Photos in National Parks Traveler

Howdee all,

Just wanted to share an article written by a fellow Twitter friend~ @sharptern . About a week ago he asked if he could use a photos I took while in Big Bend National Park.

Jeff and I went looking for the Colima Warbler, March of 2010~we knew we were a month early for the warbler..but we looked anyway...and no Warbler.

We did get a few habitat photos that Kirby Adams wanted to use for his article on

Searching for the Colima Warbler in Big Bend National Park

If you want to experience our hike to South Rim looking for the warbler...

Here are my posts

South Rim~ Part 1

South Rim~ Part 2

We will go looking again for the Colima~next time in April...don't know if I would want to hang around Big Bend in the heat of May.

Miss my fur boys~

Howdee all,

I was going thru my old photos and found this…

Taken ten years ago.

With my Golden Nobbie and Black Ballie..

Nobbie passed three years ago..

Ballie this past summer…

I still haven't had the heart to blog about Ballie yet…still fresh and painful.

I miss my fur boys.

Autumn in the garden of Dell and Craigys

Howdee,

Its that time of year..the garden is starting to go into winters slumber..

Some of Craigys hearts hanging from the entry trellis,

Craigy makes hearts for Sicksta..

Sicsksta Dell likes garden statues and art..

Anyone want to contribute some garden art?

Camellia's bloom this time of year.

The grasses showing off their dried mops..

The old shed in the back yard is falling apart slowly..

One of these years it will be torn down..

Another Craigy heart on the entry path…Sicksta embedded it between home made pavers and shiny blue glass beads.

Craigys blue bomb~I mean truck..;0

Another piece of garden art..That gets moved around from time to time, when things need moving to the dump.

I wonder how he sees out of these foggy side mirrors..

I wander out of the yard and into the field next door..Its for sale…the field and 20 acres that go down to a small stream.

It’s a pretty field..it used to be mowed and planted with crops to attract deer for the neighbor who was a hunter.

The neighbor passed away and the field has gone to the grasses and wildflowers..

Good place in the spring to look for Indigo buntings and Blue Grosbeaks..and other purdy birdies.

Back in the yard I check out the area near the home made rock patio..

When I am here it is always filled ….its strange to see it empty.

This sandy space is waiting for Homey and Jeff…and so am I ..

Fire in late Autumn..

Howdee all,

Its nice to finally be here in NC at Sicksta Dell and Craigys.

When we arrived the Oak and Hickory trees had let most of their leaves go and it was a big leafy mess in Sickstas garden.

So…Sicksta raked…and Craigy burned some of the leaves..

Jack supervised..

I took this particular day off..

The following day I raked leaves, put them on a tarp and dragged them to the back yard . I cleared the area in preparation for Jeff and Homeys arrival next week.

I set up the bird feeders.

I am wondering where the Robins and Cedar Waxwings are..they seem a bit late this year.

Jack and Kali in their new orange scarves. 

Its hunting season here…and one cant be too careful.

Migrating Songbirds being “slaughtered”

Howdee all,

PLEASE HELP

I am asking those who haven't already done so to take a few minutes to read about what is happening and then to take action by filling out a Protest form.

These birds are being hunted legally..but there are issues..read the link below to understand the issue.

Some object to the CABS use of the word slaughter..I say get over it ..and get to the issue.

The text in green are quotes from the website

~Committee against Bird Slaughter~

  Bird lovers throughout Europe are still in a state of shock after watching a video of Italian hunters shooting down several thousand song birds in front of protesting bird conservationists. The hunters were completely undisturbed by the filming of this almost unbelievable massacre of migrating song birds. The ugly spectacle took place some 1,400 m above sea level on the San Zeno alpine pass - one of the most important migration corridors in the Southern Alps.

Read more by clicking on the text above…

Then

Watch the video below..

The shooting orgy, in which some 100 hunters took part, was filmed by the conservationists on video. The game rangers present estimated that at least 10,000 Meadow Pipits, Chaffinches, Bramblings and Hawfinches were killed. CABS today published sequences from the original film, several hours in length, on its Youtube channel. The film can be viewed at "Youtube: Zugvogelmassaker am Colle San Zeno" and shows in great detail the brutal killing of thousands of birds on passage through a single alpine pass in the course of only a few hours.

 

  Now please~

Take a minute to fill out this Protest form.

Follow the instructions and click on the form link..it took me less than a minute to fill out.

This is not the only area where birds are being killed needlessly..read more on the CABS website about other areas of slaughter..

At the weekend Hungarian customs officials stopped a truck loaded with some 10,000 freshly-shot song birds on the border with Romania. According to the Bonn-based Committee Against Bird Slaughter the consignment consisted mainly of Skylarks, an endangered species in Germany and other European countries, but much favoured as a delicacy by Italian gourmets.

 

There is also a newly formed facebook you can join for more information

Committee against Bird Slaughter

Thanks so much for your time!

~Gratitude~

Howdee all,

It is my wish that you and yours view this video together on this day..

 

~I LOVE this video~

 

 

~I know you will too~

Walking Bonnies field~Happy Thanksgiving

Howdee all,

 

I am now in NC with Sicksta Dell and her family.

Colin continues to do remarkably well.

We have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

……………………………………………………………………………….

Wednesday we went for a short walk into a neighbors soybean field.

 

It was so nice to get out and enjoy the day…we have had such a difficult and stressful few weeks.

Bonnie, who owns this land, is in her 80s

She still has her land plowed and planted.

 

This year she has soybeans  Soybeans are planted to enrich the soil.

Next year she will have tobacco planted.

 

Sicksta and I munched on a few soybeans as we walked.

The soybeans were smaller than the edamame we are used to eating.

 

They were chewy and tasty. We don’t think these are harvested at all and will find out if we can pick a few to cook.

Bonnie also has a small pond on her property.

No ducks..I did see a few birds flying around..but have no bins with me here in NC.

I will have to wait for Jeff to arrive with our Homey..

It was a beautiful day..and nice to go for a walk together..

Nice to let go of the stress accumulated in the past few weeks..

 

and enjoy~Natures decorations… 

and a farmers field…

We have much to be thankful for..

Wishing you and yours a Wonderful Thanksgiving..Filled with

LOVE and GRATITUDE

A sigh of relief...

Howdee all,
For those who haven't been following Colin's progress on Facebook-
This past Friday he had the surgery to replace his skull piece, that was removed after his fall.
His surgeon signed his head before surgery.

Surgery went well and Colin spent a day and a half in ICU.

He had two shunts coming out of his skull for drainage. See the tubes and small bladders?

After the tubes were removed, Colin spent a day in recovery before being released on Sunday.
Colin said it hurt when the Dr. pulled the tubes out of his skull and then stapled the holes..OUCH

We were given the ok that Colin could travel. We left early Monday morning for NC and arrived late Afternoon...in time for a walk around Sickstas home.
We will keep an eye on Colin for four weeks before returning him to Pittsburgh.
We all so thrilled by the outcome so far.
I really feel all of your prayers and well wishes had something to do with his remarkable recovery!
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Nature walk~South Park

Howdee all,

We needed a bit of Nature…so Sicksta Dell, Jeff and I drove to

South Park near Pittsburgh…

Dell and I took a little stroll.

It was a gray day…

Crunchy walk on the bed of oak leaves..

X and a Y crossing the path..

Do you see them?

Sicksta Dell walks on the Y side..do do da do…

Spotted Oak leaves..

Gnarly ..

Beauty in the imperfect..

It was nice to get out and be recharged by nature..

I has been stressful for all of us..

Nature~perfect in its imperfection…

Just as we are..

Tomorrow Colin has surgery to reunite him with his skull piece..

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.

If all goes well~we plan on driving Colin to NC for some recuperation time.

Jeff will fly to Ct and pick up Homey and drive to NC on his own and meet us there.

We are HOPING to have Thanksgiving together in NC.

Wishing you all a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

Once in NC, I hope to be back in the Social networking swing of things.

See you all then!