Lift

Pheobe sings its name
Flutters leaf-like, but rising
My heart flies with it

Fragile

Hard mirage, not trees,
reflections in the window
stilled the tiny bird

Dew

Tiny dewdrops
sparkle in morning sunlight —
A million diamonds

Tweet Twix from the Library

Does anyone else find this as humorous as I do?

Wonder if I'll get some good tips.

Memory

Last night, a poem
It must have been in a dream
Moonlight reminds me

Panhandlers on the Arcata Plaza

Takuan-zuke! Hai!

From Food Adventures

Since we have had abundant success of daikon in our garden, I decided to try making takuan, daikon pickled in the traditional Japanese fashion, fermented in a rice-bran mash.

I've done plenty of vinegar and brine pickling with a fair degree of success, but I have not had much luck with fermented pickles. Two attempts at sauerkraut resulted in an enthusiastic colony of mold taking over the brine and the whole mess ending up in the compost bin. So it was with measured enthusiasm that I bought a bag of rice bran from the Co-Op and started the nuka-doko according to a recipe from The Folk Art of Japanese Country Cooking by Gaku Homma. I also referred to Quick and Easy Tsukemono by Ikuko Hisamatsu, whose instructions for making nukamiso-zuke (rice bran pickles) differ slightly from Homma's, but has suggestions for additional flavorings, more vegetables to pickle and instructions for fixing nukadoko problems (such as going sour or becoming watery). I can't say exactly why I chose to follow Homma's recipe, perhaps it was because it is simpler than Hisamatsu's recipe which calls for less bread, but includes soybeans, ginger root and a large quantity of mustard powder.

It is rather unscientific method and some might think it unsanitary, but pickles have been made this way for hundreds — if not thousands — of years. Nevertheless, I dove in. Rice bran gets mixed with water, salt, bread, chilies, kombu (kelp), and "a few wilted outer leaves from any leafy vegetable, such as cabbage or daikon." This mash is stirred daily for three or four days, replacing the leafy veg with fresh wilted veg. Once the nuka-doko is ready, salt-rubbed vegetables are added, covered with the mash and left to ferment for a day or so until ready.

So, did I get takuan or a tub of moldy mash? I admit there were a few small spot of mold starting up on the edge of the tub, but the rest of the mash was healthy and best of all, there was takuan! Mold removed, takuan rinsed, then the taste test: success! These takuan had a fresh crispness devoid of MSG and that neon-yellow color, quite unlike any store-bought takuan I have had.

I discovered two problems with this batch of pickles. Unfortunately, I had oversalted the daikon when I added them to the nuka-doko, so the takuan was unpleasantly salty. Soaking in fresh water for a couple hours remedied the situation. The other problem, if you can call it that, is that there are no preservatives in these pickles, so they must be eaten quickly. Stored in the refrigerator, they soon develop a strong smell which I've countered by keeping them in a lightly salted brine, and frequently rinsing them and changing the brine. A better solution would be to pickle only what will be consumed in a few days and eat those pickles quickly.

Beautiful Autumn

Garden Nov. 09

Our summer birds are gone, and the winter birds have settled in. I thought I heard a lesser goldfinch a couple days ago, but have not seen any in the garden for weeks. The yellow-rumped warblers, on the other hand, have made themselves right at home. They forage for insects in the birch trees and enjoy the suet feeder daily. The warblers are frequently joined by a small horde of chestnut-backed chickadees, as well as dark-eyed juncos, house sparrows, and the occasional house finch or Anna's hummingbird.

I haven't been able to get into the garden much this autumn, but it seems to be doing alright without much attention. I pick snails off the cabbage as I pass by on my way to the compost bin, or pick a few lettuce leaves for dinner. We've had the full spectrum of weather from light frost to hurrcane-force storms that dumped several inches of rain to beautiful sunny days like today. We haven't had our "hard" frosts yet, but those are just days away. (By hard frost I mean that our nighttime temps actually dip below 30°F, at which any mid-Westerner would scoff and call t-shirt weather.) The cole crops are doing just fine in our chilly autumn, including daikon. I planted them in mid-September, and aside from the root maggots they have been a wonderful addition to the garden and our salads.

Storm II

Windy autumn night
Bamboo taps against the house --
An old man's cane

Quiet

Awake and listen
Wind sighing, water, breath, birds
No Morning Edition

Storm

Dark sky, the road bends
Rainbow shifts then disappears
More rain is coming

Nov. 6, 2009

Dusk

Leaves like golden coins
hang on dark, barren branches
shine of kitchen light

Dec. 1, 2002

Duty

Reluctant assembly
Shifting, shuffling, sniffling
Today's jury pool

Nov. 5, 2007

Birding in 'Bammie: Alabama Coastal Birdfest

I have to admit it. I've been turned into an Eco-Tourist.

It didn't take much -- at first it was a gentle prod, then some cajoling, but no refusal allowed. So off we went -- Pia and Laura and I -- to Mobile, Alabama. Sadly, Kristin, who makes up the rest of our NoCali Bird Nerd Quartet, was unable to join us.

This photo is from an early morning bird walk around an old Gulf Oil location, essentially a superfund site. The first round of photos can be found here. More photos and trip details to come.

Listen

Shooshoosh shooshoosh shoosh
Heard overhead, I quickly
look up -- no raven

Nov. 5, 2007

Complement

Dark, evergreen hedge --
Ah, what a surprise! Splash of
cotoneaster.

Nov. 17, 2006

Open Studios

Artist studios
Inspiring and humbling
Feeds desire to paint


June 7, 2009

Belated Bird Days

Here on Eureka's temperate shores we're in denial -- we know what is coming. For weeks, the maples have slowly been turning gold and red. The sun rises a few minutes later and sets a few minutes earlier each day. Yarrow and lupine give way to asters. They hint, they highlight the cusp of the coming season. But the warblers: that's the sign. Their summer homes in nearby mountains have chilled and they wisely return to the lowlands to weather out the winter.

Sept. 19 
Backyard, feeders
8:30-9:00 a.m. Clear, sunny

Chestnut-backed chickadee 12
House sparrow 15
American goldfinch 3
Yellow warbler 1
Townsend warbler 2
Yellow-rumped warbler 2

Sept. 20
Eureka Marsh
8:00-10:30 a.m. clear, sunny
No counts

Black capped chickadee
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Lesser goldfinch
American goldfinch
Great blue heron
Great egret
Fox sparrow
Song sparrow
Lincoln sparrow
White-crowned sparrow
Common raven
Northern flicker
Cedar waxwing
Black-shouldered kite
N. Shoveler
Marbled godwit
Willet
Black-bellied plover
Semipalmated plover
Long-billed curlew
Double-crested cormorant
Brown pelican
American crow
Plus an unidentified hummingbird, several gulls and a flock of warblers moving too fast for us to ID (possibly yellow warblers, but never got a good enough look)


Sept. 29
7:45-8:00 a.m. partly cloudy
Backyard, feeders, fly-bys

Goldfinches (mostly American but at least one Lesser GF) 11
Cedar waxwings 17
Black phoebe 1
Amer. crow 2

Distraction

Angry jay squaking
I think about my problems
Maple leaf falling

Sept. 2006

Baby Huey Birds

Black headed grosbeaks have discovered the buffet in our backyard -- I saw my first on on Saturday morning, and three this evening. Grosbeaks are the Baby Hueys of the finchy bird world compared to our usual house finches, house sparrows, goldfinches and pine siskins -- they're huge! And really cute. I hope they stick around.

Evening, II

eucalyptus glow
reflection of setting sun
embraces young crows

July 5, 2009

Weeding II

Cloudy morning -- good
Friends help batter berry vines
Sunny afternoon

Twitter haiku 6/7/09

Weeding

Judge, jury and soon
executioner of weeds
choose what stays or goes.

Twitter haiku 6/6/09

Gloom

Sucky fog hugs town
Leads to unproductive day
Crickets think it's spring

Twitter haiku 5/31/09

Loud

Blues Traveler rocks
Many blue hairs left early
Some stayed to groove

Twitter haiku 5/29/09

Recession Haiku from NPR

Today's poetry offering is courtesy of NPR's Planet Money.

Our Favorite Recession Haiku

Last week, we issued our Recession Haiku challenge, and you responded with vigor -- on the blog, on Twitter, on Facebook (x2), over e-mail. At this rate, we'll get to our millionth Recession Haiku…

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2009/05/our_favorite_recession_haiku.html

HaikuEwe

I'm taking a holiday from poetry this week. D'har sent this link to me a while back. Instead of my usual doggerel, please visit haikuewe and enjoy its silly poetry:

http://haikuewe.blogspot.com/

Happy Independence Day!

Watchful

Children at play,
A cat crouches on the porch --
Is it made of stone?

May 2004

Tea

I'm grateful for tea –
for a moment of quiet,
relaxing with friends.

Oct. 16, 2007

Soup

While I stir the soup
curious kitten sniffs it
miso on her nose

Feb. 10, 2006

Blue Day

Blue blue blue, so many colors of blue. I took a "mental health" day with D'har and Laura earlier this week. We drove up Bald Hills Rd. to see the lupine and other wildflowers blooming on Childs Meadow.

Lupine, larkspur, flax, brodeia, gilia, blue-eyed grass. Storms threatened all afternoon and made dramatic skies. Thunder rumbled. Bees buzzed. Butterflies fluttered. Bluebirds Buntings sang.*

I wish I could bottle the fragrance.

Here's a couple of links with more info and pictures.

• Lupin Blooming in Redwood National Park (Fox Studio)
  

• Lupine Bloom on Bald Hills Road (Lauraven's Miscellany)

• Bald Hills Road, Part II (Lauraven's Miscellany)

• http://redwoods.info/showrecord.asp?id=1715

• http://www.times-standard.com/ci_12440895?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com

* I officially name 2009 my Year of the Massive Forehead Slap

When I first posted this I was under the misapprehension that the colorful turquoise blue birds we saw -- which I thought were Western bluebirds -- were actually, in fact, lazuli buntings. If you see these colorful and melodious birds on Bald Hills Rd., please take note of the gray wings with two (count them) two white wing bars. Western bluebirds have blue wings in addition to their blue heads and rumps.

Pause

Eleven swans
following geese northward
white on gray skies

Feb 2, 2009

Published in The North Coast Journal
March 5, 2009

First pass at pruning the bamboo

This is the first of the three clumps trimmed up. Leaves lower than (my) eye level are getting trimmed off. Then I'll take a swipe at pruning them for height just under the eaves. So far, so good.

Evening

There must be a breeze
birdfeeder swaying gently
back — forth — half empty

March 6, 2009

Return of Bamboozle

As promised, here's photos of my bamboozlement:

Incongruity

In asian food aisle
Mick Jagger pleads, "I'll
nevvah be ya beast o' burden"

Isn't that song R-rated?
Do other shoppers notice?

Good selection of shoyu
Perhaps stir fry tonight --
pad thai, yes, that's it

April 9, 2009

Bamboozled no more!

I have bamboo problem. But not in the way you might think.

Most bamboo problems stem from their vigorous roots running amok: undermining sidewalks, ruining foundations, toppling civilizations. I don't know what variety my bamboo is, but lucky for me, they are clumpers not runners. They are, however, planted close to the house so when the culms grow up to their full height of 15 feet or so, they hit the eaves and bend in zig-zaggy angles to grow up around the roof. When it's windy, they whack the gutters and scrape the side of the house. I continually pull young culms away the eaves to keep them from growing into the roof.

I considered moving them -- there's only three clumps, and I've moved plenty of plants in my day. But then I split a clump to give a division to a friend and discovered what a chore it would be to dig them up. My enthusiam waned, but I was encouraged by the offer of help from friends I continued to hold out hope of moving them to another location in the garden.

That is, until last night as I was re-reading Niwaki: Pruning, Training and Shaping Trees the Japanese Way, by Jake Hobson. (I'll go into detail about the book in another post.) I had read and re-read the chapters on pruning pines, camelias and azaleas, but somehow missed the chapter on bamboo. Glory be and halleluja! Bamboo can be pruned! Once the culms reach their full height, they stop growing and can be pruned to whatever height the gardener desires. Not only that, the leaves get bushier and denser with pruning. I think I can keep my little bamboo forest where it is, save our backs for other projects and keep the culms from scraping up the house.

Book review, photos and progress reports to follow.

A bloom day without photos

Is like a day without ... um, photos? Sort of like last month, only I could actually take photos last month.Our camera pooped out last week and we haven't replaced it yet. I didn't realize how much I'd come to rely on it. I reach for it to snap a picture. But it's lying there, useless, on the dining room table, waiting for us to replace it.

As I was working in the garden on Saturday I thought -- rather ambitiously -- that I could describe what's in bloom in a poem. Hmm, I thought to myself, haiku would be too brief, so maybe... a sonnet. I don't know that I've ever written a sonnet, perhaps in high school English class, that would be a great challenge.

Well the challenge was a bit more than my brain had batteries for, so no sonnet for May Bloom Day. I shall merely inventory the blooms and you'll have use your vivid imagination to see them in your mind's eye. I promise I'll work on my sonnetry.

Strawberries and violas, thyme and sage
Columbines, forget-me-nots, lavender and buttercups
Last of the Dutch irises is hanging on
California poppies are radiant (tiny native bees look darling dusted with their pollen)
Big red poppies just starting to open up



--
Holly

Shelter

Goldfinch sings sweetly,
hidden high in the birch tree —
Are you leaf or bird?

April 28, 2009

Denoument

Driving home after vacation
the mundane world rushes in
Monday comes too soon

Nov. 3, 2002

Boys Day

Pond reflects iris
Like children growing tall
Soon they will blossom
--
Holly

May Day

Wisteria blooms,
sweet evening flowers --
a sparrow sings at twilight

May 2004

Ukiah spelled backward is...

... Haiku!

And Ukiah has a Haiku festival in late April. Who knew? Not me! I learned about it only after the event was over. I'm putting it on the calendar for next year. It's only a three-hour drive for us and could be a lot of fun. Care to join us?

Read more about it:

SFGate.com
www.ukiahaiku.org
www.ahapoetry.com/aguide.htm

VCR Cat Food Dispenser

Geeks unite! Make TV is my new favorite show and website. (For the moment.)

http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol03/?folio=98
You might have to create an account and log in to see it. Very cute.

And groovy website too!
http://www.makezine.com/

Waka, Tanka, Hokku, Haiku

A recent Friday Poetry missive evoked a question from one of my gentle readers about what makes a haiku a haiku. Since I'm not scholarly or eloquent enough to elucidate, here is offered clarification by our most beloved Wikipedia:

Waka (poetry)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Waka (和歌 lit. "Japanese poem") or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature.^[1] The term was coined during the Heian period, and was used to distinguish Japanese-language poetry from kanshi^[2][3] (poetry written in Chinese by Japanese poets), and later from renga.

The term waka originally encompassed a number of differing forms, principally tanka (短歌, lit. "short poem") and chōka (�歌, lit. "long poem"), but also including bussokusekika, sedōka (旋�歌, lit. "whirling head poem") and katauta (片歌, lit. "poem fragment") . These last three forms, however, fell into disuse at the beginning of the Heian period, and chōka vanished soon afterwards. Thus, the term waka came in time to refer only to tanka^[2][4].

Japanese poet and critic Masaoka Shiki created the term tanka in the early twentieth century for his statement that waka should be renewed and modernized. Until then, poems of this nature had been referred to as waka or simply uta ("song, poem"). Haiku is also a term of his invention, used for his revision of standalone hokku, with the same idea.

Traditionally waka in general has had no concept of rhyme (indeed, certain arrangements of rhymes, even accidental, were considered dire faults in a poem), or even of line. Instead of lines, waka has the unit (�) and the phrase (句). (Units or phrases are often turned into lines when poetry is translated or transliterated into Western languages, however.)

I enjoy the limitations of Haiku, choosing the right word for the sentiment yet being constrained by the number of syllables or sounds allowed in each line. It's a good exercise for me -- it reigns in my verbose tendancies and keep my attention focused.

Share your poetic replies by visiting holliix.blogspot.com and posting comments.

Beautiful Sunlight Poem

In place of my own poetry today I offer you a link to Experiemntal Typography by Jiyeon Song. Be sure to watch the timelapse video.

http://people.artcenter.edu/~jsong5/thesis/index.html

eBird

Indulge your inner bird nerd and upload observation data to eBird! I was enthralled by its maps, graphs and data... I'm easily amused. Heck, I'm a birdwatcher!

Seriously, though, I'm going on a wild loon chase in the morning (for a yellow-billed loon that's been sighted in Humboldt Bay) and I was able to find several recent sightings and pinpoint the location on a Google map. You can also share lists with other users. How cool is that?

What is eBird?

A real-time, online checklist program, eBird has revolutionized the way that the birding community reports and accesses information about birds. Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, eBird provides rich data sources for basic information on bird abundance and distribution at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

http://ebird.org/content/ebird

USGS phenology programs

This press release is from the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. It's a lengthy post, so here are the highlights (scroll down to read the full release and this info in context).

The BPP [North American Bird Phenology Program] is joining efforts with the USA National Phenology Network, which has just kicked off a national program to recruit citizen scientists and professional researchers to monitor plant and animal life cycles, or phenology. The two efforts will complement each other flawlessly, with the BPP combining its expertise on historical bird data with the USA-NPN's ongoing work to document changes in flowering, fruiting, migrations, reproduction, hibernation, and other plant and animal phenological events.

This program relies heavily on the participation of citizen scientists, said Zelt. "We currently house 6 million cards, which need to be scanned onto our website and then converted, solely by volunteers, into our database. Birders who want to concentrate on one particular group of birds can select that group or even a particular species. And if you live in the Baltimore-Washington area and would like to help the volunteer crew work with the historic files, you are welcome to do so."

To date, dedicated volunteers have scanned about 184,000 cards on hooded orioles, barred owls, spotted owls, scarlet tanagers, American redstarts, rose-breasted grosbeak and many other species. That leaves about 5,816,000 cards to go. So if you would like to get involved with this program, please go to "Become a Participant" at the USGS North American Bird Phenology Program Web site.

USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit www.usgs.gov.

Here's the full press release:


Science for Understanding the Impacts of Climate Change

It's for the Birds: Historical Bird Files Give Insight into Climate Change: Online Volunteers Recruited

New Science Gauges Potential to Store CO2

It's for the Birds: Historical Bird Files Give Insight into Climate Change: Online Volunteers Recruited
Released: 3/18/2009 11:28:27 AM
Contact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communication
119 National Center
Reston, VA 20192


On Nov. 1, 1933, Mrs. Bruce Reid recorded seeing both a male and female ivory-billed woodpecker in Texas. And on May 28, 1938, Oscar McKinley Bryans observed a ruby-throated hummingbird in Michigan, noting that the birds were most common when apple trees were blooming.

These are just two of more than 6 million personal observations scribbled and preserved on notecards in government files. The cards record more than a century of information about bird migration, a veritable treasure trove for climate-change researchers because they will help them unravel the effects of climate change on bird behavior, said Jessica Zelt, coordinator of the North American Bird Phenology Program at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.

That is -- once the cards are transcribed and put into a scientific database.

And that's where citizens across the country come in - the program needs help from birders and others across the nation to transcribe those cards into usable scientific information.

"These cards, once transcribed, will provide over 90 years of data, an unprecedented amount of information describing bird distributions, migration timing, and migration pathways and how they are changing," said Zelt. "There is no other program that has the same historical depth of information that can help us understand the effect that global climate change has on bird populations across the country. When combined with current information, scientists will better understand how birds are responding to climate change and how to develop tools to help manage that change, especially for at-risk species."

The millions of hand-scribbled cards sit in row upon row of federal green filing cabinets of ancient vintage in a modest and fittingly old office dating from before WWII. The cards contain almost all of what was known of bird distribution and natural history from the Second World War back to the later part of the 19th century, said USGS senior scientist Chan Robbins, who kept track of the cards' whereabouts in attics and basements during the intervening years.

"When I go through the files, it is just amazing some of the stories that are recorded there," said Jessica Zelt, who is an avid birder herself. "For example, one of our online participants recently wrote to tell me she had transcribed a migration card on purple martins by American ornithologist Margaret Morse Nice from 1926. It is exciting to see people today being linked to a piece of birding history."

Participants recorded their name, locality and year, along with arrival and departure dates, date of abundance, and whether it was a species common in that area. Personal observations on the cards often caught the enthusiastic joy of a birder sighting a rare bird.

The collection, said Zelt, includes information on about 900 species, including some sightings of rare, extinct, or nearly extinct birds, such as the giant albatross, ivory-billed woodpecker and Carolina parakeet, birds whose very names make the hearts of avid birders go pitter-patter.

The BPP is joining efforts with the USA National Phenology Network, which has just kicked off a national program to recruit citizen scientists and professional researchers to monitor plant and animal life cycles, or phenology. The two efforts will complement each other flawlessly, with the BPP combining its expertise on historical bird data with the USA-NPN's ongoing work to document changes in flowering, fruiting, migrations, reproduction, hibernation, and other plant and animal phenological events.

The BPP was started in 1880 by Wells W. Cooke, who wanted to broaden knowledge and understanding of migration. Eventually, famed scientist C. Hart Merriam expanded the volunteer network to include the entire United States, Canada and part of the West Indies. By the late 1880s the program had 3000 volunteers. Although the program was actively maintained by the federal government, in 1970 the program closed, until it re-opened again last year.

This program relies heavily on the participation of citizen scientists, said Zelt. "We currently house 6 million cards, which need to be scanned onto our website and then converted, solely by volunteers, into our database. Birders who want to concentrate on one particular group of birds can select that group or even a particular species. And if you live in the Baltimore-Washington area and would like to help the volunteer crew work with the historic files, you are welcome to do so."

To date, dedicated volunteers have scanned about 184,000 cards on hooded orioles, barred owls, spotted owls, scarlet tanagers, American redstarts, rose-breasted grosbeak and many other species. That leaves about 5,816,000 cards to go. So if you would like to get involved with this program, please go to "Become a Participant" at the USGS North American Bird Phenology Program Web site.

USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit www.usgs.gov.

Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic mailing list or RSS feed.

**** www.usgs.gov ****

Links and contacts within this release are valid at the time of publication.

[][][]

ABOUT BPP

What is Phenology?
Phenology is the scientific study of the relationship between natural phenomena (flowering, breeding, migration) and climatic or seasonal changes.

What is the BPP?
The North American Bird Phenology Program houses a unique and largely forgotten collection of six million Migration Observer Cards that illuminate migration patterns and population status of birds in North America. These handwritten cards contain almost all of what was known of bird distribution and natural history from the Second World War back to the later part of the 19th century. The bulk of the records are the result of a network of observers who recorded migration arrival dates in the spring and fall that, in its heyday, involved 3000 participants. Today, those records are being processed and placed into a modern database for analysis. This information will be used, along with recently collected arrival times of migrant birds, in conjunction with historical weather data to show how migration is effected by climate change. The information from this analysis will provide critical information on bird distribution, migration timing and migration pathways and how they are changing. There is no other program that has this depth of information that can help us understand the effect that global climate change has on bird populations across the country.

How did this Program Begin?
This program was started in the 1881 by Wells W. Cooke, who wanted to broaden knowledge and understanding of migration. While teaching on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota, Cooke began noting the arrival dates of migratory birds. He later coordinated volunteers throughout the Mississippi flyway to collect arrival and departure data. His success sparked the interest of C. Hart Merriam, of the newly formed American Ornithologist's Union (AOU) who expanded the volunteer network to include the entire United States, Canada and a portion of the West Indies. The program was then passed, in the late 1880's, to the Division of Economic Ornithology where it reached its greatest extent of 3000 volunteers. Although the program was actively maintained by the Federal Government, participation gradually declined and in 1970 the program was closed. For many years since, these records have been kept safe by USGS Senior Scientist Chan Robbins and after years of little use and even less recognition passed on to Jessica Zelt who is databasing these past records and reviewing the program's possible uses and potential for collecting new data.

Who is Wells W. Cooke?
Wells W. Cooke, son of Reverand Elisha Woodbridge Cook and Martha Miranda (Smith) Cook, was born on January 25, 1858, in Haydenville, Massachusetts. The 5th of nine children and eldest boy, Cooke developed an interest in natural history at the age of 12, when he received his first gun. He was known to collect bird specimens from his neighborhood and surrounding area. Cooke went on to receive an A.B. and A.M. degree from Ripon College. After his marriage to Carrie Amy Raymond in 1879, Cooke became a teacher in Indian schools and secondary schools in Minnesota. It was here, in Minnesota, that Cooke first began documenting arrival dates and began what is now the BPP.
Notably, Wells Cooke, became a member of the newly formed American Ornithologist's Union in 1884, elected in part due to papers he published while teaching in the Mississippi Valley. In 1885, Cooke became a Professor, and over a 16 year period was associated with three colleges: the University of Vermont, the state Agricultural College of Colorado, and the state College of Pennsylvania. Cooke also began an appointment with the Biological Survey in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1901 which lasted for 15 years, in which he published many publications on bird migration and distribution. Wells W. Cooke contributed in countless ways to the field of ornithology. He was the most eminent biologist on bird migration and distribution of his time.

If you would like to learn more about Wells W. Cooke or read his publications, please go to our Bibliography Page.

How does the BPP work?
BPP relies heavily on the participation of citizen scientists. We currently house six million cards which need to be scanned onto our website and then converted, solely by volunteers, into our database. If you would like to get involved with this program, please go to "Become a Participant."



Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov
Page Contact Information: Webmaster
Page Last Modified: November 13, 2008

[][][]

https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bpp/BecomeAParticipant.cfm

BECOME A PARTICIPANT
Get Involved!

This is a very exciting and timely program which welcomes participants from all backgrounds and ages who would like to get involved.

There are two ways to take part with the NABPP:

Migration cards are currently being scanned and becoming available on the NABPP website. You can become one of the many volunteers from around the country to sign into our site and convert these files into our database. This will allow the migration records to become accessible for analysis. Please fill in the information below and click "Sign Up." You will then receive a confirmation e-mail. Please follow the information in the e-mail to complete your registration and begin transcribing records.

Also, If you are in the Baltimore-Washington area and would like to volunteer in the NABPP office to help with scanning, working with the historic files we welcome you to come and take part in this program. Please Contact Us if you are interested.

[][][]

http://www.usanpn.org/

Photo credits
What is the USA-NPN?

What is phenology?

Join us!

The USA National Phenology Network brings together citizen scientists, government agencies, non-profit groups, educators and students of all ages to monitor the impacts of climate change on plants and animals in the United States. The network harnesses the power of people and the Internet to collect and share information, providing researchers with far more data than they could collect alone.

Learn more about
the USA-NPN


Phenology is the study of recurring plant and animal life cycle events, or phenophases, such as leafing and flowering of plants, maturation of agricultural crops, emergence of insects, and migration of birds. Many of these events are sensitive to climatic variation and change, and are simple to observe and record. As an USA-NPN observer, you can help scientists identify and understand environmental trends so we can better adapt to climate change.

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phenology


We are looking for volunteers to help us monitor some 200 plant species found across the United States. This effort will eventually expand to include animals and physical phenomena, such as bird migrations and ice out on ponds. Please explore our website to learn more about USA-NPN. Better yet, click "Participate" to join us!

USA-NPN Plant List

Laundry

Flannel sheets and towels
spin around and around and
will they never dry?

Oct. 12, 2002

Shrubs and Trees to Plant for the Birds

A nifty tree/bird chart on the Old Farmer's Almanac website:

http://www.almanac.com/garden/trees/shrubbirds.php?utm_source=Almanac+Companion+Newsletter&utm_campaign=806e89648b-Companion_April_16_2009_&utm_medium=email

Mourning

News of friend's passing
Cold coffee chokes bitter tears
Ironic blue sky

In memoriam, Eileen Marsch
March 30, 2009

Ohanami 2009

Spring is here again -- much to my relief. There is still the possibility of a late frost (last year we had frost in mid-April), but all the other signs are here. Birds and bees, flowers and trees, all a-buzz, a-twitter and a-blossom. All that vernal wantonness is positively R-rated.

So, also, are sakura bursting forth with their frothy white and pinkness. Today (April 5) is Ohanami at the Dodd-Fresnel's. We're incorporating chado into today's activities. (Read more about that on horaizons.blogspot.com.) I'm making my California-style sakura mochi again -- ah, I can smell the rice, it's almost ready. I was almost in a panic a little while ago while trying to find the recipe I used last year, so in order to not go through that again, here it is:

Rice

5 measures of short grain white rice (I use Calrose)
12 drops red food coloring
pinch salt

Add appropriate amount of water (to 5 cup line) and cook as usual.

About the food coloring: 12 drops makes really pink rice. Use as much food coloring as you think looks appetizing. Maybe 12 drops is too much.


Sugar Syrup

Equal parts sugar and water (I used 1 to 1-1/2 cups each)
Pinch salt
3 drops red food color

Cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. Do not boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Make the rice balls, wrap and eat

When rice has cooled enough to handle, add sugar syrup and stir until rice has cooled to room temperature and syrup forms a light glaze -- much like making sushi. Form onigiri with about a 1/2 tsp of an (sweet red bean paste) in the center. The rice balls should fit comfortably in the palm of your hand.

[NB: Later in the day, while munching this batch of sakura mochi, I realized they were a bit on the small side and didn't have nearly enough an in the center. They really ought to be a bit larger with a generous glop of an.]

Fold a brine-preserved cherry leaf halfway around the rice ball. If, like me, you find your local supermakets pathetically lacking in preserved cherry leaves and you didn't have the foresight to make your own last season, brine-preserved grape leaves make an adequate substitution. I've heard that celery or lettuce leaves are also used, but the briny saltiness is a necessary counterpoint to the pinky-pink sugaryness of the rice and an balls. The leaves also keep your fingers clean while you enjoy your sakura mochi.

Maybe it's just me, but dyeing the rice pink makes it look like it should taste sweeter than it really does, like cotton candy at the fair.

:: :: ::

The day was beautiful, sunny, warm.

We enjoyed a brief tea ceremony. "It's nice to have tea with birds," Harvey said. Bees flew among the flowers. The cats stopped by to sniff tea utensils. Hummingbirds and pine siskins buzzed. The tea was so much more green in sunlight than in the chashitsu.

After tea, we enjoyed a brilliant sushi lunch and many cups of sake. Many, many cups of sake.

If you can't see the slide show below, go here to see photos in my Picassa album: http://picasaweb.google.com/handh2/Ohanami40509?feat=directlink

New car

Strangers smile and wave
at my funny-looking car.
It makes me smile too.

Feb. 12, 2006

Back from Arizona!

We made it back from last week's birdwatching trip! I spent three days camping in the Cave Creek area of the Chiracahua Mountains in SE Arizona with Kristin, Laura and Pia, three birding friends. It was THE most fantastic birdwatching -- I added 28 birds to my life list. Many of the birds we saw were male warblers moving in to stake out territory and await the females which are a few weeks behind them. We were told that in a few weeks more species arrive or migrate through, and the best birding is April and May.

In the center foreground of the above photo is Snowshed Peak, according to Google maps. Behind it is Chiracahua Peak, 9,759 feet. To the left is Sentinal Peak and to the right is Flys Peak.

I'll get some more photos together soon, along with more details of the trip. It's good to be back, but I really want to do more birding.

Road Trip List

This is the list we kept on the road. Kristin, Laura and I are listers, Pia is not. She was amused by our obsessive compulsion. We listers also kept personal lists.

Scan provided by Laura.

Wake up

My little white cat
affectionate in morning,
how cold are her paws!

Feb. 12, 2006

Bokashi composting

I recently stumbled upon this method of composting -- I'm astounded I hadn't heard of it before. I might give it a try. According to Amy Stewart, you can buy bokashi stuff at the Co-Op.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokashi_composting

Mindfulness

I must remember
the blade that cuts cucumbers
can also cut me

Feb. 14, 2006

Shopping

Empty trunk fills with
groceries -- our carcasses
brought home from the hunt

Oct. 2, 2002

Crafty websites

This site belongs to one of my co-workers:
http://lynnerdhandmade.blogspot.com/

This site just had nifty eye candy:
http://thevintagemoth.blogspot.com/

Dinnertime

Impatient black cat
sits quietly on the couch,
anticipation

Oct. 1, 2002

Weekend Update

Stormy weather was forecast for this past weekend, but it held off enough on Saturday for me to repot more than a dozen plants, including Japanese maples, some bulbs and a couple mountain ash seedlings. Buckets of rain poured down from Saturday night through Sunday night.

Birds hit the feeders hard on Saturday and pretty well cleaned them out. Lesser goldfinches, yellow-rumped warblers, pine siskins, juncos and chickadees were the most numerous, but house finches and a black phoebe made an appearance. Robins, cedar waxwings, ravens, starlings and a hermit thrush cruised by, and I heard the first white-crowned sparrow of the season this weekend.

In Japan, uguisu, bush warblers, herald the imminent arrival of spring along with ume, plum blossoms. Plum trees are blooming all over town, and now the white-crowned sparrow has returned -- our uguisu.

Time to play

nao? can we play nao?
--
Holly

Seeking spring

Seeking signs of spring
Was that a blackbird just now?
Crocuses blooming

Butterbutts are gettin' fiesty!

Morning birds in the Cali Street Hood:
Cedar waxwings 12
House finch 3
Juncos 3
Siskins 15
Butterbutts 3

On my lunchtime walk to the Arcata Marsh I saw one snowy egret fly up on another while it cruised the slough. The first bird flew off, the second bird puffed up its crest and plumage, and strutted to display it's studly superiority.

Meow to me

Zazen is so exhausting. Now I must rest.

Soggy, soggy February

Several inches of rain have fallen in the past few days. Frosty earlier in the month, but now it's just cold and windy. And rainy.






Bloom day is tiny again this month, in both size and quantity. An interesting surprise is the out-of-season hebe blooms (they normally don't bloom till summer). There are several shrubs and flowers which tease us with fattening buds, like this red twig dogwood.


Got these two veggie beds straightened out a couple weeks ago when the weather was nicer -- weeded, amended, mulched. Planning on starting seeds in a couple weeks. I neglected to put down the anti-cat devices (old blackberry canes) so now there's a couple of great, big cat poops in the freshly-amended beds. Mmm-mm, good.

Backyard bird action heats up as Spring approaches

January was particulary mild this year, and the weather for past two weekends have been beautifully warm and clear -- one would almost thing winter was over. Yesterday's high was 56, but the backyard thermometer registered nearly 70. And with the lovely weather comes bird activity. Regulars to the feeder include:

Yellow rumped warblers
House finches
Dark-eyed juncos
House sparrows
Chestnut-backed chickadees
Pine siskins
Lesser goldfinches

A Townsend warbler (male) has made an occasional appearance. Robins regularly visit the yard but only perch in the trees.

Flyovers include Canada geese, Aleutian geese and snow geese (a nice surprise) along with the resident ravens, crows, starlings. Yesterday, several unidentified seagulls anticipating today's inclement weather were cruising around also.

Where are the hummingbirds?

What do you mean, the flowers have to be outside?

Earlobe calibration needed

The instructions for making udon noodles said to knead the dough until it was as firm as your earlobe. I thought the dough was firm enough, but after it rested all day it was far too soft and stretchy. It resulted in tasty but unattractive noodles.

On day two, I kneaded a little more flour into the leftover dough. The second batch was not nearly as stretchy and ugly. Must calibrate my earlobes.

Blogucation

I began a blog last year on another site (hollix.xanga.com) to stay in touch with a friend who also uses xanga. It's an easy-to-use site, but after using Blogger to create a site for my graphics class (nrpi253.blogspot.com) I found that Xanga's limitations were, well, limiting. I'm abandoning Xanga for Blogger and duplicating those posts here to keep some semblance of continuity.

So much to say, so little time to write.

Birdwatching for Dummies

Bloom Day, January '09

Happy New Year, but not much blooming yet.