Hello Beautiful!

On Sunday afternoon I was startled to see a crow and, what I thought at first was a hawk, fluttering just outside the bedroom window. But once the crow flew off and the other bird settled down onto the branch, all became clear. It was an owl. Chuck looked it up and confirmed it was a Barred Owl (Strix Varia). These photographs were taken through a closed second story window, which also had a storm window. I’m afraid neither window was very clean! I was quite amazed and felt very fortunate that the owl turned and looked right at me as I snapped the photographs. The one on the left was taken with a Canon PowerShot S2 IS. The one on the right with a Canon EOS Rebel T3i.

Neither of us have ever been privileged to see an owl on the property before. It was especially surprising to see this large creature in daylight. But it was a very dark, gray day; with snow flying throughout the afternoon. When we looked up the call of the Barred Owl we knew it was the same sound we have heard many times over the years. That classic call always feels mysterious and just a little chilling. Now we have a face to go with the voice - a beautiful one at that!

Ralph’s Best Side

Back in May of last year I posted about the nifty phenomenon of how “Ralph” the seagull is always waiting for us in the same spot on Park Loop Road. Yesterday we drove the same route and sure enough, there he (or she) was! Today, while happily rained-in by a nor’easter, I had some fun digi-scrapping a layout using current photos along with the text from the earlier post.

(By the way, Blogger has “updated” their platform leaving carriage returns and paragraph breaks non-functional. I’m looking forward to them sorting that out ASAP!)

Photos and layout by LMR/Pink Granite. Fonts: Jayne Print, Helvetica . Software: Apple iPhoto ’09 and Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Mac.

Welcome Back

"Fred" flew by to welcome us back to Bar Harbor, Maine. (Is it just me or does his look say: "What took you two so long?")

Hello Hare!

As we were driving back to our hotel very late Saturday afternoon, we spotted this big, beautiful bunny sitting alongside a potholed, mixed surface road. This was just a stone’s throw from (the moderately) bustling main drag of Bar Harbor. I snapped a couple of photos through the windshield. Right after I did, he or she took off at a great pace. That was when we really noticed just how large and how white its feet were. Some research on the internet led us to believe it is a Snowshoe Hare or Varying Hare (Lepus americanus). It is likely beginning its long, slow transition to its white winter coat. And it is beautiful in any season.

Truly Worthy Of The Word Awesome!

You MUST watch this video!
Seriously.
Within 30 seconds it will leave you gobsmacked.



You can watch this video and more over at Science Friday.

Hyla Neighbor!

We were rushing out the door to get to an appointment this morning, when we spotted this Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor). He/She was clinging to our storm door, about halfway up. Despite his thriving conservation status as “least concern” neither of us had ever seen one before. Clearly the appointment would have to wait a couple of moments!

After I snapped a few pics, he leapt down to the stoop. While the “versicolor” in his Latin name does mean Gray Tree Frogs can change color, they do so fairly slowly. So I think it was my camera being challenged by the different backgrounds, not his own physiologic magic, which accounts for the different colors between the two photos. I would say he was really somewhere between the two.

Thanks to the Brookhaven National Laboratory you can listen to some (very noisy) Gray Tree Frogs.

What A Week!

Tomorrow is Roo’s 50th birthday! It’s also Jake’s birthday. Tuesday is Sue’s (Jake’s Mom) birthday. Thursday is Wendy’s birthday. And my birthday is Wednesday. Which one? Let’s just say my 50th is in the rear view mirror - but not very far!

”Happy Birthday to us,
Happy Birthday to us,
Happy Birthday dear all of us
Happy Birthday to us -
and many more!
Wheeeeeee!!!”


Spring has been arriving at a leisurely pace this year. I snapped the photo of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail lighting on the lilac last year.

I Kid You Not

Ralph was there again!

For many years, on Park Loop Road, in Acadia National Park, just past Otter Cove, near Little Hunters Beach, a seagull has been waiting for us. O.K. I have no proof that it’s the very same Herring Gull, season after season, but it’s pretty darn cool. We pull up in the car, roll down the window and snap away. I usually get out of the car and continue taking pictures. Dollars to doughnuts, Ralph (or Fred or Harriet) stays patiently in place as if it is his or her pleasure to be part of our travelogue. And every single time, it makes me very, very happy.

Five Items

Egypt:
I’m an enormous fan of and believer in Democracy. I want the people of Egypt to participate in their government and to thrive economically. I want that for them now.

Maria Schneider:
Actress Maria Schneider passed away this week at the age of 58. Upon hearing the news, director Bernardo Bertolucci said he regrets that "he never got the chance" to apologize to Ms. Schneider who, at the age of 19, starred in his “Last Tango In Paris”. Yeah, when you only have 39 years it's hard to find the time. May Ms. Schneider rest in peace.

Super Bowl:
My Dad was a football fan. One of the teams he liked was the Green Bay Packers. I rooted for them tonight during what turned out to be a surprisingly good and exciting Super Bowl XLV. Oh, the Packers won!

Super Bowl Halftime Show:
Wow. But not in a good way. I like the Black Eyed Peas just fine. But the sound engineers or technicians at Fox dropped the ball - pun intended. The light show aspects were pretty cool, especially the red heart. But I kept waiting for the wowee-zowee big moment. Perhaps I am jaded. I will say I am delighted that there were no wardrobe malfunctions. Heaven knows I couldn’t suffer through another kerfuffle like the Jackson-Timberlake incident of 2004.

Mouse:
We live with three cats. Yet it was Chuck who spotted the mouse strolling along the edge of the room and pausing to watch the Super Bowl on TV. Chuck had to capture the mouse in a jar and externalize it. The cats seemed wildly disinterested. Not that I like what happens when the cats are interested in or are successful in catching a mouse. But they could have at least twitched an ear or lolled their heads in the general direction of the dang mouse!


P.S. I didn’t mention snow! Not even once! Well, except for just now... ;o)

Green Sea Urchin

Well, it’s really a photograph of the empty test of a Green Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus drobachiensis). This one had come to rest at low tide, in a slight eddy which had formed between two examples of Maine granite. We returned home from Maine just one week ago yesterday. It was a great trip. But it feels as if it were at least a month ago.

On The Wing

We were down at Seal Harbor early this morning. It was mostly overcast, with only a light breeze. There were many Herring Gulls (Larus smithsonianus) as well as some Great Black-backed Gulls (Larus marinus) on the beach and in the water. Despite their numbers, it was quite quiet and peaceful. After a few missed starts, I managed to snap two fairly clear photographs of seagulls in flight.

Doe, A Deer

Alongside Park Loop Road in Acadia National Park, not far from Otter Cliffs, we saw this beautiful White Tail Deer. We were driving in the car, late this afternoon, when a slight movement caught Chuck’s eye. I pulled out my camera. But she was moving and the engine was running, so it’s all a bit unfocused and dreamlike. Yeah, that’s what I was going for - a dreamlike quality! Worked like a charm. ;o)

Schoodic

On the one hand I want to keep it a closely guarded secret. On the other hand I want everyone to be able to enjoy it. I’ll err on the side of inclusiveness. Here are some photos of our trip over to one of the loveliest parts of Acadia National Park, the Schoodic Peninsula.


First of all, we found Fred. Or, more accurately, Fred the Herring Gull found us. Chuck was napping in the car at the time. I believe Fred was so concerned that someone was not actively appreciating the scenery that he flew up onto the hood of the car and stared at Chuck in amazement!


I let Chuck and Fred commune and headed off with my camera and my Sassafras walking stick to find this beautiful sight.


Soon Fred was able to rouse Chuck and he (Chuck, not Fred) joined me as the waves crashed up against the rocks. Fred was totally right about the importance of enjoying the scenery!

Remember This Guy?

Yes, we’re back in Bar Harbor, Maine; staying in the same hotel and we’re hoping to see our winged friend from last spring, tomorrow morning.

We drove up in a mix of sun and rain, arriving just after sunset. The waves sound wonderful. The fact that we are here means that our grandniece Isabella is doing so well that we decided to keep our reservations. Those were the reservations we made last spring, timed so that we would be back home in plenty of time before Carrie and “Bambalina’s” original due date of November 6th! Izzy now weighs three pounds, fifteen ounces (1.79 Kgs) and is off all of her supplemental oxygen - hurray! It will still be a while before she is able to head home with Mom and Dad, but we are all delighted with every milestone she passes.

Katydid

Well, we call them Katydids, but the scientists say they are part of the Tettigoniidae family.
Yup. Katydids it is!

Oops! I should have put a link in for the Katydid. They look like grasshoppers, but are actually more closely related to crickets.

That’s Eft Not Elf

An Eastern Newt Salamander (Notophthalmus Viridescens) in its Red Eft stage, as seen in our dooryard this morning. Chuck provided assistance by holding back the greenery and adding a sense of scale. Thanks Chuck!

Bella Luna

As we were leaving the house early this evening, I was startled when this Luna Moth (Actias luna) fluttered past me and landed on the driveway in our dooryard. Chuck quickly handed the camera to me and I snapped a few photos. When we returned home several hours later, the Luna was up on the barn door, resting in the spill of light from the old fixture.

A Place To Start

Ever since the BP oil disaster began in the Gulf of Mexico, I have felt overwhelmed by it. The can-do, girly-girl solution side of me wanted to rig up something involving a giant funnel, a long hose, some duct tape and wrestle the gushing catastrophe into submission. As days turned into weeks I began to despair. I still have no idea when the engineers and scientists will either control and capture the gushing oil or somehow stop it from flowing into the Gulf and damaging or destroying everything in its ever enlarging sprawl.

In the meantime - and I fear for a long, long time to come - people and animals and the Earth need help. Charity Navigator has assembled a list of where we can “Make A Donation To Help Threatened Wildlife, Impacted Ecosystems And Damaged Economies”.
It’s a place to start.

Service & Sweet

This may be slightly premature, but it seems entirely possible that LaCie rocks!

One of the three ways to connect my 2008 LaCie Rugged external hard drive (EHD) to my laptop went kaput. At first I thought it was the cable. But a quick side trip yesterday to an Apple store, determined that it was the “outlet” or something internal to the EHD. Ted said “It’s still in warranty. Call LaCie. They’ll treat you right.” I called. They did - treat me right that is. I’m wrapping it up and shipping it off to them tomorrow. They will either repair it or send me a new one. Sweet!

Now, because many of you just glazed over as soon as you got to “external hard drive” I bring you another photo of another four legged member of our family, Cassie:

Murphy!

Our niece Kate and her husband Phil have welcomed the cutest Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier into their lives. His name is Murphy and he is our “grand-nephew”! We haven’t met him in person yet, but Kate sent us these photographs. She also generously gave me the green light to post them here. I can’t wait to pet him!!!

Photographs courtesy of KRL. Layout by LMR/Pink Granite. Fonts: Hypatia Sans Pro and Jayne Print. Software: Apple iPhoto ’09 & Adobe Photoshop Elements for Mac.