Month: July 2015

Love Your Neighbor As Yourself But Don’t Take Down The Fence!

July 21, 2015 — 19 Comments

yellow warbler 1

F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 1400.

Yellow Warblers

Day 202 / 365

A man walked into the office of a talent agent on the 72nd floor of a skyscraper. “I’ve got a great act,” he tells the agent. “Just watch this.” The man opens the window, perches on the ledge and starts flapping his arms. Then he pushes off and flys around outside the window executing intricate aerobatic maneuvers. Having finished his demonstration, the man flaps in to a perfect landing on the window sill and steps back into the agent’s office. “What do you think of that?” he asked the agent. The talent agent yawned. That’s it? Bird imitations?”

Interesting Fact: Long distance migrant. Yellow Warblers breed across central and northern North America and spend winters in Central America and northern South America. They migrate earlier than most other warblers in both spring and fall. Like many other migrating songbirds, Yellow Warblers from eastern North America fly across the Gulf of Mexico in a single nonstop journey; some Yellow Warblers in fall take an overland route around the Gulf. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow_Warbler/lifehistory )

I Have Made Fire!

July 20, 2015 — 6 Comments

stove

F/4.5, 13.0, ISO 100.

Day 201 / 365

Who invented fire?  Some bright spark!

Interesting Fact: A major improvement in fuel technology came with the advent of gas. The first gas stoves were developed as early as the 1820s, but these remained isolated experiments. James Sharp patented a gas stove in Northampton, England in 1826 and opened a gas stove factory in 1836. His invention was marketed by the firm Smith & Philips from 1828. An important figure in the early acceptance of this new technology, was Alexis Soyer, the renowned chef at the Reform Club in London. From 1841, he converted his kitchen to consume piped gas, arguing that gas was cheaper overall because the supply could be turned off when the stove was not in use. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_stove )

Photography Can Blow Your Mind

July 19, 2015 — 24 Comments

photography blow your mind

F/4.0, 1/60, ISO 560, Photoshop CS6.

Day 200 / 365

A photographer took a self portrait in a park.
Due to lighting conditions he used the built in flash on the camera.
He quickly got arrested for flashing and exposing himself in the park.

Interesting Fact: The first ever color photograph was shot in 1861 by a Scott physicist by the name of James Clark Maxwell. He used yellow, blue and red filters separately to photograph a tartan ribbon and then combined the three images to create the final color photograph. [National Geographic] ( http://factslegend.org/30-interesting-photography-facts/2/ )

Light Me Up!

July 18, 2015 — 2 Comments

candle

F/5.6, 1/60, ISO 720.

Day 199 / 365

How many Catholics does it take to change a light bulb?

None. They use candles.

Interesting Fact: The oldest candle manufacturers still in existence are Rathbornes Candles, founded in Dublin in 1488. ( http://www.supplycandle.com/Candle-Facts/ )

 

Kissing Burns 6.4 Calories A Minute Wanna Work Out!

July 17, 2015 — 22 Comments

Barn Swallow 1

F/6.3, 1/640, ISO 800.

 Barn Swallow

Day 198 / 365

If the bird of wisdom is an owl, and the bird of peace is the dove, what is the bird of TRUE love?

Interesting Fact: Barn Swallow parents sometimes get help from other birds to feed their young. These “helpers at the nest” are usually older siblings from previous clutches, but unrelated juveniles may help as well.  ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/lifehistory )

Feeling A Little Blue!

July 16, 2015 — 8 Comments

Blue Grosbeak

F/6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400.

Blue Grosbeak

Day 197 / 365

A mother bird, a daddy bird and their baby bird were getting ready to migrate. The mother bird said, ” My instincts tell me to go north. ” The daddy bird said, ” My instincts tell me to go south. ” The baby bird said, ” My end stinks too, but it doesn’t tell me where to go! ”

Interesting Fact: Many Blue Grosbeaks migrate directly southward from their breeding areas to their wintering grounds. Western birds head over land and eastern birds cross the Gulf of Mexico. Migrating grosbeaks pass through the Caribbean Islands including Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Antilles, the Swan Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Grosbeak/lifehistory )

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beer Holder.

July 15, 2015 — 12 Comments

heineken star

F/4.0, 1/60, ISO 800.

Day 196 / 365

Beer doesn’t turn people into somebody they’re not.
It just makes them forget to hide that part of themselves.

Interesting Fact:  The Heineken company was founded in 1864 when the 22-year-old Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought a brewery known as De Hooiberg (the haystack) in Amsterdam. In 1869 Heineken switched to the use of bottom-fermenting yeast. In 1873 the brewery’s name changed to Heineken’s Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij (HBM), and opened a second brewery in Rotterdam in 1874. In 1886 Dr. H. Elion, a pupil of the French chemist Louis Pasteur, developed the “Heineken A-yeast” in the Heineken laboratory. This yeast is still the key ingredient of Heineken beer. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heineken_International )

 

Drink Responsibly!

” Figaro! Figaro! Figaro! Figaro! Figaro! “!

July 14, 2015 — 20 Comments

Marsh Wren

F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 1000.

Marsh Wren

Day 195 / 365

Why did the bird get a ticket?

It broke the law of gravity!

Interesting Fact: The Marsh Wren is a secretive bird; even when singing the territorial male remains well hidden, briefly climbing a cattail for a look at an intruder. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/137/_/Marsh_Wren.aspx )

“Hey I Was Yellow First, Now The Minions Get The Fame”!

July 13, 2015 — 27 Comments

American Goldfinch

F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 400.

The American Goldfinch

Day 194 / 365

What do you give a sick bird?
Tweetment.

Interesting Fact: They are one of the latest nesting birds, starting in late June or early July, when most other songbirds are finishing with breeding. Their late timing may be related to the availability of suitable nesting materials and seeds for feeding young. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/91/overview/American_Goldfinch.aspx )

RUUUNNNNN!!!

July 12, 2015 — 10 Comments

wood duck Female

F/6.3, 1/800, ISO 800.

Wood Duck ( Female )

Day 193 /365

Why don`t ducks tell jokes when they fly?
Because they would quack up!

Interesting Fact: The Wood Duck nests in trees near water, sometimes directly over water, but other times over a mile away. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the nest tree and make their way to water. The mother calls them to her, but does not help them in any way. The ducklings may jump from heights of over 50 feet without injury. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory )