Author Archives: makielb

An adukt Sharp-shinned Hawk landed behind the cabin perusing the bird feeders. The hawk then up into another tree which gave us better looks, allowing us to see it face on and in profile. Tomorrow I am planning on spending time in the “Raptors Roost”. the name that I have given to the third deckContinue reading “April and the birds are moving between showers”

WordPress is now giving a monthly writing prompt (#WordPress, #WordPrompt). This month, April the prompt is green (#green). So, I am trying to write a post based on the prompt. I assume that others who have blogs on WordPress both get and read the emails that are sent out periodically. Sometimes I get to themContinue reading “The Greening of Michigan”

I’ll be at the cabin, perched in the “raptor roost” three-stories up from the sand watching birds. As soon as possible I’ll walk the nearby roads and woods searching for perched Long-eared Owls. Then in the evening we’ll sit in the roost and watch as they take to flight headed to Ontario. Sharp-shinned Hawks willContinue reading “Northward bound”

It seems odd that two comic strips that I follow seem to have landed on the same theme today, the “famous slap heard ’round the world.” No commentary by me, just the cartoons. More tomorrow…

The current situation with the pandemic in the US and world Notice that the current situation with world wide cases is that in the top 16 nations for total number of cases in the past 7 days, only the US is experiences increasing numbers. The confusing nature of a virus: The status of the omicronContinue reading “Happy Easter”

Burdock (only the old seed head) and catnip were already growing new leaves. Cut-leafed toothwort was putting up flowers. The leaves of great waterleaf are up. The flowers will follow in late May or June. Motherwort leaves were out, but I find the old seed heads more interesting, especially at this time of year. SouthernContinue reading “Dexter-Huron Metropark and spring wildflowers”

But first – three years ago today our feeder in Ann Arbor was covered with ice. So, no complaining about how late spring is this year. As a kid Al Kaline was my idol. The stats on this card are from the previous year when he won the American League batting title. I have aContinue reading “Spring means baseball!”

The number of weekly cases of Covid-19 was up to 10% in the U.S. and Canada as of yesterday. But as of today, the numbers are rapidly rising in the U.S., less so in Canada. Regardless, I am glad that I got my second booster today. Personally, I am looking forward to seeing more insectsContinue reading “The pandemic and waiting for spring”

The weekly pandemic numbers show that S. Korea, Germany and France are still the hot-spots for the latest SARS-CoV-2 variant. But the U.S. numbers are trending up. Numbers in the North-east are on the rise and Philadelphia has reinstated an indoor mask mandate. Be vigilant! Other depressing news in the world involves the Russian invasionContinue reading “Petosky preserves and an ever changing world”

That’s me sometimes, not the bull, but rather a walking bag of irony. For everybody complaining about spring. This photo was from 2011. The springs of 2011 and 2012 make this look like an early spring. Now, get back to your gardens. While I always think of Whitefish Point as being mostly pines, this patchContinue reading “Heading south from Whitefish Point”