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Smile at a Stranger for Make It OK Calendar
So, I’m not strictly following the Make It OK Calendar per day for May Mental Health Awareness Month, at least according to the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative. Sometimes the goals on the calendar may not feel natural on a particular day or the opportunity might not appear. Today, I’m a few days late on the…
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Attack of the Killer Gnats!
A couple of days ago we made our usual spring trip out to the Terry Trueblood trail. The phlox and grasses waved in the breeze and we saw quite a few birds. There was also a swarm of killer midges or gnats that attacked us. They ambushed us when we got close to the trees…
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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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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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Bluebirds Fly on the Terry Trueblood Trail
We got out today on the Terry Trueblood Trail because it was sunny and 60 degrees. It felt like early spring, although Punxsutawney Phil put the kibosh on that. The ice was giving way on Sand Lake. The birds were waking up and hungry. And I can’t remember the last time we saw bluebirds at…
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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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Flora and Fauna Under the Hot Iowa Sun
The other day we walked the Terry Trueblood Trail (when do we not do that?) and saw interesting sights. I finally got a video clip of a goldfinch! And a male northern cardinal either sang to us or cussed us out. It was hard to tell. It was a scorcher out there. We started out…
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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…
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Guys and Gals Birds
The other day we went birding on the Terry Trueblood Trail. You couldn’t ask for better weather. We saw a lot of birds paired off and checking into the nest boxes or building from scratch. I don’t know how we got so lucky. We saw male and female red-wing blackbirds, tree swallows, sparrows, and goldfinches.…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 