You never want one. We were lucky that our friends Kurt and Jan at Whitefish Point made paczki giving us four. What a nice treat. While I wanted to go out and look at birds yesterday, mother nature had other ideas. The storms blew in from the north. It wasn’t really cold, but there wasContinue reading “What I wanted verses what I got”
Author Archives: makielb
Valentine’s Day walk and birds
To start the day we decided to walk to Wildcat Road, about a mile from our cabin. It was a beautiful morning and decided to walk up Wildcat a ways to the large wetland there. You have to have a good sense of humor to live up here. In June and July the mosquitoes are brutal. FindingContinue reading “Valentine’s Day walk and birds”
Looking at art while at Whitefish Point
It has been a delightful visit to Whitefish Point. Nice walks. Nice meals, we had nachos with black beans and guacamole last night. But now I am thinking about some art that we saw at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens last Sunday. It was native American and reminded me of art that we saw at a gallery north of TorontoContinue reading “Looking at art while at Whitefish Point”
Wow, what a week
Talk about being too busy to sit down and write; that’s the way it went for the first week of February. The ten days were filled with friends, food, birds, music, sports and even a talk. What were some of the highlights. Hard to believe, yet exciting to have Long-eared Owls as my first owls of theContinue reading “Wow, what a week”
Red Crossbills
Here’s our nearby Red Crossbill male. He was perched in a tree with a nest in it. The female is in a close tree. He took off singing, not the typical chipping, but the actual song. Susan thinks that they are nest building. We’ll check the next time we’re at Whitefish Point. A small group of non-resident Red Crossbills. They haveContinue reading “Red Crossbills”
Groundhog Day humor
A tea party, just what I need. We do, and are happy with our wonderful postal carrier. Susan would go bonkers over this. And what really happens to many caterpillars and cocoons. And with all of the craziness over bird names, where’s what birds are thinking. Socks single bar, every house has one. More tomorrow…
Cascades Raptor Center
When we were visiting Alexis in Eugene we visited the Cascades Raptor Center, which is a delightful nature center and very educational. Getting to see this Barn Owl up close was a special treat. This Eurasian Eagle Owl really like “talking” to Camilla. Ferruginous Hawks are my favorite North American hawk. What’s not to like aboutContinue reading “Cascades Raptor Center”
Winter birds-2024
Currently there are a lot of winter finches at Whitefish Point. Red Crossbills are being seen and/or heard daily. Female Red Crossbill. Group of female Red Crossbills. These birds have very large birds and not the types that nest locally. Male Red Crossbill. Bohemian Waxwing hiding at the dinner table. Bohemian Waxwings. I love their red under-tail coverts.Continue reading “Winter birds-2024”
A volcanic eruption and my Italian ancestors
Last year I managed to learn a lot about my Bellotti ancestors in southern Italy. Recently I closely examined what I thought was a strange coincidence. Three of Stanislao Bellotti’s great-grandparents died in 1822. Coincidence? Perhaps something else was involved. Donna Veneranda Florio, her husband Don Giovanni D’Amato and Donna Veneranda Vincenti all died in 1822. I searched forContinue reading “A volcanic eruption and my Italian ancestors”
Some birds in northern Michigan
Our first stop in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was at Rudyard where we typical see Snowy Owls. Not this year though. There was very little snow, which would change in two days. Maybe in a few weeks the owls will show up. In stead of owls we settled for barns and homes in various states of dissaray. Often we’llContinue reading “Some birds in northern Michigan”
Michael's Place 