Hope all is well with everyone in the blogosphere! We are busy finishing up the Christmas decorations and making sure we are ready for my side of the family’s Christmas gathering this week. Although our parents are now looking down upon us (hopefully approvingly), I am very thankful for the chance to get together with my brothers and their wonderful families during the holidays – granted, seeing our 7 Great Nieces/Nephews reminds me I’m older than I act ha. We will have a similar celebration on Linda’s side closer to Christmas.
In between the hustle and bustle, I am doing my best to stay on top of the post production. We will likely be calling it a year as we get closer to Christmas to allow our virtual Intrigued family to spend time celebrating with their real families and to recharge the batteries for another exciting year of bringing you our adventures from the field. Until then, let’s keep the ball rolling on the “Baby Month” theme.
Hit the jump if you like your shot for bird fever with an extra dose of cuteness!
Welcome to the third entry in the “Baby Month” theme! Hopefully the title didn’t scare anyone off as it can be construed differently if the specifically placed apostrophe is interpreted incorrectly. If you made it to this point, you are good to go, no fear, there are adorables on the way … in just a bit. First the traditional banter to bring you up on the world of Intrigued.
The ankle is progressing, a bit slower than I expected/wanted, but as long we are getting closer to being back on the ultra circuit, I’ll stick with the program. I was actually released from the brace during yesterday’s therapy session. It was mainly being used as additional stability during the more intense exercises, but all the work during the sessions and more importantly, the religious commitment to the home workouts (minimally 3 times a day), it is ready to go solo! Still trying to be smart about it, keeping mindful on uneven ground and watching like a hawk for any crazy old ladies at the grocery story so they don’t ram me with their carts – it’s a thing folks, so much that it was one of the first things the surgeon warned me about after surgery…and you thought the only grey hair danger was on the road ha. Told my therapist that all the work on their basketball court (side shifts, braid walking, ladder hopscotch and lateral ladder steps, etc.) are bringing back a flood of memories from my grade school basketball practices – thank god no suicides or flutter kicking yet ‘cuz that crap sucked hehehe.
No on to the topic that soothes the heart – wildlife babies!
If you like those adorable fuzzy bird fledglings, hit the jump for an extra helping.
First off, getting word back that our extended family member at our western HQ is out of ankle surgery and resting at home. Continued best wishes for a quick recovery from all of us here!
Meanwhile we are busy getting our Christmas tree(s) trimmed and the rest of the “Hallmarkification” completed ahead of our upcoming holiday gathering. One of our favorite events each December was heading out to the local tree farm, traipsing all over the grounds until we eventually made our way back to the first tree we looked at and then prepared for battle – first reminding the arms what it was like before the days of chainsaws and then testing our marriage as we struggled to get the 10+’ tree back to the entrance for bundling and payment. Eventually we shifted our hunt to a particular hardware store in town that featured our favored Fraser Fir. The tree lot owner came down from Michigan every year and would set aside what he thought was his best 11+’ footer for us. Didn’t have the traditional feel to it, but was easier on the marriage ha! Then a couple of years ago we decided the effort to take down the tree on Christmas day or the day after was more effort than we were willing to take on, needing to get that flame accelerator out of the house before heading south. Now we have a 12′ artificial. Do I miss the “Fun old-fashion family Christmas” trek into the country to embrace “the frosty majesty of winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols”. I guess the answer is kinda – it felt like a grounding against the corporatization of the holiday…but looking down at the weather forecast and seeing that it will dip down to 3F tonight…maybe the twinkling plastic isn’t such a bad thing. If nothing else, it cuts down on the constant “Lotta sap in here!” jokes between us.
While I give the ankle a good workout on the ladder, thought I would bring you the next installment in our “Baby Month” series.
Hit the jump to oooh and ahhhh over some more shots of adorable colts.
After quite a trek, I am glad to say we have successfully made it back home from our Florida field trip. We ended up having to come home two days early due to the weather situation in the Midwest. Looking at the forecast, we noticed a big snow event that was planned for last Friday night thru Sunday morning and then another round coming in on the following Monday/Tuesday. Driving the RV through that is not enjoyable, especially when pulling another vehicle. As mentioned in the last post, we decided to try to get back between the white goal posts and opted to hard press it so we could get back by Sunday night. Big thanks to Linda who drove the entire way while I tried to navigate through the weather cells and hordes of holiday travelers. I would be feeling pretty great if I wasn’t staring down a new crown scheduled for tomorrow – damn I hate dental procedures ugh.
Anyway, we are home and we are officially in the last month of the year. In honor of the well-celebrated birthday towards the end of this month, we’ve declared it Baby Month where we are going to try and feature as many wildlife offspring we can find in our queues. To start us off we are going with a double feature.
Hit the jump to enjoy more shots of wild “babies”.
We are officially in the return leg of our Florida trip. Unfortunately, we need to thread the weather needle to get back as multiple snow producing systems are standing in our way. One comes in tomorrow and lasts through Sunday morning with expectations of 5 to 8 inches of heavy, wet snow. Then that following Monday a second cell comes through with an additional 1 to 2 inches to add to the fun. Our mission now accepted, get the winterizing done in the southern rain tomorrow and then cross the fingers we can make it safely home between those white goalposts – wish us luck. The good news is we came down here to get at least 9 new birds checked off for this year to reach the 400 species mark. Elated to inform you we did it!!! It was more of a struggle than hoped, but managed to get 11 including 2 lifers (Northern Gannet and King Rail) and the highly sought after (Red-Cockaded Woodpecker). Still missed some opportunities, but no complaints here. As always, I owe Linda for helping me get many of the checks – my brother Ron can confirm, she is my secret weapon when it comes to birding. More details coming in future posts.
Today we are going to bring you another lifer tinned on a trip down here back in April 2023.
For the birders out there, are you familiar with this species? Hit the jump to learn more about this rather elusive bird.
For those of us in the States, this is the official day we designate for giving thanks to others and our own fortunes. I don’t mind having an entry on the calendar as a mental reminder, but honestly, I think this holiday is 364 days too short. If we took this to heart, we would be thankful throughout the year for all the help and successes we have on a daily basis. If nothing else, it would train us to think about the positives more and help negate the constant barrage of negativity that comes at us from every angle – news, social apps, politics, the neighbor’s cat. Life has become so polar lately the middle ground has been tilled up, doused with gas and hit with a flamethrower. We need to get back to civility if that is even possible anymore. Hell, we even have “influencers” trying to convince others to disown their own families because they won’t swallow the narrative. I do not have the answer, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt if we thought more often about the values at the foundation of this holiday. One thing I do know is the entire Intrigued family is incredibly grateful for our personal families, our friendships and especially all our wonderful subscribers and readers. Thank you for your time, comments and support – you make our efforts truly rewarding!!
Now, typically, we like to bring you the traditional symbols of Thanksgiving on this day. You know, Turkeys (link here), Quail (link here) and Cranes (link here). Translated..whatever we happen to find in the queue ha!
Being that we are currently in the southeast, how about we celebrate..Florida style this year!
It is Gator time, hit the jump and maybe take a step back.
Ever have one of those moments when you just stop in your tracks, look around and say to yourself, “I’m back where I belong“?
It has been a long road for me, well, technically lack of road and lack of trail for way too long. This is officially the longest period of time out due to an injury and trust me, there’s been plenty of injuries over the years. I have to move…a lot… or the crazy suppression system goes on overload and begins to smoke. This week has been a big turning point for me as we are back out in the field. The goal, to get my annual bird count to the 400 tier – a personal record. On our way south, we made a stop at one of my favorite locations – Noccalula Falls in Gadsden, Alabama. If you are a mountain biker, trail runner, birder or just a nature fan, this is the place to be. I’ve ran more miles than I can count on the Black Creek Trails and still have many left to explore. This time my mode was walking, yet the smile was wider than ever. Halfway through the Family Loop trail I stopped among the golden colored trees, took a deep breath, looked around and took all the beauty in. Life is certainly better. Still need time to get back to running mode, but I continued my walk with those same words I start every ultra “Just put one foot in front of the other and repeat“.
I wonder if this Great Blue Heron has a similar mantra “Just put one fin in and repeat“
I have to say, this has been quite an odd year on the birding front. First half of the year was absolutely incredible thanks to a very productive January spent in our adopted state of Texas and then later in March/April out to new locations in southeast Arizona. If you are looking for recommendations to get into or looking to expand your birding horizons, those two states would be my go to recommendations – not to discourage or disparage other locations, but if you want to fill your counts and have a good chance of seeing rarities, then to the southern border you shall go. That first half netted me around 391 checks for the year, then the legs were kicked out – literally. You are not going to get a lot of birds staring out your den window month after month. Although already at a record for me with the 391 mark, the incredible 400 threshold has been so close…for so long. Well, we are going to try and correct that over the Thanksgiving holiday and head back out into the field. To increase our options, we are heading to the southeast where there are currently 27 potential checks. All I need is a third of those- wish us luck! Before I forget, we did release our latest Halloween prop tutorial – I’ll put that at the end in case you are interested.
Okay, we know why you are here, let’s get to it. Today I thought I would feature a feathered friend that has traditionally been a difficult find – not show much on the rarity front, rather the identification front.
Now you know why the issue is in the “identification” phase. The Gull family is an absolute nightmare thanks to their nearly impossible plumage variations during the early years and then the mature feathering that can look very similar from species to species. Hit the jump if you want to try your hand at this particular specimen.
Apparently my state forgot to pay its heat bill this weekend as we are experiencing well below cold temps since late Friday night. This even came with some of the white fluffy stuff we here about so often when we return from our winter retreat. Nothing stuck which is unfortunate as one of our wells is incredibly stressed and we could have used that to help re-saturate the ground. Last week decided to haul water and top it off just to insure we stay off the new well as much as possible. Beyond that, things are definitely looking up. They are ramping me up in physical therapy and the ankle (and the rest of the body) is taking well to the work. Surgeon even released me to go without the brace for routine outings – a break the chains moment for me as I’ve been in either a boot, surgery bandages or a brace every day since January. Now I start shifting my sights from recovery to training and that is where my mindset needs to be to keep the crazies at bay. Beyond that, the only other thing to mention is the 2025 Halloween season is officially over. Today I got the last of the props back in storage and the RV back in the out building – luck would have it I had to finish it off in the freezing temps. Definitely looking forward to shifting our event back to its usual time at the end of September as my hands were constantly reminded me I wasn’t a Polar Bear. Probably should get to what brought you here today, another featured feathered friend to enjoy!
Hit the jump, but warning, wildlife was harmed in the lead up to this post.
Well, I honestly thought things would slow down after the Halloween weekend – you’d think I would learn. Still working hard each day to de-battery all the props, break them down and get them stowed back away in the tubs/boxes. Fortunately, I did really well on those grade school spacial relationship tests. School counselor, “Have you considered a career at Mayflower?“. Some of my time is being siphoned off thanks to having to build new shelving in the outbuilding – apparently I went a bit overboard (Linda says “a bit” is a gross understatement) acquiring new props while I was sequestered in the guest bedroom due to the ankle surgery – Ted over at TJPhoto (link here) even warned me about that. Add in trying to get Ruger qualified for the CPE agility nationals, therapy and all the homestead chores I delayed due to the haunted trail event and …well, a perfect time to feature another of Brad’s adventures. Take care everyone, I should be caught up…umm, relatively caught…up…ehhh, somewhat caught up..ah hell, I think I need to go back to work so I can get all that free time back I used to have ha!
Take it away Brad!….
Jan and I were on a trip to see a few of the National Parks near the West Coast. If you haven’t been to see the flora and fauna of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, you really need to. My mind is still reeling over the scale, on both ends, of what we saw. Tiny brightly colored birds flitting amongst ginormous Sequoias over 250 feet tall. I think Warbler Neck could just as easily be renamed Sequoia Neck.
While we were there, it would have been a shame not to see the Pacific Ocean since it was only a few miles from where we were staying near Anaheim. I mean after all, it’s the Pacific Ocean! It covers nearly 1/3 (over 30%) of the surface of the entire Earth. An actual and verifiable fact.
On our last day in California, Jan and I took a side trip to Newport Beach to see the ocean. As we got closer and closer to the beach, I noticed the price for parking kept rising and rising. Finally, a spot opened up that only cost a pittance by West Coast standards (the equivalent of two café lattes and a bran muffin) to park before 10am. Our thought was to leave the big cameras in the car and simply walk along the beach for a few minutes, just to enjoy the sand and the ocean.
After crossing 50 yards of flat sand, Jan and I came to the ocean’s edge. I felt bad for the few people sitting on their surfboards just a few yards offshore waiting for a wave; the ocean was flat calm. I’ve seen larger waves in mill ponds. Jan and I had not expected to take any photos of shore birds on our five-minute beach stop, so we left the big cameras in the car.
Life Intrigued 