Creature Feature 2015 #7

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Not too bad a day for pictures. Of course, I came back from the lake with 261 images in the camera. Here’s the ones that are worth anything… (As usual, you can click on the picture to get to a higher-resolution version.)

The Saturday morning boat race had just gone by, and when the lake is still and just a little bit scummy, boats will leave a trail.

I got to the northeast end of the lake in time to find a Kingfisher…. well, this is where he was:

Oh, there she goes!

Over there in that tree…

With the other Kingfisher. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten two in one picture:

All this was being watched by an Osprey. Here’s a rare picture of a wild bird coming towards the camera.

Gotta include a Heron picture. This one was keeping an eye on me from across the lake.

…while I was taking pictures of the Killdeer. With the water down a fair bit, there’s more mud flats for them to pick around in.

Caregiving Thoughts #7

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Particularly when caregiving for a loved one, you want to be engaged, sympathetic, and, well, like you care, because you do care. But, like I’ve often said about work, it’s sometimes possible to care TOO much.

I’ve found it necessary at times to remind myself that I’m not the one going off to the ER, so that I can keep a clear head and focus on what the doctor is saying or on driving safely to the hospital (if my cared-for is already there, he’s getting the care he needs and I just need to get there with a minimum of drama; a few more minutes won’t make any difference). I think I understand why doctors and other PHI providers have a degree of detachment.

You may have to make decisions based on medical information, doctor’s advice, and what your cared-for would want. You may need to keep family and friends informed of what’s going on, and they may have input into the situation you need to consider. You may have to address the press (ok, maybe not). This is not the time to get caught up in “oh no’s”. Emotions, especially duress and panic, make for poor decision making (once again, my aviation background comes in handy, because this has been studied in depth there).

Take notes, consider all available information, and make the best decision you can based on the information that you have. If you do that, you’ll have no reason for regrets.

Like rule #1 says, you have to keep yourself in good working order in order to provide the best care for your charge. And, just like adhering to that rule #1, it can be difficult to mentally separate yourself from a loved one so you can focus on the task at hand and Do What Needs To Be Done.

Creature Feature 2015 #6

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So I’m paddling along around a bend and find a large swarm of mayflies. They dispersed before I could grab the camera, so I continued on. Apparently they didn’t so much disperse as settle down in a tree along the shore, and as I got close to it they all took off again and I found myself engulfed in a swarm of mayflies. Again, it happened and was over before I could grab the camera, but this one decided to hitch a ride back down the lake.

Creature Feature 2015 #5

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No sooner did I remark about the dearth of Herons in my last post that I started seeing ’em all over the place. So, to make up for that, this will be a bit of a Great Blue Heron special.

I’ve noticed that they often drag their feet in the water to scrub off speed prior to landing:

then hop up a bit:

(Um, yeah, that’s what I’m really doing when it looks like I bounced the airplane on the runway.) Despite assertions by some to the contrary, I do believe birds can, and do, stall their wings. They just do it with very tight control and exactly when they want to, like these Herons making what human fliers would call a full-stall landing:



All that flying requires regular airframe maintenance:

Oh, yeah, the Osprey are still working their nest on top of the intake. I didn’t see any little ones this time, but this parent is obviously protective of someone:

Creature Feature 2015 #4

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Just a couple of weeks ago I noted the little goslings floating around with their parents on the lake, little tiny things. My, how fast they grow (as usual, click on the picture to get to a higher-resolution version):

The Osprey have been busy too, with at least one in the nest:

I spotted this one as he pulled breakfast out of the lake, perhaps to feed a family:

Obligatory Great Blue Heron picture… I hadn’t seen quite as many around the lake as usual, but maybe they, like everyone else this time of year, are busy.

I don’t think ornithologists would describe this Cyanocitta cristata as a shore bird, but that’s where I saw this one:

There was evidently something there of interest:

and worth carrying off:

One more of those little places on the lake I like to hang out:

Creature Feature 2015 #3

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The north east end of th lake has been getting a lot of silt lately from Lick Creek (I think), making navigation difficult. But the Kildeer seem to like that area.

What you don’t want to see overhead if you’re a fish:

Looks like the Osprey have some work-in-progress in the nest on top of the intake structure, so they’ll be grabbing more fish than ever soon:

These geese are looking a bit ragged, perhaps from the winter wear & tear:

But it’s spring time now and … Look! Gooselets!

One of those out-of-the-way places on the lake where I could sit all day, if I had the time:

Why?

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“sometimes, the answers created to address the question of ‘why’ do
more harm than good. There is a ‘because’ for every ‘why’. Some of
these ‘becauses’ start wars. They beget atrocities. ‘Why’ is a
slippery question that lends itself to abuses of power.” – A.J.Axline

With that caution in mind, I’ll go ahead and ask the question: Why do we do things?

I think sometimes we do things just because everyone else is doing them. Many years ago I stopped short one day and wondered why I was drinking coffee. I didn’t really like the stuff. The only reason I could find was because every one else around me was drinking coffee. So I quit. I realized that “because everyone else is doing it” is just about the worst reason in the world to do something.

To be sure, there are things that a lot of people (if not everyone) do, but they should be done for their own merits. Breathing might be an extreme example: everyone does it, and I do it too, but I don’t do it just because everyone else is doing it; I have my own reasons.

Creature Feature 2015 #2

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Any nice day in the spring or fall always brings out the turtles:

We have a lot of double-crested cormorants around right now:

These are heavy birds and it takes a lot of wing motion to fly:

One major difference between human and avian flight is that birds can drag a wingtip on the water and nothing bad happens.

This usually ends badly when humans do it.

Creature Feature 2015 #1

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This past Wednesday it hit 80F degrees, leaving little doubt as to where I needed to be.
The warm, sunny day brought out the turtles:

while a hawk (a Cooper’s Hawk, I think), stopped by overhead:

I was looking for a way past some beaver-works when I heard a distinct tapping noise.

I knew right away the sound had to be a woodpecker, in this case, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. She seemed quite content to go on picking at the tree while I watched and took pictures.

Of course, as is typical for this area, today the temperatures sank throughout the day towards 40F with light on-and-off rain.

Winter storm #1, 2015

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The first winter storm has rolled across the lake. Just a mild coating of ice here, but by all accounts, it was much worse in other areas.




I don’t think the bluebirds are using this house right now, although they can do some amazing maneuvering to get in and out of places:

Ice and snow always drives a lot of traffic to our bird feeders. Gotta have some creature content:

The promise of Spring? Maybe?

Update: Here’s a few more pics from around the lake:



Don’t get too excited, you can see robins around here pretty much year-round. Hey, where do you think they fly south to?