Day: June 27, 2020

Warning, All-Seeing Snipers in the Field

Well, things continue to go bad for Raven and he is officially 0/5 at this agility trial.  I think he is just hot and tired now and his last run might come down to a battle of wits between Mom and dog.  Probably taking a page out of the whiny NBA league and refuses to perform to an empty house.  At least Raven isn’t bending to the will of the great China dollar.  The bad news for Raven means good news for the postapalooza happening this weekend.  My worries of making my quota for June were quickly put to rest and thought I’d go ahead an close it out with another +1.

Wilson's Snipe found at Chain O' Lakes State Park, Spring Grove, IL April 2017

So what do you think?  Pretty cool bird eh?  This is another series of shots that comes courtesy of a birding outing to Chain O’ Lakes State Park.  A bit in the wayback machine as they were taken on April 2017.  Ron happened to be with me that weekend resulting in +1’s for both of us although technically he hasn’t posted on it yet so he is unable to take the full credit.  I on the other hand will be remedying that technicality today.

In the rare case you are struggling to see the featured bird above, feel free to hit the jump and I’ll try to help you out a bit.

Continue reading Warning, All-Seeing Snipers in the Field

Captain Mercaptan

For the regulars to the blog, you know Linda and Raven finally get to compete in the agility ring this weekend.  We had to travel down to southern IL for them to get the chance to run.  Rules have been bouncing all over the place for these competitions.  IL is slowly loosening the restrictions on businesses and gatherings over 10 to 20 people, however, there is still a lack of clarity on the real requirements.  Our trip up to Chain O’ Lakes a few weeks back was actually to participate in an agility show that ended up being canceled by their police chief (never should have asked), yet this one is still on (probably didn’t ask).  Some shows require masks only while running the dog, others require masks only when not in the ring, some allow spectators, some allow only the dog owners and then there are those that only allow the handler of the dog running in the current jump height.  Ridiculously confusing from my opinion.  The competition down here requires masks except in the ring, no spectators in building and only the dogs and their owners in the jump height can be in the building.  That means I have to keep myself entertained in the RV.  Traveling 3 hours down to an event and not being able to see your kid participate would normally be frustrating, however, it appears Raven is a bit rusty and well, stunk it up today.

Skunk found at Red Rocks Ampitheatre outside Denver CO, May 2014

Hit the jump to read more about our striped friend.

Continue reading Captain Mercaptan

Awash in Olive

Linda has been bouncing off the walls for months and getting downright irritated with all the Covid crap.  She is newly retired and not happy her grand plans of spending every weekend in the dog agility ring have been shredded.  Poor Raven rips off a page on his 365 puppy a day calendar until he sees the word Friday.  He grabs that page in his teeth, jumps on the bed, takes a big lick on the back and sticks it to Mom’s forehead and points to his leash and collar.  “Time to go compete Mom, now get your ass out of bed and load my stuff into the RV and say goodbye to the alpha male.”  Watching Linda try to explain Covid to a recently turned 6 year old self-centered Poodle is pure comedy.

Well folks, today Raven’s demands were fulfilled!  Yep, the first agility trial has now been greenlit.  Linda can finally run off all that pent-up stress.  Not expecting much as Raven is probably pretty rusty.  The best part of this….plenty of time to get caught up on my posting.

Henslow's Sparrow found at Glacial Park Conservation Area in May 2018

To celebrate Raven’s first run in several months, thought I’d go with a first for myself.  During an  image processing marathon a few weeks back I came across a series of shots from a birding trip to Glacial Park Conservation Area back in May 2018.  For those not familiar with this location, it sits about 15 minutes away from Chain O’ Lakes State Park in Ringwood, IL.  Ron and I usually spend the morning birding Chain and then make a run over to Glacial to finish off the day.  Although they have similar settings as Chain, it tends to have a better draw of prairie and wetland birds.

Henslow's Sparrow found at Glacial Park Conservation Area in May 2018

Hit the jump to learn more about our rather olive looking specimen.

Continue reading Awash in Olive