Sigh.

I can’t get enough of Snowy Egrets . . .

What about you?  What can’t you get enough of?

If you need a little birdy inspiration, visit the latest I and the Bird #91.  Enjoy!

Sunday Walk

(or numbers 10 – 13)

My Year List is growing, have you noticed?  On Sunday, we went to my mother-in-law’s for dinner as usual.  I hadn’t taken my daily walk yet and so after we pulled her in her driveway, I grabbed my camera and headed off.  My husband scoffed at my walk with a camera.  Okay, it is a short walk to the ponds and I would be stopping and snapping shots a lot but still I walked and he didn’t.  So there.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to find much although the ponds were my MIL lives are usually a winter birding haven.  They have been mucking with the ponds, however, and I hadn’t seen many birds there as we’d drive by.  What I learned is that there is a reason we don’t bird from cars while driving, though.  Did you know that?  It was news to me.

I had spotted the Snowy Egret as we drove by and that was what lured me to walk back there.  Not much prettier in this world than a Snowy Egret.  So, I walked back and was so glad I did.  And not just because I got to add the Mallards that were keeping him (her?) company.  As I snapped shot after gorgeous shot of the Egret, I heard a weird rattling, laughing call that totally drew my attention.  Startled the Egret too; it very nearly flew off.  Imagine my surprise as a Belted Kingfisher cruised in over the pond and landed across the pond from me, posing for shots.

As the battery warning light on my camera flashed red, I decided to walk up to the upper pond and see what was up there.  The Kingfisher followed me up — they are like that, friendly, cooperative birds (cough, cough).  There were more fun birds up there.  A pair of Double-crested Cormorants were floating around the pond while a Black-crowned Night Heron lurked on the opposite shore.  What fun!

On the way back to my MIL’s, I heard such a noisy bird in a tree over my head.  It was brazen and bold and raspy.  I thought it must be a chickadee but I could see nothing in the tree, despite it’s being completely bare of leaves.  So, I stopped and really looked.  Two Anna’s Hummingbirds were sitting on branches at the tippy top making so much noise.

This is my Sky Watch submission.  A crisp, clear winter sky at nearly dusk.

A great Sunday walk.

For more bird-filled skies in your Friday, visit Sky Watch Friday!

Rock Drummer, 2009

My husband, the drummer, just made a huge change.  He has had his drum set for longer than I’ve known him.  They are a part of him.  So, when he told me he wanted electronic drums, I was a little bit surprised and envisioned his office with two sets of drums up all the time.  Still, music is his passion so I sighed deeply and made that his Christmas gift from me.

He then told me that he’s expecting to like them so much that he’ll eventually sell his old drum set.

I was floored.  I mean, if he’d sell his drums, he might sell me or the kids!  🙂

He loves them.  And, I have to say that I love them too.  They are, in a word, quiet.  When he plays them, I hear a faint tapping sound.  It’s wonderful.  Heavenly.  Blissful.  Joyful.  Quiet.  Magically quiet.  Something a drummer’s wife doesn’t expect.

Hey, isn’t that the best kind of gift?  One that makes BOTH parties happy?

Ravens are my thing . . .

I think the word is out that I like Ravens.  I guessed that after this Christmas.  Not only did I get that wonderful mug I shared a few days back, but I also got a beautiful Raven print from my mother.  And, then, out of the blue, a package came from a friend I only know online.  Phyllis and I have sons the same age and met through an email list of other mother’s who were due to have babies in January 2000.  The mailing list is still active although I only have time to read it occasionally.  Phyllis and I have similar interests in books and quilts and so when we both started blogging, we both supported each other’s blogs.

Phyllis is an avid sewer and used to work in a fabric store.  She makes clothes and quilts and is very, very handy with a needle and thread.  She saw this fabric with flying black birds all over it and thought of me.  She hemmed it into a scarf and sent it off to me.  I love it.  Enough to post this picture!  🙂

Phyllis is also a once and future novelist.  She is the one person I know who successfully wrote her 50,000 words in NaNoWriMo.  In fact, I think she topped 75,000 words which is really a little show-offy, don’t you think?  I’d be jealous and annoyed except that she has 3 kids, including a daughter who was born in 2008.  Phyllis amazes me and gives me hope that I can do it too!

Thank you again, Phyllis!  You rock!

Artful Bird Blogging

I regularly share bird art that I find in my perusals of the Internet, particularly the fantastic Etsy site where you can buy directly from the artist.

There are lots of bird artists out there who blog and I wanted to highlight those in this round of bird art.

I recently started following (which sounds like stalking no matter how you look at it) Catherine Hamilton on Twitter.  She posted a sketch of a Tufted Duck she saw in 2003.  A sketch.  Sigh.  My sketches look like stick figures done by a 2 year old. Click on the image below to visit her 2003 site and see all her “sketches.”  They are well-worth spending time with a cup of coffee.

Tufted Duck by Catherine Hamilton ©2003

My best friend gave me a copy of Artful Blogging for Christmas this year.  It is a quarterly magazine from Somerset Studio (well-known for their art quilting and other-related magazines).  I poured over the beautiful and inspirational pages in awed amazement.  I was particularly thrilled when I found A Spattering featured on the pages.  Toni Kelly’s bird art is lovely and her blog is very much an artful blog.  Again, go click on the image to see more of Toni’s artwork.

The Artwork of Toni Kelly

Does anyone have any blogs to share that are a seamless blending of birds and art?

Blogging Year in Review

Jayne posted this “first lines” blog and it fit in nicely with something I wanted to do to finish up my wrap up of 2008.  It’s fascinating to look back at this project and see how it’s grown and developed this year.

First Lines by Month
December – December arriveth.
November – I may be insane but then again I may be merely crazy.
October – Hopeful, hopeful weather.
September – perched atop a tall dead tree | a black sleek raven | silhouetted with the moon
August – Look at this poor thing.
July – Ruby is a very good girl.
June – Wanderin’ Weeta is throwing a House Party — it’s a BYOBB* party.
May – My friend BEG posted a meme.
April – Ruby did not come on this camping trip with us.
March – Being at the Quilt Show got me thinking about bird art again.
February – Your Score: Linear B
January – Every family has their crazy aunt, right?

Blog Stats
1,400 posts total as of 12/31/2008
Views in 2008:  29,857
Best month:  June 2008, 3,068 views
Worst month:  November 2008, 2,124 views

Top 5 Search Terms on my site for 2008
tacoma narrows bridge                            856
stupid name generator                             352
ravens                                                           213
i hate home depot                                      210
difference between crows and ravens    187

Top 5 Posts on my site for 2008
gephyrophobia 2,762
The Differences Between Crows and Ravens 2,230
Chaos = 8 year old boy birthday party 1,255
Stupid Name Generator 630
Intrinsic rewards or extrinsic rewards? 500

2008 – Birding Year in Review

In all honesty, I was not much of a birder in 2008.  Most of my birds were happenstance, literally falling into my lap.  I didn’t specifically go bird watching unless I was already on a trip for some other reason.  I often forgot to record the birds that I saw — unless I actually took pictures of them.  Birding just wasn’t my biggest priority this year but that said, when I look back at it, I did okay.

Best Bird of 2008: Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea), 25 Mar 2008, San Diego, CA (Life)
I love egrets and herons.  Stumbling upon this beauty at our campground in San Diego was a real thrill.  Getting good shots of it made the joy all the richer!

Total Birds of 2008: 86 birds (listed below, except 2008 Lifers which are further below!)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, Common Raven, Anna’s Hummingbird,  Townsend’s Warbler, Brewer’s Blackbird, Dark-eyed Junco, Mallard, Double-crested Cormorant, California Quail, California Towhee, Red-tailed Hawk, American Crow, Black Phoebe, Common Merganser, Steller’s Jay, Great Egret, Bufflehead, American Robin, Western Scrub Jay, Varied Thrush, Allen’s Hummingbird, Northern Mockingbird, Red-shouldered Hawk, House Sparrow, House Finch, European Starling, Snowy Egret, Mourning Dove, Marbled Godwit, Double-crested Cormorant, Turkey Vulture, Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata), Ring-necked Duck, Wild Turkey, Western Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Bewick’s Wren, Canada Goose, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Black-headed Grosbeak, Purple Finch, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Spotted Towhee, Oak Titmouse, Lesser Goldfinch, Pied-billed Grebe, Northern Harrier, American White Pelican, Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, Red-winged Blackbird, Mountain Chickadee, Cassin’s Finch, American Kestrel, Killdeer, Song Sparrow,  Golden Eagle

Life Birds of 2008: 25 birds
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis); Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum); Brant (Branta bernicla); Black-throated Gray Warbler (Dendroica nigrescens); Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata); Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea); Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger); Rock Pigeon (Columba livia); American Wigeon (Anas americana); Yellow-billed Magpie; Costa’s Hummingbird (Calypte costae); Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani); Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus); Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina); Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata); Least Tern (Sternula antillarum); Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri); House Wren (Troglodytes aedon); Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus); Sooty Grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus), Brewer’s Sparrow (Spizella breweri); California Gull (Larus californicus); Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber); Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana); Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

Total Birds on Life List: 125 birds (see tab at top of page

Best Birding Moment of 2008:

Rescuing this Bewick’s Wren who hit a window at my mother-in-law’s house. Read the rest of the story [click].

Plans for 2009:

• Do a better job of recording birds I see
• Attend a birding conference — this one for sure [click] and I’d love to do this one [click] but I think it’s too soon — maybe 2010.  I’d also love to go to this one if they do it again in 2009 [click].

What about you?  How did your year turn out?  What do you envision for 2009?

Winter Haiku

I have another poem up at Winter Haiku. [click] While you’re there, read some of the other haikus!

Where did you bird on January 1st?

My first bird of the New Year was, as I’d hoped, a Chestnut-backed Chickadee.  I went out around 11:30 am on New Year’s day and heard a flock of birds in the trees across the street.  I could barely see them and they were calling but not clear Chickadee calls.  I used my camera to take a picture so I could zoom in and ID them.  They were my sweet Chickadee friends.

Crisp, clear, winter sky

Later in the day, my family went out for a walk on the Santa Cruz wharf.   As we left home, a raven said good-bye to us. Beautiful, glossy, shiny, black thing.

We arrived on the coast and felt amazingly lucky to be living in beautiful California on a sunny winter day.  It was cold and breezy but there were people in the ocean.  We walked out to the end of the wharf.  We saw California Gulls, Brown Pelicans, Brandt’s Cormorants and a Pacific Loon.  The last two being Lifers for me.  (Clare will be so relieved that I have finally seen a Loon in person!)  We also had the joy of watching Sea Lions playing on the piers below the wharf.  What a great way to get my first 7 birds of the year.

After our walk, we went to see Marley and Me.  This was a beautiful, funny, sad movie.  This story reminded me so much of my first Labrador, Kashmir.  We laughed hilariously.  We cried, too.  I was pretty much sobbing as quietly as I could in the crowded theater.  My daughter and I had to have a long talk walking back to the car about why movies (and books) that make us cry are satisfying and wonderful in so many ways.  She’s been reluctant to read Black Beauty and Little Women because they are sad.  So, maybe this experience will help her to reach for some new experiences.

I hope all of you have a great first day of the year, as well.  If you need a little poetic inspriation for the new year, visit my poem published on A Handful of Stones.

For more 2009 skies in your Friday, visit Sky Watch Friday!

Happy New Year!

2009 began happily enough.  We had a few friends over, kids running wild, great food, and a champagne tasting contest.  For entertainment, we watched an episode of the original Star Trek (Santa brought the remastered DVD set to my kids for Christmas).  It was a fun and sane holiday.  We got to bed around 2am.  Yawn!

This morning, we watched the Rose Parade and ate fresh gingerbread with whipped cream.   Yumalicious.  We’re planning a lazy, relaxed day.  Good way to start the new year.

New Year’s is for resolutions.  Renewal.  Starting fresh.  Beginning anew.

In years past, I have set so many resolutions that accomplishing them was virtually impossible.  This year, I have one goal and one goal alone.  I want to add exercise to my life.  I have managed to change my life such that I have lost 32 lbs in the last several years (although one wonders how much of it came back in the last week or so! Ahem!).  I eat better and, being a teacher, I am no where near as sedentary as I used to be.  I’m more relaxed and really healthier than I’ve been in my life.  But, I haven’t been able to keep losing weight and I know that exercise is the key to breaking this barrier.  So, a daily walk is my starting point.

Bonus points . . . daily walks means actually getting out and seeing some birds.  Soooooo, there’s that.

So, what are your resolutions?

Oh, and I haven’t seen a bird yet today.  So, I’ll report back tomorrow on my first bird of the new year!

Also, Birdstack‘s Birds of the Winter Solstice project has posted their final results.  Go take a look at their results and maybe you can participate in the Spring Solstice project.  I was surprised how few participants they had.