Funky Birdlings

© Lesley Breen Withrow

Check out this delightfully funky bird pattern by illustrator and designer Leslie Breen Withrow, then fly on over to her blog and view her other wonderful work: http://lesleybreenwithrow.blogspot.com/2012/12/bird-pattern.html I'll have a funky bird skirt made of this, thank you very much!

Leslie and her family live right here in Rhode Island, and her husband Steven Withrow is the co-producer of the uber fabulous Library of the Early Mind, a documentary that explores children's literature and its vital importance. If you care about kids' books and kids' minds, it's a must see: http://www.libraryoftheearlymind.com/About.html It's also very entertaining. 

Strange, Sweet Homecoming

Rainbow lorikeets, Noosaville, Queensland

It's been a quiet blog start to 2012 and very quiet for me creatively, too, but with good reason. It's funny really how the best intentions in the world (I will write every day, I will journal! Will blog? Oh, will I!) mean nothing when you find yourself in a situation which, though reasonably planned out, was essentially unanticipateable. (Yes, I'm aware that's not a word, but it fits.)  


I'm *home* in Australia, for the first time in five and a half years! It's a strange homecoming, in some ways, but maybe all homecomings are like that a bit. You know just what to expect, but they still deliver copious quantities of the unexpected. Granted, I've had some rather incredibly tedious paperwork-y, dealing-with-personal-effects-in-storage, and medical-ish things to take care of here (while still managing my editing schedule), which have taken lots of time, vast amounts of energy, and which I've more or less just had to grit my teeth to get through. And I'm missing my little girl. 


BUT it's been unspeakably lovely too, to see my family, to see my closest friends (who are also really my family), and to find an exquisite moment here and there to wander along the Australian coastline or through the bush. If you have never been to Australia, I hope you will place her high on your list of places to go. She is stunning and rugged, cultured and caffeinated and foodie, and her people are down-to-earth, warm, and generous on the whole. She'll launch an assault on your senses the moment you set foot on her: the pungency of the eucalyptus trees, the subtle shades of bush-land and the startling aqua-blue ocean, the overwhelming and constant sounds of more birds than you've ever seen in one place.


A few pics of things I've seen so far: 

Mt. Cooroy (one of a number of volcanic plugs), Queensland  

Hell's Gates, Noosa Heads National Park, Queensland

On the golf-course near my mum's house! 

Sorrento Back Beach, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

I'm hoping to do a picture or two a day for the final two weeks of my stay and blog...now things are settling down a bit. 

Sunday Hikes: Among the Cairns

This week's hike was in George B. Parker Wildlife Refuge in Coventry, Rhode Island, another really pretty offering from Audobon's Passport to the Trails. 


Here several trails wend their way through 860 acres of maple swamp, pine, brooks, rocky streams, and old birch forest; the birches are particularly pretty right now with their young golden green leaves. There is also a historic (1700's) farmhouse and nature center, which were closed when we went, but where we attended a fun maple sugaring event in late winter.

  

There are also more than a hundred 'mysterious' cairns, built by... well, there are a few theories, but I suspect the most obvious answer is correct. 

I decided I'd test my Vibram Five-Finger shoes, which I use for 'barefoot' running, to see how they bear up as a hiking shoe, and they were great. It's a totally different experience to be able to feel the ground as you walk, and so much better than regular walking shoes, considering my back issues. Even after 4.5 miles of rocky and hilly trail, my feet felt terrific. 

And I was thrilled to see my first scarlet tanager.

Distance: variable, as short as 1 mile... we did the entire blue trail, which was just over 4.5 miles. Make sure you grab a trail map at the information shelter before you set out. 


Difficulty: variable. The blue trail ranges from moderate to hard in places. Very rocky, rooty, and hilly, but not difficult if you're fit and like a good walk. 


Dogs: no

Isn't Spring Grand?

I saw this pair on my early morning walk today:

Sunday Hikes: Wild Kingdom

Sunday came early this week, on Monday afternoon to be exact, when we decided we’d do another trail in Audobon’s Passport to the Trails.

Fisherville Brook—a 937 acre refuge in Exeter, Rhode Island—is a must see. The trail wends its way through stately pine rocky forest down to a picturesque lake, swampland, and streams. 

Bird-life abounds and no wonder: the fields are full of birdhouses.

Funky apartment complex!

There’s a really interesting historic cemetery in one field:

Stay on the trail near the cemetery or beware the black racers in the grass: saw three in one spot and according to a friend’s research they “bite often and hard” when cornered. Luckily, these did not seem at all aggressive, and I was able to get close enough to take some shots:

Wild turkey

Tree Swallow

Riddup!

Difficulty: easy (a few little hills here and there), with boardwalks and bridges over swampy areas.

Distance: several loops to choose from, ranging from short to about 1.5 miles. We did about 3.5 miles in all.

Dogs: no

Bird of the Week: Piping Plover

I am excited to see that the piping plovers have just returned from their southern wintering to the Narrow River end of Narragansett Beach. 

Some pictures I took early this morning:

This species is classed as endangered by habitat destruction, and their nesting area on Narragansett Beach is cordoned off to protect them:

Learn more about piping plovers here. 

Educational Intermission: Clever Birdies

Shaping of Hooks in New Caledonian Crows
A. A. S. Weir, J. Chappell, A. Kacelnik
Science 297, 981 (2002)


I wonder what he'd be capable of if he had opposable thumbs. 

Quack du jour

Isn't spring grand?