Cooperative Poser

Steve and I are thinking of putting our two-story house on the market in mid-April. We've been talking about buying a one-story for a couple of years now, and have finally begun the search. There's a beautiful place not too far from here that's close to Folsom Lake, with access to great birdwatching habitat. We checked it out again yesterday, and came upon two western bluebirds, among a throng of bushtits (laugh all you want...go ahead, just get it out).

This little fellow was the most cooperative poser.

How Cruel Thou Art, Mother Nature

Brief hiatus as I recuperate from the chainsaw Mother Nature took to my throat, and the tree she felled on my head.

Please stay tuned...

Great Backyard Bird Count

This is the third year Steve and I have participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Bird Studies Canada. The count takes place over four days, from Friday, February 12 through Monday, February 15. The count creates a real-time snapshot of birds across the continent, and anyone can join in -- you don't have to be an expert birder to record the birds in your area.

Steve took the photo above of these hooded mergansers on the pond near the house. And below, a few more snapshots...

A California towhee, eyeballing Steve near the trail.

And a yellow-rumped warbler, shortly after emerging from a bath in the creek.

This is a spotted towhee (formerly known as a rufous-sided towhee, the name I'll forever call it; why did they change it, anyway?)...

...and last, a dark-eyed junco (formerly known as the Oregon junco -- ditto above).

Leaving Cheyenne -- Review in Narrative Magazine

I have long, long, long been a fan of Larry McMurtry, so when Narrative Magazine asked if I'd be interested in reviewing LEAVING CHEYENNE for its First and Second Looks series, I was delighted to accept the invitation.

The review hit the magazine today, and if you love Larry as much as I do, please join me in the revelry here.

Great Horned Owl Chicks

Steve took this photo of these very fat and fluffy great horned owl chicks while working as a wildlife biologist at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Oregon some 900 years ago. We're older now, but ever optimistic, and if we're lucky we'll have some owlets in the redwood trees next to the house this year. Only one problem: where's the nest?

Tree-huggers and leaf-lovers: our family of four

One of the really great gifts of living on or around wildlife refuges is the chance to hop onto a trail for a quick nature walk. When Jena was seven, and Maya was four, Steve worked as a wildlife biologist at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge on southern Puget Sound, and we often plucked the binoculars from their hook in the kitchen and hit the refuge trails. On this day, the girls spotted a young garter snake, then scooped it up for a better look (click on the pic to see its flashing tongue) while Steve snapped a photo.

To this day, our girls are nature lovers; Jena works for a national conservation organization, and Maya has returned to school to pursue a degree in wildlife biology, while working part-time for her pops.