Friday Night Photos - The Good Old Days edition
Submitted by Bollox Ref on Fri, 04/10/2020 - 6:12pm
Bollox Minor and I were reminiscing about life before Covid-19.
Good times.
Here's a shot from last year, when you could go walking, just because:
And then this, because why not.
Other than that, I've got nothing, other than I managed to get an ancient racing game working on an ancient laptop for entertainment purposes.
Good luck out there.
Also too, listening to John Field's 6th piano concerto. It won't let you down, especially the Larghetto.
Comments
Thanks for posting Bollox
The music you recommended is very tender, and your photo of the flower very musical.
Here, we are only allowed to walk in our neighbourhoods. Luckily for me and others our neighbourhood harbours a bay. Most of the bush walks have been closed for the past 2 years due to another deadly pathogen, killing the kauri trees.
From a cherished book written in 1896 - Nature and Culture, by Hamilton Wright Mabie
https://libquotes.com/hamilton-wright-mabie
Wishing you all well
Hey Janis
We walk around our oval block and make occasional trips to the store. That's pretty much it. No bay to visit, more's the pity.
What gets me is the continued lack of bread flour. We're down to our last jar of yeast. Who's doing all this baking?
Fortunately, Bollox Minor can pursue his Physics online. This morning he was discussing the Relativistic Harmonic Oscillator with a professor (don't ask me).
(Edited)
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
Me!
Made two more loaves since yesterday. I could probably eat an entire loaf all to myself in one day. (Bad idea though.) I was able to snag 10# of bread flour and 25# AP flour at Cash Wise the other day. Everyone wants to start sourdoughs and bake bread from scratch now I guess. If I run out of yeast I might make a new sourdough colony too. Baking is good for the soul. I saw a thing yesterday that suggests the smell of baking bread makes people want to help people more. Sounds as plausible as anything else right now; whatever helps.
This shit is bananas.
We have a sourdough starter on the go
so now it's just a question of getting more flour.
(Edited)
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
Great pix Janis!
Love that tree at what looks like maybe the edge of the sea? Second pic. Beautiful!
My wife and I too are lucky, though folks are still out and about here in central Texas, the two local state parks we hike and bird at, and our little town park, are all closed. But we are on a dirt county road with only a couple other residences, and are part of a big wildlife conservation easement. We can walk out a gate and onto it and go all day and miles without seeing anyone. Or walk over to the river where no one. So we have somewhere to go walk around, and are isolated anyway. Our lifestyle is apparently also called quarantine. I hurt for all those that are really stuck inside now and can't get out. Especially with pets, the dog has to wonder why no park walks.
be well!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Thanks dystopian
The Pohutakawa tree mostly grows on the edge of cliffs, both bays and open ocean. They are tenacious and spread extensively through the air roots they grow, I guess so they can hang on better to the blustery cliffs. They are of the Metrosideros variety.
I'm glad you guys have so much possibility.
Cheers
Evening all!
We have meadowlarks again! First one I'd seen since we moved back here:
This is a western; we also have eastern meadowlarks around--hubby and I heard one singing on our bike ride the other day. It's so good to hear them again!
We also saw this northern harrier catch and eat a snake in our hay field the other day:
I didn't want to get too close and scare it off its prey so the photos are pretty blurry, but it was cool to watch. There's always something interesting to see around here. I saw a bluebird or two last week and so I put up another birdhouse I had sitting in the shed. I also saw some tree swallows the other day but then they were gone again so they were probably just migrants passing through. The mourning doves are back too.
Cheers!
This shit is bananas.
Never seen a harrier
But red kites have made a big comeback in the south of England. They regularly circle over my parents' home.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
I'd love to see a Red Kite!
I have dreamed of seeing Red Kites! Looks like a beautiful bird! There should be Harriers in that area, in open field habitats. Hen Harrier and maybe the odd Montagu's, and one other one, there are there types of Harriers there, we just have one.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
great pics D!
great pix D! Western Meadowlark sings better than Eastern anyway.
Love yer pix! Action is real hard to get, so never worry about some motion... What kind of snake was it? Those pearl gray male Harriers are gorgeous. I think they figured out they are indeed using their facial disks like an owl to funnel the sound to the ear, so they can hear a mouse in grass too tall to see it in. They are deceptively fast. I have seen them do their slow and low flight and flush meadowlarks out of tall grass, and grab a meadowlark out of the sky as it launches. Whaddabird those Harriers are. Very cool encounter!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
I'm not sure.
It looked bigger than a garter snake, but those are about the only kind we have around here.
I hope to get a photo of the Gray Ghost some day; I've seen a couple. Very pretty birds.
This shit is bananas.
Just heartbreaking
Austin, Texas
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
I don't get it
Are they for sale and no one is buying? Repos? Are people sleeping in them?
This shit is bananas.
people waiting to get in line for food at a food bank
Joe posted the link to it or you can find it on common dreams. It has many more tweets and photos of other places.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Another article on the long lines
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/breadlines-erupt-across-america-lockdow...
Potters field in NYC
A month ago our generation was saying that bad countries were trying to cover up the number of people who died from COVID. One more pot/kettle situation.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
The things I have seen....
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
Saw a large woodpecker hopping around in the sunny yard
today. What the hell? And it's pecking away at the ground, as if it were digging grubs out of a tree. My daughter says, "It's probably eating ants."
So I do bit of der googlink , and sure enough, it's a Northern Flicker, which, even though it is "obviously" a woodpecker, primarily forages on the ground. And, to the credit of my daughter's intuition, they specialize in eating ants.
What's most surprising about it is that I've lived in this house for almost 25 years, and although I've seen and heard lots of woodpeckers in the trees right behind the house, I've never noticed one of these things in the yard. And they're pretty noticeable -- like, over a foot high.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Hi UR
What a treat.
If you find some feathers please save one for me. They are absolutely beautiful.
The only notable feathers I've ever found lying around are
blue jay and wild turkey (which when we first moved out here, I assumed must be owl, given their size).
I'm not much of a birder, but where we live we don't have to try hard. Our living room window faces S-SW over a very shallow valley of farm fields. Maybe 70 or 80 yards away, there's a fencerow separating two fields, and the trees that have grown up along it provide shelter and nesting for various birds. Common species in/around/above our yard include the usual suspects: Chickadees, wrens, sparrows, robins (sometimes the males get very aggressive with their own reflections in my bedroom window), cardinals, goldfinches, blue jays, tree swallows, redtail hawks (we see these guys floating around up there all the time), and rarely orioles. Note, though, that as I said I'm not a birder, so I can't tell you what particular species of wren or sparrow might be bounding around out there. Very rare sightings overhead include great blue herons and bald eagles, and we've seen sandhill cranes while driving in the vicinity. We hear the owls and the mourning doves, but don't ever see them.
My ex used to maintain hummingbird feeders, but since I don't, we don't see those. When we moved in, there were three birdhouses mounted on short posts, intended for bluebirds, but I don't remember ever seeing any, and the houses fell into disrepair. Instead, over the years the kids have built (as scout projects) assorted birdhouses that we've hung from some of the trees in the yard. In the fall, we sometimes get swarms (I've just learned from the intertubes that they're called "murmurations") of probably blackbirds and chimney swifts.
I did once come very close to becoming very knowledgeable about birds. On the same day that I received my first-ever salaried, professional job offer as a scientific programmer, I received a competing offer from a guy who was the leader in the field of studying bird migrations using radar. The field has come a long way since then -- now any ole birder can do similar stuff from the comfort of their self-isolation: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-doppler-radar-can-track-bi... .
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Thanks Ur,
for describing so clearly your environment, and the interesting article on the imprint bird migration leaves on radar.
From the image, I wonder where the birds of the more Western states are?
Nice to know, that with a tailwind birds beat the wind itself.
very cool UR
great happening UR! Your daughter sounds like she might be birder material.
There are Audubon Society groups in every area, always with free bird walks... for when we can get out again. Good web pages too.
Was your flicker Red-shafted, or Yellow-shafted type? Western U.S. has Red-shafted, the east half or so Yellow-shafted. They used to be separate species but are lumped into Northern Flicker nowadays. I am central so get both, and most years, intergrades or hybrids.
This is an adult female Yellow-shafted type. Male and females have different head markings, and Red-shaft vs Yellow-shaft have different (switched) face/crown colors. They are really neat birds.
Pileated Woodpecker is even bigger, black and white with a red crest, and also an ant specialist, but Carpenter Ants. More common in the east, but some places in the west have them.
Sounds like you have some nice trees around, great for feeders, and sure gives you something great to do at home. A birdbath is a lot of fun too.
enjoy!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Afraid I can't say -- we've only got a couple of low-power
binoculars, and they're packed away with the summer camping gear.
I've seen the pileated woodpeckers in the trees behind the house, and at least one other species as well.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
There's at least one pileated woodpecker in our neighborhood
I saw him (or her) pecking on an old stump right by the street, bold as brass. Hope there's a nest somewhere around.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Ahhh, that is a mistake. We always have a paid handy,
generally near the dining room window, unless we are outside and it is nearby. We do cheat, actually, having an assortment of them strewn about, they're good or much more than birds.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Hey! that looked like Chicago!
The loop
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Lake Harriet
Minneapolis.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
Ah!
Similar architecture. And I spent a lot of time there working for Continental Can, although our plant was in St. Paul.
I remember the first trip! Three things:
1. Those funny parking meter looking things in the hotel parking lot. Rental car cranked real slow in the morning (below zero overnight).
2. Was astounded that Dred Scott had made it that far. It was something to actually stand at the spot he was arrested on.
3. Four inches of snow, the first week of October.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Thanks for Friday Night Photos tonight, BR.
We've been having April showers most of the week here in sunny San Diego. The last of the storm dumped 1-2" of rain today on it's way out of town.
Playing around with Deep Dream Generator.
I'm great at multi-tasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at the same time.
Hi Social
The bird collage in the middle is quite surreal. You must have enjoyed this rainy day activity.
Hi, Janis
It was a fun way to spend the day and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the April showers bring May flowers.
I'm great at multi-tasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at the same time.
If you're not baking bread and looking for a distraction ...
[video:https://youtu.be/6v2L2UGZJAM]
Thank you so much for this video!
I posted it to Facebook for those who feel the need for extreme beauty right now.
I need to watch it again!
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
Cheers Marilyn,
and all the best to you all on the farm.
great pix BR
Beautiful photos BR! On that second one, if there is ever a band called The Anthers, that pic should be the album cover.
This old house...
Bluestars are open, if you can find them.
Saw a bunch of Spiderwort open today (this pic from last year).
A Syrphid, which are nectar flies, many are bee mimics. Flies, order Diptera, have two wings, bees (Hymenoptera) have four. Usually the various flies hold them out to side, straight or angled, and bees hold them over and on the abdomen.
Hope all are well, play it safe! Be good!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Too funny dystopian
I saw a Hoverfly recently, and from what it looks like and what I read they are the same.
Enjoy Spring and stay well.
Rec'd and thanks!!
Rec'd and thanks!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
I need to buy a camera . . .
I fancied myself as a decent photographer once upon a time, but I just have no ability to take photos with my phone.
Right now, with spring and the Texas wildflowers in full force, there is much to photograph.
Thanks to you all for you beautiful photography. I don't comment much but truly do treasure this weekly essay.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo