tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115377582009-04-19T00:53:01.991-04:00I'm a scientific, reality-based, lefty, earthy, geeky and American product of evolution. These are my views of our planet, its unfortunate inhabitants and their adaptations.TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.comBlogger384125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1152631194811292162006-07-11T11:09:00.000-04:002006-07-20T07:02:52.413-04:00

It was more than a week ago now that B and I hooked up with some of the Flygirls for a group outing on the Muskegon River. The weather was beautiful last Saturday afternoon and I think all Newaygo County residents with a penchant for tubing were enjoying the day floating the river. B and I headed north and arrived in Newaygo just before noon. We found a batch of Flygirls taking a break from

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1152062618515217692006-07-08T09:02:00.000-04:002006-07-11T12:11:11.616-04:00

The 4th of July was an above-average day for us. We missed out on hot dogs and fireworks, but we did manage to spend some time on a river, fishing rods in hand. B and I and 2 good friends hit the Shiawassee River for a short kayak and canoe paddling trip with lots of stops for excellent smallmouth bass fishing. We decided to fish the same stretch that I'd fished a couple of weekends earlier

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1152144076572951482006-07-06T22:13:00.000-04:002006-07-06T23:07:35.003-04:00

The cavity in this little feather-lined stick nest is so deep that the only way I can see into it is to poke my camera inside the nestbox and blindly take a photograph. I think I can see 6 little house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) here. I don't know how many eggs there were since I couldn't see into the nest and I never bothered to photograph the evidence. It looks like these little guys probably

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1152105244723948732006-07-05T09:13:00.000-04:002006-07-06T22:54:03.023-04:00

To celebrate the 1st birthday of the I and the Bird blog carnival, carnival founder Mike of 10,000 Birds issued a request that past participants in IATB write a little bit about why they enjoy birding and blogging about birds. No problemo. For me, this is an easy answer.... Reasons I Bird #1 - I was introduced early. As a rural farm kid, I was always interested in animals - both wild and

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1151718986266871982006-06-30T21:30:00.000-04:002006-06-30T22:00:23.166-04:00

At sixteen days post-hatching, these 4 little Eastern bluebirds are look to be approaching fledging day. That accomplishment is probably 3 or 4 days away, but I'll not bother them any more; I don't want to shoo them from their nest prematurely. They'll have enough challenges without me adding that one. Both parents have been working tirelessly to feed everyone. It looks like their efforts have

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1146482330974500972006-06-28T17:17:00.000-04:002006-06-28T18:07:57.583-04:00

I find the search strings that lead internet surfers here to S&S very interesting. Many are obvious and not surprising, others are remarkably odd. Other bloggers find 'search analysis' quite interesting too. A while back, John took the time to answer or address some of his search inquiries directly. I like his idea and have a desire to accomplish something similar, yet significantly less

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1151247788854504752006-06-27T09:48:00.000-04:002006-06-27T09:53:08.726-04:00

Doggy swimming teachers redeem themselves.Dylan never quite felt comfortable with the idea last year, but he took the plunge on his first opportunity this summer. We visited B's parents on their lake up north this weekend and enjoyed ourselves swimming and fishing. Dylan swam and ran himself absolutely ragged. He'd retrieve the tennis ball or a stick from the lake, run a few big

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1151105941067039572006-06-23T18:24:00.000-04:002006-06-27T09:42:06.846-04:00

Four little bluebirds hatched from 5 eggs. They should be ready to fledge in another 10-12 days. We've got fledglings galore around here right now - sparrows, robins, swallows, bluebirds, finches.And I discovered a house wren nest, complete with eggs. We almost never have wren eggs in our nest boxes. Lots of nests, but never any eggs. Not so this time.Technorati tag(s): birding, nature

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1150590072045907202006-06-19T21:01:00.000-04:002006-06-20T06:13:07.336-04:00

B didn't arrive home from Montana until Saturday night, so she missed a fun paddle/fishing trip on the Shiawassee River on Saturday afternoon. The river is flowing just below normal volume now - down from its recent post-rainy spell flood level. The aquatic weed growth is underway, but is not yet abundant enough to limit fly presentation to surface techniques only. A streamer is not yet off

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1150288062663659952006-06-14T08:12:00.000-04:002006-06-14T18:58:29.296-04:00

Today's the day - right on schedule. This little guy's already bushed. I'll check on his siblings tonight.UPDATE:At 6:00 PM, it's 3 down, 2 to go...Technorati tag(s): birding, nature

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1150043386025492342006-06-12T11:59:00.000-04:002006-06-12T14:42:38.946-04:00

Oh my my. I must beg a thousand pardons for my recent internet neglect. Work and school have been quite busy - plantings are nearly finished - and other stuff has taken up the rest of my time. My time is limited enough that I decided not to put in a vegetable garden this year. How 'bout that?With her mom finally home from knee replacement surgery and rehabilitation, B headed off to Montana

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1149367513961000222006-06-03T16:38:00.000-04:002006-06-03T23:20:23.360-04:00

It's been a pretty successful season for bird families so far here in the handful of nestboxes in our yard and surrounding fields. We've got 5 or 6 nestboxes to check regularly. Our first nest of bluebirds, blogged previously, were reared successfully and fledged a few weeks ago. I see the young birds in the yard somewhat infrequently. One family of house sparrows (invasive species) has

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1148944842352109752006-05-29T22:01:00.000-04:002006-05-29T23:01:17.046-04:00

B and I have had a rather unsatisfactory, yet tiring, Memorial Day weekend. B's mom has been in the hospital for a knee replacement surgery that hasn't gone simply or easily. She's OK, but will end up staying for at least a week rather than the 3 days originally planned. Lots of additional planning and phone calling have kept all our various phone lines busy all weekend. We also finally said

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1148877100415224952006-05-29T00:13:00.000-04:002006-05-30T06:03:22.963-04:00

Nowadays, Memorial Day is largely a social opportunity for most Americans, a day away from work, the official starter's pistol of summer. We head for the lake, for the cottage up north, Grandma's house and spend the day grilling burgers and dogs, drinking beer, swimming, enjoying the sunshine. While this is a valid way to spend the day, we're pretty far removed from the original intention of

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1148226762780295532006-05-22T10:28:00.000-04:002006-05-23T11:19:50.516-04:00

B and I, along with a couple of friends, strolled through the East Lansing Art Festival this weekend. We saw lots of remarkably cool paintings, prints, photographs, sculpture, pottery, jewelry, tapestries. We saw plenty of not-so-interesting stuff too. But I suppose that's to be expected from a small-scale midwestern art festival like this one. What is good art anyway? It's entirely an 'eye

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1148268884240235352006-05-21T23:17:00.000-04:002006-05-21T23:35:59.003-04:00

No fishing to report on this weekend, but B came across this little photo essay about a small little unsupervised family of ducklings that a photographer caught catching some serious wave action at the Tulsa Wave, a man-made whitewater park on the Arkansas River in Tulsa, OK.I'm not sure what type of ducks they are, dabblers of some sort. They were definitely very purposeful in their enjoyment

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1147623481683363452006-05-14T11:25:00.000-04:002006-05-21T02:02:46.570-04:00

[cue 'Jaws' "shark's coming" soundtrack...]Truthout.org is reporting that Karl Rove has been indicted on charges of perjury and lying to investigators in the Plame-Wilson CIA leak case.Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald spent more than half a day Friday at the offices of Patton Boggs, the law firm representing Karl Rove.During the course of that meeting, Fitzgerald served attorneys for former

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1147445324715774152006-05-13T02:47:00.000-04:002006-05-13T16:10:35.646-04:00

B and I were both bone-tired from 2 long days of intense driftboat fishing on the Manistee River. We've fished with a guide probably 4 or 5 times now and it seems that we've fished ourselves into physical exhaustion each time. But I'm certainly not complaining. We had arranged to take Monday off from work to enjoy a leisurely return to civilian life - and it's a good thing we did.Monday, we

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1147208784279103292006-05-11T22:47:00.000-04:002006-05-25T05:59:03.676-04:00

B and I enjoyed a well-deserved, up-north, 4-day fishing trip with about a dozen Flygirls this past weekend. We all stayed with Schmidt's Outfitters in Wellston using their lodging facilities as our group HQ and their guides for driftboat fishing on area rivers on Saturday and Sunday.B and I got off to a late start tearing ourselves away from home and work on Friday morning. After checking

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1147347930641047852006-05-11T07:37:00.000-04:002006-05-11T07:58:43.063-04:00

I cracked open the door and snuck one last peak at our nest of 5 bluebirds (out of 6 eggs) upon our return home on Monday night. They appear close to fledging so I'll not bother them for a picture - I don't want to shoo them out of their nest prematurely.Another nest of 4 or 5 tree swallows hatched while we were gone. I can hear them inside. A third nestbox with house sparrow eggs has been

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1147172761047449282006-05-08T23:31:00.000-04:002006-05-09T07:42:58.410-04:00

I'm back from a long weekend away. No phone, no internet, great time - plenty of birds and fish. In fact, we bagged a few birds from my 'Most Beautiful Birds list.' More on all of that later.What'd I miss?Technorati tag(s): me

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1144188945940033982006-05-04T13:10:00.000-04:002006-05-04T13:26:01.160-04:00

Agriculture NewsA collaboration by MSU Extension, the Michigan Coalition of Black Farmers and Branches of the Vine Food Buyers Cooperative is bringing fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables to low-income Detroit neighborhoods. Members of a Detroit neighborhood are getting a chance to learn about production agriculture and livestock raising, thanks to a partnership effort between Michigan

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1146625520405339582006-05-02T22:43:00.000-04:002006-05-02T23:09:13.696-04:00

We enjoyed our first asparagus spears for dinner tonight. I missed a few stalks that froze a couple of nights ago. What a waste! I looooove asparagus and my garden now yields a nice bouquet for dinner every night if we want it. And we usually do.For some reason, we never ate asparagus in my family. We didn't grow it and we didn't eat it. Looking back, we only grew and ate annuals. We must

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1146405483460583002006-04-30T23:49:00.000-04:002006-05-01T01:28:03.850-04:00

Nuthatch at Bootstrap Analysis tagged me with this Most Beautiful Bird Meme started by John at DC Birding Blog. I'm mandated to post a list of the 10 birds I consider to be the most beautiful, whether I've actually seen them or not. I have the option to limit the list to the ABA area (continental United States and Canada) or use a geographic area of my choosing - I chose continental US and

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11537758.post-1146320449728815932006-04-29T09:54:00.000-04:002006-04-29T10:26:33.830-04:00

Several of these small, wispy feathers were found on the ground beneath a stand of mature tall, 'power company' pine trees in a nearby forest. They're about 3" long and are very light and fine, like marabou. I'd guess they're breast feathers of a duck of some sort. Perhaps a wood duck or another tree-nesting duck? I've never seen a wood duck up close so I have no idea how likely that is.Any

TroutGrrrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11022297157070815736noreply@blogger.com0