Immature herring gull dropping crab for lunch.

On Saturday, February 4, 2012, I went on my first hosted birdwalk. This birdwalk was led by Derrick of the Freeport Wild Bird Suppy – http://www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/default.asp .

Birdwatching is distinctly different than bird photography. There are obvious overlaps. Birdwatching is all about the count, number of species, then number of birds. Lists are kept – life, day, month, location, year, and every other distinction that can be created.

There was only one true photo opportunity, a shore side flock of Dunlin sandpipers – Caldris alpina – with favorable side lighting. The first sighting of this flock was on an offshore ledge with backlighting.

Bird sighting and souundings may be brief and require rapid identification. Derrick was spot on and led the group with an ongoing descriptive dialogue.

There is much more to birding. The equipment is all binoculars and/or spotting scopes on tripods. No cameras. A notebook to create the day list, (which later is added to the week, month, year, site, life, et al, lists) Habitat knowledge. Tree identifictation – “beyond the popular, higher in the oak tree…” Weather factors and effects. Tide status – high/low, coming/going.

Then there is the bird itself. Markings, size, shape, location, behavior patterns, et al, lead to affirmative identification. I have much to learn and experience to gain.

Bird watchers are friendly without being chatting or gregarious during the birdwalk. Listening for birds leads to seeing birds. Listening is the practiced deliberate art of not talking.

Spotting highlights for me included the Eagle nest on a nearby island, the immature Eagle soaring, and the mature Eagle perched. And the Dunlin sandpipers. To see Derrick’s trip list, see http://www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/bird_news.asp?id=1556#1556

After the walk, we returned to store for chatting, coffee, and the warmth of comraderie. Some took the opportunity to buy needed bird seed and other supplies. Conveniently incidental and not an expectation.

After the walk, I went down to Freeport harbor with my D300 & 150/500mm zoom attached. First to the yacht club to look for the Barrows Goldeneye that had been spotted from afar. They were gone. I did snap off some shots of a small group of Common Eiders before going over to the Town Landing for other opportunities. There I scored picture and lesson of the day.

An immature herring gull was in hopping flight with a small crab. It would hop fly up about ten feed and drop the crab onto the dock with hopes of cracking the shell open for lunch. At the top of the hop, I snapped and was rewarded with the photo above.

Lesson of the day, when taking photos of motion, take the camera off of manual and use the shutter priority mode to freeze the frame,

I will be back next week, hopefully a wee bit better prepared to learn more from a birding master.

Derrick, Thank you.

Via Flickr:
Seagull lunch.

Much of our modern life is battery operated. This iPad, the iPhone used to take this picture, digital photography, et al. Remember when batteries were for flashlights, emergency radios, and vehicles?

But candles? Really? Sure, a case can be made for the cool safety of this nonflammable entity. But, in my reality, the loss of ambience is perturbing. Candles flicker, casting shadows, creating gleaming, sparkling moments and memories. Battery operated candles flicker by subtly flashing. This is not the same warm glow of shared romance.

The business model, as applied through the bean counters, as endorsed by the insurance underwriters, make the practical and logical case for battery operated candles. All while the spirit of romance is sterilized, neutered, made less than before.

Candlelit. Batteries not included.

But that’s just me. I also haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books, but have seen several of the movies.

The parts include business cards, photo inventory, mats, frames and courage.

Through the assembly of the parts, specifically the matting of the pictures, courage is transitioning to confidence.

Then found my favorite app – My Fitness Pal (MFP). This app will literally change your life as it is a better health plan in your hand. With it, you can track your daily calories, nutrition and exercise—without having to look up a bunch of scattered charts and tables. It is a complete package. When used with the best intentions and truths, you will lose weight the only way that weight should be lost – Diet & Exercise.

You start by entering your data – weight, height, gender & age. Then you input your desired weight. MFP then calculates your daily calorie goal. It appears to be designed to allow you to safely lose one pound a week. This works out to 500 less calories a day than the typical amount needed to sustain current weight. Points add up as you enter the food you eat with credit given for a huge range of exercise options.

Day One: Lunch was the tipping point into reality. I ordered and ate a tuna salad sandwich from Panera Bread – then checked out the calorie content. Nearly half of a one day’s allowance. Even after exercise – walking the dog and elliptical, I ended up the day with 300 calories beyond goal.

Day Two: Knowing that this day is my brew pub day, I researched and planned ahead of time for meal, beverages and exercise. This worked, I ended the day 136 net calories below goal.

Day Three: Today’s goal was to erase the remaining sin of Day one. With watched consumption and exercise, I erased the remaining net.

Day Four is in progress and I was rewarded with getting back on track. Three days of into this plan, I have lost the expected 1/2 pound and am on my way to one pound loss per week.

This Works For Me.

Time changes are bifurcation points. An imposed natural opportunity to reflect, change and redirect.

Astronomical events gives us the solstices and equinoxes. Time, Space & Places in the sky.

The calendar gives us new weeks, new months, new years. Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday.

Nature gives us standard time. Local noon is when the sun is due south and can be set by your garden sundial. Midnight is dark and the sun is not due north.

The government gives us savings time. Which we are on now. I guess that is where the one hour deposit goes – to some time savings bank that doesn’t pay interest. The government also gives us time zones with opt out clauses. Not every state saves time.

Back in the day, we used to set our clocks forward by one hour. The official time to do this is at 2 AM. Some may do this before going to bed. Others when they get up in the morning. Did anyone get up at 2 AM, reset their time devices, and got back to bed shortly after 3 AM. And I’m not sure where my wristwatch is right now.

In today’s modern era, our IT systems – Microsoft, Apple, cellphone providers, cable systems – all do this on a program controlled, automated basis. I think my blog settings didn’t change, according to the clock at the bottom of this window, I am actively typing this one hour ago.

All I want to know is who is going to come by to change the clocks on the stove, microwave ovens, coffee maker and the dashboard of my truck? Truth be told, every time display in the kitchen is in another time zone, not even closely synchronized to reality.

I think I want a sundial. Only a sundial. And the freedom of nature to naturally ignore all other imposed realities. Since it is current overcast, there would be no shadow and this one moment would remain timeless. I want to save this timelessness.

It’s New Years eve and I am not going to fall into the trap of predicting anything. Last year I joked about it when I used my Magic 8 ball to make the predictions. This time around, I think it would be more fun to share one favorite memory from 2010 and I want you to join me. It can be:

personal

professional

funny

sad

ironic

It can be whatever you want to share. Make it a short sentence or a long paragraph. I just want to hear all the best that 2010 had to offer us collectively

That said, here is what I posted on Trish’s Blog.

Alaska Cruise. Been on my bucket list for a long time.

Flew to Seatle-drove to Vancouver-Ketchikan/Hoonah-Icy Strait Point/Skagway/Juneau/Hubbard Glacier/Seward-drove to Anchroage-flew home to Maine. Whales, sunsets, balcony cabin, train rides, Deadly Catch Experience with EAGLES!!!!, glaciers. Imagine the biggest place you can – Alaska is bigger. Life on a cruise ship was deeply relaxing. Interviewed ship HR Manager and got the article published – Available @ http://www.hrtimesonline.com/Maine/articles/actualArticles/ThreeSheetsSmith.html For more stories on the Alaska cruise, visit http://www.maineforestcafe.com

That said; this morning I made a top ten of 2010:

1. 27th year of marriage to my finest kind wife
2. Alaska cruise
3. Bar Harbor, three generation camping trip
4. Eastport – a repeat visit
5. BigBlue paid for
6. Maine Medical Center – wife’s new job
7. Washington DC – November trip
8. House visible side repainted
9. Deck Renovation
10. Each day

My Father.
My Mother.
Two Uncles.
My Wife.
My Niece.
My Nephew with a Purple Heart.
myself.

We gave our country the blank check of absolute honor,
redeemable without clause or exclusion,
up to and including our life.
And we gave the better and best years of our life.
Going where we were told.
Doing what we were told.
Separation from home.
We went to places you may never have thought of,
know of,
or will remember.
Hot desert days.
Sweltering humidity.
Frigid frontier nights.
Days that became weeks into months ending in years.
Saying goodbye for days into weeks into months and then being home again.
Marching, saluting, ordering, obeying.
We made it home.
Honor those who made the final sacrifice.
For We.
For We The People

We, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that We will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that We will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that We will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over us, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help us God.

For you we have served.

SMSgt, USAF Ret