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The Waltzing Geese
Today I trekked down to Clear Creek and again saw the geese pair. As always, I heard them before I saw them. I swear I can hear them honking from a mile off. They almost seemed like they were dancing together. They were the waltzing geese.
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Thoughts on the X-Files Episode “Humbug”
So, I was watching the X-Files episode, “Humbug” last night and it got me wondering about the meaning of the word “nature.” The character, Dr. Blockhead says “Nature abhors normality.” Of course that reminded me of a similar quote attributed to Aristotle, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” You can read the short Wikipedia summary of “Humbug”…
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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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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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Are These Compass Flowers?
I have misidentified plenty of plants and the compass flower is one of them. We were walking the Clear Creek trail the other day and saw what I thought was a patch of compass flowers. See what you think, judging from the featured image. Anyway, I thought the flower itself pointed in a particular direction,…
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Back to the Clear Creek Trail
We’re moving back a little closer to Coralville although technically we’ll still be in Iowa City. We always used to walk the Clear Creek Trail. It’ll be good to be back.
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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.…
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House Finch Nesting in Our Artificial Christmas Tree!
A couple days ago, Sena found a bird’s nest in our front porch artificial Christmas tree. The small nest is made from the clippings of Sena’s ornamental grasses. It has 4 small eggs, which are white with dark specks. We could hear a bird singing while we were sitting in the house and it always…
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The Hunted and The Hunter
Recently, we saw a rabbit in our back yard on one occasion and a feral tabby cat on another day doing what they do best. The cat was hunting and the rabbit was on the lookout for hunters. The hunted and the hunter are both alike in many ways except for the most obvious—one gets…
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Flight of Ideas on Junior Bald Eagles
A couple of days ago the temperature was in the mid-seventies, which is pretty balmy for February. We took the opportunity to get out for a walk on the Terry Trueblood Trail. It’s coincidental, but we did the same thing on the exact same date last February. It’s under the same condition for the most…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 