Cold Weather Birds

Seeds?!

Wow it's been a while. I've got quite a backlog. Charleston, Springfield, Starling fights... I need to get on the ball!

It's been a very snowy winter, and it seems like the only birds we see in the backyard anymore are European starlings. They're surprisingly colorful up close, but not exactly my favorite, especially since they're highly invasive and non-native. The birds finally started coming back for spring, so there were plenty this week when we got a nice freezing rain/snow/10 degree temperature mix.

The cardinal in the opening picture was searching for seeds in the feeder. Unfortunately for him, I was not about to venture outside.

Crappy Winter Weather and Some Links

Female Northern Cardinal

It's been a nasty weekend. Ice and snow yesterday and a dreary, cold day today. Tomorrow will probably bring even more snow. It's been a good opportunity for some photos though.

Before I get to that, a couple of cool links:

Color Gradient Test - This is a test for color vision deficiency. I got a 0 (no holes in my color vision, yay!)

Mantis Shrimp - Badass crustacean. Be sure to watch the video on the left at the bottom

McConnell Springs

The (half) moon was out today

This weekend Erin and I headed to McConnell Springs. We had originally planned to head to Berea to try to catch some fall colors, but got a late start so decided to stay close since it's getting dark so soon now. McConnell is one of our favorite parks in the area, it's convenient, there's a good chance of spotting wildlife and the boils are always interesting. Today the boils weren't terribly impressive, though not the weakest we've seen either.

Keeneland

Today I went on a work outing to Keeneland. It was the first time I've actually been in to see the track and racing. I had been out there for tailgating before though.

Dragonfly, Wishlist and Some Random Links

Dragonfly at Scott County Park

Harold Edgerton - To put it simply, he made the impossible possible when it comes to photographic lighting. This blog post is an excellent overview of some of his accomplishments. Overall, the lensrentals blog is fascinating and Roger Cicala is great at writing interesting research articles. I've never rented from there, but will definitely use them if I ever need/want to rent equipment. Their reputation is excellent, plus they're practically based in my hometown (Cordova is a suburb of Memphis).

ACL Tears - Call this one morbid curiosity, this one interests me both as a sports fan and a wannabe athlete. ACL tears happen all the time in football (American and Association really) and given my spotty injury history, it's a big time injury that I fear. This article talks about the structure of the knee, why the ACL is the most frequently damaged knee ligament and discusses what happens when the ACL is damaged.

Wishlist

Big Shot Camera - The Bigshot is a build it yourself kit camera, with a 3 MP sensor and an option to hand crank it to supply power. The build it yourself is very appealing, it seems like a fun toy. Perhaps the feature that can justify the price is the ability to take 3d pictures.

Lomo Konstruktor - A diy 35mm film camera, this one looks a bit more involved than the Big Shot but it's also cheaper than the Big Shot. Film has a certain appeal for occasional use, though I can't imagine shooting film primarily.

Honeymoon Day 10

Fisgard Lighthouse - Looks like a painting!

Last day. Boo! We woke up late, almost noon, got ready and headed to lunch at John's Place. I had a lamb souvlaki wrap, Erin had a falafel wrap. Their bread was amazing too. After that we headed back to our room, and got the camera stuff ready then called for our car and headed to Fort Rodd Hill/Fisgard Lighthouse. We spent a good bit of time wandering around there, visiting the lighthouse and the batteries. 

Honeymoon Day 9

Bald Eagle and Crows

My day started by waking up at 8 (boo) for no particular reason, but I heard some crows making a racket outside the room, so I stood up to look out the window. I pretty much immediately saw an eagle fly across below our balcony. I practically tripped over myself running for my camera, unfortunately I didn't have the telephoto lens attached so missed any overhead shot opportunities. It was also quite rainy, so I was reluctant to just stand on the balcony. Eventually the eagle came around and landed on top of a tree pretty close to the balcony.