People photos from the Midwest Birding Symposium

I'm going to spare you my excuses for not updating my blog more.

So September brought the Midwest Birding Symposium in Lakeside, Ohio.  My arm got twisted (Thanks, Jeff!) and I am so glad I gave in.  Not only was it a birding event, it was full of faces I wanted to see, people I love to spend time with, and lots of new and wonderful people to meet.
There are a bazillion photos to share....here are about, oh, forty of them.


First, Palito:
Palito got to meet lots of new people and see new places...

The Black Swamp Bird Observatory!!!



Ottawaa National Wildlife Refuge!!!



He got to meet (and be blown on by) the President of the ABA!


And Liz!!



Palito doesn't like cole slaw.  He's an owl.


The Birder's Gang Sign:


He got to meet Kim Kaufman!  He was so nervous.....


And Barb!




And beer!


And Gentleman Jack!



Here, Corey taunts him with a knife.



And now the people:
Okay, I was totally innocent this time.  I was INNOCENTLY taking photos of Lynne and Kathi, and what happens?  Up goes the FINGER.
And look at the hairy eyeball she is giving me too!





Okay, funny story.  Al Batt told a hilarious story the last night of the symposium, and here's a short synopsis:
When he was a teenager,  he and a friend let some Muscovy ducks loose in their high school.  They put tags on the wings of FOUR ducks:  Duck #1, Duck #2, Duck #3 and Duck #5.  And the next day, the school was in an uproar because they "couldn't find the last duck".
Well, we found Duck #4!




The Rain Crows!





Ann Oliver's KICK ASS shoes:


Bacon!!!!  Yes, he's a people!


I went birding with the guys, and it was so great....
(Corey Finger, Christopher Ciccone and Greg Miller....yeah, THAT Greg Miller!)


Corey liked the back of my car.


Here's Kathi being all volunteery at her post at the information/registration booth:





Ah, the boat ride on Thursday night.  Lynne and Ruthie had JUST gotten there as the boat was leaving.
It was a fun, albeit rocky trip.  And it was GREAT to finally meet Ruthie...we actually got her to Ohio!


Oh, and here's a random bird photo:



Do yourself a favor and mark your calendars for the next Midwest Birding Symposium....
In 2013!

New River: Bacon

It's not really Julie that everyone wants to meet and greet.
It's always about the dog.

Chet, along with Bill and Julie, is a staple of the New River Birding and Nature Festival. If you attend this week of fun, you will be greeted at some point by this bundle of love and springs.

When I know I will be seeing Chet, I make sure I have good and chewy treats to feed him so that he will be extra gassy, and he also gets a toy.
Since most dog toys don't last more than a few seconds with Chet, this time I just made him one from fleece scraps that I had left over from projects. I added orange "flagella" and voila. An amoeba.


He always goes right for the seam. Since I had sewn the stitches, I knew this amoeba wasn't long for this world.



"Ack. Polyester stuck in my teeth."


Chet can turn any Blogger into a silly and goofy kid...




Somehow, Chet flipped Sara onto her back....

...and even got Laura (yes, quiet and ladylike Laura) to run around like a goofball trying to play keep-away:



We all become ridiculous around this dog.





And I love him for that. Well, for lots of things.







And during all this fawning over the dog, poor Julie tries to get attention by wearing another dog toy.

Sorry, Zick.

Julie blows into town, packing books and Bacon

Last night, Julie was in town, so I went to listen to her lecture (and see The Bacon, of course).


The crowd was diverse...some young, facially-pierced University students, some bloggers and a large amount of older birder/nature-oriented types.
The talk was good, as it always is with Julie.
Afterward, Nina and I and a few women whose names I didn't catch, went for an official Audience with Chet Baker.
When I know Chet is going to accompany Julie on her trips, I come fully armed with dog treats and a toy.

It took Chet maybe 5 minutes to kill it and dismember it.



Poor toy. We lined up some of the pieces and marveled at their resemblance to rib bones...



Chet and his Southwestern Ohio Harem:

An Evening in the Country

Clermont Northeastern Middle School has one seriously dedicated teacher. Melody, a science teacher I did a program for last month is a True Believer. She believes that Nature can reach children, that a classroom outside can dig into those digitally-addled brains of theirs and create beauty. She has begged and borrowed and worked hard to preserve the school's 150 acres of woodland...she has fought to keep their pond. She has behooved the PTA to help build a bird blind, made into a reality by an Eagle Scout.
She brought me in with our birds of prey, to inspire and awe her kids into looking up and realizing that there is more to life than video games and IM'ing.

She also brought in the heavy guns....The Zick.
Julie did an all day program for the school. I can't wait to hear how she was able to command and inspire 500 middle schoolers.


And Julie brought a small yet powerful ally:


Chet Baker was the surprise guest at the dinner last night. I have to brag....when he saw me, he broke into big time BT wiggles and roo'ed at me.
It might be because I always bring him treats. Always. But since I had no idea he would be present, I had to improvise.


"Thank yew for nibbles of your cheesy, meaty lasagna. It will give me gas, but it suits Mether right. She doesn't give treats like you do. I am bored with Mether."

For the record, Bacon was kind enough to regale everyone later with his Lasagna-scented Gas.

We met up at Nina's for wine and yummy snacks.



"Please pour that wine. The more you drink, the less you will pay attention to me eating all the hors d'ouvres."

(Wine lovingly poured by KatDoc)


Nina had found a baby black rat snake earlier in the day, and being the Nature-Loving Fool she is, she saved it in a terrarium on the back porch.
"The Girls are coming! I can show them this cute little snake!"

See how we think? Others might want to show off their new stemware. Or grandchildren photos. Not us. We want to see reptiles.


And speaking of Kathi....I think she has a mind to get her own sponsorship.




Tell the truth. Did you look at the snake first? I didn't, either.
: )



Now. Confession time. In addition to bears and bridges, I have an anti-fondness for cold-blooded creatures. Okay, okay...it's a fear. Give me a big red-tailed hawk or a brawny great horned owl, I'm fine. I am composed...in love, really. But a slithery, cold snake makes me do full body shivers.
Everyone was passing this thing around, and only mildly ribbing me about my aversion. I snapped out of my ickiness and said, "Julie, give me that snake."

She helped me take hold of it, but of course by then, it had warmed up enough from everyone else's hands and instead of being a docile wet noodle, it wanted to get away. Up my shirt. Julie was good enough to take it away.

It was a pretty snake. Looks nice with my beaded jewelry, doesn't it?

Bacon was not into the snake. He had found the calmest lap in the room and promptly went to sleep.

Words that I never thought I'd hear

A bonus of heading out to Middle of Nowhere, Ohio is seeing Julie, who happens to live just south of Middle of Nowhere, Ohio.

Sure, Julie is fun to talk with, and you are always sure to come away with a new tidbit or two of nature lore. But it's the critters who seem to be the stars:

A mini-Monarch ranch was set up on the kitchen table when I came in:

This guy was this close to folding over into the "J" position, and we checked as I was leaving to see that he only had one more set of feet to let go of before beginning the process of turning into a chrysalis filled with goo....soon to be a butterfly.

This one was already cooking:



If you follow Julie's blog, you will recognize Shelley:

(And that's Phoebe in the background, with late afternoon sunlight setting her hair aglow)
(Liam was at a cousin's house...I was trumped by video games. It's cool. I've been snubbed for less.)

A little turtle aerobics around the living room:



I absolutely LOVE this one....you can almost hear the wee little turtle "uhn!".


The gravy...BACON!

Thank goodness for "burst" mode...Chet Baker rarely sits still...
"Please throw the ball, Miz Susan...watch how fast I go."


"Are you watchin'?"

Yes, Baker. Always.


"Look, Miz Susan! I'm SO high!"



"And I can do a neat twisty, too."




"I brought it back for you. Please throw it again. And again...."



All that running, jumping and twisting can wear a Boston out and heat up their little bodies. So Julie wet down a towel (adorned with Australian wildlife, even) and draped it over His Royal Dogness.

"That's better. Thank you, Mether."

After a snort of really yummy wine, it was time to hit the Birding Tower.
I listened with unbridled envy as Julie rattled off the list of raptors either seen and/or heard on the property. Golden eagles. Peregrines. Show offs.
I looked below at the feeding station and a strange bird caught my eye.
The conversation that followed:

Me: What the...?
JZ: Whatcha got?
Me: There's a weird bird in that tree...(pointing it out)..it has a white head!
JZ: (looks down)....
And then she said something that I never thought I would hear from Julie's mouth...
"I don't know what that is!"

She then started cussing that she hadn't brought up either her big lens or her binoculars. She called down to Phoebe, who brought up the implements. We followed the bird for a few minutes...

And my camera got a big ego-boost when Julie complemented it on its light-gathering ability. This is the photo I got, and remember, we were 42 feet in the air:


This weird thing was gleaning bugs in the trees, and was traveling with similar-looking birds, which helped with ID...a leucistic red-eyed vireo! A very cool find...and MY find. That didn't hurt my ego, either.

A new leucistic species for both Julie and me.

The sun was retreating fast, and I had a rehearsal dinner to attend. With a pout on my mouth and a "crrrrrap" in my mind, Julie, Phoebe and Chet walked me out to my car. But there was one more critter to be discovered.
I saw what looked like a toy snake in the garage doorway and pointed it out. I really thought it was a rubber snake, but it was instead a baby red-bellied:
And it was not going to be picked up without a fight....


A beautiful little snake, and this is coming from a gal who DOESN'T LIKE cold-blooded anything.

(Look closely at Julie's necklace...it's a perfect representation of a monarch chrysalis. I want one.)

A final hug and thank-you, and a sweet gift from Phoebe. She picked a tuberose from the garden for me to take along with me. If you haven't experienced a fresh tuberose bloom, you ain't lived. A night-blooming plant, its blossoms give off an exotic yet clean, sweet yet light-filled fragrance. You just have to smell it for yourself.
I placed the bloom on my dashboard and waved heartily as I went down the driveway. I hate driving away from Indigo Hill. Visits are always too short.
But during the hour-long drive back to Zanesville and my family, I breathed deeply as the scent of tuberose filled the air.
Thank you, Julie and Phoebe (and Baker!) for the lovely visit, for opening up your home to me for a few short hours.