26/06/2011

22/06/2011

Barkie says Happy Belated Winter Solstice to the Southern Hemisphere!!!

Thanks Bob for reminding me about our planet's southern hemisphere where yesterday, as we in the north enjoyed the first day of summer, he observed the first cold day of winter.

Barkie says...
...barkbark barkbarkbark...

21/06/2011

Barkie says Happy Summer Solstice!!!

.. bark bark barkbarkbark....
That is all.
.

18/06/2011

Home wanted --- signed the Mourning Doves

A pair of Mourning Doves are deciding whether or not they can make a home with us. They spent several hours yesterday afternoon trying to find an opening in the front screen so they could check out the porch. Seems Mourning Doves prefer building their nests under roofs rather than in trees. It's not our house so we can't start nailing up dove condos everywhere but, after reading up on them, we decided we'd see about setting out a nesting box on the unscreened side porch and leave the rest up to them.

I did not know until today that the Mourning Dove is a very close relative to the Passenger Pigeon, a bird which, sadly, was hunted into extinction by stupid, greedy cruel Americans at the beginning of the 1900s. You are in luck. I do not have the will this morning to detail their dastardly methods but I will say that if karma means business about that eye for an eye thing, let it be an eye for every eye these fucktards closed.

Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon, died alone in a zoo on September 1, 1914.

Anyway, the Mourning Doves have a lovely song and I hope we can work something out so they stay.

12/06/2011

The day in pictures

Gone with the wave

You looking at me looking at you.

Me looking at you looking at me.


It rained in the afternoon
so Frida Kahlo the Squirrel
took shelter on the porch.

As soon as it stopped
she made her exit across
the screen, house left.

That is all.

07/06/2011

Time lapse with Swami

Swamis morning
Swami, how I love ya, how I love ya, my dear ol' Swami...

As I mentioned the other day, we are still settling in but on Saturday M. Lee had to make an emergency trip to Oregon. His dad is in the hospital. (He's getting better.) Swami and I stayed here to hold down the tent. We're doing okay but it's weird being in Florida, especially at a time like this, so far from family and friends, familiar places. Alone. Well, the two of us but even Swami thinks so and he's generally up for anything. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. I'm grateful to be anywhere. In the morning we sit on the deck, Swami and I. I have coffee and my laptop and he enjoys the trees, squirrels and birds. When it starts heating up, we close the windows and doors and put on the air. It's nice.

This afternoon I went to the beach. South Venice has community access to the gulf and a private ferry to shuttle people across the ICW so today I checked it out. While sitting in the sand looking out at the sea, a guy stopped and pointed out the turtle tracks leading from the water to the tree line. I hadn't really noticed them. Unfortunately, it's not emphasized here but this area is critical nesting habitat for sea turtles, especially the loggerheads. He claimed to have seen one that was about four or five feet long earlier today. I only hope to be so lucky.

Ibis lunching in the surf

They come at night and dig their nests deep into the dunes just above the high water mark. They've been doing it every spring for a million years and now they're are endangered. We are idiots! We're wrecking it for everyone, including ourselves. I hope the turtles have a good year. Very few hatchings make it even in the best of times.

It's twilight now, voices drifting in the window from across Alligator creek. Swami and I are tucked in, he in his little boat, me with my laptop, sketchbook and ebook. I'm reading Bangkok Tattoo, book two of a trilogy by John Burdett. It's written from the perspective of a Buddhist police detective son of a whore and set in Bangkok's red light district..

Later. It's past midnight. Swami is long asleep. I am tired. I woke up at 4 am. Morning seems like a year ago.

03/06/2011

Venice update and happy hummingbird story

"A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." --- Thomas Mann

(Even doing this nothing little blog post ended up being unwieldy and time consuming. I think I must be, above all, a puzzle person.)

Upon arrival the locals rushed to check us out.

We're back in Florida. We've been here for a few days but have mostly spent the time getting settled, which we are now, more or less. We rented a little house on Alligator Creek which is part of Florida's 8,000 miles of shoreline. Like a lot of places on the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway), the house next door has a great dock on open water, big fish swimming around the pilings. Ours does not. All there is, or all that's left of whatever there was, is a creaky lopsided walkway that deadends in the mangroves and is slowing sinking into the shallow, murky water. If there ever was a dock at the end, it has completely vanished. As it stands, it would be absurd trying to launch even a canoe from it. No big deal. The mangroves are better off without us mucking it up. The fish and birds aren't the ones leaving trash in water. What's extra cool is that at night I can hear the discrete splash of critters (alligators?) slipping into the creek. Never heard anything like that before. Plus the house is great. Very comfy.

Home sweet temporary home

Plus this neighborhood just happens to have a private beach on the gulf. Residents are shuttled across the ICU on a tiny private ferry which makes the crossing every half hour throughout the day. We haven't done that yet but we did walk down to the beach from Nokomis last fall just to check it out. The best part is that it's a turtle nesting beach, mainly loggerheads. Of course, there's not much to see but it's not about us, is it? I just hope they survive human encroachment. But this stretch of coast is pretty mellow.

Anyway, here's a feel good video for your viewing pleasure. Falconers think they've got it going on but check out this fellow. And if you like the video be sure and read the full follow-up kandwarf posts in the description. Very cool.