katz whiskers: Accidental Birding.
I enjoy birding, but I'm not ...: Accidental Birding. I enjoy birding, but I'm not a true birder -- certainly I'm not a twitcher (though I did stand in a Sarasota p...
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Accidental Birding.
I enjoy birding, but I'm not a true birder -- certainly I'm not a twitcher (though I did stand in a Sarasota parking lot one evening last spring. Someone had seen a Tropical Kingbird there. And indeed it was there...) as I would not drop everything and travel miles in the hope of getting a sight of a rarity. Anyway, I have invented a form of birding that anyone can enjoy. That is Accidental Birding!
How does it work? Well, you just go walking in a pleasant place and enjoy the exercise or whatever, and while out, you keep your eyes open. As a for-instance -- sitting having lunch at a beach cafe, we just happened to look out to sea, and there was a Common Loon! And just this morning we were taking a stroll in a nearby park -- and there were two Red-breasted Mergansers!
Now I don't claim that I identified these sightings -- but my birder husband did, and was suitably delighted.
A few years ago, after exhaustive expeditions to see an elusive Black Crowned Night Heron, and no success, we gave it up as bad job. Our holiday was nearly over, so we chose to take a boat trip. And -- you've guessed it -- on the dock was perched the aforesaid bird. Which promptly pooped and flapped off.
Accidental Birding at it's best!
I enjoy birding, but I'm not a true birder -- certainly I'm not a twitcher (though I did stand in a Sarasota parking lot one evening last spring. Someone had seen a Tropical Kingbird there. And indeed it was there...) as I would not drop everything and travel miles in the hope of getting a sight of a rarity. Anyway, I have invented a form of birding that anyone can enjoy. That is Accidental Birding!
How does it work? Well, you just go walking in a pleasant place and enjoy the exercise or whatever, and while out, you keep your eyes open. As a for-instance -- sitting having lunch at a beach cafe, we just happened to look out to sea, and there was a Common Loon! And just this morning we were taking a stroll in a nearby park -- and there were two Red-breasted Mergansers!
Now I don't claim that I identified these sightings -- but my birder husband did, and was suitably delighted.
A few years ago, after exhaustive expeditions to see an elusive Black Crowned Night Heron, and no success, we gave it up as bad job. Our holiday was nearly over, so we chose to take a boat trip. And -- you've guessed it -- on the dock was perched the aforesaid bird. Which promptly pooped and flapped off.
Accidental Birding at it's best!
Sunday, November 10, 2013
What is this American obsession with CHEESE? No, that's not a joke. As a visitor to the lovely State of Florida, I like to eat out on occasion. And an idle perusal of restaurant menus reveals an unhealthy reliance on dairy.
Not just the ubiquitous cheeseburger. They offer cheese on almost everything! Cheese on eggs. Cheese on chicken. Cheese on ham. On pasta. I haven't come across cheese on ice cream, but it can only be a matter of time.
Now I have nothing against cheese. A nice piece of Cheddar makes a great Ploughman's Lunch, or a satisfying sandwich. A dab of philly is great on crusty bread (and now I'm feeling hungry) but like many other delights, it needs to stay in it's rightful place. Like chocolate. Don't start me on that. I mean, chocolate-covered potato crisps? What mad gourmet thought that one up?
In one supermarket recently I spotted a good twenty varieties of cheese. Mostly imported -- the American varieties leave something to be desired -- cheese in a spray can? Cheese as plasticy squares? -- but really, who needs so many different varieties?
It's clearly a conspiracy. That shadowy entity the USDA are behind it. An attempt to get the American public addicted to cheese... Where will it end...?
Not just the ubiquitous cheeseburger. They offer cheese on almost everything! Cheese on eggs. Cheese on chicken. Cheese on ham. On pasta. I haven't come across cheese on ice cream, but it can only be a matter of time.
Now I have nothing against cheese. A nice piece of Cheddar makes a great Ploughman's Lunch, or a satisfying sandwich. A dab of philly is great on crusty bread (and now I'm feeling hungry) but like many other delights, it needs to stay in it's rightful place. Like chocolate. Don't start me on that. I mean, chocolate-covered potato crisps? What mad gourmet thought that one up?
In one supermarket recently I spotted a good twenty varieties of cheese. Mostly imported -- the American varieties leave something to be desired -- cheese in a spray can? Cheese as plasticy squares? -- but really, who needs so many different varieties?
It's clearly a conspiracy. That shadowy entity the USDA are behind it. An attempt to get the American public addicted to cheese... Where will it end...?
Sunday, September 01, 2013
The Cape comes home! Temporarily.
It's one of the treasures of Britain, kept securely in the British Museum. The Mold Cape is a Bronze Age artifact, which means it dates back to 1600-1900BC. It is one of the most amazing articles from that era. The sheer artistry alone boggles the mind. The artist (and he must have been an artist) had no modern technology, only the simplest of tools.
It was found in the 19th century, by workmen excavating the Hill of the Elves just outside Mold. Originally it was thought to be a piece of horse-harness -- then a warrior's corselet -- the theory now is that it was a ritualcostume for a high-status woman. A priestess? A High Queen? No one knows.
Anyway, it's currently on display in the Wrexham Museum, until September 14th. Well worth a visit!
Friday, August 16, 2013
As Cats Protection supporters, we do a lot of fundraising. This includes street collections -- that that is what DH is going to be doing tomorrow. Dressed as a large white cat. I think we get sympathy money. Anyway, I won't be joining him -- my excuse is that my feet won't stand the standing, if you know what I mean. Well, I have just had a steroid shot into the Morton's Neuroma, and it's still sore. Really it is.
So I'm staying home and hopefully getting some more words down. 11000+ so far. Still a long way to go, but next week the Queen of Plots and I should be able to get our heads together and thrash out something more.... Watch this space!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Computer hate!!!
Hate it, HATE it when the damn thing crashes in the middle of something!
I was blogging about my current inability to write lineally. As in, start at the beginning, go on until you reach the end, then stop. I can't write that way, laudable and great though it may be. My brain doesn't work like that. Hey, even when I read I have been known to skip whole sections. My sad little brain is pigeon-holes, stuffed with ideas, scenes, phrases -- all sorts. When I write, I start clearing the interesting stuff out, discarding the fluff and droppings (I'm sticking with the pigeon analogy, see) and try to beat the bits into some shape. Eventually I have enough to string together into a narrative of sorts.
I'm not alone in this. One of my favourite writers, Diana Gabaldon, apparently does the same. So who am I to say she's wrong?
Hoping that next week I can flog the brain into working again...
I was blogging about my current inability to write lineally. As in, start at the beginning, go on until you reach the end, then stop. I can't write that way, laudable and great though it may be. My brain doesn't work like that. Hey, even when I read I have been known to skip whole sections. My sad little brain is pigeon-holes, stuffed with ideas, scenes, phrases -- all sorts. When I write, I start clearing the interesting stuff out, discarding the fluff and droppings (I'm sticking with the pigeon analogy, see) and try to beat the bits into some shape. Eventually I have enough to string together into a narrative of sorts.
I'm not alone in this. One of my favourite writers, Diana Gabaldon, apparently does the same. So who am I to say she's wrong?
Hoping that next week I can flog the brain into working again...
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Well. 10,000 words into AGAINST THE TIDE, (with Chris Quinton) which is a m/m cop/buddy/thriller set in Tampa. (Why Tampa? Well, I love Florida, and Tampa is a great city. Also I wanted to include the Keys -- Key West, if you didn't know, is the capital of the Conch Republic, and a Mecca for the Beautiful People of all three sexes and inclinations. If you ever get there, don't miss the Mallory Square Sunset Celebration!)
So -- 10,000 words. Trouble is, I don't write linearly. I write scenes and hope to stitch them together eventually. I'm ace at the bromance stuff, the relationship bits, and while I have a pretty good idea of the Plot, Plot isn't my strong point...
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So -- 10,000 words. Trouble is, I don't write linearly. I write scenes and hope to stitch them together eventually. I'm ace at the bromance stuff, the relationship bits, and while I have a pretty good idea of the Plot, Plot isn't my strong point...
This is DH posing for me at the end of Interstate 1.
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