocks of robins was in an unlikely (to my northwestern experience) place - a salt marsh/estuary system adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. Not the typical solitary individuals of this common American thrush species I'd come to know in lawns and gardens of northern climes.
robin, Florida, birds, Turdus, salt marsh
Flocks of robins numbering 100-200 birds, are common winter residents in north-central Florida. My first, and let's say astounding encounter with flocks of robins was in an unlikely (to my northwestern experience) place - a salt marsh/estuary system adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. Not the typical solitary individuals of this common American thrush species I'd come to know in lawns and gardens of northern climes.
robin, Florida, birds, Turdus, salt marsh
Friday, February 10, 2006
Cartoonish Muslim Rage In Perspective
The Opinion Journal has a great article that dissects many of the arguments behind the cartoonish Muslim rage at the publication of caricatures of Mohammed.
Mohammed cartoon, Islam cartoon, cartoon, Mohammed cariacature, Mohammed, Muslim, Islam
Mohammed cartoon, Islam cartoon, cartoon, Mohammed cariacature, Mohammed, Muslim, Islam
United In Death - February 10
Today's Clog Almanac Friday Mashup contraposes a pair of popes, a pair of writers, and a surgeon, all of whom died on a February 10.
1992 Alex Haley – U.S. writer (Roots, Biography of Malcolm X)
1957 Laura Ingalls Wilder – U.S. author (Little House on the Prairie)
1939 Pius XI – Italian Pope (1929-1932)
1912 Joseph Lister – British surgeon and antiseptic pioneer
1829 Leo XII – Italian Pope (1823-1829)
My brother saw Alex Haley in an airport in the 1980's. Upon boarding his flight, he discovered he was seated next to Tom Landry, then coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Landry didn't sign my brother, but they did talk football and the college programs that were courting my brother's talents as a defensive back and fleet kick return specialist.
Pius XI is known for his stance against fascism and Naziism.
Leo XII had 6 first names. He reluctantly ascended to the papacy, having retired years before.
Baron Lister? Among my collection (350+) of antique corkscrews are a few very tiny wedding-ring-sized corkscrews bearing Listerine advertising, either stamped on the flattened wire finger-pull ring or lithographed in red on the narrow yellow metal finger band. My latest addition arrived today, purchased from someone who found it in a box of vintage buttons at an auction. You never know when an object of your affection or interest will turn up. That is why I believe everyone ought to collect something. To a dedicated collector, every day holds promise - you just don't know what might turn up and turn your day into something spectacular, and you always are on the look-out for those things....
1992 Alex Haley – U.S. writer (Roots, Biography of Malcolm X)
1957 Laura Ingalls Wilder – U.S. author (Little House on the Prairie)
1939 Pius XI – Italian Pope (1929-1932)
1912 Joseph Lister – British surgeon and antiseptic pioneer
1829 Leo XII – Italian Pope (1823-1829)
My brother saw Alex Haley in an airport in the 1980's. Upon boarding his flight, he discovered he was seated next to Tom Landry, then coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Landry didn't sign my brother, but they did talk football and the college programs that were courting my brother's talents as a defensive back and fleet kick return specialist.
Pius XI is known for his stance against fascism and Naziism.
Leo XII had 6 first names. He reluctantly ascended to the papacy, having retired years before.
Baron Lister? Among my collection (350+) of antique corkscrews are a few very tiny wedding-ring-sized corkscrews bearing Listerine advertising, either stamped on the flattened wire finger-pull ring or lithographed in red on the narrow yellow metal finger band. My latest addition arrived today, purchased from someone who found it in a box of vintage buttons at an auction. You never know when an object of your affection or interest will turn up. That is why I believe everyone ought to collect something. To a dedicated collector, every day holds promise - you just don't know what might turn up and turn your day into something spectacular, and you always are on the look-out for those things....
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
A Great Big Why?
A web robot from Vulcan, Inc. has been sniffing at my feed lately. Why? Why? Why?
(Note to Paul G. Allen: You’re welcome here any time, and you don't have to answer the question.)
(Note to Paul G. Allen: You’re welcome here any time, and you don't have to answer the question.)
Monday, February 06, 2006
Sandhill Cranes Away!
Today the china-blue skies over north central Florida were frequented by the rattling cacophony of skeins of sandhill cranes heading north-by-northwest, the first I've noticed this year. Perhaps like me, they've noticed that Spring is suddenly afoot: red maples setting fruit; the soft and wondrous perfume of blooming Carolina jessamine lacing the breeze; the common blue violets or the first zephyr lillies nodding amongst last year's fallen leaves. Whatever their cue, the cranes instictively know its time to wend their way north to nesting grounds and the promises of a new generation.
Today is the first day this season that I've noticed apprehensive flocks staging for the journey north. By 11:00 there were several groups of 10-50 cranes flying over Gainesville at several-minute intervals and one group I observed included at least 100 birds. They flew in broken V's, frequently disassembling to take advantage of invisible updrafts to gain altitude and establish their bearings. Then on cue, the spirals unfurled and the birds reformed into V's and continued on.
If you live in northern climes, its time to alert your eyes and ears for the crane migration.
Meanwhile, on the ground in north Florida, camellias are blooming everywhere, and azaleas are beginning to show their colors. Its nothing short of lovely, and a mark of the changing seasons, despite what the local weather reporter says. No wonder the cranes are nervous in anticipation of the new season upon us.
Florida, sandhill crane, Camellia, Azalea
Today is the first day this season that I've noticed apprehensive flocks staging for the journey north. By 11:00 there were several groups of 10-50 cranes flying over Gainesville at several-minute intervals and one group I observed included at least 100 birds. They flew in broken V's, frequently disassembling to take advantage of invisible updrafts to gain altitude and establish their bearings. Then on cue, the spirals unfurled and the birds reformed into V's and continued on.
If you live in northern climes, its time to alert your eyes and ears for the crane migration.
Meanwhile, on the ground in north Florida, camellias are blooming everywhere, and azaleas are beginning to show their colors. Its nothing short of lovely, and a mark of the changing seasons, despite what the local weather reporter says. No wonder the cranes are nervous in anticipation of the new season upon us.
Florida, sandhill crane, Camellia, Azalea
Friday, February 03, 2006
I And The Bird #16
The Clog Almanac welcomes visitors who've migrated over from I and The Bird, where yours' truly has a post at that great blog carnival. Thanks for stopping by! And three loud caws for the New Dharma Bums for bringing us such a great and creative carnival this week.
United In Death - February 3
Today's Friday Mashup pairs the founder of the modern printed word with one of the founders of Rock 'n Roll, both of whom died on a February 3rd.
1468 Johann Gensfleisch Gutenberg - printed the first book in Europe
1959 Buddy Hardin Holley - Died in a plane crash with The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens
Gutenberg is credited with the invention of movable type printing. It was a long way from there to here, or here.
1468 Johann Gensfleisch Gutenberg - printed the first book in Europe
1959 Buddy Hardin Holley - Died in a plane crash with The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens
Gutenberg is credited with the invention of movable type printing. It was a long way from there to here, or here.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Coretta Scott King 1927-2006
America mourns the passing and celebrates the life and work of Coretta Scott King.
Friday, January 27, 2006
United In Death - January 27
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Fuel For Thought
Gasoline prices at-the-pump today in Gainesville, FL: $2.45/gallon.
Tonight the television news reported that oil company profits are up 46% over the past year. Now this might be a temporary Good Thing for my 457 investment plan, but I still cry "ouch!" when the pump passes the $20 mark as I'm refueling the little 12-gallon tank of my Sentra. The other temporary Good Thing: most of the 350-400 miles of driving I chalk up every week is in a company vehicle, fueled by my employer's gas card and annual fuel/operations budget.
Ford Motor Co. has intimated that it might produce, as part of its restructuring plan, a line of vehicles including a pick-up truck, that run on E85 - a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Hey good news, right? Yes, but....
Biofuels are attractive alternatives to foreign oil sources of gasoline. Shoot, even Willie uses biodiesel in his Bus. However, consider the inevitable tipping point, at the intersection of the production of food, fuel, and industrial chemicals, when it is more profitable for Big Agriculture to market fuel products and industrial chemicals derived from traditional food sources such as corn and soybeans.
What will happen to the food supply when major food sources can more profitably be converted to industrial products, like fuel and chemicals? The sooner we wean our economies from *fossil fuels* (alarming term, isn't it?) the sooner we approach a fuel-for-food crisis. "It was cheaper (=more profitable to shareholders) to make biofuel than to make food, then millions starved."
Put that thought in your pipe, and, as they say, smoke it. Smoke it long and hard. Then, eat a good meal, and start planning for the future of your children and grandchildren.
biofuels, ethanol, fossil fuels, oil
Tonight the television news reported that oil company profits are up 46% over the past year. Now this might be a temporary Good Thing for my 457 investment plan, but I still cry "ouch!" when the pump passes the $20 mark as I'm refueling the little 12-gallon tank of my Sentra. The other temporary Good Thing: most of the 350-400 miles of driving I chalk up every week is in a company vehicle, fueled by my employer's gas card and annual fuel/operations budget.
Ford Motor Co. has intimated that it might produce, as part of its restructuring plan, a line of vehicles including a pick-up truck, that run on E85 - a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Hey good news, right? Yes, but....
Biofuels are attractive alternatives to foreign oil sources of gasoline. Shoot, even Willie uses biodiesel in his Bus. However, consider the inevitable tipping point, at the intersection of the production of food, fuel, and industrial chemicals, when it is more profitable for Big Agriculture to market fuel products and industrial chemicals derived from traditional food sources such as corn and soybeans.
What will happen to the food supply when major food sources can more profitably be converted to industrial products, like fuel and chemicals? The sooner we wean our economies from *fossil fuels* (alarming term, isn't it?) the sooner we approach a fuel-for-food crisis. "It was cheaper (=more profitable to shareholders) to make biofuel than to make food, then millions starved."
Put that thought in your pipe, and, as they say, smoke it. Smoke it long and hard. Then, eat a good meal, and start planning for the future of your children and grandchildren.
biofuels, ethanol, fossil fuels, oil
Today’s Birds, In Passing
Seen today in the Gainesville, Fl vicinity:
Cedar waxwings
Fish crow
Sandhill cranes
Eastern glossy ibis
White ibis
Little blue heron
Anhinga
Snowy egret
American egret
Green-winged teal
Blue-winged teal
Black-bellied whistling duck
Pied-billed grebe
Palm warbler
Lesser yellow-legs
Mockingbird
Loggerhead shrike
Yesterday at Lake Santa Fe in Alachua Co., Fl:
Bald eagle
Red-shouldered hawk
Osprey
Black-headed vulture
Yellow-rumped warbler
White-eyed vireo
Florida, birding, birds
Cedar waxwings
Fish crow
Sandhill cranes
Eastern glossy ibis
White ibis
Little blue heron
Anhinga
Snowy egret
American egret
Green-winged teal
Blue-winged teal
Black-bellied whistling duck
Pied-billed grebe
Palm warbler
Lesser yellow-legs
Mockingbird
Loggerhead shrike
Yesterday at Lake Santa Fe in Alachua Co., Fl:
Bald eagle
Red-shouldered hawk
Osprey
Black-headed vulture
Yellow-rumped warbler
White-eyed vireo
Florida, birding, birds
Monday, January 23, 2006
The Divine Art Of Retroactive Copyrights
Comes now the official Vatican publishing house, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, with an edict of its own: Everything written by the current Pope, beginning with his first encyclical, and by his predecessors in the past 50 years, is now subject to copyright.
So now you have to pay royalties on the Word of God, if thats what they're still claiming it to be. The Clog Almanac asks, "Did God tell them to charge the world for His Word?" "Did He inform the Pope first, about the institution of this new copyright policy?"
Other than for the necessity of staunching the bleeding of cash for legal judgements for unspeakable acts committed by priests (largely in the litigious USA), is the Church really that in need of money?
If this is a tempest in a teapot, then tell us. (US copyright terms summary here.)
(Via The Times Online.)
Vatican, copyright, Ratzinger, Benedict XVI, encyclical
So now you have to pay royalties on the Word of God, if thats what they're still claiming it to be. The Clog Almanac asks, "Did God tell them to charge the world for His Word?" "Did He inform the Pope first, about the institution of this new copyright policy?"
Other than for the necessity of staunching the bleeding of cash for legal judgements for unspeakable acts committed by priests (largely in the litigious USA), is the Church really that in need of money?
If this is a tempest in a teapot, then tell us. (US copyright terms summary here.)
(Via The Times Online.)
Vatican, copyright, Ratzinger, Benedict XVI, encyclical
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Counting Crows: Corvid Stereotypes
This past weekend a raucous flock of crows descended on our neighborhood to roost for a night in the expansive oaks near Clog House Est. 1935. I decided to google, in the spirit of the Prejudice Map, "what crows are known for". I likewise tried other corvids as well. The results, which I think may be a little less prejudicial than those of religious sects I recently queried, are presented here.
Crows are known for:
How this works, with starlings:
I grew up in southern Idaho. My horse-trading great uncle Al Baldwin, one of the last of the old Idaho horse traders, constructed a magpie trap from old corral posts against the side of one of his barns, and baited it with the hindquarter of a goat. He sold/traded magpie wings and tails with Shoshone-Bannock Indians living on the Fort Hall Reservation near Pocatello, the old home of both of my parents' families.
For me the resilient Magpie has been a constant wonder and source of interest and remains one of my favorite birds. I can't wait to see them in their irridescent black and white domino plumage congregating in the pasture of my family home in Boise upon my yearly visits.
Folklore surrounding crows, ravens and other related birds abounds. A smattering of corvid folklore, some of it British, is found here.
Raven, the trickster, was a common element of the mythology and folklore of the indigenous peoples of the NW coast of North America.
In my outdoor activities I've come to know the wiles of the Stellar's Jay and Clark's Nutcracker, which, among my family and friends, have always been classed as "camp robbers" for their bold forays onto the camp table when the humans are away or otherwise momentarily distracted.
corvids, Crows, Ravens, Magpies, Blue Jays, Starlings, Indians, Idaho, Pocatello, Boise, mythology
Crows are known for:
Meticulous hygiene; ability to make tools; loud raucous cawing; eating carrion; stealing food from eachother; landing on and plucking hair from horses; eating eggs of other birds.Ravens are known for:
Intelligence and complex social dynamics; love of shiny objects; problem solving abilities; remarkable memories; playfulness and versatility.Grackles are known for:
Decapitating the heads of unwanted neighbors.Blackbirds are known for:
Colorful hypnotic songs; fiercely defending territory; loud rattling alarm calls.Blue Jays are known for:
Their crests and beautiful blue color; loud vocalizations and repertoire; caring for young after they’re independent; aggression; intelligence.Magpies are known for:
Swooping at people that stray near their nest; engaging in play behavior; ravenous and nondiscriminatory appetites; staying in pairs; thieving ways; collecting bright shiny objects.
How this works, with starlings:
I grew up in southern Idaho. My horse-trading great uncle Al Baldwin, one of the last of the old Idaho horse traders, constructed a magpie trap from old corral posts against the side of one of his barns, and baited it with the hindquarter of a goat. He sold/traded magpie wings and tails with Shoshone-Bannock Indians living on the Fort Hall Reservation near Pocatello, the old home of both of my parents' families.
For me the resilient Magpie has been a constant wonder and source of interest and remains one of my favorite birds. I can't wait to see them in their irridescent black and white domino plumage congregating in the pasture of my family home in Boise upon my yearly visits.
Folklore surrounding crows, ravens and other related birds abounds. A smattering of corvid folklore, some of it British, is found here.
Raven, the trickster, was a common element of the mythology and folklore of the indigenous peoples of the NW coast of North America.
In my outdoor activities I've come to know the wiles of the Stellar's Jay and Clark's Nutcracker, which, among my family and friends, have always been classed as "camp robbers" for their bold forays onto the camp table when the humans are away or otherwise momentarily distracted.
corvids, Crows, Ravens, Magpies, Blue Jays, Starlings, Indians, Idaho, Pocatello, Boise, mythology
Thursday, January 19, 2006
United In Death - January 20
Herewith this week's Friday Mashup of notables who died on a January 20:
2003 - Al Hirschfeld - Caricaturist of Broadway's brightest lights
1988 - Phillipe de Rothschild - elite chateau vintner
1948 - Mahatma Gandhi - India's pacifist bapu
1900 - John Ruskin - English writer, tireless critic of art and society
Gandhi credited John Ruskin as being perhaps the single greatest influence on his life. Ruskin's moralistic commentary about the arts and society was a foundation stone of Victorian sensibilities, and his ideas led to the formation of the National Trust, and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. His ideas inspired the Arts and Crafts movement, and the Labour Party. Ruskin is known as the "greatest Victorian bar Victoria."
Ruskin quotes here.
Gandhi, John Ruskin, Al Hirchfeld, Rothschild
2003 - Al Hirschfeld - Caricaturist of Broadway's brightest lights
1988 - Phillipe de Rothschild - elite chateau vintner
1948 - Mahatma Gandhi - India's pacifist bapu
1900 - John Ruskin - English writer, tireless critic of art and society
Gandhi credited John Ruskin as being perhaps the single greatest influence on his life. Ruskin's moralistic commentary about the arts and society was a foundation stone of Victorian sensibilities, and his ideas led to the formation of the National Trust, and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. His ideas inspired the Arts and Crafts movement, and the Labour Party. Ruskin is known as the "greatest Victorian bar Victoria."
Ruskin quotes here.
Gandhi, John Ruskin, Al Hirchfeld, Rothschild
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Home Furnishings And Some Backyard Birds
I was home all day, puttering. Outside the morning air was filled with the trills of chickadees and the metronomic chips of a couple of pairs of cardinals. I decided to watch the cardinals, and quickly noticed a catbird following a male cardinal as it flitted among the azalea bushes and wisteria vines in a neglected and overgrown corner of our yard. I haven't glimpsed a catbird in a good long while. An eastern phoebe perched in a recently pruned crape myrtle in the sideyard, but it shyly flew to a safer perch on a chain-link fence across the quiet street as I moved around the yard. Later, as the sun swept over the oak trees in the neighborhood, the robins appeared and filled the air with their distinctive chattering, to the occasional faintly whistled descant of passing cedar waxwings.
In the afternoon stopped in at a local antique shop and purchased a solid walnut, art-nouveau, curved-front curio cabinet; ideal for displaying the best of my antique corkscrews, Victorian ebony and rosewood brushes, and depression-era glass. Life is good at Clog House Est. 1935.
Florida, birding, antiques, curio cabinet, art nouveau, birds
In the afternoon stopped in at a local antique shop and purchased a solid walnut, art-nouveau, curved-front curio cabinet; ideal for displaying the best of my antique corkscrews, Victorian ebony and rosewood brushes, and depression-era glass. Life is good at Clog House Est. 1935.
Florida, birding, antiques, curio cabinet, art nouveau, birds
A Time To Plant
Yesterday was a planting day.
I put in a couple of flats of pansies to add some winter color to the flower beds in front of the house. I planted some very robust foxglove starts. These should bloom in a few weeks. I potted some hickory nuts I'd recently collected from the grounds of the Dungeness ruins on Cumberland Island. And lastly, I planted the red buckeye seed from the tree I'd found growing on the verge of a big sinkhole rimmed with very old red bay trees, that sat in the middle of an expansive pasture amongt a vast woodland-pasture section in the farmlands of Alachua County.
All the while the trees overhead were filled with a busy if not noisy flock of robins. I think they were taking turns eating the small fruits of the camphor tree in the back yard.
buckeye, robin, sinkhole
I put in a couple of flats of pansies to add some winter color to the flower beds in front of the house. I planted some very robust foxglove starts. These should bloom in a few weeks. I potted some hickory nuts I'd recently collected from the grounds of the Dungeness ruins on Cumberland Island. And lastly, I planted the red buckeye seed from the tree I'd found growing on the verge of a big sinkhole rimmed with very old red bay trees, that sat in the middle of an expansive pasture amongt a vast woodland-pasture section in the farmlands of Alachua County.
All the while the trees overhead were filled with a busy if not noisy flock of robins. I think they were taking turns eating the small fruits of the camphor tree in the back yard.
buckeye, robin, sinkhole
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Winter Music, Lovely Florida
Yesterday Irrational Exuberance, the string band in which I play guitar, spent a lovely morning playing "waltzes and threes" for the dancers attending the annual English Infusion weekend at O'Leno State Park. Though it was cold outside, the 1930's CCC-constructed dance hall was filled with happy English Country Dance folk lilting to our music.
After the festivities I hiked the trail along the Santa Fe river around the the sinkhole where the river sinks below ground. A finer afternoon you might not experience anywhere this time of year.
After the festivities I hiked the trail along the Santa Fe river around the the sinkhole where the river sinks below ground. A finer afternoon you might not experience anywhere this time of year.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Religious Stereotypes By Google
Following the idea of The Prejudice Map, I googled the phrase "X are known for" to find out about certain religions. According to Google:
Mormons are known for:
religion, religious stereotypes
Mormons are known for:
Clean living; dedication to church and family; generosity; close community bonds; large, tight-knit superfunctional families; upstanding lifestyle; stockpiling emergency supplies; door-to-door missionary work. But not appreciation of sophisticated beer.Catholics are known for:
Extraordinary generosity; tolerance of other religions; decorating crosses with a crucified Jesus; artistic beauty; lighting candles; double religious affiliation; ability to stand up, sit down, and kneel a billion times an hour.Lutherans are known for:
Scholarship; hymnody, choral and organ music; sticking by the disaster-stricken for the long-haul; stressing saved-by-grace; potlucks; stoicism toward religious experience; theological argumentativeness.Baptists are known for:
Vocal Christianity; zeal; free souls and open mouths; political involvement; divisiveness and local church autonomy (hence, many flavors of Baptism); service and ministry; fantastic potlucks; being against fun, in general.Methodists are known for:
Generosity; hymn literacy; love of singing; good cooking; hospitality; setting up committees; being very anti-alchohol; balancing head and heart on the spiritual journey.How this works.
religion, religious stereotypes
Googling Around The World
The Prejudice Map at Google Blogoscoped is worth a look, if you haven't seen it already.
How Old Are You, Anyway?
If China takes over the world, I for one, will suddenly become a year older than my birth certificate and drivers' license claim that I am. There is no grace in growing older suddenly.
Calculate your Chinese age here.
Calculate your Chinese age here.
Friday, January 13, 2006
United In Death - January 13
The Clog Almanac Friday Mashup of people who died on a January 13:
1983 - Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds - U.S. sci-fi writer
1941 - James Joyce - Irish novelist
1929 - Wyatt Earp - Legendary U.S. marshall
1864 - Stephen C. Foster - American composer
1599 - Edmund Spenser - English poet
At the tender age of 19 in 1978, I had the priveledge of sharing several long evening conversations with Mack Reynolds at his home in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. He would be tickled to see his name listed with Joyce and Earp and Spenser.
1983 - Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds - U.S. sci-fi writer
1941 - James Joyce - Irish novelist
1929 - Wyatt Earp - Legendary U.S. marshall
1864 - Stephen C. Foster - American composer
1599 - Edmund Spenser - English poet
At the tender age of 19 in 1978, I had the priveledge of sharing several long evening conversations with Mack Reynolds at his home in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. He would be tickled to see his name listed with Joyce and Earp and Spenser.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Daedalus Birds Return To Florida
Flocks of cedar waxwings have made their appearance in north central Florida. These birds are commonly heard before they're seen. They emit high-pitched wheezy whistles as they wing through the sky. In this area they swoop en masse into the holly trees lining Gainesville's downtown streets and gorge themselves on the bright red fruits.
I get the feeling that the spectacle of dozens of birds careering through downtown intersections and stripping the trees of berries goes rather unnoticed by the majority of folks. The annual return of the waxwings is a seasonal hallmark for the local birding community.
I get the feeling that the spectacle of dozens of birds careering through downtown intersections and stripping the trees of berries goes rather unnoticed by the majority of folks. The annual return of the waxwings is a seasonal hallmark for the local birding community.
Cutting Through The Rye
The string of north central Florida days just past have been nothing short of lovely. The thermometer will edge into the high seventies today. The snowbirds must be loving it. By snowbirds I mean the folks with Ontario Canada license plates that frequent our interstates during this time of year.
I had to mow the lawn at Clog House Est. 1935. The winter rye seed I spread just before Thanksgiving came in thick and bright green and proceeded to grow a good 6 inches. Mowing the lawn in midwinter seems an odd activity everywhere but in the Snowbird state. I'm in no way fanatical about cutting the grass but I must say I do like the look of a freshly mowed greensward.
I had to mow the lawn at Clog House Est. 1935. The winter rye seed I spread just before Thanksgiving came in thick and bright green and proceeded to grow a good 6 inches. Mowing the lawn in midwinter seems an odd activity everywhere but in the Snowbird state. I'm in no way fanatical about cutting the grass but I must say I do like the look of a freshly mowed greensward.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Sunday Birdwatch - Florida
The Clog-wife and I took a short walk from our home, Clog House, Est 1935, in High Springs, FL, to the downtown area, which is essentially the old business district of a rural last-century town thrown into the 21st century by burgeoning growth in Alachua County, and tourism to the many world-famous springs whose runs feed the Santa Fe River. We visited a large inactive sinkhole, around which a small city park has been laid out. I stopped under a spreading old live oak to see what birds might appear. Emulating the alarm calls of wrens and titmice called numerous birds to the branches over my head. I noted these birds that gathered in the single oak tree:
Black and white warbler
Yellow-throated warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler
Palm warbler
Tufted titmouse
Carolina chickadee
There was a warbler? in the tree that had chestnut-red hues on its sides. I haven't identified it as yet. Perhaps a bay-breasted warbler that hasn't completed its migration to Central/South America. Must. Return. With binoculars.
Local birdlife never ceases to delight and amaze me. Most folks have no clue about the startling diversity of birds that live or pass through their locale during the course of a year. Here in north central Florida, folks might recognize common local neighborhood birds like cardinal, bluejay, titmouse, "vulture", "hawk", "owl", "heron" or turkey. But they are almost to a person ignorant of the dozens and dozens of bird species that frequent their community on a seasonal basis, and wouldn't know or care to distinguish a house finch from a chipping sparrow, or wouldn't think to distinguish a pine siskin from a goldfinch.
These knowing folks stand up in public meetings and will swear that birds are not affected by development and sprawl, and that since moving to their home "x" years ago, bird diversity has remained *constant*. The truth is that it's only those few common birds that they can identify that have adapted to urban conditions, that seem constant. I know, because before I started observing and identifying birds, I, like the good folks I've described, thought only 5-10 different birds lived in my little part of the world. But what about the dozens and dozens of seasonal visitors who linger for a short time taking brief advantage of local resources on their yearly migrations hither and yon?
I suggest that the birders in your area have a better understanding of local ecology than most folks in your local government that make important decisions regarding where and how development occurs in your area. Contact local officials and bid them include birders of the local Audubon chapter in local city and county comprehensive plan discussions. Serious birders take the long view. Their knowledge of local bird population demographics, seasonal bird migrations through your area, and the habitat requirements of the individual species may be among the best ecological advice available to those who plan for the long-term future of your community. Birds are citizens of hemispheres and continents, and so planning for their survival requires more than the typical blinkered thinking we apply to our neighborhood associations, cities, and counties. The well-being of bird species and populations, however long or short their stay in our particular areas, requires knowledge, coordination on a large scale, and passionate representation.
On the walk home I spotted this year's first (for me) flock of cedar waxwings streaking overhead, announced by their shrill weak whistles.
Florida, Florida birds, Florida birding, birdwatching, birding
Black and white warbler
Yellow-throated warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler
Palm warbler
Tufted titmouse
Carolina chickadee
There was a warbler? in the tree that had chestnut-red hues on its sides. I haven't identified it as yet. Perhaps a bay-breasted warbler that hasn't completed its migration to Central/South America. Must. Return. With binoculars.
Local birdlife never ceases to delight and amaze me. Most folks have no clue about the startling diversity of birds that live or pass through their locale during the course of a year. Here in north central Florida, folks might recognize common local neighborhood birds like cardinal, bluejay, titmouse, "vulture", "hawk", "owl", "heron" or turkey. But they are almost to a person ignorant of the dozens and dozens of bird species that frequent their community on a seasonal basis, and wouldn't know or care to distinguish a house finch from a chipping sparrow, or wouldn't think to distinguish a pine siskin from a goldfinch.
These knowing folks stand up in public meetings and will swear that birds are not affected by development and sprawl, and that since moving to their home "x" years ago, bird diversity has remained *constant*. The truth is that it's only those few common birds that they can identify that have adapted to urban conditions, that seem constant. I know, because before I started observing and identifying birds, I, like the good folks I've described, thought only 5-10 different birds lived in my little part of the world. But what about the dozens and dozens of seasonal visitors who linger for a short time taking brief advantage of local resources on their yearly migrations hither and yon?
I suggest that the birders in your area have a better understanding of local ecology than most folks in your local government that make important decisions regarding where and how development occurs in your area. Contact local officials and bid them include birders of the local Audubon chapter in local city and county comprehensive plan discussions. Serious birders take the long view. Their knowledge of local bird population demographics, seasonal bird migrations through your area, and the habitat requirements of the individual species may be among the best ecological advice available to those who plan for the long-term future of your community. Birds are citizens of hemispheres and continents, and so planning for their survival requires more than the typical blinkered thinking we apply to our neighborhood associations, cities, and counties. The well-being of bird species and populations, however long or short their stay in our particular areas, requires knowledge, coordination on a large scale, and passionate representation.
On the walk home I spotted this year's first (for me) flock of cedar waxwings streaking overhead, announced by their shrill weak whistles.
Florida, Florida birds, Florida birding, birdwatching, birding
Saturday, January 07, 2006
An Essay For Our Times
Mark Steyn has a very interesting essay at Opinion Journal, his remarks at a recent New Criterion/Social Affairs Unit symposium in New York. He argues that birth rates and other simple demographic changes will, by the end of this century, do away with much of what we call the western world. Lots of gristle to chew on in this piece. Go read it.
demography, Islam, birth rates
demography, Islam, birth rates
Friday, January 06, 2006
I And The Bird #14
The Clog Almanac welcomes bird friends who've migrated from the I and The Bird blog carnival. I sincerely hope you enjoyed my post.
United in Death - January 6
Herewith the Clog Almanac Friday Mashup of individuals who left this world on a January 6:
2000 Don Martin - cartoonist for Mad magazine
1993 Dizzy Gillespie - Jazz/Blues trumpet man
1985 Robert W. Welch Jr. - Founder of the John Birch Society
1919 Theodore Roosevelt - 26th US president
Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall and listen in if these four assembled for a Coffee and Cigarettes vignette?
2000 Don Martin - cartoonist for Mad magazine
1993 Dizzy Gillespie - Jazz/Blues trumpet man
1985 Robert W. Welch Jr. - Founder of the John Birch Society
1919 Theodore Roosevelt - 26th US president
Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall and listen in if these four assembled for a Coffee and Cigarettes vignette?
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
More Florida Birds For Lunch
A chance meeting with friends at a local birding hotspot provided some great conversation and birdwatching during my lunch break.
My pal Tom was there trying out his new Bausch & Lomb spotting scope, accompanied by two other mutual friends. The few minutes we spent together at Chapman's Pond turned up these birds:
Pied-billed grebe
Blue-winged teal
Moorhen
Coot
Snowy egret
White Ibis
Bufflehead
Loggerhead shrike
Black-headed vulture
Red-shouldered hawk
Sandhill crane
Bluejay
Eastern phoebe
Kestrel
The day was beautifully clear and sunny. A day suitable for nomination as a red-letter day in the Clog Almanac.
Florida, birding
My pal Tom was there trying out his new Bausch & Lomb spotting scope, accompanied by two other mutual friends. The few minutes we spent together at Chapman's Pond turned up these birds:
Pied-billed grebe
Blue-winged teal
Moorhen
Coot
Snowy egret
White Ibis
Bufflehead
Loggerhead shrike
Black-headed vulture
Red-shouldered hawk
Sandhill crane
Bluejay
Eastern phoebe
Kestrel
The day was beautifully clear and sunny. A day suitable for nomination as a red-letter day in the Clog Almanac.
Florida, birding
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Noted In Passing: Birds I Saw Today
Alachua County, north central FL - My work travels around the county took me into the field today. Birdlife observed, in passing:
200+ Sandhill Cranes at the Gainesville UF Beef Teaching Unit pasture.
Flock of turkeys gleaning a pasture near a small bunch of spotted FL cattle.
Eastern Phoebe making abrupt forays from and returning to the same snag.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker swooping tree to tree.
Palm Warblers nattering in trees rimming a recently abandoned pasture.
Red-bellied Woodpecker calling from a dead pine.
Pied-billed Grebe and Little Blue Heron at a suburban retention pond.
Fish Crows massing in the canopy of an aging laurel oak.
Small flock of Killdeers winging along a long pond margin.
European Starlings calling from a residential streetside tree.
Cooper's Hawk jetting over a downtown building, and through an intersection.
Ring-billed Gulls winging over a vacant suburban field.
Not bad for a day's non-birding, a portion of which was through the windshields and open side-windows of company pickup trucks. A portion of the day was spent with local environmental protection friends who are way more serious birders than me.
Technorati: Florida, birding, birdwatching, Florida birding, birding Florida, Florida birdwatching
200+ Sandhill Cranes at the Gainesville UF Beef Teaching Unit pasture.
Flock of turkeys gleaning a pasture near a small bunch of spotted FL cattle.
Eastern Phoebe making abrupt forays from and returning to the same snag.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker swooping tree to tree.
Palm Warblers nattering in trees rimming a recently abandoned pasture.
Red-bellied Woodpecker calling from a dead pine.
Pied-billed Grebe and Little Blue Heron at a suburban retention pond.
Fish Crows massing in the canopy of an aging laurel oak.
Small flock of Killdeers winging along a long pond margin.
European Starlings calling from a residential streetside tree.
Cooper's Hawk jetting over a downtown building, and through an intersection.
Ring-billed Gulls winging over a vacant suburban field.
Not bad for a day's non-birding, a portion of which was through the windshields and open side-windows of company pickup trucks. A portion of the day was spent with local environmental protection friends who are way more serious birders than me.
Technorati: Florida, birding, birdwatching, Florida birding, birding Florida, Florida birdwatching
Monday, January 02, 2006
A Most Atypical Top-Ten List
I mentioned the one-off activities I engage in during the betwixt-and-between days between Christmas and returning to work after New Years. Today I went through a box of sheet music that I've collected over the years.
I present a list of 10 interesting titles from that collection. Titles range from the 1930's-1950's, and were purchased within a year or two of their copyright date by their original, now deceased owner, one Alma Pinske, nee Tabbert (former church organist in Gainesville FL), who I never knew. How I obtained a part of her sheet music collection remains an unimportant secret, even to me.
This isn't the sort of (tiresome) list that is circulating around the Internet at year’s end. It's certainly out in left field, in comparison. Here goes, all the same:
Vintage Sheet Music from the Top of the Clog Almanac Stack
1. Who Threw The Overalls in Mistress Murphee’s Chowder. 1937. Calumet Music Co. Chicago.
2. Ferdinand The Bull. 1938. ABC Music Corporation. NYC. The Disney Cartoon won an award for cartoon-short-subjects at the 11th Academy Awards in 1938. I once owned a copy of the book written in Latin.
3. Tennessee Waltz. 1948. Acuff-Rose Publications. Nashville.
4. Peter Cottontail. 1950. Hill and Range Songs, Inc. Beverly Hills.
5. Thanks For the Memory. 1937. Paramount Music Corp. NYC. Visit Bob Hope's website.
6. Two Sleepy People. 1938. Famous Music Corp. NYC. Appeared in the same movie as #5.
7. Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly. 1946. Irving Berlin Music Co. NYC. From the musical Annie Get Your Gun. Annie is a standard production of quaint and/or lovely outdoor summer stock theaters that have popped up all around the West in past years. I've attended shows at 2 different Idaho venues, and have seen it advertised in Utah too.
8. Side by Side. 1927 and 1953. Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. NYC.
9. Let Me Call You Sweetheart. 1937. Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. NYC. (Earlier copyrights assigned from Paull-Pioneer Music Corp.) Lyrics written by Beth Slater Whitson, who is buried in the Spring Hill Cemetery, Madison, TN, with bygone music luminaries including Roy Acuff, Hank Snow, and John Hartford. Offensive thuglife rendition of the Sweetheart theme here. While you're at it, go memorize the Code of Thug Life.
10. Your Cheatin’ Heart. 1952. Acuff-Rose Publications. Nashville. My father owned Hank Williams records. Williams' music was among the first recorded music I ever listened to. I wish I had the broad mahogany boards my parents' hi-fi was enclosed in!
I present a list of 10 interesting titles from that collection. Titles range from the 1930's-1950's, and were purchased within a year or two of their copyright date by their original, now deceased owner, one Alma Pinske, nee Tabbert (former church organist in Gainesville FL), who I never knew. How I obtained a part of her sheet music collection remains an unimportant secret, even to me.
This isn't the sort of (tiresome) list that is circulating around the Internet at year’s end. It's certainly out in left field, in comparison. Here goes, all the same:
Vintage Sheet Music from the Top of the Clog Almanac Stack
1. Who Threw The Overalls in Mistress Murphee’s Chowder. 1937. Calumet Music Co. Chicago.
2. Ferdinand The Bull. 1938. ABC Music Corporation. NYC. The Disney Cartoon won an award for cartoon-short-subjects at the 11th Academy Awards in 1938. I once owned a copy of the book written in Latin.
3. Tennessee Waltz. 1948. Acuff-Rose Publications. Nashville.
4. Peter Cottontail. 1950. Hill and Range Songs, Inc. Beverly Hills.
5. Thanks For the Memory. 1937. Paramount Music Corp. NYC. Visit Bob Hope's website.
6. Two Sleepy People. 1938. Famous Music Corp. NYC. Appeared in the same movie as #5.
7. Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly. 1946. Irving Berlin Music Co. NYC. From the musical Annie Get Your Gun. Annie is a standard production of quaint and/or lovely outdoor summer stock theaters that have popped up all around the West in past years. I've attended shows at 2 different Idaho venues, and have seen it advertised in Utah too.
8. Side by Side. 1927 and 1953. Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. NYC.
9. Let Me Call You Sweetheart. 1937. Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. NYC. (Earlier copyrights assigned from Paull-Pioneer Music Corp.) Lyrics written by Beth Slater Whitson, who is buried in the Spring Hill Cemetery, Madison, TN, with bygone music luminaries including Roy Acuff, Hank Snow, and John Hartford. Offensive thuglife rendition of the Sweetheart theme here. While you're at it, go memorize the Code of Thug Life.
10. Your Cheatin’ Heart. 1952. Acuff-Rose Publications. Nashville. My father owned Hank Williams records. Williams' music was among the first recorded music I ever listened to. I wish I had the broad mahogany boards my parents' hi-fi was enclosed in!
Italian Farfalle and Spinach Recipe
Today I concocted a quick recipe for this delicious side dish to accompany the fish or meat course of your next Northern Italian meal:
Farfalle With Spinach and Artichokes in White Clam Sauce
Ingredients
1 lb (dry) Farfalle (bowtie pasta)
4C Fresh spinach leaves coarsely chopped
8 Marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
1/2C Butter beans or canelloni, precooked
1/4C Raisins
1/4C Anchovy-stuffed green olives, lightly chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
Dry basil and oregano, to taste
1/2C White clam sauce
3T Olive oil
Preparation
Boil Farfalle until al dente, drain, lightly toss with about half of the olive oil, cover and set aside. While Farfalle are cooking prepare the sauce, as follows:
In a large pan on a low-medium flame, saute garlic, artichokes, and raisins in the rest of the olive oil. Stir in the basil and oregano and let cook for a moment. Add the beans and clam sauce (don’t skimp on the clam bits!) Cook at a slow boil until half of the liquid is reduced. Salt to taste. Add the spinach and minced olives; lightly toss them in the mixture until spinach is just wilted and bright green. Adjust salt if necessary.
With your best eye for panache or style, layer the spinach and sauce mixture over the Farfalle; lightly toss if desired. Sprinkle with (red) hot pepper flakes for pizazz and color.
Serves 4-6. Buon Appetito!, as the late Romeo Salta inscribed in my copy of his book Pleasures of Italian Cooking. Its a good cookbook. Froogle it! You pick the wine.
Technorati: Italian cooking, farfalle, spinach, artichoke, clam sauce, recipes
Farfalle With Spinach and Artichokes in White Clam Sauce
Ingredients
1 lb (dry) Farfalle (bowtie pasta)
4C Fresh spinach leaves coarsely chopped
8 Marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
1/2C Butter beans or canelloni, precooked
1/4C Raisins
1/4C Anchovy-stuffed green olives, lightly chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
Dry basil and oregano, to taste
1/2C White clam sauce
3T Olive oil
Preparation
Boil Farfalle until al dente, drain, lightly toss with about half of the olive oil, cover and set aside. While Farfalle are cooking prepare the sauce, as follows:
In a large pan on a low-medium flame, saute garlic, artichokes, and raisins in the rest of the olive oil. Stir in the basil and oregano and let cook for a moment. Add the beans and clam sauce (don’t skimp on the clam bits!) Cook at a slow boil until half of the liquid is reduced. Salt to taste. Add the spinach and minced olives; lightly toss them in the mixture until spinach is just wilted and bright green. Adjust salt if necessary.
With your best eye for panache or style, layer the spinach and sauce mixture over the Farfalle; lightly toss if desired. Sprinkle with (red) hot pepper flakes for pizazz and color.
Serves 4-6. Buon Appetito!, as the late Romeo Salta inscribed in my copy of his book Pleasures of Italian Cooking. Its a good cookbook. Froogle it! You pick the wine.
Technorati: Italian cooking, farfalle, spinach, artichoke, clam sauce, recipes
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Bird-Flu Update: US Measures Weak So Far
Let's not start the New Year without remembering that there is the possibility of an influenza crisis looming in the year ahead.
The San Jose Mercury News reports today on US measures to handle a possible future bird-flu outbreak.
The Clog-Almanac judges the reported measures to be weak, since they seem to only include plans to quarantine schools or immediate contacts of those that may become infected. Where are plans to provide for widespread hospital and care facilities should an epidemic arise? Where are plans to ramp-up means to produce and provide manufacturing capacity of vaccines for the otherwise unprotected citizenry?
Julie Gerberding, Director of the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is quoted as saying:
Lessons from the 1918 influenza pandemic should guide preparation efforts with this sobering thought in mind: Though it's an affront to our national hubris, we've not advanced that far beyond the last century's disease containment technology, at least on a national scale. Why suffer again the results of lessons (here, here, here, and here,) not learned or heeded?
The CDC is not entirely responsible for everyone's personal health. Every state and community should be developing programs to guide public and government response to a future flu pandemic, and as individuals, we should learn as much as we can about preserving our health in perilous times.
Technorati: influenza, bird flu
The San Jose Mercury News reports today on US measures to handle a possible future bird-flu outbreak.
The Clog-Almanac judges the reported measures to be weak, since they seem to only include plans to quarantine schools or immediate contacts of those that may become infected. Where are plans to provide for widespread hospital and care facilities should an epidemic arise? Where are plans to ramp-up means to produce and provide manufacturing capacity of vaccines for the otherwise unprotected citizenry?
Julie Gerberding, Director of the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is quoted as saying:
"I don't think any of us are thinking of draconian measures to completely quarantine a country or quarantine a community."But what if draconian measures become warranted? This healthy citizen feels that draconian measures, if deemed necessary, should be planned for, with an eye to facilitating adequate resources and care for those communities so affected while preserving the operation of essential state and local services.
Lessons from the 1918 influenza pandemic should guide preparation efforts with this sobering thought in mind: Though it's an affront to our national hubris, we've not advanced that far beyond the last century's disease containment technology, at least on a national scale. Why suffer again the results of lessons (here, here, here, and here,) not learned or heeded?
The CDC is not entirely responsible for everyone's personal health. Every state and community should be developing programs to guide public and government response to a future flu pandemic, and as individuals, we should learn as much as we can about preserving our health in perilous times.
Technorati: influenza, bird flu
Happy New Year 2006
The Clog Almanac thanks all who visited this site over the past year, and wishes you happiness and prosperity throughout the next.
2005 was a good year. I began posting to this blog, the Clog-wife and I purchased Clog House - Est. 1935 and have begun to make it a home. 2005 goes down as the year the cat came back - my big black feline Buffalo walked up and said hello after being missing for over 2 months.
2005 was a good year. I began posting to this blog, the Clog-wife and I purchased Clog House - Est. 1935 and have begun to make it a home. 2005 goes down as the year the cat came back - my big black feline Buffalo walked up and said hello after being missing for over 2 months.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
