Author Archives: makielb

How do you find books to read in the age of the Internet? At one time we found books that were recommended by others or from reviews. But now is a bit more difficult. The other day I mentioned The Island of Dr. Moreau, which I had discovered some 40 years ago. Last winter IContinue reading “Current reading”

We had to go out shopping at Kohl’s for some necessities. As I typically do, I kept track of people who were properly wearing a mask versus those not using a mask, including inappropriately using one. At Kohl’s the masking rate was 61%, with 90% of the staff masked. The 61% is somewhat low forContinue reading “Shopping during the pandemic”

We spent the first days of fall in Petosky with Mike and Deb. Lots of fun little walks looking for mushrooms. The above three fungi are (left to right) Yellow fairy cups, Bears head tooth fungus, Coral tooth fungus. The above are Wolfs milk (a slime mold) and Common eyelash. Above left is White coralContinue reading “First day of Fall”

The day started as all do for us at the cabin. I head down to make coffee and then take some up to Susan. Then after breakfast we headed to the point to see what’s happening with birds. We walked to where the waterfowl are counted in both the spring and fall. Then we headedContinue reading “Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point”

Our day, whether at Whitefish Point, in Ann Arbor or elsewhere starts with coffee. It’s just at the cabin our mugs reflect the site. Usually after coffee and breakfast we usually take a walk to the bird observatory to see who might be there, or what birds shave shown up – like the Snow GooseContinue reading “Whitefish Point weekend”

The CDC just published data (17 September 2021) on the effectiveness of each of the covid-vaccines versus unvaccinated people. With 3,689 people in the study, 45% caught the virus. The effectiveness of each vaccine in decreasing order was: Moderna (88.7%), Pfizer (82.7%) and Johnson & Johnson (67.3%). When eliminating people in long-term facilities these numbersContinue reading “Recent data on the Pandemic”

This morning we decided to take a walk about 6 miles south of our cabin at Whitefish Point in an area that had a recent small (7-9 acres) forest fire. The fire was apparent just in the understory, moving quickly through the already dry bracken ferns and young maples and oaks. Most of the pines,Continue reading “Shelldrake Dam area”

I have been visiting Whitefish Point since the 1978, and we have had a cabin here since 2009. Over the years we have learned a lot about the history of the area (for instance when I first came here what is now the headquarters for the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory was then a general store,Continue reading “Our years at Whitefish Point”

The day started out with high winds and a thunderstorm. Then settled down to a steady rain for much of the morning. Our only moth this morning, since we had the moth lights off for the night anticipating rain, was this little one at the kitchen window – Epinotia septemberana, a moth without a commonContinue reading “Another day in Paradise”

In the late 1980s I had reach what Steve Howell (author of The Birds of Mexico) wrote in Aves Mexicanas about bird migration at the fishing village of Tecolutla. Needless to say I wanted to go there. It was around 1990 that I contacted my friends Jerry, Jody and Sue and asked if they wereContinue reading “My time in Mexico (part-3) – Tecolutla”