Ravens - Wednesday 3/26/2008

Hydra and I went for a hike yesterday afternoon and there were lots of ravens out playing in the breeze.



Got some shots of one coming in for a stick landing!





Cool Thing: Coupons for DTV converters - apply by March 31st, 2008!

You've heard that your analog TV will be obsolete as of January 17th, 2009?

Oh, you haven't?

Well, yeah, the whole television broadcast system is switching over to digital. The U.S. government is offering up to 2 coupons per household for $40 each toward a converter box (which I think I've seen at WalMart for about $47.)

You only need one if you're using your analog TV with an antennae (like the one in my office at work.) If you're hooked up to cable or satellite you don't need it.

If you're not...get on it by next Tuesday. Click on this link for the coupon site. It's quick and painless. Not even a pinch!

Everybody's Still Talking About Super Tuesday - Wednesday 2/6/2008

Even the ravens.

Wow, I've been spending a lot of time alone during this partial lay off. It's good for me to go into town and find a table at Barnes & Noble or Panera and interact with people (and ravens) a little.

Who Let Him in Here? - Saturday 11/10/2007

It's not so much that he stole one of the cookies that was waiting to be frosted, but that he took bites out of and discarded two before nibbling the behind off this sugar-cookie cow.




Is it just me? Or does he seem not to exhibit even the tiniest shred of remorse?

The recently reset clock says it's not supper time yet, but the belly-timer has apparently chimed.





Until Dodger's little thievery act, this was going to be the photo of the day. Two ravens on the pine tree up the street, watching the sun go down.

Tucson's Gone - Monday 3/5/2007

All that's left of him is his leftover oatmeal.

And even that's been cleared away by now.

Tucson finished dealing with his (formerly) 94-year-old father's estate and headed back for Arizona today. He was a nice guy. A quiet guy. A smart guy. Thirty-seven years in military intelligence and counterintelligence. I asked no more questions about that.

We shook hands and I said it was nice almost having breakfast with him for the past couple of months. He always sat behind me. He'll be back to see the grave marker they're putting in at Forest Lawn, Hollywood, where his mother and grandparents are also buried. But it might be in May, and I'll be travelling during much of May.

It felt kind of creepy turning around to take this shot. I mean, how weird is it to photograph someone's discarded oatmeal?

I felt somewhat akin to this raven I saw at the Sand Canyon exit on my way home Monday night.

Birdlife - Tuesday, 2/13/2007

My best raven shot yet! Hydra and I went out for a hike as soon as we got home and this guy was kind of toying with us. Hopping and flying ahead of us for a little bit. Taken with my "old" Kodak point and shoot, which will probably be a part of my life for a long time in spite of the new Nikon. It's light and smaller.

Now, see, this is some kind of hawk. Wider wing span than a raven.

And it doesn't absorb all the light. Ravens seem to cut black holes in the sky.

This Color of Blue Makes Me So Happy - Sunday 2/11/2007

Not much else to say, really. It rained last night and the sky was scrubbed clean. Everything that became dusty in yesterday's winds was refreshed. Even us.



I will never grow tired of watching the ravens dip and glide along the currents created by our local hills.