Strawberry grouper for lunch.

"Most contradictory of species, man alone creates sanctuaries for his victims."

Jacques Cousteau

Electric Raccoon

We went to Lake Michigan yesterday and this was one of many raccons shooting lazer beams at us.

Justin sent this picture of yours truly (that's what I call me) and Robert. Thanks Justin.

Conservation

This thing gets much better mileage than a car which makes me feel good about riding it. Of course the rides I took were rides I wouldn't have gotten in the car for, like doing circles in the driveway.

And Ruffed Grouse.

Birds I saw in Wisconsin this Weekend.

Red-eyed Vireo, Black-throated green warbler, Ovenbird, Black-capped chickadee, Bald eagle, Yellow-bellied sapsucker, Hairy woodpecker, White-breasted nuthatch, Red-breasted nuthatch, Red-breasted merganser, Hooded merganser, Chipping sparrow, White-throated sparrow, Red-bellied woodpecker, Common loon, Mallard, Double-crested cormorant, Starling, Brown thrasher, House wren, Yellow-rumped warbler, Gray catbird, Sandhill crane, Common grackle, Red-winged blackbird, robin, Crow, Raven, Hermit thrush, Blue jay, Cooper’s hawk, Red-ailed hawk, Eastern bluebird, Easter Kingbird, Belted kingfisher, Pileated woodpecker, Northern flicker, Chestnut-sided warbler, Great blue heron, Ring-billed gull, Canada goose, Song sparrow, American goldfinch.

Luke spotted the Eagles and Jen spotted the Pileated woodpecker.

1931-2006

Robert, my great friend, mentor, boss, and so much more, died Friday. To say he will be missed is not a strong enough statement. If I wrote pages about Robert and ended it with “He will be missed,” it would all feel like faint praise. This is not a situation where I am at a loss for words. The more I say, the more I want to say. I am just not sure what to say and what not to say. What I want people who read this to know is that I loved him. He was like a father and a son at the same time. This is a real loss.

Jorgy and Taffy

Perhaps you are familiar with a man named Jorgy. Perhaps you are also familiar with a yellow dog named Taffy. If you are familiar with Jorgy than you know he died a few years ago: three? Four? And it was some years (two, three?) before his death that he was healthy enough to walk the roads and trails near Echo Lake. In those days when Jorgy was alive and walking, Taffy and I used to walk with him pretty regularly and Jorgy would praise and pet Taffy. But then he would tell me that Taffy was getting old and that I would have to be brave and put her down someday – someday in the not so distant future. He would go on about how putting Misty down was one of the hardest Goddamn things he had ever done. I would listen because he was the wise, old man of Echo Lake. I did not bother arguing that she was only five or six years old, etc. As of this writing, Taffy is still alive and healthy and Jorgy has been dead for something like thirty dog years. Jorgy was one of my favorite Lakers; right up there with you. I enjoyed listening to his stories of the Sierra Nevada in the 40s and 50s, and his advice on killing trout (do it quickly by breaking their necks.) But, six or seven years later, I am glad I have not yet taken Jorgy’s advice and killed my dog. Wow, that’s 49 dog years!

I just watched Gus, a dog, pull a plastic bag out of a waste basket, put it on the floor, and then pee on it. What a smart dog.

The last day of school

I was following this warbler down the street, trying to get a better look at him. I thought, "I wish I could pick it up to get a good look at him." So I walked over and picked him up. Upon closer examination I concluded it is an ovenbird.

In Maricopa County, Arizona, the Sheriff makes prisoners wear pink underwear and eat green bologna sandwiches. He also organized a posse to round up illegal immigrants. He has a cleaver interpretation of a law that, in his mind, allows for arresting illegal immigrants for smuggling themselves. Isn’t that like arresting runaways for kidnapping themselves?

I heard about a couple that was married in a cemetery. It sounded interesting but it also sounded like a bad idea. But, it turned out, I had misheard. The couple was buried in a cemetery. A better idea, but not that interesting.

I have a love/hate relationship with the world (not the Earth).
I love Flowers and I love fruit trees because they produce a lot of flowers. I love the flowers more than the fruit, which I also love.
I hate war. I think it is wrong. It is: barbaric, old fashioned, not necessary, unproductive, expensive (money and lives – lots of young lives), uncivilized, not pretty, hell, and bad for the environment.