Determination

This morning he's tried to drill holes in the dogwood, rhododendron and the teak top on the garden chimes. So long as he stays off the redwood siding he's safe, otherwise I will be enacting wrath of the homeowner, seen here and here against the pretty but destructive Downy Woodpecker

Diamond Eyes

Racing to get to the beach before the sunset last night I snapped the birds on the dock before I noticed the flash was on. What should have been a photo for the discard pile turned out to be a not only a good representation of the variety of gulls on Long Island Sound but an atmospheric, almost arsty shot of blinged-out beady-eyed birds in the dying light. Click to embiggen for the full effect.

Backyard Color

Someone else's beautiful


bird-adorned backyard


on super relaxing, laid back, do nothing, summery Cape Cod.

Village Walk

Just a morning stroll-turn right at the purple magnolia


spot the bluejay in the conifer


snap the honking goose on the pond


straight on to the beach


and spy this guy in the yard back home

Olivia's Birds Event

A big crowd turned out at The Book Revue for the presentation of Olivia's Birds Saving the Gulf.


After her talk Olivia took questions and drew a Chickadee


Then she signed every copy in the store. SOLD OUT! That's my copy (I pre-ordered!)


We left with instructions to build a bird feeder and plant more trees to Save the Birds in our own backyard. Thanks Olivia!

Hanging the Art: Olivia's Birds edition

Just in time for her Huntington, Long Island book signing at The Book Revue on Sunday April 10th, young artist Olivia Bouler's the Great Tern has found his permanent home in the foyer at The Cool House. This drawing was part of Olivia's first venture to help Save the Gulf wildlife from the BP oil spill a year ago.


Olivia's Birds Saving the Gulf is a beautifully drawn, passionate and informative book-part guide book, part environmental resource-detailing her story and illustrated with her paintings of the birds that inspired her to start a campaign to save them. If you can't get to the Book Revue on Sunday at 3 PM you can and should seek out the book at your local store or online, I'm certain you'll be delighted too.

Man v Bird(s)

A plan to take breakfast at Northport Harbor, NY goes horribly awry...
There might have been other shots, many whirling birds, much flailing of arms but I was too busy laughing hysterically to shoot straight. The Palmier cookie from the Copenhagen Bakery was sacrificed in the name of self-preservation.
Man 0-Seagulls 1

Feeling Creative? Support Seatuck!

When Long Island schoolgirl Olivia Bouler heard about the Gulf oil disaster she set out to help and she did it big time raising over $175,000 to help affected wildlife. Now she is fundraising again - this time locally. She and her family are holding a fundraiser on September 4th for the Seatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Islip, New York. She is asking all artists - and would-be artists - to submit a 5x7 postcard-sized bird image (painting, drawing, photograph, collage, mixed media) which will be displayed at the center and sold for $5.
The event will also include a concert by The Sea Tuckers a group of jazz musicians that includes Olivia, her brother Jackson and their friends. Not only is Olivia a "decent drawer" she's also an extremely talented saxophone player and Jackson will wow you with his cool! More information here

Olivia's Fundraiser
Saturday, September 4th
12:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Suffolk County Environmental Center
550 South Bay Avenue, Islip
Admission - $5

Remember artists of all abilities are welcomed so send your postcards in advance to Seatuck, PO Box 31, Islip, NY 11751.

Getting Away From It All

We changed our plans and extended the vacation another day so we could go out on the water


That proved to be a great idea


Because wherever we looked


To the right or the left


Up or down


It seemed the wildlife was out enjoying the sun, too

Save the Gulf: Olivia's Bird Illustrations

It's seems odd to me that some people blame natural disasters on other people's lifestyle - or even their dress - and point to this as God showing his displeasure (anger of the gods always struck me as an pagan concept, ironic that it's much touted by "people of faith") while man-made disasters don't seem to incite the same rhetoric from the fundamentalists.
But enough with the negativity, there's a crisis going on in the Gulf of Mexico and other people are doing what they can to mitigate the environmental impact of the oil spill including one 11 year-old Long Island schoolgirl, who with the support of her family, is raising money to save wildlife by drawing birds for donors to various environmental charities. That's my Greater Crested Tern up top. Thanks Olivia!
Support Olivia's project to make a difference here.

Dozy Sunday

Another Palm Springs moment.

Lurking Above

Alien life form? Back view of a Great Owl? Chewbacca headpiece? Monstrous apparition?
Alerted by a thwick, thwick noise, the sound of something dropping from the 40' pine tree, I looked up expecting to see a squirrel stripping pine cones and casting the debris to the ground. Instead I spied this huge (12"-18") nest. At first I thought it was a tree burl or that it might be a wasp or hornets' nest, but on closer inspection, with the aid of a zoom lens, I think it has more to do with Aves than Vespa.


But what kind of bird would build such an elaborate nest? I've spent as much free time as possible with the long lens trained on that small hole and I can proudly say I have identified the residents as birds: a pair of small, fast, brown birds. That's the best I can do. A humungous nest and two tiny brown birds. Maybe Jennifer can help? She correctly identified the giant moth from yesterday's post.
Birds, giant moths, spiders, flowers, a kitty and a week full of beachy posts - this seems to have become a blog on the flora and fauna of Long Island. Are we ever going to get back to the uniquely modern, I hear you cry. The answer is yes. Starting tomorrow, posts about the wonderful mid-century modern pieces that have been coming my way this week. Stay tuned!

More birds... all around

Skimming the water


Diving


Drying off


Flying in formation (Canada Geese)

Osprey in Flight

Sometimes you happen to be in the right place - the deck of the Beach Association, for example


on the right evening - calm, sunny, with a bizillion tiny fish in the bay that attract the Bluefish


and the right lens on your camera

Egret on a Rock

Not much of a sunset last night at the beach but there were compensations... more bird photos to follow...

Birds, Jellyfish and Sushi

Thursday wasn't just a successful day in terms of house maintenance, it was also the day I overcame one of my irrational fears.

I'm pretty sure my lunch partner had no idea I'm scared stiff of these things. After all, I managed not to do what I usually do when I find myself in close proximity to flying, flapping, feathered animals: scream loudly and run away as fast as possible.

I was sitting four inches from this scene so it was impossible to ignore mama bird feeding her babies. Every time we tried to take a photo she'd fly off but return a minute later with a tiny worm or caterpillar. It was just so darn cute I was fascinated and, because the nest is in a window box, protected from too close an encounter by the glass.  I have no idea what kind of bird it is but I'm guessing a warbler. Anyone know? Here's a couple of really quick videos of her hopping in and flying off. If you want to see them in person you'll need to go here for sushi.

We were supposed to be snapping shells and sea glass but between spending hours cooing over the baby birds and the earlier thunderous downpour we had to put those plans on hold. Despite the persistent drizzle we stopped at Huntington Harbor for a quick photo shoot.

There's always something to see, boats of course - or pedalos. This time the water was teeming with jellyfish. I'm not worried by sea critters (especially when I'm on land and they aren't) so I wasn't afraid to lean in close.

Of course no photo shoot is complete without a few shots of The Cool House and the yard in the rain. Lousy weather but a pretty successful day.