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Looking for Hummingbirds
My wife and I are trying to attract hummingbirds this weekend. This is a new project for us. She got a couple of feeders and some nectar we mixed with water and a little beer. No, I’m kidding; we wouldn’t try to get any hummingbirds drunk. One of the feeders is pretty fancy. You know,…
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I Wonder
There are now 3 eggs in the robins’ nest. I saw a big turkey vulture soaring close by. I wonder if that’s what got the House Finch chicks. The bird that made a noise with it’s wings that was as loud as a big sheet flapping on a line in the wind, and looked too…
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The Robins Try Again
We have a couple of brand new birds’ eggs in what may be a second nest by the robin pair. Now that made me wonder about whether or not the first nest under our deck was a decoy or dummy nest. You probably won’t believe me, but I thought of that before I googled it.…
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My Perspective on FOMO
I just saw a great post on Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) on Bob Lowry’s blog, Satisfying Retirement. The link is on my home page and it’s a great read, along with many of his other posts. FOMO for me is different because I’m not actually retired yet. Bob has been retired for a long…
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Kalona Adventure
Man, it was hot yesterday—par for the course for this time of year. Sometimes it seems like we skip spring and just start with summer. It was in the 90’s and muggy. So Sena and I decided to head to Kalona to do some outdoor shopping at the Maple Avenue Greenhouse. Sena is the gardener…
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Walking the Terry Trueblood Trail in May
We took a walk on the Terry Trueblood Trail yesterday and saw quite a few birds even though it’s early in the season. We caught sight of Orchard Orioles and got a snapshot for the first time of a bird that can fool you into thinking it’s a robin. There are a lot of Tree…
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Minority Diversity in Medicine
The featured image for this post is that of a Painted Lady butterfly, one beautiful member of a hugely diverse group of such creatures. It reminded me of the state of our physician supply, which is not so very diverse when it comes to inclusion of minorities. Even though I’m moving into the final year…
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Spring, A Time for Optimism
This is the season for optimism and milestones: graduating medical students and residents, new faculty from the graduating resident class—including the milestone of getting the suspicious looking postcard notice in the mail reminding me that I’ll soon be eligible for open enrollment in Medicare. No kidding, I got my first ever Medicare Open Enrollment postcard…
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Saga of the Nestlings
Recall that the house finch nestlings were taken by a marauding crow yesterday. The house finch parents were frantic and devastated for about an hour. Although the crow flew by a second time, it didn’t return. The reason why was clear today. The nest is still in the tree but it’s obviously a wreck. We…
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Marauding Crow Snatches Nestlings
I was sitting at my desk by the front window where we often watch the house finches come and go from their nest. It was just a couple of days ago that 3 baby house finches were squirming about in the nest. I kept hearing a strange noise outside the window. It sounded like a…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 