Monday, June 11, 2007

Crooked

Do you like my new look? I wanted to make a cleaner-looking page.

After reading Kathi's post about Crooked Run Estuary, I thought it was time to go back.
I had the girls with me, and let me say this:
I know that they are only 5 and 3, but I expect no more from them than they can handle. They were really not into the nature walk, and they both are in 'phases'.
Phases that try my patience and make me want to grind my teeth into dust.
But we survived.
Not many birds spotted. We saw mostly butterflies and flowers.
Very tired Eastern Comma
This Eastern Comma was very, very tired. Look at those wings.
I can tell Commas from Question Marks now...see the small white mark on the hindwing? Commas have 'commas'...Question Marks have 'question marks'. That was pretty easy.
Some sort of brown
Some sort of Brown.
Eastern Tailed- Blue
Wow! An Eastern Tailed-Blue! I didn't even notice the tail until I uploaded it.
Zebra Swallowtail and silver-spotted skipper
And I didn't notice the Silver-Spotted Skipper in this shot...I was aiming for the big Zebra Swallowtail.
Birdsfoot Trefoil
Birdsfoot Trefoil?

I heard plenty of song coming from the woods, and I would shush the girls (they KNOW what that means!) and they would be quiet for about 5 seconds...then Isabelle would discover something and shout, "LOOK! WILD STRAWBERRIES!!!!!"
Sigh.
On the way back, we stopped at McDonald's.
I had just finished my sandwich, and I dropped the box and it turned over...
This is why I am NEVER eating a sandwich of any kind from Micky-Dee's ever again:
Why I am never eating a sandwich at McDonald's again
42 grams of fat?????
155 milligrams of cholesterol?????
1380 milligrams of sodium?????
Holy. Sh*t.

Would anyone care to ID some of these bird calls? I didn't see the birds at all...they were hidden in the trees. (And I was too busy pulling ticks off the girls)



12 comments:

John B. said...

The blog looks good. Minima is probably the best base template that I have used.

I'm not sure about the bird(s) in the video. The dominant sound seems to be some kind of mimic - maybe a chat or catbird. It is reminding me of something else, and I can't quite put my finger on it.

Unknown said...

The new look is nice. I totally understand about your birding with the kids . . . it's a joy. Yea, that's the ticket!

Anyway . . . I didn't complain too much when the kids didn't want to come see the Puffin -- especially since they wouldn't really have seen it well anyway. :)

LostRoses said...

Your new look is very cool, Susan! I still haven't figured out how to stretch my picture across the header. Well, I found the instructions but it looks too difficult.

I think it's wonderful that you take the little ones birding!

Mary said...

I do like your new look! You are inspiring me to change.

Fast food burgers - I never choose to eat them. If we are traveling, I might have one and I always say, MY GOD THAT'S GOOD!

I can see you are enjoying the butterflies! They are more cooperative than birds...

Anonymous said...

Wow, such wonderful butterflies you are finding! I have taken pictures before and then once I review them find another species hidden in their! Yeah and the swallowtail! Sorry about the video, I can't seem to get it working on this computer! I will have to try it on the laptop!

Beth said...

740 calories. That means no chocolate, all day long...

I really, really like the new look. Much easier to read....

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

LOVE the new look! It's really clean looking. Yep on the bird's foot trefoil. Aren't they pretty? I remember birding when my kids were little. A real lesson in patience. OMG- the fat in those yummy burgers! It's no wonder I get such a stomach ache.

Patrick B. said...

Hey Susan, might the second butterfly be a Hackberry Emperor? And yep, I think that is BF Trefoil.

Patrick B. said...

Oh and I hear a Catbird in the video and something else at the end, which may also still be the Catbird.

Q said...

Dear Susan,
Birding with your children is nice for them! They will learn to love all the flora and butterflies and birds as they grow up. You are good Mom!
I think Catbird as well.
Swallowtails are so beautiful.
Sherry

NatureWoman said...

I like your new look Susan. I love your butterfly photos! I love it that you take your daughters with you!
WOW on the McDonald's sandwich. There's people at my Mother's work that eat *two* of those at a sitting. Amazing.
How's the PI?

Kathi said...

I can't get the audio to work (dial-up issues, I am sure) but if you are hearing a mimic, then it must be Gray Catbirds - they were everywhere on Sunday. Many birds, and all sounding different. I saw a Yellow-breasted Chat, but it wasn't very ... chatty on Sunday.

I LOVE fast food burgers, and Big Macs are my fave, but when I started my "fitness program" in Jan (can't call it a "diet" or I will be tempted to cheat) the first thing I did was cut out burgers and fries. Lost >5 lbs the first month, and my cholesterol and triglyceride numbers dropped dramatically in like 3 months. Did you see that documentary "Super Size Me" about the guy who ate nothing but McDonald's food for a month? By the end, his doctor and his health food girlfriend were begging him to quit. It was scary!

~Kathi