A Bird Lover's Delight

The first edition of I and the Bird is now online at 10,000 birds. Check it out. There are bird lovers everywhere.

Eagle and Crows

We hiked up to a lookout point in a local park the other day. It was an easy walk from the parking lot to this vista that overlooks the Straits of Juan de Fuca, the body of water that separates us from the sane land of Vancouver Island, Canada. When we reached the lookout there were already four people standing there, peering through binoculars. It was a clear, blue-sky day. We could see the fine shades of green and blue in the water, watch seagulls cast their shadows on the sea floor; we could even make out the sleek body of a seal as it swam between the rocks and into the open sunlight.
The other sightseers directed our attention to an eagle that was perched just to the left of us on a tree branch, maybe 200 feet away. Quite a drama was unfolding. Two crows were taking turns dive-bombing and bombarding the eagle as it sat there. We had seen this behavior before, but never quite as close, and we were never in a position above the action to actually watch it without straining our necks. Over and over the crows took to the sky, circled the eagle and then flew straight at it. The eagle seemed completely unfazed by the behavior. I took out the camera to see if I could capture what it looked like. These two photos give you a glimpse of it.
Click on the photos for a full view.

First Amendment

The Dharma Bums have always thought that Time's Matt Cooper and NYT's Judith Miller should reveal their source in the Valerie Plame case. It is hard to articulate why, particularly for me. In our home office is a Certificate of Appreciation that was given to me upon my retirement as the Assistant Director of Student Media at a west coast university. It states:
"This certificate is given with immeasurable appreciation for all of your contributions, in gratitude for your non-negotiable support of the First Amendment, in admiration of your modeling excellence, in respect for your dedication to higher education, and for the honor of working in collaboration with you."

"Non-negotiable support of the First Amendment"-- That was my calling card at my last job. I defended the right to free speech and to a free press nearly every day. It was in the job description, and I not only internalized the message, I believed it utterly, and still do.

Yet, DPR and I both think that Cooper and Miller should reveal their anonymous source. We have always thought the shield law was meant to protect reporters from naming an anonymous source who at great risk to themselves becomes a whistleblower. The anonymous source in the Plame case is not a whistleblower, but is using the protections of the First Amendment to cover a criminal act. There is a huge difference here. In fact, we think that hiding behind the First Amendment in this case merely distorts its intention.

I recommend this editorial by Bill Israel in E & P. He says it much more eloquently than I ever could. Here's a small excerpt:

But neither charm nor political power should be permitted to subvert the First Amendment, which is intended to insure that reporters and citizens burrow fully and publicly into government, not insulate its players from felony, or reality.

Reporters with a gut fear of breaching confidential sources must fight like tigers to protect them. But neither reporters Cooper nor Miller, nor their publications, nor anyone in journalism should protect the behavior of Rove (or anyone else) through an undiscerning, blanket use of the First Amendment that weakens its protections by its gross misuse.

A Swallow Looks Back

Violet Green Swallow
Some birds move much too quickly for us to actually see their colors. Swallows swoop and dip in almost constant motion while they are foraging for insects. The swallows showed up in April and truly dazzled us with their aerial performances. Once we saw the common blue-green Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) land on a patch of dried cut grass in our yard, but mostly we see them swooping and even dipping into the pond. They fly so close to our house and windows, we almost feel like we have to get out of their way when they are out and about. They definitely fly low enough to buzz us.
Yesterday, while I was outside trying to photograph a dragonfly, I noticed a swallow land on the roof. I snapped a few shots of it and then turned my attention back to the dragonfly, which continued to elude me for the rest of the day. When I downloaded the photograph of the swallow, it turned out to be a violet-green swallow (Tachycineta thalassina). The colors were so vivid that I thought you might like to see it.

Looking back at me

Rainwater Catchment

as always, click on the pictures to get the BIG PICTURE.


the beginning of collecting rainwater at chez bums.

the two big pipes, top and right, carry water from all the downspouts on our house. the roof area is just under 3400 square feet. the rock is to keep the collector, a 35 gallon plastic garbage can, bought new for this purpose, from floating up when the water level in the can is lower than the level in its pit. the pump label is actually on a handle on the pump, which is submerged. the brass colored thing in the upper right corner is a check valve to keep the water in the pipe to the tank from flowing back when the pump goes off. the float switch turns the pump on when the collector is full and off when the water level gets low. you may be able to discern the reflection of the pirate taking the picture.


water storage

this is a 2800 gallon polysomething tank. one of the black poly pipes going up to the top is the feed from the collector. the other is an overflow. always provide for overflow in water systems. the white appearing line going up is actually a clear plastic pipe that mirrors the water level inside the tank--a primitive water level indicator.


when gravity is not enough

the water from the tank goes into the pump, a hot tub jet massage pump which the pirate was prescient enough to salvage at least ten years ago and lug around through two moves for just this purpose, then through a check valve to keep the pressure on the small red tank side of the pump. the pressure switch turns on the pump when water is used and off when maximum pressure is attained. the gauge indicates water pressure. the small red tank is resevoir so the pump doesn't have to go on/off/on/off/on/off, as it pumps faster than water is used. the large black thing under the tank is one of the downspout collector lines going to the collector pictured above. the orange thing is the power line from the pump to the switch and then to a power source.



watering squash

the payoff for all that plumbing.

July Tomato Report

july tomato

i had to step back and use a different perspective than that of the two previous reports. it has been a cool, cloudy and sometimes wet spring and early summer in the northwest so the greenhouse is our hope for tomatoes at a reasonable time. there are 3 plants to the left of the post that we started from seed, and pictured in the previous reports. the plant to the right of the post we bought as a start. all of them have set fruit. that's basil on the left. we have deliberately planted tomatoes growing in 4 outside locations and volunteers in one place outside and also in the greenhouse. the outsiders are all seed starts and some are almost a foot tall. we planted an artichoke where we had been burying kitchen compost and one of the volunteer tomatoes is there, as well as some sort of squash that we are guessing (hoping) is butternut.



creole tomato

the two plants in the foreground are creole tomatoes started from seed sent to us by a friend in louisiana. we also have some outside plants. in the backround are onions and then 4 pepper plants from seeds from an organic red bell.

update for c. corax. and everyone.


july garden--taken from the top of a ladder by the intrepid pirate. as always, click on the image to get the big picture.

all of the areas mulched in hay are planted.

"It's Rove": An Update

Found this on the Huffington Post written by Lawrence O'Donnell the MSNBC political analyst who named Rove last night as the White House insider who leaked Valerie Plame's name:

"I revealed in yesterday's taping of the McLaughlin Group that Time magazine's emails will reveal that Karl Rove was Matt Cooper's source. I have known this for months but didn't want to say it at a time that would risk me getting dragged into the grand jury.

McLaughlin is seen in some markets on Friday night, so some websites have picked it up, including Drudge, but I don't expect it to have much impact because McLaughlin is not considered a news show and it will be pre-empted in the big markets on Sunday because of tennis.

Since I revealed the big scoop, I have had it reconfirmed by yet another highly authoritative source. Too many people know this. It should break wide open this week. I know Newsweek is working on an 'It's Rove!' story and will probably break it tomorrow."

Woohoo. Yippee. Happy Independence Day Weekend.
If this is true, you won't see me, but I'll be dancing, oh I'll be dancing alright.