Cancel February, Curling ROCKS, and Vomiting Mocking birds

I have cancelled February. Get a felt tip pen erase it; tear the page out of next years calender. It has gone. I hope your February was great? Mine stank. Smallest friggin month of the year, still clearing up the Tsunami of crap. Wife with Pneumonia, car broken, tree fell on landlord, septic tank blew up.
That was last god dam Monday. 2 days at a "Retreat" with pretend intellectuals, and my good friends wife died across the street. Guess it really doesn't matter where she did it, but she did it. I am glad, also for that. Semi comatose basket case , he had to 24 hour her for the last 7 years, as the state drained him until he would be forced on Medical.Like my father in law was.
This countries medical system is screwed. I wish Jim well, in moving on, he paid his dues.They should have let her die with dignity. No one was winning. Sad.
Which reminds me . Why do Americans dance around the word "Died" ? She passed away, is no longer with us , has moved on. No she has not. She died, I do not understand
Oh yes , just stick a few days on any month of your choice, or add a couple of months. Have at, after all the Catholics jerked it around , the Mayans ran out of rock, and I think there is one some where nobody can understand or translate. Linked with blood letting by the IRS.
Watched TV , whilst brow mopping. Totally into curling now. Anything that I have no idea how to do, uses language I can not understand whilst executing a pointless task, has to be good. Up there with crown green bias bowling, (sheep dog trials) and Lacrosse and Ladies Field Hockey and Polo. All personal faves
This Mocker caught my attention this am as I fruitlessly birding. It was twisting its self into weird positions, put the camera on it, hoping I could get it flying up and exploding or something . It did. Whatever those are they came out with its last thrashing. Have a good week
rh

AAAHH .... its Wheeler time

I hope you bought tons of Raptor books. Like hard cover Wheeler, both coasts ad nauseum. Drag 'em out. Nothing much around unless you were let in on the secret Ovenbird, or needed Kittiwake. Went searching in my patch.11 coot at the drop, no access to fish ponds. Berm building.
Now having waded through Immature gull silliness, admittedly by reading the definitive guides that contradict each other and looking at series of "Definitive shots " that shew a fourth week second moult immature backlavistan herring gull, even evry other frame seems to defy the straw they cling to. I have to confess that those who play that preposterous game should be made to wear distinctive clothing. So I can see them from afar and hide from them. Life is too short to waste on that sub-culture !
NOw I am having a shot at Red Taileds. During the winter season there are up to 60 in the general area of Blythe, perhaps more. Sat on phone poles. Lot of grat light and no traffic , so I can park sideways in the road, folk drive around and wave !
So here you go. Pole one pale one, pole two dark one. All taken from same spot. Click click click, swing to next etc
Here you go, enjoy the evening.
And remember there are those who can id these in the field. Probably closet Gull watchers. Have fun Roger

Food budgets : sign of the times

So you are gazing at your pound of ground beef,the hungry family, your wallet and bills and wondering how far you can stretch it ?
Well here is how to stretch a half pound of ground rat as far as you can. Just a helpful culinary tip.(From the guys who brought you Ratburger Helper.)
rh

Inca Doves

Inca doves may be coming back after being very. very scarce. Took me all day to line these Bastards up. More pics confirming id, but this one is fun !
Keep birding.
rh

Hawks,Horses and herons

My word,my goodness. I am off to a good start. 5 photos/2 days. Down load time 2hours and 21 minutes. Yay Verizon, way to go. I guess some one else was using the land line. We have a mega speed optic phone cable runs through town, they just put it in.OOOps forgot to let Blythe in on the action. Satellite ? Yeah they pass over. I am paying twice "Civilized "rates for a system, they had to find a specialist for, as no one uses it anymore !
Remarkable.
Thankyou to whomever died so I could go birding. Kinda fun day. Though you had to dig for the fun.
Good start at dawn 13 Whistlers on the river, about 10 minutes later flushed 8 from an alfalfa field. So still at least 21 in the area Raptors thinning out quite quickly Increase in YThroats, a Hermit Thrush,
At dusk 317 asst (Mostly GW)Herons at Fish Farms. There goes your bottom line OUCH
A pair of Ospreys are displaying, male snatching 2 lb Koi ! and luring Fem to Cotton Wood, another M is fighting him
Talking of horses. My wife asked for somewhere to put her horses, well we had the plans drawn out and were piling mesquite, and I was about to call Kelly to dig the pit, and beans where being pondered. Some idiot asked swmbo what kind a rolls we should buy.
Go to back up plan
Got me a spread. Too funny ! !!
Leasing "ad nauseum" corrals, arenas and rubbish just around the corner, just out of earshot, and easily avoidable on ditch bank. I suggested letting them loose, and seeing if they would come back. Idea #2 gone.
Any way what tipped me into this foolihness, is that I have, in the middle of "Jollity Farm Riding club " (Sorry Viv Stanshall and the Bonzo's ). Two GiNormous Cottonwoods. And even better I now have herons building nests. Now at 8.Don't know of a bigger one in these here parts. Excpect way to many breeding heron pics.
Higsons Happy Heronry.

DR JOHN and the Audubunny

As Dr John once sang "Could have been the right place, but it must have been the wrong time". Driving a ditch bank home, pondering why the principle walked in on my worst class, as two opposing forces in my room where about to have their own Cullodden. Don't worry I slaughtered their i-pods and left their text units in flames. But led to an odd meeting with the principal. Oh well.
NOt as final a meeting as...... sat pondering, camera available as always. Looking at a field, Harrier came over camera out, snap snap snap , bird gone. Also one Desert Cottontail, Lagopus audubunny. Need a rematch with the principle, Rabbits chance?
Regards

Had to share ! Can't make this up

Rain went away. Small flock of waders held a Dunlin and a Western Sand. Western sand, probably my earliest record, very rare in Blythe at this time of year, Dunlin almost same. All was not lost. Remember what is good for me, might be a no looker for you ! A dozen Geye at the drop, 2 merlins at phase one, 3 Rerrugins, a smattering of both flavours of Bluebirds, what a great year. My invasion of Robins , all three are still here. Rain got too much
Location,Location.location. The "Clueless idiot of the Month " award has been won
Channel seven News.
Fire fighters helped local home owners remove dirt and debris from their lawns and dug diversion ditches. Cut to large rolling lawn, 10+ firefighters lack luster digging a trench down the lawn, and staring at camera."Hollywood hills" High maintainence frosty bitch, with every hair in place starts off "Oh it was so miserable , water was coming in under the daws the bathroom roof started to collapse, it was so scary. Cut to indoor video.Beautiful home. People in designer wellies sploshing in 12 inches of water. "Yes it got so bad that we decided we would evacuate here, and that it would be drier up in our MAIN house"
How bothersome for Pookie. Stuff later, rain clouds gone, a strong wind. Here comes del sol
rh

Why haiti and the national response annoys me

All right happy campers. Sat looking at the sky. It can't decide whether to rain or get off the pot. Most aggravating. What started this very loosely held together train wreck of thought is where we start and end up ; Northern Harrier !
Not so long ago,I was needed in a nearby home.
How can this country look itself in the face and still strut around helping other countries and fighting for poor oppressed "Furreners" a couple of billion here, a couple there who cares, when tax paying working americans are living in poverty.
This is no Hip-nick peace brother bull shit.
There are 9 people crammed in a trailer/home made house, canal water, shady electricity, 2 of the kids dress only in diapers, 3 adults sleep on mattresses, behind the sofa, and I left once as 2 where trying to make 3 as we watched Barnie. 11 dogs .Pit bulls and puppies. The floor of the shelter, not a home, is an accretion of dog shit, piss and assorted spilled food substances. The yard a conglomeration of torn open stray dog trash distribution, and rusting ne'er to be completed fixer uppers. Tires hold the roof on.The adults, except for the breeder, all work damn hard in the fields, and the 60 year old "Nana" works 2 jobs. And yes they paid their taxes and are proud to be legal US citizens.
Time for another ceo bonus, methinks.
Every time I left there was a Male N Harrier working the field behind. Kind of took the edge off the moment.
HAITI HAITI. At last.
Thank God ! the media was needing a really good disaster to start the year. The H1N1 fizzled out, media fed.
But here with the aid of todays technology, we were watching a disaster happening before the people living on the island had probably figured out what was going on. Ships were sent, billions pledged. local volunteers rushing around, people packaging socks school kids collecting bottle caps for Haiti. a quick album by stars we either do not know, or should lay to rest.(Do you know "WE are the world " part one. Only raised 467 Million, rest went "else where ". Lets see, that should keep the armed forces in Afghan well armed ,busy converting Big Rocks into little ones for a couple more days !)The Pres was all over it , hurrah hurrah, for Haiti, those peaceful tranquil peaceful people who were hit with a natural disaster. Most americans could not find the place on a globe before this and many can not still. I tried. How many folks are aware that this is one of the poorest countries in the world, and has been for years ruled by a dictatorship.
Starting to think Blythe needs a serious disaster, or the US should declare war on us. Hell of a lot of improvements headed our way.
But no the super bowl shot down that line of reason. Blythe is in the country I live in and pay taxes too.I can not expect immediate support in this country, too close to home.
All I have to say is "Katrina"
We can not give the Haitians, the storm trailers, but they were good enough for US citizens. I am willing to bet that Port au Prince looks better than New Orleans , in half the time.
I was taught to make sure your family is surviving, and then spread the extra to those with in immediate reach.
FOLKS. Am I the only one who belives we should at least have a stable well supplied viable nation before we ride off to kill the dragon and realise we have only one arrow, the horse is dying from lack of health care, and the populace, has lost interest.?
I think it is time for the American politicians to stop rattling sabres, please sit down and look at history, read the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.Even a synopsis. Rome spread itself so thin "running" countries who did not want them there, had religions the romans declared outlaw etc etc. While back home Politics fell into corrupton, vice, and self centered greed and avarice. And the proud leader of the world crumbled, and very quickly.
America is slowly becoming an "Ordinary country in bad shape "
The sun is peaking through.
Volume 2 later

When the last Cricketer leaves the crease.

Managed to get in a few innings on the way home after tea. Before light caused the umpires to pull the wickets. Not enough light to continue, especially as Fortescue had taken a nasty googly to the cup, and a slight roughing of the outside crease was giving the top left handed spinners too much of an advantage against the southern screens.
Top hole kind of finish to the day. Game resumes tomorrow at dawn. Regards to you chaps.
Roger clutch feathering-shaw, and Popsie
I was just looking at the middle picture, and it just suddenly looked like some kind of artsy fartsy dish. I don't know "Audobons warbler sushi served on a bed of lightly toasted black truffle fronds, and decorated with wild forest greens served a la dente, with a light and savoury fiddle head fern drizzle" Maybe I need food !

That is it until Friday

Normally, I get 3-4 LIGHT Phase, and 0-3 DARK phase.
This year 5 DARK, 2 LIGHT phase. Go figurer. This is the 4th street one. TRULY a stunning raptor.
See you at the weeks end