Wrenaissance Reflections

Skywatch: Sunsets on the Pacific Coast

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:51:00 +0000

Yes, I know you don't actually see the sky in the last one, but I like the way the setting sun is reflected in the waves.

Share more memories and great photos by joining in Skywatch.

If it's Thursday, it must be I & The Bird #80

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:10:00 +0000

Go for the gold with I & The Bird #80, over at The Hawk Owl's Nest.

The one that got away

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:31:00 +0000

"Oh," I said, "I think that's a swallow perched in the tree. How unusual! I think I'll get my camera and take a picture of it."

Of course, you know what happened next, don't you?

Gertrude takes the cat nap to new heights

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:39:00 +0000

Gertrude lived in a hotel in Carlsbad, CA, that we stayed in once upon a time. I like the recursive picture-within-a-picture.

Green Heron in a not-too-distant tree

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:55:00 +0000

Maize and Bluebirds

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:55:00 +0000

In Ann Arbor, even the birds dress in honor of the home team.

Bluebird photo by Mr. Wren

Skywatch

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:02:00 +0000

One of the fun things about participating in Skywatch is that it's inspired me to go back through photos from years ago that I haven't looked at recently.

This was taken on the beach at Carlsbad, California, a little before sunrise. I like the soft edges in the photo because that's exactly what that morning was like: fuzzy, like life before your first cup of coffee. The contrail on the left reminds me of a lightning bolt, even though it was a warm and sunny day.

And most of all, it brings back memories of a really fun trip. Here are some more photos from that same beach, showing the sky as a backdrop to the water.

Surf's up!

Share more memories and great photos by joining in Skywatch.

Clyde

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:28:00 +0000

This week, we are hosts for Mr Wren's family members who are visiting for Art Fair. Not present with us physically, but certainly here in spirit, is Kinsey's cousin, Clyde.

Pink Flamingo sounds like it should be the name of one of those umbrella drinks

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:44:00 +0000

Tacky or retro? Embarrassing or ironic? It seems no one is neutral about the critters. There's even a Society for the Preservation of the Pink Plastic Lawn Flamingo (Pseudamingoflay plasticus).

So, how did an innocent bystander (that's me) get embroiled with the bird brains? It's all Mr Wren's fault. Shortly after we got married he let it be known that he hated the things. Now, I don't know what happens in your family, but for the Wrens that's just asking for a boatload of trouble. PFs immediately became the family joke du jour, and sure enough, here came the first of the lot:

Happy birthday to me, from mother-wren-law:

A souvenir of a trip to the Ann Arbor Art Fair, from the days when we lived in Virginia:

It went downhill from there, which is the only direction these things ever go, and which also is how we came to have two of the genuine, original lawn ornaments living in the garage.

PS This is for those of you allergic to plastic:

Rest assured, I have more pictures ... of both.

20 things to do while sitting on the deck of an evening

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:47:00 +0000

1. Watch the pair of downy woodpeckers on the snag nearby
2. Wish the deer would come closer
3. Take a picture of the downies

4. Wish the light were better for photography
5. Wonder where the groundhogs and rabbits are
6. Try to convince myself that it was a Sora and not a mallard that just flew by
7. Decide it's better to be disappointed than delusional
8. Look at the moon with my binoculars
9. Duck, because that robin didn't see me when he plotted his trajectory up to the roof
10. Count nine grackles in the tree across the way
11. Give up on taking a picture of the bluebird this late in the evening
12. Admire the song sparrow perched on the top of the snag, singing loudly.
13. Watch a host of grackles in the reeds, including a juvenile being fed
14. Realize there's about a dozen tree swallows right next to the grackles
15. See a warbler I can't identify
16. Decide I'm going to bring the spotting scope out tomorrow
17. Try to determine if all the swallows overhead are roughies, or whether there might be a barn swallow or two in the group
18. Wonder why I don't see more spiders
19. Savor the wine and the weather
20. Watch the first fireflies appear before going inside

I and the Bird #79: The Third Anniversary Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:17:00 +0000

One of the best IATB ever, I and the Bird #79: The Third Anniversary Edition is up and available for your reading enjoyment. This edition, I read every one of the contributed posts and enjoyed them all.

There are a wide variety of reasons for bird blogging, but recurring themes of community, sharing, and contributing, are heard throughout the submissions. "I and the Bird" is a particularly apt series title, as it seems we all enjoy, marvel at, and can't wait to share our marvelous connection with these creatures of the air.

Our relationships vary, from the sublime

to the ridiculous

but the love shows through in our words and pictures every time we post.

Skywatch

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:22:00 +0000

Taken across the river in Canada, looking back at the USA. I like the way the spray of the fountain arcs up to blend into the clouds.

See more skywatch at Wiggers World

Visiting the Wren-laws

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:24:00 +0000

Despite a muggy morning, the day has mellowed nicely to become cool and slightly breezy. I'm engaging in my favorite activity, sitting on the deck watching the robins in the yard and listening to the frogs pluck their vocal cords. There's one funky sounding waterfowl I can't see well enough to identify, but at first thought was a horse whinnying -> suggestions welcome.

In honor of Mr Wren's birthday, we spent last weekend with his family, aka my wren-laws, in Cleveland. We drove, despite the gases prices, because it's the only thing that makes sense. It's not a bad drive from here, but it's almost entirely flat, straight expressway and hence boring. Even with the top down, flat is flat and boring is boring.

So to amuse myself and occupy my mind (you try reading in a convertible at 70 mph even if you aren't driving) I started noticing what birds I was seeing. No lifers, not surprisingly, but a nice selection including great blue herons, great egret, red-winged blackbirds, mourning doves, starlings, grackles, goldfinch, crows, barn swallows, canada geese, definitely ducks most likely mallards, turkey vultures, possibly a robin, a couple of accipiters, and two red-tailed hawks on a fence. I also saw a herd of deer on the way back and the usual assortment of horses and cows.

Okay, so it wasn't exciting as birding ventures go, but it beats the heck out of playing the license plate game. No photos from the trip, but here are a few I've taken at other times of the birds I saw in transit.

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:51:00 +0000

Gamboling Groundhogs Gambol Closer

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:59:00 +0000

I'm sitting on the deck of an evening. A pleasant evening. As it cools down into the high 60s, I watch the shadows lengthen across the field. For a while, it’s really, really noisy. There’s a lot of background bird song I can’t differentiate, and while I’m trying to sort them out regardless, bambi pops her head up above the reeds to give me a good, long stare. I debate with myself: do I want a picture of that interesting looking cloud enough to go get the camera? No, it appears not. I’d rather listen to a very noisy mallard fly back and forth across the wetland, quacking at the top of his avian lungs.

Two red-winged blackbirds on opposite sides of the yard each claim the high branch and proclaim both ownership and superiority. The roughies dart about overhead, chattering as they chase after the dinner only they can see. Next up, the song sparrow, singing from the same branch the blackbird just left empty.

Darker, cooler, quieter. I fetch a glass of wine and the camera, and Mr Wren wanders out to sit with me. Side by side, two wireless geeks with laptops, we gossip about our neighbors as they dash about the yard.

A great blue heron circles and lands. A bluebird perches and watches the passing scene, followed by a goldfinch and then a cardinal. A chipping sparrow picks a piece of dead grass bigger than he is and flies into one of our backyard trees. Dare I hope for the pitter-patter of little wings some not too-distant morning?

A great egret flies through, a hummer hovers, and after a good long time, the great blue flies east and away from us. I'm fretting a bit that I haven't seen "my" groundhogs in the field across the way, when who scoots along the edge of the wetland and through the yard?

SkyWatch Friday: Sunrise, Grand Canyon, 2002

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:34:00 +0000

Happy 4TH of July, everyone!

For more Skywatch, visit Tom at Wiggers World

Is there an X-file for trees?

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:40:00 +0000

My friend Ted sent these photos.

He writes:

So, we had some storm action about a week ago, too. Very violent thunderstorms in a huge system moved through the area, winds above 100 MPH in places. I think we got 6" of rain in this immediate area. Some damage was likened to that from a tornado but only one actual tornado was proven to have existed. And about 50 miles away, fortunately.

For amusement, I've posted a decent picture of one of our trees that "exploded". It's still standing because the upper stories caught, about 35 or 40 feet above ground, on some other trees, but I'm pretty sure the strength of the one pictured, at the disjoint shown, is not very high. It /looks/ like it got pulled upward and jammed downward against an inflexible stop, shattering the trunk outward. The truth may be much more prosaic. The tree is about 10-12 inches in diameter (standardish measurement), and about an inch thicker where it shattered (about two feet above the ground). Cool, huh?

Both Ted and I are wondering if anyone has definitive knowledge of what would cause this sort of damage and/or has seen something similar? I await the benefit of your collective knowledge.

Wordless Wednesday: Do I really think he's cute?

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:59:00 +0000

Why are you still bird blogging?

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0000

That's the theme of the next I and the Bird (#79, to be hosted at the mothership, 10,000 birds).

Apropos for me, as it's my sort-of anniversary. I started this iteration of the blog a year ago, in July 2007. I'd re-entered the blogging world a little earlier on another venue, in January, after a two year hiatus.

So why am I doing this?

The short answer is that I enjoy it.

I should preface that by saying that I'm not sure I'm a bird blogger per se, as I blog about animals, plants, weather, nature, and occasionally other parts of my life rather than just birds. And I'm not a birder, either, in the sense of all those wonderful folks out there who keep lists, travel to the ends of the earth, and even (huge shudder) camp out (/shudder) to see lifers. Even my photos are hit and miss, but I'm happy to have a bad photo of a great bird, because I can fill the rest with memory and imagination.

So, back to the question: what's in this for me? Quite honestly, a lot of return on my investment of time and energy. I have an outlet for my words and pictures. I am de facto a member of a community of people who care about baby robins, who share my appreciation of and joy in the great world unfolding outside in my back yard, and who in turn share their stories, pictures, adventures, and concerns with me.

I would probably never have started a traditional pen-and-paper nature journal, because I always thought I hated to write. Instead, I'm learning that I rather enjoy it and I wish I had more time to hone my words. The more I write, the more I pay attention to the world around me, the more questions I think of, and the more I want to know and understand and - yes - write about it.

Earth, Wind & Water: Festival of the Trees

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:23:00 +0000

Festival of the Trees for July is up on Earth, Wind, and Water.

Today is the 150th anniversary of a monumentous occasion for nature lovers. On this day in 1858 the Linnaean Society of London published an Essay by British explorer-naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace together with another Essay by one Charles Darwin and a letter by Darwin to Asa Gray, the American botanist. These publications unleashed upon the world the theory of natural selection and our understanding of how trees (and every other living species) came to be was changed forever.

... This Festival of the Trees then will be presented in a theme loosely built around the unique history and human relationships of the species represented in the posts and individuals thereof ...

Mysterious

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:31:00 +0000

There were a bunch of these gossamer threads scattered around the lawn a few mornings back. They look like spider webs, but that doesn't seem likely. Any thoughts?

And now, the post you've all been waiting for

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 10:25:00 +0000

A few days ago, this is what I saw.

Not long after, Mr Wren remarked that he had seen them out of the nest and jockeying for position on the beam. Sure enough, next day I saw one of the youngsters on the top side of the deck.

Proud parent nearby keeping watch.

Although apparently both fledged, I've only seen one adult and one juvenile feeding. Perhaps they spread out geographically for better foraging?

Hip-Hop Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:23:00 +0000

Two different rabbits, two different spots in the yard, both at the same time. Neither the least bit interested in me.

Use your imagination

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:15:00 +0000

If you look closely in the pictures below, you can see swallows swooping over our wetlands.

These are mostly Roughies, though I have seen both barn swallows and tree swallows hanging around in smaller numbers.

I always think of these great swooping flights as joyful, though I suppose what they are doing is the equivalent of my having to chase the grill around the yard in order to claim my dinner.

So, perhaps the joyfulness is all in my head (or heart) - but I'm okay with that.

Apres le Deluge

noreply@blogger.com (Wren) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:39:00 +0000