sky

My Pillow Just Slapped Me Upside The Head And Said What Are You Still Doing Up!

February 17, 2016 — 21 Comments

Griffith Observatory

F/10.0, 30.0, ISO 100.

Griffith Observatory

California Week

How can you go without sleep for seven days and not be tired?

Sleep at night.

Interesting Fact: 3,015 acres (12.20 km2) of land surrounding the observatory was donated to the City of Los Angeles by Colonel Griffith J. Griffith on December 16, 1896.[1] In his will Griffith donated funds to build an observatory, exhibit hall, and planetarium on the donated land. Griffith’s objective was to make astronomy accessible by the public, as opposed to the prevailing idea that observatories should be located on remote mountaintops and restricted to scientists. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffith_Observatory#History )

I Fly So High, I Can Reach The Sky!

February 11, 2016 — 21 Comments

Rough Legged Hawk

F/ 8.0, 1/320, ISO 100.

Rough Legged Hawk ( Dark  )

Is chicken soup good for your health?

Not if you’re the chicken!

Interesting Fact: Nonbreeding adults eat about a quarter-pound of food daily, or a tenth of their body mass—that’s about 5 small mammals. Nestlings start feeding themselves (swallowing lemmings whole) at about 16 days old. It’s estimated that a brood of 2 nestlings requires 26 pounds of food during the 40 days between hatching to fledging. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rough-legged_Hawk/lifehistory )

 

 

 

 

Fly High And Touch The Sky

January 30, 2016 — 19 Comments

Cooper’s Hawk

F/8.0, 1/1000, ISO 200.

Cooper’s Hawk

Why did the rooster run away?

He was chicken!

Interesting Fact: Once thought averse to towns and cities, Cooper’s Hawks are now fairly common urban and suburban birds. Some studies show their numbers are actually higher in towns than in their natural habitat, forests. Cities provide plenty of Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove prey. Though one study in Arizona found a downside to the high-dove diet: Cooper’s Hawk nestlings suffered from a parasitic disease they acquired from eating dove meat. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/lifehistory )

Don’t Watch The Clock; Do What It Does. Keep Going!

January 29, 2016 — 7 Comments

Zone Tailed Hawk

F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 160.

Rough Legged Hawk ( Dark  )

What do you call a crazy chicken ?

A cuckoo cluck !

Interesting Fact: The Rough-legged Hawk’s cliffside nest, a bulky mass of sticks, sometimes contains caribou bones. Nesting pairs need a lot of space: usually only a single pair will nest on a quarter-mile-long cliff. However, the pair may nest within 100 feet of Gyrfalcons, Peregrine Falcons, or Common Ravens. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/522/overview/Zone-tailed_Hawk.aspx )

 

The Mask Of Waxwing!

January 22, 2016 — 16 Comments

Cedar Waxwing

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 400.

Cedar Waxwing

Why didn’t the chicken skeleton cross the road?

Because he didn’t have enough guts

Interesting Fact: The Cedar Waxwing is one of the few North American birds that specializes in eating fruit. It can survive on fruit alone for several months. Brown-headed Cowbirds that are raised in Cedar Waxwing nests typically don’t survive, in part because the cowbird chicks can’t develop on such a high-fruit diet. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/lifehistory )

 

Feeling A Little Blue Today

January 19, 2016 — 31 Comments

Blue Jay

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 100.

Blue Jay

What bird is always sad?

The blue jay!

Interesting Fact:  The Blue Jay frequently mimics the calls of hawks, especially the Red-shouldered Hawk. These calls may provide information to other jays that a hawk is around, or may be used to deceive other species into believing a hawk is present. (  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/lifehistory )

I’m Watching You Watching Me!

January 14, 2016 — 24 Comments

American Kestrel

F/ 13.0, 1/500, ISO 500.

American Kestrel

So there is this parrot and he knows a bunch of swear words and the owner says , “If you don’t stop swearing I’m going to sick you in the freezer.” So the parrot starts swearing and the guy puts him in the freezer. The parrot continues cussing up a storm but after a few minutes the parrot suddenly stops. The guy says “Will you stop swearing now?” and the parrot says “I’ll stop, but first I want to know what the chicken did.”

Interesting Fact: In winter in many southern parts of the range, female and male American Kestrels use different habitats. Females use the typical open habitat, and males use areas with more trees. This situation appears to be the result of the females migrating south first and establishing winter territories, leaving males to the more wooded areas. (  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/lifehistory )

What’s Up?

January 2, 2016 — 22 Comments

Red tailed Hawk

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO400.

Red-tailed Hawk

What is a parrot’s favorite game?

Hide and Speak!

Interesting Fact: The “Harlan’s Hawk” breeds in Alaska and northwestern Canada, and winters on the southern Great Plains. This very dark form of the Red-tailed Hawk has a marbled white, brown, and gray tail instead of a red one. It’s so distinctive that it was once considered a separate species, until ornithologists discovered many individuals that were intermediate between Harlan’s and more typical Red-tailed Hawks. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/lifehistory )

My New Years Resolution Is 1080p

January 1, 2016 — 46 Comments

2016

Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome 2016!

F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 400.

New Years Resolutions List

  1. Lose weight by inventing an anti-gravity machine
  2. Stop repeating myself again, and again, and again.
  3. I will read the manual… just as soon as I can find it.
  4. I will stop making lists…..

Interesting Fact: There are two ways to make ice sculpture: You can carve into a block of ice or make a mold. Blocks of ice are obtained from frozen rivers and lakes. Typically water that freezes slowly makes clear ice and is preferred by artists to make ice sculptures. In some places, artificial blocks of ice are made for this purpose. ( http://www.ehow.com/about_5393158_history-ice-sculptures.html )

 

 

Last Day!!!

December 31, 2015 — 50 Comments

Beavertail Lighthouse

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 400.

Day 365 / 365

What did the ocean say to the lighthouse?

Nothing; it just waved.

Interesting Fact: Prior to the establishment of a lighthouse at Beavertail, local Native Americans would keep pitch fires burning, to warn sailors away from the rocky coastline. The earliest records of the town of Jamestown making reference to construction of a beacon date to 1712, and mention a watch house in 1705.[2] In 1749, a wooden tower was built, and the light (which was then known as “Newport Light”) became the third lighthouse established in the colonies, preceded only by Boston Light in Boston Harbor, and Brant Point Light, Nantucket. A fire was lit at the top of the tower, as was common for the time. Four years later it burned down and was replaced by a stone tower. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beavertail_Lighthouse#History )