Birds, music, and misc 2010

Nov. 29th, 2010

Galveston Island, TX birding

Today we saw dunlins, killdeers, spotted sandpipers, great-tailed grackles, oyster catchers, storks (flocks), snowy egrets, great white egrets, reddish egrets, great blue herons, white pelicans, an osprey, and one roseate spoonbill. Also a yellowish crab about 4" big. The sea, the sea was very foamy, big surf. The marshes were flat & filled with birds. Everywhere were the egrets stalking.

Nov. 27th, 2010

Houston birding

Today we went to High Island, Texas, and saw the following:
neotropic cormorants (in their rookery!)
white ibis
black vultures & turkey vultures
loggerhead shrike
great egrets
catbird
orange-crowned warbler (Western) and maybe an Eastern but uncertain
pine warbler
western palm warbler
several alligators
a slider turtle

Gorgeous! Followed by a nice lunch at Macho's Restaurant in Millie, TX.

Nov. 3rd, 2010

Rachel Barton Pine & Ars Antigua concert

This noon I went to the concert by Rachel & Ars Antigua, in which they played the entire Four Seasons by Vivaldi on period instruments--fantastic! I first heard Rachel when she played at the Stulberg Competition in Kalamazoo.

 

Nov. 1st, 2010

Ann Arbor trip

We went to A2 this past weekend (by way of Bath and Dearborn). Our evening stop was at the Mardigian Library at U-M Dearborn to see the exhibition honoring Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, called Laura’s enduring tale: Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Little House on the Prairie . Bill Anderson (her biographer) gave a talk and answered questions, and it was all very fun. I loved seeing things like a hay twist, burned for fuel during the Long Winter, and a replica of Ma's china shepherdess, the notebooks Laura wrote her books in, letters between her and Rose about editing the books.... We came away with 3 new books about Laura by Anderson.

I had a good walk Saturday morning along the Huron River near Barton & Brede, visited with my sister in Waterford to do xmas shopping for my nephews, and then had a marvelous dinner back in A2 at Ayse's Turkish Cafe. Excellent chocolate-figgy-walnut pudding, and olive & pomegranate salad.

On Sunday, did more winter preparation in terms of yard work--composting the bucket-tomatoes, raking, hauling brush, etc. I made a little fire in my stick burner, my 1st and last fire, as now I'm ready to send it to the junkyard or give it to anyone who wants it.

Oct. 28th, 2010

3 year old conductor/violinist

Oct. 15th, 2010

Birdwatching

The juncos are back, in various plumages!

Oct. 10th, 2010

weekend

Yesterday I took my camera out on the bicycle & took a few photos along the bike trail--great colors. After lunch we went to Crane Fest (passed thru Nashville, Bellevue, & other small towns new to me). I was disappointed by the crowd of non-birders who wondered what the whole thing was about (no field glasses, brought their dogs, expected a petting zoo apparently) but I thought the art displayed by vendors was fantastic. The beauty of the cranes flying in and out was breath-taking, although I could have skipped the guy, who though informative, talked for several hours via mega/microphone. Hasn't he ever heard of noise pollution? I think that next fall we'll go on a non-advertised day in October, when there will be fewer people but they will be folks who enjoy the birds for themselves.

Oct. 2nd, 2010

Bird migration

In the past couple of weeks, I've seen magnolia warblers in their fall plumage, a yellow-throated warber, and black-throated green warbler at Blandford Nature Center. Yesterday on Maynard Ave and at Millennium Park, we spotted a pair of Sandhill cranes, a great blue heron, a pair of double-crested cormorants, several red-necked grebes, a flock of mute swans, and a lot of kildeer. There is also a great white egret or a great blue in white phase, but I couldn't see the legs to make a positive ID.

 

Aug 27, 2010

beechnuts

In Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder, I remember that the family raked up beech leaves & nuts every fall and laid them in the barn for later sorting & peeling, and we have a large beech tree overhanging our deck. So I gathered the nuts & seed pods as they rained down around me last weekend. I found a couple of discussions on the web about them--hard to beat the squirrels, but I already had--best eaten fresh, so I tried one right away but it was too green! Other people said to wait until they turned a bit brown (but not too brown), so I left the others to ripen for a few days. There were notes about European beech nuts being much more bitter than American, which were supposed to be sweet. Several folks recommended roasting them--a coffee substitute can also be made from these or a fine oil with olive oil qualities may be pressed. The nuts are full of protein and other good thingies. So Amy kindly toasted them for me. Bitter! Bitter, I say! And sharp in the mouth!  I couldn't eat them. I put them out for the critters to eat, if they are so inclined.

Apr. 27th, 2010

The woods are overflowing

Today in Aman Park, these are the new bloomers: wood anemone, broadleaf toothwort (a new one for my "lifelist"), dogwood, wild lily-of-the-valley, star-flowered Solomon's seal, wild phlox, Virginia bluebells (at their peak), large-flowered bellwort, buttercups, wild parsnip, Jack-in-the-pulpit. The paw paw trees are almost ready to bloom.

In addition, these are still blooming: common violets, downy yellow violets, Canada white violets, spring beauties, squirrel corn, trillium (at its peak!), cut-leaved toothwort, false rue anemone, spring cress, wild geraniums, wild ginger, & blue cohosh (these last 2 are almost done).

Saw a little brown creeper & a large Hairy woodpecker.

April 30, GVSU ravines: mayapples

Apr. 17th, 2010

Even more wildflowers

mood: flowery

New additions spotted on my walk today in Blandford: squirrel corn, spring cress, wild geraniums, downy yellow violets, marsh marigolds, wild ginger, blue cohosh, and ground ivy. The ground is decorated!

Apr. 15th, 2010

Music discovered this week; new bike ordered

WASHBURN, Abigail: Abigail Washburn and The Sparrow Quartet.
She has a fantastic voice, & this cd includes both folk style songs--bright & quirky--& yodeling, a Chinese song, Appalachian songs, a Kazakz tune, lots of banjo & fiddle...

SCHULHOFF, E.: String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2; 5 Pieces. An early-20th-century Czech classical composer who used Eastern-European rhythms & tunes-- jazzy, syncopated, spirited.

Ingram Marshall: Evensongs / Entrada / In My Beginning is My End.  American classical composer of the late 20th-century, lyrical nature sounds and electronic music with traditional instruments--both minimalist & romantic.

Miguel Del Aguila: Clocks / Charango Capriccioso / Presto II / Salon Buenos Aires / Life is a Dream. Contemporary west-coast composer (2009 Composer of the Year). Well, I can't quite describe his music, so check it out for yourselves.

Listening to samples of Natalie Merchant's newest cd, Leave Your Sleep. What's to say? I still love her voice.

At the fitting yesterday, I discovered that my back won't tolerate the classical road-riding position any longer, so I am going to get a road/comfort bike from Giant, which I think might be the Cypress DX W (not sure, but it had 700 & 5 in it & it's red, upright with a comfy seat, 24-speed, with a decent derailleur). I get to see it Saturday.  

Apr. 13th, 2010

poetry reading

mood: inspired

Went to hear Siobhan Campbell, an Irish poet, read last night. As with most poetry, it was great live, especially with her comments. I talked to her afterward...went to the car and wrote myself some notes, then went back in to talk with her more. Her newest (3rd) book is focused on the theme of violence. The things that save it are her lyricism and imagery from nature. I asked about one poem and she said she is interested in how military personnel returned from war talk and express both the PTSD and the violence of their experiences in general. I had kept going back to the poem despite its violence and when she told me more about it, it made more sense. It's expressed in terms of a man beheading the flower blossoms of "weeds" (foxglove, a garden flower here but a weed in Ireland) with a hawthorn walking stick. I find her 2nd book to be more approachable. In some of her poetry, I heard echoes of Federico Garcia Lorca, Robert Frost, Mary Oliver.

Apr. 13th, 2010

April 10 wildflowers

Aman Park: all of the previous plus trillium, tons of trout lilies, cut-leaved toothwort, false rue anemone, carpets of spring beauties, bluebells budded. I spent an hour and 20 minutes trying to get some serious exercise but continually foiled by having to stop and take more photos of the flowers, testing my camera's limits. Flower macro, super macro, and super macro with LED. Flash on, off. Scene setting. Zoom limits. Very relaxing.

Apr. 5th, 2010

wildflowers spotted April 4

At Blandford Nature Center, I spotted both purple and white violets, spring beauties, Dutchman's breeches, bloodroots, and even a brave trout lily. Not spotted but I'm sure it has opened at Aman Park: the hepatica which was budded last week.

Other plants which I was interested to see were spotted waterleaf, ramps leeking all over, and bluebell leaves.

The neighborhood forsythia are amazingly full and bright.

Mar. 27th, 2010

Midori concert

Last night Amy took us to the GRSO concert with guest violinist Midori. We attended the pre-concert lecture, surprisingly by the conductor himself, with Midori stepping in to talk about the Walton concerto she was playing--a first for both of them to perform in public. So, that was fun to see her in ordinary clothing and talking extemporaneously. Then the concert was excellent--the empress insisted that we bring the little binocs--for which I was glad, when I could see Midori's expressions and movements "up close and personal" as it were. Amazing intonation, phrasing, sweet tone while passionate playing.... Awesome, well worth the price for the tickets.