Photo by Kevin Cole

For years I would occasionally see what I thought were orioles as I was out in our garden.  I often wondered why I never saw them at the feeders outside our kitchen window where I could get a close up look at them.  Last year I found out why.  The oriole is a nectar eating bird, not a seed eater.  I discovered if I put a large hummingbird feeder up with dollops of jelly on the top, the orioles would come to visit.  I have tried to get a photo of them at the feeder, but they must be the most skittish bird on earth!  Every time we make the slightest movement inside the kitchen window, they fly away.

So, being unable to get a photo of our orioles, included here is a nice photo taken by a guy who has lots of bird photos on his Flicker stream. (click the photo to check them out.)  Also here are a couple of links that show the Bullock’s Oriole that nests here. A very beautiful bird!

Bullock’s Oriole

Google Images of Bullock’s Orioles

And here is a link to the sound of the Bullock Oriole.

Click here to read comments or add your own. Original Article From: WillTaft.com

I have created a custom post type with no sidebars to use for certain photo posts. I think is is nicer to have the larger photo display. Please let me know what you think and how it looks on your specific computer. Thanks!

Click here to read comments or add your own. Original Article From: WillTaft.com

I hope I am still hiking with a smile when I get to this age!

Click here to read comments or add your own. Original Article From: WillTaft.com

How many of you have ever received that email that claims: “Planet Mars will be the brightest object in the night sky this month. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.”  There are many variations of this email and some make even more spectacular claims about the supposed close encounter with the Red Planet.  All are false of course, but as it is human nature to be gullible, the emails circulate to this day.

Tonight is different however!  Tonight is the night of the Super Moon!  Because the moon happens to be at its closest point to earth just as the full moon rises tonight at 8:35 pm pst, it will be almost 15% larger than a normal full moon.  It will be 30% brighter than a full moon is when the moon is at its furthest point from earth.  So if you can, watch the moon rise tonight and be prepared to be impressed… or not.  I personally don’t think a 14% difference in size will be noticeable but I plan to watch anyway.  Here at home the moon rises from behind some hills, over a large empty field, so the horizon effect is spectacular and impresses me under normal circumstances.  Tonight I expect to be almost 15% more impressed.

Click here to read comments or add your own. Original Article From: WillTaft.com

Click here to read comments or add your own. Original Article From: WillTaft.com

I sent this letter to President Obama the week before his inauguration.  Of course I have no idea if he ever saw it, probably not.  Still, I was wondering as we head into this summer of election chaos and frustration, are those of us that elected him happy with the result?  I don’t mean in a lesser of two evils way, I mean do any of us really think he has done all he could have in these past 3+ years?  If he manages to get elected to a second term should we expect more of the same or a renewed vigor and enthusiasm for the things he promised in his 2008 campaign?

Dear President Obama:

Tuesday, on the official first day of your presidency, I will have a request. I know many are expecting you to get us out of Iraq, Guantanamo, the economic morass, of any number of other problems facing us this year. The expectations are soaring, but the reality of how these issues will be resolved is more down to earth. Many expect that you and the people you have chosen for your administration will act quickly to solve these problems, and in doing so transform the current state of the U.S. and the World. It will be difficult, and in some cases impossible, to meet all these expectations. I am sure you know that and will handle that reality with your ever present aplomb. My request is for another kind of transformation, perhaps an even more important transformation.

You did your best to run your campaign with transparency, character and integrity. Please bring these back to the office of the U.S. Presidency. The dignity you displayed in the campaign will serve us all well over the next four years. You will be attacked by your political enemies. You will be frustrated by the complexity of the many issues facing us right now. You will be let down by some of those you have chosen to work with your administration. You will tire at times with so many of us expecting so much of you. But please, stay true to the message of inclusion and hope you displayed in the campaign.

Although in vastly different ways, both of our last two Presidents let us down. These letdowns have greatly affected the collective psyche of our nation and the world. Our last President worried all the time about what his legacy will be. I suspect that is not your style, but in the end all Presidents, without exception, will have a legacy. Please allow the character, integrity, steadiness, transparency, and hope many of us see in you personally not only be the pillars of your administration, but also part of your legacy.

The hope you can inspire in people is a beautiful thing and you have managed this inspiration well. But be cautious, even though hope has wings, please handle ours with care. Let it soar, but don’t let it fly away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For what it is, this is my letter to President Obama.  If you are inspired to write your own, whether now or at some point in the future, please insert a link to it in the form below.  If you find others out there who have done the same thing, and their letter is not included below, please insert that link also.  If you want to write a letter, but have no place to post it, feel free to include it as a comment on this post.

.

Click here to read comments or add your own. Original Article From: WillTaft.com

It was there, under the water, but seems to be invisible in the photo.

Click here to read comments or add your own. Original Article From: WillTaft.com

Finally some good news on the health front, even if it makes absolutely no sense.  If you have ever been in a bar you must wonder if these researchers have been living under a rock, but that is what this new study actually shows.  Men given two pints of beer were 40% better at problem solving than men who had nothing to drink.  I don’t know what happens as beer consumption goes up, but I suspect the increase in smartness does not continue correspondingly.

In fact this is very interesting to me given the results of a different recent study that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer.   I wondered if the two things could be related so I conducted my own study.  I got several of my buddies to drink 5 beers each and took note of the results.  Every one of them gained a few pounds, talked incessantly without making any sense, became emotionally hyperactive, couldn’t parallel park, became unable to think rationally, argued with me over nothing, and refused to apologize when proved wrong.  Maybe I should think twice before I publish these results anywhere else.

Click here to read comments or add your own. Original Article From: WillTaft.com

I am a big fan of a great game called geocaching.  I have written many posts on the activity and include my current stats over there —–>> in the right sidebar.  Even though I have been geocaching since 2004, my numbers are not as large as some long-time geocachers.  I think this is because I gravitate towards the caches that are out in the woods, or hidden at interesting places to visit.  I tend to geocache when I am out hiking or exploring, but I rarely go out for a run on urban geocaches just to build up the stats.  I am not saying the days of urban caching are not fun, it just seems that for whatever reason,I seem to find them one at a time rather than in big bunches. Since I am always in need of more exercise, if I have the time to go looking for a cache I usually incorporate a hike or walk into the search.  Now, according to a video I found and embedded below, I can make even the in-town geocaches good for my physical fitness!

I also seem to geocache in a solitary fashion these days.  I am often out with a group of hikers when I find a cache, but it is very unusual for any of them to even know what geocaching is unless they have seen me searching for one before.  They may have a vague opinion of geocaching as something geeks do on the rare occasions they leave their offices or computers.  I put that idea in the same category of misconceptions that “homeschooled children lack socialization” lives in.  I educate them as best as I can, but rarely seem to interest anyone enough to get them to help me search.  When my children were younger, we used to cache together a lot.  Although my son is still game for the occasional geocache, now that they are older and busy with their own lives, that does not seem to happen as often.

Here are a few questions for all of you…..  Have you ever heard of geocaching?  If yes, have you ever searched for a geocache?  If you have not taken part in the activity, does it seem like something you would enjoy?  If it seems like it would not interest you, I am especially interested in the reasons for that.

Click here to read comments or add your own. Original Article From: WillTaft.com

Finally some much needed attention is being paid to the role of certain pesticides in the Honey Bee disaster known as Colony Collapse Disorder.  This definitely falls into the category of “are any of us really surprised”?  I know I am not surprised, having long thought the evidence of pesticide playing a part in the disorder was plain to see.  But studies must be done and now the results of those studies are starting to be publicized.  The real question is will regulating authorities listen and stand up to the monster corporations that make millions on the sale and use of these pesticides?

Beekeepers and environmental organizations are paying attention of course, and have filed an emergency request to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to get some additional control and limitations on the use of the pesticides known as neonicotinoids.  Four years ago (!) a video on the dangers of pesticides to bees plainly stated the concerns everyone had at the time. Everyone at least it seems other than EPA officials and the pesticide manufacturers  Studies are now being completed that support the fears beekeepers and others had years ago.  Will these studies result in action now being taken to limit these pesticides?  It is just my old uneducated opinion, but here is what I think.

The neonicotinoid pesticides, like so many other chemicals were approved for use based in part on studies funded by the pesticide manufacturers.  Conflict of interest maybe?  Definitively.  This is a common procedure though because the regulators do not have the money to finance enough independent research to make sure products like this are safe before being approved.  Certainly the chemical manufacturers and even some of the regulators would claim that the industry studies are controlled and reviewed to the point where they can be relied on.  My common sense, however, tells me otherwise.

Now that enough time has passed so that independent studies are showing the long suspected link between these pesticides and colony collapse, will action to limit the use of neonicotinoids be taken?  Don’t hold your collective breaths.  The pesticides are now not only very popular with farmers and big commercial food growers, they have made their way into hundreds of products used by homeowners and gardeners.  This is a multimillion, (maybe multibillion?), dollar industry now and companies like Bayer and others will not allow tighter regulation to occur without a big, expensive, fight.

Just as one example of agricultural use of these pesticides; 90% or more of all corn seed is coated with the chemicals.  When the corn grows, the chemical is then found in all parts of the corn plant, including the nectar and pollen that bees collect.  Now the manufacturers, and even some federal regulators, say the levels found in corn plants are not great enough to harm bees.  Recent studies, however, are starting to show otherwise.  Additionally, my pesky common sense is telling me that if the levels are high enough to control the insect pests of the corn, how could they not be high enough to have a harmful effect on the bees?

But how arrogant am I paying any attention at all to my common sense on this issue?  Maybe, just maybe, a whole lot less arrogant and less self-interested than these pesticide manufacturers are when they pay attention only to their bottom line.

Click here to read comments or add your own. Original Article From: WillTaft.com