Pelicans

The forecast was for the mid 80s and winds to 30 mph so we were at Estero Llano early. There were over a dozen people assembled on the deck for the morning guided bird walk. While it is fun to quietly visit with friends as we look for birds that is way too many people so Lorna and I broke away to hike up on the levee, the highest ground for miles, before the wind became unmanageable. The wind was probably only 20 mph so we scanned the Llano on the far side of the levee for waterfowl which were mostly Ruddy Ducks, Shovelers, a few scattered waders and shorebirds. I shot a few pelicans as they flew over. Only 20 mph? It continued to pick up so we moved off the levee.

Eventually we joined the birding group for a while by Alligator Lake, checked out the Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night-herons, Grebes and Anhingas, took the obligatory Pauraque photo and we broke away from the birder herd again which had grown even larger by then.

Didn't see much, the heat and wind were energy sapping, and eventually we rejoined the group which was being guided by our friends Steve and Sue, in the Tropical Zone. We talked with friends in the group as it was dispersing and went to lunch with Steve and Sue - second day in a row at the Blue Onion.  Could be worse.

(the last I saw the wind was reported gusting to 40mph+)
Stay warm, be well, - Gunnar

Texas 2017: Day Three

We drove the four miles down to the Santa Ana NWF today. It was almost midday by the time we got there and there really weren't many birds around by then, but it was a beautiful sunny day in the LRGV, so we just went for a walk and I took a few pictures along the way.

- Gunnar

Bluebird of Happiness

Late in the afternoon, following rumors of a sighting of a Mountain Bluebird and slightly conflicting directions, at least as interrupted by Mr. Norris, Lorna and I, Steve Norris and Sue Keefer took off north of Mercedes to get a look at the bird. The bird quite a bit out of it's range and would be a lifer for both Lorna and myself. 

The directions were specific: "Take Road 2 1/2 between Road 11 and 12, usually on the fence just past the big horse ranch with pipe fencing and roses." How could a person miss it? So began a clusterfuck of driving around on rough back roads, with multiple sightings of no Bluebird, we seemed to be surrounded by no Bluebird. There followed a couple of phone calls and eventuaally bumping into another birder who noticed Steve's Vermont plates, recognized our fumbling around on the shoulder with empty binoculars and stopped to tell us that we were waaay lost and told us where to go. To see the bird. After another long "its just up the road" drive, we found the bird as described and took some photos. The first photo is mine, taken with a "modest" camera, The second is Steve's, taken with something looks like a white howitzer mounted unto a large expensive black box. It really works.

Here are a few I took early in the day; nothing special, although I do kind of like the immature Yellow-crowned Night -heron.

Wilson's Snipe

I took a handful of pictures today at Santa Ana, but it is sweet outside right now, 77F and sunny, no relief in sight. Maybe I will look at them if it rains some day.

Be well ... mind, spirit and body, -Gunnar

A Quick Kvale Shot

Merry Christmas. Here is a picture of my Chris Kvale with the recent Ely Rodriguez made bags and the Cody Davis bicycle stand.

And a Happy New Year.

We are gathering and organizing our clothing and optics to hit the road for the Lower Rio Grands Valley on January 1, 2017 for a couple of months. We have to get back in early March because Lorna is going to Costa Rica with birder yoga women friends. Categories and sub-categories: friends, women, yoginis, birders.

Bicycle Stand

I have a couple of bicycles displayed at our weekend home. "Displayed" is a bit of a reach. One is a literal wall-hanger, another one or two are just leaning against the wall. Most bicycle stands are functional, but pretty utilitarian in appearance, so when I saw a wooden one on Etsy it caught my eye. It didn't seem very practical or functional, but it got me thinking so I contacted Cody Davis at Woody's Fenders who has made a couple of sets of fenders for me. My initial thought was to just put a couple of legs on a a fender. Cody made a couple of prototypes, which revealed some issues. 

The stand I had seen on the internet just had rear legs. Cody found that no matter where he put a single set of legs the stand was unstable. The stand above is the first really functional stand he came up with.

While it functions quite well I didn't care for the downhill stance of the bike, so I moved the legs two inches fore and aft which dropped the rear wheel down to ground level. Maybe the rear legs could be shortened a little, but that was not a quick option.

If you are interested in a stand you contact Cody at Woody's Fenders.

Be safe, Gunnar

A Wenker Tour

;-)

Entry:

Living room:

Kitchen:

Basement:

 Stay dry,  Gunnar

Passings: Leon Russell

For Fritz.

The Last Rose

The curse, "May you live in interesting times". No problem here. It's been a slow week in Oakwood Park.

The weather has been classic clear autumn sunshine this past week. One late morning a few days ago I took a break from some inconsequential tasks in the garden, starting to put things to bed, and went up to the house for my 14th cup of coffee. There was knock and I was surprised to see the hulking figure of J.F. at the door. Surprised, as J.F. never telegraphs his arrival - he just shows up unexpectedly at the door on his way to or from Rapid City. "I checked the Growlery first. You are a trusting soul, an open door, your camera on a chair and a Filson vest! hanging on the hook outside."  "Yeah, its Oakwood." We left the Growlery door open, the vest still on the hook to guard the place and went to the Elbow Room for lunch - eating hamburgers and speaking thoughts that need to be spoken, things that only people who have known each other for half a century can truly understand - talk of children, relationships, ailments, and death. 

This water feature thing in the garden has really worked out me, even better than I thought it would and the birds seem to really like it. Today my friend Christy came over. He said he had stopped by the other day. He assumed I was around because from the street he could could see the Filson hanging on the peg. He said he came down to the Growlery looking for me, but I wasn't around, so he just sat on the bench in the sunshine for half an hour enjoying the little waterfall. He said he contemplated stealing the vest when he left, but feared the consequences. A wise choice.

Somehow today between his place and ours Christy misplaced his old lab, Cricket, who apparently went for a walkabout. Christy isn't very mobile these days so I was in charge of dog retrieval. I covered all of Oakwood. No luck. When I got back to Christy with the bad news, he said someone found her and left a phone message. Because of his hearing, or lack thereof, he couldn't decipher it. I was able to hear it better. Spencer, a kid down the street, was holding the runaway for us to pick up. God, that Cricket is a great dog. And Spencer a great kid.

The end of the season in Oakwood, time for the last flower pictures. The roses are expected, usually the last to go - the iris is a bit of an outlier. It was supposed to bloom in early summer. Maybe it did and still had extra energy to spend, or maybe its timing is just off. 

A red rose is always classic and beautiful, but I like the wilted, tattered symbolic end of summer rose clinging to an old rusty fence even better. These are for Todd Peterson, who at the end could only walk to the coffee shop and back, but still always taking and sharing photographs of every flower along his path. Toad died on August 8th.

Enjoy the roses while you can, -Gunnar

More Rock Garden Birds

Today I put a new top on a little outdoor table. After I finished it I sat down beside it in an old chair, armed with my binoculars, a cigar, a glass of beer, and of course my camera in my lap. The chair is sited looking directly down (up?) the little stream cut into the new rock garden. The birds seem to enjoy the enclosure of the ravine, which has surprised me a little, thinking they would want to be able to see approaching predators rather than hiding. 

House Finch

White-throated Sparrow

Red-breasted Nuthatch

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a surprise. A migrant from the far north, I have seen a handful of them this year - the first time in decades. Apparently their food supply up north is in short supply forcing them further south than normal.

Take care - Gunnar

Bird Canyon?

I previously posted some photos of this feature. It all started with a visit this Spring to the Hvoslef WMA east of Preston, Minnesota when we came upon a spring running into the South Branch of the Root River. It was beautiful. The sound was wonderful. The thought percolated in my mind as I was building the new steps to the deck. I decided I could build a spring in my garden in Oakwood for my pleasure and to attract more birds the garden. Birds. I imagined birds playing in the waterfall, splashing in the pool. I built the pool with various levels for the different sized birds.

And so 100+ hours later I have a spring spilling into a pool .... a pool which the birds pretty much ignore. They seem to prefer splashing in the 1/4" deep rivulet in the mini canyon.

Be well, - Gunnar

Rocks and Water

"Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the earth. Give me a fulcrum, and I shall move the world." - Archie Medes

A few months ago this was a weedy, overgrown slope bisected by a rotting picket fence. I been workin' on it. Some of the rocks I hauled over from Lanesboro, some were already onsite, likely transported from near Maude Koevnig's shack in Spring Valley, as all of the local rocks here are granite erratics left from the last glacier - more or less round and hard to build with without mortar. A number of the rocks I used are fairly substantial, probably weigh as much or more than I do. Keep in mind I am 71 years old, so they required more brains than brawn and some of Archie's carefully applied leverage. Still, for two or three weeks I ached continually.

Below the rocks to the south (your right) there is an existing small livestock watering tank which I had sunk halfway into the ground five years ago as my "water feature" - a bit of a sad joke. This one ain't no joke. There is a pump in the old tank which lifts the water up in a flexible pipe to the base of a large yew shrub, where it spills down a mini ravine, over a waterfall into a small pool which then drains under a large rock back into the tank - and so begins its aquatic journey once again.

The little ravine proved to be problematic. The pool has a heavy pool liner and originally the stream did too. Because of the transition to the wide, heavy rocks without real sides to hide the liner I just couldn't get it watertight. Eventually I tore it out and built a watertight channel out of concrete pavers and edgers, all neatly glued and caulked, then camouflaged as best as I could with rocks and plants. It may be a little too straight, but overall I am quite pleased with the appearance.

The pump was pushing too much water and looked like a mini Niagara, so I installed a diverter valve in the pipe to recirculate some of the water within the tank instead of pumping it up the hill. Now with a turn of a valve I can double or triple the volume. For now, this seems to be about the right scale for the little garden.

Some of the plants may look a little bedraggled right now. Keep in mind, 'tis the season to be bedraggled, and they have all been transplanted from elsewhere in the garden within the past week. I "harvested" the sheet moss from the shade on the north side of the Forsythia hedge. Eventually I hope to have a mist/drip system on the branch of the overhanging shrub and the whole section of the garden will be pretty mossy, the birds will like it, and it should help replenish the water lost to evaporation. After a year or two of tweaking and letting the plants and moss get established and growing in I think it will look relatively natural. There is a continuation of the garden toward the viewer down to the Growlery walkway, but it is hard to get far enough away from it to get a good shot. Whatever, it looks good. I think.

Take care, be well, 

-Gunnar