Hawk silhouettes, a surprise flower and a picture by Isabelle.

I got a good silhouette picture of a hawk today, so I thought I would do another "Hawk ID" post.


So, beginning birders, what type of bird is this?
If you want to go back and read my previous post about hawk ID's, clickity-click here.

Long tail. Short wings. Head extends far beyond shoulders, looking like a mallet.
Cooper's hawk.
Also, when you are watching a hawk fly away, (which is usually how you are seeing them) accipiters have a flight pattern of flap-flap-glide.

Short tail. Long wings. And of course, a red glow to the tail.
Red-tailed hawk.
The flight pattern of red-tails is soar-soar-glide.
Difference between RT and red-shouldered hawks in flight: Look for the white crescents on their wings.
Remember the rules of anatomy: Form equals function.
Cooper's hawks are forest hunters, so they need speed and agility to chase their prey (usually birds) through the obstacle course of trees. Hence the rounded wings and long tail (acts like a rudder)
Red-tails are more of a open area hunter, and are built to soar. Hence the long broad wings.

From a distance, this could be lots of things. But even at a distance, if it is tilting back and forth as it soars, you are looking at a vulture. And the lighter underwings are a good tip-off that you aren't looking at a bald eagle.
Differences between black/turkey vultures:
BV's are smaller than TV's, and have black heads versus the red head on the TV's. But if they are way up in the air, that isn't helpful.
But BV's have whitish primaries (the "fingers" on the wings)


And to add a bit of frivolity to this post, here's a quiz:
I found a flower in a surprising place today. Anyone want to guess what this is?

Scroll way down for the answer.

Yep, it's butter.
Why did I take a picture of butter?
It could be either:
A. It was just so cool, I had to. It's a floop of butter!
B. I was under the powerful influence of a spread with no trans-fat.
C. I am Blogzilla.

Finally, a picture of Elvis drawn by Isabelle:

Elvis in the middle (see the barring? What a smart girl.)
On the right, a dead rat on the feeding block.
On the left is me, looking in through the door slats.

No Ball At All

I volunteered to help out with RAPTOR's fundraiser this year.
Instead of a regular auction/dinner, we are doing something a little different.
It's called No Ball At All.
I won't say exactly what we are doing, yet...but it involves pictures like this:

(Original photo by the Fabulous Shila...did anyone know she had a website AND a blog????)

"Of course, I'm French! Why do you think I speak in this ridiculous accent?!"

"Deck the halls with crows and cardinals....fa la la la la, la la la la."

"I'm too sexy for this skirt, too sexy for this skirt,
So sexy it HURTS!"

You win some, you lose some

If nothing else, having kids can give you some laughs. And they can also make you want to run away, screaming like a lunatic.

Case number 1:
I was sitting at the dining room table, working on some jewelry (I started making jewelry a long time ago, but I never could make the time) and the girls were playing in the living room. Lorelei said, "Mommy! Look!". I was distracted, so I said, "What is it?" and she said,
"Look how strong I am!"
I turned and saw this:

(For those of you who can't figure this out...she stuffed toys into her dress to make "muscles")

Shoot. If breasts made you strong, I would be the Incredible Freakin' Hulk.

Isabelle was not to be outdone, so she did it too:

Case number 2:
Just as dinner is ready, it is our routine for me to tell the girls to go up and get Geoff. Sometimes, to give Lorelei a head start, I whisper to her first, so she can get going for the stairs before Isabelle does. Lorelei, being the youngest, never seems to come in first. In anything.

Tonight, I told them that dinner was ready, but to wait for me to set the table. Lorelei started up anyway, and Isabelle ran up and grabbed her and started a fight. Then as Lorelei was screaming, Isabelle dashed up and got to Geoff first.
I went up to tell Isabelle how sometimes it's okay to let Lorelei do something first. Isabelle was in a big snit and slammed the door in my face. Well, that went over real well.
I opened the door, and asked her if she would like to spend the entire evening in her room. She said no, and then proceeded to throw things around her room. I just lost all patience and told her goodnight, and shut her door.
A fit of epic proportions ensued behind said door.

I went in and calmed her down, and when she was ready to listen, I talked about being the bigger person, that letting Lorelei win will help build her little sister's confidence, blah blah.

She asked if she still had to stay in her room all evening, and I said no, of course not.
She said, "I forgive you, Mommy."

I needed to walk away. She forgives me?

I am now online, looking for train tickets to another state.

Color me happy

You ever have days that make you actually glad that you exist?

I have found that nature walks with one kid are much easier than with two. Since Lorelei only goes to school two days a week, I get her all to myself the rest of the week. We went to Miami Whitewater Forest today, and even though the bird action was lacking (a few catbirds, vultures, goldfinches) we did see plenty of color:

Blue:

This is so gorgeous, I don't even need to know what it is.
(But if you know, tell me)

Green:

Common Mullein...with a "size complex".

Fuzzy....?

The creek that runs through the park is so low, it defies belief. There's enough water for fish, albeit small ones.

Purple:



Another flower than made me almost fall over. My wildflower ID website isn't working, so I am forced to crawl through the Web looking for names.


White:

Cabbage White, that is.

Even the browns were interesting:

Look closely at this picture. You can see the sky through that crack in the bark.


Abandoned swallow nests...

Cute little amphibians...
(Please put me down, lady)

I only took this "bee"cause of Sharon. It was drinking!

Gray:

Zzzz.....

And a stunning black/green combo:

Spicebush swallowtail

The trail we walked today was 1.2 miles. And here is what happens to a 3 1/2 year old when you make them walk 1.2 miles:



Another version of blue:

The sky was painfully blue today. Ever look at a perfect sky and actually clutch your chest?

And just a tiny hint of blue:

Hooper went out with me to wait for Isabelle's bus. What a good dog.

Miscellaneous Monday

Geoff let me choose a book yesterday for our anniversary, and I chose this one:

I loves me some Douglas Adams. If you like Monty Python, you will like Mr. DNA.

Today was Lorelei's first day of Preschool. She was just fine.


(Walked in like she owned the place...)

(...and found a seat and waited for class to begin.)


I took some time to bird, but it was fairly quiet.


A turkey vulture and a red-tailed hawk spun around each other for a few minutes and then the TV flew away.




(I'm only adding the picture of the TV for Lynne, because I love her.)



This picture is just to mess with you:




(The train wasn't moving.)



I don't know why, but I love graffiti. Some of it is just amateur crap, like gang symbols and "For a good time, call...." stuff, but some of it is beautiful.


I have a goal to someday have one of my photos on Cute Overload. This one is pretty good, I think. It covers one of the Rules of Cuteness: A huge head and tiny appendages.


Totally click on this to see the teeny, tiny frog toes.

Seven years ago, today

I didn't realize how much my absence would be noticed. I'm fine, y'all.

*September 9, 2000*

Seven years ago, I did the smartest thing I have ever done.
I married Geoff.

We don't look at our wedding pictures very often. It's neat to see ourselves way back when, happy and thin. I have posted about my bouquet before, and here's a close up of it:

Oh, man. Look at all that color.



Here's a good cleavage shot. I was walking up the steps from the basement of the church, and the photographer was waiting at the top, so I lifted up the hem of my dress and gave a big grin.

I was working for a podiatrist at the time, and since my feet are a constant source of pain, I didn't want to wear dress shoes on my wedding day. So I made some "Bridal Sneakers":





Silver ribbon for the laces, sequins and beads hot-glue-gunned on. Oh, and ruffled socks to complete the ensemble. I danced and danced all night. Geoff and I were some of the last people to leave the reception. And my feet were just fine.




I didn't have a flower girl. But I had the cutest Ring Bearer, my godson Jake.
(Just to the right of Jake is Rachel, my sort-of-sister-in-law)
This is my absolute favorite picture of that day.



The ceremony went off without a hitch. Until the end, when the priest called Geoff by the wrong name. He said "Jim". I was told later by my father-in-law, Swami (aka Jim), that the marriage wasn't legal because Father John said the wrong name.
Look at everyone cracking up. We are not a solemn group of people, as you may have noticed.



Sigh. Dad and me, dancing to "My Daughter's a Bride". Dad was not the dancing type. This was only the second time I danced with him. The first time was at a wedding, when I was 6 and I stood on his shoes.

How's this for a wedding cake?
It was raspberry swirl cheesecake, covered in fondant. It was delicious.

The day was perfect...75 degrees, no humidity, clear sunny skies. And I married the best guy on the planet. We had six months of just us, and then, Isabelle was conceived on Valentine's Day, 2001.

(Geoff and Isabelle, Windsor, Ontario)
We have packed in a lot in seven years...two kids, career changes, a book or two.
Here's to many, many more happy years.
I love you, Geoff.

If Stupid printed money, my face would be on it

Birding isn't supposed to be a dangerous activity. Poison ivy, maybe a skinned knee from chasing a rare bird down a hill. But it's not supposed to get you suspected of terrorism.
Today, Lorelei and I headed west to Shawnee Lookout Park, and near the park is a power plant where some peregrine falcons have been nesting for the past few years. (A nesting ledge was added to one of the towers)
Although the breeding season is over, I wondered if the pair or any of the young were still hanging around (I don't have PFs on my life list yet). At what I assumed was the the main entrance, I pulled off the road and got out. I had seen what looked like a large bird perched up on a platform mid-way up one of the towers. I looked through the binoculars and saw ear tufts. Okay, that's not a peregrine. But a great horned owl? Out in the open, during the day? It looked real, not like one of those fake owls put up to discourage birds from perching and pooping everywhere. I was very, very far away, and my bins are not as high-powered as I would like. I took two pictures of it and got back in my car. As I was about to pull into the road, I saw a woman walking up the driveway, waving at me. I stopped and got out.

(Lorelei is sitting in the car during all this, totally oblivious)

Woman: Can I help you?
Me: Oh, I was just looking for the peregrines. I was hoping they would still be hanging around.
Woman: Well, you can't take pictures of the plant.
Me: I can't?
Woman: This is a chemical plant. We have to enforce our rules about people
taking pictures because of the threat of terrorism.
Me: (In my head...Holy sh*t.)



I started apologizing profusely, and then two more workers came up the driveway to talk to me. I gave them ID, and the plant manager said that he figured that I was looking for the peregrines, because of my bumper stickers. He said that since 9/11, they have cracked down on things.
Jesus. I hadn't thought of that.
He also said that if I wanted to come by to see the peregrines, to come to the front office and ask for him and he would let me stand out by the road to look for them.
He asked what I was looking at, and I told him about the "owl".
He said, "I think that's fake."
Sigh.
I was duped by a hunk of plastic. And suspected of being a terrorist because of the damn thing. Since it caused me so much trouble, here's the picture (No identifying items in this pic, so I think it's safe to show to the public):




DUH.