Bluebirds March 2018

 

Mealworms at the kitchen window

 

March 10 They certainly appear to have taken possession.

March 11 Sunday (actually it looked like this on Friday)

March 18 Sunday. 

2017 Recap

September 9, 2017
Looks like a young Rufous-sided Towhee? Female?

  Catbird

 September 15, 2017
I was excited to find this Underwing moth caught in our window and further pleased to be able to rescue it. Perhaps it is the Ilia Underwing. When I was young I remember thinking Aholiba Underwing, but reference says that's a western cousin.
Had it not been trapped as it was, the lovely hindwing colour wouldn't have been evident.

Bass String Conundrum

March 11, 2018 

I decided to try tape-wound strings on the beautiful Martin bass that Nancy got me decades ago. But, as usual, every solution creates a problem. 

 Problem #1: at the ball end, the winding is too fat to fit in the slot in the bridge.

I suppose I could get to it with a file but jeez this is my only Martin and I'm a little bit reluctant to hack away as I might with a "lesser" instrument.

Problem #2:  The same blue winding extends too far from the ball, such that it would lay over the saddle. To my mind, that just ain't right.

Shown here is the G (lightest) string, clearly in the wrong hole but that's the only slot it will fit in (per problem #1).

 

Solution #1: Not finding the right thickness wood and not wanting to start a major archaeological dig to excavate power tools I superglued some bits of light shim together and drilled this piece to anchor and space the strings. 

You might be wondering what that crud is on that otherwise lovely ebony bridge. I am too. Gotta scrub it off one of these days.

Here's the internal view. 

You may wonder what the heck's that copper foil about. When I first played this instrument plugged in (it has an under-saddle piezo) I found it had a hum. Grounding the strings made that go away and that is how I did it. So I fear that problem may come back and if it does I'm not sure what I'll do. I can wrap my new spacer with foil to connect the strings to my ground, but as the tape-wound strings will be electrically isolated from my fingers it may be in vain. Stay tuned.  

I don't know the Martin model but the strings I'm trying are D'Addario ETB92.

Hawk1Dove0

Coffee. 

A bit after 8am my brain unfogged and registered something odd on the ground below our kitchen window.  Camera.

8:30am, about 10 minutes into the session, IMG_1940-csL.jpg

With those grey feathers sticking out I first thought Titmouse. I had yet to notice the wing, bottom left. Eventually it became apparent that it had to be something larger, a dove perhaps? Not being good with hawk IDs, I only knew what it was not, by the tail, i.e. not a red-tailed hawk. Tom W. on FB suggests Coopers, mentioned eye colour, let's see if a closer head shot helps. 

10:43am IMG_2111-csS.jpg

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Most of these were shot through two panes of glass which I'd thankfully cleaned just last week. At some point I got that down to one pane.

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When we couldn't wait around any more we deliberately spooked it by opening the remaining pane with the camera running in video mode: 
https://youtu.be/geC8UfV53pE 1:16pm 

Here are a few frames from that, making it a little easier to see that there was enough left to carry out for future snacking.

IMG_2135, Scale
In this picture, the man-made item is of metal tubing about 5/8" diameter.

A little GIF sequence from video frames, I call it the Yawn. 

I didn't pick up any sound with this.

The longest feather of the dearly departed is around 4 inches. I think those white tipped ones are tail-feathers and confirm the dove diagnosis. 
Note: I blurred out the top half of Nancy's tape. Who uses tenths of feet anyway?! Just confuses me.

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G's Special Guitar Pick

Nov 4, 2017

Somebody has already marketed (and no doubt patented) something like this, but my music friends can attest I came up with a wooden pick-holder something like this decades ago. I didn't copy anybody's idea. Trouble is I keep losing them and have to make another. This time I thought I'd try InstaMorph. I think I used about 17 grams of it.

Seems to work, I need to get used to playing with it but I'm optimistic it will help my flat-picking and strumming as much as the previous models did.

 

Hatteras Holiday

2017 September - Avon NC

Blog Under Construction

1st stop, Edwin & Sandy's in Virginia. Praying Mantis.

When we arrived (Sept 17) the surf was pretty vigorous.

Possibly as a result of hurricanes Irma or Jose?

Footage of waves here, but the audio part is from later in the week when the wind was hardly blowing (the waves were smaller too).

 3 days later.

Someone said this was fairly recent damage, just a few houses down.

House location: 35.345757, -75.502096

 

Green Tree Frog by the pool at the Mariner's Light.

The next picture is for scale, 1-7/8" diameter pool hose.

 

 I think this is a Willet. 

Eventually I'll post some beach-bird video.

 

Willet and Sanderling

  

Sanderling

   

On the Avon Pier. Ruddy Turnstone? 

   

As yet unidentified skipper on Blanket Flower.

A different skipper. Oughta be able to ID this one.

 

That ubiquitous Mockingbird

Now some people-pictures.

Peanut

Pete on the pier.

My first ever time surfing. 

This was Friday 22, and the waves were back in strength, enough to knock you over.

Thanks Laura Marlow for cool photo and video!

Jeff, Trish and Scott on the boardwalk, haircutting, wine-tasting. 

Tricia did some great enhancing of the group shot.

High water and our first traffic jam on the way home, still on Hatteras Island.

Nancy, Bodie Island Lighthouse

 

Coffee with Edwin and Sandy.

Nearing home, this cool cloud guided us. Nancy said it looked like a conch.