Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Vacation Reflections


I've been back from Chincoteague for two weeks, but part of me is always there. My son Alex took this photo of an immature White ibis. I had never seen this species at Chincoteague before; they are usually not found above North Carolina. We saw a total of about six in our time there, all immatures. We also spotted an unusual number of Black-necked stilts, also normally found from North Carolina south. Evidence of global warming or just an unusual summer in the mid-Atlantic?

In any case, I wanted to share this image and also one I took of a stretch of beach that was then closed to protect nesting Piping plovers. The birds in the top photo are Sanderlings, the classic wave-dodging sandpipers of coastal areas nearly everywhere. When I feel overwhelmed with work, I pause to look at this as a reminder of peace and natural beauty. Feel free to borrow it for the same purpose.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Screamin'!

Screamin' Jay Hawkins & Serge Gainsbourg -Constipation Blues

My first foray into adding video! This is a true curiosity made...curiouser.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Do we really need a genius to remind us?

"This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder." — Albert Einstein