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Why Did the Killdeer Cross the Road?
We hit the Terry Trueblood trail yesterday and caught pictures of several birds including a hilarious family of killdeer herding babies around the parking lot. At first, we weren’t sure how many chicks there were because they were difficult to see in the grass. Eventually we counted 3 chicks. It was a comical show as…
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Three Photos to Share for Mental Health Awareness Month
So, I have to hurry up and get these 3 photos posted for today because it’s getting pretty late. Recall the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative calendar along with my photos to share: The images are important features of events in my life or my sense of humor. I’m a birdwatcher and many different species of…
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Juggling Concentration Meditation
I haven’t done a juggling YouTube video in a while, and lucky you I made one. When the daily news gripes me or gets me down, juggling forces me to concentrate on just that—juggling. If I break my concentration for any reason, I literally drop the ball. I’m limited a little in our new house…
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Wonderful Windy Day
Well, the forecast was for a very windy day, more windy than we’d like. On the other hand, it was bearable on the Terry Trueblood Trail. However, the forecast is for high winds and hail and we’re not looking forward to that. The highlight was seeing a leucistic Canadian Goose for the first time. They’re…
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Fifty Degrees in Iowa City Yesterday!
It was fifty degrees in Iowa City yesterday so we went for a walk on the Terry Trueblood trail yesterday. Other people got the same idea. One guy was jogging in shorts! Yeah, it’s fifty degrees, but there’s still snow on the ground (in places) and there’s ice on Sand Lake. About that ice on…
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Bird Watching Stories Are Like Fishing Tales
We finally got a couple of videos of a goldfinch! It has been years since I’ve been able to catch a brilliant male goldenrod and it happened last week on the Clear Creek Trail. In fact, we saw a few birds with the usual idiosyncratic behavior. Goldfinch are rocket fast and hate getting caught on…
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Practicing the Reverse Cascade Juggling Pattern
I’ve been practicing the reverse cascade lately. It’s slow progress but faster than the shower pattern. You start with the regular cascade pattern and gradually work into making every throw over the top instead of under. I still do a lot of windmilling. I’ll get there-I think.
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“Muggling” Through Muggins in Cribbage
We play cribbage and we tried playing using the Muggins Rule the other day. We “muggled” through it is what I should say. During one game, Sena got the total count wrong, which led to a confusing situation leading to her overpegging and eventually winning a game, which didn’t make a lot of sense. Most…
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Cribbage Tournament at Iowa State Fair Again This Year!
The Iowa State Fair will again have the Cribbage Tournament this year! It’s on August 18 (the last day of the fair) from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m at the Oman Family Youth Inn. Registration begins at 10:00 a.m.
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What Does a Dickcissel Sound Like?
We walked the Terry Trueblood Trail the other day and ran into a couple of other bird watchers. They said they’ve seen many birds called dickcissels on the trail. I couldn’t remember ever seeing or hearing a dickcissel. We have enough trouble catching a clear sight of goldfinches. Both birders said the name comes from…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 