Because I can never resist a good meme, and because I like to do everything that Patrick at the HawkOwlsNest does, here's another fun post (although I changed the name of it to something cooler).
If you want to participate, too, just copy the list, bold the things that you've done and feel free to add comments like I did. Let me know if you post it on your blog. And because it's difficult to determine which ones are bold and which ones aren't, I've put an asterisk in front of all those I bolded.
*1. Started your own blog
*2. Slept under the stars (I even convinced Sonja to try it once...without a tent out in the desert of New Mexico).
*3. Played in a band (5th-8th grade: trumpet; 9th grade through 3 years of college: tuba)
*4. Visited Hawaii (One of the best, and cheapest, vacations we've ever taken)
*5. Watched a meteor shower (see #2)
*6. Given more than you can afford to charity
*7. Been to Disneyland/world (both)
*8. Climbed a mountain (I summitted Long's Peak in Colorado: 14,259')
*9. Held a praying mantis (and I have the pictures to prove it)
*10. Sang/played a solo (believe it or not, I actually had a tuba solo in the brass quintet I played in during my junior year at the U of North Dakota)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
*14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (I've been drawing since I could hold a pencil)
15. Adopted a child
*16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (been to the top of the Empire State Building, though...which is almost as cool)
*18. Grown your own vegetables (and they were huge Alaskan vegetables!)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
*20. Slept on an overnight train (just did that last month, actually)
*21. Had a pillow fight
*22. Hitch hiked (in Switzerland, after missing the last bus to town...got to ride in a posh Mercedes)
*23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (uh, I mean of course not!)
*24. Built a snow fort
*25. Held a lamb
*26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
*29. Seen a total eclipse (lunar only...although I'm planning a trip to Grand Teton National Park in 2011 for the full solar eclipse that summer!)
*30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (I'm a park ranger. We get paid in sunsets!)
*31. Hit a home run (and it was in a real game, too! Of course, it was a city league in Seward, Alaska, but that still counts. It was an in-the-field homer, though...never knocked one over the fence, before)
*32. Been on a cruise (many whale/glacier watching cruises for work up at Kenai Fjords, and a three day ride on the Alaska Marine Highway)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
*34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (well, I've been close anyway. Went to Germany and Austria when I thought that's where we came from. I learned recently that we're mostly Hungarian, but I'm still gonna count it)
35. Seen an Amish community
*36. Taught yourself a new language (does Klingon count? nuqDaq ta' SoH pol yuch? Translation: Where do you keep the chocolate?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (gotta be honest with this one)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
*39. Gone rock climbing (I was a regular Spiderman for a few years back in the mid-90's)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person
*41. Sung karaoke (unfortunately, for those listening)
*42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
*43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (we recently bought pie for a couple that gave us a ride to our car on the Going to the Sun Road)
44. Visited Africa (I'll be able to check this one off soon, I hope!)
*45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (drawn, yes. Painted, no)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
*51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (both, in Hawaii)
*52. Kissed in the rain
*53. Played in the mud
*54. Gone to a drive-in theater (saw E.T in the drive-in...and there's even a working one only 15 minutes from our new house! I know what we're doing next summer!)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
*57. Started a business (does CafePress count??)
*58. Taken a martial arts class (the only Western martial art: fencing!)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
*62. Gone whale watching (even in a kayak!)
*63. Gotten flowers for no reason
*64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving (always wanted to)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (I'm still kicking myself that I didn't visit one while in Germany)
*67. Bounced a check (uhhh...)
*68. Flown in a helicopter (as a helicopter pilot, I think the answer is most definitely, yes)
*69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Grampa Dog is still kicking around on my dresser)
*70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
*73. Stood in Times Square (attended a musical on Broadway, too. I took Sonja to see 'Rent' for her birthday one year)
74. Toured the Everglades
*75. Been fired from a job (I guess I'm not a very good car washer)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
*77. Broken a bone
*78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (once, in Alaska...but don't tell Sonja)
*79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (hiked down into the Grand Canyon, too...which is way more impressive)
80. Published a book (always wanted to try writing one, though)
81. Visited the Vatican
*82. Bought a brand new car (Our little Subaru that could! I love Gilbert...)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
*84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (Are you kidding? I grew up Catholic...of course I haven't!)
86. Visited the White House (not inside...although I'm going to try to get a tour in January when I'm in DC for President Obama's inauguration)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
*88. Had chickenpox
*89. Saved someone’s life (sorta...although, truth be told I'm the one whose idea it was to try traversing the cliff with our big backpacks on in the first place)
90. Sat on a jury (almost...I was able to convince the judge to let me go)
*91. Met someone famous (Jane Goodall)
92. Joined a book club
*93. Lost a loved one
94. Made a baby
*95. Seen the Alamo in person (even looked for the basement...didn't find it)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (seen it several times)
*97. Been involved in a law suit (currently in one....I hate insurance companies)
*98. Owned a cell phone
*99. Been stung by a bee
*100. Gotten a speeding ticket (but not for at least ten years!)
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
December 11, 2008
January 12, 2008
Rings, Raptors and Radio
So, I apparently am still suffering from a bad case of "I don't want to blog today" -itis. Not sure why, either. Oh well...I suppose if I just make myself sit down and try to blog something every couple days inspiration may strike. TJ over at From the Faraway, Nearby even tagged me for a meme and it has still taken me over a week to respond. But perhaps this will be my Calliope. We'll see...
Anyway, the theme of this meme (ha, bet you didn't know it. . . I'm already a poet) is "seven random facts". I'm sure some of this won't really be new to many of you, but I'll try to spice it up with some juicy tidbits from my past that may shed some more light on who I am.
1) I'm a SNAG, and rather proud of it.
For those of you not familiar with this acronym, it stands for Sensitive New Age Guy and is the general term used to describe those of us who generally don't fall into the category of being a "manly man". You know, guys who really aren't that into sports (unless it means being able to embarass your brothers by being able to pick a surprisingly good fantasy football team), and often prefer chick-flicks over more traditionaly masculine fare (last month, while waiting for Sonja to get off work, I went to see a movie. I could have chosen either Beowulf or Enchanted. I picked Enchanted...and loved it). We are also notoriously bad at being handy around the house, or with the car for that matter. Of course, this isn't to say I can't be incredibly manly when I want to, I simply choose not to want to most of the time.
2) I was a college radio DJ for four years.
I actually had one of the more popular shows on KSUA up in Fairbanks, the Vegetarian Treehuggers. I specialized in playing americana, folk and bluegrass, and even had several well-known singer songwriters come in and play during my show when they were in town for a concert. These usually involved some of the local Fairbanks talent, but I did get a chance to have both Karen Savoca (three times, actually) and Greg Brown as guests on my show. And I was this close to getting Nancy Griffith to join me in the studio, too. I really miss DJing...
3) I lived on top of a mountain in New Mexico for three months.
I was working for Hawkwatch as their field educator during the 1997 fall raptor migration. That meant I got to hang out and wait for visitors to show up at the observation site, then run down to one of the trapping blinds to grab a recently banded hawk/falcon to give a little program with then release. Here's a clip of one such moment that I recently transferred over to digital from VHS.
On this particular afternoon I think we only had one or two visitors, both of which had spent the better part of the day with us, so I didn't really have much more to say. Most of those you hear talking were part of the field crew that were taking advantage of the photo opportunity. It was just cool to compare the size and shape of a tiny American Kestral with a much larger Red-tailed Hawk.
The whole season was a blast. Cool people and amazing birds, like this Golden Eagle. And the best part of the whole thing was watching the birds fly away after the release.
Everyone should get a chance to live on a mountain top at least once in their life.
4) I've seen "Star Wars: A New Hope" 247 times.
I know it's rather sad that I know that to such a precise degree, but there you go. Back in 1982 when we first got both cable TV and our first VCR I loved to tape movies off of Showtime and watch them over and over again. This was one of the first ones I did that with, and for some reason known only to "1982 Paul" I marked down on a piece of paper whenever I would watch it. The really funny thing is that on Showtime, the movies are always presented in "full screen" format, so they are edited to fit the standard TV screen. It wasn't until I finally watched the "widescreen" version of this film many years later that I realized how much I was missing by only ever watching full-screen versions of movies.
For instance, in the scene where Luke and C3-PO find R2D2 out in the desert, Luke climbs up to a ridge to try to see if there are Sand People in the area. He looks through his cool electrobinoculars (that's actually what they're called) and says, "There are two banthas down there but I don't see any...wait a second, they're Sand People all right, I can see one of them now." In the edited full-screen version, there is no Sand People Person(?) in that scene. I would pause the movie nearly every time I watched it to try to find this mysteriously invisible Tusken Raider, to no avail. I never found him. Until...I was in college watching the movie again with some friends, only this time it was the letterbox, widescreen version. When this scene comes up and Luke peers down at those two lonely banthas, who do I see but that damn Sand People guy strolling around on the far right side of the screen! I was so excited I jumped out of my chair, pointed at the screen and shouted "THERE HE IS!!" I was so happy...and instantly became a widescreen version snob. Although, my friends never wanted to watch Star Wars with me again for some reason. Here's the infamous scene, NOT edited to fit your screen:
And there he is...
5) I'm a helicopter pilot.
Well, an ex-helicopter pilot, at least. I spent three years in flight school during my army stint. Even though I'll probably never get to fly one again, if I concentrate I can still remember how to do it. I goofed around a lot while flying, too. During one of my solo cross-country lessons I planned a trip from Grand Forks to my hometown of Alexandria. When I got there I didn't go straight to the airport like I was supposed to. I mean, come on. I had my very own helicopter to play with, like I was going to not take advantage of that.
So, I stopped by to visit a friend at the camp north of Alex that he was working at. I think I neglected to tell him that I was coming, though, based on the reactions of his coworkers when I landed in the middle of their playing field. Fortunately, they were between sessions, so the only people around were staff. I also hovered over my backyard (which was too small to make a safe landing on). What I didn't realize was that I chose to do this during my old neighborhood's annual garage sale weekend. As a result, my audience was a tad larger than I had anticipated. And all I wanted to do was show Mom my helicopter. I had told her to expect me, so she was able to stop our neighbor from calling the cops, at least.
6) I own a pair of lederhosen.
I even bought them in Austria, so they're the genuine article. They were my one splurge during my three-week backpacking trip in central Europe. When I landed in Frankfurt I started noticing a fair number of "hip" backpackers wearing them, and they looked quite comfortable. So, when I got to Hallstatt and saw them for sale I couldn't resist. In hindsight, I should have gotten a pair of alpenshorts. They would have been more funner.
7) I've lost two wedding rings.
But they were in very cool places. The first time I lost my ring was during our honeymoon in Hawaii.
We had gone scuba diving in some coral reefs near Kona on the Big Island, and I guess my finger shrunk from being so wet. But when I peeled my wetsuit off my arm it sucked the ring from my finger and over the edge of the boat it went. So, Sonja bought me another one as a surprise for Valentine's Day that year. It was a little big for me, but I wanted to wear it anyway.
A few weeks later we went skiing in the Alaska Range south of Fairbanks on Castner Glacier. The weather was beautiful, and actually not that cold so I took lots of pictures. Every time I would get the camera out I'd take off my gloves, snap a photo, then put my gloves back on. It wasn't until we were all out enjoying some pizza in Delta Junction that evening that one of our friends looked across the table, pointed at my hands and said, "Uhh, Paul? Are you missing something?" Things went downhill from there. The closest we were able to figure is that it slipped off my finger at some point during our time on the glacier while I was taking pictures. So I lost my first one in a Hawaiian coral reef and my second in an Alaskan glacier. At least I didn't accidentally flush it down the toilet... Anyway, I wasn't allowed to wear a ring for the next year and a half.
There they are, seven random facts about me. I'm supposed to tag some more people now, so I think I'll go with Steve, Chris, Karen, and Erik.
Anyway, the theme of this meme (ha, bet you didn't know it. . . I'm already a poet) is "seven random facts". I'm sure some of this won't really be new to many of you, but I'll try to spice it up with some juicy tidbits from my past that may shed some more light on who I am.
1) I'm a SNAG, and rather proud of it.
For those of you not familiar with this acronym, it stands for Sensitive New Age Guy and is the general term used to describe those of us who generally don't fall into the category of being a "manly man". You know, guys who really aren't that into sports (unless it means being able to embarass your brothers by being able to pick a surprisingly good fantasy football team), and often prefer chick-flicks over more traditionaly masculine fare (last month, while waiting for Sonja to get off work, I went to see a movie. I could have chosen either Beowulf or Enchanted. I picked Enchanted...and loved it). We are also notoriously bad at being handy around the house, or with the car for that matter. Of course, this isn't to say I can't be incredibly manly when I want to, I simply choose not to want to most of the time.
2) I was a college radio DJ for four years.
I actually had one of the more popular shows on KSUA up in Fairbanks, the Vegetarian Treehuggers. I specialized in playing americana, folk and bluegrass, and even had several well-known singer songwriters come in and play during my show when they were in town for a concert. These usually involved some of the local Fairbanks talent, but I did get a chance to have both Karen Savoca (three times, actually) and Greg Brown as guests on my show. And I was this close to getting Nancy Griffith to join me in the studio, too. I really miss DJing...
3) I lived on top of a mountain in New Mexico for three months.
I was working for Hawkwatch as their field educator during the 1997 fall raptor migration. That meant I got to hang out and wait for visitors to show up at the observation site, then run down to one of the trapping blinds to grab a recently banded hawk/falcon to give a little program with then release. Here's a clip of one such moment that I recently transferred over to digital from VHS.
On this particular afternoon I think we only had one or two visitors, both of which had spent the better part of the day with us, so I didn't really have much more to say. Most of those you hear talking were part of the field crew that were taking advantage of the photo opportunity. It was just cool to compare the size and shape of a tiny American Kestral with a much larger Red-tailed Hawk.
The whole season was a blast. Cool people and amazing birds, like this Golden Eagle. And the best part of the whole thing was watching the birds fly away after the release.
Everyone should get a chance to live on a mountain top at least once in their life.4) I've seen "Star Wars: A New Hope" 247 times.
I know it's rather sad that I know that to such a precise degree, but there you go. Back in 1982 when we first got both cable TV and our first VCR I loved to tape movies off of Showtime and watch them over and over again. This was one of the first ones I did that with, and for some reason known only to "1982 Paul" I marked down on a piece of paper whenever I would watch it. The really funny thing is that on Showtime, the movies are always presented in "full screen" format, so they are edited to fit the standard TV screen. It wasn't until I finally watched the "widescreen" version of this film many years later that I realized how much I was missing by only ever watching full-screen versions of movies.
For instance, in the scene where Luke and C3-PO find R2D2 out in the desert, Luke climbs up to a ridge to try to see if there are Sand People in the area. He looks through his cool electrobinoculars (that's actually what they're called) and says, "There are two banthas down there but I don't see any...wait a second, they're Sand People all right, I can see one of them now." In the edited full-screen version, there is no Sand People Person(?) in that scene. I would pause the movie nearly every time I watched it to try to find this mysteriously invisible Tusken Raider, to no avail. I never found him. Until...I was in college watching the movie again with some friends, only this time it was the letterbox, widescreen version. When this scene comes up and Luke peers down at those two lonely banthas, who do I see but that damn Sand People guy strolling around on the far right side of the screen! I was so excited I jumped out of my chair, pointed at the screen and shouted "THERE HE IS!!" I was so happy...and instantly became a widescreen version snob. Although, my friends never wanted to watch Star Wars with me again for some reason. Here's the infamous scene, NOT edited to fit your screen:
And there he is...5) I'm a helicopter pilot.
Well, an ex-helicopter pilot, at least. I spent three years in flight school during my army stint. Even though I'll probably never get to fly one again, if I concentrate I can still remember how to do it. I goofed around a lot while flying, too. During one of my solo cross-country lessons I planned a trip from Grand Forks to my hometown of Alexandria. When I got there I didn't go straight to the airport like I was supposed to. I mean, come on. I had my very own helicopter to play with, like I was going to not take advantage of that.
So, I stopped by to visit a friend at the camp north of Alex that he was working at. I think I neglected to tell him that I was coming, though, based on the reactions of his coworkers when I landed in the middle of their playing field. Fortunately, they were between sessions, so the only people around were staff. I also hovered over my backyard (which was too small to make a safe landing on). What I didn't realize was that I chose to do this during my old neighborhood's annual garage sale weekend. As a result, my audience was a tad larger than I had anticipated. And all I wanted to do was show Mom my helicopter. I had told her to expect me, so she was able to stop our neighbor from calling the cops, at least.
6) I own a pair of lederhosen.I even bought them in Austria, so they're the genuine article. They were my one splurge during my three-week backpacking trip in central Europe. When I landed in Frankfurt I started noticing a fair number of "hip" backpackers wearing them, and they looked quite comfortable. So, when I got to Hallstatt and saw them for sale I couldn't resist. In hindsight, I should have gotten a pair of alpenshorts. They would have been more funner.
7) I've lost two wedding rings.
But they were in very cool places. The first time I lost my ring was during our honeymoon in Hawaii.
We had gone scuba diving in some coral reefs near Kona on the Big Island, and I guess my finger shrunk from being so wet. But when I peeled my wetsuit off my arm it sucked the ring from my finger and over the edge of the boat it went. So, Sonja bought me another one as a surprise for Valentine's Day that year. It was a little big for me, but I wanted to wear it anyway.
A few weeks later we went skiing in the Alaska Range south of Fairbanks on Castner Glacier. The weather was beautiful, and actually not that cold so I took lots of pictures. Every time I would get the camera out I'd take off my gloves, snap a photo, then put my gloves back on. It wasn't until we were all out enjoying some pizza in Delta Junction that evening that one of our friends looked across the table, pointed at my hands and said, "Uhh, Paul? Are you missing something?" Things went downhill from there. The closest we were able to figure is that it slipped off my finger at some point during our time on the glacier while I was taking pictures. So I lost my first one in a Hawaiian coral reef and my second in an Alaskan glacier. At least I didn't accidentally flush it down the toilet... Anyway, I wasn't allowed to wear a ring for the next year and a half.There they are, seven random facts about me. I'm supposed to tag some more people now, so I think I'll go with Steve, Chris, Karen, and Erik.
January 01, 2008
Top Nature Moments of 2007
Well, it's that time of year, again. The day western civilization arbitrarily chose to mark the passing of another trip around our little star. New Years Day doesn't really mean that much to me anymore. Well, aside from it being my mom's birthday, of course. I used to get all revved up and excited about watching the obscenely wasteful tradition of spending millions of dollars and thousands of tons of carbon to light up a big ball on top of a building in the most obnoxiously well-lit city on earth. But it really doesn't do much for me anymore. Neither does going to parties and ringing in the New Year with tons of people. Personally, I was much more excited to just just stay home and watch a movie with Sonja than anything else this year.
I am finally getting around to responding to Patrick's meme tag, though. So, here they are. The top nature moments for 2007 (in chronological order):
10. Wood Bison on the Alaska Highway, Yukon Territory (or was it British Columbia?), January 01, 2007:
Exactly one year ago today, Sonja and I were driving down the very lonely Alaska Highway on our way to Arizona. Along the way, we encountered a herd of wood bison hanging out along the road. We slowed down to give Harvey a chance to say hi.
9. Javelina in our backyard, January 21, 2007:
Your first encounter with a new species is always the most exciting. This was our first experience watching javelina out our bedroom window. They have since become rather regular guests in our neighborhood, which we don't really mind unless one of the stinky males decides to flavor our yard with his pungent oder.
8. Hiking in Sedona, March, 2007: Our first real hike among the red rocks of Sedona is still one of my favorites.
7. Catching my first rattlesnake, April 1, 2007: I was actually pretty paranoid about encountering a rattlesnake when we first moved here. However, after getting a chance to capture several rattlesnakes at the park this year, my paranoia has turned into cautious excitement at the prospect of encountering one while hiking (something we still haven't experienced, yet).
6. The Painted Redstart, Oak Creek Canyon, April 18, 2007: Obviously, I'm going to be picking some birding moments for my list. And my first encounter with a Painted Redstart certainly deserves a mention.
5. Black Widow Spider, May 16, 2007: Out of all the assorted creepy crawly things we've found in and around our little house in the desert, none of them can come close to the cool-factor exhibited by one of our prettiest eight-legged neighbors this year, the Black Widow.
4. The Arizona Heat, all summer long, 2007: The climate here in Arizona deserves a mention, too. I lost track of the number of 100+ days we experienced. At first it was pretty awful, but then you just sort of figure out how to avoid the worst of it. It was pretty frustrating to look outside at a beautifully sunny day and know that there was no way to really enjoy it, though.
3. Hummingbird Swarms, all summer long, 2007:
One of my favorite experiences this year without a doubt was the incredibly number of hummingbirds visiting our feeders. A the height of the season we had five feeders up, and had to refill all of them every day and a half. We would go through about seven gallons of sugar-water every week.
2. Condors in the Canyon, August 17, 2007: Every opportunity to encounter an endangered species is pretty special. Getting to see a critically endangered species with a nine and a half foot wingspan is just freakin' awesome.
I had a really hard time choosing the last of my top ten nature moments. I could have gone with the tarantula I finally saw in our backyard, or the Northern Jacana we saw during a 340+ mile twitch. But when it comes down to it, I had to go with all of the experiences I had out in nature as a result of getting our brand new camera. So, to end the list, here's one of my favorite posts featuring some of what I believe are the best photographs I've ever taken.
1. Becoming a better nature photographer, September - December, 2007.
So, there you have it. My top nature moments of 2007. Happy New Year, everyone. And thanks for reading my blog!
I am finally getting around to responding to Patrick's meme tag, though. So, here they are. The top nature moments for 2007 (in chronological order):
10. Wood Bison on the Alaska Highway, Yukon Territory (or was it British Columbia?), January 01, 2007:
Exactly one year ago today, Sonja and I were driving down the very lonely Alaska Highway on our way to Arizona. Along the way, we encountered a herd of wood bison hanging out along the road. We slowed down to give Harvey a chance to say hi.
9. Javelina in our backyard, January 21, 2007:
Your first encounter with a new species is always the most exciting. This was our first experience watching javelina out our bedroom window. They have since become rather regular guests in our neighborhood, which we don't really mind unless one of the stinky males decides to flavor our yard with his pungent oder.
8. Hiking in Sedona, March, 2007: Our first real hike among the red rocks of Sedona is still one of my favorites.
7. Catching my first rattlesnake, April 1, 2007: I was actually pretty paranoid about encountering a rattlesnake when we first moved here. However, after getting a chance to capture several rattlesnakes at the park this year, my paranoia has turned into cautious excitement at the prospect of encountering one while hiking (something we still haven't experienced, yet).
6. The Painted Redstart, Oak Creek Canyon, April 18, 2007: Obviously, I'm going to be picking some birding moments for my list. And my first encounter with a Painted Redstart certainly deserves a mention.
5. Black Widow Spider, May 16, 2007: Out of all the assorted creepy crawly things we've found in and around our little house in the desert, none of them can come close to the cool-factor exhibited by one of our prettiest eight-legged neighbors this year, the Black Widow.
4. The Arizona Heat, all summer long, 2007: The climate here in Arizona deserves a mention, too. I lost track of the number of 100+ days we experienced. At first it was pretty awful, but then you just sort of figure out how to avoid the worst of it. It was pretty frustrating to look outside at a beautifully sunny day and know that there was no way to really enjoy it, though.
3. Hummingbird Swarms, all summer long, 2007:
One of my favorite experiences this year without a doubt was the incredibly number of hummingbirds visiting our feeders. A the height of the season we had five feeders up, and had to refill all of them every day and a half. We would go through about seven gallons of sugar-water every week.
2. Condors in the Canyon, August 17, 2007: Every opportunity to encounter an endangered species is pretty special. Getting to see a critically endangered species with a nine and a half foot wingspan is just freakin' awesome.
I had a really hard time choosing the last of my top ten nature moments. I could have gone with the tarantula I finally saw in our backyard, or the Northern Jacana we saw during a 340+ mile twitch. But when it comes down to it, I had to go with all of the experiences I had out in nature as a result of getting our brand new camera. So, to end the list, here's one of my favorite posts featuring some of what I believe are the best photographs I've ever taken.
1. Becoming a better nature photographer, September - December, 2007.
So, there you have it. My top nature moments of 2007. Happy New Year, everyone. And thanks for reading my blog!
August 24, 2007
I've Been MEME-ing to Post This
Because I am physically incapable of resisting a meme...
1. What is the coolest bird you have seen from your home?
This one's tough, since I've had so many backyards in my lifetime....
If we start way back in Minnesota when I was a kid, it would probably be the Cooper's Hawk that landed on our porch railing.
While living in the suburbs of Washington, DC, however, the coolest bird was definitely the Northern Mockingbird that acted as my alarm clock every morning.
In North Carolina, it's a tie between the Whippoorwill that would keep me up at night for hours, or the Eastern Screech Owl that I'd stay up for hours to listen to.
Up in Fairbanks, Alaska, it would be the bazillions of Common Redpolls that mobbed our feeders all winter.
While living in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, it was the Mountain Bluebirds and Western Meadowlarks that always brightened my days.
And in Troy, Idaho, the covey of California Quail that lived under a bush on the side of our house win the honor hands down.
Back up in Alaska, this time along the coast in Seward, it depends on what qualifies as "backyard." If flyovers count, then it's the Marbled Murrelets that flew overhead to get to their nesting sites in the forest. If flyovers don't count, it would be the numerous Bald Eagles that would perch in the spruce trees all year long.
And finally, here at our home in Arizona we've got so many cool species that are really new to us, it's incredibly hard to pick. But the highlights are the Phaenopeplas, Verdins, Summer and Western Tanagers, Gambel's Quail, Gila Woodpeckers, and the five species of hummingbirds that visit our feeders.
Ok, I probably cheated on that question. Oh well...
2. If you compose lists of bird species seen, what is your favorite list and why?
Well, I only compose one list, and that's my life list. Right now it's been rather stagnant at 449 for a couple months. The flurry of new species we've seen since moving to Arizona seems to have cooled down. I'm going to have to make some more trips down to the Huachucas to look for more (like the Flame-colored Tanager and Elegant Trogon).
3. What sparked your interest in birds?
There's no doubt in my mind that it was due to growing up on a lake and next door to a wooded lot in Minnesota with a dad who loved birds (but never got as crazy about them as I have). Our crappy old pair of binoculars were constantly glued to my face. I even remember as a 9 year old kid requesting bird books for Christmas (in addition to Transformers and Star Wars figures, of course). I think it was obvious to everyone who knew me that I was destined for bird-nerdness. I mean, how many 9 year olds ask Santa for the Audubon Field Guide to Western Birds?
4. If you could only bird in one place for the rest of your life where would it be and why?
Wow, that's a tough one. I'm assuming this doesn't mean it's the only place I could live, but rather the only place I'd be allowed to go birding? In that case, and given the assumption that I'd be able to go there any time I wanted to...either the cloud forests of Peru or the jungles of Indonesia. So...many...birds...
5. Do you have a jinx bird? What is it and why is it jinxed?
If there was a single species that has eluded every attempt I have made to locate one, despite having lived most of my life within its range, it is the Great Grey Owl. I have seen (and even held) most every other species of northern owl, but the Great Grey continues to elude me. Someday...
6. Who is your favorite birder? and why?
Got to be Kenn Kaufman. If for no other reason than "Kingbird Highway" is one of my favorite books of all time.
7. Do you tell non-birders you are a birder?
Well, considering we have a license plate that reads "BRDNERD" I think it's hard for us NOT to tell people.
Well, that's it. I think I'm going to tag Dave and Amy, even though neither one of them seems to really enjoy meme-ing much.
1. What is the coolest bird you have seen from your home?
This one's tough, since I've had so many backyards in my lifetime....
If we start way back in Minnesota when I was a kid, it would probably be the Cooper's Hawk that landed on our porch railing.
While living in the suburbs of Washington, DC, however, the coolest bird was definitely the Northern Mockingbird that acted as my alarm clock every morning.
In North Carolina, it's a tie between the Whippoorwill that would keep me up at night for hours, or the Eastern Screech Owl that I'd stay up for hours to listen to.
Up in Fairbanks, Alaska, it would be the bazillions of Common Redpolls that mobbed our feeders all winter.
While living in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, it was the Mountain Bluebirds and Western Meadowlarks that always brightened my days.
And in Troy, Idaho, the covey of California Quail that lived under a bush on the side of our house win the honor hands down.
Back up in Alaska, this time along the coast in Seward, it depends on what qualifies as "backyard." If flyovers count, then it's the Marbled Murrelets that flew overhead to get to their nesting sites in the forest. If flyovers don't count, it would be the numerous Bald Eagles that would perch in the spruce trees all year long.
And finally, here at our home in Arizona we've got so many cool species that are really new to us, it's incredibly hard to pick. But the highlights are the Phaenopeplas, Verdins, Summer and Western Tanagers, Gambel's Quail, Gila Woodpeckers, and the five species of hummingbirds that visit our feeders.
Ok, I probably cheated on that question. Oh well...
2. If you compose lists of bird species seen, what is your favorite list and why?
Well, I only compose one list, and that's my life list. Right now it's been rather stagnant at 449 for a couple months. The flurry of new species we've seen since moving to Arizona seems to have cooled down. I'm going to have to make some more trips down to the Huachucas to look for more (like the Flame-colored Tanager and Elegant Trogon).
3. What sparked your interest in birds?
There's no doubt in my mind that it was due to growing up on a lake and next door to a wooded lot in Minnesota with a dad who loved birds (but never got as crazy about them as I have). Our crappy old pair of binoculars were constantly glued to my face. I even remember as a 9 year old kid requesting bird books for Christmas (in addition to Transformers and Star Wars figures, of course). I think it was obvious to everyone who knew me that I was destined for bird-nerdness. I mean, how many 9 year olds ask Santa for the Audubon Field Guide to Western Birds?
4. If you could only bird in one place for the rest of your life where would it be and why?
Wow, that's a tough one. I'm assuming this doesn't mean it's the only place I could live, but rather the only place I'd be allowed to go birding? In that case, and given the assumption that I'd be able to go there any time I wanted to...either the cloud forests of Peru or the jungles of Indonesia. So...many...birds...
5. Do you have a jinx bird? What is it and why is it jinxed?
If there was a single species that has eluded every attempt I have made to locate one, despite having lived most of my life within its range, it is the Great Grey Owl. I have seen (and even held) most every other species of northern owl, but the Great Grey continues to elude me. Someday...
6. Who is your favorite birder? and why?
Got to be Kenn Kaufman. If for no other reason than "Kingbird Highway" is one of my favorite books of all time.
7. Do you tell non-birders you are a birder?
Well, considering we have a license plate that reads "BRDNERD" I think it's hard for us NOT to tell people.
Well, that's it. I think I'm going to tag Dave and Amy, even though neither one of them seems to really enjoy meme-ing much.
July 06, 2007
Bryce Canyon and Eight Random Facts
Sonja and I just got back from exploring Bryce Canyon National Park over our 4th of July weekend. It was a long, six-hour drive, but considering the experience we had it was well worth the effort. This was the first time either of us had been to Bryce, and because it was the 4th of July we were expecting it to be packed. Fortunately, it wasn't too crowded. Sure, there were quite a few people at the overlooks, and a lot of totally unprepared hikers on one of the sections of trail that we explored, but we didn't have any problems finding a campsite or parking spaces. And we didn't even have to wait in line to get into the park.
I've uploaded a set of pictures to my flickr account, so you can either click on the picture above, or click here to view a slideshow of our trip's highlights. You'll see the same pictures either way. When viewing the slideshow, you can click on the "i" in the middle of the first picture to see the captions on each image.
Finally, I've been tagged for a blogging meme by Patrick, so now I've got to post eight random facts about myself.
Here are the rules for Eight Random Facts:
Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
I bet you didn't know this... or maybe you did:
1) I can recite the entire "Battle of Wits" scene from the movie The Princess Bride by memory (I memorized it while in high school cuz I believed people would think it was cool...which it is, by the way);
2) I won second place in a fencing tournament in Fairbanks five years ago;
3) I won first place in my 5th grade science fair for a project involving ruining several of my mom's cooking pots by growing crystals in them using all sorts of nasty chemicals (like copper sulfate).
4) I played tuba in high school (and some in college) and marched in the 1990 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA;
5) One of the first things Sonja and I learned about each other is that we both experience hand-swelling during long hikes;
6) I've visited 49 states (it's Rhode Island, in case you were wondering), and lived in twelve (MN, IL, ND, NC, VA, NM, CO, AK, NH, WY, ID, AZ);
7) I once got stuck on a conveyor belt for two hours while chasing my brother through a sandpit near our house (don't ask); and,
8) I know from first-hand experience that daddy long-legs taste like spearmint.
Ok, now I guess I need to tag some people:
Steve
Chris
G
Amy
Dave
Erk
Maj
I've uploaded a set of pictures to my flickr account, so you can either click on the picture above, or click here to view a slideshow of our trip's highlights. You'll see the same pictures either way. When viewing the slideshow, you can click on the "i" in the middle of the first picture to see the captions on each image.Finally, I've been tagged for a blogging meme by Patrick, so now I've got to post eight random facts about myself.
Here are the rules for Eight Random Facts:
I bet you didn't know this... or maybe you did:
1) I can recite the entire "Battle of Wits" scene from the movie The Princess Bride by memory (I memorized it while in high school cuz I believed people would think it was cool...which it is, by the way);
2) I won second place in a fencing tournament in Fairbanks five years ago;
3) I won first place in my 5th grade science fair for a project involving ruining several of my mom's cooking pots by growing crystals in them using all sorts of nasty chemicals (like copper sulfate).
4) I played tuba in high school (and some in college) and marched in the 1990 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA;
5) One of the first things Sonja and I learned about each other is that we both experience hand-swelling during long hikes;
6) I've visited 49 states (it's Rhode Island, in case you were wondering), and lived in twelve (MN, IL, ND, NC, VA, NM, CO, AK, NH, WY, ID, AZ);
7) I once got stuck on a conveyor belt for two hours while chasing my brother through a sandpit near our house (don't ask); and,
8) I know from first-hand experience that daddy long-legs taste like spearmint.
Ok, now I guess I need to tag some people:
Steve
Chris
G
Amy
Dave
Erk
Maj
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