http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/06/the_gift_of_an_adventure_of_a.php
The lady in question here needs votes. Tons of votes. Votes to help her get to Antarctica in the near future as a professional blogger/scientist. She has the credentials; She has the chutzpah; She has the luggage AND the blonde hair.
Do it for her. Do it for me. Do it because you know in your heart it's the right thing to do. Do it because. :)
06 July 2009
04 July 2009
2006: Heaven
04 July
Hmmm. I was exiting the local (well, relatively, anyway) Internet shoppe when I noticed what was being used to keep the front door open: an old, 3.5" floppy disk, in a former life one of the trillions of disks you needed to install many Microsoft products not too many years ago...
Much later, I'm working on the most recent round of photos, and I'm very pleased with the results when in walks Madame Bernadette, the 82-year-old matron of the housing complex. She has come in to ask what I've been doing the last few days, and as she readies to leave, she asks if I like courgettes (zucchini). As a matter of fact, I love them. A few minutes after I think she's left for the day, she appears again at my front doorstep, this time with a HUGE courgette for my dinner. If I understood her correctly, it came from her daughter's garden, though I could be making that part up. (grin)
Not one hour later, the woman who checks up on the apartment next door appears at the back door. Yesterday, she helped make sure my gas (propane) supply was working properly, as I'd just run out from one bottle and was in the process of getting the second bottle online. Today, she's dropped in to see if everything is OK and, when she's informed her help was invaluable yesterday, she hands me six freshly-homemade crepes. For dinner.
If I didn't know better, I'd say I have been adopted by the locals. I really have found a little slice of heaven here.
2006: Fourth of July in Bretagne
04 July
I didn't expect to celebrate the fourth of July with any fanfare, however I was rudely awakened this morning about 3.30am by building-rocking thunder and quite impressive lightning... Nature pulled out all the plugs, and produced quite a show for about an hour or so.
OK, it wasn't the evening of the 4th, but... :)
Oh. Thunderstorms are a predicted part of the weather prophesy for the next 48 hours, with low temperatures in the high 10s, highs in the high 20s to low 30s, and humidity somewhere near 5 billion percent... :)
03 July 2009
2006: Birds in Lannion
03 JulyWell, the weather certainly wasn't delightful this morning, but I headed out to the Samson "River" estuary anyway in the hopes of photographing that unidentified shorebird at high tide (or a reasonable facsimile). Heavy showers mixed with gunky cloud cover made the wait less than pleasant, but get the photo I did. Even so, the birds got no closer than 30 metres, and as I'm notoriously poor at identifying shorebirds, it is my considered (and entirely fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants) opinion the flock is 30 or so Whimbrels. Tall, downward-curving bill, racing stripe on top of head and another through the eye, mottled in the right places... OK, it's just a guess, but I think it's a good guess... I'll know when more knowledgeable people stop laughing and tell me what it really is. Later. :)
During four hours at the estuary, I had also bagged another four or five new passerines I have not seen before and, therefore, have no idea who they are. Research fodder when I return, which is coming up in less than 5 weeks now. Wow.
Oh, and I appear to be pretty memorable around here. Saturday, after the boat tour, I went once again for a few hours to Perros-Guirec (hereinafter referred to as PG) to check out the birds as the tide went out. And, if I say so myself, I got a few nice shots of Little Egrets. Well, today, I'm returning from the Estuary and spot what I think are Bonaparte's Gulls in Lannion, and I pull over to take a few photos. Not five minutes later, a nice gentleman comes up to me and starts asking questions in English, stating he loves birds as well, and had spotted me in PG on Saturday while on business. Apparently, I was currently parked in front of the real estate business he works for. Curious. He then asked if I would be interested in a site not far from PG where Common Terns congregate, and proceeded to go into his shoppe to draw me a quick-n-dirty map that I will use in the next few weeks...Very nice chap. I'm only now trying to figure out why he started out in English and not French. To the best of my knowledge, I don't own a portable neon sign that shines and states "AMERICAN HERE"... (grin)
[ 2009: FYI - The gulls you see above are Black-headed Gulls, which don't have black heads (like the Bonaparte Gulls I thought they were). I before E, except after C, and a bunch of exceptions.
I still don't know how that gentleman knew I was American :) ]
02 July 2009
National Center for Biotechnology Information knows FUNNY
From a reputable science magazine, one of the strangest things I've seen in a while.
Not sure why I was thinking of a 1970s TV ad: "I can't believe I ate the WHOLE thing."
:)
Not sure why I was thinking of a 1970s TV ad: "I can't believe I ate the WHOLE thing."
:)
01 July 2009
2006: Les Sept-Iles, Trestaou
01 July
Not quite a pelagic trip, the sightseeing boat from Trestraou is still going out to Les Sept-Iles, the Seven Islands, to search for birds associated more with ocean than land. And our first such is incredibly prolific, with numbers approaching forty thousand.
The adult Northern Gannet is an elegant flyer, with a yellowish, primitive-looking head and black wingtips. Diving into the ocean for its meal usually entails soaring or hovering at some distance above the water, then going in arrow-straight. Their nests hug the rocky cliffs of Ile Rouzic and, while we didn't get close enough for sharp images, we could see that a fair number of the nests contained downy chicks.
On the other side of the island, the Northern Gannet was still the largest volume dealership, but here we were also able to find cormorants by the dozens (the jury is still out as to whether they were English Shags, Grand Cormorants, or both), Common Guillemots, Razorbills, and my personal favourite, Atlantic Puffins. Such a comical face on top of a penguin-like body, and so perfectly-adapted to its environment.
Next island over, a sunning cormorant (sp) was the winner in the talent contest. Even though there was plenty of room on the rocks not five feet away, s/he was drying wings on the slightest of rock shelves facing a sheer cliff metres tall. I have no idea what s/he was thinking, but it must have been what the doctor ordered, as s/he stayed in that spot while the boat was in view... Also seen on the island were more conventional cormorants (also of unknown speciation), Razorbills, and a few Eurasian Oystercatchers. Overhead, a Northern Gannets were assuming the Canada Goose flight formation...
Last island visited was Ile aux Moines, the Isle of Monks. During and since the visit, I've found no information about the ruined fort on the north of the island, nor about the stone house or the lighthouse on the south and west. With the exception of gulls, gorse, ferns, and a few other rocky-land-loving plants, there wasn't much to make whoopie about on the island with the heavy haze in the air. The hike around the island is pretty good exercise, but given the dearth of information available on the island about the attractions, I'd recommend saving the price difference (between a hiking tour and a non-hiking tour) unless your heart needs a good 30-minute workout...
For what it's worth, the tour itself was worth the price of admission (the equivalent of $25 US, give or take), but I would have been much happier (mostly as a photographer) if the fog hadn't been a pain.
Noted
Considering what I saw yesterday outside Trébeurden with the army of land yachts clogging the main highway west of Lannion, today was very quiet on what I would have thought would be prime vacation terrain: Perros-Guirec's beach at Trestraou. Yes, I saw vehicle plates from France (predominant), but also viewed UK (England football supporters), German, Belgian, the Netherlands, and even one Romanian. Given temperatures in the mid-20s and perfect beach conditions, it was surprising not to see the same issues here with crowding.
A few interesting notes:
# Topless sunbathing apparently is not illegal, but it is also not predominant. It is simply what it is, and I note it here only because the same sun-worshipping attitude in the states would have brought out national television crews to film the "insanity", townspeople pointing and making incredulous faces, and you would hear about the lack of family values in the pulpits, how the world is going to hell, etc. Here, there are no gawkers, and families intent on having a good time on the sand have no problems placing their towels nearby; not a single person gives the sunbather a second thought. In my most humble opinion, the US is far too psychotically-repressed for its own good, and could learn a thing or two million.
# Those same families love their games, bringing European footballs, pickleball paddles, and other beach-toys. While there were definitely sun-worshippers about, most were active with games during their time on the sand.
# Hungry after visiting Les Sept-Iles (well, honestly, only three of them), a local sandwich shoppe in Trestraou provided the required sustenance. My choice: jambon (ham), salade (fine-chopped lettuce and red cabbage), tomate (self-evident), oeuf (sliced hard-boiled egg), and a mayo dressing of some fashion. It was all surrounded by a crusty French baguette. The name: "Sandwich Americain Classic." I'm not sure where in the US something like this is served, but I have to admit, it was quite tasty.
Not quite a pelagic trip, the sightseeing boat from Trestraou is still going out to Les Sept-Iles, the Seven Islands, to search for birds associated more with ocean than land. And our first such is incredibly prolific, with numbers approaching forty thousand.
The adult Northern Gannet is an elegant flyer, with a yellowish, primitive-looking head and black wingtips. Diving into the ocean for its meal usually entails soaring or hovering at some distance above the water, then going in arrow-straight. Their nests hug the rocky cliffs of Ile Rouzic and, while we didn't get close enough for sharp images, we could see that a fair number of the nests contained downy chicks.
On the other side of the island, the Northern Gannet was still the largest volume dealership, but here we were also able to find cormorants by the dozens (the jury is still out as to whether they were English Shags, Grand Cormorants, or both), Common Guillemots, Razorbills, and my personal favourite, Atlantic Puffins. Such a comical face on top of a penguin-like body, and so perfectly-adapted to its environment.
Next island over, a sunning cormorant (sp) was the winner in the talent contest. Even though there was plenty of room on the rocks not five feet away, s/he was drying wings on the slightest of rock shelves facing a sheer cliff metres tall. I have no idea what s/he was thinking, but it must have been what the doctor ordered, as s/he stayed in that spot while the boat was in view... Also seen on the island were more conventional cormorants (also of unknown speciation), Razorbills, and a few Eurasian Oystercatchers. Overhead, a Northern Gannets were assuming the Canada Goose flight formation...
Last island visited was Ile aux Moines, the Isle of Monks. During and since the visit, I've found no information about the ruined fort on the north of the island, nor about the stone house or the lighthouse on the south and west. With the exception of gulls, gorse, ferns, and a few other rocky-land-loving plants, there wasn't much to make whoopie about on the island with the heavy haze in the air. The hike around the island is pretty good exercise, but given the dearth of information available on the island about the attractions, I'd recommend saving the price difference (between a hiking tour and a non-hiking tour) unless your heart needs a good 30-minute workout...
For what it's worth, the tour itself was worth the price of admission (the equivalent of $25 US, give or take), but I would have been much happier (mostly as a photographer) if the fog hadn't been a pain.
Noted
Considering what I saw yesterday outside Trébeurden with the army of land yachts clogging the main highway west of Lannion, today was very quiet on what I would have thought would be prime vacation terrain: Perros-Guirec's beach at Trestraou. Yes, I saw vehicle plates from France (predominant), but also viewed UK (England football supporters), German, Belgian, the Netherlands, and even one Romanian. Given temperatures in the mid-20s and perfect beach conditions, it was surprising not to see the same issues here with crowding.
A few interesting notes:
# Topless sunbathing apparently is not illegal, but it is also not predominant. It is simply what it is, and I note it here only because the same sun-worshipping attitude in the states would have brought out national television crews to film the "insanity", townspeople pointing and making incredulous faces, and you would hear about the lack of family values in the pulpits, how the world is going to hell, etc. Here, there are no gawkers, and families intent on having a good time on the sand have no problems placing their towels nearby; not a single person gives the sunbather a second thought. In my most humble opinion, the US is far too psychotically-repressed for its own good, and could learn a thing or two million.
# Those same families love their games, bringing European footballs, pickleball paddles, and other beach-toys. While there were definitely sun-worshippers about, most were active with games during their time on the sand.
# Hungry after visiting Les Sept-Iles (well, honestly, only three of them), a local sandwich shoppe in Trestraou provided the required sustenance. My choice: jambon (ham), salade (fine-chopped lettuce and red cabbage), tomate (self-evident), oeuf (sliced hard-boiled egg), and a mayo dressing of some fashion. It was all surrounded by a crusty French baguette. The name: "Sandwich Americain Classic." I'm not sure where in the US something like this is served, but I have to admit, it was quite tasty.
2009.07 Desktop Calendar
The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle hosted for a number of summer seasons an exhibit called "Butterflies in Bloom."It was a marvelous and inexpensive way to see and admire all sorts of butterflies that aren't normally found in close proximity to each other, and photograph them for posterity.
Here, we have a Queen Butterfly drinking nectar from a purple flower (that I couldn't name if my life depended on it). I love the colours, the composition, and the fact said butterfly wasn't in a hurry to be somewhere else. [LATER: I've been informed it is an African Daisy.]
Please feel free to download this photo for personal use on your computer's desktop. To download, just click once on the image, which will bring up the enlarged image on a new webpage. Then, right-click on the image and follow your operating system's instructions for pictures / images.
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