Author: turndoozie

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”,”serif”;}

Things are settling down after the tumult of last week. I
drove back to Pennsylvania on Tuesday with Lise and Molly following on
Thursday. People were coming in from all over the country including as far away
as Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Naturally there were flight delays and cancellations
as well as forgotten clothes and uniforms leading to the obligatory panic
attacks with a good dose of running around in circles. Pretty typical Schools
family get together.

After the funeral reception we drove straight through to
West Lafayette. Molly had a water polo tournament at Purdue and this tournament
may be the only opportunity for family members to see her play. She did good,
scoring in two games in front of appreciative fans. I dare say that thanks to
the Schools, Eichhorn, and Ely clans she had more fan support than any other
player there.

Taking them on.

She drives.

She shoots.

She scores.

Peek-a-boo.

This is my ball…..

and you can’t have it!

On the D.

So I only got one new bird last week. A lone pine siskin
hanging out with the goldfinches at Lynn’s feeder. But something more
meaningful happened. While I was drifting around Lebanon County, thinking about
Dad and my place in the universe, I stumbled upon the answer to one of life’s
great mysteries. Where does scrapple come from? There are those that think it’s
mined from some sacred ground, or dredged from the Snitz Creek. There are those
that think it comes from heaven like manna. But I found the truth. Apparently
it comes from a place that does truck repair out on Cedar Run Road. Right by
Aunt Bim and Uncle Don Yordy’s place. Who would a thought?

Mystery solved. Now it’s on to world peace.

We buried Dad last Friday, February 20. Mom’s ashes were interred with him. He had a military honor guard and a firing squad. Nothing quite hits home like Taps.

Following is what I said about him at the service.

I’m going to say a few words about Dad.
He wasn’t perfect. He had his flaws and he fought his demons. Just like we all do.
I wouldn’t call him a god fearing man. He didn’t fear much of anything. Except maybe Mom.
He didn’t like pompousness or authority figures. Except maybe Mom.
There are things he wasn’t but there’s a lot of things he was.
He wasn’t perfect but he was a good man.
He was a husband. He and Mom stuck it out through thick and thin.
He was my father. Part of him is in me and my five siblings.
He was a grandfather. He loved his grandchildren. He was every kid’s Pappy, whether they were blood or not. This attendance is a testimony to that.
He was tough. He could tolerate more physical pain than any person I know. He taught me that you don’t whine. Even if it hurts, you do what needs to be done.
He was a mentor. He was proud of his work and he taught me my work ethic. He taught me to be proud of what I do. Be proud of it, don’t brag about it.
He was a friend. He taught me to stick by people even though others may not.
And, he was a veteran, serving in the US Navy during the Korean War. As a result of his service, two sons and three grandchildren also served in the Navy. They’ll understand what these following words mean.
Dad, You stand relieved of your watch. You can secure and stand down, I have the watch. May you have fair winds and following seas. Go in peace.

Jerry Schools, September 17, 1931 – February 13, 2015

Father, friend, mentor, veteran, grandfather, and a good man. Go in peace.

Bye Dad. Thanks for the memories……

May you have fair winds and following seas. You will be missed. 

His eyes they closed
and his last breath spoke
he had seen all to be seen
a life once full
now an empty vase
wilt the blossoms
on his early grave

(Flogging Molly, “What’s Left of the Flag” )

Things
have been a bit slow on the old home front this week. The highlight was wiring
and installing another light fixture in the basement on Saturday. Doing
something like that really helps you hone your swearing skills.

So
when things are slow, might as well screw with the lizard. I always thought
survival depended on lightning quick reflexes to prevent one from becoming a
protein source. This little beast would have the same chances as the Cubs
winning a World Series if it had to survive in the wild.

Sleeping for 24 hours in the same position. 

Springing into action by opening an eye when surprised by
the flash.

Totally blowing off the whole business and hoping for
another 24 undisturbed hours of snooze time.

Yet
another 24 hours in the same position. It’s been a hard week. At least this time she raised her chin
for the picture.

We
did get out birding a bit. Mostly car birding, but we got tree sparrow,
kestrel, horned larks, and short-eared owls this past weekend. We’re both at 85
species for the year so far. 

Happy Grundsaudaag

Despite winter storm Linus we had a good crowd risk life and limb for the Groundhog’s Day party yesterday. Maybe it was because we were a day early winter storm Linus decided to screw with us. Anyway, we had a good time and thanks to all who came.

So now it’s your turn mammal. I don’t want six more weeks of this. 

Today is Lise’s annual Groundhog’s Day Party. We are patiently waiting for the throngs of attendees. There is one minor glitch though. Winter storm Linus seems intent on crashing the party. Somewhere between eight inches and a foot of snow predicted. At least if we’re snowed in we can eat well for a week or two. We have enough food and booze to feed greater Okemos. Not quite the Donner Pass thing. The lizard doesn’t have to worry about us looking at her as a source of protein.

Linus, Day 1.

We didn’t get out much this week but still got some good birds. Lise had a Cooper’s hawk fly through our bird feeding area. Friday we got a peregrine falcon on the power plant across the river from Moore’s Park and yesterday we got a merlin at Potter Park. We are both at 81 species for the year, but with different species. I have a Northern gannet which Lise does not. She has a double-crested cormorant which I do not have.

For some reason Tumblr just had to change the way information and pictures get posted on the blog. They just can’t seem to let well enough alone. Probably a bunch of bored programmers snowed in by Linus that are taking their frustrations out on the civilized world. So until I figure out the new bells and whistles, and get the damn thing to stop trying to think for me, the layout may look a bit odd.

We did a UP weekend with Barb and Joanna, scouring the area for northern species and eating in places with animal parts hanging on the wall. Didn’t do too bad, food- or species-wise.

Driving up Friday night we stopped at Big Buck brewery in Gaylord. It was too dark to take a picture of the giant inflatable beer bottle they have out front. The beer was good, the menu was the expected brew pub fare, and the décor can probably be guessed. Saturday lunch in Sault Ste. Marie was at that perennial UP winter birding trip favorite, Antlers. This place has about the oddest assortment of dead things you will find together. And a collection of antique steam whistles that they fired off while we were there. Sounded like quitting time in a steel mill.

The antlers chandelier in Antlers.

Dead stuff.

More dead stuff.

Birding was good. Got an assortment of species that we aren’t likely to get down here. The highlight for me was five snowy owls. Handsome birds, no other way to put it. We also got a goshawk, Northern shrike, rough-legged hawk, pine grosbeaks, raven, sharp-tailed grouse, redpoll, pileated woodpecker, and hairy woodpecker. Puts me at 79 species and Lise at 78. We drove 700 miles, the equivalent of driving back to Delaware. About a species for every 70 miles of the trip. Our little contribution to carbon loading in the atmosphere. Blame the next tornado on us.

Snowy owl.

Same owl.

Pine grosbeak feeding.

More feeding.

Still more eating.

We missed a few target species like gray jay, hoary redpoll, pine siskins, Bohemian waxwings, evening grosbeak, and crossbills. Today we got a report from Lansing birders that got gray jay and hoary redpoll at the exact same place where we looked. We must not be living right. Some kind of birding pariahs I guess.

Pretty slow week. Thursday we went to Port Huron for a project Lise is working on along the St. Clair River. What do an outdoor classroom area, train ferry, some pilings, native plant plantings, a sturgeon statue, a horse statue, the river rats club house and a retired navy boat have in common? I don’t know either but Lise has to tie them together in a brochure. That’s why she’s paid the big bucks.

The outdoor classroom area.

The train ferry.

The pilings.

The native plantings.

Sturgeon statue.

Horse statue.

River Rats clubhouse.

USS Grayfox.

It was pretty cold and windy along the river but there was open water. On the river we got common goldeneye, canvas back, and common merganser. Driving there and back we got turkeys and ring-neck pheasant. That brings us up to 69 species for me and 68 for Lise.

Long-tailed duck without much of  long tail.

Aptly named common goldeneye.

The weekend was pretty typical for winter here in Mid-Michigan. Gray and gloomy. Temperatures got above freezing which is nice, but the snow and ice has turned to massive amounts of slush. Quite sloppy.

So instead of doing outdoors things, Lise and I went to the Detroit Zoo for a photography exhibit. It was the finalists for the British Natural History Museum’s 50^th Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards. Three of the finalists were National Geo photographers. The contest seems to have drifted from solely wildlife to broader natural history categories but still some pretty stunning images. When you hear the term wildlife photographer you think “his wife let him buy a big lens.” I don’t think any of the finalists used a big lens. Creative use of flash seemed more important than lens size. One of them did use the 80 – 400 mm lens that I drag around. The old line, “it’s not what you got but how you use it” comes right to mind. These people make me look bad. I may have to quit whining about my lack of a big lens.

If you want to check out the finalists the link is http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/wpy/gallery/2014/index.html. There are youth and adult awards. The web site is a bit confusing. To see all the images in either category you have to mouse over any of the images. A little white slider bar comes up to the right that will allow you to scroll to more images.

 

I got our Delaware species tallied and we had  a total of 63 species back there. A lot better than we would have had here. It’s nice being at the junction of several major ecosystem types. Like ocean, bay, estuary, fields, coastal pine forests, and coastal deciduous forests. Here we sit at the junction of malls, subdivisions, and corn fields. And the MSU campus, where we got cedar waxwings on Thursday. Throw in some bitter cold weather and needless to say our daily species count has dropped considerably.

To add to the bitter cold fun, our one of our garage door torsion springs broke. Possibly from old age but the cold temperatures couldn’t have helped. The repairs look easy enough on the youtube videos. You can find just about anything on youtube, including several videos that walk you through replacing a garage door torsion spring. They all emphasize using the right tools. Unfortunately you need to get the car out of the garage to go get the right tools.

The broken spring.

When you don’t use the right tools, some interesting things can happen. I’m pretty sure I didn’t break my thumb, but typing with a cold pack on your hand isn’t easy. At least now we have the cars outside the garage and the door closed until the guy with parts and the right tools can get here. And I know how garage doors work, including how powerful a wound up torsion spring can be.

The broken spirit.

Besides finding interesting ways to hurt myself, I’ve been thinking about some goals for the year. I really do like to have something to shoot for. I wanted to have a goal of not doing anything stupid this year but I already blew that one.

Last year I wanted to visit six new places in the state. Given our crazy schedules last year that did not happen. So I’m going to resurrect that one. I want to get to at least six new places this year. Parks, nature preserves, conservancy properties, whatever. Not necessarily just in Michigan, but six new places that I haven’t been to before.

I need a photography goal to focus on too. Assuming I regain use of my right thumb. So for something completely different, this year I want to enter at least two photography contests. My ego has already been crushed by a garage door spring. A little more humiliation can’t hurt that much.

 

We made a quick five day trip back to Delaware so I didn’t have much writing opportunity. Had a great time except for maybe the drive back. The weather was mild and we got out for some nice beach walking and birding. Since the piping plovers aren’t in yet we could walk Cape Henlopen Point, going from the Delaware Bay side to the Atlantic Ocean side. The point gets shut down for the piping plover nesting season. The drive back was OK except for an hour wait in PA to clear an accident and then some really slow driving in snow and ice from Toledo back to Okemos. Those little delays added a couple hours to the trip. Gotta love that winter travel.

Cape Henlopen from the Delaware Bay side. Around the point is the Atlantic Ocean. The little blips on the horizon line are a mass of people out for the State Park “First Day of the Year Hike.”

Sunset looking up the Missisilipin River.

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

Waiting to clear an accident on I-70 in PA.

Why there was an accident – fog.

The aftermath. The whole back of the semi was burned out. Someone was evacuated by helicopter.

We got a few new species to wrap up the year. Christmas Day we were walking the neighborhood and got a sharp-shinned hawk. We rolled in to Cape Henlopen the afternoon of December 31 and got sanderling, surf scoter, red-throated loon, and Northern mockingbird. Those species brought me to 229 and Lise to 226 for the year. Those counts include the Panama Canal cruise, but not the Peru trip. I have a North American list set up, which contains all species we saw on the cruise. It doesn’t have the 168 species seen in Peru. No Andean species. Might be time to make a true life-list, not just a North American list.  

Sanderling at Henlopen. Didn’t notice it was banded until I saw the picture.

Taking out the cruise and the Peru trip, we did not have a spectacular birding year. It got bitter cold with nasty weather early in the year, limiting travel and outings. As things warmed up, so did Molly’s schedule. Then family matters and some work issues further cut into recreational activities. We didn’t do some usual outings like Sault Ste. Marie, Marquette, or Grayling trips. Consequently we are missing a lot of fairly common species that we have gotten the past couple years. But, the decks are cleared for the next year and we are ready for action in this next trip around the sun.  

At least we started this year out pretty good, with over 50 species starting on New Year’s Day. Really nice to start the year at the ocean with some great birding places right at hand. Some were pretty common species but we are just not going to see a harlequin duck or Northern gannet in Okemos. Tomorrow’s job is getting them into the spreadsheet.

 

A small part of the hundreds of gulls in a flock at Indian River inlet that was said to contain a juvenile, winter plumage, black-headed gull and a little gull. Said black-headed gull looks just like all these Bonepart’s gulls except it has a dark red and black beak (not all black) and red legs. We didn’t find it.

A fisherman in the rain and waves at Indian River inlet. If he slips off those rocks he is seriously dead.

Other birders in the rain looking for the black-headed gull. Since they are not jumping up and down or pointing it is safe to assume they didn’t see it either.

In the next couple days I need to come up with some goals for this year. Goals that revolve around outdoor activities like birding and photography. Not billiards. Last thing I need is encouragement to spend my waking hours in bars and pool halls.