What a neat day in Blythe

Nothing spectacular but a couple of neaties. Continuing "You name it Sandpiper !",I am batting o.oo on my recent calls. I am going Bairds ! Flycatchers shewing up, at least 20 Ash Throats, Wiilow, NOT touching that one with a ten foot pole empid, W W Peeewee, finally got a decipherable picture of a BGBeak, and a Begging ist fall transient juv hatch year race indeterminate Lark Sparrow with parent, you can see he is looking at the adult like. Who brought this idiot. A number of my pictures are not Nat Geog quality, but a lot are hand held, some with 750 mm. I crop and sharpen thats it, if I feel the need. I also try to put some life into the birds. Hell you pay for what you get. Talking of which. If you see a picture you like let me know, and I will e-mail you the original in full size so you can mess with it. I don't give a shit . I don't own the birds, and I get a lot of fun from chasing them around my patch. And if you enjoy, thats payment enough !
I am not a real photographer so I will not stamp my name in red ink through the picture. Copyright. Crap. Please read that "Copy ? Right on dude."
Now that I have found a reasonably,rapid way/size to download pics . Will return to a new canvas, and blog. This effort only took me one side of Mike Oldfields Golden Anniversary edition remastered CD edition of "Tubular bells" to download. Much swifter than the entire Alllman Brothers "Eat a Peach" on vinyl. From last time. It is good to have an intelligent time scale
Roger

Original concept requires intelligence, random Predator pics

Takes for ever to download pics this size. Thats an hour. Going to go smaller tomorrow, and maybe you can make them larger ? If not, you just get more but smaller !I was running through the paper, you know that thing you hold and read, TV turned off. Whilst these topics I struggled through Are we overeacting ? Could be wrong, how much profit will the Pharmaceutical companies make out of the latest Pandemic of swine fever ? Ain't happened yet and most of the deaths are of people with "Underlying symptoms". More die a day of Common Flu !
Why not carpet Bomb the white Striped friut fly infestation, should get the rest of the infestation of 7 individuals, and wipe out the Mango and Guava crops they are specific two. Also help the economy by clearing land for reconstruction. Headline in the Press Diatribe/ Pravda west.
Economy shows signs of life.
Downturn, numbers remain abysmal...
Would you not wish to be in a hospital and have a nurse come in and say Mr Higson your wife shews signs of life. And the next line is "Downturn But chances of living remains abysmal.....' Don't these people read this ?
I think not.
Why do I care that some russian supermodel,Oblivious Slutchicksky is the sixth Supermodel to become pregnant this year ?
Though I must admit, if I had been involved in any of them, hell why not all of them I am open minded, I would be writing my memoirs instead of this rubbish. Got to take a nap , still a few more to go before I hit the Guinness book of records, at my age need to conserve my energy.

From the desert
Roger

later in the day,

A bit of a dead loss, for birds. 5 Forsters at the fish farm was nice, sewage farm all but empty, it will be a couple of days till the ponds refill. There are about 25 acres of "Fallowed land " just irrigated, and planted just around the corner with what looks like a forage Grass, some Monocot. Any way, it is just the right height and they are just far enough away, and I usually do not have my spectacles on, that only the heads of a small group of Mourning Doves peaking out of the grass and moving rapidly, looks like a small flock of "Grass-pipers". Damned if I did not get conned again today.Wheres my .410 ?OK Sorting pics. You could get anything.You have been warned. Oh did you hear Michael Jackson died. The TV press has lost all my respect for it. Where is the integrity and value system. Seriuosly true "News break" Michael Jacksons dr denies ever giving him anything that could kill him, more at noon. Right in the middle of my Hannah Montana show rerun.Anything can kill you, what a facile statement, if you give him anything you could kill him, if it was provided incorrectly and in the incorrect way. I had a friend who was killed by Honey. Yes Honey. A truck load of it ran him over. See the idiotic logic.Actually I was changing from birding gear and turned on the TV. Had to sit for a few minutes and have my few remaining brain cells sucked out. No wonder the youth of today are stupid, why is not Sharpton, and Jackson jumping up and down about racial profiling on that show. Terrible
What we need is TV shows that I grew up on. Tom and Jerry, now there is gratuitous violence between different species. The Lone Ranger, healthy stereotype depiction of Native races, their limited vocabulary "Kemo Sabbay", and their inability to ride in a saddle. Bat towel good enough. The Lone Ranger would look over his shoulder and fire a shot, at least ten horses and riders would go down. Mothers would always wear pearls for breakfast, there was only one half way intelligent cop in town, and it only took an hour for the ATeam to recue someone from Afghanistaniverdiana or somewhere. I guess the commercial time was spent travelling, oh and when someone got shot and fell down in a Movie, it was the sound of the bang that killed them, no impact they all seemed to fall forward. I could go on but..........
regards
Roger

early morning warning/warming

It is a beautiful sunrise, I am peering at as I type. All the dust in the air from yesterdays dust blow makes the whole sky wild salmon pink/dyed orange farm raised salmon. Hmn I intend to submit those two colours for the next crayola name a colour competition. Now I think back I never did get any credit for "Goose turd green", actually an accepted clothier colour in England a century or two ago.Greatness gets shruged off.Stunning temp flip flop again. AC set at 79. Outside 71.All doors and windows open !It made it to 112 yesterday.You do the math. Flat calm, could be an all or nothing birding morning.
Oh Warning.
Going to put together a file of birds eating stuff.Why? Because school is starting, we will have a slew of "Dedicated idealist "You know" student teachers from La Jolla" who only got the job the day before,because they are naive are looking for a condo with a view of the river, and have not been further East than The El Cajon shopping mall unless it was in an ac equipped aeroplane, and they were going sking in Aspen or summering with Gramps in the Hamptons, and who will be in hysterics in 2 weeks, and La Jolla by Thanksgiving and I am an asshole This afternoon. Double WHY?? Because I put them on the staff refridgerator door, where they stash their lunches. Got to toughen up, or we will be missing half the newbies next year Got to find my Bald eagle tearing into a Raccoon pic
You are warned
Gone birding Roger

Spies futility and idiots

Well swmbo returned and got the pm plumber wait. If you have never birded a desert sewage plant, you would be amazed at how fast the water percolates through the sand and vanishes once the supply ends, 1/3 the birds and 1/8 th the water I had four hours earlier So it goes .Down to 9 sp, other ponds filling rapidly though.
Sometimes when I have had a good day and not screwed everything up too much, I like to buy an 8oz can of ice cold Clamato and sip it like fine wine. So stopped at the Shell station to spoil myself. Wind gusting to 50(HIgh wind warning), dust storm 106 degrees A high maintainence couple dashed in from their convertible both holding their hair ? And bought high end processed tap water.I had forgotten what loafers looked like and Captain Jackets. As we surveyed each other with mutual disgust, heprobably was not as mutual as his wife who turned her back. He spoke "THE FATEFUL WORDS " In an annoying loud tone "Does it always get this Hot here in the Summer Ha Ha ?" I felt the pressure of the sun scorched field workers buying their Budweisers after picking Melons all day, and the two ladies I know behind the counter with no AC upon my back. I put on my pretentious british accent "Actually, it is quite surprising now you point it out.I had not noticed Who would have thought high temperatures in August in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. Thankyou for pointing it out " "Huge smile of "Getting to know the locals" I wish I had been Eric Idle !I try. Next statement "Have you noticed how windy it is " . "That would explain the dust blowing by ". I am still savouring my clamato, but with greater relish.
Spies. Off we go on a limb, sawing it off behind me. Look at this from my sideways obtuse thinking angle, before you cancel your subscription.
A high ranking Politician,the former USA Vice President and Nobel Prize winner, is your boss. Now I assume employers keep track of what their employees are doing. You get dispatched as a reporter "ie a gatherer of any information at any risk on a certain subject'
In this case trafficking in Humans.
You are sent to one of the most Politically charged and nuclear sensitive parts of the World . ie N Korea to acquire information on this topic, a rabidly scary topic, with no intention but to embarass the Government. You are a professional with intimate knowledge of the region, and admittedly and willingly cross an International border illegally to aquire information that will be shipped back to the west, and used to denigrate and maybe bring down a government. Why is that not spying ? I am not talking about the cause or intent, I am talking about the actions taken by these womwn. And I am supposed to believe Gore did not know. Talk about a circle the wagons buddies we got caught, trip by Clinton. I do not care how the Western Press handles this. N Korea won that Political hand in Spades. Kim Dung Chin probably upped his stature in his own mind immeasurably. Ready for some more rocket launches ? I can guarantee, he has his fire work collection set to go.
Idiots. Why on Earth where people hiking along the border of the next nuttiest nation in the world. Hey, I have an idea lets go hike along the rim of the second most crazy regime in the worlds border and get lost, and arrested. those fools should be left where they are. Is there nowhere else to go hiking in the Galaxy other than the border with President Afghanyilisamadad AND THE NUTTERS IN IRAN. I have an idea, lets all go hike the Khyber Pass, and camp in the Hindu Kush. while we are at it.Sounds spiffy to me PLease someone identify the common gene these people have so we can keep them from getting passports. Got to go fill hummer feeders , the high wind dumped themm mostly
Keep thinking, and pondering, there is quite obviously only a few of us left.roger

Waders , cement, and spies

It was too much to resist. I asked the Visigoths and Huns who were "Refloating' the cement ramp for the 3rd time, as each of my wifes 3 cats felt it necessary to walk through the cement. Before she could catch them.One guy threw a rock at one,SWMBO saw, I am sure his wife won't mind that he will be happy in a fish tank eating mealworms and crickets. I was liking the idea of La Higsons Cement Pits. Did not fly. Any way, went out, and tried to placate them by asking if I could put my hand prints in it. Hell you would think I had asked my wife for sex, faces started twitching, small furry animals died in their tracks, people rushed out of their houses shouting it's the Apocolypse. I usually figure that out as a no.Not a word was spoken, but the way they were loading the big diggers machine guns made me say "Nice job" and run back in the house. I waited until they were gone and sneaked out and carved a Terek Sandpiper in it. Intimidate me , huh.
The sewage plant this morning was awesome. Opening up two beds closing down 3. Waders everywhere. Well for me
14 species. Too stunning as I was packing up to come home and sit away the day waiting for the Plumber to arrive at 9am. Bastard has not yet arrived, but then when you only have one you sit and wait.Welcome to Blythe.SWMBO has the afternoon shift.
A great birding moment. I was micturating behind the truck, loud strange call, grabbed bins from hood , wet leg (Muscle response and age). A large godwitty bird that literally tumbled out of the sky, in almost free fall calling all the way. Images of Black tailed ,or hudwit danced in my mind. As it span you could not tell which was up nor down, flashes of Black and white. It started way up in the sky, it was circling and then went for it. Incredible, it seemed like only 50 feet above me it flattened its wings, and killed its speed by making half a dozen incredibly fast circuits before hitting the water, and gulping liquids. Juv Willet Pic above. Stunning birding memory. That is to be used in the "Not another god damn school mission meeting" where 75 people get numb asses, and fill in all the o's on the important mission statements, that never make it past the entry lobby trash cans as the intelligent ones leave. Yes getting back in school mode !I DO NOT keep any of that crap.If the "Principal de Jour" says please make sure you bring your completed 23wqe form to the meeting. Go find a freshman teacher they keep everything, ask to copy theirs. If it looks good either white out their name, or say "I did not get the memo, and I was looking for it" Or "I thought we where supposed to put it in your mail box,you must have misplaced it, I am sorry but you did not make that quite clear at our last meeting" It really does not matter anyway, the rules will change before anything gets implemented !
Jaded yes
Realist most definitely
I needed a new moment, a female Snowy Owl landing on a stone hedge 20 feet from me in the soaking rain/sleet as I peed on the wall, preparing to hitch back to Brit, from N Uist in the Hebrides,in a driving atlantic storm after just ticking Stellers Eider was wearing thin.
The eider bit , not the Owl. I have never seen a more magnificent creature in my life. You do not know birding until a Snowy Owl has looked you up and down with contempt, stared at you with those piercing eyes, and you have actually eye locked. Mesmerizing. Now I know what must go through a rodents mind. Shrugged the sleet off and silently drifted into the fog. I have spent hours as a teacher trying to learn that look, maybe if my eyes were Yellow ?
Enjoy some early am wader snaps
Regards Roger
Oh ps Aprapos of nothing. I did wet my leg, when I grabbed my bins, with the owl. I remember quite clearly. That was the warmest any part of my external body had been in 24 hours !Oh Double PS PS. I realise one of them is a Godwit, interesting to see so many Wader sp have Yellow Legs. Any reason?

Cooler tempers prevail

The temps are dropping and the humidity moved through. Thankyou weather organizer. Folks are starting to smile not snarl, including me, this has been a savage summer here in Blythe. You have to love this. Our garage desperately needs a cement access ramp, as SWHMBO spins the car in the dirt/gravel and is gradually removing the front of my Jeep, and the side of my house. With near misses. NOw I have a guy out here driving a "Digger " that probably could pick up my house. I have three guys, shirts off with muscles in places I did not know existed, pounding in steel and using tools I am too scared to plug in, that make scary noises,bulding ramp footings out of trees they just gnawed downd and running around with wheelbarrows of "Top slurry" or something. Shouting about slappers and floats. SWMBO comes in and says what are they doing? I said building a cement ramp that you have wanted for the last 8 years. Always good to state the bleeding obvious, sends everyone in different directions. "Shouldn't you be out there supervising and helping "
Now I ask you why would I want to wake up buried in ten cubic yards of cement.
Sewage plant "THE" spot 13 sp wader this AM
Roger