Wild Birds on a Wheat Field

        My friend Frances and I scampered into the countryside this morning to view the Tundra Swans. We crouched along behind the fence line in an attempt to approach them without spooking them.
         Our list today includes: Tundra Swans (28), Snow Geese (3), Greater White-fronted Geese, Green-winged Teals, American Wigeons, Canada Geese (overhead), Sandhill Cranes (overhead), and a Song Sparrow.

Frances hides behind brush and aims at the Tundra Swans.

I counted twenty-eight Tundras.

Tundra Swans on final to the wheat field.

Here they are on short final.

A rising sun gives some backlighting to a group of passing Sandhill Cranes.

Sandhill Cranes flew by, their long, pointy beaks piercing the air.

Spot three species of geese in this image: Canada, Snow, and White-fronted Geese.

Ducks (Gadwalls, I think), an oil pump, and a tractor.

White-fronted Geese take flight for a quick go-around in the pattern.

Snow and White-fronted Geese and an oil pump.

Poetry: Joys of Nature

      I wrote the prose poem below for this week's class with Professor Matthew. I based the subject on a story told by a friend recently about her experience with the study of butterflies and her children. The story she told reminded me of the balance in nature: It is beautiful and yet it is ugly, too.

The Joys of Nature

     The two snot-nosed children seemed entranced by the story about the chrysalis. Their eyes lit up when I told them that a worm lived inside there, and that soon it would open a hole and crawl out as if opening a window. Their little jaws dropped when the caterpillar, green with yellow spiracles, emerged from its white, silky home and waved at them. It kept waving at them as it ate all my dillweed, dill sticking out the sides of its mandibles, a look of glee in its eyes as it looked at the two children. It smiled so much that it developed crow's feet around its eyes. And then the two children started jumping up and down when the caterpillar morphed into a butterfly. They spread their arms as the butterfly spread its wings. When it took off, they tried to fly away with it. Then, bless their hearts, all their little hearts, a flycatcher swooped down from the tree, caught the butterfly, and left.

Portside at Age Twenty

This stubborn hound turned twenty this year. Happy birthday Port, you ol' wrinkled bag o' bones!
I'm fortunate that you have spent all of your life with me.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

       A confident chiff . . . chiff from the oak tree made me look up into its branches. The calling of the bird caught my attention as much as the loveliness of the female Red-bellied Woodpecker who sang as she found food in the tree, flying from one branch to another.

Please donate time or funds to Wild Bird Rescue, for this organization helps save the lives of lovely birds such as this one.

Ferruginous Hawk

      In my Pecan tree! Our neighbor, Missus Pumpkin, as MyMrMallory calls her, informed me of the hawk's presence the previous day.

Usual Wonderful Flock

        The usual gaggle of birds has remained at my house, with a slight increase in the number of White-winged doves from two to six: Spotted Towhees, two Cardinal couples, Dark-eyed Juncos, Robins, English Sparrows, Inca doves, House Finches, Black-capped Chickadee, Carolina Wren (I know where they are anywhere in the neighborhood just by sound!), Bluejays, Goldfinches, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Red-winged Blackbirds, and though I haven't seen them lately, the Barred Owls. I know because of their poop under certain branches on the larger trees and because of the racket the Bluejays make every time they return to their fave tree to nap during the day. Nearby, Canada Geese waddle around with Mallards and other ducks.
     
        Speaking of poop, visit the blog Bird Poop of North Texas. The blogger gives information delightfully about bird behavior and landscaping.
     
        Below I show Wild Bird Rescue's newest t-shirt. The image comes from a poster printed in 1932 with Elise Reid Boylston's art work. A local and very nice lady, Mooney, donated the vintage poster to the organization.

Flocks of Interspecific Blackbirds

      During my first attempts at putting together videos, one might need to have some patience. 

      The cloud of birds consists of interspecific flocks of blackbirds migrating through Texas for the winter. I filmed this with the Nikon V 1 along Highway 6 north of Houston.

        The music comes from Yo Yo Ma's collaboration, "Hill Justice,"in the Goat Rodeo Sessions, with Stuart Duncan, Edgar Myer, and Chris Thile. The odd ticking sound in the background comes from my right turn signal.
         View a wonderful video of a murmuration of starlings by Sophie Windsor Clive and Liberty Smith posted by them on YouTube.

Byzantine Fresco Beauty

      We will miss the frescoes at the chapel after they return to Cyprus. Please view the link to the Byzantine Fresco Chapel.

Last Night of Last Year

        On the eve of the New Year, Dan's Silverleaf in Denton started hopping well after ten o'clock. Slobberbone played their poetic lyrics with jaunty tunes. In came the year 2012 as happily and celebratory as great food, great wine, great beer, and great company can provide.

Part of the revelry of celebrating included a photo session at Dan's Silverleaf.

Inside Dan's Sliverleaf various forms of art delight the guests. Here, the shadow of a bike behind cloth caught my eye. Red and green lights flashed in a circle around the handle bars as if giving emphasis to the joys and benefit of biking.

Denton courthouse.

           Images taken with the Nikon V 1 and 10mm lens with slight cropping during post processing in the digital darkroom.

Barred Owl in the Oak Tree

Outside my window the squawky Blue Jays announced the arrival of the Barred Owl, then became silent as I stepped outside with the Nikon V 1 running on video mode. Here is a short clip of the owl.

Mercury Memories

Late 1940s Mercury.

Lucky Penny

Pick up a penny for good luck. It may take a hammer and chisel sometimes. 

Christmas Day Feasting

      Our bird feeders received an exciting number of birds on Christmas Day. Inca and White-winged doves, Red-winged Blackbirds, Cardinals, House finches, Goldfinches, Carolina Wren, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Common Grackle, English Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows (first time I spot this one), Spotted Towhee, and Juncos, included the pink-sided.

Sim Time in T-38

H.-P. demonstrated an air show. Four minutes long and fascinating for those of us who enjoy aviation. 

Please allow for some time to upload.

        The instructors at Sheppard Air Force Base honored me by allowing me some time in the simulators (sim time) for the T-6 and the T-38. I found it a unique experience that helped me know more about what our aviators see when they are slicing through the sky at 400 mph. The complexities of flying those amazing aircraft, the T-6 and the T-38, gave me greater appreciation for aviation and for my own plane, the 180- horsepower Cherokee I call The Scissortail. But I noted simplicities about them, too, such as the ease with which I could handle the power settings and let the plane glide toward the runway, which deepened my understanding to the power settings in my plane. All that I learned in the simulator, including all that I cannot yet articulate and continue to assimilate, I can employ now during my flying.

The control station for one of the simulators. The instructors can input weather conditions, emergency situations -- including the image of a burning truck in the middle of the runway -- place the aircraft anywhere on the globe and at any altitude, or pause the simulations.

Bud took off and right away did a couple of aileron turns. Here he is upside-down.

H.-P. tossed in a few surprising glitches into the flights, such as a thunderstorm that he kept moving in front of the aircraft, or severe meteorological conditions for landing. 

(Note the mischievous smirk upon his lips!)

H.-P. demonstrates flying alongside another T-38.

Bud took this image from above me. 

The purple gloves Ily gave me for Christmas kept me warm during my sim time.

We took all these images with the Nikon V 1 and did zero post processing in the digital darkroom.

Poetry: Blues at Sunrise





Barred Owl at sunrise.





Blues at Sunrise

The band of blue jays outside my window
played raucous tunes in the winds
dancing from branch to branch
trumpets blaring, horns resonating
clarinets agitating in the tree
as if they were jazz men tone deaf
They played until the barred owl
swooped then blue feathers skedaddled
into the blue sky and finally in silence
the owl faced the sun and slept.

Sky's Eyes Say Save God's Creatures

      A dog, Sky, looks after things as the executive director's assistant at Wild Bird Rescue. He greets volunteers, gleefully, welcomes visitors, watches over patients, and in between everything carries his toys around the sanctuary. The marvel about Sky is that he is deaf and was rescued from Craig's List where he was offered for free, a potential victim for dog-fighting. Sky needs assistance operating the rescue center, which, is, for rescuing birds, which, a dog would rather be chasing around, but not this dog. He may chase birds around if they are in need of medical assistance, and that's where you come in. Please donate to Wild Bird Rescue so that Sky can continue the organization's mission to save and rehabilitate wild birds.

Scampering Under the Trees

Albino Goose at the Christmas Bird Count

Penny studying sparrows. 

       I joined Penny's group for the Christmas Bird Count. Penny took charge of the area around Lake Wichita, a hot spot for shore birds. I took along the new Nikon V 1 with the 30-110mm lens. Fortunately for us, the wind blew at less than four knots in 30 F temps. The sun had not risen, and on the glass-like water we could already see hundreds of birds. For a complete list of our count compiled by Penny, see her blog post.

The Chat Trail at Lake Wichita.

       From the spillway of Lake Wichita, along the Barrow Pit, through the Chat Trail to the parking lot, we counted birds from the grasses to the sky above us. Penny has the final count, but I think I can say with confidence that over one thousand cormorants flew in flocks overhead for most of the morning, some flocks with about two hundred birds. Canada Geese seemed numerous, too, in the water and flying overhead.

An albino Canada Goose in a small flock flying overhead. 

      Of note, we spotted Wood Ducks, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, the awesome Great Blue Heron, a snipe, a Rock Wren, the Ring-billed and Bonapart Gulls, American Pelicans, and a Belted Kingfisher. East of the bridge along the old part of Taft Boulevard, I spotted another kingfisher. He was hunting, hovering over the water, and then suddenly diving into the surface.
      We spotted, too, a bullfinch, White-crowned, Song, and Harris' Sparrows, a Red-tailed Hawk, and the usual gang: Bewick's Wren, Mallards, Pied-billed Grebes, Meadowlarks, Blue Jays, American Robins, Starlings Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbirds, Coots, and Eurasian-collared Doves.

One of the coves along Lake Wichita.