Saguaro National Park

 

Here comes a very hot summer. This shot is from my trip to Saguaro National Park back in 2019. It was hot then. Just read that a very hot summer is coming for us now. We shall see. 

Happy Memorial Day weekend

 

Happy Memorial Day weekend. Thank you to all who served. 

Moon, Venus and Mars conjunction in Gemini

 

Got to see a nice conjunction last night with the Moon between Venus and Mars in our sky with the bright twins, Castor and Pollux of Gemini right near by. Skies were clear. The weather mild. Wonderful night to be outside and looking up.

Four Little Birdies

 

While I am posting bird shots, here are four little birdies who sat in the row ahead of us on a vacation trip to Orlando last month. Clio, Echo, Effie and Peregrine peaking in-between the seats to see what we were doing in the row behind them. Four cuties.  

Red Headed or Red Bellied?

 

The shot above is of a bird that I see all the time as the Red-bellied Woodpecker often visits my bird feeder. For the life of me, I couldn't understand the name. Red-bellied? The belly is white, with maybe a hint of color. Why not red headed? Well, when I finally saw a Red-Headed Woodpecker in person, it made total sense. You can't not call the bird in the shot below anything other than red headed. He looks so formal in his distinct and well drawn out colors. So, we have to have two different names for these birds, but I still don't see much red, if any, in the Red-bellied. 

A little red; a little blue--part two

Took a forested walk on a dirt path this morning near my home and heard dozens and dozens of bird species. But I could only find these two as the birds were not moving around much. Just singing and not moving doesn't help. Of course, if they are moving and you try to get a picture of them, well, they move again and you miss the shot. Such is life. These two popped out to give me a view. A beautiful blue Indio Bunting and a Red-bellied Woodpecker. Why call this one a Red-bellied as he obviously has a very red head? Well, come back tomorrow and I will show you why....

 

Cuteness

 

Some cuteness for your Saturday morning. 

Yellow's turn

 

Yesterday's blog featured Red and Blue but Yellow felt left out so I thought we would feature yellow today--as in this Palm Warbler and the American Goldfinch in its fine spring colors. Both birds show their yellow quite well, don't you think? 

A little bit of red, a little bit of blue

 

Can't have a bad day when you see these two in one day. A Scarlet Tanager and an Eastern Bluebird. Amazing display of colors. What a show that nature puts on, if you are willing to walk, look and listen. As a long, long time birder now (let's see that would be just over 3 years), these are no longer lifers for me but they still knock you socks off every time you see them. Saw both, and over 100 more seen, heard and some photographed, during the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival, the largest such festival held in any of the US national parks. Still going through the pictures but had to post these two right away. Had a great time walking the fields, forests and dunes in Indiana (and have the sore legs to prove it). Great time and look forward to going again next year.  

Three Gossips

 

The Three Gossips is just a distinctive formation in Arches National Park, hard not to see three individuals walking in a line once you see it. Arches has to be up there in my list of favorite parks. I like that the hikes aren't too challenging although Bill and I did one in a huge windstorm that made it quite scary and challenging. I felt like I was going to be blown off the ledge. In any case, the hike to see the Three Gossips is just a causal walk. This shot is from a trip taken last April. 

The Butcher's Block

 

As you can probably tell from this blog, I am not a foodie. I rarely post any shots or comment on food. I sorta eat for a living as many of the presentations on the economy that I give happen at restaurants. So, when my local sales guy in New Jersey a month or so ago tells me how lucky I am going to be with this steak place he has picked out, I rolled my eyes. Heard it all before. He said, "I know you are from Chicago and have been around but you have not had anything like this". Ok, drum roll. He was right. OMG!!! The Butcher's Block in Long Branch, New Jersey is amazing. Every steak I tried there (we had a large group and essentially ordered one of everything to share) was the best version of that steak I ever had. You can order frozen cuts to ship and I think they would be wonderful, but it was the cooking method on an open flame in sort of a multi-level pizza oven that sears the meat on both sides that was the kicker. They also advertise on sourcing locally and only using humanely raised meat. This is the only place that I have visited in my years of travel that I would want to bring my family to and then order one of each steak off of the menu. If you are ever in that area and can plan well in advance (it is almost impossible to get in) make it a focus of your trip. From my experience, you will not be disappointed. 

Beatles Fest is coming

 

Heading to a Beatles Fest in Louisville at the end of the month. Looking forward to seeing something like 50 Beatles cover bands over 3 days!!! Thought I would post this throwback shot from a Beatles pop-up store in NYC that I wandered into back in 2019. Very interested to hear what 50 versions of Beatles music sounds like. They covered (and created) so many different genres of music you could probably do 50 different versions of their music. Should be fun!!!