Gorbatov Prints

The fabulous Russian artist Vadim Gorbatov visited the US last fall under the auspices of the Raptor Education Foundation. He paid a visit to Steve and Libby in Magdalena and Steve posted on the visit and Vadim's art here and here and here.

People intrigued by the samples Steve provided may want to know that the Raptor Education Foundation is selling a selection of Gorbatov prints that are available here.

UPDATE
I didn't do a very good job with the last link. On the REF main page look at the link roll on the left side. Click on "Gallery" and then click on "Contemporary Art Gallery"

Spring Willows

Having been away from this area for years, I had completely forgotten what an interesting yellow color the willows have on their new spring shoots.

Bird Cam

This picture of two bald eagle chicks was taken this afternoon in a nest near the Fort St. Vrain Power Plant in Platteville, Colorado. Xcel Energy, for impact mitigation and public outreach purposes, has positioned cameras on raptor nests located near several of their power plants. Their Bird Cam can be accessed here.

Raptor enthusiasts can see views of bald eagle, osprey, kestrel, peregrine, and great horned owl nests.

The Falcon's Call

Alright, I had to take this one: A friend of mine is mentioned in Vanity Fair.

He's Steve Hein, Director of the Lamar Q. Ball, Jr., Raptor Center at Georgia Southern University. Steve is a falconer and a wildlife artist, a transplanted West-coaster who flourished in a far away world of barbecue and Brunswick stew and married well to a local girl. He did the good pencil sketches for my book American Kestrels in Modern Falconry. We've been friends since the late 80s.

In his VF pic, Steve is looking earnest and a tad bemused, peering over the shoulder of Robert Kennedy---of those Kennedys--who authored the article:

THE FALCON'S CALL: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got his first red-tailed hawk from his father, at age 11, and an environmental education through the ancient art of falconry. Decades later, he meets up with a small band of falconers in Wyoming's sagebrush, a wilderness being overrun by Halliburton. Photographs by William Abranowicz. [from the issue Table of Contents]

Kennedy, in describing the Wyoming hunt in which Hein took part, refers to my friend as a "raptor expert." I wrote Steve immediately: "You will never live this down."

I post this note foremost to further my reputation as one who knows several famous people named Steve. But it's also evidence of my theory that some good things--natural things, even hunting--may be enjoying a little nod from the society set these days. The globe warms a bit and suddenly Vanity Fair wants us all eating hawk-caught rabbit and driving electric cars.

Frankly, I'm all for it!

Big News

The Big News that I have been promising has finally arrived. I have just signed a contract with Reaktion Books in England to write a book on Eagles for their Animal Series.

For a good example of their books go here for Falcon by Helen Macdonald, our beloved Pluvialis, to whom I owe this opportunity. Visit her
Fretmarks to see a portfolio of her late dad Alisdair's work. They are iconic images and I'll bet you already know some-- I did.

And yes, I intend to keep blogging-- writing begets writing.

Out and About

Just a few pictures and thoughts from the beginning of the week when the dogs and I were stretching our legs at the Hidden Mesa Open Space just to the west of us. We had two days of cold and snow over the weekend that gave us a White Easter, but Monday was clear and 70 degrees and you wouldn't have known it snowed except that Cherry Creek was fat with snow melt (see above). This open space area is mostly in the Cherry Creek floodplain. Cherry Creek is a major tributary of the South Platte River and the site of the original settlement that grew to become Denver is located near the confluence of these streams. The creek gives its name to a flood control reservoir where it is dammed several miles downstream of us and also an upscale shopping and residential area in Denver.

This picture epitomizes the behavioral differences between my shepherd dog and my retreiver/hunter dog: Sadie is looking to me for a cue as to what to do next and Maggie is busy checking the scent of every bunny, prairie dog, vole or meadow mouse who's scurried through in the last week. I don't think Sadie comes directly from working stock, but she carries strongly so many of the herding behaviors that I'd love to get her a chance to work with sheep.

Last week I was trying to load the dogs in the truck for one of these walks. Maggie jumped right in but Sadie refused to load. She gave me anxious, piteous looks. As I called her she repeatedly ran halfway to the front door and back, just skipping out of my reach. Turns out, from her perspective, I was trying to force her to abandon Connie, one of the "flock" she's responsible for. Sadie resolutely refused to load until Connie said, "Come on, let's go!" and pretended to get in the truck. Connie figured out what the problem was - I was too dense.

Late in the day a bunch of clouds blew in bringing a chance of showers. Living in coastal California for the last seven years, it had been ages since I'd seen these big boiling thunderheads. These are those muscular, wet Maynard Dixon clouds that the Southwestern Indians pray for for their promise of rain.

I must say, since coming here we have gotten a lot of enjoyment watching the sun set behind the mountains of the Front Range.

Blade Manufacture

A hat-tip to John Derbyshire who linked to this very cool YouTube video of a flint-knapper manufacturing blades from a pyramidal core using a punch technique. This is how artifacts that Steve saw on his trip to Turkey were made that I posted on last year.

Falling in Love with French Antiquities

The NY Times has a very nice piece on archaeologist Randall White of NYU and his research in Paleolithic archaeology in the Perigord area of France. That is the home ground of Cro-Magnon research just down the road from the famous cave art at Lascaux. Though not professionally grounded in the archaeology of the area, I've always had an interest as my first archaeology professor and advisor at Tulane, Harvey Bricker, did his dissertation research there at Abri Pataud. He was always telling us stories in class, and his discussions on his research on burins was a factor that pushed me into lithic analysis.

A Question

It occurred to me to throw out this question to Steve and Matt and any commenters who want to jump in.

Do your dogs dream?

At least I have always assumed that's what's going on. It is pretty common when Maggie is sleeping on her side to hear her making whining noises and/or muted barks while her legs, feet and tail twitch. Sometimes she makes so much noise she wakes herself up. Sadie and other dogs we have had have done that as well, but Maggie does it far more than any other dog I've ever been around.

I've never read anything about dog dreams or talked to anyone about it other than Connie. Does anyone know of research on this? What are your experiences and opinions?

Crybaby

Worse and worse. "He cried himself to sleep after his Iranian captors likened him to the comedy character Mr Bean."

Compliment

I'm blushing. John Carlson at Prairie Ice has had some very nice things to say about us. (John was my best man when I married Libby in Bozeman, MT).

You should always pay attention to his blog on birds and books and more. He lives an enviable life as a biologist in his (native) home on the plains of eastern Montana, with occasional trips to Antarctica. He has appeared here before in a tux in "his" penguin colony-- perhaps Matt can dig it up?.

I'll have to try to rmemember that tenth book...

Is Nothing Sacred?

Odor- free durians are like non- alcoholic beer or decaf coffee!

Doom, Doom..

From England of course. As the English sailors cash in on their captivity with TV interviews and E- bay sales, the BBC cancels a documentary on the newest recipient of the Victoria Cross.

"He's the first living recipient of the Victoria Cross since two Aussies, Keith Payne and Rayene Stewart Simpson, were honored with the Commonwealth's highest award for gallantry in 1969 for their service in Vietnam, and he's the first living recipient in the British Army since Lance-Corporal Rambahadur Limbu of the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles won his in the Confrontation with Indonesia in 1965. Private Beharry is one of only 12 living Victoria Cross holders. But his story might "alienate" the British public."

But the poor captives were subjected to-- ridicule! "Royal Navy detainee Arthur Batchelor told the Daily Mirror that the Iranians taunted him by comparing his features to those of the comic British character, Mr. Bean."

The Dalai Lama is made of sterner stuff. Here is a pic Libby took of one of the "Dalai Lama's soldiers"-- a Khampa-- up on the Tibetan border of eastern Nepal. Long ago and far away...

Seitanic Pet Food

The poisoned- wheat- gluten- in- pet- food scandal continues to unfold. China now claims it had nothing to do with it-- I'd advise skepticism on that.

Patrick has the word on the seitanic substance...

Blog Friends News

First, congratulations to the lovely Heidi-- who hardly looks "hick" in these photos-- and her talented husband Jethro. More material for fiction too, Heidi?

And speaking of our beautiful websisters, Larissa has posted an essay in defense of sloth. I prefer not to know what those noodles are, though.

What Is On My Desk?

Inspired by Doc Hypercube's bookshelf series, I sent him a slice of one of mine and then turned the camera to my desktop. How many objects here can you identify?



The bejewelled crane skull is the work of local artist and friend Yvonne Magener. She may have a website and if so I'll add a link later. Her horse skulls are particularly stunning.

Banned in Beijing

Terrierman Patrick Burns seems inordinately proud of the fact that his blog has been banned by the Chinese government. Steve wants to know what we're doing wrong that they haven't banned us.

Hawk Nest

I mentioned to Steve on the telephone the other day that the first week we were here at Moonshine Gulch, I had seen a pair of red-tailed hawks mating in a grove of cottonwood trees south of the house - a first for me.

They have apparently set up housekeeping in a well-established nest in a cottonwood in the Bayou Gulch bottoms. I grabbed this shot of it with the little point and shoot, and if you look closely you can see the female in flight on the right of the picture. She jumped out as soon as I unlimbered the camera. Should their family thrive, I'll be working to get some shots with the telephoto lens to post here.

It's definitely that time of year. Rebecca O'Connor tells of the return of the red-tailed hawk that nests near her yard in Banning, whom she has dubbed "The Red Queen", who preys on her pigeons.

Backyard Pests? Think of Them as Dinner

This NY Times piece chronicles a dinner party given in New York by Steven Rinella, author of The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine. Actually the title is somewhat misleading, as most of the dishes feature venison, elk, caribou, moose, bear, and goose - not exactly backyard pests in New York. The local contributions are squirrel and sparrow. This "exotic" meal seems pretty normal to anyone who hunts or hangs around with hunters.

Preparation of the sparrows reminded me of Steve's recipe for robins in On the Edge of the Wild. I haven't had squirrel in years but the way my Grandmother Iola prepared fried squirrel was one of my favorites. She had several hunter friends in Jonesboro who kept her supplied so she could fix it for me when I came to visit.

DNA Stalkers

Amy Harmon of the NY Times tells us in this story that DNA research has added a whole new dimension to the study of genealogy, something I've talked about here before. Harmon tells us that this has bred a whole new group of people so obsessed with obtaining DNA confirmation of their research that they collect samples from discarded cups of possible relatives and plucking hairs from corpses.

"Seeking to expand their family trees, thousands of amateur family historians have begun asking people with the same last names to compare genes, even though most are total strangers. That is where the free drinks come in.

'I always say, never ask for DNA on a first date,” said Georgia Bopp, 65, a retired banker in Kailua, Hawaii. 'A courtship is involved.'”

snip

"Some funeral homes now offer post-mortem DNA collection. But Linda Jonas saw no need for professional help when she tugged several hairs from her grandmother’s head as she lay in her casket.

She made sure to get the root.

'Obviously, it’s not going to hurt her,' said Ms. Jonas, a family historian in McLean, Va. 'I had a little Ziploc.'”

You can't make this stuff up!

Etruscan Emigration?

Nicholas Wade of the NY Times brings us another fine effort in the DNA/archaeology beat that he works so well (please read his book Before the Dawn!) with a report of studies that indicate the classical Etruscan civilization of northern Italy originated with a group migration from the Near East. This seems to confirm a report by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus that has long been derided by archaeologists. I'm not sure why this should be so surprising in light of the extensive Greek colonies that were planted in Italy during this period.

The Etruscans have long been an enigma in classical archaeology. I've always been fascinated by their art. Wade reports that DNA from Etruscan burials, from modern Italian communities within the former Etruscan range, and from a distinctive breed of cattle from that area all point to Near Eastern origins.

This seeming confirmation of Herodotus reminded me of this post I did last Fall on the Antikythera Mechanism, a complex Greek clockwork "computer" dating to 100 BC, used to predict astronomical phenomena. The Roman writer/politician Cicero described having seen such a machine, but historians had always dismissed this as an exaggeration or a myth until this was finally found.

Archaeology of the Exodus

The day after Passover the NY Times has a piece discussing the lack of archaeological evidence for the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. The report focuses on the archaeology of an Egyptian border fort in the Sinai that dates to the right time period.

As the article points out, I'm not surprised that there is no archaeological evidence for the parting of the Red Sea. I'm also not surprised that Egyptian archaeologists don't seem real eager to find confirmation of Hebrew scripture.

Panorama

The Peculiars were down last week and Mr. P. took this splendid panorama of our home town nestled beneath its foothills. The higher peaks of the Magdalena Range are obscured behind clouds to the upper left.

Ornate Guns

The Islamic world has always been prone to decorating firearms in an ornate fashion. Most examples I have seen have been Afghan and Arab "Jezail"- type muzzleloaders. Recently frequent reader and commenter "Johnny UK" was in Morocco where he photographed a modern example at the mausoleum of Mohammed V , the founder of modern-day Morocco. It appears to be a Mauser (I think) of some sort. Reader feedback encouraged!

Catching Up

Like Matt, I should soon have good news (though mine should continue to let me blog freely). I have been dealing with that and also Libby's taking over the local Post Office so it has been a bit hectic here. Let me do a quick blogging news roundup and post some pics-- with more to come shortly I hope.

Real Perigord truffles are being grown in Tennessee!

Do guns equal civilization?

Maybe it is time to start feeding one's carnivorous pets the Bones And Raw Food diet. (HT's to Mary and Paul D.).

Dogs may have originated in a biological instant. HT Chas.

Blogger Bioblitz! If you are a blogger you can contribute to the project by doing a survey of a plot near your home. Go here for details. Thanks to Carel of Rigor Vitae for the tip.

Matt in the Weeds

I work for a large public University in the American South. It's easy to learn which, considering I've been there ten years, serving most of them as a Web administrator. It's too hard to hide on the Internet...

I'll have a new job on campus, effective early next month. It's in large part a press job, helping bring attention to new discoveries and the research our faculty conduct. I'll produce a glossy, quarterly publication and assist with others. But there are enough additional duties attached to this position that I expect to be snowed in like a winter at Reid's house for the next few months.

Moreover, my writing of inflammatory missives on this blog and elsewhere will probably need to stop. Some of my favorite topics are inflammatory, so I know I'll miss that. But the potential to write myself out of a job, or at very least embarrass my bosses (which may be close to the same thing), will be high. Therefore I plan to lay low.

I'll still help Steve with image posting and will probably write an obituary for Kato when he finally kicks the bucket. If I don't do much more than that for a while, now you'll know why.

Drop me an email sometime---I'll still be reading!

Ataika's Career

Steve, why didn't you tell us that Ataika was moonlighting as a supermodel?

Did you have to pay to get headshots for her portfolio?

I certainly hope she's working for more than just kibble!

Minor miracle

Lest we forget why animals are more amazing than you and me, in general, and why we love to have them around: Witness Kato, my cat since 1986, killer of squirrels, rabbits and birds a plenty; the world's only (known to me) hawking cat, who followed the hawk and me on numerous hunts in my high school days; who remained steadfast through several of my girlfriends' departures and my wife's continuing tenure; who outlived two dogs; who suffered the indignities of my toddlers without biting them; who bit me too many times to mention yet still purrs in my lap.

This ancient cat just jumped three times his own height onto a chair in my den.

From a sitting position.

You go, Kato.

Tenacious

I saw this small "chimney" of uneroded soil in the middle of a small arroyo east of the house yesterday.
Closer examination showed that a matt of prickly pear had anchored the soil in place while everything else around it eroded away. Looking at the size of the arroyo and the stability of the vegetation in it, I would guess this was a decades long process.

When I went over to take the close-up of the cactus, it was also evident that this
"cactus island" is a favorite place for owls to hang out, as the ground around was littered with these pellets.

Surprise

Last Saturday's predicted high of 52 with a chance of thundershowers turned into a high of 35 and a Spring snow storm. Native Southern Californians Sadie and Maggie ask: What is this stuff?

Squirrels Gone Wild

This item is a little old, but it happened while I was busy moving and couldn't get to it. The LA Times reported that the city of Santa Monica has been faced with a problem where one of its parks has been overrun by a population explosion of ground squirrels.

And what did the city do? Trap and kill some to keep the population down? Trap some and move some to another area? Encourage natural predators to hunt there and keep the population down? - we have recommended to some clients with ground squirrel problems that they build perching spots for raptors in the area - it works.

No - Santa Monica is going to catch the ground squirrels and give them birth control shots.

Auctions

This NY Times piece on an auction of fossils and antiquities has it right - it is painful for paleontologists and archaeologists to watch these things. Artifacts and fossils taken from the context of their deposition lose much of their ability to contribute to scientific analysis.

More Granddogs

Matt suggested I put up this photo of Nate's lurcher Pearl and tazi girl Maty. Photo Nate Moody:

Matt says: Ah...dog humor.

Mullahs Dis 300

The mad mullahs aren't very coherent about it, but they sure don't like the new movie "300".

A couple of reactions:

"The government spokesman referred to the movie as part of the extensive cultural aggression aiming to degenerate cultures of world states."

And:

"The Iranian embassy in Paris has termed the film an insult to the rich Iranian culture and civilization and shameless fabrication of history.

"The statement further reads, "This is surprising that Hollywood cinema, in a hostile manner and in pursuit of unhealthy objectives and with a commercial look in compliance with the militarist policies of some ill famed and domineering powers, has initiated to propagate hatred and terrorism in the world instead of attempting to diagnose the real problems gripping the present world.

And:

"The director of the film '300', Zack Snyder is 40 years old with no significant professional record."

Oooh-- that hurts..

Sympatric

A real find for evo- wonks: a likely case of sympatric speciation in finches.

"Examples of sympatric speciation in nature are rare and hotly debated. We describe the parallel speciation of finches on two small islands in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean."

For a fascinating book on the subject-- by a scientist who allegedly convinced evo- maven Enst Mayr that sympatric speciation, the splitting of a population into two species in one place, was possible-- see menno Schilthuizen's Frogs, Flies, and Dandelions: The Making of Species

Ancient Enemies

Proof that at least one species of prehistoric cat, Megantereon, hunted humans-- it's in the isotopes.

""Paranthropus robustus and the early Homo species,Homo ergaster, had a diet that reflected a mix of carbon isotopes, suggesting that they were omnivorous, which is similar to what modern humans are today," said Lee-Thorp.

"Knowing the hominid carbon isotope ratios, Lee-Thorp and her colleagues were able to compare the ratios to those found in various carnivores found at the site. The team examined fossilized tooth enamel of leopards, lions, and spotted hyenas, in addition to three extinct species: Megantereon; Dino felis, a false saber-toothed cat; and Chasmoporithetes nitidula, an extinct hunting hyena."

Of these, all but "Dino felis"-- more on that in a minute-- showed ratios that indicated that they fed on humans

As for Mr. Felis, who sounds like an associate of Fabio, I believe they mean Dinofelis.

I did think Paranthropus was more of a vegetarian but maybe I am behind the times...

HT Grayal Farr.

More AR Follies: Kill Knut!

Now the idiots want to kill a popular polar bear cub in Germany because he was rejected by his mother.

""Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws," animal rights activist Frank Albrecht was quoted as saying by the mass-circulation Bild daily, which has featured regular photo spreads tracking fuzzy Knut's frolicking.

" "The zoo must kill the bear." "

(Snip)

"Albrecht cited a similar case of a baby sloth bear that was abandoned by its mother last December in the Leipzig city zoo and killed by lethal injection, rather than being kept alive by humans.

"But Knut belongs to the Berlin Zoo, and their veterinarian Andre Schuele, charged with caring for him, disagrees.

""These criticisms make me angry, but you can't take them so seriously," Andre Schuele said. "Polar bears live alone in the wild; I see no logical reason why this bear should be killed."

"Schuele also argued that given the increased rarity of polar bears in the wild, it makes sense to keep them alive in captivity so that they can be bred.

" "Polar bears are under threat of extinction, and if we feed the bear with a bottle, it has a good chance of growing up and perhaps becoming attractive as a stud for other zoos," Schuele said."

Thank God for people with sense. AR, taken to its logical limits, is a death cult-- only the dead can't suffer.

PETA's Jesus

Even for the notoriously irrational PETA, this is amazing. Having convinced themselves that Christ was a vegetarian, they have created this... installation: a "diner" made out of an Airstream trailer, featuring a model of Christ presiding over a Last Supper company composed of various famous real and alleged vegetarians-- Ghandi, George Bernard Shaw, Paul McCartney as Sergeant Pepper, Kafka, and K. D. Lang-- all behind bars, so, I guess, they won't be vandalized, but looking like they are in jail. It is the silliest thing I have seen so far this year.

Some friends had pungent reactions.

Tom McIntyre: "This is my celery? This is my cider?"

Patrick Burns:
"PETA just proves it's filled with folks that have never read the Bible. Say what you want about Jesus, but he was Jew, and as such was raised in a world in which the Torah -- the most sacred book of God -- was wrapped in animal skins with the fur still on them. His was a world of sheep and goats, camels and donkeys, horses, and mules. Sheep and goats were routinely sacrificed and eaten, just as they are today. Larger pack animals were used to the very edge of their miserable existence, and then they were killed and skinned for water bags, saddles drums, shoes, bags, and cord -- just as they are today. In much of the Middle East, little has changed in 2,000 years, and I assure you that there is no notion of Animal Rights at all.

"In both the Old and New Testaments, animals do not have rights, and in fact at least one day every year -- during the Passover sacrifice -- practicing Jews always had to eat meat as it was part of the traditional meal. Jesus was born in a manger -- a place where beasts of burden and servicve are houses. The story in the New Testament is not of loaves and Tofu, but of loaves and fishes, and it was fish -- a living thing -- that was killed and which Jesus fed to his followers. Add to this the story in Samuel where the fox's tail is set on fire to help torch the fields of the Philistines (made famous in a Kipping poem entitled "The Fox Meditates"), the Old Testament tales of frogs falling from the sky (not a good day for the frogs, I suspect), and the wholesale drowning of animals (Great Flood and Exodus), and it's clear that God is not a PETA member.

"We have more direct evidence, of course. If God made man in his own image, as the Bible says, then God has canine teeth.

"Try to reconcile that with vegetarianism.

"God did not make man alone, of course. He aso made spiders which bind up living things, inject them with poison, and then eat them eat them alive, one piece at a time. God made the hawk which will rip the head of a fluttering sparrow still grasped in his claw. God made the fox which will chew the legs off a living mouse so that the flapping rodent can serve as a toy for its kits.

"In short, God made nature, red in tooth and claw, and I assure you it is not all a mistake.

"OK, enough out of me -- off with the dogs for a few hours in the field. Time for me to listen to a little Stained Glass Bluegrass.

"Let us prey."

A PETA spokesman said "I’ve had people telling me they’re going to be re-evaluating their food choices and lives after seeing the display.”

Maybe after laughing themselves silly they all go off for bloody steaks.

Oh and-- THERE'S A PIG ON THE ROOF.

UPDATE: Patrick shares thoughts on his religion.

Prairie Rambles

The last seven years we had been living in a suburban tract house, so when we bought the house here at Moonshine Gulch, I was happy that we could get some property around it. Here is Sadie out back. I must say I have never had a yard before that was narrow-leafed yucca, gramma grass, and prickly pear.

Though our dogs were stressed about moving as I showed in the post below, they are happy campers now that they have more open country to ramble in. We have been taking them on long walks on some open prairie in a county park just to the west of us. Way more fun than walking down a sidewalk on a leash.

Sadie has been a city dog all of her short life but is now learning all sorts of new lessons in this new environment: how to avoid burrs and cactus spines in your paws; how to navigate under barbed wire; and that horse poop is a tasty treat. When the weather warms she may learn some lessons about snakes as well.

On our first ramble we discovered the skeleton of what I believe is a fox. Here's the cranium. Experts please correct me if I'm wrong - all my reference books are in boxes.

We had some light scattered showers yesterday afternoon and the clouds added to the beauty of the sunset. Also, after the rain I realized I had forgotten just how good damp prairie grass smells.

Stressed

After the movers had picked up all the furniture, our dogs seemed to doubt our assurances that they were coming to Colorado, too.

Roast Capybara - A Holiday Treat

The NY Times had an interesting piece on how the meat of the giant rodent, the capybara, is a prized delicacy in Venezuela, expecially during the Lenten season. Apparently the local Roman Catholic church has given it a status more akin to fish than meat.

The article reminded me of a post I did last year on a traditional Zuni rodent treat, rat-brine.

From the article:

"Capybara aficionados include President Hugo Chavez, who grew up in Barinas, a state on Venezuela’s steamy plains where capybaras are common. On his television show, “Hello, President,” Mr. Chávez has promoted capybara empanadas washed down with papaya juice. "

Steve's comment was, "And after a few more years of Hugo, that's all they'll have..."

Colorado Arrival

Well, we finally did make it here to Denver last Saturday. The movers delivered all of our stuff last Monday, and we are slowly making our way through the sea of boxes in our new house to unpack. We actually found the pots and pans last night and got to really cook, as opposed to microwave heat ups.

Luckily for us the weather has been seasonally mild, after the hard winter here. Some of its traces are still visible on the front porch.

I will be back posting again and will be telling you more about our new neighborhood.

Good Stuff #6: Calligraphy

I just found that our friend Sir Terence Clark does Arabic calligraphy as a pastime, Since he is "dog (saluki/ tazi) friend", the subject of this piece is not surprising. In his words:

"In this piece I have used at the top a line of poetry - "Without hunting there is no pleasure" - in what is known as Early Kufic, the style in which the first Qur'ans were written. In the main body I have used the later Fatimid Kufic style for two lines from a poem describing the strength of a Saluqi called Muq (which appears in Rex Smith's book on Ibn Marzuban) - "He springs into action faster than the sword and the spear; he is more effective than arrows and javelins". The decoration is in the Ottoman style of the 18th century."

Good Stuff #5: Peregrine Nest

As I mentioned in "Sick as a Doorknob" below, we climbed up to this Peregrine nest Sunday. The actual pic was taken last year-- there is no snow that low this warm spring.

The line of droppings that mark the ledge is just above the foreground snow...

Good Stuff #4: Crazy South African Snake Man

The Alpha Environmentalist sent this pic of his crazy South African friend Neels and his tame seven-foot black mamba, teaching a ranger course. Somehow, the "No Smoking" sign is hilarious in this context.



Jonathan adds: "You could mention that he was bitten by a mamba on an episode of Mark O'Shea's Big Adventure, and nearly died. Back on his feet the next day. Obviously didn't make him nervous around mambas."

Also note the Jonathan Kingdon poster behind...

Good Stuff #3: Vadim Gorbatov

Vadim Gorbatov has been in Cambodia. Here is a mere taste.

Butterflies & temple

Gibbon

clouded leopard

(For more on Neofelis, see Darren).

Good Stuff #2 : Fast Pigeons

One of Tom Donald's new "field pouters" outflies a good trained Peregrine-- really!

Good Stuff # 1: Birds

Just got some good news and will blog on it when it becomes "official".

Meanwhile it inspires me to put up more visuals and other fun and (in this case) not yet official stuff for a bit.

First, two birds with possible future potential for me, small falcons I can fly nearby.

Red- Headed Falcon: a tame little bird from a huge range in the Tropics, with rather Accipitrine habits.



Three- quarter Barbary, one quarter Taita falcon. The cross inhibits the Barb's wanderlust and the Taita's tendency to get eaten by other raptors.

Bio-bloggo-literary diversity

Steve's post below ticking off the recent wonders from the bloggoshere got me clicking again on Nemo Ramjet. Those who live in this orbit will recognize the name.

Ramjet's new project (unpublished, but--shockingly--available free!) is a wonder. No point in describing it. See for yourself.

Between the few of us who write and read at Q., we whine a lot about good books no one will print. Sadly there's no shortage. Someone better snatch this one up!

Another Pretty Dog

Granddog: John Burchard's Tigger, now starting to show in coursing.