Every Day in Life is Beautiful

A gentle morning sky

taken from my balcony.

Soft petals and curves in pastel colours

which remind me of the colours of my temperature blanket so far.

Under a large oak tree, these bright and charming tiny cyclamen were growing.

There's such beauty in skies at any time of the day.

This was taken today as the tiny moon rose in the pastels of the sky.

With the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp.

last Monday on January 27th,

I wanted to re-read the story of Alice Herz-Sommer.

She was a gifted concert pianist and Holocaust survivor.

She said that music kept her and her young son alive.

I have two books about this lady. 

The one above and another entitled: 'A Century of Wisdom'.

I can recommend them both.

Alice was an incredibly positive person her whole life.

She is truly inspirational.

Her quotations are really meaningful.

Here is one of them:

"Life is beautiful. You have to be thankful that we are living.

Wherever you look is beauty.

I know about the bad things, but I look for good things"

Alice Herz-Sommer

The colourful presence of tulips in our homes brings such joy.

I crocheted a reversible heart for my front door with daisies.

The month of February makes us think of hearts!

I like the plain red side, but the three colours is fun too.

That's the one that's on show today.

I may change it for the red side on February 14th.

Here is a link for the heart pattern

I went for a lovely brisk walk in my neighbourhood

and on my way back, around 6 pm,

I stopped to enjoy this beautiful sky.

When I got home,

the sky was deepening.

"Every day in life is beautiful ... every day."

Alice Herz-Sommer.

The beauty is there even when we fail to notice it.

When we look around us with awareness

we can see it or hear it in the songs of the birds at dawn and dusk.

Yesterday, on returning from my walk, I heard a blackbird sing for the first time this year.

Continuing the 2020 Flower Challenge with a new flower to crochet every week of the year.

Here is Flower number 3

A little daisy.

If you would like to join the challenge.

Check out Anabelia craft design

May you find something beautiful every day of your life.

Nature: Genetics play role in blue jay's lack of blue

An unusual white-headed blue jay prepares to visit the writer's feeders/Jim McCormac

NATURE: Genetics play role in blue jay's lack of blue

Columbus Dispatch

February 2, 2020

NATURE
Jim McCormac

In my last column, I wrote about an unusual melanistic fox squirrel. Although the average fox squirrel is dashing in tones of rufous and brown, this one is black. Dark forms of the eastern gray squirrel are well-known in Ohio, including Columbus, but melanin-enriched fox squirrels are far scarcer.

The dark fox squirrel turned up in my Worthington backyard on Jan. 9. Three days later, I glanced out the back windows and did a double-take. A blue jay with a white head was wolfing down seeds at the feeder.

I’m writing this column on Jan. 26, and both of these odd critters are still frequenting the yard. Sometimes at the same time, which makes for interesting wildlife-watching.

The squirrel looks as he/she does because of an excess of melanin, or dark pigment. It’s the opposite with the jay. He or she — it’s tough to impossible to determine sex in the field — lacks dark pigments only in the head and neck area.

Animals with localized patches of white often are referred to as piebald. Commonly seen examples include white-tailed deer and American robins. These animals can be splotched throughout with white, have pale heads or other localized concentrations, or occasionally are nearly all white. The latter examples differ from true albinos in lacking pink eyes, and normally aren’t as bright white.

The genetic condition that typically causes piebaldness is leucism, and splotchy animals are said to be partially leucistic (loo-sis-tic). When I first saw the unusual blue jay, that’s what I thought it to be — a partially leucistic specimen.

Leucism is a genetic condition that inhibits normal melanin deposition, causing dark areas to become washed out. But genetics that cause color anomalies are complex and imperfectly understood. One can get bogged down in complicated and perhaps unverifiable explanations for various pigment anomalies. Other factors might be at work with this jay.

Suffice it to say, this blue jay is an extraordinary avian no matter the explanation for its unusual coloration.

Odd color genetics is largely a numbers game. The more common the species, the more likely that leucism will manifest itself. That’s why deer, robins and other common animals are the most commonly seen species expressing color mutations.

There are an estimated 15 million blue jays in the U.S., so it’s not surprising that leucism would rear its head in this species on occasion. A quick internet search will reveal numerous examples, but few of them possess the showiness of “my” jay (in my biased opinion).

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.

Insect/Photography Talk! Monday, 2/3, Columbus

A Zabulon skipper, Poanes zabulon, watches for prospective mates atop a swamp thistle

I'm giving a talk next Monday, February 3, for the Westbridge Camera Club. The venue is Midwest Photo, the legendary Columbus camera store at 2887 Silver Drive, Columbus, 43211. Midwest moved to this bigger and better facility a few years ago, and they've got a great conference room with topnotch AV for talks.

Westbridge Camera Club welcomes guests, so I'm inviting you. The festivities commence at 7 pm, and more details ARE HERE. I'm going to weave together a pictorial tale of insects great and small, how they underpin food webs, and their importance. Spiced throughout will be tips and thoughts on creating better imagery, and effective methods for finding various bugs. Assembling this talk has been a nice diversion from a bug-free blah winter, and hopefully talk attendees will also be transported away from winter for a bit.

Hope to see you there!

An amazing lime-green soldier fly, Odontomyia cincta, rests by a pond. Its larvae are aquatic

Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren - a Rare Feeder Bird

Carolina Wren

The Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a very rare bird in New Brunswick which sometimes visits feeders.   It is often seen in winter coming regularly to a feeder or two usually in the southern part of the province.  Right now (2020) there are reports of two in Riverview and one in Fredericton.

The wren family, Troglodytidae, contains 11 species and 7 genera.  Of those 11 species 5 have been seen here.  The Winter Wren is a regular summer resident.  The Carolina Wren, House Wren and Marsh Wren are seen here every year in small numbers.  The Sedge Wren is very rare here.

Carolina Wren [Internet Photo]

The normal range of the Carolina Wren includes southern New England south to Florida and westward to the central US and southward into eastern Mexico.  The range of this species is generally expanding.  It does not migrate but there are incursions by individuals into new territory, hence their appearance here.  This expansion is generally sustained with pull backs after severe winters.  The first definite occurrence in New Brunswick was in 1974.  There has been one breeding record, in 2002 in Grand Manan where two broods were raised by one pair.

The Carolina Wren is a brightly-coloured medium-sized wren (14 cm/ 5.5 in long).  Generally it has rufous upper parts and buffy under parts.  The throat is white and the bill is long and decurved.  The wings and tail are dark barred with white flecks.  The distinguishing feature is the wide white eyebrow.  This identifies this wren as a Carolina.  Wrens in general are identified as small active brown birds with upright tails.  They are fun to watch as they flit around looking for insects and other food.

Carolina Wrens are common in dense shrubbery near human dwellings.  They are commonly heard by their frequent loud calls.  Although they make many different sounds they are often heard singing their teakettle teakettle teakettle or cheery cheery cheery sounds.  This is so common most people know what is making that song!

Carolina Wren

Carolina Wrens build their nest in shrubbery near buildings.  The nest is dome-shaped with a side entrance and made of dried plant parts, strips of bark, horsehair, string, wool and snake skins.  The female builds the nest and the male brings the materials to her.  Nests are also in tree cavities, nest boxes, buildings, mail boxes, etc.  Nests are usually 1 to 3 m above the ground level.  The female lays 3 to 6 eggs that are creamy white with brown or reddish-brown spots.  Incubation lasts 12-16 days. Both adults feed the young.

I don't expect we will see nesting Carolina Wrens here for quite some time but it would be nice to hear their cheery voice.  The Carolina Wren is the state bird of South Carolina.  An interesting fact about this species is that they will sometimes build multiple nests in order to fool predators.

Old barns, of two flavors

While passing through rural Washington County, Ohio, yesterday, I passed by two barns, each of a different stripe. I couldn't resist stopping for a quick shot of them.

The finest looking "Mail Pouch" barn I've seen in years. The owners really keep it up. This barn advertisement campaign had great longevity, commencing in 1891 and going all the way to 1992. At its peak in the 1960's there were some 22,000 barns painted thusly, strewn across 22 states. One seldom sees a Mail Pouch barn this fine these days.

This old barn is much more rustic than the one above, but to my eye has even more character. Classic wooden barns, I'm afraid, are rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

Southern flying squirrels! Many, many!

I recently had the opportunity to tag along on one of professor Don Althoff's southern flying squirrel research projects. This was not my first time at the flying squirrel rodeo. I wrote about a previous excursion RIGHT HERE.

The article mentioned above goes into the nuts and bolts of Don's research, and the biology of flying squirrels. This post is more a pictorial documentation of my recent excursion with Althoff and company.

We had a sizable group on hand, as evidenced by the photo above (and two or three people are not in the photo). Many are Don's students, and others are just smitten with flying squirrels, and interested in the dynamics of this interesting research. I have met very few academics who are as good at stimulating an interest in conservation and biology as Don is. He welcomes students and others in a hand's-on immersion into the world of one of the world's most intriguing mammals. Accompanying Don on one of his "flying squirrel trails" is an experience that no one will soon forget, especially if the squirrels cooperate.

Don Althoff, who teaches at the University of Rio Grande, atop a ladder deep in an Athens County woodland. He's got nearly 350 "flying squirrel boxes" up in trees on a number of southeastern Ohio sites. This particular woodland has about 25 boxes, and investigating them is a lot of work. A ladder must be toted along, as well as a bunch of research equipment.

Flying squirrels reliably use these boxes as winter roost sites, as well as for nesting. There's always a mood of expectant anticipation when Don scales the ladder to check a box. The throng below awaits his yea or nay, and if a yea, down comes the box for inspection of its inhabitants.

The first occupied box we encountered had, as I recall, two squirrels. Here's the box down on the ground being prepared for squirrel extraction. These little mammals move at the speed of light, so a careful protocol must be followed to ensure the subjects do not escape. In all, we located 18 squirrels, including a remarkable 13 in one box. That number tied Don's best box number, but a few days after this work he found two more boxes, each with 13 squirrels. So, will he find 14 in a box someday? Time will tell.

Each captured squirrel is weighed, various other data is collected, and it is carefully photographed before release.

Flying squirrels sure are cute, and seeing one like this always prompts oohs and ahhhs (or awwws). Note those sharp, long yellowish incisors peeking through, though. Flying squirrels can quickly cut away the hardest of hickory hulls. Experienced researchers soon learn to handle these wee beasts with the utmost respect.

A captured flying squirrel lays into a gloved hand. They get feisty when handled, understandably, and if given a chance may nip the hand that holds them. While those gloves are pretty tough, a squirrel's saberlike teeth can go right through, and I'm told they hurt.

This student got a lesson in aversion therapy in regards to careless squirrel-handling. The little mammal punched right through his glove and drew blood. Fortunately rabies and other diseases are unknown in this species, but sharp teeth sunk into flesh still hurt and bitees quickly learn to watch how they hold these animals.

Althoff demonstrates a proper hold. We can see the squirrel's amazing tail, which serves as parasail and rudder when in flight. Along with the patagia - winglike flaps of tissues along the body - the tail acts as a wing on the squirrels' amazing glides.

A squirrel just released and plotting its next move. They recover from the trauma of capture quickly and dart aloft. A flying squirrel going full tilt up a trunk is an amazing thing. They can move with ridiculous speed, and grip as if Velcro boats their paw pads.

The brown pelage of a flying squirrel blends remarkable well with this dead tree snag. Dead and dying timber, and their attendant cavities, are vital to the survival of flyers. This mammal is totally nocturnal, which is why people seldom see them. They require cavities for roost and nest sites. And there are a lot of flying squirrels in need of cavities, at least in wooded areas. There might be 4 or 5 flyers per acre, as compared to 1 or 2 gray squirrels in the same area.

A flying squirrel prepares to launch into space. First-timers are always dazzled by their inaugural view of a flying squirrel "flying". If an Altoff squirrel check is fruitful, as this one was, participants are sure to see glides. Released squirrels are placed head high on a tree trunk, and soon if not instantly dart high aloft. Then, usually, the squirrel will launch into space, arcing between limbs and gliding away.

Shooting "flying" flying squirrels is a tough photographic challenge, and this shot is no award winner. But it shows well enough the furry cape outstretched into a wing suit, with the rudderlike tail helping with steering. While these squirrels cannot produce sustained flight, their glides are incredibly aerobatic and can extend the length of a football field.

In all, a fun and highly educational day learning about Ohio's most common woodland squirrel. I thank Don Althoff for his generosity in sharing his work and subjects with interested parties, and creating awareness of one of our little-known mammals.

Orchid Photography Workshop!

A gorgeous Miltonia hybrid orchid

Spectacular Orchids! Photo Workshop, Cleveland Botanical Gardens: February 9

The family Orchidaceae is probably the most fabled, mystical and celebrated plant families in the world. Orchids capture one’s attention, and pique the imagination. The diversity of flower shapes, color patterns, and artful mimicry boggle the mind. Numerous species have evolved structures and coloration that look astonishingly similar to certain insects. These plants attracts pollinators who are fooled into thinking the orchid is actually one of their own. Other orchid flowers possess fantastically elongate nectar spurs. The nectar reward is ensconced deep in the spur’s base, and only moths with extremely long proboscises can access it, and thus pollinate the plant. Some orchids are epiphytic, growing high in trees. These ploys and many others have made orchids one of the world’s most successful groups of plants, especially in tropical regions.

While Ohio has only forty-six native orchids, there are thousands of species worldwide. Indeed, it is the second largest family of flowering plants with an estimated 28,000 species. Only the sunflower family is bigger. A huge slice of orchid mania goes on display at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens on January 18th. Scads of tropical species, including outlandish hybrids that must be seen to be believed, will fill the halls. All these orchids provide stellar photographic opportunities. At times, the dizzying array of subjects makes it hard to know where to focus. Staring deep into flowers often reveals faces, animal outlines, celestial objects and other patterns that beg for intense macro work. Other plants look best in their entirety, or in showy groups. Not only is a trip through Orchid Mania productive for creating botanical art shots, it’s a great tune-up for our wildflowers and an excellent respite from winter’s cold.

Focus on Photography has arranged a special showing and workshop on Sunday, February 9th. Our group will have four hours of access to the orchids prior to the botanical gardens’ general public admission. Following a brief classroom overview of orchids and their photography, it’s off to work the plants. Following lunch, we’ll return for more orchids, or to shoot other parts of the gardens. The outdoors gardens will also be available, and they’ll offer interesting winter botany shooting.

Fee: $65.00 for Cleveland Botanical Gardens members, $90.00 for nonmembers.

Space is limited. To register, visit https://debbiedicarlo.photoshelter.com/p/orchid-imagery-feb

A bizarre Paphiopedalum orchid

Pine Siskin

Pine Siskin - a Small Year-Round Finch 

Pine Siskin

In New Brunswick the Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) is a year-round resident. They seem more prevalent in winter but that is probably because our large number of summer species have gone south.  Siskins are seen in small flocks feeding on coniferous or deciduous trees or alders often accompanied by flocks of American Goldfinches.  It is pleasant to find them in winter because their cheerfulness brightens a winter day.  The flock is almost always characterized by their high pitched 'zeeeeeeeee' rising song.  I am always happy to record their numbers on a Christmas Bird Count.

Pine Siskin [Mitch Doucet Photo]

The Pine Siskin is a small finch about 13 cm (5 in) long.  It is entirely brown striped with yellow on the wings and a small patch of yellow on the sides of the tail.  The tail is deeply notched and there are two white wing bars.  The bill is fine and sharply pointed.  Males and females look alike.  This species is a permanent resident in Atlantic Canada, across southern Canada and down into the western US.  It is a summer resident in northern Canada from Labrador across to Yukon and southern Alaska.  It is a winter resident throughout the US.  

Pine Siskin

Pine Siskins feed on the seeds of alders, birches, spruce and other trees.  They sometimes feed by hanging upside down from the tips of branches.  They also feed on weed seeds especially thistle, forbs, buds, insects and spiders.  No wonder they are at home in our forest.  We have lots for them to feed on.  They will come to feeders for seeds especially niger seed.  Flocks are sometimes found feeding on salt on roadsides.  They also drink sap from holes drilled in trees by sapsuckers.  

Because this species is quite unique, identification is relatively easy.  The only two species one might mistake if for are the House Finch and the Common Redpoll.  The House Finch is larger, more heavily streaked, has a much stubbier bill and a square tail tip.  The Common Redpoll has a red cap, a black chin and shows no yellow on wings or tail.  

Pine Siskins nest in coniferous trees usually 10 to 50 feet up.  Three to five green blue eggs spotted with black or brown are laid in a nest made of bark, twigs and moss.  The nest is usually far out from the trunk.  The female incubates the eggs about 13 days.  They sometimes will nest in bushes or shrubs.  

Pine Siskins are nomadic and move around in flocks.  That accounts for large flocks sometimes seen in winter.  We would also see more in winter because the summer residents of the far north move south and spend their winters in southern Canada, adding to our permanent resident population.  Pine Siskins are sometimes our most numerous winter finch.  

The name, siskin, is derived from the sound the birds make.  Their 'zreeeeee' sometimes starts with a 'sis sis sis...'.  

Walking for Health

First of all some beautiful spring flowers

just because they're so joyful!

Then on the homefront, a new crochet project which goes by the name of

Granny Rose Heart Pillow.

Please visit the Astri's lovely blog for this latest pattern

Apple Blossom Dreams

Isn't it beautiful?

I'm waiting for my heart-shaped pillow to arrive so that I can continue this exciting project.

Now about the walking.

Three years' ago, I bought some really comfortable walking shoes

when I did the Lausanne Walking Event

and the Quarter Marathon.

That was a good experience and my daughter came with me too

even though she normally prefers running!

Studies have been done to show that walking briskly for 30 minutes

every day is one of the most beneficial things we can do for our bodies

and our morale.

It has been found that this type of exercise lowers blood pressure, 

reduces cholesterol and helps maintain a healthy weight.

I took my pocket camera with me to take this photo in a door with a mirror incorporated.

I rather liked the fact that the Christmas decorations were still up!

Regular brisk walking strengthens bones and muscles

improves balance and coordination

helps prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

A beautiful and very colourful sunrise which I captured from the end of my balcony.

My Amaryllis blooms have been beautiful this year. This is the last plant of the year.

I love watching the different stages of opening.

Each day a little more

Until all four buds opened up.

A single tiny leaf in the late afternoon sunshine.

Seedpods blowing in the wind

Fluffy 'Old Man's Beard'

I love passing the railings on my walking circuit

especially in the late afternoon when all these cheerful little lights come on.

All these scenes from my walking outings.

I'm progressing with my January Sunrise blanket.

One square a day and there are currently 21 squares with three more

ready to join.

I'm really enjoying this project.

There will be others to show in my next blog entry.

These cold winter's days are perfect for doing crochet or any other kind of handiwork.

My tiny indoor window box of miniature daffodils is nearly over.

Somehow, the month of January needs the cheerful colours of flowers

that are made available to us.

Are you filling this long month of January with all the things you love?

I'm adding an extra photograph as part of a 2020 Project 

for crocheting a flower a week for the whole year.

Look at Anabelia Craft Design

Here

if you feel like joining in.

These two patterns are for the first two weeks of January.

I will be adding the others as they are generously given to us!