As a pleasant diversion (and out of curiosity) I left early for work Wednesday morning and made a trip out to Letha House Park in Medina County, the site of the Cuyahoga Astronomical Association's observatory. I wanted to see what progress had been made on the new driveway and parking lot for the park. I also figured I could enjoy a little nature walk around the pond and wetland area there, a little respite before the workday –and night– began. There was no progress on the lot except that a giant digging machine had been removed. The day was sunny and surprisingly hot. Walking slowly, dressed in shorts and tee shirt, I sweated as I moved along the path to the wildlife area. Dragonflies (yes, again) were everywhere so naturally I started shooting photos of them.
I also encountered a bird that flitted from perch to perch obviously trying to evade me but not wanting to go very far. I figured it was a mother and didn't want to tip me off about the location of her nest. Later I was able to confirm that it was a female red-winged blackbird. This particular bird was holding an insect in her beak, obviously a meal for her offspring, as I photographed her watching me.
Note: At home that night I found my camera no longer wished to talk to my PC. Haven't yet fixed it but I can do what many others do… offload the photos from Compact Flash using a media reader.
This past Friday, Governor Ted Strickland proposed a cut of $227.3 million {from library funding} in fiscal years 2010 and 2011 as part of his plan to fill the $3.2 billion gap in the state’s budget. This will mean a more than 50 percent cut in funding for many of Ohio’s public libraries. Libraries could close or face significant reductions in operations as a result of the Governor’s proposal.
With about 70 percent of the state’s public libraries relying solely on {the state for funds}, the reduction … will mean that many will close branches or drastically reduce hours and services. Libraries bring critical services to the community, such as early childhood education, job help, free Internet access, and a place for everyone to come together as a community.
This budget will be finalized by June 30th so the time to act is NOW!
* I've quoted all of the above from the Save Ohio Libraries Web site but I wholeheartedly agree that this is a real threat to public libraries and the important services they provide. The cuts would be especially devastating to those libraries serving rural and lower-income communities who depend heavily or entirely on the state's support.
By the way, I shot the frog photo with Her older model Panasonic Lumix camera –Her first digital camera– and am very pleased with the result. We're offering the point-and-shoot to my mother as a replacement for single-use film cameras she has found disappointing of late. We'll see how it works out for her.
Note: This excellent photograph was made by She Who Must Be Obeyed. I shot photos but, due to an accident in settings, all of my shots were terribly overexposed — so much as to be uncorrectable!
On Sunday we drove cross-country to to Sheldon Marsh State Wildlife Preserve just outside Huron, Ohio, a Lake Erie shoreline community. It was a cool, blue-sky day and perfect for a casual nature/photo walk in the protected area. We usually visit this area late in the season — after the large wading birds have left, fleeing the approach of freezing weather. This early-season day, however, saw a large number of wetland- and water-loving avians including no fewer than three great egrets. One of the striking, white giants was hunting the shallows along our path. We stopped to watch and photograph the bird which was surprisingly tolerant of our actions. It hopped into the air once but alighted in the shallows only a few feet away. She Who Must Be Obeyed got one good shot and I, with a faster camera, came away with two.
We watched and waited a while longer and, as anticipated, the egret either grew tired of our spying or decided to seek better hunting grounds. Holding down the shutter release I fired off a number of frames and got a couple of nice shots (one seen below) of the action. I've mostly stalked the wild great blue herons prior to this and these are my first images of the great egret. I'll be back for more!
A common call heard across the nature preserve came from the male red-winged black birds as they defend their territories against intruders. They are most famous for their "Okalee" call and we stopped to watch, listen, and photograph one handsome fellow as he puffed up to stake his claim. The red-wings' were the most common bird calls echoing through the wetland woods but there were many others. Among the most beautiful were the songs (again, probably for territorial announcements) of the male cardinal.
Saturday was our day to take the old Honda Civic Hatchback in for service. It needed an oil change but had also developed a nasty squawking noise in its rear end. After the oil change, strut replacements, and a new radiator hose (a leak had been accidentally discovered) we stopped by the dealership to pick up the car. It drives great again. While we were there we took a look at the Honda Fit cars parked in the lot. We're planning to replace our 1997 Civic and have been looking for a suitable candidate. We'd wanted to buy a mileage champ but discovered, to our dismay, that the premium for a car that meets our transportation and mileage needs comes to something over $10,000. So we've pretty much decided to "settle" and purchase a new vehicle that turns in performance no worse than what we get now. The Fit's 27 miles per gallon city and 33 MPG highway matches our minimum. A sales guy saw us peering through the windows of the locked cars and, smile and all, came out to see what we were about. We got to sit in a car, fold down the rear seats, check out the very large rear door, and we have become very interested in that car! Reviews of all sorts give the Fit high marks so we'll test drive the car soon. I'm concerned about freeway acceleration performance and how well it climbs the steep hills around here — the engine's a little smaller than that of the Coupe. It would also be nice if the next car could easily transport my telescope gear and I think it would fit in the Fit. Whatever we purchase, She will delightedly take my Civic Coupe (seriously, She's lusting after that car) and I will receive the new vehicle. We also hope to get a crack at the soon-to-be-released "new" Honda Insight — our last chance at hybrid ownership on this go-round (it's supposed to carry a lower price than comparable cars).
All day long I watched the skies and the forecasts: Saturday night was the "rain" date for the first Observatory open night of the year, rescheduled from the week before. The day began with some sunshine and for most of the day it was sunny and mild. As the hours passed, however, the skies and the forecasts changed. As evening arrived so did an opaque layer of clouds blanketing the region with no clearing expected until after Midnight. I canceled the event and we cocooned in front of the TV, catching up on some recorded shows. After She retired I watched a very entertaining movie, Out at the Wedding. Then it was off to bed with me.
On Sunday we lounged around the house a bit but felt compelled to get out… the weather was sunny and mild, and altogether too nice a day to spend indoors. Out we went to a yummy lunch at Subway in a neighboring town. Then we drove to the Observatory to generally check on things and empty the always-filling dehumidifier bulk tank. With a little help from She Who Must Be Obeyed, I toted the very heavy tank out to the Observatory's front yard and dumped it on the greening grass. I reset the wall clock for Daylight Saving {ick!} Time. Noted birds were again nesting in the dome slit and dropping nesting materials inside the telescope chamber. Then we headed out, and back towards home.
Along the way, however, we made a planned stop in Peninsula, Ohio. It's a dot on the map but a hub of activity for recreational tourists visiting the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Friends own an extremely popular bicycle rental place there. She visited the bike shop. I stayed outside to greet and photograph the afternoon's first run of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad train which stops in town.
She finished up in the shop. I finished up with the train… er, really, it pulled out of town and then I was finished. We then took a very pleasant walk on the park's Towpath Trail. It's still late winter. There is some greening in the woods and some very early spring flowers blooming here and there. The River, however, was muddy and cold looking. Still in all, it was wonderful to be out of doors, taking in the fresh air and feeling the warming sun on our faces.
Winter's grip is loosening and not a moment too soon!
Yeah, I took vacation days this week. Some may feel time off was wasted on the kind of weather we received overnight and most of the day today… heavy snowfall. Not me. I was perfectly happy to sit in my warm home office working on my publishing project and not needing to drive anywhere. I don't know just how much snow we received –it hasn't fully stopped yet– but it was a lot… possibly a foot. She Who Must Be Obeyed stayed home from work and we took turns venturing into the weather to dig out our sidewalk and drive, perhaps not keeping up with the storm so much as keeping it from totally burying us. Around 3:00, after finishing my turn, I shot a few photos. These aren't beauty shots, but help illustrate that we have not much space into which to push or pile additional snow… it hasn't melted this month!
Thanks to popurls, I learned of the Mental Floss photo-article about a man who made a Polaroid photograph every day for 18 years. Looking at the online article feels like looking through someone's private album, complete with narration. Be sure and take a look.
He Took a Polaroid Every Day, Until the Day He Died by Chris Higgins
May 21, 2008 – 3:30 PM: Yesterday I came across a slightly mysterious website — a collection of Polaroids, one per day, from March 31, 1979 through October 25, 1997. There’s no author listed, no contact info, and no other indication as to where these came from. So, naturally, I started looking through the photos. I was stunned by what I found.
Mental Floss is published right here in Northeastern Ohio!
PhotonStopper 