Month: November 2005

Sir Galahad

When I wandered down to Pt Defiance the other day and glimpsed a duck with a white head, I assumed it was a Bufflehead that I had been trying for several weeks to get a decent picture of.

The instant I looked through the lens, though, I knew I had found the mate to the Lady of the Lake, even if he was on the Puget Sound, and not a lake.

The best shot I got of this male Hooded Merganser looks remarkably similar to the best shot I got of the female Hooded Merganser a few days ago:

As I stood in the rapidly vanishing daylight trying to get the best possible picture of him, I huge seagull suddenly appeared in the frame

trying to steal the merganser’s fish away. A lesser duck might have been frightened and dropped his catch in order to get away,

but our noble hero refused to drop it or to fly away. Instead, he paddled rapidly keeping a constant distance between he and the much larger gull until the gull finally gave up and swam away looking for another soft touch.

The Biggest Land Grab of All

You probably think with all these pictures of colorful flowers, followed by fabulous birds I’ve been focusing on lately that I’ve gone all Pollyanna-like in my old age, the final step before my final dotage.

You’d be wrong. I’m painfully aware Republicans have come up with yet another way of ripping off the American people and the environment while stuffing the pockets of big business.

Here’s a truthout editorial on the latest land grab by Republicans though I first learned about it from organizations as diverse as Oxfam and Westerners for Responsible Mining. You can also read more about it here. Or here, under my favorite headline on the matter, Public Lands, Mine All Mine

Needless to say it’s not presented as a bill on its own, but, rather, like the dropped attempt to drill in the Arctic Refuge, is included in the House Budget bill, that way Congressional representatives can deny that they would ever vote for such a thing, while doing so.

If you have Republican legislator and you’re at all concerned about the environment, you need to contact them and tell them to get this amendment out of the budget bill before they vote for it. Of course, the easiest way to contact them is to go here. and click on the link saying Tell Your Representative!

My Lady of the Lake

You can keep your noble Eagles and dashing Kingfishers, I’ve been enchanted by this beautiful female Hooded Merganser.

I fell in love with her the moment I saw her sitting on the shore shyly looking back at me.

Taking note of my presence, she merely turned her head to ensure I had seen her full beauty

I sensed from her noble look and slow, mannered retreat that this was truly my Lady of the Lake where her full beauty became even more obvious.

Go, Gavin!

Saturday was Gavin’s last soccer game, and, considering the weather we’ve had lately, mercifully so. I’ve missed the last few games because of a cold and an unwillingness to stand in the cold and rain. Luckily, yesterday was just cold, not wet, so the whole family showed up for the game

though as usual grandpa and dad are not to be seen because they’re behind the camera.

Of course, there were moments in the game when you just plain didn’t want to see what had happened

But, overall, both teams played well, despite the fact that some players on the other team refused to go out in the cold again. If I’d been wearing shorts and a t-shirt, I probably would’ve gone home, too.

Still, Gavin scored a goal and had some nice drives up the field: