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Archive for the ‘Birds’ Category

Fate

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, Travels With Maggie, Writing, tagged , on July 3, 2013| 6 Comments »

            “Fate is not an eagle. It creeps like a rat.” – Elizabeth Bowen

I’m a believer  

We never know what we're going to encounter on the path of life. And I wouldn't want it any other way. -- Photo by Pat Bean

We never know what we’re going to encounter on the path of life. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. — Photo by Pat Bean

          “We make our own fortunes then call them fate,” said Benjamin Disraeli. His words were the gist of almost all the quotes I could find on “fate.”

I agree, and yet I also disagree. I’m not a religious person, but there have been many times in my life when it seemed as if fate took a hand.

Most recently, it was after I broke my ankle and met Betty Ann, who was a dog walker, well of sorts. It was something she fell into while searching for a job. She was my next door neighbor, and thus agreed, for a pittance, to walk Maggie until I could take over the task again.

Recently I discovered, she had excellent editing skills. And again, for a pittance, she has agreed to edit and
proofread “Travels with Maggie,” the book which I desperately need to finish and publish so I can move on.

Every writer needs an editor, if for nothing more than to see what the writer really wrote, and not what she thought she wrote. She hadn’t even got past my dedication of the book, which read: This book is dedicated to my canine traveling companion, Maggie, and to John Steinbeck. His book, “Travels with Charley, was one of the inspirations for my vagabond lifestyle and also for this book’s title. I would also like to think the hundreds of other great travel writers who taunted me to discover my own adventures.

Did you catch the mistake? I didn’t. Think should have been thank.

I truly believe it was fate that brought Betty Ann and me together. What do you think? Or is that thank?

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: The Mockingbird and the Cat http://tinyurl.com/l4ebgew I’m both an avid bird watcher and a cat lover, so I’m a fence sitter on the issue of cats being allowed outside. I put a bell on my cat to give the birds warning, just fyi. But I sure do love this mockingbird’s attitude.

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Slap to the Mind

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, tagged , on June 26, 2013| 4 Comments »

“When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.” — Buddha

I'm not sure I agree that every day is perfect just the way it happens, but I do know this is a "perfect" view of Colorado mountains. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I’m not sure I agree that every day is perfect just the way it happens, but I do know this is a “perfect” view of Colorado mountains. — Photo by Pat Bean

Goofing Off

One of my favorite TV programs is NCIS, which  I watch it on my computer as I have no TV. In the show, Gibbs, the boss, is always slapping Tony, the smart goof-off, on the back of the head.

And it would b impossible to say that this reflective view of an Alabama lake doesn't earn a "perfect" 10. -- Photo by Pat Bean

And it would b impossible to say that this reflective view of an Alabama lake doesn’t earn a “perfect” 10. — Photo by Pat Bean

Well, I felt I got a slap on the mind the other day, one in which I was beating myself  up for goofing off the day before.

It was one of those occasional (I’d like to say rare, but occasional is more accurate) days when I didn’t write, I didn’t sketch, and I certainly didn’t learn something new while playing my time-wasting computer games. Even Pepper was short-changed by getting only very short walks.  .          I was mentally beating myself up for my slothfulness when I read my first blog of the day. It consisted of only a simple quote:  “Stop   keeping track of the mistakes you made – It’s time to forgive yourself”

OK, I thought. Maybe I should take this message to heart.

A little while later, when I was studying my T’ai Chi manual, a new activity on my daily to-do list, I read that life is perfect even if it helps us learn there are better ways to do things, and that we should drop the self-judgment. It also said the only wrong thing you can do in learning T’ai Chi is tell yourself you were wrong.

That certainly took a load off my mind. At my age, learning new ways to exercise isn’t going to be easy.

But then if that wasn’t enough to keep me from beating up on myself, I read another blogger whose No. 1 goal had become “getting off his own back.”

You would think the world was trying to tell me something.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Eye Beauty  http://tinyurl.com/p6sn68g I couldn’t resist this newly hatched egret.

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The Eyes Have It

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , , on June 24, 2013| 3 Comments »

Weekly Photo Challenge

Free roaming bunny -- Photo by Pat Bean

Free roaming bunny — Photo by Pat Bean

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.” T.E. Lawrence 

Black-crowned night heron -- Photo by Pat Bean

Black-crowned night heron — Photo by Pat Bean

           If you look at the world through my eyes, you’re going to see bunnies frolicking at campgrounds, like the one above near Mount Rushmore.

You’re going to see lots of birds, like this black-crowned night heron, which I snapped eating a bug in a Texas pond.

And you’re going to take time to visit art galleries and museums, and notice architectural details, like these fish handles on an aquarium, whose class walls reflect the trees near its Albuquerque, New Mexico location.

Fishy handles. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Fishy handles. — Photo by Pat Bean

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Two for today.  Somewhere Over the Rainbow http://tinyurl.com/l6ducht Music to calm the mind; and When the Ants Attack http://tinyurl.com/n8kkdrh The kind of blog that lets you into the crazy world of thought – so that you know you’re in good company

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Quote for the Day

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, Quote for the Day, tagged , , on June 20, 2013| 2 Comments »

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.” — Alice Walker

Only a Tree

Shaped by wind coming off the Gulf of Mexico. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Shaped by wind coming off the Gulf of Mexico. — Photo by Pat Bean

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: The Daily Echo http://tinyurl.com/myb66tl Only a bird … and only a great blog.

 

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Posted in African Safari, Birds, Nature, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , on June 18, 2013| 3 Comments »

Weekly Photo Challenge: Curves

            “In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” Aristotle

Barn swallow nests with a curved opening. -- Photo by Pat Bean.

Barn swallow nests with a curved opening. — Photo by Pat Bean.

They Abound in Nature  

            I’ve flow across America many times, always if possible in a window seat, where I spent much time staring at the earth below. I found that the land was almost always sectioned off into an endless array of squares. We North American humans, it seems, like our boundaries straight and neat.

BeusPond1_May25_2007          I realized just how true that was  hen I flew in a plane over Kenya and Tanzania, where a landscape square was a rare thing.. Here the land retained much of its natural curves.

It was more picturesque, and I liked it better.

            Bean’s Pat: http://tinyurl.com/lez6u6y Follow along as a historic Lonely Planet Journey is recreated. It’s a fantastic armchair travel adventure for those of us who can’t afford to take the trip for real.

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Bookish Friday

Posted in Art, Birds, Books, Journeys, Travel, tagged , , , , on June 14, 2013| 7 Comments »

“I can imagine in years to come that my papers and memorabilia, my journals and letters, will find themselves always in the company of people who care about many of the things I do.”  — Alice Walker

A recent page from one of my art journals. As I sketched the osprey, I thought about all the times I had seen one, and good memories flooded my little gray cells. Illustration by Pat Bean

A recent page from one of my art journals. As I sketched the osprey, I thought about all the times I had seen one, and good memories flooded my little gray cells. Illustration by Pat Bean

What I’m Reading

            Ditto to what Alice Walker said. I can’t help but wonder where all my bins of journals will end up after I’m gone. Hopefully not in the trash, but that’s always a possibility.

An Illustrated Journal, the book I'm currently reading.

An Illustrated Journey, the book I’m currently reading.

It would be nice if some of what I’ve lived through as a woman fighting for equal rights and equal pay found their way into a women’s center at some university. And it would be nice to think that some of my progeny, the greats, might want to know who know who I was.

Regardless, keeping my journals is simply something I have to do. It’s part of me and for me.  It’s as if I must write it down for things to become real.

Meanwhile, I love reading other people’s journals. And since I’m beginning to add drawings to my own journals, I’m particularly enjoying “An Illustrated Journey: Inspiration from the Private Art Journals of Traveling Artists, Illustrators and Designers,” put together by Danny Gregory.

It’s a delightful book, with lots of tips on keeping an illustrated journal. And since each artist does it his or her way, I have lots of choices.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: About Elephants http://tinyurl.com/m2l2r4z  Our Journeys are all the Same.

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Bird of the Day: Costa Hummingbird

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Journeys, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on June 6, 2013| 9 Comments »

            “A flash of harmless lighting, a mist of rainbow dyes, the burnished sunbeams brightening, from flower to flower he flies.” John Banister Tabb

Bringing Joy to the Trees

A male costa hummingbird. The female lacks the bright colors, being mostly green and white. -- Pat Bean illustration.

A male costa hummingbird. The female lacks the bright colors, being mostly green and white. — Pat Bean illustration.

Since it’s warmed up here in Tucson, I’ve begun sitting at a picnic bench beneath some trees for Pepper’s afternoon outing.

Although it’s not the best time of day for birding, there are usually birds flitting in the trees surrounding me, so I bring my binoculars.

Yesterday, there was a pair of hummingbirds keeping me company while Pepper frolicked in the grass. From their general demeanor, I assumed the hummers were black-chinned, the species I’ve seen more often than any other.

Then something didn’t look quite right, and I realized I was now living in an area where more than black-chins or broadtails (Utah) or black-chins or ruby-throated (Texas except for the Rio Grande Valley) were common.

Hummingbirds, which seldom stay still, aren’t easy for me to identify. But after about 10 minutes of study,  and when one finally settled on a nearby branch facing me, I realized it was a costa hummingbird.

This was a life species for me, meaning the first time I had seen and identified this bird. I couldn’t wait to get back to my apartment and bring my list up to date. The costa hummingbird made No. 701 on the list of bird species I’ve seen.

I did a quick sketch so you can see it too. No way am I a good enough photographer to have captured this tiny bundle of energy on wings with my camera.

  Bean’s Pat: Readful Things http://tinyurl.com/lmcgc76 A review of “White Fang,” my second favorite Jack London book, which I read many, many years ago. Maybe it’s time for a reread. My favorite London Book, you ask? “Call of the Wild,” of course. A few years back I visited London’s cabin in the Yukon. The cabin is located in Dawson, where I spent the night before crossing the Yukon River on a ferry and driving the Top of the World Highway on my way to Fairbanks, Alaska. Ahhhhh! What good memories I have from that trip.

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Bird of the Day: Kingfishers

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , on June 4, 2013| 4 Comments »

            “When birds burp, it must taste like bugs.” – Bill Watterson

Belted kingfisher: I tried to capture the jazzy look and attitude of kingfishers in this sketch.

Belted kingfisher: I tried to capture the jazzy look and attitude of kingfishers in this sketch.

Cute and Good at Catching Fish            

If it’s a kingfisher, however, that burp will taste more like fish, especially if it lives in North America.

Although there are three species of  kingfishers –among the 30 or so that roam this planet – that call America home, the only common one is the belted kingfisher. It can be seen in all of the mainland’s 49 states.

A couple of pied kingfishers, which were among the favorite birds I saw in Africa. -- Wikipedia photo

A couple of pied kingfishers, which were among the favorite birds I saw in Africa. — Wikipedia photo

My first view of this bird took place on the Big Hole River in Montana, where I saw it sitting on a log that leaned out over the water. It was waiting for a fish to come within bill range.

I sat quietly, not too far away, until I saw the bird make a successful catch. I still remember the thrill of that moment.

I saw the second of America’s kingfishers, the ringed, at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. This southern tip of Texas is the only place the bird can be seen in this country. The Rio Grande Valley is also habitat for the green kingfisher, which I’m still hoping one day to see. I might get lucky. The green kingfisher also comes up from Mexico to visit southeastern Arizona, which is my current home.

Meanwhile I have five more kingfishers on my life list. The collared kingfisher, which I saw on the island of Rota near Guam, and four that I saw while on safari in Africa: the pied, woodland and malachite in Kenya and the grey-headed in Tanzania. Just 23 more to go now.

And just for the record, the pied kingfisher was among my favorites of the 182 life birds I saw during my two-week visit to Africa.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: http://tinyurl.com/mhc93p8 My favorite blogger is out of her element, but still making science fun. I particularly loved waking up this morning to the Periodic Table song.

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Western Tanager

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Nature, tagged , , , on May 30, 2013| 1 Comment »

“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly, Man got to sit and wonder ‘why, why, why?’ Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land. Man got to tell himself he understand.” – Kurt Vonnegut, “Cat’s Cradle

 

Western tanager -- Wikipedia photo

Western tanager — Wikipedia photo

 

I Think I saw a Pretty Bird

            I spent most of my life totally unaware of the birds that live around us. Then I caught the bird-watching virus.

Sage Grouse: The bird that addicted me to bird watching. -- Wikipedia photo

Sage Grouse: The bird that addicted me to bird watching. — Wikipedia photo

It happened in 1999 when I was doing a newspaper story on sage grouse at Deseret Ranch in Utah. It required me to wake at an ungodly hour — even for me an early riser — and then hike a mile or so across the landscape to a sit behind a blind so I could watch male grouse show off for the gals at a lek.

“It is sort of like when the guys drag Main Street on Saturday night,” birding guide Mark Stackhouse told me.

I found the strutting, puffed out males, an awesome sight – and laughed at how most of the girls ignored the boys. From that day forward I was hooked, and these days my binoculars are usually close by.

So it was this afternoon, as I sat at tree-top level on the balcony of my third-floor apartment talking on the phone to my daughter-in-law in Texas, when a bright colored bird flew in and sat on a branch not too far away.

“OHhhhhh. A pretty bird,” I screeched into my daughter-in-law’s ear, and grabbed for by binoculars..

It was a western tanager, the first I’ve seen here at my Catalina foothills apartment. I usually see them in a more forested setting, but there are a lot of trees here, and a fountain in one of the courtyards where the birds can drink.

It’s a beautiful bird, don’t you agree?

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Cantankerous Puffs of Adorable http://tinyurl.com/l7sphvv Juvenile green herons

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What We Remember

Posted in Birds, Journeys, tagged , , on May 26, 2013| 1 Comment »

            “Always remember to slow down in life, live, breathe and learn; take a look around you whenever you have time and never forget everything and every person that has the least place within your heart.” — Unknown

Friesian Horses and Birds, But Not Birthdays 

I've never seen a horse I thought more beautiful than the Friesian. -- Wikipedia Photo

I’ve never seen a horse I thought more beautiful than the Friesian. — Wikipedia Photo

“Isn’t that a Friesian horse?” I asked my daughter as one appeared in the movie, Eragon, which we had sat down to watch together this past week.

I was pretty sure it was, but my daughter is a horse person, so I asked.  I once wrote a newspaper feature on these beautiful creatures. Seeing one always brings to mind the first time I saw one, which was in the movie, “Ladyhawke.” It was shortly after that movie was released that I did the story.

During the 37 years, I was a journalist, I easily wrote over 200 articles annually, many more during some years. That adds up to well over 7,000 stories. What, I wondered, lets me remember some of them as if I wrote them yesterday, and others not at all.

What lets me remember very clearly the time I saw each of the over 700 birds on my life list, but forget my own children’s and grandchildren’s birthdays? OK, I do remember my own kids’ birthdays, I just forget what day it is.

I've never seen this bird except in photos, but since it's a bird I'll probably be seeing it in my quirky brain fro the rest of my life. --Wikipedia Photo

I’ve never seen the stork-billed kingfisher except in photos, but since it’s a bird I’ll probably be seeing it in my quirky brain for the rest of my life. –Wikipedia Photo

Why is it that names of some people, whose faces I can clearly see in my head, suddenly escape my brain?

This is not age related, at least in my case. My brain has had these quirks all my life.

One nice thing about the short-circuit in my brain is that I tend to remember the good things and forget the bad.  It could be the other way around, like a couple of people I know who relive a stressful event day after day after day.

What do you remember, and what do you forget?

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat Layover in Singapore http://tinyurl.com/pvz3gu5 This is the first time I’ve seen the stork-billed kingfisher, whose awesome photo leads this blog. It’s not on my bird list, because I haven’t seen it personally, but I do think I’ll remember it.

 

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