The Wizard of Elton

FINAL ENTRY?

2010-07-26T19:22:00.001-04:00

This will probably be my last entry to this Blog.

Am moving to Facebook.

Back to the Moon

2010-07-16T19:11:00.001-04:00

.
Nothing special, nothing new, just a couple of leftover Moon photos from last month.
.

Recent Walks

2010-07-12T22:17:00.002-04:00

.
Two really nice photos from recent road-walks.
.

Cabbage White Butterfly

.
White-tailed Deer (Both bucks)
.

Sepia Toning

2010-07-11T22:09:00.003-04:00

.
Back in my old darkroom days I really liked the look of sepia toned prints but didn't make a whole lot of them. It is a rather tedious process. Sepia prints are usually associated with old photographs but what most people don't understand is that prints aren't sepia because they are old, they are old because they are sepia. Sepia toning is carried out after the print is finished. It was discovered rather early in the history of photography that sepia toning changes the chemical composition of the image and prevents it from fading the way an untoned print does.
.
Some graphics programs have a button you can push to change a black & white photo into a sepia toned one. Mine doesn't, so I have been playing around with the color controls. These look pretty good.
.

Leftover June Butterflies

2010-07-06T17:59:00.000-04:00

Leftover June Plants

2010-07-05T12:48:00.000-04:00

Fireworks

2010-07-04T18:36:00.001-04:00

.
Some of the local residents are getting a little fancy with their holiday displays, albeit a day early. These are a far cry from my glory days of a dozen bottle rockets (with report).
.

Leftover June Insects

2010-07-02T19:01:00.000-04:00

Ordinary or not

2010-07-01T22:33:00.002-04:00

.
On my road-walk today I spotted a very ordinary butterfly with a rather extra-ordinary name. I always thought that if someone were to write a mystery novel that somehow involved a rare species of butterfly they could do no better than the name of this one: The Great Spangled Fritillary.
.
.

Mo Moon

2010-06-27T16:00:00.000-04:00

More Bugs on Daisies

2010-06-21T22:33:00.000-04:00

Mooning

2010-06-20T16:13:00.001-04:00

.
Another average image of the Moon. Maybe I'll have better luck tonight. It is supposed to be clear, but steady air is just as important. Twinkling stars are not a good sign.
.
.

Moon in June

2010-06-19T21:56:00.002-04:00

.
I finally got out into the dome last night. The rule of thumb is that for every minute you spend taking pictures at the telescope you must spend an hour in front of a computer processing the data. Here's one photo; nothing special but not bad considering how turbulent the air was.
.
.

Bugs on Daisies

2010-06-18T18:14:00.002-04:00

.
Daisies are the most prevalent flowers on the road right now and the local insect population is taking full advantage of them. More to follow.
.

Female Grosbeak

2010-06-16T19:41:00.002-04:00

.
On June 9 I posted a photo of a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, this is what the female looks like. It has the same general appearance of a Finch but is about the size of a Cardinal. The real tip-off is the gold patch under the wings.
.

Retirement

2010-06-13T17:45:00.001-04:00

.
Retirement is searching through a large can of cashew halves and pieces to find a whole cashew that defied the system.
.
.

A little out of the ordinary

2010-06-10T22:19:00.003-04:00

A bee roadkill in the truest sense of the word

A spider web - no big deal - but......
.
A black & white pattern in nature
.

Three New Critters

2010-06-09T22:17:00.004-04:00

.
The best part of taking nature pictures on my yard-strolls, road-walks, and park-hikes is getting a photo of a critter for the first time. It doesn't matter if I have seen them many times before; somehow it isn't really official until I get them on e-film. Three of this year's first-timers:
.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Mourning Cloak Butterfly
.
Rosy Maple Moth (Roadkill)
.

New Road-kills

2010-06-08T17:24:00.003-04:00

.
Now that the "road-walk" season has returned, my "road-kill" collection is growing. Here are three of the latest additions.
.

Under my nose

2010-06-06T22:26:00.002-04:00

.
Sometimes you don't have to travel any further than your own backyard (or frontyard as the case may be).
.

Red Squirrel

Very young rabbit
.

Bloom of mushrooms

Art Show

2010-06-05T19:07:00.001-04:00

.
Today was receiving day for entries in the Allied Artists Summer Show at the Community Arts Center. I submitted the following which included the first color photograph that I have ever entered in an exhibit.
.

Ski's Harley

Churchwardens
.
Inner Gold
.

White Wildflowers

2010-06-04T23:23:00.002-04:00

.
Plain and simple - Three photos of white wildflowers. I haven't had a chance to look these up but hopefully I'll do that over the next couple of days.
.

Kooser Wildflowers

2010-06-03T23:07:00.002-04:00

.
A couple of absolutely beautiful wildflowers from the same Kooser trip.
.

Trillium

.
Carolina Cranesbill
.

Nesting Goose

2010-06-02T18:39:00.002-04:00

.
Just feet away from yesterday's Catbird was a female Canada Goose sitting on her nest. Notice the layer of feathers and other nesting materials beneath and around her. She closely watched our every move but never acted as if threatened. Meanwhile, another goose was swimming in the lake nearby. I suspect that it was her mate.
.

Huh? What?

2010-06-01T22:26:00.003-04:00

.
Two months without an upload ..... Ouch!!!
.
Note to self: "Just act like nothing happened and maybe nobody will notice."
.
************
..... As I was saying, Sparrows are fine but here is a rather uncommon bird that was perched right above my head during a recent visit to Kooser State Park.
.

Gray Catbird
.

All Sparrows

2010-04-01T22:01:00.001-04:00

My favorite CBB (Common Brown Birds)

House Sparrows

.
.

Leftover March Birds

2010-03-30T22:45:00.000-04:00

Unmatched pairs

.
.

Walk Abstracts

2010-03-28T21:44:00.002-04:00

Walk Bugs

2010-03-26T22:28:00.002-04:00

.
Early flowers are nice but I really look forward to the return of interesting bugs. My first couple of walks were surprisingly productive.
.
.

Walk Water

2010-03-25T22:37:00.002-04:00

.
The temporary pond, which was absent all of last year, was back in full force. It was nice and green but, unfortunately, out of reach because of the lingering snow drifts.
.
Meanwhile, as expected, the neaby stream was running wide, fast. and deep.
.

More Road-walk Pix

2010-03-24T19:35:00.001-04:00

.
There wasn't a whole lot to see on my road-walk earlier this week but I did spot the very first wildflower of the new season.
.
.

Return of the Wiz

2010-03-22T14:32:00.002-04:00

.
Ouch!!! What a week (plus) - I will spare you the details. Meanwhile, on a brighter note, Spring has sprung and I have the proof.
.
.

The observatory sign is back in place

.
.

Cool insects are showing up
.

.
I took a slow walk to the horse farm
.

Not anothr one!!

2010-03-12T21:48:00.001-05:00

.
Yes, another Sherlock Holmes pastiche. This one has eleven short stories by eleven different authors and three articles, including one by Arthur Conan Doyle himself.
.
.

Bird Counts

2010-03-11T18:52:00.002-05:00

.
This week's FeederWatch bird counts:
3 - Northern Cardinal
4 - Mourning Dove
2 - Dark-eyed Junco
4 - House Finch
1 - American Robin
3 - European Starling
2 - Blue Jay
1 - House Sparrow
2 - Common Grackle
2 - Black-capped Chickadee
.

Mourning Dove

Common Grackle
.

A Good Sign?

2010-03-10T16:37:00.002-05:00

.
Today there was a noticeable change in the bird population and, as luck would have it, it was also one of this week's FeederWatch counting days.
.
.

American Robin

Blue Jay & Common Grackle
.

Squirrel Saga

2010-03-08T23:38:00.002-05:00

Try the birdfeeder

Peek-a-boo
.
Check the traffic
.

Run the road
.

Perch in the neighbor's tree
.

Bird Counts

2010-03-06T18:33:00.002-05:00

.
This week's FeederWatch bird count:
3 - Black-capped Chickadee
2 - Northern Cardinal
2 - Dark-eyed Junco
5 - House Finch
10 - European Starling
2 - House Sparrow
1 - Downy Woodpecker
1 - Hairy Woodpecker
.
.

Downy Woodpecker

.
Tufted Titmouse
.

European Starling
.

Radio Holmes

2010-03-04T16:37:00.003-05:00

.
This is the latest addition to my Sherlock Holmes collection; 13 new cases based on a series of half-hour radio programs from the 1940's. I've read about half of them and find the plots to be rather shallow. Of course, being adapted from short radio programs there isn't much room for complexity. They each also start with a semi-irritating bunch of references to the original stories which, I suppose, was an attempt to give them a sense of authenticity. Oh well, better than nothing.
.

.

Local buildings

2010-03-03T18:45:00.004-05:00

.
We have about a half dozen of these wooden thingies depicting local architecture. The first is the Coney Island Lunch that I mentioned yesterday. The other is the 1889 Flood Museum, also in downtown Johnstown. We got it, not because of what it is, but because of what it was ... the original Johnstown Public Library.
.
When I was a kid I loved that place and promised myself that if I was ever rich enough I would buy it and have it moved to a mountain top to serve as my personal mansion.
.

Coney Island Delights

2010-03-02T22:35:00.004-05:00

.
Last evening Judy and I treated ourselves to a carry-out snack from Johnstown's (in)famous "Coney Island Lunch". These are a hot dog and sausage; the Sundowner jumped into my mouth befoe I could take its picture. For those of you who do not know, a Sundowner is a cheeseburger topped with a fried egg, mustard, onions, and chili sauce.
.
Conars (some call them "Death Dogs") are best enjoyed at 3 o'clock in the morning after a night of hard partying. Ideally they should be washed down with a carton of chocolate milk, followed by jumping up and down to thoroughly mix all of the delicate flavors.
.

Who ya gonna call?

2010-03-01T22:46:00.003-05:00

Love those flying birds!

.
In this morning's newspaper somebody wrote a letter to "Dear Abby" about the advantage of having tests done to check on the condition of one's kidneys. Meanwhile, one the same page, someone wrote a letter to medical advisor Dr. Donahue asking him for a recipe for vinegar dumplings. I guess there is no such thing as a stupid question; only stupid questioners.

Standby

2010-02-28T18:38:00.002-05:00

.
My old standby subject following a heavy snowfall; the observatory dome. The snow level is really creeping up the doorway.
.
.

Another 18 inches

2010-02-27T21:47:00.002-05:00

.
For the third weekend in a row we have been clobbered with a major snowstorm.
.
.

Same old bird counts

2010-02-23T19:51:00.003-05:00

.
This week's FeederWatch bird counts:
1 - Downy Woodpecker
1 - Tufted Titmouse
5 - European Starling
4 - Black-capped Chickadee
5 - Dark-eyed Junco
1 - Hairy Woodpecker
1 - Northern Cardinal
.
.

European Starling

Yo, George

2010-02-22T18:53:00.003-05:00

.
Today is George Washington's birthday. My favorite Washington quote is contained within his plea for the support of his troops during the Revolutionary War:
.
QUOTE - If you can't send money, at least send tobacco.
.

Get real!

2010-02-21T21:14:00.001-05:00

Oh, come on - exquisite?

From the Allied Artists newsletter
.

Holy Smoke

2010-02-20T12:02:00.005-05:00

.
Today is International Pipe Smoking Day so I guess if you have an international pipe, today is the day to smoke it.
.
Most people are familiar with famous pipe smokers like Albert Einstein, Bing Crosby, and Hugh Hefner but did you know that Neil Armstrong, David Letterman, and Greta Garbo also smoked pipes? And, or course, the fictional characters Sherlock Holmes, Popeye, and Santa Claus (they would like you to forget this one) did the same.
.

Two of my Churchwarden style pipes

GOSH - Churchwardens were lay officials of the Anglican Church who acted as intermediaries between the parishioners and the clergy. Among their duties were the keeping of peace and order within the church and the church grounds. Since as recently as the early nineteenth century it was permissable to smoke in church, these pipes were designed so that the Churchwardens could sit in their pews at the back of the church and rest the pipe on the back of the pew in front of them.

Sherlock Holmes & Forensics

2010-02-18T21:35:00.003-05:00

.
This is the latest addition to my Sherlock Holmes collection. It is not a collection of short stories but rather a study of forensic science during the Victorian era. Each chapter contains excerpts from the original Holmes cases and then explains the level and extent of the forensic science that would have been available for their solution. It also cites actual prominent crimes during that time period and how they and their circumstances might have influenced the writing of Arthur Conan Doyle. I am about halfway through the book and, all in all, it is a very nice read with a wealth of bakground information.
.
.

A Gathering of Cardinals

2010-02-17T18:51:00.004-05:00

Male Northern Cardinals

& Black-capped Chickadee

Female Northern Cardinals
.
Male Northern Cardinal
(Always nicer in a tree)
.
.

This week's FeederWatch Bird Count:

5 - Northern Cardinal

2 - Downy Woodpecker

4 - Black-capped Chickadee

1 - White-breasted Nuthatch

3 - Dark-eyed Junco

2 - Tufted Titmouse

2 - European Starling

2 - House Finch

1 - American Goldfinch

2 - House Sparrow

1 - Hairy Woodpecker

Final Backyard Bird Count

2010-02-16T22:52:00.002-05:00

American Goldfinch

Backyard Bird Count - Day 4

2 - Downy Woodpecker

2 - Black-capped Chickadee

1 - White-breasted Nuthatch

2 - Dark-eyed Junco

2 - Tufted Titmouse

2 - European Starling

1 - House Finch

1 - American Goldfinch

Bird Butts

2010-02-15T10:30:00.002-05:00

.
Some birds are more difficult to photograph than others. Cardinals for example will perch on the feeder for long periods of time; they even seem to be posing for the camera. On the other hand, Chickadees and Titmouses (Titmice?) fly on and off the feeder so quickly that it's hard to catch them facing the camera.
.

Tufted Titmouse

.
.

Black-capped Chickadee

.
.
Backyard Bird Count - Day 3
1 - Northern Cardinal
1 - Downy Woodpecker
3 - Black-capped Chickadee
1 - White-breasted Nuthatch
3 - Dark-eyed Junco
1 - Tufted Titmouse
8 - European Starling
.

Counts & a Quote

2010-02-13T21:07:00.002-05:00

.
Backyard Bird Count - Day 2
1 - European Starling
1 - Black-capped Starling
1 - Downy Woodpecker
2 - Dark-eyed Junco
3 - Northern Cardinal
1 - Purple Finch
1 - House Finch
.
.
QUOTE - Any man who checks his watch while smoking a pipe is doing it wrong.
.

Backyard Bird Count

2010-02-12T20:56:00.004-05:00

.
The bird counts that I have been posting are part of Cornell University's FeederWatch Program and consist of two counting days a week from November through March. In addition, for the next four days I will be counting for their Big Backyard Bird Count.
.
.
Today's Backyard Bird Count:
13 - European Starling
1 - Hairy Woodpecker
3 - Black-capped Chickadee
1 - Downy Woodpecker
1 - American Crow
2 - Tufted Titmouse
1 - White-breasted Nuthatch
2 - Dark-eyed Junco
1 - Northern Cardinal
1 - Red-bellied Woodpecker
.

Seven European Starlings

Just bird counts

2010-02-09T21:30:00.003-05:00

.
This week's bird count:
4 - Black-capped Chickadee
1 - Hairy Woodpecker
2 - Tufted Titmouse
1 - Downy Woodpecker
6 - Dark-eyed Junco
1 - House Finch
1 - House Sparrow
1 - White-breasted Nuthatch
1 - Northern Cardinal
.

Northern Cardinal

Just for the record

2010-02-08T21:29:00.004-05:00

.
Remember the Allied Artists Winter Show? (See "Yrrrrrrrrr OUT" - Jan.22) Well, just for the record this image won an award. There were no First-Place, Second-Place winners but four awards of equal value.
.

Blaze
.

The Big Bowl

2010-02-07T23:13:00.002-05:00

.
Today was Super Bowl Sunday, but what interested me more than the football game was the bowl that my round observatory created in the snow.
.

.

Major Snow

2010-02-06T16:16:00.003-05:00

.
A major storm dropped about two feet of snow on dear old Elton overnight.
.
This may be the most snow we've seen since we moved here the first week of January 1996. We had to postpone our move by a day so that we could hire somebody to plow a path for the moving van. The snowfall was followed by a big rainstorm. Judy and I stood shoulder to shoulder, in the cold rain, digging a trench to divert the water away from the house. We still ended up with about a foot of water in our basement.
.
Oh yes, by the way, it is still snowing.
.

More snow tracks

2010-02-04T22:10:00.001-05:00

.
I haven't seen this many large animal tracks in our yards since we had our three apple trees removed 5+ years ago. A couple of days ago I showed our sideyard, this is our backyard.
.

Talk about distractions

2010-02-03T21:47:00.002-05:00

.
.
That's not the gas man, is it?
He's not checking for a leak, is he?
He didn't find one, did he?
It's not on our side of the shut-off, is it?
.
A 'yes' is not always a 'positive' response.
.

Groundhog Day

2010-02-02T23:06:00.004-05:00

.
There wasn't much action at the birdfeeders on this week's two counting days, probably because of the lack of snow. But the object is not to turn in large counts, the object is to turn in accurate counts.
.
This week's bid counts:
2 - Black-capped Chickadee
1 - House Sparrow
1 - Downy Woodpecker
1 - Tufted Titmouse
.
.

House Sparrow

.
This was also Groundhog Day and Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. When it comes to the Groundhog's predictions there are only two kinds of people in the world - true believers and the misinformed.
.

Back on track(s)

2010-02-01T23:14:00.001-05:00

.
After a week or so of distractions (none of which were pleasant) I think that I am ready to update this Blog on a more regular basis. Let's start out with a view of the animal tracks in our yard.
.

Just some birds

2010-01-26T18:16:00.003-05:00

.
This week's bird count:
4 - Black-capped Chickadee
2 - White-breasted Nuthatch
2 - Northern Cardinal
2 - European Starling
1 - Downy Woodpecker
2 - House Finch
2 - Tufted Titmouse
4 - Dark-eyed Junco
2 - Purple Finch
.

White-breasted Nuthutch

Goshes

2010-01-24T21:52:00.003-05:00

.
GOSH - Stephen Hawking was born 300 years, to the day, after the death of Galileo.
.
GOSH - If the Sun were the size of the dot over the letter - i - the Milky Way Galaxy would be the size of the continental United States.
.

Yerrrrrrrrr IN!!!

2010-01-23T21:50:00.004-05:00

.
Well, I submitted my three images for the Allied Artists Winter Show and didn't receive a phone call to retrieve any of them - so it looks like they will all hang in the show. As far as winning any awards - that will have to wait until the opening reception on Friday the 29th.
.
.
.
We had a bunch of European Starlings in the yard this morning. Although they are generally considered to be a nuisance their winter plumage is really quite attractive. They will, however, lose their spots and bars in the Spring.
.

Yerrrrrrrrr OUT!!!

2010-01-22T19:02:00.003-05:00

.
Tomorrow the Allied Artists will be accepting entries for their Winter Show and I will be submitting these three. They don't automatically hang everything they receive. The judge can reject anything he/she doesn't like or feels they don't have room for. That's the worst part because it is like saying that your work isn't even good enough to hang on a wall. Just to keep things in perspective; I have had prints "juried out" that have been re-entered in other shows and won ribbons. What can I say?
.

Words & Birds

2010-01-20T22:15:00.003-05:00

.
The folks who write TV commercials and/or public service announcements must think that we are either (a) not very bright or (b) not listening to what they are saying. For example - Heard today on TV - "3 out of every 5 people receiving treatment for depression are still exhibiting symptoms." Well, duh, of course they are still exhibiting symptoms, that's why they are still receiving treatment.
.
.
This week's bird counts:
3 - Black-capped Chickadee
1 - White-breasted Nuthatch
1 - Tufted Titmouse
2 - Northern Cardinal
1 - Downy Woodpecker
.

Big Al

2010-01-18T22:12:00.004-05:00

.
We are accustomed to seeing drawings of an atom in which an electron, only slightly smaller than the nucleus, is orbiting the nucleus a relatively short distance from the nucleus. An atom is really quite different and mostly empty space.
.
GOSH - If an atomic nucleus were the size of a marble, an electron would be the diameter of a human hair two miles away.
.

Albert "Stud-Muffin" Einstein as a young man

Owl Pellet 01 #1

2010-01-16T17:47:00.002-05:00

.
This is the owl pellet that I chose to start with. It appeared to be the larget of the five and had a very non-egg-shape. It measured about 50mm (2 inches) across its largest side and weighed 8 grams. It probably contains a rodent (or rodents) of some kind but the fur is much browner than the black pellets that I have seen in the past.
.

Owl Pellet #01

Pellet Zealot

2010-01-15T22:13:00.003-05:00

.
Owls, like all predatory birds, are incapable of chewing their food so they swallow their prey whole. After they have digested the softer parts they package the nasty bits (bone, teeth, fur, feathers, etc.) into egg shaped masses that are regurgitated on a daily basis. These are known as owl pellets. Dissecting one of these owl pellets is a great way to (1) learn something about the owl and its prey and (2) get that sense of discovery that I enjoy so much.
.
Now that we have entered the time of year when I cannot get out into the dome I decided to lay in a fresh supply of owl pellets to explore. I guess you know what to expect over the next several weeks (months?).
.

Owl pellets wrapped in aluminum foil

Space stuff

2010-01-14T18:01:00.003-05:00

.
This is a peer-reviewed quarterly journal that is in its 52nd year of publication. I write articles for them twice a year. In this issue I have one on Volcanism on the Moon.
.
.
.
A footnote to the asteroid alert a couple of days ago: It appears now to be the spent rocket that launched the Venus Express Spacecraft in November 2005.
.

Woodpeckers 101

2010-01-13T14:09:00.003-05:00

.
Some species of birds are very similar in appearance and can be difficult to tell apart. Yesterday I was lucky enough to capture these two woodpeckers within an hour of each other. The Downy Woodpecker is smaller and has a relatively short bill. The Hairy Woodpecker is, (well, duh) larger and has a relatively long bill. Otherwise they look remarkably alike.
.

Downy Woodpecker

.
Hairy Woodpecker
.

.
This week's bird count:

5 - House Finch

2 - Downy Woodpecker

1 - Hairy Woodpecker

4 - Black-capped Chickadee

1 - House Sparrow

3 - Dark-eyed Junco

1 - White-breasted Nuthatch

2 - Tufted Titmouse

2 - Northern Cardinal

1 - European Starling

Asteroid Alert

2010-01-11T19:44:00.001-05:00

.
You heard it here! Around 8:00am (Eastern Time), January 13, a small asteroid (about 10 meters across) will pass within 80,000 miles of the Earth. If that doesn't sound very close, keep in mind that it is three times closer than the Moon.
.

Piles and piles

2010-01-09T14:11:00.001-05:00

And the snow just keeps piling up:

More to come

2010-01-06T19:18:00.001-05:00

.
After three days of snow we have at least a foot of the stuff on the ground and more on the way. How much more? Well, the 10-day forecast says it will snow for another seven days, but no real prediction of the total accumulation.
.

Just bird counts

2010-01-05T22:06:00.004-05:00

.
This week's bird counts:
4 - Black-capped Chickadee
2 - House Finch
1 - Downy Woodpecker
1 - Dark-eyed Junco
1 - Northern Cardinal
2 - Tufted Titmouse
1 - American Crow
1 - Purple Finch
1 - Hairy Woodpecker
1 - Carolina Wren
.

Hairy Woodpecker

.
.
QUOTE - The difference between reality and fiction is: fiction has to make sense.
.

Tans

2010-01-04T23:14:00.002-05:00

.
A puzzle calendar based on a supposedly ancient Chinese puzzle called Tans (The seven plates of wisdom) which consists of seven geometric pieces, cut from a perfect square, which can be arranged in a virtually infinite variety of shapes. Each day you are given the outline of an object and must fit the pieces into the assigned shape. Only a son could love you enough to torture you this way.
.
.

A new used

2010-01-03T22:02:00.001-05:00

.
Where would I be without the used book market? ($4 for the book and $4 for shipping.) This appears to be just what I have been looking for. Not only does it cover the theory of the subject; it has chapters on the collection, preparation, observation, and analysis of the little critters.
.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T22:12:00.002-05:00

.

.
Most overused word in 2009 - HERO - Our society has developed an insatiable appetite for calling people heroes. Give it a rest!
.
Most underused word in 2009 - DOLLARS - We are increasingly reluctant to call dollars, dollars. We call them bucks or any of a dozen other names but almost never dollars.
.

Blue Moon

2009-12-31T15:19:00.002-05:00

.
If you happen to have clear skies tonight, and look at the Moon, you will see the much talked about Blue Moon. The name only means that it is the second Full Moon in the same calendar month and, no, it won't look blue.
.
.

Birds

2009-12-30T22:18:00.003-05:00

.
This week's bird counts:
2 - House Finch (1m/1f)
2 - Northern Cardinal (1m/1f)
2 - Downy Woodpecker (1m/1f)
2 - Dark-eyed Junco
1 - White-breasted Nuthatch
3 - Black-capped Chickadee
2 - Tufted Titmouse
1 - Carolina Wren
1 - Red-bellied Woodpecker (m)
1 - American Crow
2 - Blue Jay
.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

.
.

Blue Jay

Galilean Thermometer

2009-12-28T15:24:00.003-05:00

.
A Galilean Thermometer is a sealed glass tube filled with liquid (don’t know what kind) and containing five glass globules also filled with an unknown liquid in slightly different amounts. As the temperature drops, the density of the liquids changes and the globules drop to the bottom of the tube. The first one drops at 64 degrees F and the last one at 80 degrees F. As you can see it was less than 64 degrees when this photo was taken, that’s because our furnace went out some time during the night and when we woke it was only 53. Cool.
.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T19:12:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas

15 Species

2009-12-23T12:43:00.003-05:00

.
Unless I am mistaken, this week’s bird count is a record setter in that we sighted fifteen different species at our feeders.

This week’s bird count:
1 - Carolina Wren
2 - American Crow
4 - Black-capped Chickadee
1 - White-breasted Nuthatch
3 - Dark-eyed Junco
1 - Blue Jay
1 - Downy Woodpecker (f)
2 - Northern Cardinal (1m/1f)
2 - Tufted Titmouse
1 - Hairy Woodpecker (f)
6 - House Finch (3m/3f)
1 - Ruby Finch (m)
2 - Mourning Dove
4 - House Sparrow (2m/2f)
1 - Red-bellied Woodpecker
.

Carolina Wren

2009-12-22T14:25:00.002-05:00

.
Today we saw a bird that we have never seen before, a Carolina Wren. Although usually seen in the southeast it is hardly a "rare" sight this far north. I suppose, however, that we could call it unusual. In any event, I suspect that the Cornell Department of Ornithology will like seeing it in this week's report.
.
.

Snow Crows

2009-12-21T14:10:00.001-05:00

.
I still can't get over seeing this many crows in the wintertime, and certainly not around our feeders. You can attribute it to the snowfall making it difficult to find food elsewhere but we've had plenty of snow in the past without an influx of crows.
.
.

Snow Dome

2009-12-19T20:19:00.001-05:00

.
We got about 10 inches of snow today. This photo was taken about halfway through the snowfall.
.
.

Bird Counts

2009-12-16T23:25:00.003-05:00

.
This week's bird count:
2 - Downy Woodpecker (1m/1f)
2 - Black-capped Chickadee
1 - Dark-eyed Junco
1 - White-breasted Nuthatch
1 - Northern Cardinal (m)
1 - House Sparrow (m)
1 - American Crow
2 - Blue Jay
1 - Tufted Titmouse

.

.

.

Eyes and Ice

2009-12-15T22:44:00.003-05:00

.
GOSH - The eyes of an adult Tyrannosaurus Rex were 60 inches (5 ft.) apart.

.. Backyard snow and ice
.

Boom-de-yada

2009-12-14T13:48:00.005-05:00

.
I have become a really big fan of the Discovery Channel’s latest series of commercials advertising some of their programs. The commercials are all built around the song “I Love the Whole World”. For those not familiar with it, here is a link:
.
http://tinyurl.com/yenvpz2
.
It is becoming quite popular to create one’s own version and post it to YouTube. This is my first modest attempt at my own version touting my love of the night sky. Sorry, just the words, no video (yet).
.
I love the night sky
I love the many stars
I love the Earth’s Moon
I love the planet Mars
I love the whole world
And all its nighttime sights
.
Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada
Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada
.
I love the comets
I love the nebulae
I love the Great Spot
I love the galaxy
I love the whole world
There is so much to see
.
Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada
Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada
.
I love my big scope
I love my backyard dome
I love my star maps
I love this astro-poem
I love the whole world
It’s where I want to be
.
Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada
Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada
Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada
Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada
.

Dream Glasses

2009-12-13T14:02:00.000-05:00

.
DREAM – I was just about to cross a street (either Broad or Chestnut) in the Cambria City section of Johnstown when my glasses literally sprang from my face and flew into a dozen pieces before landing in a curbside puddle of water. I retrieved as many pieces (all a copper or brass type metal) as I could; few of them looked like they belonged to a normal pair of glasses. One of the pieces was much like the springy-bar which holds a band to a wrist watch. It appeared that all four (yes, four) lenses were broken.
.

End of the walk

2009-12-11T16:53:00.003-05:00

.
It looks like my daily road-walks have pretty much ended until Spring. I did, however, manage to get a pretty nice photo of a crow taking flight. When in flight, at a distance, they are sometimes mistaken for hawks because of their similar size. Crows, however, cannot soar like a hawk or eagle but must flap their wings at least every three seconds to remain airborne.
..

A New Prince

2009-12-10T14:54:00.003-05:00

.
I am an on-again, off-again, pipe smoker. Right now I am on again. One of my favorite pipe styles is the "Prince", originally designed for Prince Albert in the mid 1800's. This is my latest pipe acquisition; a black and white, long stemmed Prince by Savinelli. Today I began the somewhat tediuous process of breaking it in.
.
.

More snowy pix

2009-12-08T23:42:00.000-05:00

First Real Snow

2009-12-06T17:03:00.000-05:00

We got our first real snow of the season:

Au Naturale

2009-12-03T17:31:00.002-05:00

.
Photographs of birds in their natural surroundings are always so much nicer than those just sitting on a feeder.
.

Leftover Nov. Insects

2009-12-02T14:41:00.000-05:00

Major Holidays

2009-12-01T23:23:00.002-05:00

.
Today was our regular day for garbage pickup but it was postponed until tomorrow. That always happens following a major holiday like Independence Day or Christmas; not, however, following a minor holiday like Flag Day or Columbus Day. This week's major holiday was the First Day of Deer Season.
.

Click the Pic

2009-11-30T14:50:00.003-05:00

.
Ever since I started this Blog I have been bothered by the poor quality of the screen images. I've tried all kinds of sizes, levels of resolution, etc. to make them look more like the originals but to no avail. Silly me, it wasn't until today that I realized that if you just click on the image you get a higher resolution version of it. I wish that you didn't have to leave the screen in order to see the improved image but I guess you can't have everything.
.

Click the pic of the water tower at Prince Gallitzin State Park

Birds & Bark

2009-11-29T19:39:00.001-05:00

.
This week’s bird count:
2 – House Finch (2f)
1 – Downy Woodpecker
1 – American Crow
1 – Tufted Titmouse
3 – Black-capped Chickadee
1 – White-breasted Nuthatch
1 – Dark-eyed Junco

Thanks for the water

2009-11-26T15:20:00.001-05:00

.
The temporary pond is beginning to look like a pond and the brook is babbling again.
.