Triumphant Tulips

Not much to say. The Dallas Arboretum spring spectacular does its talking with flowers. I'm working up some haiku or poems, but for now, today's stroll shall suffice.

Whew! Spring

Tulips tower power

Spring Ahead to Waterfront Reads

Spring arrived, albeit with snow, but let's ignore that fact and revel in the thought of a pier, wooden deck chair, or sand and a beach umbrella. Let's contemplate spring/summer reading. The Book Lover by Cynthia Crossen is one of my new favorite columns (WSJ 3/19/10). Here's one thing she had to say, "On the beach, however, I like being interupted by the ocean, so I want a book into which I can dip, daydream, dip,etc."
She recommends The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher, Becoming Strangers by Louise Dean, and Stone's Fall by Iain Pears.

Then again, according to Ms.Crossen, critic Anatole Broyard wrote, "The thought of people reading in the sun, on a beach, tempts me to recommend dark books, written in the shadow of loneliness, despair, and death. Let those revelers feel a chill as they loll on their towels." For that she suggests, Blackwater by Kerstin Ekman - a grisly murder mystery.

Enough of snow and winter and rainy, drab dreary weather. Let's think about sunshine, blue water, and summer reads. Or sitting on a rock and staring into space.

Weather Plot Contrivances

First day of spring in Texas generally heralds blue sky, sunshine, shorts, and spring break - idle poolside contemplating swimsuit season.

First day of spring 2010 - I don't think so. First 1-1/2 inches of rain and then the dreary day turned worse. Far more foreboding with snow flurries that accumulated. One inch in Bedford. Record snow for this day and almost a season record from DFW Airport. We were 1/2 inch behind for the year. Darn.

My flowers said, "What?" "Why?" "Oh, My God!"

New exciting rock treatment in the backyard - snow?

Yep -truth is stranger than fiction. Thus, my next plot point twist and turn could be snow on the first day of spring. Driving hazards, freeze dangers - just the whole description of snow and the fascination. Lovers hunkered down in front of a fireplace. Or the reality - punching the button once again on the thermostat and trying to figure out where that fits in the budget. Will folks believe it? They better!

Birds I saw today

Mad for March

March is Madness. Chance of flurries today and I planned to enjoy the arboretum with friends. Instead this picture from 2/11/10 sums up the day. I shall have to keep highlighting my bracket wins over Ray, as we watch NCAA basketball.

"Hoop Dreams", "Hoosiers" - those are worthy basketball movies. I was trying to think of any basketball themed books? "Basketball Diaries" - but that was more drug themed if I remember correctly.

Instead, I have a selection of reading material as the sports commentators blather in the background. O - Oprah's magazine provides all that is worthy in the world of Oprah. I like that she features in-depth book reviews. Entertainment Weekly keeps me apprised of movies I probably won't see and another re-cap of Lost. Traditional Home magazine allows me to peer into other's snazzy spaces and garner fabulous gardening tips. Time magazine should arrive today and I can read if the world has ended. Wall Street Journal - I gloss through the economic lack of goodies to see if the world has ended. And finally, I'm almost finished with a book The Reliable Wife. It's been mildly entertaining. I like the main character, a woman who claims she's honest as she's poisoning her new husband with arsenic. It's not a deep book and can be read with basketball in the background.


Reading material - check, yellow highlighter - check, bracket pages - check, remote control - in Ray's hand - check.

Let the Madness continue.

Friday Night Nibble

What's up, doc?

Volunteer Variety

I had some time after a routine doctor appointment today to drop in at the local MS Society (Multiple Sclerosis) office and volunteer. It's spring break week and the place was hopping. I'm delighted to brag about young people, from seventh graders to college kids, who chose to put in a few hours to help stuff bags for the upcoming bike ride event in May. They could have gone to the movies, played video games, or hung out with friends. Yes, they do get community service credit hours for school, but I didn't have the feeling that any of them felt put out or burdened. It was their choice.

I write about this because, however you get your news, it is easy to get discouraged with the world and people in general. But, if you'd been in the MS office today, listening to folks chat and watching them work together, you'd have smiled. The sense of community spirit was heartwarming.

It's good to have a cause - something that interests you, gets you involved, and draws attention from one's own teensy problems. There are countless organizations operating on shoestring budgets, that make up for it with huge heart and energy.

Volunteer voraciously - it's good for the soul.

( http://www.nationalmssociety.org )

Friday Night Nibble returns on a Saturday!

Chillin' in his new pad.

Words and Music

I've always loved music. As a little girl, I wanted to be Diana Ross and begged to stay up whenever she and the Supremes were on the Ed Sullivan Show. Yes, I'm showing my age. Name the super groups and stars and I've seen them in concert - Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Frampton, Sting, Rod Stewart, etc. Top three concerts -Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli. Bette and Liza - may be corny, but true show people of the highest order.

So, I admire folks who can write music and also sing. I'm still a music fan who's not stuck in the seventies. I enjoy new artists and I tivo the VH1 Top Twenty Video Countdown. There's some darn good talent out there as well as a few golden oldies lurking.

Number One this week is American Idol 2nd Place star Adam Lambert singing a Pink song (she's in a whole other league) What Do You Want From Me? Plaintive and catchy at the same time.

Number Two - Need You Now by Lady Antebellum. They are a "country" group, but this crossover song is kickass.

Other top videos - Kris Allen, The Fray, OneRepublic, Lifehouse, and checkout Orianthe - this female from Australia was pretty much discovered by Michael Jackson for his This Is It tour. The young lady is attractive, can sing, and is monstrous on the guitar. The fingers fly!

John Mayer is talented and his Heartbreak Warfare tells a story.

Oldie but goodie, Bon Jovi, have a new song Superman Tonight which highlights the role of volunteers in this world. Nice message and cool video.

Keep an open mind to new music and superb lyrics. There's a lot of material waiting to be discovered. And based on his appearance in a Timbaland video, I'm psyched for some new Justin Timberlake tunes.

Chip, chip, and cheery-o, European birders!

Now that I have a little "connection" at Princeton University Press, I get to hear about new bird books almost the minute they're hot off the press. So I just found out that there's a new edition of Birds of Europe, from Princeton UP. Those of you who bird on ye olde Continent, as well as those of us who watch David Attenborough's The Life of Birds and wish we knew what all those chaffinches and hawfinches and fieldfares are about, will want to check it out!

I've read about how the book is set up, and I'm definitely putting it on my wish list in Amazon: like my National Geographic US birds guide, it's set up with the text, range map, and description on facing pages. One frustrating thing about birding in Texas with Birding Mommy's Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of Texas was the fact that it was set up the "old way," by which I mean the color plates and brief descriptions of major field marks are all up front, then the text describing the bird and giving nesting, habitat, etc. information comes next, and then the maps are all bunched at the end. I would never criticize the great RTP--and maybe it's because I'm just a beginner and have no memory skills--but I like all the info in one place! I've seen more field guides going with this organizational method, and it's the reason I bought the NatGeo guide and use it as my first go-to when I'm puzzling over an ID or need some range information.

Speaking of field guides and puzzling IDs, I was thrilled to see lots of Red-tailed Hawks on my way home through Ohio, and I had no trouble at all IDing them. Unlike those crazy subspecies in Texas, the ones with no belly band and an almost solid white underside in flight, these yankee RTHAs show their colors and make it easier for a raptor beginner like me to ID them.

If the field guide collector in your life (aka you) has a birdday coming up, be sure to give this book a look:
Birds of Europe: Second Edition
Text and Maps by Lars Svensson
Illustrations and Captions by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterström

Serene Stopover

Visitors stopped by the other day. In no hurry, they lounged poolside and plunged into our rather brisk water with nary a qualm. They floated happily, bemused by the pool cleaner, and unmussed by the fountain spray.

I tiptoed about taking pictures and I'm guessing as long as I didn't do a cannonball off the diving board, they were delighted to pose for this post.

I think they were scoping out nest choices and our back bushes looked inviting except there are rumors of a large hawk in the neighborhood. They paddled to and fro, possibly wondering about the lack of water reeds, fish, turtles, and other nature flora and fauna.

They left quietly that evening. No farewell quack. Just a few downy feathers floating in the pool. Cute couple - we wish them well.

Settling in

Niblet and I are settling in quite nicely to our home with AB. We're still unpacking; well, I should say that I'm still unpacking. Nib was pretty much good to go once he got out of his cage. Here he is with his new siblings:That's Maya in the orange, Nib in the back eating, and Owen in the classic gray. They all get along swimmingly!

I also have some pics from my visit to RAPTOR with Susan Gets Native! Here's a little montage.

Susan showed me the freezer where they keep the raptor food:
and lest you worry that they might run out, there's also another box freezer full:
And if you happen to get poop on anything, never fear:Works like a charm, according to Susan!

I got to peek in at Lynne's favorite, Earl:
Here's Earl, begging us not to leave just yet--or trying to eat Susan; you decide. She said that Earl could probably bite through that big old glove, given enough time. Her beak is huge and sharp, so I don't doubt that.

I also saw Thirteen:So cute! She's just so tiny, and her feathers look so soft. Susan also let me handle some of her educational stuffed bird parts, and I held the feathered skull of a Short-eared Owl. The feathers were even softer than Niblet's fur, which was surprising to me.

I saw all the raptors, including Storm, Priscilla, and the rest, but photos are hard on the birds so I was careful to just peek in through a crack in the door or the mew and be respectful of the birds. It was a really cold day, and most of the birds were just perched and puffed-up, trying to stay warm. I bet they can't wait until spring!

I also saw some pellets:both fresh and not-so-fresh:
I wonder if I've ever seen a pellet out in the field but I brushed it off as animal poo or something. Because those white ones above look a lot like stuff I've seen. But who knows? I guess you'd have to see if there were little bones in it. I'd love to find a pellet in the field!

While driving to lunch, we saw this beauty:Red-shouldered Hawks nest all around Susan's neighborhood--pretty cool! Sorry about the crazy tilt on this one; Susan stopped in the middle of the road for me (after stopping and turning around and going back so I could get the pic, Mary!) and I leaned across her and shot the pic through the open window. Then we had to hoof it because of traffic, but I got the shot!

On the drive around Susan's town and on my way home, I saw tons of Red-tails, TuVus, and other raptors enjoying the bright sunshine on their wings.

Oh, to be a bird! Sailing above the fields and water,
the wind in my feathers and the world at my feet!

Rolling Art Adventures in Fort Worth

Note - I'm still learning how to use my scanner. Saturday was art adventure day in Fort Worth for Ray and me. First the Kimbell. I got to view the Private Collections of Texas exhibit through Ray's eyes. He was busy counting how many times he heard the word "metaphor" as people discussed a piece or students scibbled furiously on paper for an art appreciation class. Ray rolled his eyes.

I enjoyed listening to a father discuss art with his three sons, ages four to eight or so. First discussion. The father says, "This one is called Guitar on a Table. What do you think?" (It's a Picasso. ) The youngest boy says, "He can't draw."

Moving on, they are in front of a Mondrian talking about the different size blocks and colors. The father says something about circles. Again the young wise child says, "Maybe he can't draw a circle."

That's what has held me back in the art world.

Onward to the Modern which had an Andy Warhol exhibit: Warhol, The Last Decade. Some of the prints and silkscreens are cool. Some are "different". Again Ray rolled his eyes. My favorite piece at the Modern, in their regular collection, is a floating ladder. Something about it appeals to me and I don't know that I can explain it. Perhaps it's a metaphor for life. (Ray rolled his eyes at me)

Finally, after lunch at Dos Gringos (yummy nachos), we strolled to the Amon Carter and enjoyed their American Moderns on Paper - stunning drawings and watercolors by Edward Hopper, Stuart Davis, Georgia O'Keefe, and one by my fave Andrew Wyeth. Subtle and detailed. Ray agreed and did not roll his eyes.

Visiting the three museums - experiencing so many facets of art, listening to people discuss art, seeing pictures through the eyes of a child, and rolling your eyes at some art - made for an excellent adventure day in Fort Worth

Niblet gets native!

The second day of our travels brought Niblet and me to a new city for both of us, Cincinnati:I said hello to Johnny Bench for my mom as I zipped through downtown. It's a big city--reminds me of Pittsburgh a bit.

Nearby is the cute little town where Susan, raptor and RAPTOR expert, lives with her family! Niblet was happy just to get out of the car and play with Lorelei and Isabel, Susan's great girls. Here are a few photos of them getting to know one another:

Susan checks out the 'tocksLorelei did us the honor of letting us stay in her pink room,
for which Nib and I are truly grateful!

Nib took to Isabel almost immediately, sensing a fellow quiet soul

Susan and I had a fun dinner at The Works, a pizza place with lots of local flair. Now remember, I've been out west and down south, so I haven't had a real pizza since last August! Susan served me the first slice:Wow, a perfect flip. No wonder she's a raptor educator and not a waitress.Yeah, "oops!" Upside-down or not, it was delicious!

More tomorrow, when I accompany Susan to the real RAPTOR facility in the RaptorMobile!I can't wait to meet Earl and the gang, though I've already been warned that I can't go near Earl or I'll get puked on. Eewww.

For now, though, it's a good night's rest NOT in a moving vehicle for this bunny:

Wordless Wednesday - well, nearly

Sun is shining brightly today and there's a hint of spring in the air. It teases us. By the weekend, back to rain and temps in the 40s. Here are some best of shots from past springs at the Dallas Arboretum.

This year's spring festival begins March 6. I'm ready for some tulip frenzy and haiku inspiration. Pen is poised.

Bye-bye to Texas birds!

As I mentioned in my last post, I took my Texas last birding excursions yesterday, and though we didn't see a whole lot of birds (it was a bit chilly until well after sunrise), we had a good time.

The habitat around San Antonio looks pretty much like this:a lot of brush, low grasses, cactus, live oak, and mesquite. The sheer number of birds is impressive; we must've seen about 75 Yellow-rumps at Braunig Lake alone. We also went to the Friedrich Wilderness Area, known as the easiest place (not to mention my last chance) to see endangered Golden-cheeked Warblers.

A few of the many Northern Cardinals we saw still looked a little pink:but they were singing their hearts out, as were the Carolina Wrens:

It's been over a year since I saw one of these:Maybe that's why it took Mary's checking the fieldguide when we got home to convince me that this was a Chipping Sparrow; the red cap told me "Chipping," but I kept trying to make it into something more exotic. That's the trouble (at least for me) birding in such a birdy place as Texas: I know that on any given day, I could see just about anything, from Bare-throated Tiger Herons to Painted Buntings, from Golden-cheeked Warblers to Roseate Spoonbills. I've heard that Lincoln Sparrows aren't too rare down here, but all we saw yesterday was Chippings. I heard a couple of Song Sparrows and one White-throated Sparrow too.

At Braunig Lake we saw this Osprey hunting from way up high:Boy, there's just no mistaking those markings and that M-shaped wing posture.

We also saw what I had thought at the time was a Broad-winged Hawk, but commenters woke me from my fantasy and told me it's just a southern Red-tailed Hawk:


We did see some lifers on the trip, though we didn't even hear anything sounding like a Golden-cheeked Warbler or a Painted Bunting. Still, some good lifers! We saw this Spotted Towhee kicking up leaves and stuff in search of food:That's bird #234, and coming in at #235 was this tough-to-identify warbler:

My first instinct is just say "Orange-crowned Warbler" down here, because they're everywhere, and he does have that faint streakiness on his breast. But this guy's eye-ring made me look twice--and plenty more times too.

We saw one at Friedrich and then this one at Braunig; these were the best pics I was able to get. His smaller size (definitely not the larger not to mention rare Connecticut Warbler), eye-ring, lack of wingbars, olive-yellow coloring, and gray head had me pretty convinced that we had a Nashville, Connecticut, or MacGillivray's Warbler, but Nashvilles have a yellow throat. This guy (or female?) has the gray hood of a Connecticut, but he just didn't feel that big too me. That left me with MacGillivray's Warbler, and we are on the eastern edge of his spring migrating path--though it's a bit early per Peterson. Still--the eye-ring looks like it is "broken, fore and aft" rather than solid like the Connecticut's or Nashville's. What do you think? MacGillivray's? If so, what a find!

We also saw some nice wildflowers, like this Rose Vervaine: and this phlox of some sort:
It doesn't have that white center like the Drummondii.

We also saw this huge Live Oak; Mary is included for scale:This tree must be at least a couple hundred years old. It formed a beautiful shady canopy of branches, and we stayed under it for a few minutes, just appreciating all it's seen during its long life.

And so I bid a fond farewell to Texas and my dear family. I'll miss everyone a lot; it's been wonderful to hang with the 'rents and get to know them again. But I guess I'm just a rambler by nature, never content to stay "home" for too long. And if home is truly where the heart is, my heart is in Pennsylvania and I'll be glad to join her once again.