Spring, Bartlett Pond, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

The pond is exploding with new life this spring. Dozens of birds of all stripes and colors are eating seeds at the feeder (black oil sunflower is very popular) or foraging nearby.  Other critters are busy as well reproducing and finding food for their offspring. Hawks, osprey, swans, geese, turtles, squirrels, muskrat, kingfishers, blue herons, and green herons - the natural world develops with incredible intensity after another winter season draws to an end. And the flowers and other greening plants......


....like these clematis.....

......and these lupines add to the proliferating spring colors.

Multiple goose families coexist peacefully  - not the case with swans who do not seem to coexist peacefully with anything.

Even though this mother goose saw me well in advance, she still let her goslings come up the path - one of them doesn't seem so sure that was a good idea.

This red-shouldered hawk is nesting with his mate on an undeveloped lot in the neighborhood. He often stops to hunt in the corner of my yard. He roosts on a branch no more than ten feet off the ground at water's edge looking for tasty frogs or snakes/eels. He seldom stays very long this time of year - the red-winged blackbirds that are nesting nearby torment him mercilessly by diving and pecking at his wings and tail to make him go away. He goes away.

The drama of spring continues to unfold daily. The local swan family is now down to only three surviving cygnets from six just a week ago.

And even though it was a mostly cloudy day, it had a nice beginning.......

Another great day to be alive.

Nose Rings Worth Noting

Hairy beast example number one with nose ring, and......

....hairy beast example number two with nose ring.

I'm glad I was a teenager in the 1960's-70's.  Being different then only required tie-dyed shirts, bell bottomed jeans, and long hair - no holes in body required - ah, youth.......

GIF

GIF is an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format. The simple explanation is - it allows you to create the illusion of motion with as few as two still photos. That's the extent of my technical knowledge.  They are odd looking but strangely appealing to me.

Here's a Wikipedia reference at this link if you want more detail. The GIF was introduced by CompuServ in 1987. I remember Compuserv as my first internet provider back when I had a computer with a 40 MB hard drive - or maybe it was only 40 KB - I can't remember for sure. I feel old......

Each of the following is made up of only two still photos. The rate of change from one to the other is different, however. 

Amber waves of grain - er, uh, weeds.....

Canal grass.

Human smiles.

There are apparently a number of websites that offer the ability to build a GIF.  I used Gif Ninja. A site called Create a GIF looks interesting and has additional special effects but I haven't tried it yet.

Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

I am struck by how fresh and new and beautiful the beach seems each time I go visit. I think it's that sense of renewal that each high/low tide cycle provides.  Over the past year, I have walked a lot of beaches and generally find most people and dogs to be friendly.  The beach seems to be a great equalizer - everyone can enjoy it in different ways together.

Ever see a real estate ad that said, "steps to the beach?" This would be accurate advertising.

Manomet Point from White Horse Beach.  There is nothing quite like a sky half-full of cumulus clouds with a brilliant midday sun slicing through the gaps, the shadows racing across the ground creating light and dark areas.

White Horse Beach.

Priscilla Beach.

What is the attraction with the beach anyway? It changes daily, the sand shifts, the tides change. No one is really "in charge" of it, it just is. Generally speaking, we can’t complain to anyone to "fix it" if we don't like something – it’s the beach, deal with it or leave – no one's twisting anyone's arm to be there - no one's collecting tickets. I like that.

I just spent 40 years of my life working inside buildings - I like to be outside now.

The beach even makes it's own abstract sand sculptures.

A gull about to make a gear-up landing maybe?

This one has wheels down already.

An earthquake? - No, it's another of my GIF experiments.

I don't use Facebook much but, I still know how to "like" something in real life.



Swan Family, Bartlett Pond, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Sadly, our swan family is now reduced to only four of the original six cygnets. And, regarding the mom and dad swans ......

NO - they are not friendly.

NO - we neither feed nor do anything to attract them.

NO - they are not tame.

YES - they can and will hurt you.
YES - they sure look pretty, especially in flight.

YES - the red-winged blackbird whose nest is nearby still attacks vigorously when the swans come near.

And an unusual sight also occurred - a flock of six non-resident swans did two fly-bys. Didn't see them before and haven't seen them since. Seems odd behavior during nesting season. Poor photo quality but they looked and sounded pretty cool flying overhead. 

Mother's Day Then and Now

1996 - Lake Forest, California

2012 - Plymouth, Massachusetts

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

It's that time of the year for the annual grand exodus of the college students on the Massachusetts State Turnpike - somewhat analogous to the migration of birds I think. Moms and/or dads and/or friends come from all directions to help empty out the dorm room. I'm glad my son is not a pack rat - some folks had every nook and cranny in their car stuffed full and had even more stuff strapped to the roof top - sorry Mitt, didn't see any dogs up on the roof, though.

This is the view from the dorm.  A beautiful setting to enrich one's mind......

....in a spartan, no frills, 'bed-and-desk-in-room-with-bathroom-down-the-hall' kind of a place.

And when he gets home, he'll have about as much room as he had in the dorm. I'm not complaining  - we are very fortunate to live in a cottage on a pond but, three adult people and a cat in 800 square feet makes for close quarters.

Blackbird vs. Swan Family, Bartlett Pond, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

The resident swan family is out and about, seemingly enjoying the sunshine following the recent heavy rain.  So far, five of the original six cygnets remain alive. But the red-winged blackbird sitting on the kayak is not happy at their approach since he is guarding a nest nearby.

Both birds squawked in their respective languages at each other as the blackbird made his repeated diving attacks on the daddy swan. How do I know  it is the daddy? Supposedly, the male has a bigger knob on his bill than does the female - it is truly, all about size........

They sought refuge between the two docks, surprisingly close to me. They didn't stay very long, though. I think the raucous cries and dives of the blackbird got the message across - "Go Away."

Here, on one of his last diving attacks, the blackbird demonstrates the classic flight maneuver known to pilots everywhere whatever your species: the touch-and-go.

And it ends with the swan family paddling away. Seems to me that both sides won - the adult swans got to escort their kiddies to eat some fresh spring growth along the marsh edge, and the blackbird got the swan family away from his nest rather quickly.  All it took was some loud squawking to accomplish the goal with neither bloodshed nor overt physical violence. Sounds like there is a lesson there..........

Caveat: my apologies for the harshly lit, overblown photos. These are questionable even for a point-and-shoot camera but - they still tell the story.

Betty, you should have been here today with your fine camera gear.......

Still Life

 

It was raining cats and dogs over the past two days so my normal choices for blog material were scarce. So, for today I'm stuck with kitchen still life photos. We received 3 inches of rain in those last two days out of about 43 inches we get annually - compare that, for example, to Phoenix, Arizona which averages about 8 inches annually, or the Atacama Desert in Chile, South America, which averages about 1 inch annually with some weather stations there never, ever recording any rainfall.  It's a lot greener and more lush here in Massachusetts than those other places - just what the world needs - more green lushes.

But enough about me, on to the "art" (and I use that term very loosely).

This is entitled: "FAIR - A FAUCET."

This is entitled: "BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY SPOON(S)."

 

And, this, my finest work yet, is entitled: "FORKING A ROUND."

Sorry, this is what happens to a once functional mind when stuck inside the house too long. Either that or, retirement is turning my brain to mush.........

Canada Geese, Bartlett Pond, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Canada Geese seem to demonstrate incredibly alert, focused, and protective parenting skills. This father goose is especially alert and on watch when his brood is on land.........

.... one of the two goslings is busy eating grass that is almost as tall as he is.....

...meanwhile,  mother goose relaxes with the other gosling under wing. Such a pastoral scene - if they just wouldn't indiscriminately poop all over everything they'd be great visitors.