Silent Hike

Somehow, I haven't gotten out for a good walk for a long time. The Naturalists in Training at Bernheim enjoyed a fall retreat this weekend, and I joined them for a while. After Dick's presentation on Aldo Leopold, we all went out for a silent hike. It's easy to be silent when you walk alone, but much more difficult when a group goes out.

The first frost of the season coated every branch and twig along the trail. As the sun rose, the frost became shining pearls of dew strung on a necklace of spider webs. Click any photo for a larger version. One of the NIT's share her favorite poem before we set out. I'd never heard it before and want to share it with all of you.

Lost, by David Wagoner.

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

Of course, moss isn't always a bright moss green. Sometimes it resembles a lichen more than anything else.

Everyone in the group notices something different, which they are allowed to share with motions only. This salamander looks cold to me. How do they spend the winter? I wonder if this temperature drop caught him by surprise.

Be silent and let the light and colors speak to you as you walk through the forest.

A Word to the Wise

You know how life goes. You get busy, taking trips, volunteering, yoga, a new grand baby , and you get distracted. Housecleaning and dusting can be put off until guests are scheduled, but you must go to the grocery store, put gas in the car, fill the bird feeders and BACKUP YOUR COMPUTER FILES regularly.

We've lived in this house for almost 33 years, and have never had any problems until last Friday.  I was out for about 2 and a half hours running errands and when I returned home, a window in the back of the house was standing wide open with the screen raised. You guessed it, big enough for someone to enter the house, which is what happened. We were broken into and robbed. The first thing I noticed missing was my laptop. I called the police, just fuming. How DARE anyone break into my house! OH NO! I hadn't copied all my Galapagos photos from August to the backup drive yet!! In fact, it appears that I hadn't made any backups since about last April, so most of 2011 is gone. Anything I blogged about is on Picasa, but the original photos are gone along with all the slide shows I'd prepared for various organizations. Laptops and software can be replaced (a time consuming activity), but other things are gone forever.

Accompanied by the police officer, I discovered that my entire jewelry box was also taken, but that's all. Have you ever tried to list the contents of your jewelry box from memory?  The one good piece was individually covered on insurance, but everything else will be subject to the deductible. Most things were gifts, or purchased from the artist and one of a kind. I've been browsing the jewelry websites just to be reminded of what I had and try to get a feel for the prices for the insurance company.

So wake up and hear the rooster crow!  Get busy and back up those irreplaceable files NOW!  A removable hard drive is a good start, but what if the house burns? Then you would be in a worse condition than I am after the theft. Back up your back ups and put them someplace else for safekeeping. Write down the serial number of your computer, camera, etc. and put them in your off site location. That's the first thing the police wanted to know about my laptop. And for God's sake, go lock all the windows in your house!  Nothing like locking the barn door after the horse is gone, I know, but maybe someone else can benefit from my negligence.

Galapagos Islands Revisited

One of the fun things we did in the Galapagos Islands last summer was visiting the Post Office on Floreana. During the years when whalers stopped at the islands, they set up a barrel as a Post Office. Since voyages usually lasted several years before the men returned home, it was difficult to communicate with loved ones. So the sailors would leave letters in the barrel as they headed out into the Pacific. Sailors heading home would stop and sort through the letters for one to be delivered to their destination. Modern visitors have an easier time communicating, but it's fun to leave a post card in the barrel for another visitor to deliver later.

I left a post card for my friend Tavia at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve, not knowing when or if it might be delivered to her. Last week a mystery caller wanted to know when she could come to see Tavia, but wouldn't say why. When she arrived, she wanted to have a camera ready to take a picture of Tavia's expression when she looked at the post card from our trip in August. Judi Petty actually lives in a subdivision very close to the Nature Preserve. I've always said Louisville is the biggest little town in the world. How true! Thanks Judi!

Raptors at ColorFest

Hagatha the Great Horned Owl

When the sun shines warmly, and autumn colors glow red and gold, everyone likes to get outside to enjoy it before winter sets in. Bernheim Forest takes advantage of this every year with ColorFest, and Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky brings a variety of raptors. This year the weather was absolutely perfect!

Miki the Missippi Kite

Miki, our Mississippi Kite, has grown his pale grey adult feathers, and looks so much different than he did last year this time. The only person today who knew what kind of bird he is came from Alabama where they are more common.

Miki spread his wings to absorb the warmth of the sun. Leaves blew to the ground all day, crunching underfoot. One leaf blew right in front of Miki who swiftly grabbed it with one foot, thinking it was an insect. You should have seen the look of surprise and disappointment on his face when he started eating it, only to find his snack to be dry and tasteless! 

Scarecrow Jubilee stars whimsical scarecrows built by many people and organizations. Click Here to see all of the entrants and the winners of the competition. This year I found several scarecrows related to birding, and this is my favorite.  Don't you think the birds get tired of being stared at by birders with binoculars? This giant raptor decided to take action, and carries this birder scarecrow away in his talons! I would have voted this one the winner.

Another group of scarecrow birders hide behind a fence of corn stalks, while the birds perch right under their eyes.

This owl scarecrow is pretty spooky, but I think our Great Horned Owl Hagatha is more intimidating, don't you?

Blue October Sunday

After all the excitement of our new grandson, Dick and I needed some quiet time together, and Sunday morning was the perfect opportunity. The temperature was chill, and heavy dew on the rooftops looked like frost. We bundled up and headed for nearby Anchorage Trail, a favorite among local birders.

The people who come up with names for paint colors need to call one October Sky Blue - if they can match this sky at all! I can't think of any other time all year with such a shade of blue.

Enough talk, though. Just enjoy the beauty of our fall walk.

Yes, now we have the peace and serenity for another week.

New Life and Everything...

Welcome to the World, Kittrick Alan Carson!
Born Sept. 25, 2011 at 5:52 am.
Weight: 7 lb. 15 oz. Length 20 in.

Proud parents, Brian and Mary Beth...

Grandparents, Dick and Kathy.

He's not too excited, is he?

Brian is 6 feet tall, and his dad was 6' 7", so Kit may grow into those long legs!
Now the adventure begins!

Falls of the Ohio Updates

I have volunteered at the Falls of the Ohio State Park for eight years, and love it. The park is not large as parks go, but there is always something new to be seen outside along the river.

The Interpretive Center at the Falls of the Ohio State Park opened in 1995, surviving a major flood only two years later when it became an island for a while, but the inside has not been updated since that time. School children remember the rotunda as the home of a mastodon skeleton and prehistoric fish.

Click on photo for a larger version

As an Indiana state park, there isn't a lot of money for building improvements, but the Falls of the Ohio Foundation is there to save the day. Their Crossroads Campaign is raising money to entirely re-vamp and update the exhibits inside the building to be more interactive. The first step is to re-design the rotunda making it more open.  Many of the creatures that used to take up the center have been moved to other locations, and the mastodon is now the entrance to the auditorium.

Glass sculptures hang from the ceiling, and the introductory movie is being revised. The new exhibit design will replace current exhibits with state-of-the-art immersive experiences emphasizing four key themes of the region’s scientific, cultural, and natural history, and strengthen the connection between the Interpretive Center and the outside fossil beds.

The entrance to the Interpretive Center has always been at the front of the building, facing the road. But the parking lot is in the rear, and visitors grumble a bit at having to walk all the way around the building to reach the entrance (especially when they just need the restrooms really fast).  Part of the renovation will move the entrance closer to the parking lot. Given time and money, it will be exciting to watch the developments come to life.

Of course getting there is more of a challenge than it was a few weeks ago.  Louisville has three bridges crossing the river - two are for the major interstates, and the third is more for local traffic only. The bridge for I-64 going into New Albany has been closed indefinitely due to major cracks in the structure built in 1962. The newspaper article quoted one of the inspectors as saying he wouldn't let his family drive across it!  Proposals to build a new bridge, or bridges, at Louisville have been kicked around for about 20 years, without any success.

 The I-65 bridge took years just to re-paint and cost more than the original construction. So now all the traffic on two major interstates must be routed across that one bridge, and rush hour is taking over two hours for commuters. But at least no one ended up falling into the river on a collapsing bridge. We did a raptor program at the park near the Kennedy Bridge, and inspectors were walking across the top to make sure it can handle the extra load.  You couldn't pay me enough money to do that!

Ecuadoran Hummers

Cotopaxi Volcano

After seven wonderful days in the Galapagos, we stood in lines at the airports, and suffered through two different flight changes before arriving back in Quito, Ecuador. After one day of touring the city, we headed out of town to Guango Lodge on the other side of the mountains for some hummingbird viewing.  The weather was unusually clear, and we got great views of Cotopaxi Volcano. The guide told us there are 65 volcanoes in Ecuador, and 32 of them are active. I was surprised that so many of the buildings in Quito seemed to be made of simple cement blocks. When the big quake comes, there may not be many buildings left standing.

Driving at Risk

Of course, actually reaching the Lodge was a risky undertaking. The roads leading through the mountains wind up, down and almost in circles. The pass was about 13,500 feet above sea level, with chill winds making us wish we had warmer jackets on. The roads are in good condition, but only two lanes, not surprising considering the height of the mountains. When the grade steepened trucks and buses such as our own slowed down, but the cars were impatient. Despite the double yellow lines, and inability to see around the next corner, no one seemed deterred by ther danger. They just stepped on the gas and roared passed us. Actually, we did so ourselves one time when stuck behind a truck filled with cement blocks proceeding at about 5 mph! 

Collared Inca Hummingbird

The birds were worth it though! Kevin saw 37 species in all, including hummingbirds and others, but I didn't see half that many. Of course, hummigbirds fly really fast, as you know, and it was hard to find/identify them in the shadows. This black and white bird was probably the most common, a Collared Inca. Several species had white feathers around their eyes, making them look like big eyes from an Egyptian tomb. After a sip at the nectar, the little birds smack their beaks - or so it appears when their tongues dart in and out.

Chestnut-breasted Coronet

This Chestnut-breasted Coronet claimed one particular branch as his own. After sipping at the feeder, or chasing the other birds away, he returned to the same branch all day, basking in the sun, and watching to see what we were doing.

Buff-winged Starfontlet

The Buff-winged Starfrontlet was another aggressive bird, chasing the others away from the feeders.

Long-tailed Sylph

One of my favorites was this Long-tailed Sylph - just look at that tail!

Long-tailed Sylph

And his face glowed in irridescent green. You'd think he'd have trouble flying so fast with such a long tail.

Sword-billed Hummingbird

On the other hand, we wondered how in the world this Sword-billed Hummingbird got anything to drink at all from the feeders, given his long, long bill. The book says this is an uncommon bird. He can't land at the feeder...

Sword-billed Hummingbird

...and after feeding, he back away, then tips his bill up to make sure it all slides down. And, no, we didn't see any of them fighting duels with their bills!

Rio Guango

The Rio Guango rampages down from the heights, and believe it or not, some people kayak on it.  The problem is that there aren't any calm places to take a break after paddling for a long time.

Torrent Duck Female

Torent Duck Male

Who would expect to find ducks in a river like this? How about the aptly named Torrent Duck? They actually swam upstream against the torrent!  We felt like these ducks the next day, fighting upstream with immigration, customs and security at both the Quito and Houston airports the next day. Although we really thought we would miss our flight in Houston, we made it with seconds to spare, and arrived home safely. So this should be the end of the posts for our big trip. Adios South America!