Blue Skies

Ellie Bogardus - The Commercial Side

2012-02-12T16:38:00.000-08:00

When I received the recent image of another Ellie Bogardus painting that Todd had sent, I wrote to my sister-in-law how the cat resembled one of the paintings my brother and she have.

"See what you think - whether there is similarity between your 1980, and the one on the blog."

She checked, and sure enough, it was from the nineteen-eighties as well.

"This one is really similar to the print on the sweatshirt your mom had. Looks very much 1980's Ellie."

Child's sweatshirt, 1987 - "I Feel So Cuddlie"

"Does Mom still have the sweatshirt? If so, I will need a photograph of it - the commercialization of Ellie."

Dana: "I think she may be wearing it in a photo."

Me: "Do you have a copy? I will check back in my electronic photo album. I[f] you have copy, would you scan it and send it to me?"

About the same time I sent my question, she wrote back: "I just put a picture on your wall. You made me dig through the baby stuff[.]"

She checked her photographs and found a picture with my niece wearing an Ellie sweatshirt. Above is a picture of the sweatshirt dug up from the past - definitely a 1980's style drawing of a cat.

Earlier today I was thinking that I will need to begin creating a social network diagram for the connections between people who are contributing to compilation of Ellie Bogardus artwork being brought together. As for the commercial nature of the cat-on-a-sweatshirt piece, even the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics keeps records on employment by artists in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition - check it out at the link here.

Pop Art is just that, popular art. Back when Ellie was painting, there was no way with our young family we could have afforded her art. The same for my brother and sister-in-law: "...the Ellie I could afford in "87. Didn't think I threw art away. I bet your mom still has hers. I'll look for her picture."

You Just Never Know Who Else Birds

2012-02-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

Grazing on sagebrush

I was in Spokane, Washington two weeks ago for an evening meeting with scientists from our Agency who were attending the Society for Range Management annual conference. While at dinner with my administrator, one of the area directors, and another program leader, the topic of bird hunting came up. As it turned out, my agency's boss knows quite a bit about birds in general, beyond the rules-of-the-road for identifying species and sexes in flight that are required for a duck hunter to successfully hunt. I think the discussion began around talk of raptors - hawks in particular. I asked whether he knew where the annual hawk count is conducted in the East?

"Yes, Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania."

I had remembered reading about Hawk Mountain in the Roger Tory Peterson biography I have just about finished - but not the specific place or the state where it is found. Migratory hawks make their way past it en route back to northern summer habitat.

Peregrine Falcon book

He also mentioned a fellow named Al Nye who was known for raising hawks - this was back when my Administrator was a young fellow. Back at my hotel room later that night, I did a little Web-searching and found a citation about Nye on page 135 in Peregrine Falcon – Stories of the Blue Meanie by Jim Enderson, published in 2005 by University of Texas Press. (click here)

Getting it right. Among the earliest North American falconers to systematically use duck hawks to catch wild gave was Al Nye. His unorthodox technique in the late 1930s was to put the falcon in the sky, then to run through the fields, hoping for some unseen bird to flush to its doom. Nye was a runner, both in the fields and on the football gridiron at Penn.

Other falconers with peregrines began to get it right. After the war, Morley Nelson settled in Boise. His skill on skis with the Tenth Mountain Division in Italy landed him a job measuring alpine snow depth for the Soil Conservation Service. Nelson obtained a female duck hawk named Blackie that made a strong impression on ducks on the numerous ponds around Boise. Nowhere else on the continent did ducks hear, day after day, the harmonic sound of the lightweight bells placed on falcons to help the falconer keep track of his hunter.

Western Sage Grouse

It is interesting how birding not only intersects with hunting, but with range management as well. In a meeting a week later in Portland, I met with a few folks from eastern Oregon to discuss possible ways to restore range habitat quality for Western Sage Grouse and grasses for grazing, by removing invasive western juniper trees and using the biomass to make jet fuel. Whether cattle or bison, grasslands and grazing are tied together, and some folks have looked at how grazers on the range shift different kinds of bird populations (here). The juniper has an avian twist in the story, as the tree encroaches on the sagebrush-dominated rangeland, it provide elevated perch for raptors - the grouse exit as they are more in peril from their predators. All of this makes for imagining how the way things are today, could be changed in the future to look more the way they were in the past. (2)

Falcon breeding hat

As a another side note, I know a fellow from my laboratory back in Oregon who raised falcons as a side business. He occasionally told stories of middle east princes coming to the United States to purchase his product - fascinating. But what was funny was hearing the story about a party he and his wife had once attended where all of the guests were to wear some kind of hat. Doug wore a "hat" used to breed falcons - true, you can read about it here.

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(1) Review shown in Google Books: A superb success as a bird, combining great speed, aeronautical grace, and fearlessness...inhabitant of wild places, inaccessible cliffs, and skyscrapers...worldwide dweller, trans-equatorial migrant, and docile captive—the peregrine falcon stands alone among all others of its kind. Perhaps this is why so many varied people rushed to its aid when it faced decimation by pesticide poisoning. In this personal and highly entertaining memoir, Jim Enderson tells stories of a lifetime spent studying, training, breeding, and simply enjoying peregrine falcons. He recalls how his boyhood interest in raptors grew into an ornithological career in which he became one of the leading experts who helped identity DDT as the cause of the peregrine falcon's sudden and massive decline across the United States. His stories reveal both the dedication that he and fellow researchers brought to the task of studying and restoring the peregrine and the hair-raising adventures that sometimes befell them along the way. Enderson also seamlessly weaves in the biology and natural history of the peregrine, as well as anecdotes about its traditional and widespread use in falconry as an aggressive yet tractable hunter, to offer a broad portrait of this splendid and intriguing falcon.

(2) Purposeful management of the range vegetation for multiple purposes could help restore the habitat for the grouse. Click here.

Sweet Tooth In The Morning

2012-02-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

At the display case

When we spend a night at our oldest son's home on a Friday night, it means a Saturday morning trek to the Donut Cafe to pick out a box for breakfast. Forget the carbohydrates dripping with additional sugar frosting - it is Cream-filled Bismark and Apple Fritter time - my regulars (1). Dan and I go with everyone's orders: Cake Doughnut with Pink Frosting and Sprinkles, Maple Bars, Chocolate Bars, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting - the choices abound, many delicacies. Josiah and Micah know the routine - there are no worries that any will be forgotten. It is a matter of grandparent total indulgence. My son has some syndicated sport talk radio program running - it is a real guys' show - what was the sport drama satire piece that had something to do with a guy named Roethisberger?
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(1) It was a pleasure to find this encouraging article about my favorite pastries.

Back In The Saddle, Again

2012-02-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

U.S. Navy T-45 Goshawk

My wife and I lurk on line keeping track of our son's training schedule. We heard that he had finished a simulator training series, and the schedule for next Monday shows he will be flying again in a T-45 Goshawk - I think in the front seat. Since he is in Texas, and there are still real cattle and cowboys there (my wife also gave him my boots when he moved), I thought about an old Gene Autry song and how it is appropriate for this next stage of training. Country

Gene Autry

music, cowboy boots, and flying and riding the range go together. One of these day he may be propelled by renewable JP-5 or JP-8, probably not in his trainer (just recently tested in a T-45), but a good chance in whatever platform he ends up being assigned. We got unofficial word that a proposal will be funded that looks at oil seeds grown on the range for use in making jet fuel. Those two may go together as well in the future. I've written about these before (here, here, and here), its a small contribution to the Navy's efforts on my part.

My family heritage is tied to riding horses, cattle, and boots - but in California, not Texas. For Christmas, my daughter, recently retired from her job to become a full-time-at-home-mom, is into home industry, crafts, and other notions. A gift tee-shirt she stenciled for

The Last Roundup

her husband had a simple message: Eat Animals - They Taste Good. Between the two text lines, were characterizations of a cow, chicken, and hog. I smiled. Being raised on a ranch, we ate meat from the freezer, rode horses, punched doggies. I didn't particularly like working the livestock - it seemed that fences were breached and calves needed to be pulled on holidays, weekends, and always during times in the worst weather. These were the reasons I went into plant science rather than animal husbandry - along with the fact that plants don't kick, bite, poop, urinate, or make you smell bad after being around them - particularly hogs. But even with those life decisions, I think a well-prepared animal tastes good, too. So when my folks made the decision to sell off their cattle herd in preparation for retirement, I was glad to have my three sons help with the last roundup. They had causally ridden once-in-a-while on the ranch, but they were raised as city kids. My dad was a bit emotional seeing the young fellows on horses, helping bring the cattle down out of the hills for the last time. As for the youngest cowboy that day, he may have boots, but now rides in a saddle that slips through the air, on a horse that kisses the sky.

College Towns Mirror One Another

2012-02-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

Mickey's Gyros Restaurant

I was in three college towns in the past two weeks - Moscow, Idaho, Pullman, Washington, and Corvallis, Oregon - four if you count my home in Annapolis. A commonality of the first three is that there are funky kinds of specialty restaurants in each that are different, but the same. When I had lunch in Moscow early the week before last, my hosts recommended we ate at Mikey's Gyros. The place is a through-back cafe to the 60's and 70's that time hasn't touched - or human hands to bring into the 21st Century. It is an out-of-the-way place that I have no idea how to get to, but requires entry through a

Mickey's Avacado Gyro

door on a secondary street near a parking lot that once you enter, you are required to walk through a hall that passes by a tie dye clothing and bead boutique. All of this is in the middle of the Palouse country where lots of soft white wheat is grown, and home to near-mythical giant earth worms and cowboys and lumber jacks. Inside, the walls were hand-painted with various interpretive murals - not a place with a strong west coast art influence, but retro in many ways. I ate an avacado gyro along with the soup of the day - sweet corn chowder - both were good (shown in the picture at the right). A place that is worth a second visit.

Titled Drawing - Another Ellie Bogardus

2012-02-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Todd for contacting me and furnishing another example of Ellie Bogardus' art. I wonder if our or your grandparent's paths crossed sometime with those of me or my family during the last 30 years.

Protective and Curiosity, 1980

I received another Ellie Bogardus original "in the mail." A fellow named Todd had come across my blog and wrote that Ellie had given his grandparents this painting - Protective and Curiosity. The bottom left of the painting has a personal inscription the grandparents, "To Bill & Teen From Ellie." Todd's father wrote him that his parents had been to Ellie's house several times with his great uncle Ward "Toot" Fulcher, who was a personal friend of Bogardus. Each year when Bill and Teen vacationed, they would drop by with Toot for a visit with Ellie. This 1980 piece reminds me of the ones that my brother and sister-in-law have framed and hanging on the wall inside their front door entryway.

Early Birds - Next Generation Birders

2012-01-30T18:59:00.000-08:00

Micah's birds

Micah, my middle grandson, showed some interest this past December in one of the bird guides I brought to Oregon for the holiday. He studied a number of the photographs, carefully looking through the pages. When we did our California summer road trip, he had taken note during our walks of my checking out different birds we saw along the beach and in a nearby estuary. He also has interest in drawing (often using a drawing pad), so I wasn't all that surprised this past Saturday when he had our daughter-in-law text us one of his drawings - a sketch of a couple of birds. I smiled - there may be a little bit of a birder in him I thought, a connection with my interest. I will see all the little ones this weekend when I get to western Oregon, so have brought two pocketbook guides with me if more than one of them chooses to go birding with me.

Record Mogul - Does This Man Look Like One

2012-01-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

Antanu Biswas

Today I met with another agency scientist who is doing a one-month detail in Office of the USDA Chief Scientist as a part of his leadership training program. He came to my office to talk details about information he needed for a report he is preparing. After we finished our business, our discussion moved to random personal topics, one of which led to finding out he is a recording mogul - of a sort. As it turns out, he is head of Biswas Records - Home of Digital Bengali Music and Indian Classical Music - a musical equivalent of Bollywood. Who would have know, by day, a research chemist in the Illinois heartland working for salary and benefits, by night, the producer of fine classical music from India ...the second largest producer of Bengali CDs in the world. His achievements make my birding a very tame past-time.

The Biswas label

I remember Nonsuch Records, and how I would once-in-a-while order what seemed to be some off-the-wall music album from China, India, pan flute music, something from eastern Europe. As I wrote this posting, I was surprised to find that not only does Nonsuch Records still exist, there are many notable artists who are signed to that label. That too seems like a longs ways from the eclectic selections I used to order from Publishers Central Bureau mail order discounts. Samples of the listings on Biswas Records are generously available for listening.

Old Man

2012-01-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

My wife is great about keeping family traditions alive. One tradition is breakfast-in-bed, especially with a cup of coffee - a Swedish childhood custom that Jan has kept for our family as well. Even our kids got a

Baked eggs, English muffins, fruit & yogurt

small cup with their breakfasts (each had a small cup of their own - a tradition from both sides of our families), and now they are doing the same for our grandchildren - even the coffee as well.(1) Her birthday this past November was the second without any of our children around - I have followed suit. With our kids' ages ranging from nearly 24 to 31, we are getting a sense of what our folks are experiencing with their children in their late-50's and early-60's. She still brought me my coffee, but for practical sake, we ate our breakfast instead at our dining table where we could watch the birds come and go from the backyard feeder. The baked egg dish is a favorite recipe from the Sand Lake Country Inn on the Oregon coast - a bed and breakfast we enjoyed many times. We added up the years, and have been celebrating birthdays together for 41 years. She is adept at making it all work together: thematic cards and gifts, breakfast, homemade dinner.

I remember the line from the first Indiana Jones movie: "It's not the years, [honey,] it's the mileage." That seems an appropriate way for sizing up time. I think it was about when we turned 50 that even though we still thought of ourselves as young, it seemed the situations we would run into were Grown Up Problems. When I woke up this morning, for some reason I thought of the Neil Young song Old Man. With the wonder of laptop computers, and YouTube, instant blast from the past at the finger tips. Click here to hear the song from a 1971 performance, and then here, for a rendition sung by an old-man-version of Neil Young 40 years later. A recent relief effort by the co-founder of Farm Aid can be viewed by clicking here.
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(1) We hear that our grand daughter Cambria, four years old, wants coffee each morning, so her mom gives a milk with a dash of coffee from the pot.

Letters From France - More About Artist Ellie Bogardus

2012-01-14T18:14:00.000-08:00

Late this last year, I was fortunate to connect with nice folks in France who knew Ellie Bogardus. As I wrote earlier, I was on a quest to find copies of her art work. As it turned out, by using her name in my blog, I ended up getting copies of her work and more when I heard from people in Los Angeles and France who knew her or were friends of others who did, and the rest is art history. I have compiled my emails with the Bonnard family in France - these give some more glimpses of details about the artist.

J.M. Bonnard Drawing - Coast House on Nottingham Drive (demolished)

(Received some time in November) Hi Jeff, I received your messages on the site of my sister Justine. I am very pleased that there are new pictures of Ellie in your blog. I had a job that I was delayed, but in the days come, I will send you the pictures. Paintings of 1964-1967(?). Your drawings are nice, and I am happy to see the house Ellie in 1995. I also send you pictures of the house, in years 60's. I hope you are well, too. See you soon, Mathias PS: My blog will soon be translated into English. I would be happy that you can read it.

Friday, November 25, 2011 11:00:46 AM Please help, again. Justine, I must have deleted my earlier emails with Mathius, so don't have his current email address. Would you please send it to me again? Also, I found a couple of sketches I made (I am not an artist) 25 years ago of Ellie's house at the ocean in Cambria. The first is a perspective of the front of the house facing the road away from the ocean. The second is a very rough drawing of the characters on the south-facing exterior wall. From my sketch, it looks like that part of the house had a flat roof, so Ellie's exterior "canvas" was a rectangle. My wife knows where our box of miscellaneous slides are that may have images of the house. Those were the pre-digital days, so I didn't take many frivolous shots back then. My apologies to you and Mathius for being so slow to dig into the archives - my work schedule has be very hectic, but I am in a four-day holiday, so am making this a priority. Jeff

26/11/11 00:41 Re: Please help, again. Justine, Please also pass on the attached photograph that was taken in 1995. This is Ellie's house. I dug through boxes of old photographs, and was only able to find this one. Notice the mailbox in front of the house is built to look like a cat. Also, earlier this wee I received a message from a woman in Los Angeles, who happens to be an animation instructor at the University of Southern California, and she and her husband have just acquired a collection of Ellie's paintings. You can view the paintings at my blog: http://blueskiesinannapolis.blogspot.com/2011/11/ellie-bogardus-hotel-california.html Please let Mathius know I look forward to hearing from him. Thanks for your help. Jeff

Dec 12/04/11 1:34 PM Hi Jeff! Sorry for my late answer, I'm not often on this email. My official address is jbonnard@wanadoo.fr That of Mathias is mbonnard2@wanadoo.fr I sent your two messages to Mathias. And I want to thank you for your article on my work. Glad you like it :))) I love your sketches and the photography of the house of Ellie. I am touched to see this house. It is identical to my memory. This trip to California marked me for life. I loved this place. And I'm sad it was destroyed. And glad to see all these Elli's paintings. It's very interesting because the paintings we have are very different. They don't date from the same period. Have a good day! Justine

Le 4 déc. 2011 à 19:57: Justine, I just sent you the images of the paintings and the photograph of Ellie's house to your other email. Thanks for your reply. Jeff

Dec 12/04/11 1:02 PM I had good reception! The colors of the paintings ellie, painted in the 1970s, are more free than the paintings of the 1960s. See you soon, and soon, Mathias! PS: For your blog, I would look.

Dec 12/04/11 2:16 PM Great!! Thank you :) There is a resemblance to Matisse in his paintings. I think. I hope that Mathias will send you soon pictures of paintings we have. See you soon. Justine

Dec 12/04/11 10:57 AM Hi Jeff, I received your messages on the site of my sister Justine. I am very pleased that there are new pictures of Ellie in your blog. I had a job that I was delayed, but in the days come, I will send you the pictures. Paintings of 1964-1967(?). Your drawings are nice, and I am happy to see the house Ellie in 1995. I also send you pictures of the house, in years 60's. I hope you are well, too. See you soon, Mathias. PS: My blog will soon be translated into English. I would be happy that you can read it.

Le 4 déc. 11 à 18:47, jeff_steiner@comcast.net a écrit: Mathius, I hope all of the images I sent got through to you. There were 12 paintings, and one photograph of the house from 1985. Let me know if you want any other images that appear on my blog. Jeff

Dec 12/10/11 5:01 PM Hi Jeff ! Finally, the pictures of Ellie Bogardus, and my Father. Hi Jeff! Here are pictures of Ellie Bogardus: There are 09 pictures of Ellie. The paintings were made between 1964 and 1967. The paintings are dated 1967, because

J.M. Bonnard - Self Portrait

Ellie had come to France in 1990 or 1991. The paintings were not signed before his trip to France. There are 06 paintings by Jean-Marie Bonnard (Father). Paintings made at the same time. There are 01 painting by FRED PENNEY. A Portrait of My Father. A painter and neighbor of Ellie and my Father in Cambria in the sixties. I hope you are well. You can put them on your BLOG, no problem! See you soon, Mathias. PS: I also send pictures of Ellie's house in the 60's. In my Father's house there are other pictures of Ellie, but they are not hanging on the walls. These paintings are in attics. I photograph them too. (If you have a problem with the names of the JPEG files or the ZIP files, tell me. I could not use my usual email. If you have problems, use "mbonnard2@wanadoo.fr")

Sunday, December 11, 2011 4:56:50 AM Hi, Jeff ! Yesterday, I sent you an address "hotmail" paints pictures of Ellie. I hope you have received. With this address "Wanadoo" my message is not starting. If you have not received anything, tell me! See you soon, Mathias.

Dec 12/11/11 11:22 AM I'm glad you received everything! The URL address of my blog is: http://onethirteenmoneytime.blogspot.com/ If you have any questions, no problem! See you soon, Mathias PS: Yes, Ellie's paintings of the 70's are inspired by Matisse.

Le 11 déc. 11 à 13:00 Mathias, Also, what is the url for your blog? I found it a week ago, but have not found it again. Thanks, Jeff

Le 11 déc. 11 à 19:43, jeff_steiner@comcast.net a écrit : Thanks again, Mathias. Another question, Ellie is not your and Justine's mother, correct? I have been assuming she is not. I will look forward to the additional images. Jeff

Dec 12/11/11 1:50 PM No, Ellie was not our mother. Ellie has not had children. Soon, Mathias

Portrait

Dec 12/12/11 4:56 AM My father is alive. He's born in 1936. He has a blog, where he designed on computer. But it doesn't paint a lot. His blog: http://www.vagabon-art.com/ He painted especially during his marriage to Ellie and when he was a student at the Beaux Arts (Fine Art school) in Nancy. He did not paint much. But he painted at the moment. I told him of course talked about our exchanges. He likes to interact with others and have very great and good Remember California. If you want more information on him? I'll see today. He will see your blog! See you, Mathias PS : I put your blog in my "BLOG + +" from my blog. I hope you have visits to France on your blog : - )

Dec 12/14/11 5:18 AM Hi Jeff, I've never been to Budapest. In agriculture, are there any exchanges between the United States and France? I know that France is in Europe, the country where there is more agriculture and most of European subsidies. As soon as I find the pictures of Ellie's house in the 60's, I send them to you. See you soon, Mathias

(I deleted the original messages, December) Oh, and I have not been to France. My only work trip in Europe was to Budapest - perhaps Ireland for work early in 2012. J.

(I deleted the original messages, December) Thanks for the additional information - I enjoy learning more, and will look at your father's blog. Jeff

12/21/11 11:50 AM Dear Jean-Marie, Thank you for your reply and the additional details. I have enjoyed learning about your art, and that of Mathias and Justine - your family is quite talented. I am 57 and married for 35 years, have grown four children: 31, 29, 27, and 23. My parents (in their late 80's) still regularly use their house in Cambria, but live in Visalia - they will continue to enjoy the coast until my father can no longer drive. Their Cambria house is just a couple of blocks walk from the house you lived in. I work for the USDA Agricultural Research Service, and have been in administration for the past six years in the Washington, D.C. area. As you can probably see, I blog around a few regular themes - mostly birds and some about the military experiences - one of my sons served in the U.S. Army for four year, and the youngest is training as a pilot in the Navy - I did not serve in the military, so this has been an adjustment for my wife and me. I write my blog for my grandchildren - for when they want to know more about what their grandfather thought about when they are older, and I am ancient. Take care, thanks again, and I hope you have a good Christmas. Jeff

Bonnard greeting card

Jan 01/03/12 4:46 PM Dear Jeff and family, First of all we wish you one very happy New Year. 2012 is one year for us electoral, I send you as to all my friends my wishes card, (it
also works for the United States) I enclose a drawing of the house of Aunt Ellie that I made in 1999 during our last visit to Cambria. Encore bonne année et bonne santé et grosses bises à vous tous! Mathias, Justine, Yolande & Jean marie Bonnard

Jan 01/07/12 9:11 AM Mathius, Thank you and all the best to you and your family in the New Year. I appreciate connecting with new friends in France. Jeff
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Addendum: My sister-in-law was raised in Cambria. She has interest in the recent Bogardus discoveries.

Sunday, December 11, 2011, 1:54 PM Here are the rest of Ellie's.

Dec 12/12/11 11:07 AM Thanks, Jeff. I only wish the guy in Los Angeles was as good a photographer as Bonnard. I wouldn't mind having better quality photos of that collection. I remember when I was at Ellie's once, she was working on a painting called Pink Lady or Pink Ladies. A wordplay on the subjects wearing pink and drinking Pink Ladies. There was, of course, a cat or cats relaxing while the ladies enjoyed their cocktails. I like her later paintings because they remind me of Matisse. I once read in a comparison of Matisse and Picasso that Matisse could paint joy. I think Elllie could too. Wishing you and Jan a joyous Christmas if I don't hear from you before then or even if I do. Love, Dana

Dec 12/12/11 11:25 AM I see Gertrude Stein's Cat as Mona Lisa with Cat. Mirror images across centuries.

Irish Birding - Deis nua is féidir

2011-12-31T14:06:00.000-08:00

Dempsey and O'Clery

It took a risk today, that a work invitation to Ireland will follow in the New Year. The risk - order a copy of The Complete Guide to Ireland's Birds by Eric Dempsey and Michael O'Clery. It turned out when Google'ing the title, the price of the book was $20 (U.S.) less at Barnes and Noble, than at Amazon. I was impressed by the extensive viewing feature for the book at the Google Books - unlike the typical limited access to illustrations when looking at books at Amazon. The senior author has a very nice personal Website that will need some exploration. I have only flown over the British Isles, so this will be a new experience is the details pan out. As always, there is no way for me to verify the accuracy of the on-line translator - the intent was, "an new Irish bird watching opportunity." Another book I looked over a few months ago is: A Guide to Irish Birds by Christopher Moriarty. I learned of the book by going through a sales flier from Buteo Books. The book was cited in Google Books, but not in any detail - likely because of its vintage. A listing of other publications by Moriarty are available. On my Amazon Wish List since 5 July 2010 has been a collection of Irish poetry - I'll wait until the formal invitation comes before ordering this book. (1)
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An Irish-English dictionary is found by clicking here.

(1) After I received email confirmation of my order from B&N, I looked up the secondary book source and found I could have ordered it directly from them for another $10 less than at Amazon. Super Book Deals is on my book mark list from now on - why give B&N a hidden middle-person handling fee. There are an impressive number of birding field guides available at Super Book Deals.

Oregon Waterfowl at the Waterfalls

2011-12-25T07:13:00.000-08:00

My son-in-law wanted to show me the new constructed wetland that the City of Albany had built to cool the temperatures of waters discharged from the municipal sewage treatment plant, as well as discharge from a near-by industrial park. The Albany-Millersburg

Mallard, American Coot, American Widgeon

Oregon Talking Water Gardens is not officially open until spring, but the trails are complete and there were a great range aquatic birds taking advantage of the warmer than ambient temperature wetlands: Bufflehead, Harlequin Ducks, Mallard, American Coot, and American Widgeon - a Great Blue Heron flew by when we first arrived. The

Golden-crowned Sparrow

purpose for the garden is to reduce the discharge water temperature before it runs into the Willamette River. Also, around the upper ponds, there are lots of upland birds including Golden-crowned Sparrow, Marsh Wren, and White-breasted Sparrow. Also, in the brush there was a yellow feathered bird, but I couldn't get a clear picture of it as I stalked, and it kept moving ahead of me, hiding in the tall grass - likely, it was a Yellow Warbler. In the wooded area along Cox Creek near the bridge on Waverly Drive leading into the parking area, I spotted a Red-breasted Sapsucker working the trunk of a large tree, and Scrub Jay high up in its canopy.

I searched on line for an identification guide and came across the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Ducks at a Distance Water Identification Guide that has a nice interface that is easy to access, though identification is a bit difficult since the drawings are a bit hard to distinguish apart. The National Geographic Backyard Bird Identifier Website is still an excellent resource, particularly for upland birds when trying to distinguish among similar looking species - the "More" [whatever kind of bird you are looking at] feature is very handy to use, allowing for quick comparisons of similar appearing birds.

Bufflehead and Harlequin Ducks

American Widgeon

American Coot

Putative Yellow Warbler

First Bluebird

2011-12-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

We are back home in western Oregon for Christmas - seeing our kids and grandchildren, going to enjoy ten days here going between Corvallis, Albany, and Salem. On the way back to Salem from Corvallis

Western Bluebird in late-afternoon

this late afternoon, I stopped by Jackson-Fraizer Wetland just north of town for a fast walk around the board walk to try out my new 55-300 mm zoom lens. Just as I was driving up to the parking area, a flash of blue across the bow of my daughter's Camry - my first Western Bluebird. I stopped, got my camera out of its case, changed to new lens, backed up the car, rolled down the window......and the result. No special composition, just a document for the record. There were not all that many birds out and about, and it was getting colder by the minute as the sun was going down, but I took note of:

Western Bluebird
Scrub Jay
Red-winged Blackbird
Dark-eyed [Oregon] Junco

and some sort of sparrow - the check-off list of winter sparrows include: Fox Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow. I don't know which of these, the little critter flew out from the grass beneath the board walk through the wetland. The raptors are abundant along the freeway and highways - Red-tailed Hawk and other large ones, along with smaller ones that I have now clue about their identification.

Here are some random photographs from around the wetland this afternoon:

Winter Red Berries

Teasel

Tree Beard

Board Walk

Wet

The sighting of the Western Bluebird reminded me of the Buffalo Springfield song by the same name that was popular way back in 1968 or '69. The link above to the song is from a 2010 concert - not back in the 60's - the band members are now all in their mid-to-later 60's themselves.

Bluebird

Listen to my bluebird laugh.
She can't tell you why.
Deep within her heart, you see,
She knows only crying.
Just crying.
There she sits, a lofty perch.
Strangest color blue.
Flying is forgotten now.
Thinks only of you.
Just you.
So, get all those blues,
Must be a thousand hues.
And each just differently used.
You just know.
You sit there mesmerized
By the depth of her eyes
That you can't categorize.
She got soul.
She got soul.
She got soul.
She got soul!
Do you think she knows you?
Do you think at all?
Soon she's going to fly away.
Sadness is her own.
Reverse of a bath of tears
And go home, and go home.

Gift Idea For Grandchildren

2011-12-17T14:19:00.000-08:00

Crayola Window Crayons

We picked up some bubble wrap at Office Depot today - last minute decision to not pack wrapped gifts in our luggage when heading cross-country for the holidays. While walking the isles, we noticed in the Crayola section: Window Crayons. Immediately I thought about how the back passenger windows in our old Grand Caravan were plastered with children stickers, many of which still remained when we dropped our car off at the wrecking yard when the fourth transmission began to go out (1). I also thought about other Crayola products that would be a big hit with grand kids: Crayons for Walls, or Carpet Crayons, or Drapery Crayons, or Decorate Your Pet Crayons....the applications could go on and on. I am sure I could think of many more gift ideas, and the good news is, the on-line Crayola Store is advertising there are still four more days to shop and have delivery before Christmas.
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(1) We have bought Toyota cars ever since.

A Look Back in Time

2011-12-15T17:54:00.000-08:00

Catesby Special Collection at NAL

I had a meeting at the USDA Abraham Lincoln National Agricultural Library this past Tuesday, and while waiting for the elevator, noticed the collection of wildlife prints displayed on the wall. When I came back down from my meeting, I took a couple of quick photographs. As it turned out, the collection on display are prints by Mark Catesby from the eighteenth century

Rare and Special Collections opened an exhibit on Mark Catesby in 2000 on the first floor of the library. English born, Catesby (1682-1749) was the first naturalist to document North American plants and animals. His life's work, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, published 1731-1748, contains 220 etched plates as well as detailed descriptions of flora and fauna. It is considered one of the great achievements of 18th century science and art. This exhibit features 14 images by Catesby.

More information about Catesby can be found by clicking here, here, and here. Examples of his art can be viewed by clicking here. Looking over there reference (and others), it brought back thoughts of a book I read this time two years ago about David Douglas, the plant explorer after whom the Pacific Northwest's Douglas Fir is named. Our son's friend who is now a Marine Second Lieutenant is from the Big Island where Douglas died. I don't know anything about Catesby other than the short biography I posted above. As for reading, he may be an interesting person to delve into deeper - just as I am now reading about Roger Tory Peterson, and on my wish list, another naturalist and illustrator, Louis Agassiz Fuertes.

Ellie Bogardus - The Lost Generation

2011-12-11T15:57:00.000-08:00

1920's in Paris

Following on the theme from Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris (1) with American artists mixed in with Europeans, a cohort of creativeness, a kind of 1920's Rat Pack - this posting shows some of Ellie Bogardus paintings from 1964 and 1967 that are owned by Jean-Marie Bonnard, Ellie's husband from the 1960's. Bonnard's son Mathias, also an artist, sent these yesterday after taking photographs of them at his father's house in France. There may be more works in the Bonnard attic, but these along with the ones posted earlier from the Allyn Morris Family collection show some familiar elements in Bogardus' later style. Some of those features clearly evolve in the later years as I remember seeing in a couple of paintings in Cambria galleries twenty years ago, other elements don't seem related at all, and are more in line with the abstractions of Jean-Marie. The titles of the works below are imagined.


1964, Côte d'Azur

1967, Українська матрьошка

1967, Beach Bicycle at High Tide

1967, Discussions at the Salon

1967, Gertrude Stein's Cat

1967, A Nap at Sunset

1967, Sunset Behind the House

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(1) I haven't seen that many other Woody Allen movies, not even enough to count on one hand: Sleeper, Bananas, and Annie Hall - I don't remember Coleen Dewhurst in Annie Hall, but do remember her as Marilla in Anne of Green Gables - however, there was some line in AH about speaking crustacean while preparing a meal in a kitchen.

Ellie Bogardus' Midnight in Paris

2011-12-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

Bonnard by Fred Penney

My blog acquaintance Mathias, the illustrator whose father Jean-Marie Bonnard was married to Ellie Borgardus, sent a treasure trove of images painted by Ellie and his father from the period 1964 to 1967. The two were living in the house on Nottingham Drive in Cambria at the time. Among the images sent were three of the elder Bonnard. The first is a portrait by Fred Penney (Frederick Doyle Penney, 1900-1988), another Cambria artist and neighbor (1). Ellie Bogardus was using the name Bonnard as late as 1969 when A Boy Named Charlie Brown was released - she was credited as a graphic designer.

Jean-Marie by Ellie, 1967

A portrait by Ellie of her husband (shown to the right) was signed in 1990 or 1991 during a trip to France - her paintings from the 1960's were not signed at that time (2). Beards were obviously stylish then, perhaps a sign of membership among the artist colony at the time. The thought of a gathering of artists reminded me of Midnight in Paris, the latest Woody Allen movie that depicted a nostalgic author and other characters longing for eras gone by. Paris was a magnet for Americans artists from the later 1800's to 1920's - Allen plays with that theme in his movie. With a little imagination, it seems that there is a little bit of that feeling with these folks in Cambria as well - artists from both sides of the Atlantic tuning their instruments along the Pacific coast - another kind of Mediterranean environment like that of southern France.

Cat and Jean-Marie

The third image of Bonnard shows what looks like will be the beginnings of Ellie's later domestic interiors style, showing a scene with Bonnard sitting at a small table reading - drink in his hand, and most noticeable, a cat resting on another table nearby. Cats in paintings, cats etched on walls, cat-styled mailboxes, real cats roaming between the house and yard - a most common theme when you look back. I recall few if any cats in the Charlie Brown cartoon features. The mood of Bonnard is hard to gauge - maybe only concentration as he reads.

Other than an art appreciation class I took my freshman or sophomore year in college, having my own photographic darkroom set up in my bathroom the last three years living at home before going off to college, and taking an adult education class where I dabbled at oil painting for a short time in 1986, I have admired the art of others, not tried to produce any myself. Style doesn't matter for the most part (unlike music), it's the visual that gets me thinking about the story behind the story, so the posting of these will be by an untrained curator.

Following are a collection of paintings by Jean-Marie Bonnard that Mathias provided. I need to find out if Bonnard is still active with his art. (I have since found out from Mathias that J.M. is alive and was born in 1936. He was a student at the Beaux Arts (Fine Art school) in Nancy, but did not paint much - but painted while married to Ellie. His blog can be found by clicking here. Note his self-portrait sketch in the upper left of his blog - still with a beard.)

Jean-Marie Bonnard #1, c. 1964-67

Jean-Marie Bonnard #2, c. 1964-67

Jean-Marie Bonnard #3, c. 1964-67

Jean-Marie Bonnard #4, c. 1964-67

Jean-Marie Bonnard #5, c. 1964-67

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(1) Frederick Doyle Penney was born in Fullerton, Nebraska on January 10, 1900. After the University of Nebraska, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and Art Students League in New York City. Settling in Los Angeles in 1924, he continued at Chouinard Art School under Hinkle, Chamberlin, and Pruett Carter. During the 1930s he was active in the Los Angeles art scene while operating a design center. At the onset of World War Two he moved to Chicago to work in his father's factory and continued to paint in that area until his return to California in 1957. His last 30 years were spent in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs. He died there on February 2, 1988. Penney specialized in desert landscapes in oil and watercolor. A Chicago art critic said of his work, "He slides the seasons of the year through his palette like strands of colored silk." Member: Desert Art Center (Palm Springs); Laguna Beach Art Ass'n; California Watercolor Society; Shadow Mountain Palette Club. Exhibited: California Art Club, 1930-33; California Watercolor Society, 1930-35; California Statewide (Santa Cruz), 1931; Golden Gate International Exposition, 1939; Society for Sanity in Art, 1940, 1942.

(2) Mathias Bonnard, personal communication by email, December 10, 2011.

Another D.C. Memorial - National Japanese American Memorial

2011-12-09T19:12:00.000-08:00

Names of the fallen

A month or so ago, I was walking from the Metro stop at Union Station north of the Capitol, to a meeting a few streets over to the west when I walked by the National Japanese American Memorial on Louisiana Avenue NW. I had briefly noticed the name and location of the memorial on the Google Map I printed off in my office earlier in the day, but that was enough for me turn around and walk back for a look as I walked by on the way to my meeting. I had no idea that this was war memorial - another to service in World War II, only remembering those Japanese Americans who gave their lives. The stone placards with the names of the fallen has some resemblance to those at the Vietnam Memorial, only these are mostly all Japanese names, many of whom their families worried and then mourned for them from behind barbed wire.

Senator Daniel Inouye, April 2010

Last year I made four trips to Hawaii that involved scoping out and then initiating a new research project on Maui. The work is in cooperation with the Navy, and the first meeting was on Ford Island near Honolulu - at Pearl Harbor. During the third trip there were speeches commemorating the launch of
the effort, with remarks made by Senator Inouye. It was back in 2007 while watching one of the episodes of The War on PBS, that I learned the senator had been wounded in Italy while serving in the 442 Regimental Combat Team. As the narrative progressed, and the actions he took were described, I thought to myself, "this is the kind of stuff that Congressional Metals of Honor are awarded." It was, but presented 55 years after his heroic actions - prejudices take a long time to overcome.

A familiar California place

This past Wednesday was the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The All Things Considered news program I listen to on the drive home from work ran an interview with the Senator recapping his memories that Sunday morning in 1941. What struck me the most was the way he graciously transitioned from telling how he first learned while serving in the Army in Mississippi that Japanese Americans were being held in "concentration" camps, to saying what makes the United States different from other countries is that we admit when we are wrong and make restitution.

442 Regiment

The names and places and words on the stone placards were what held my attention the few minutes I spent at the memorial - I didn't even notice the Golden Cranes sculpture that towers over the plaza - it wasn't until I looked up the street name where the memorial is located on Google Maps again tonight that I realized it was there - I hadn't even seen it. When I first walked by the engraved names at the Vietnam Memorial in 1982, the Hispanic names stood out as I walked down the paved walkway and the names piled higher and higher above me - the gravity of the losses visually comprehended. In this place, the Japanese names stand out together - uniform, as uniform as the military attire they wore as they fought and died for freedom - abroad and at home. Looking up the 442's service patch, it also struck me that Liberty's torch was the symbol of their regiment - unconditional service given, regardless of the wrongs received.

Night Winter Moon - Almost

2011-12-09T17:36:00.000-08:00

Almost a winter moon - 12/09/2011

On the way out the door for dinner, the moon was rising through the trees that just a few weeks ago still had some leaves. I had to turn around and turn off the alarm so I could get my camera to take this shot - no tripod, steadied on the door jam, being sure the moon flare on the lens was centered on the white disc. When the moon is full, and the tide high, the City Dock area in downtown Annapolis always floods. The tide mustn't be high tonight - no sign of water flooding the low-lying streets that rest just above water level as it is under a full moon, this twelfth day before the start of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

A few mornings ago, I was late getting going after having a video conference call with research partners in China the night before. But since I was still around the house as the bird activity picked up after

White-throated Sparrow - First winter

sunrise time, it was nice to see White-throated Sparrow Wednesday morning - picking around on the ground looking for a few seeds that had not already be pecked out of their shells. The morning was dark because of the clouds and rain, but colors on the sparrows seemed to stand out because their feathers were wet. The white spot on the throat and the yellow-colored lores. Like the moon peaking through the barren tree branches, this sparrow was making its way around the bare twigs on the crepe myrtle whose round berry-like seed pods are all that is left of summer. Those pods will be picked apart next summer when the northern migration begins again.

Prime Bear Sandwich - Not Really

2011-12-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

The Bear Dance

In a restaurant near our home - Adam's Rib East in Eastport - we noticed tonight for the first time a print of a painting by William Holbrook Beard. Beard was born in Painesville, Ohio, and studied abroad. In 1861, he moved to New York City. His humorous treatment of bears, cats, dogs, horses and monkeys, generally with some human occupation and expression, and usually satirical, gave him a great vogue at one time, and his pictures were

The Primer Sandwich

largely reproduced. The print on the wall above booth near the table where we ate showed a large gathering of bears in the woods, many dancing together and carrying on much like people would do at a party. I was able to quickly look up the painting on my Blackberry, but Jan wouldn't let me take a shot of the print above the booth, even though the folks sitting there had paid their bill and left right before us. I could have pretended that the half-inch-thick slab of medium cooked prime rib on my sandwich was bear rather than beef, but who would want to do that that when the beasts are anthropomorphized so well in the scene captured by the bear-loving Beard.

15 Minutes of FAME - FSRL

2011-12-03T06:51:00.000-08:00

A project I have been working on for more than a year came to an untypical conclusion this past week - an official ceremonial hand-off in front of a crowd. The event wasn't a calculated and showy production

The FSRL Tool

intended to send stock prices through the ceiling, like a Steve-Jobs-new-Apple-product-roll-out at a technology showcase. It was just a simple signal that a work was completed, a commitment fulfilled, and its time to move on with the next steps that are needed over a long haul towards a commercial era for aviation biofuels.

Below is a report from the Aviation Week periodical about the product that was sent by one of the co-developers on the team. The purple color represents Fuel Readiness Level (FRL) by way of the color of the jerseys worn by fuel technicians on aircraft carriers. The green represents the Feedstock Readiness Level (FSRL) and the natural origin of biomass from farms and forests. This is the kind of stuff that is a long ways from the farm.
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FAA-Led CAAFI Moves To Measure Readiness Of Biofuel Feedstocks
Aviation Daily Dec 02, 2011, p. 11
Graham Warwick
The FAA-led Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) has unveiled a tool designed to help bridge the gap between feedstock providers and fuel producers as it strives to develop a supply chain for sustainable aviation biofuels.

Feedstocks from farms

Developed for CAAFI by the U.S. Agriculture Dept. (USDA) and modeled on NASA-pioneered technology readiness levels (TRL), the new feedstock readiness tool “will allow biorefiners to make quicker, easier assessments of feedstock opportunities,” says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak, addressing the CAAFI general meeting yesterday in Washington. The tool will enable industry “to look at where potential biomass sources are and what steps are needed to get them to the biorefineries,” he says.

The new feedstock readiness level (FSRL) is a companion to CAAFI’s established fuel readiness level (FRL) tool, which indicates where a specific process for producing an alternative jet fuel is on its development path. FSRL is an effort to bring some order to “the craziness of how many feedstocks are out there,” says Jeffrey Steiner of the USDA Research Service. “It’s a tool to bridge [the gap] between farmers and biorefiners.”

As with TRLs and FRLs, the FSRL tool ranks feedstock readiness on levels from 1 to 9, from concept to commercial-scale deployment. Levels 1-4 cover preliminary evaluation and small-scale experimental testing. These levels “precede any large-scale investment in growing millions of acres,” says Steiner. Levels 5 and 6 cover validation of the alternative-fuel production system, while 7-9 involve the final stages of commercial deployment.

Where green fuels will come from

Assessing feedstock readiness is more complex than technology or fuel readiness levels, as each level includes production, market and policy components plus a linkage to the readiness of the technology needed to convert a specific feedstock to jet fuel. “Farmers are used to growing crops for which there is a market already out there,” Steiner says. “But they can’t count on growing a crop and having someone come buy it and turn it into jet fuel. There is a close linkage.”

Efforts are now under way within CAAFI to extend the concept of fuel and feedstock readiness levels to encompass the work required to ensure that the sustainability of aviation biofuels complies with regulatory frameworks for renewable fuels.

Manholes to Murals - Ellie Bogardus Wall Landscape Cover

2011-11-27T19:51:00.000-08:00

Reconstructed wall mural

I spent about eight hours today tracing characters from the manhole covers that appeared similar to the sketches made of the wall mural on the south facing exterior wall of Ellie Bogardus' house on Nottingham Drive in Cambria, California. Then using the sketch made in 1985, an interpretation of the wall mural was created. The landscape was reconstructed from the faux-titled painting, Oakhurst Renaissance Fair / Dana's Favorite. A lot of liberty was taken with the vegetation - only the tree trucks were shown in the original sketch.

Manhole #1

This photograph is the manhole cover and skirt just north of the two-house complex that was occupied by Ellie Borgardus and her mother. This is the most-north manhole that has sketches made by Bogardus into the concrete skirts. This and the next photograph were taken during Spring Break in 2006.

Manhole #2

Here is the second manhole, the one closest to the original Borgardus house. In the background is the new house being constructed over the footprint of the house that Ellie lived in. A third manhole is found south of this one, that also has sketches in the skirt. I didn't take photographs of those images - the quality of the sketches have degraded because of traffic wear.

Manhole skirt and other characters

The figures to the left are tracings done from the manhole cover skirts on Nottingham Drive in front of the former two-house complex that was owned by Ellie Bogardus. All of the tracings were made by pasting the photo images of the skirts into PowerPoint and then using the Drawing menu Curve Tool and sketching around the character images (all except figures d and e). Figures d and e were interpretations of the 1985 sketch book renditions of the artist's house exterior wall mural. Below is the key to where the images can be found.
a. Manhole #1
b. Manhole #1
c. Manhole #1
d. South facing wall, from sketch
e. South facing wall, from sketch
f. Manhole #2
g. Manhole #1
h. Manhole #1

The Artist's House - Ellie Bogardus

2011-11-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

Today I dug through boxes of photographs that are kept down in my wife's basement studio - decades of memories archived in pretty good order. Jan has labeled many of the envelopes, so it was first a matter of getting some sort of bearings about the scope of the effort, and then

5275 Nottingham Drive, c. 1995

going back through each of the boxes filled with the photo envelopes trying to as rapidly as possible locate batches that may turn up the one(s) I am looking for. Vacation coastal scenes were a sure give-away that I was in the right ballpark - good times at San Simeon Beach building sand castles and watching the kids boogey board; climbing on the cliffs and rocks along the shore near my folks' house; looking at tidal pools; an occasional seascape snapshot; and even one photograph of me - skinny with a beard drawing on my sketch pad, with the photograph dated January 1985 - verifying the period of the earlier sketch. Lots of looking, but nothing like what I hoped to find - close-up details of the gate and garden planting in front of the fence - the house was more memories than Kodak moments, and nothing more.

Park Hill neighborhood

Finally a packet from 1995, and there it was - one picture of Ellie's house. I have sent copies off to France and California - commitments fulfilled. The house is now gone, sold in December 2003 and replaced by a new version that sits on the foot print of the original - real estate changes hands. My brother and sister-in-law gave my folks a framed copy of a postcard showing the seascape from Lancaster Drive looking down the hill towards Nottingham Drive and the state park in front of the cliff

Gill, another artist

below. The image from the postcard looked showed the area looking like a rural delivery area and not at all what the built up development on Park Hill is today. The houses and the neighbors we have known over the past 30 years have changed, different than those early sketches and few old photographs. In that postcard, the house back then across the street from my folks' was different than the cottage that was first there when we began to visit each year - it now replaced by a modern home. We said goodbye to that owner this past July when we visited, Gill (also an artist) is moving on, as well.

Ellie Bogardus - Hotel California

2011-11-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

In an earlier blog I mentioned a neighbor of my parents' in Cambria, but more notably, Ellie Bogardus was an illustrator from the production crew of Charlie Brown cartoons and cartoons in the early days of television. She also was an artist known around the small

5275 Nottingham Drive, c. 1985

coastal community, and after posting an update about her work, I heard from a gentleman in France who is the son of Ellie's husband in the 1960's. Following that post, earlier in the week I received a message from an instructor at the University of Southern California (my attitude towards that institution had already mellowed over the past six years since moving to the east coast - much different from my earlier college days) who along with her husband have the good fortune of just this week acquiring an entire collection of Ellie Bogardus' original paintings from family friends who were obviously serious collectors of Ellie's paintings. If I thought the drawings my brother and sister-in-law have were great, these canvases are spectacular - a bonanza.

More than a month ago, I wrote my new friend in France that I would look for photographs of the Cambria house, and with grateful receipt of the cell phone images received earlier this week from southern California, and another request for more information about Ellie - well... I was able to locate two sketches I drew of Ellie's house about 25

Wall landscape, non-artistic rendition

years ago. I am leaving myself quite vulnerable to criticism by displaying these because by no stretch of anyone's imagination am I an artist, and the two inquiries about Ellie come from accomplished artists in their own right. The first sketch is a perspective of the front of the house facing the road away from the ocean. The second is a very rough drawing on the south-facing exterior wall of the house showing a larger landscape scene that nicely ties together the characters from the manhole cover skirts out in the street - the drawings on the wall and the manhole covers together complete the habitat. From my sketch, it looks like that part of the house had a flat roof, so Ellie's exterior "canvas" was a rectangle. The canvas for this blog now runs in a triangle, from Annapolis, to France, back over the U.S to southern California, and to the east coast, again.

A quest continues. In the meantime, below is the first public showing of Ellie Borgardus original paintings from the Allyn Morris Family collection. They are as my mind remembers seeing ones like them, decades ago at the Seago Gallery and the gallery that is now a pizzeria on Main Street. I will need to find out whether the paintings have a title written on the backs of the canvases. The artist's signature dates them in the late 1970's - an imagined interpreted title is provided for each, like earlier aerial Iowa landscapes.
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[Getting ready for] A Night on the Town / Girl's Reflection Over a Bathtub

Mademoiselle Justine's Visit

An Early Dinner / Pantry scene #7, from the When Away Shopping in the Village series

Oakhurst Renaissance Fair / Dana's Favorite

Berte Morisot Reclining

Renoir's Augustine / Portrait in the Parlor

Cat's Evil Intent / Pantry Scene #23, from the Away Shopping in the Village series

The Artist's Mother / Panel #18, from the Cottage Next Door series

Seashore Picnic at Fiscalini Ranch

Mountain House Time Capsule / Treasure in an Attic

Rousseau's World / From A Day at the Los Angeles Aboretum series

Moody Watching and Waiting / Story in Your Eyes

What They Will Do For A Meal

2011-11-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

Song Sparrow

Autumn has hit, and the warm weather is gone. The leaf change in eastern Maryland has already reached its peak, but there a many trees that still have a ways to go before their barren limbs line all of the highways. We have had as any as six or seven Gray Squirrels in our yard at a time. A few weeks ago, there were four male Northern Cardinals at one time around the area near the seed feeder - I have never seen more than one at a time before. Waves of Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmouse come and go, picking one seed at a time. The Dark-eyed Juncos have arrived, as well as Song Sparrows, House Sparrows, Northern Blue Jays, Carolina Wren, and House Finch. I sure there is at least one more sparrow species, but I have to figure out what it is.

Squirrel self-suspended

I haven't been doing a good job of keeping the seed feeder full. Squirrels have gnawed at the plastic dikes that hold back the seeds - allowing the birds to pick them away, and then gravity should replaces the level of the seeds for the next bird. With the small barriers below the opening gone, with the right jiggle, the seeds flow freely until a natural bridge is built on its own that keeps the reserve in check. The rope that holds the suet feeder has given out, and that feeder lies empty on the ground. A squirrel probably climbed onto the feeder to taste the concoctions of either peanut butter of blueberries imbedded in the fat. The dexterity of the squirrels is shown in the photograph to the right - amazing how these little critters can do what they do - the value of opposing toes. Just as man's brain sets him apart from other animals, the squirrel's opposing big toe sets it apart from man.

Last Saturday, an extended morning that turned into a lazy day, a Downy Woodpecker was sampling the seeds in the finch feeder in the back yard. I was making a cup of coffee when Jan, looking through the open blinds over the window, spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker in our ornamental cherry in the front yard. She didn't know what kind of woodpecker it it was, but was impressed by its size and the large red hood patch on the back of its head. It didn't make sense to her the name "red-bellied" when there was no sign of one.

Also adding to the list of birds in the back yard, there have been at least six Mourning Doves at one time working the spilled seed covering the ground, along with the squirrels. The food web maintained - each with its own role to play.

My Day Job - Evenings, And Some Weekends, Too

2011-11-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

For a long time, my family would tell folks who asked what I do, "Oh, he works with seeds." It was for quite a while after I had moved onto other research areas that everyone caught on that I hadn't worked with seeds for a long time - career paths change. A little over two years ago, I was asked to work for the office of an appointee in the Department of Agriculture - my task, provide technical advice for developing biofuels policy. The first comments made by the person interviewing me were: "How would you like to have a career change?"

I attend a meeting or give a presentation to various groups about every week or two about some aspect of agriculture and aviation biofuels. I was asked earlier this year to write an article for an on-line magazine, and it just appeared this past week. For me, being in agriculture and

Inspecting JP-8 Jet Fuel

having a work-connection to the military is satisfying since we have one son who served in the Army, and a second who is training to be a naval aviator. Because of that connection, when I was sitting on a panel at a conference several months ago waiting my turn to speak, I came up with a thought that became a part of my opening remarks. With a picture of a Navy Aviation Boatswain’s Mate inspecting a sample of jet fuel up on the screen (1), I commented: "There is a commonality between agriculture and the military that I hadn't thought of before. For both, less than two percent of the U.S. population are involved in production agriculture and are in active military service." The rest of the panel members, an Air Force and an Army Lt. Colonel, a couple of civilian Defense Department employees, and an aviation trade association lawyer involved in biofuel testing, procurement, and advocacy nodded - recognizing the disconnect of these two sectors from the rest of the much broader population as a whole. That thought ended up becoming a part of the introduction to my article - the result of knowing how disconnected agriculture is from the general population in a largely industrialized nation, and being a dad of two kids connected to the service - a military family greatly disconnected from most families in the U.S. as well. I don't know if I would have drawn that link between the number of people who defend our country and grow our food - if not being connected to both - that fact would have likely been overlooked - remained unconnected otherwise.

An editorial in yesterday's Washington Post written by a veteran discussed his dealing with what he perceived as that disconnect between those who serve in the military, and the wider population that doesn't - how he processed through a simple thing like strangers saying, "Thanks for your service." It is worth reading and thinking about. Another Post article looks at the same idea from an outsider's perspective - the disconnected. For more information describing differences in well-being of active service and veterans, see the link here.
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(1) An interesting fact is the color-coding of the uniforms worn on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Those with jobs dealing with fuels were purple - thus are referred to as grapes. More about this is found by clicking here. My aviator-in-training son mentioned "grapes" to me while we were visiting the USS Lexington while visiting Corpus Christi a couple of months ago.

Argentina/Uruguay 2011 Bird List - To Be Determined

2011-11-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

I came across my composite of bird photographs from my last trip to Argentina and Uruguay that haven't been identified - there are 26 of them. The images are nothing artistic, just utilitarian for remembering what I saw. My trip was a month earlier this year than last, and the richness and diversity of birds was far less in the countryside outside of Colonia, Uruguay. If anyone who can help me identify these, I would welcome the help. I haven't had time to crack open my two bird identification manuals to figure them out - one of these days.

Here is the listing of birds seen in the vicinity of Buenos Aires and Tucuman City, Argentina, and Colonia, Uruguay:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
m.
n.
o.
p.
q.
r.
s.
t.
u.
v.
w.
x. Red-crested Cardinal
y.
z.

Autumn Farmers Market - Western Maryland

2011-10-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

Roadside farmer's produce stand

Driving from Deep Creek Lake to Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, we passed a roadside farmer's produce stand. On our return, we stopped for a look. The variety of squash and gourds were great, but it was the trailer of chrysanthemums the first caught our eyes on the outward leg of our day trip. The colors of the market stand complemented those of the leaves on the trees that we saw around western Maryland. The four-day-weekend weather was
perfect - we couldn't have timed it any better. The tree-covered

Assorted autumn harvest

mountains were spectacular - tinged in yellow, gold, bronze, red, but still a slight touch of green - the autumn colors were at their peak once we got to Garrett County - before that, the change was just beginning. The leaves on the rows of corn were tan, with the stalks holding ears waiting to be harvested. The soybeans were the same, the rows of pods along the stems easy to see because the leaves had already been shed - maybe an earlier frost in the weeks before. The corn, soybeans, and alfalfa were planted in alternating blocks across the slopes of the hills to keep the soil from washing away under the seasonal rains. Our drive back was leisurely, compared to the anxious ride to Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania

Carmel Cove Inn

near the Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece - we would have missed the turn if we wouldn't have stopped at a corner gas station and market for coffee and a pit stop. We discovered the morning light makes for perfect sightseeing of the autumn tree colors - our return trip was not as spectacular in the late afternoon. It was funny how we kept watching for the produce stand, and as it turned out, it was only a few miles from McHenry on the lake where we began that morning. A quick stop, photographs, looking around, and we were off again - our last evening in eastern Maryland where the state boundaries are tucked in between West Virginia and Pennsylvania - tucked in like we would be in our bed back at our B&B that night - the Carmel Cove Inn.

One Flew Over The Parrot's Nest

2011-10-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

Parrots in flight - free on their own

There is something surreal when birding in a wildlife preserve that holds specimens of native wildlife in cages while the birds fly freely overhead. These two pictures of Leopardus geoffroyi - a Geoffroy's Cat - capture the life-behind-bars of this native cat to lower South America. My hosts were kind to provide me the opportunity to see wildlife native to Argentina, while at the same time, I could view many native birds as well - free of the confines of the cages below them. For me, it was great to see entire flocks of parrots fly through the preserve - what motivated them to flock, I don't know.
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Leopardus geoffroyi is primarily nocturnal, but has been seen hunting at dawn and dusk. It likes water, and is an avid swimmer. Secretive and solitary, it spends much of its time in the trees. These cats have been known to sleep and mate in the trees. They are quite agile, and have even been known to walk on the underside of a branch. Males and

Leopardus geoffroyi

females do not interact much, other than to mate. Females home ranges are about 2.5 square km. Males territories may be as much as three times the size of females. Female ranges may overlap each other, as well as males ranges. Although male ranges may overlap the females ranges, they do not overlap other males. They have a density of about 1.2 individuals per ten square km. Most people are not scared of this small cat, but should be, because it is very aggressive, and has never been truly domesticated. Geoffroy's Cat is probably the most common wild cat in South America. It is about the size of a domestic cat. Its fur has black spots, but the background color varies from region to region; in the north, a brownish yellow coat is most common. Farther south, its coat are grayish. Melanism is quite common both in the wild and in captivity.

Geoffroy's Cat primarily preys on rodents, small lizards, insects, and occasionally frogs and fish; it is at the top of the food chain. Although it appears to be plentiful, some conservationists are concerned because Geoffroy's Cat is hunted extensively for its pelt. Geoffroy's Cat weighs

Geoffroy's Cat

only about 4-8 pounds and has a long tail and long legs. There have been attempts to breed this cat with domestic cats, but with very little success. Pregnant females appear to take extra care in choosing where they give birth to their kittens. Geoffroy's Cat kittens develop very quickly and at about 6 weeks they are fully mobile. The species inhabits the Andes, Pampas (scrubby forest parts), and Gran Chaco landscape. This cat is named after the 19th century French zoologist Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire who identified it as a different species when he studied his work as a professor of zoology in Paris, France. (1)
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(1) Taken from the Website http://www.carnivoraforum.com/index.cgi?board=feline&action=print&thread=913

Montpelier - Over the Shoulder

2011-10-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

Our latest trip to Montpelier - the third in twelve months - the place seemed familiar but still new. With each visit, the progress with restoration of the mansion's interiors is noticeable - the wall

Map of grounds at Montpelier

coverings are almost complete, more and more original pieces of Madison furniture have been acquired, so the historic narrative continues to expand. I didn't see it, but there is also the Grills Gallery that contains various artifacts of the Madison era on the estate. Jan and her sister Nancy came across it while Jim and I were wandering the grounds after the tour of the mansion. I guess this means there will have to be a fourth trip soon so I can see the displays. Also, with having a little familiarity with the layout of the estate, I have begun to know what I want to visit again, and am beginning to look for specific scenes and settings - both looking ahead, and over my shoulder.

Madison Temple view

The Temple is tucked away behind trees to the northwest of the Mansion. The Temple has lofty history as a place for meditation about the way to structure our government, but beneath it was the utilitarian purpose as an ice house beneath.

The library windown

Once having walked out across the lawn towards the Temple, looking back framed by the trees is a view of the house - the lighted northwest corner window being the library where Madison drafted our constitution: the Constitution of the United States.

Reminder of our relative smallness

Walking out the back of the house before passing through the garden gate, a quick look back at the mansion that is not as cleanly presented as the from the front. The life-size statue (1) of the Madison's is dwarfed by the house and landscape.

Lazy lion guard

One of a pair of lions that guard the steps leading from the upper garden near the entrance along the formal brick path lined by boxwood hedges down into the heart of the grounds that are encircled by a large brick wall and the surrounding woods. Northern Mockingbirds fly their swooping flight paths with the white patches on the tops of their wings displayed like the insignias on Spitfire fighter planes. Various hardscape are placed throughout, with many beds that are maintained and which catch your eyes' attention.

A look back at the garden exit

What seem like great walls from inside the garden - on the outside are dwarfed by the woods that are grounded in the hills founded on the earth. Two worlds: one formal, the other natural. The path leading away becomes less consequential the further we walk.

Woods on the hill

As we walked further from the garden on the path, the surrounding grounds seemed even more tranquil late in the day - we hadn't arrive until after 3:00 PM Sunday afternoon, but that added to the scale of the place in the Virginia countryside.

Timeless landscape

Montpelier is a wonderful place to visit, more than once - the setting untouched by time. Maybe that is what those who chose this site meant to do when they looked at the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west - without looking back over their shoulders.

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James and Dolley Madison

(1) The statue of the Madison's behind their mansion. Regardless of their size in perspective to the Virginia landscape around them, both were giants as Statesman/President and First Lady of our country. I was struck by their great contribution during the first visit to Montpelier last year. The tree beside them, the garden gate in the distance behind - this photograph was taken last spring, the second trip to Montpelier in the last twelve months.

Ellie Bogardus - French Connection

2011-10-15T06:01:00.000-07:00

I received a reply from Mathias Bonnard to an earlier blog: Ellie Bogardus - Exterior/Interior Art. He happened onto the blog and wrote that his father and Ellie were married sixty years ago and lived in France in a cottage on the ocean. (2) The elder Bonnard was a

Voici SAM, la petite souris des dents...

draftsman and artist, and also worked in Los Angeles with Ellie on the "Peanuts, Charlie Brown and Snoopy cartoon in 60's." The French artistic connection runs deep - Mathias wrote that he lives in Nancy and is a draftsman for cartoons, video games, and comic books. He offered to send me more information about Ellie and images of paintings his father has - that would help add to the scant background that I have as mentioned in an even earlier blog - but his email address didn't work. In doing some searching on the Web to find a way to reply to Mathias, I found a blog of fanciful illustrations and animations by Justine Bonnard. Mathias was credited as the Directeur Artistique for the Mimik Chirerik blog. I assume Justine is his daughter - a third generation of cartoon illustrators. (1) The search continues.
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(1) I have since found out that Justine is Mathias' sister - regardless, cartoon artistry runs in that family. (October 17, 2011 AM)

(2) Mathias wrote to me today, and sent the corrections in the comment to this blog. Ellie and his father were married in the 1960's and lived in the house in Cambria (not at the ocean in France). (October 17, 2011 PM)

Old Dog - Old Tricks

2011-10-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

Moyer - at 49 years old

It can be common-place for pitchers - throw, injure, recover, throw, injure, recover.... Jamie Moyer is up to his old tricks. My favorite pitcher of all time - on his quest for another comeback.

Jamie Moyer Starts Big League Comeback

Former Philadelphia Phillies star Jamie Moyer is in Clearwater attempting to the near-impossible: return to the big league at the age of 49 after surgery.

Moyer had Tommy John surgery in December to repair ligament damage. He is not under contract to the Phillies but Moyer is working with the Phillies and their team doctors, with Ruben Amaro’s permission, to rehab.

Moyer’s goal is to make it to spring training and make the 25-man roster of a major league team. "We're providing him our space in Clearwater and our expertise," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told MLB.com.

Moyer grew up in Sellersville, Pa., and went to St. Joseph’s before starting a 24-season career in the majors.

If Moyer does come back, he would be the second-oldest pitcher in major league history to pitch on a regular basis.

myfoxphilly.com
Published : Wednesday, 31 Aug 2011, 1:41 PM EDT

A Little Piece Of Georgia

2011-09-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

While escorting a visiting delegation from China around biomass research sites in south Geogia, at one of our stops the butterfly shown below appeared. A quick look this evening at the Butterflies and Moths of North America Website gave me a positive identification - Gulf Frittillary. There was a small patch of flowers it was working over, surrounded by bermudagrass. Our guests didn't notice the small piece of Georgia Coastal Plains fauna - they were looking a fields of flora - Miscanthus grass grown from rhizomes that were planted the year before. Not too far into the future, this grass could be turned into biofuels, grown in fields twelve time zones apart.

Gulf Fritillary
Agraulis vanillae (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Heliconiinae
Identification: Upperside bright orange with black markings; 3 black-encircled white dots on forewing leading edge. Underside brown; forewing with orange at base; both wings with elongated, iridescent silver spots.
Wing Span: 2 1/2 - 3 3/4 inches (6.3 - 9.5 cm).
Life History: Males patrol for females, who lay eggs on many parts of the host plant. Caterpillars feed on most parts of the host. Adults overwinter in the south.
Flight: Throughout the year in south Florida and South Texas, January-November in the north. Number of broods has not been determined.

Caterpillar Hosts: Various species of passion-vine including maypops (Passiflora incarnata) and running pop (P. foetida).

Adult Food: Nectar from lantana, shepherd's needle, cordias, composites, and other flowers.

Habitat: Pastures, open fields, second-growth subtropical forest and edges, city gardens.

Range: South America north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to the southern United States. Wanders north to the central United States; rare northward.

Big Bird - Yellow Bird

2011-09-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

Big Bird - Origins

A news headline in the Washington Post that didn't go unnoticed was yesterday would have been the 75th birthday of Jim Henson - creator of the Muppets. Most noticeable among birders is Big Bird. From the bright coloration of his plumage, Big Bird must ingest great amounts of carotenoid pigments - though I am not really sure what he eats - it has been a long time since I watched Sesame Street with our young kids. A lesser know fact about Henson is that his father was an agronomist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture - a predecessor in the agency I work for and of the same profession. Jim Henson is supposed to have worked as a student at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center where his father was stationed later in his career. Even today, birds are not only of interest to those related to agriculturalist, but also to those in the field.

Autumn Color Changes - Goldfinches

2011-09-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

Goldfinches & lone Chickadee

I have been away from home most of the past three weeks - Argentina one week; Texas the next; and Georgia this past one. Before heading to Georgia, I had Friday and Saturday nights at home, so a day to watch the back yard. The leaves were starting to show a faint bit of color change three weeks ago, but when returning from South America, the most noticeable affect was the American Goldfinch - many were taking on the winter brown coloration - one or two males still shined their bright yellow feathers, but the brown shading was more prevalent. The finches took to their seed feeder once I had cleaned out the caked seeds that had be swamped by all of the heavy rain storms - four, sometimes five at a time were perched on the screened perimeter. One male was particularly territorial - keeping all other comers at bay. He would chirp and dart at the intruder - chasing him away, and then return to his feeding spot. Once that male was finished and had flown away, others would later have their feast. A lone Black-capped Chickadee kept trying to get a foothold among the finches - lighting on the hanging flower basket nearby or on the cable supporting the hanging feeder - but to no avail. A journal article I came across described the male Goldfinches with the brightest yellow feathers as being the most dominant - the yellow color being the result of eating lots of carotenoid pigment from seeds in their diet. The brightest yellow males are the most dominant. Maybe the lateness of the coloring is also a sign of dominance - a signal to lesser avians to slow down while approaching, like at a busy intersection before the light turns red.

Drive-by Birding - Corpus Christ Style

2011-09-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

We spent five days in the Corpus Christi, Texas area, and one day to and between Kingsville. There was relatively little time to stop and pick out the different kinds of birds, other than driving back and forth on the Highway 358 that cuts across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway as I

Long-billed Curlew - silhouette

looked out the Mustang GT passenger window while my son drove - when he flies, he is propelled by JP-8 on static wings much heavier than the air, not ones that flap and which are supported by hollow bones. I recognized some of the aquatic birds like Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, and Great Egret - even at a glance - but many of the rest I had to make quick snapshot imprints in my mind, and then go back to my bird guide to try and identify. Kind of like the silhouette shapes that Roger Tory Peterson became famous for in one of his early editions bird identification guides. The other kinds of silhouettes are are occasional ship passing this side of the horizon, and the tall oil platforms that stood against the sky.

Padre Island National Seashore

One eventing after dinner, we drove out to Padre Island National Seashore and parked at the first viewing trail just inside the gate. We took the branch to the left on the asphalt trail - walking with the
wind and sun in our faces. A small lizard scooted across the path and waited on the small bank on the left of the trail - looking back over the shoulder, watching for my next move. The sparse grassland appeared to have more wildlife abundance than sky - pretty depauperate of birds other than some kind of swallow, and those in

Texas Spotted Whiptail Lizard

the distance - a few hundred yards beyond the path - darting towards the ground and rising again - quickly with the breeze to their tails, momentarily paused when they turned into wind. In the far distance, a small flock of pelicans trailed one another - reminders that there is more water than land within a few mile radius of where we were. Perched on a tall grass stem was possibly an Eastern Kingbird or juvenile Fork-tailed Flycatcher - whatever it was (likely the flycatcher), it was hard to identify for sure because of the distortion when enlarging the photograph - but had a dark tail and upper body and crown, with a white throat and breast. There were also Spotted Ground Squirrel, Jackrabbit, and one White-tailed Deer - some sort of burrowing animal also left mounds along the edge of the paved trail.

Black-necked Stilt (above)

A couple of days later, my son and wife showed great patience and humored me by taking the ramps off of 358 so I could take some pictures of the birds along the shore for later identification. My favorite among the birds I saw that needed later identification was the Black-necked Stilt - never had heard of this species before. The other species identified were: Herring Gull, Little Egret, Neotropic Cormorant, Long-billed Curlew, Short-billed Dowitcher (pictured below the Stilt in the picture to the right), Lesser Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Stilt Sandpiper, Redhead Duck,... (more to be identified).

On the drive from Corpus Christi International Airport back to San Antonio, the sky was full of dark clouds that turned to large billowy

Flycatcher or Kingbird

ones and remained that way after the night and early-morning rains - the first precipitation in a long time. The scenery changed from cotton stubble left after the fields had been harvested, to a scrub woodland and eventually an oak woodland. The most abundant bird for the first hour of driving on Interstate 37 from the airport towards San Antonio was the Tree Swallow (though there may have been some Northern Rough-winged ones as well). There seemed to one or two darting every 20 seconds of driving 70 miles per hour. The most interesting sighting was a single Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and then a group of three - the three heading for an oak tree off to the right side of the freeway. A single Crested Caracara was also spotted. Back on San Padre Island, the most common inland birds were Long-tailed and Great-tailed Grackles and Mourning Doves - an occasional Turkey Vulture was seen.

I was surprised when I did a little bit of background reading before our trip by the diversity of birds in the region. It seems like the kind of place one could hang around in for some time, and not be surprised to see another new bird each day.
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For lists of the nature found on Padre Island National Seashore, click on the following links: reptiles, birds, mammals, and plants.

Augustine Told Me About: Olrog

2011-09-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

When we arrived for our meetings at the Obispo Colombres research center in Tucumán City, our hosts told us that at the end of the day our group would visit a wildlife preserve near the city - Daniel and Jorge had remembered my interest in birds during my last visit and had

Rufous Hornero on its nest

followed through with a promise from 11 months before that if I were to visit again, they would see to it that I have an opportunity to see the birds. It was during the visit to the center the year before that I was introduced to my first Hornero (Oven Bird) and its mud nest in a tree that was pointed out to me by my host. The first night in Buenos Aires this trip I picked up a copy of Guia de Campo Collins' Aves de Sudamerica at a bookstore near the restaurant where I ate Sunday evening. The paper back complements the weighs-like-a-brick Field Guide to the Songbirds of South America, The Passerines by Tidgely and Tudor that I brought along in my luggage - last and this trip. Aves de Sudamerica with the subtitle No Passerifores Desde nandues a carpinteros (Google Translator doesn't help with this one) covers the rest of the birds not found in Tidgely and Tudor. Regardless of the preparations I made to be ready to catch glimpses of new birds and then the hope of identifying them later when back in my hotel room, it turned out that one of the young scientists at the center is an avid wildlife enthusiast and so was my guide as we walked about.

Augustine rattled off the names of each bird that appeared on the grounds of the research center as well as at the refuge. But just as with wider discussions in the meetings throughout the week, and the descriptions in my new field guide, the new information wasn't all that accessible because everything is in Spanish - a translation required. I find that in many of the places I visit, the folks there know my language far better than I know theirs' - I often apologize at the beginning of my presentations - through the interpreter of course. While we walked about the refuge, Augustine mentioned a helpful field guide for birds in the region, and I had him write down the title. He said that all of the illustrations of birds were drawing (I presumed rather than photographs), but then, that is the way most field guides are published. When I was back at my hotel room, I looked on line for the book by its author - Olrog. As it turned out, a famous ornithologist in the Spanish-speaking world - a Roger Tory Peterson in his own right (click here, and then click on the "listen" pronunciation icon).
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Swedish ornithologist Claes Christian Olrog (1912-1985) emigrated to Argentina. He can be defined as a pioneer of tropical ornithology. His formal career began at biological universities in Uppsala and Stockholm (1935-1945). As a youth he joined the Museum of Natural History in Stockholm and conducted expeditions in Scandinavia,

Claes Christian Olrog

Lapland, the Danube Delta in Iceland, and Greenland. During his doctoral thesis in Stockholm, he began gaining he knowledge of South America during a second expedition to Tierra del Fuego (1939-1941). Between 1946-1947, he conducted ornithological expeditions to central and northern Paraguay, the land of the ox-cart and train. In 1948 he accepted an academic position at the Instituto Miguel Lillo and Universidad Nacional de Tucumán in northwestern Argentina. There he began his long ornithology career for the entire South American continent. Throughout his life he maintained an active association with individuals and institutions outside of South America, and contributed to many international conferences and congresses.

His field research program activities were carried out under difficult conditions, including wildlife areas not well known in Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil. He devoted much energy, even in the last years of his life, encouraging students to field work.

He published over 100 articles and books in six languages, in general biology, morphology, biogeography, ecology, and systematics of birds, mammals and reptiles.

His first 1959 field guide Las Aves Argentinas was for many years the only paperback identification guide on the continent. Like many of his works, this book was one of many efforts produced under limited resources conditions so paid for out of his own pocket. His 1984 New Guide was published by the National Parks Administration of Argentina.

Other notable works are the list of species of Aves Argentinas (1963, 1979) and A Guide to Mammals of Argentina (1981).

He left the unfinished manuscript for the book of birds of Bolivia, South America, and a 2-volume work on the birds of the continent.

He described numerous species and subspecies. (1) New species have been named after him including the Olrog's Four-eyed Opossum (Philander olrogi), Olrog's Gull (Larus atlanticus), and Olrog's Chaco Mouse (Andalgalomys olrogi).
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(1) Translated with Google Translator from the Wikipedia biography in Spanish of Claes Christian Olrog.

Music On The Street - By The Wall

2011-09-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

The band Aqualactica

This is my second trip to Argentina in the last 11 months. A business colleague and I have walked and walked around the streets in the area around our hotel - the Etoile Recoleta - this morning, afternoon, and early evening after dinner. While eating at Clark's Restaurant a-block-and-a-corner around from our hotel, a string band called Aqualactica played across the street in front of the wall surrounding the Recoleta Cemetery. A small crowd had gathered and was listening as we walked by. The band's music was soothing-to-the-ear as sitting with my feet up in my room was later this evening after lots of walking today following an eight-hour flight from JFK Airport in New York City to Buenos Aires last night. Thirty Argentine pesos - about $7.00 U.S. was a pretty good deal and an easy way to support the local arts. (1)
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(1) Kind of like U2 with stage names like Bono and Edge- Aqualactica has one band member nicknamed Gato - the cat.

Look What Hit The Windshield

2011-09-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

Tim was making his dash out the front door, ready to make a run up to BWI Airport to pick up a friend. When he did, a Bush Katydid (Scudderia sp. Order Orthoptera / Family Tettigoniidae / Genus Scudderia Stål, 1873) changed places with him.

Bush Katydid

Jan didn't think well of it.

"Where is it?"

"Right there on the floor," Tim replied.

"Where?!"

"There."

I picked it up, and then it flew over by the love seat in the living room, and landed on the floor under the coffee table. It was strange the way it looked as it flew.

"Where is it?"

"There on the floor," Jan replied this time.

"Bye." Tim went back out the door, laughing.

I picked it up again, and held it in the cup of my right hand while I juggled with my camera to change to the 55 mm lens. Jan helped, and I put the bright green insect down on the bench in front of the window.

Tron Light Sailer

It climbed around on my glasses as I took a few shots. I only guessed whether I was using the correct focus sensor as a rattled off several more shots. With that done, I picked it up a last time and gave it a toss out into the dark that was only lit by the 60 watt bulb outside our front door. I immediately went into flight mode, and as it sailed away, it looked kind of like the Tron Light Sailer - appearing to float effortlessly, slowly across the front of the house and out of sight. I wished I had my camera to capture it again - image only.
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I remembered, or so I thought, that there was a Steely Dan album titled Katydid, or something like that. I quick look on the Web and I saw that it was Katy Lied...so much for that working along with the big green insect I identified by Google'ing "big green insect," and described above. Interestingly, when I saw the cover of the album, it turned out to be a Katydid. The Wikipedia narrative describing the one of the songs mentioning the use a couple of times of themes around Katy:

The album cover features a picture of a katydid, a "singing" (stridulating) insect related to crickets and grasshoppers. This is most likely a pun on the album's title; the "singing" of a katydid sounds as though they're saying "Katy did, Katy didn't" although a lyric in the song "Doctor Wu" mentions "Katy tried, I was halfway crucified", and "Katy lies, you can see it in her eyes," which could very well be what the album's title refers to.

I wonder how it came about that a katydid singing inspired Walter Becker and Donald Fagan to write a simile about a "big green bug."

In Honor Of This Night

2011-08-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

The famous line (1) used by Snoopy, the beagle character in the Charles Schultz Peanuts comic strip seems appropriate for a night like this: as the sky darkens, the rains become heavier, and the hurricane approaches....

It Was A Dark And Stormy Night
by Snoopy

The Author at Work

Part I

It was a dark and stormy night.

Suddenly, a shot rang out!

A door slammed. The maid screamed.

Suddenly, a pirate ship appeared on the horizon!

While millions of people were starving, the king lived
in luxury.

Meanwhile, on a small farm in Kansas, a boy was
growing up.

Part II

A light snow was falling, and the little girl with the tattered shawl had not sold a violet all day.

At that very moment, a young intern at City Hospital was
making an important discovery.

The mysterious patient in Room 213 had finally awakened.

She moaned softly.

Could it be that she was the sister of the boy in Kansas
who loved the girl with the tattered shawl who was the
daughter of the maid who had escaped from the pirates?

The intern frowned.

"Stampede!" the foreman shouted, and forty thousand head
of cattle thundered down on the tiny camp.

The two men rolled on the ground grappling beneath the murderous hooves.

A left and a right. A left. Another left and right. An
uppercut to the jaw.

The fight was over. And so the ranch
was saved.

The young intern sat by himself in one corner of the
coffee shop. he had learned about medicine, but more
importantly, he had learned something about life.

THE END
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(1) The first 'dark and stormy night' was conjured up by the English Victorian novelist, playwright and politician who rejoiced in the name of Sir Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. It has become synonymous with the Victorian melodramatic style, of which Bulwer-Lytton's many works provide numerous examples. This style has long been out of fashion and considered kitsch and risible. So much so that, since 1982, an annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has been sponsored by the English Department of San José State University, California. Contestants are required "to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels".

Bulwer-Lytton's own florid pre-contest attempt, in his novel Paul Clifford, 1830, began:

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents - except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

Hurricane Irene Preparedness - We Really Didn't Know What We Were Doing But Did It

2011-08-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Irene from space - NASA photograph

All of our preparations before Hurricane Irene were finished this morning as the morning rains began. All of the patio furniture is secure (stacked or turned over), patio umbrellas folded and placed under the deck, the flag outside our front door is stowed in the entry closet, and most important, the basement door is sandbagged and duct-taped to keep driving rain from seeping into the downstairs bedroom. I got soaked doing these last-minute chores, but it is better to be done now than sorry later like the Aesop fable grasshopper compared with the enterprising ant preparing for winter. We are well-supplied for a few days if the

Coleman multi-fuel camp stove

electricity goes out. There already were a few gallons of water in the downstairs refrigerator, but we bought some more bottles. It was a good thing that most of what we needed were already in hand, the Giant Grocery ran out right before we got to the isle (there were shoppers in the check-out lines in front of us with what must have been the last cases. We also bought some cans of ready-to-heat soup and assorted canned chicken spreads, along with apples and bananas. The gas station near our home had plenty of propane this morning, so our barbeque grill is ready to go with a full tank. There were many cans of fuel at the True Value Hardware store, so my forty-year-old Primus backpack stove and even more ancient Coleman single burner camp stove will be ready to be called upon if needed, but it would get old cooking regularly with this stove without the Sierra Nevada mountains as company, but warm food is better than cold - especially out of a can. So with small flashlight (with extra batteries), tubs of water in the bathtub to recharge the toilets if necessary, and charged handheld devices for communication with the outside world (I have already had to reset the wireless Apple Time Capsule wireless base station because of a short power outage), we are ready for the storm.

The American Goldfinches, House Finches, Mourning Doves, and Song Sparrows were getting in some last-minute lunch before the heavier rains began an hour or so ago. A Downy Woodpecker was making his way between the suet feeder and the finch feeder. Both he and a female

Goldfinch waits

who frequent the space outside the kitchen window are more dominant than the goldfinches - chasing the finches away whenever the two species come together. the woodpecker is distinctly aggressive towards the finches - making a lunging move towards the intruder. The finch is patient and waits until the checkered bully leaves, and then immediately resumes its normal place at the table. As many as four or five finches may feed at the same time - but then I have seen one male finch chase after another; streaking yellow aerobatic bodies hurling through the void between the branches of our backyard trees. The lone female Ruby-throated Hummingbird we have seen over the past week has made her appearance today between the Butterfly Bush, Rose of
Sharon, and liquid feeder - a short appearance, and then a quick exit out the side yard between houses. Even the male Eastern Box Turtle

Commercial Advertising Success

surprised us, and gave use an answer to the question of why we have seen him recently on the patio - he is obviously handing out under the potted flowers that are around our deck landing. He let me take a picture of him this morning, but once I was finished and heading back into the house, he made a bee-line back for cover. It is amazing how fast a tortoise can move when necessary. The other day I happened to notice what looked like the last inch of a dark-colored reptile tail retreat under the cascades Impatience and Vinca Minor flowing down from the pots - maybe it wasn't a lizard as I thought then, but rather Mr. Slowsky. (1)

I have noticed after the last couple of big storms how there are often new bird species that turn up. Since Irene is going to be a significant event, it will be interesting to see what new shows up this time around. There is documentation of the impacts of extreme weather on wildlife - including birds. It will be time to watch what the early days next week bring.
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(1) An advertising campaign for Comcast high-speed cable service.

Childrens' Lessons for a Grandfather

2011-08-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

When we were on vacation in California last month (1), we took our grand kids swimming many times - as much as we could fit in. In fact, my favorite answer to just about all that they asked for was, "Yes." The second day we swam in my father-in-law's apartment pool, Micah kept

Do it again!

asking me to swim and race across the pool, over and over again - and we did. It reminded me of what G.K. Chesterton once wrote: "Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."(2) I don't remember indulging my own children this way, but this summer gave an opportunity to make amends - one generation removed.
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(1) A road trip from Oregon to central California to the central coast to the Bay Area, and back to Oregon. At its peak, there were three generations comprised of three adults and three children - five and under. Another lesson learned was for the long haul, it takes more than being young at heart to take care of all of those kids. Stay young.
(2) From Orthodoxy, 1908, p. 92.

Kingsville, Texas - Birding Environs by Air and Land

2011-08-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

Out-of-print Texas Wildlife Loop Map

Visiting grown children has its advantage - visits are guaranteed to be scheduled so Mom and Dad stay in touch, and thus opportunities are provided to look for new wildlife viewings - best defined as bird watches. We haven't had an chance to visit the Corpus Christi, Texas area - our son's training schedule was too busy to fit us in. But with his next assignment just an hour down the road along the Gulf Coast at Kingsville - and us helping him move - a near perfect opportunity presents itself. Especially since we will be using a couple of AirTran Travel Vouchers from nearly a year ago to at least get in some Open-60 (1) viewing in a place I have never been before. Fortunately, there are no blackout dates when using the vouchers in September.

As it turns out, not only are there the Kingsville coastal estuary environs to take advantage of, there is also the King Ranch and other slightly inland sites. Lots of birding sites are listed in the State of Texas in the legend to the Kingsville Loop Map. All of this information is a part of the Great Texas Wildlife Trails program. (2) Similar information is available for the Corpus Christi area as well.

As for birding guides, there are a number that are available. According to the Amazon reader reviews, there are a number of books listed with varying degrees of acclaim. I ended up ordering the ABA Birdfinding Guide: A Birder's Guide to the Texas Coast, Fifth edition from Buteo Books. Once we fly down to San Antonio and

Cooksey and Weeks Guide

drive into the area, I am sure I can pick up another more common field guide at a book store, but thought it best to go for the on-line order of the guide - less than $30, anyway. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any reviews of the book, but can't imagine it won't be useful or lacking depth in its scope of species and descriptions - compared to the more generic regional titles. While GOOGLE'ing bird books, I also found a Website called WorldTwitch - Finding Rare Birds Around the World. The site has a nice listing of birding book titles that can be queued by world regions and other pre-selected criteria that seems less complicated than sorting through the Amazon or other book seller site. Finally, what appears to be another good book is the one published by Texas A&M titled: Finding Birds on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail by Eubanks, Behrstock, and Davidson. It is written specifically for the Upper Texas Coast, but I presume it would be applicable to the mid and lower regions of the Texas coast. Price, only $23.
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(1) Bird watching from the highway at 60 miles per hour with the window open.
(2) Unfortunately, it seems that the Website is not being maintained, because many of the links are not available when clicked - the state-funded program has been negatively impacted by the economic recession, so the maps are no longer available to be purchased, but may still be available at State Parks.

Light On Their Toes - Principles of Flight

2011-08-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

American Lady and Ruby-throated

For their size, the butterflies and hummingbirds seem like the most light-toed creatures in our garden. They move about from flower to flower with what seems like little effort. I hadn't seen an American Lady butterfly (a) before, and few hummingbirds had appeared in the past years. This morning while drinking coffee and reading the paper on the patio, both of these showed up. The Ruby-throated hummingbird (b) female was checking out a really late-season gladiolus flower stalk right beside Jan, and the butterfly was working over the butterfly bush in towards the back of the yard. The butterfly flies silently, while as the hummingbird's wings beat, the humming sound is a near-silent give-away of this presence. Through the glass patio door windows, or from a distance, they are equally handicapped.

Their ability to fly is the result of the lift their wings afford them overcoming the force of gravity - their motion forward (and backward) by was of thrust that is more powerful than drag. Together, the result is the same for both - mobility about our yard and across fences when my creeping up on them for a picture exceeds their flight distance. A simple explanation for how all this works is shown in a video produced by NASA - the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and available off of the Glenn Research Center Website. The clip can be viewed by clicking on the video below.

It took a little bit of work for me to figure out that the butterfly was an American Lady. (1) The Website Butterflies and Moths of North America - Collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera is a great resource - better than other regional identification sites. It can be accessed by clicking here. The gallery for Butterflies and Moths of North America by clicking here. The site was pretty slow refreshing from one gallery page to the next, but after 13 pages, I made a positive identification. On the other hand, for the humming bird, I new from memory what it was, but when I looked it up I saw that it wasn't "red-throated", but rather "ruby". Other information about the Ruby-throated Hummingbird can be found clicking here. This link is from a Operation Ruby Throat Website with check-off lists for all of the states.
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(1) American Lady
Vanessa virginiensis (Drury, 1773)

Family: Nymphalidae

Subfamily: Nymphalinae

Identification: Upperside with uneven brown, yellow, and orange pattern. Forewing with a black apical patch, a small white spot in the orange field below the patch, and a white bar at the leading edge of the forewing. Underside of hindwing with two large eyespots. Winter form is smaller and paler, summer form larger with brighter coloring.

Life History: During the afternoon, males perch on hilltops or on low vegetation if there are no hills. Females lay eggs singly on the top of host plant leaves. Caterpillars are solitary, living and feeding in a nest of leaves tied with silk. Adults hibernate.

Wing Span: 1 3/4 - 2 5/8 inches (4.5 - 6.7 cm).

Caterpillar Hosts: Plants in the sunflower family everlasting (Gnaphalium obtusifolium), pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), plantain-leaved pussy toes (Antennaria plantaginifolia), wormwood (Artemisia), ironweed (Vernonia), and burdock (Arctium).

Adult Food: Flower nectar almost exclusively, including dogbane, aster, goldenrod, marigold, selfheal, common milkweed, and vetch.

Habitat: Open places with low vegetation including dunes, meadows, parks, vacant lots, forest edges.

Range: Resident in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America south to Colombia. Migrates to and temporarily colonizes the northern United States, southern Canada, the West Indies, and Europe. Rare stray to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Conservation: Not required.

NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.

Management Needs: None reported.

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(2) Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Archilochus colubris

The male ruby-throated hummingbird does indeed have a striking red throat, though the female of the species does not. You would have to look quickly to see either, however, as these speedy little birds can beat their wings 53 times a second and fly in an acrobatic style matched by few other birds. They hover often, and also fly upside down and backwards. These hummingbirds have extremely short legs, so they cannot walk or even hop with any efficiency.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds live in woodland areas, but also frequent gardens where flowering plants are plentiful. They hover to feed on flowers, nectar, and sap. During this floral feeding process, the birds pollinate many plants.

These tiny birds are omnivores, sometimes feeding on insects and spiders. An adult ruby-throated hummingbird may eat twice its body weight in food each day, which it burns up with the high metabolism necessary to sustain its rapid wing beat and energetic movements.

This hummingbird breeds in eastern North America and is the only hummingbird species to do so. Males establish a territory and court females who enter it with flying and diving behaviors, and by showing off their red throat plumage. Females provide all care for young hummingbirds. They lay one to three eggs, incubate them for about two weeks, and, after hatching, feed their young for about three weeks. A female may have several broods in a year. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are largely solitary outside of the breeding season.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds winter in Mexico and Central America. To get there from their North American breeding grounds some birds embark on a marathon, nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. They may double their weight in preparation for this grueling journey.

Another Bird Learned

2011-08-19T04:45:00.000-07:00

Navy Boeing T-45 Goshawk

It was just 15 months ago that we were watching the Blue Angels from the field at the Naval Academy, right before the Class of 2010 Graduation. With our son finishing Primary Flight School earlier this week, the news yesterday was what his next training platform would be and the kind of pilot he would be. The word yesterday around 1400 Eastern Time: JETS. My vocabulary is expanding when it comes to knowing different naval aviation planes. In the paragraphs below are a few that are being added to the check-off list - like the birds in my back yard.

Over 200 students a year report to Training Air Wing TWO for Undergraduate Jet Pilot Training. These students report to one of two training squadrons, Training Squadron TWENTY ONE or TRAINING SQUADRON TWENTY TWO. The Training Air Wing is responsible for providing the fleet with newly winged Navy and Marine Corps aviators. The Air Wing consists of approximately 250 student naval aviators, 75 instructor pilots, 80 civilian personnel, and 100 T-45A and T-45C "Goshawk" aircraft. Introduced to NAS Kingsville in 1992, the Goshawk is part of the T-45 Training System (TS) developed by McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing Aircraft Company. The Wing is in the process of upgrading all T-45A aircraft to the T-45C configuration, which more closely matches the avionics found in tactical fleet aircraft. In a historic partnership with the Navy of India, Training Air Wing TWO began training Indian Naval Students in 2006 and graduated the first class for the Indian Navy in 2007. All students undergo a rigorous syllabus in the T-45 Goshawk on the way to earning their Wings of Gold.

The Training Wing TWO Ground Training Department provides for classroom instruction, computer aided instruction, and flight simulation in instrument and operational flight trainers. Contract maintenance and support departments provide the Navy with maintenance and upkeep for the aircraft, support for the aircrew's flight gear, and support for all of the ground and simulator instruction.
Training Air Wing TWO enjoys operating in a very favorable community climate. The residents of Kingsville have always been ardent supporters of the base and continue to provide opportunities for local involvement in a variety of recreational, educational, and entrepreneurial activities. In conjunction with the NAS Kingsville base personnel, Training Air Wing TWO personnel are actively involved in the local schools, providing role models and mentors to the future of our nation.
(1)

Student Naval Aviators selected for Tailhook training are assigned to NAS Kingsville, Texas or NAS Meridian, Mississippi flying the T-45C or T-45A. NAS Meridian uses only the T-45C while NAS Kingsville is nearly completely transitioned to the T-45C. The syllabus incorporates basic instrument flying, formation, night familiarization and airway navigation over approximately 58 graded flights lasting approximately 27 weeks. At the completion of the Tailhook syllabus, approximately 80% of those SNAs are selected for Advanced Strike training, leading ultimately to tactical jets like the F/A-18 or AV-8B (Marine Corps only). The remaining 20% receive further training in the E2/C2 pipeline, ultimately leading to assignment flying either the E-2C or C-2 Greyhound. Marine Corps SNA's automatically continue in the Advanced Strike syllabus and will ultimately fly either the F/A-18, AV-8B, or EA-6B. (2)
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(1) From Training Air Wing Two.
(2) From Wikipedia United States Naval Aviation.

Santa Rosa Creek - Cambria Birding

2011-08-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

The trail head sign

I slipped away from the grand kids for an hour or so in the morning last week to check out the Lower Santa Rosa Creek Trail west of Highway 1 in Cambria - it turned out to be a gem of a place for birding. The trail head is just off Windsor Drive on the left when you turn left at the stop light off of the highway. I walked less than half of a mile up the trail, but saw many birds among the trees, brush, and open areas along the trail - less than an eighth of a mile in, there was a small trail down to the creek that was free of poison oak that gave an open perspective to the sky above. I walked as far as the second rise in elevation and took a fork in the trail to the left before a bench at the top of that hill. I only had my 50-200 mm zoom lens, and no binoculars. There were many birds, lots of songs and calls, and too little time to sit and wait for repeated appearances along the trail. A bird listener would do better on this route than a bird looker. I think this location is a nice addition to those that are listed on-line for San Luis Obispo County on the Central Coast Birding Trail - a part of the American Birding Association's Birding Trails in North America link.

Identification of birds seen in the environs of Santa Rosa Creek and other drainages in the area: (a) Brown Pelican, (b) Double-crested Cormorant, (c) Heerman's Gull, (d) Western Gull, (e) Wimbrel, (f) Cattle Egret, (g) Brewer's Blackbird, (h) Red-winged Blackbird - Bicolored version, (i) American Crow, (j) Northern Mockingbird, (k) Scrub Jay, (l) blackbirds on Zebra (Hearst Ranch pastures along Highway 1, just north of San Simeon), (m) Barn Swallow, (n) Lesser Goldfinch (?), (o) Eurasian Collared-Dove, (p) Song Sparrow - California Coast variant, (q) Turkey Vulture, (r) Savannah Sparrow (?), (s) Stellar's Jay, and (t) Black-capped Chickadee. There also were Loggerhead Shrike (distinctive wing pattern, but flying away and not fast enough with the camera) and unknown red birds and other yellow birds (I couldn't get my automatic focus to work with birds perched on tall grasses. I should have pointed the camera at the ground below to get a range, and then focused on the birds.)

A sampling of lower Santa Rosa Creek birds

The creeks runs down from the Coast Range west to the Pacific. In summer, the water is held back by sand dunes before it reaches the ocean and forms a small estuary ending in a pond. A Brown Pelican (a) was a regular there, angling for fish. Western Gull (d) and Heerman's Gull (c) were in significant numbers (as they were also up at San Simeon Bay), and it was a treat seeing a pair of Wimbrel (e) who flew in, hung around, and then flew off to the north. Greater White-fronted Geese were also present.

Two days later when driving on Interstate 5 near Williams, the rice fields had many Red-winged Blackbirds, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, and some North American White Pelican. The complex of wildlife refuges in the Sacramento Valley along the freeway are well marked - some time it would be worth stopping and looking, rather than making the shortest time between distances.

Ellie Bogardus - Exterior/Interior Art

2011-08-05T22:34:00.000-07:00

A lot of years ago, I saw a television biography about the physicist Richard Feynman, and remember how he and a friend researched and a planned a trip to a really obscure place in the then Soviet Union - Tannu Tuva. Other than just doing it, there was no reason for taking on this adventure. A pretty carefree perspective from a theoretical physicist who was once a member of the Rogers Commission that investigated the Challenger space shuttle failure.

Door bell cat 5275 Nottingham Drive

In an earlier blog, I mentioned a search for examples of art done by Ellie Bogardus - a cartoon background scenery artist who lived in Cambria. But all that I could turn up was that which remained on concrete skirts around man hole covers on Nottingham Drive in front of where her house once stood - street art. I had seen a few of her pieces in local galleries, so knew they existed, but no examples were unavailable on the Web, and I didn't know anyone who owned any pieces. I had even emailed the Seago Gallery that once sold her paintings, asking whether they had any remaining photographs of her art - but I didn't receive a reply. (1) Even though my quest was quite prosaic compared to that of a hard-to-reach foreign land and I am not a physical scientist (only had three biochemistry classes and only owned a physical chemistry book - never attempted master that kind of subject) - it was still a personal crusade, of sort - a contemporary art history quest.

Art on door header, residence art

We just returned from spending a few days of vacation in Cambria, and without even trying, I came across relics of Ellie Bogardus art to add to the previous on-line archive. First, the owners of the new house that replaced her cottage have expressions of the characters around the man holes routed into wood on a placard surrounding the door bell button, and on a header board above the front door. These folks obviously were aware of who once resided within the footprint of their new home whose backyard is the Pacific Ocean. I didn't notice these features last September when we were last in Cambria, but for whatever reason noticed them this trip. The second set of remembrances turned out to be in my brother and sister-in-law's home in the East Bay area. When they were visiting Cambria three years ago,

Three Ellie Bogardus originals - Private collection, Danville CA

an art sale was being held at a local restaurant with the proceeds going to benefit the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. As it turned out, there were pieces of Ellie's art for sale, and they bought the three pieces shown above. These are poor photographic renditions, but at least give a fair impression of what her art looked like. While talking to Brian and Dana, they mentioned how they had looked on the Internet trying to find examples of Ellie's art, but to no success. Their gain was mine as well - my art quest moved forward a little.
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(1) We found out this same trip that the Seago Gallery is gone - replaced by the Moonstone Redwood Gallery.

Adding to information about Bogardus, a recent Letter to the Editor was posted in San Luis Obispo Tribune (July 29, 2011) that mentioned the artist:

Werner Koch, Cambria

Under Ellie’s influence there must be a few Cambrians who still resemble the charmed society paintings, the Snoopy film background designs, the many live cats, the ebullient personality and the near-rabid sense of humor which comprised Ellie Bogardus. Lucky were any visitors looking hungry or unfamiliar with our area if they encountered Ellie — they would be subject to her come-to-my-home hospitality syndrome. I found cause to practice that a few days ago. In the market I ran into two college-age Dutch men, just arrived in the U.S. via San Francisco and looking quite perplexed. When I asked if there was something they couldn’t find, the answer was “fruit syrup.” In Holland, it is mixed with water for a summer drink. After starting to give directions to Linn’s, I switched into “Ellie mode” and asked if they minded following me home, where I had a brand-new, unopened bottle of olallieberry syrup. A little later, happily settled on my deck, sipping away on their Cambria-grown and packed product, my young guests looked up with me, smiled, and thanked Ellie for her influence over this gathering. All too soon, they were off to the campground for the first night of a three-week, properly supplied, western U.S. journey.

Urban Poultry

2011-07-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

All the comforts of home

My wife's niece and her husband have a chicken coop in their back yard - thus, urban poultry. Their kids are accustomed to the birds, and the daughter is a professional hen wrangler and egg gatherer. Our granddaughter caught on quickly, once she was assured there was no problem being among the birds - sandals on to keep squishy stuff from oozing up between her toes. The chickens were more interested in bolting for the door than checking out the intruder to their space.

In addition to organic chicken farming, there is quite a movement of urban poultryists - Newsweek magazine ran a feature story back in 2008. The article is full of background information. For other information about community-based farming opportunities, go to the link here. For information resources, go to the link here.
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The New Coop de Ville - The Craze for Urban Poultry Farming.

Jessica Bennett, November 17, 2008

Backyard chicken coop

For Brooklyn real-estate agent Maria Mackin, the obsession started five years ago, on a trip to Pennsylvania Amish country. She, her husband and three children—now 17, 13 and 11—sat down for brunch at a local bed-and-breakfast, and suddenly the chef realized she'd run out of eggs. "She said, 'Oh goodness! I'll have to go out to the garden and get some more'," Mackin recalls. "She cooked them up and they were delicious." Mackin and her husband, Declan Walsh, looked at each other, and it didn't take long for the idea to register: Could we have chickens too? They finished their brunch and convinced the bed-and-breakfast owner, a Mennonite celery farmer, to sell them four chickens. They packed them in a little nest in the back of their Plymouth Voyager minivan and headed back to Brooklyn.

Three different colors of eggs

The family has been raising chickens ever since, in the backyard of their brick townhouse in an urban waterfront neighborhood called Red Hook. Every Easter, Mackin orders a new round of chicks, now from a catalog that ships the newborns in a ventilated box while they are still feeding from their yolks. When they are grown, she offers up their eggs—and occasionally extra chickens, when she decides she's got too many—to friends and neighbors, and sells a portion to a local bistro, which touts the neighborhood poultry on its Web site. She gives the chicken manure—a high-quality fertilizer—to a local community garden in exchange for hay, which she uses to pad the chickens' wire-fenced coop. Occasionally, she kills and cooks up a chicken for dinner—though, she says, her chickens are egg layers and aren't particularly tasty. "We joke and call ourselves the Red Hook Poultry Association," says the former social worker, who at one time housed 27 chicks inside her kitchen—for six weeks. "Sometimes people are like, 'This is really kind of weird'."

Hunting and pecking - free range style

As it turns out, Mackin is hardly an anomaly, in New York or any other urban center. Over the past few years, urban dwellers driven by the local-food movement, in cities from Seattle to Albuquerque, have flocked to the idea of small-scale backyard chicken farming—mostly for eggs, not meat—as a way of taking part in home-grown agriculture. This past year alone, grass-roots organizations in Missoula, Mont.; South Portland, Maine; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Ft. Collins, Colo., have successfully lobbied to overturn city ordinances outlawing backyard poultry farming, defined in these cities as egg farming, not slaughter. Ann Arbor now allows residents to own up to four chickens (with neighbors' consent), while the other three cities have six-chicken limits, subject to various spacing and nuisance regulations.

That quick growth in popularity has some people worried about noise, odor and public health, particularly in regard to avian flu. A few years back in Salt Lake City—which does not allow for backyard poultry farming—authorities had to impound 47 hens, 34 chicks and 10 eggs from a residential home after neighbors complained about incessant clucking and a wretched stench, along with wandering chickens and feathers scattered throughout the neighborhood. "The smell got to be unbelievable," one neighbor told the local news. Meanwhile, in countries from Thailand to Australia, where bird flu has spread in the past, government officials have threatened to ban free-range chickens for fear they are contributing to outbreaks. (In British Columbia, where officials estimated earlier this year that there are as many as 8,000 chicken flocks, an avian flu outbreak four years forced the slaughter of more than 17 million birds.)

But avian flu has not shown up in wild birds, domestic poultry or people in the United States. And, as the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute (an environmental research group) pointed out in a report report last month, experts including the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production have said that if we do see it, it'll be more likely to be found in factory-farmed poultry than backyard chickens. As GRAIN, an international sustainable agriculture group, concluded in a 2006 report: "When it comes to bird flu, diverse small-scale poultry farming is the solution, not the problem."

Many urban farmers are taking that motto to heart. In New York, where chickens (but not roosters, whose loud crowing can disturb neighbors) are allowed in limitless quantities, there are at least 30 community gardens raising them for eggs, and a City Chicken Project run by a local nonprofit that aims to educate the community about their benefits. In Madison, Wis., where members of a grass-roots chicken movement, the Chicken Underground, successfully overturned a residential chicken ban four years ago, there are now 81 registered chicken owners, according to the city's animal-services department. "There's definitely a growing movement," says 33-year-old Rob Ludlow, the Bay Area operator of BackyardChickens.com and the owner of five chickens of his own. "A lot of people really do call it an addiction. Chickens are fun, they have a lot of personality. I think people are starting to see that they're really easy pets—and they actually produce something in return."

Because chickens can be considered both livestock and pet, farming them for eggs—or keeping them as pets—is unregulated in major cities like New York and Los Angeles. But it isn't legal everywhere. According to one recent examination by urban-agriculture expert Jennifer Blecha, just 65 percent of major cities allow chickenkeeping, while 40 percent allow for one or more roosters. (Hens don't need roosters to lay unfertilized eggs.)

Chicken slaughter, meanwhile, tends to fall under a separate (and generally stricter) set of regulations, though they're not always enforced. Most cities that allow chicken farming limit the number to four or six per household, so many urban farmers aren't raising enough chickens to slaughter and sell anyway—though they may cook up a meal or two at home. If they want to slaughter more, there are mobile slaughterhouses in places like Washington state that will do the dirty work for you: USDA-approved refrigerated trucks will pull right up to your doorstep.

Chicken farmers are finding each other on sites like TheCityChicken.com, UrbanChickens.org and MadCityChickens.com. BackyardChickens.com logs some 6 million page views each month and has some 18,000 members in its forum, where community members share colorful stories (giving a chicken CPR), photos (from a California chicken show), even look to each other for comfort. "I am worried that non-BYC people won't understand why a 34-year-old woman would cry over a $7 chicken," writes a Stockton, N.J., woman, whose chicken was killed by a hawk.

Over at UrbanChickens.org, which launched this year, founder K. T. LaBadie, a master's student in community planning, provides updates on city ordinances, info about local chicken-farming classes and coop tours and has been contacted by activists hoping to overturn chicken bans around the nation. In Albuquerque, where she lives with her husband and four chickens—Gloria, Switters, Buffy and Omelet—residents can keep 15 chickens and one rooster, subject to noise ordinances, as well as slaughter the chickens for food. In July, LaBadie wrote in detail of her first killing: she and her husband hung the bird by its legs, slit its throat, plucked its feathers and put it on ice. Then they slow-cooked it for 20 hours. "It's not pretty, it's kinda messy, and it's a little smelly," she writes. "But it's quite real."

Meanwhile, at MadCityChickens.com, the Web site created by the Madison Chicken Underground, chat-line operator Dennis Harrison-Noonan has turned his chicken love into a mini-business: he's sold 2,000 design kits for his custom-made playhouse chicken coop, which retails for $35. "It's really not that crazy to think that people are doing this," says Owen Taylor, the urban livestock coordinator at Just Food, which operates the New York Chicken Project. "Most of the world keeps chickens, and they've been doing so for thousands of years."

Historically, he's right. During the first and second world wars, the government even encouraged urban farming by way of backyard "Victory Gardens" in an effort to lessen the pressure on the public food supply. (Until 1859, there were 50,000 hogs living in Manhattan, according to Blecha.) "It's really only been over the last 50 years or so that we've gotten the idea that modernity and success and urban spaces don't involve these productive animals," Blecha says.

There are a host of reasons for the growing trend. "Locavores" hope to avoid the carbon emissions and energy consumption that come with transporting food. Chicken owners and poultry experts say eggs from backyard chickens are tastier and can be more nutritious, with higher levels of supplements like omega-3 fatty acids. Their production cost is cheap: you can buy chickens for as little as a couple of dollars, and three hens will likely average about two eggs a day. You can also use their waste to help revitalize a garden. "There've been recalls on everything from beef to spinach, and I think people want to have peace of mind knowing their food is coming from a very trusted source," says LaBadie. "As gas prices go up, and people realize how food is connected to oil and transportation, they are bound to realize they can get a higher quality product cheaper if they get it locally."

Keeping a chicken is relatively easy, too—assuming you don't get too attached. (That's a talk Mackin says she had with her kids early: these chickens aren't pets.) They'll eat virtually anything—"pork products, string cheese, even Chinese takeout," she laughs—and they feed on bugs and pests that can ruin a garden. They can withstand harsh weather conditions. (In one oft-told tale, a Maine woman lost her chicken in a blizzard and found it, a day later, frozen solid with its feet stuck straight in the air. She thawed it and administered CPR. The chicken made a full recovery.) And much like New Yorkers, not much bothers chickens grown in urban environments. "[Those] raised in a really controlled environment like factory farms are very fragile, both physically and emotionally," says Blecha, who lives in St. Paul, Minn., with her partner and six chickens. "My chickens, I mow the lawn a foot away from them and they don't even look up from their pecking."

But even urban chickens, who can live more than five years, can die easily: from predators like dogs or possums, catching a cold or sometimes for no apparent reason at all. Once, one of Mackin's chicks got stuck in a glue trap. She drowned it, to put it out of its misery. "That was really sad," she says. (Mackin doesn't name her chickens, for that very reason.)

But the overall experience seems to be positive for everyone. "We have people calling weekly to say, 'This is really cool'," says Patrick Comfert, a spokesman for Madison's animal-services department, where the chicken ban was reversed in 2004. "Chicken people love it, the neighbors don't care, we have no complaints." Minneapolis enthusiast Albert Bourgeois sums up the appeal. "Chickens are really fun pets," he says. His flock is named Cheney, Condi, Dragon, Fannie and Freddie. The next one, he says, will be Obama.

You Never Know Who You Will Run Into

2011-07-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

Back in January 1995, I had a training course on Capitol Hill. It was fascinating to learn how government works. There were several days of speakers scheduled including a new Congressman, Standing Committee Staffers, a fellow who helped write the new Polish constitution after the Eastern Bloc fell, a member of the Congressional Research Service, professional lobbyist.... the list went on. Our classes

Army Air Force Energy Forum

were in different Congressional office buildings and meeting rooms, and we were able to watch various business and debates being done in the Senate and House of Representative chambers. At the time, I thought every adult should have to take a class like this - there was no way kids could appreciate all of this when they were in school. It was an interesting time because that was right after the new Congress convened following the big swing after the election the previous November - some things really don't change - there have always been swings. One minor memorable event was getting disoriented in one of the Senate Office buildings trying to find my way back to the conference room we were meeting in. As I walked down one of the halls, I remember passing Senator Nancy Kassebaum - as we walked by each other, she smiled. I never realized how short she was - when you see notable people on television, camera angles and adjustable chairs make all sorts of adjustments to equalize everyone.There were other members of Congress that were out and about near the Capitol - if you watched McNeil Lehrer News Hour, many were recognizable from seeing them in interviews on television.

In the audience at the forum

At the Army-Air Force Energy Forum, there were many more civilian-dressed people than those in service uniforms. It was noted in the opening plenary session, that former Senator John Warner was in the conference room. In addition to Congress membership, he was once the Secretary of Navy, and at the Navy Energy Forum this past autumn, he spoke right before me (1). So it was notable to me, that when the panel I was a part of at the forum took our places at the front of the session room, Senator Warner was in the first row to listen. Lunch followed, and when one of the other panelists and I were heading into the ballroom to eat, Senator Warner stopped to talk with us - particularly her - as we were entering. (he didn't think it is as easy to get up to production for the aviation biofuels as it was for ethanol from corn grain.) Washington, D.C. is an interesting place - you just never know what you will see or who you may run into.
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(1) I have always thought it would be a catchy statement to say that my presentation was right after John Warner's, but in reality, he was the main speaker and left right after his talk, while I was on a panel that had a break between the Senator's time and ours'.

Needed Help - Odonata Identification

2011-07-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on my way out of the house to the car on the way to work - a dragon fly flew in front of me and landed on the front of the house. Out came my snap shot camera - set to macro mode -click - and several more clicks. I had never seen a white-bodied dragon fly before. Last

Common Whitetail Dragon Fly

night I looked on the Web, but couldn't find anything resembling the specimen I captured on digital image. So, today at work, I walked down to Kevin's office. He is an entomologist - a bug person. Actually, he handles honey bee issues - Hymenopter - those are bees, ants, wasps, and the alike (1). Dragon flies are of the insect taxonomic order Odonata - a much more majestic sounding name than Hymenoptera. Well, Kevin didn't have any idea about what kind of dragon fly it could be, but recommended I check with Dan. Dan is a medical entomologist - he is retired from the Army, so this is his second career. It is amazing what some one can do when he or she knows what they are doing. I had barely gotten back to my office, and he had already sent me a Weblink with the answer: a male Common Whitetail, Libellula [Plathemis] lydia - Oh, and that takes care of that for which Odonata.
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(1) See the C-SPAN report.

The Serengeti Plains and Annapolis

2011-07-16T05:36:00.000-07:00

Cape hunting dogs feeding

We entertained friends last evening - assorted appetizers, more than enough for an entire meal. It struck me how as everyone was gathered around the serving table, it looked like a scene from the Animal Planet cable network where hungry predators are circled around their prey preparing to feed upon its fallen carcass. Our guests were quite civil and orderly - no dominant leader for the pack emerged, there was more than plenty for everyone. Mentioning the metaphor of the appearance of the Serengeti

Annapolitans feeding

Plains, there was a slight chuckle - our hungry guests not lifting their eyes as they continued to to serve themselves. After filling our plates, we moved to the tables set out on the patio. It was a perfect evening for outside dining - temperature in the low 80°'s and low humidity, tiki torches and citranela candles lit to fend off the bugs. The wilds of our back yard a perfect suburban veldt setting - cooked carrion and other delicacies neatly arranged on platters, the sounds of the environs in the background, and good company under the stars.

Words Into Action - Lesson in Government

2011-07-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

A speech was given at Georgetown University back on March 30, 2011. In the remarks, a Presidential Directive was given that was translated into an executive order - follow up meetings were scheduled, and new tasks added to a job list. It is pretty cool to see how words in a speech can put actions into play - to personally be able to see government in action. I first became aware of government in a seventh grade class

F/A 18 fueled with 50/50 biofuel blend

that had a big standardized Constitution Test attached to it. As I remember it, was that the year the North Koreans captured the USS Pueblo⁽¹⁾ and Hale Boggs was the House Majority Leader. Lots of facts to have to remember about how our government worked. Jump forward a lot of years - At 25 minutes and 25 seconds into the speech: And I’m directing the Navy and the Department of Energy and Agriculture to work with the private sector to create advanced biofuels that can power not just fighter jets, but also trucks and commercial airliners. Also, at 26 minutes and 28 seconds: Over the next two years, we’ll help entrepreneurs break ground for four next-generation biorefineries -– each with a capacity of more than 20 million gallons per year. There was word that something was leaked to the press (see the Wall Street Journal article below) - I had no idea what that was about the other day. But when Web-surfing this evening, the article below popped up in response to some of the key words I used. It is not the kind of stuff that Bob Woodward or Carl Bernstein⁽²⁾ would write about, but it caught my attention - a month after the speech, when it involved me.⁽³⁾
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WALL STREET JOURNAL

Led By DoD, Federal Government Hoping To Fund Biorefineries

Yuliya Chemova, 30 June 2011

The Department of Defense, an emerging market force in biofuels, is working on a new program to finance non-petroleum fuel production, in collaboration with the departments of energy and agriculture, according to people familiar with the situation.

The Defense Department is considering invoking the Defense Production Act--a 1950 law created to enable the military to source essential materials in a timely matter--to gain flexibility in how it buys biofuels and invests in biorefineries, according to these people.

Three departments--Defense, Energy and Agriculture--are close to signing a memorandum of understanding for a joint venture that would invest directly in new U.S.-based production facilities for advanced biofuels, these people said.

Program organizers are hoping to fund it with $300 million to $500 million from all three departments, and that money would be leveraged by private investments in each project, according to these people. There are roughly 500 venture capital-backed start-ups in the biofuels space, and many are undercapitalized.

The focus is on biofuels that are replicas of petroleum-based jet fuel and diesel, and less on ethanol.

In March, President Obama tasked these three department to work with the private industry to boost the production of biofuels.

"The Departments are exploring a variety of options to work with the private sector to provide alternate fuels to meet military and commercial needs," wrote Lt. Col. Melinda F. Morgan, spokeswoman for the Defense Department, in an email. She declined to comment further. Representatives of the departments of Agriculture and Energy declined to comment.

The Defense Department has recently stressed in hearings on Capitol Hill that advanced biofuels are of strategic importance to the U.S. "Diversification to advanced biofuels is essential to sustain the U.S. military's mission capabilities," said Tom Hicks, deputy assistant secretary of Navy for Energy, before the House Subcommittee on energy and power on June 3. The Navy has a goal of replacing half of petroleum-fuel with domestically sourced biofuels by 2020.

But the current biofuels industry is young and does not have enough production capacity to meet such demand. That is why, these people said, the Defense Department is stepping in to help.

Federal money would help resolve the predicament of many start-up biofuel producers that cannot find standard project financing, even as they see growing interest from the airline and other industries to purchase such fuels.

"Traditional project finance [for biorefineries] is still challenged," said Jonathan Wolfson, chief executive of Solazyme Inc., a venture-capital backed company that recently held an initial public offering. Solazyme's algae-based oils are currently being tested by the Navy.

However, the capital goal for the new program of up to $500 million may be more aspirational than realistic, as the federal government grapples with a huge deficit and Congress has marked down numerous existing programs at the Energy and Agriculture Departments that currently support clean technologies.

As the new program is being contemplated, other methods of support are weakening. Loan guarantees from the Agriculture Department, for example, have no new appropriations for either fiscal 2011 or 2012. That program, titled 9003, has supported projects from venture-capital backed companies such as Coskata Inc. and Enerkem Inc. And the Energy Department's Biomass and Biorefinery research and development programs, which helped such companies as Solazyme, Elevance Renewable Sciences Inc. and Sapphire Energy Inc., are scheduled to receive about half of what the President asked for in his budget request, per the latest appropriations from the House.

Invoking the Defense Production Act would make it easier to circumvent certain appropriations requirements in Congress. The Act may also give flexibility to the military in how it funds biorefineries -- for example, by either investing equity in such facilities or providing loan guarantees, as it sees fit, said two people.

Several bills pending in Congress may also extend the Defense Department's ability to lengthen contract terms for fuels.

"What you want to see are longer-term commitments for purchasing," Wolfson said. Banks are reluctant to fund biorefineries because these are large capital investments that have pay back times of 10 to 15 years, and yet, there is no guarantee the fuel they produce would be bought, and at the right price. Traditionally, fuels are bought on the spot market.

Three departments--Defense, Energy and Agriculture--are close to signing an agreement for a joint venture that would invest directly in new U.S.-based production facilities, VentureWire has learned. The program could fund start-ups through a pool of as much as $500 million from the agencies.

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(1) Actually, the capture of the Pueblo happened in my eighth grade year - I had to look it up.

(2) The Woodward and Bernstein papers associated with the Watergate scandal.
(3) This effort is an expansion of earlier partnerships in this arena. For a perspective about one of the kinds of feedstocks to be used to produce jet biofuels, see the earlier blog by clicking here, and agriculture working with aviation by clicking here.

Adolescent Identity Crisis

2011-07-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

Juvenile cardinal among a host of sparrows

Yesterday morning and then through out the day we were setting records for the numbers of birds that would perch on the seed feeder at a time. Typically, waves of one kind or another species would come in and feed like a food frenzy was going on - mixtures of species were more rare than groups of the same kind. The order of things were disrupted when a more dominant outlaw species would swoop in and land, displacing the smaller others who were already settled in to feast. What was strange - out of place - was how this juvenile female Northern Cardinal was hanging out with a host of House Sparrows - we had noticed her for a couple of days hanging around the yard alone. Its immaturity was notable by her beak color that was not yet solid orange, and the under-developed feather color. I guess the youngster is still trying to figure out her place in life - When will my beak color finish development? - Will the other cardinals pay attention to me? .....

Passing Through - Glad I Had My Camera

2011-07-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

Over the fence - a quick look and picture

The evening bird activity seems to be the greatest I have seen in our backyard. There is a constant parade of the commons species that have been noted - waves of House Sparrows, Tufted Titmouse, and Black-capped Chickadees. The low-flying aerobatics are also noteworthy - birds flying through the yard at low elevations just above our heads, kind of like a 3D movie's special effects where you duck your head when your eyes are fooled by your brain;⁽¹⁾ a fair bit of hoovering behavior in mid-air; and even some duels between males jockeying for territories - Mourning Doves, American Goldfinches,

Female Baltimore Oriole

and Northern Cardinals. There are also the transient travelers who seem to have little interest in our yard, much less the seed feeder - in particular, the Blue Jay lately, and other passer-by's who fly just over the trees. But while talking with our son on the phone, an unknown landed on one of the crepe myrtle trees - pick up the camera and a quick photograph, view slightly obstructed, but there was yellow on the chest of that bird; a seconds later, it flew across the fence and landed in a sweet gum tree, hiding among the leaves a bit, at times obscured - quick, another shot, followed by more, the view still not clear, but at least a few different perspectives. Out come the bird guides: a Yellow-breasted Chat - even though large, not one of the small warblers. Mystery not solved, so off for a walk around the the neighborhood, and then back to the house. A glass of ice water to cool down, another look at the photographs, more referencing on-line guides and photos, and then the thought: "Could that have been an oriole?" - a female Baltimore Oriole it is.⁽²⁾ This is the first oriole of any kind that I have seen in over five-and-a-half years of living only 35 minutes south of Baltimore. Meanwhile, the sun had set, the fireflies flickered, and the birds sang in the trees - all the while the fan in my mosquito repellent device whirled and hummed like a mosquito sounds when you are laying in bed after dark and it is about to land on your ear, but my legs were spared the bites.
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(1) See the effect at 7 minutes and 30 seconds.

(2) If I am correct with this identification, the picture of an oriole in my mind's eye is different than I had imagined based on the ones I have seen on Baltimore Orioles baseball caps and other memorabilia. It was the same way when I saw my first Northern Cardinal - it was smaller than I thought it would be - the large red bird perched on a yellow-colored bat that spans the broad chests of players like Albert Pujols in Saint Louis - another town with a famous bird name, but a long ways from Baltimore.

Thomas Moore - Near DuPont Circle

2011-06-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had a meeting with a scientist and others at the Irish Embassy near DuPont Circle, followed by a luncheon reception and presentation about an upcoming conference to be held in Dublin in

2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW

2012. I hadn't been in a foreign embassy before, having been only to the U.S. embassies in Gaborone, Botswana and Beijing, China, and outside the gate of the one in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When exiting the Metro station, the words of a famous American poet are inscribed on the facing of the inside facade above the escalator - Thus in silence in dreams' projections, Returning, resuming, I thread my way through the hospitals; The hurt and wounded I pacify with soothing hand, I sit by the restless all the dark night - some are so young; Some suffer so much - I recall the experience sweet and sad,... The officials at the Embassy were very hospitable and all had accents that seemed custom-made to recite centuries of older and well written poetry. I don't know any Gaelic, but with the wonders of an on-line translation program, Béarla go Gaeilge. (Aistriúchán seo a leanas.)

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Mr. Lincoln rose

'Tis an ardaigh an tsamhraidh seo caite

A rose admirer

Ligean faoi bhláth ina n-aonar;
Gach compánach a álainn
An bhfuil faded agus imithe;
Uimh bláth dá cuid den tsamhail chéanna,
Níl aon bláth ardaigh beag nigh,
Mar léiriú ar ais di blushes,
Osna a thabhairt don osna.

One of two arbor gates

Ní beidh mé saoire dhuit, co aonair amháin!
Chun péine ar an gas;
Ó tharla go bhfuil an álainn codlata,
Téigh, codladh tusa leo.
Dá bhrí sin kindly scaip mé,
Thy duilleoga o'er an leaba,
I gcás ina mates dot an ghairdín
Lie scentless agus marbh.

Cecile Brunner climbing rose

Mar sin, d'fhéadfadh go luath mé a leanúint,
Nuair a cairdis lobhadh,
Ón ciorcal shining Grá ar
An gems titim amach.
Nuair a bheidh gcroíthe fíor triomaithe
Agus na cinn Fond a chrochtar,
Oh! bheadh inhabit a,
Seo ar fud an domhain gruama ina n-aonar?

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Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He and John Murray were responsible for burning the memoirs of Lord Byron's after his death. In his lifetime, he was often referred to as Anacreon Moore.

'Tis the last rose of summer

Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
To give sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter,
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
From Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit,
This bleak world alone?

Bees, Birds, and Lime Meringue Pie

2011-06-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

Fresh lime meringue pie

The air is still, and the temperature is 78° F. When the air conditioning unit on top of the elementary school behind our back yard is off, the sounds of birds in the trees are distinct, compared to the city white noises in the background - cars, distant heat pumps in the neighborhood, the occasional bits of conversations. It was a perfect evening to eat a generous portion of lime meringue pie and enjoy a cup of hot coffee in the garden - lavender, roses, Asiatic lilies, impatience, Shasta daisies, coreopsis, echinacea, vinca, basil, tomato, pepper, and lobelia, petunia, and verbena. A perfect mix of dessert and an Annapolis cottage garden - a slight leaning with a taste and a view with an eye towards England, the homeland of the Lady Anne Arundel from times past.

I don't remember in past years, but this summer there seems to be a steady stream of birds flying through the yard, even with us sitting and watching. There is a constant flight pattern of birds headed to the seed and suet feeders - gold finches, house sparrows, house finches, black-capped chickadees, Carolina wrens, downy woodpeckers, mourning

Lone Apis mellifera on lavender

doves, northern cardinals, and tufted titmouse. They are silent when they cruise in. In the lavender patch next to the patio, bumble bees are continually working the flowers - they too are silent. They have always been abundant in the yard, but honey bees are a rarity. I don't remember seeing them in past years - I know that colony collapse disorder has taken a great toll on honey bee populations nation-wide. So, it was out-of-the-normal when I saw a lone Apis mellifera⁽¹⁾ working the lavender along with its cousins. I don't know where either species hangs out at night, but that the honey bee doesn't bring a hoard of compadre' as a normal population would in healthy times seems an indication this is a sole bee, and not a social one.
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(1) Undergraduate school was great, once I was resigned to the fact that I would be an agronomy major. A whole world of classes opened up, one being Bee Keeping. The supplier of bee keeping supplies was Dadant and Sons, they are still in business. The Hive and the Honeybee was the text, it is still available, and is a classic.

A Most Casual Birder on Father's Day

2011-06-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

Viewing kinds of jays in a Sibley Guide

My dad enjoys watching the passing's by while sitting on the patio area in the front of his and my mom's house - the neighbor's kids, cars, joggers...even the different birds. I remember out on the farm how any bird that wasn't game and which he didn't know its name was a "dickey" bird.⁽¹⁾ Now, away from the farm and in town, any bird is of interest. I stopped in to visit this past weekend on my way to business meetings in Fresno and Parlier at the beginning of the week. It was nice timing since Sunday was the first Father's Day that I had spent with him in more than 20 years. While enjoying the early morning cool air, I pulled out my bird guide and cleared up a question Dad had the day before about what kind of jay was hanging around the yard - he thought it was a Blue Jay; my mom - a Scrub Jay. Looking at the color plates in my Sibley Guide,⁽²⁾ the controversy was resolved: Scrub Jay. Seeing is believing - Mom was right.
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(1) Dickey-bird definition.
(2) The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America.

Electric Night's Wonder

2011-06-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

Daytime firefly

Such a small insect

Where ever did it get its glow

Fireflies in twilight

________________________

Twilight calculator, click here.

Blue Skies

Ellie Bogardus - The Commercial Side

You Just Never Know Who Else Birds

Sweet Tooth In The Morning

Back In The Saddle, Again

College Towns Mirror One Another

Titled Drawing - Another Ellie Bogardus

Early Birds - Next Generation Birders

Record Mogul - Does This Man Look Like One

Old Man

Letters From France - More About Artist Ellie Bogardus

Irish Birding - Deis nua is féidir

Oregon Waterfowl at the Waterfalls

First Bluebird

Gift Idea For Grandchildren

A Look Back in Time

Ellie Bogardus - The Lost Generation

Ellie Bogardus' Midnight in Paris

Another D.C. Memorial - National Japanese American Memorial

Night Winter Moon - Almost

Prime Bear Sandwich - Not Really

15 Minutes of FAME - FSRL

Manholes to Murals - Ellie Bogardus Wall Landscape Cover

The Artist's House - Ellie Bogardus

Ellie Bogardus - Hotel California

What They Will Do For A Meal

My Day Job - Evenings, And Some Weekends, Too

Argentina/Uruguay 2011 Bird List - To Be Determined

Autumn Farmers Market - Western Maryland

One Flew Over The Parrot's Nest

Montpelier - Over the Shoulder

Ellie Bogardus - French Connection

Old Dog - Old Tricks

It can be common-place for pitchers - throw, injure, recover, throw, injure, recover.... Jamie Moyer is up to his old tricks. My favorite pitcher of all time - on his quest for another comeback.

Jamie Moyer Starts Big League Comeback

A Little Piece Of Georgia

Big Bird - Yellow Bird

Autumn Color Changes - Goldfinches

Drive-by Birding - Corpus Christ Style

Augustine Told Me About: Olrog

Music On The Street - By The Wall

Look What Hit The Windshield

In Honor Of This Night

At that very moment, a young intern at City Hospital was making an important discovery.

The mysterious patient in Room 213 had finally awakened.

She moaned softly.

Could it be that she was the sister of the boy in Kansas who loved the girl with the tattered shawl who was the daughter of the maid who had escaped from the pirates?The intern frowned.

"Stampede!" the foreman shouted, and forty thousand head of cattle thundered down on the tiny camp.

The two men rolled on the ground grappling beneath the murderous hooves.

A left and a right. A left. Another left and right. An uppercut to the jaw.

The fight was over. And so the ranch was saved.

The young intern sat by himself in one corner of the coffee shop. he had learned about medicine, but more importantly, he had learned something about life.

Hurricane Irene Preparedness - We Really Didn't Know What We Were Doing But Did It

Childrens' Lessons for a Grandfather

Kingsville, Texas - Birding Environs by Air and Land

Light On Their Toes - Principles of Flight

Another Bird Learned

Santa Rosa Creek - Cambria Birding

Ellie Bogardus - Exterior/Interior Art

Urban Poultry

You Never Know Who You Will Run Into

Needed Help - Odonata Identification

The Serengeti Plains and Annapolis

Words Into Action - Lesson in Government

Adolescent Identity Crisis

Passing Through - Glad I Had My Camera

Thomas Moore - Near DuPont Circle

Bees, Birds, and Lime Meringue Pie

A Most Casual Birder on Father's Day

Electric Night's Wonder

At that very moment, a young intern at City Hospital was
making an important discovery.

Could it be that she was the sister of the boy in Kansas
who loved the girl with the tattered shawl who was the
daughter of the maid who had escaped from the pirates?

The intern frowned.

"Stampede!" the foreman shouted, and forty thousand head
of cattle thundered down on the tiny camp.

A left and a right. A left. Another left and right. An
uppercut to the jaw.

The fight was over. And so the ranch
was saved.

The young intern sat by himself in one corner of the
coffee shop. he had learned about medicine, but more
importantly, he had learned something about life.