Mexican Standoff

A mexican standoff is basically an impasse or a stalement. Each side is waiting for the other side to do something. It is a standard movie cliche now thanks to frequent use in spaghetti westerns and B-movies. (Quentin Tarantino, one of Hollywood's most overrated directors, uses them quite a bit, too.)

Anyhow, I saw my own mini-mexican standoff today. I don't know what led up to it, but by the time I was aware of it, the situation between the Northern Goshawk and Fox Squirrel was already a tense draw.

The squirrel, to his credit, was not an idiot. While the goshawk ( a huge female) could have chased him on foot under table (they can and will do such a thing) , she seemed content to sit on top of the table for the most part. I'm not trying to be anthropomorphic here, but it was almost as if the squirrel was sizing up the abilities and the commitment of the hawk. From the "safe zone" under the table, the squirrel would make a short dash out only to be "chased", in a very lethargic way, by the hawk. Each time, the squirrel would zig-zap in that incredible fashion that only they can do (usually seconds before they disappear under your car's front tire). A few moments later (which I'm sure felt like hours to the squirrel), the standoff would resume. According to the time stamps on my camera, this went on for almost 90 seconds. If you think about it, that is a looooooong time.......

Finally, likely knowing the next few steps could be his last, the squirrel ran like hell for the woods. During that 20 yard sprint, I could really see the hunting technique (Hah!) of the goshawk. Instead of just running that damn rodent down and footing it to death, she went airborne about two to four feet off the ground and fluttered down towards the squirrel. Yeah, great. How embarrassing. Fluttering is for butterflies. During these painfully slow descents, the squirrel had time to basically check his email, call his squeeze, and make dinner reservations. The combination of stuttering stops and starts with the zigging and zagging did the trick. Those 20 yards were behind him and into to the woods he went.

Sad to say, the hunting strategy of the goshawk was almost pathetic. Sure, they are one of the toughest birds of prey on the continent, but this one was a total dufous. I don' t think I have ever seen such a half-hearted or incompetent attempt at hunting, by anything, ever. Seriously, if this bird does not get into "hunter-killer mode" quick, she's dead. I can't believe she survived this long.

I managed this final pic before she slipped off down the nature trail. Embarrassed, no doubt. A few minutes later, a swarm of robins, making quite a ruckus, came hurtling out of the woods. I'm not sure, but I think they were laughing.....

Today Is The Day

Today is the day. No, not Groundhog Day. That was yesterday. Apparently, the little rodent was to send a text message, but the account got hacked. Whatever.

No, today is February 3rd and is known to some as "the day the music died". In the pre-dawn hours of this day in 1959, a small plane carrying Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and JP Richardson ("The Big Bopper") crashed shortly after take-off from a small airfield in Iowa. The pilot, Roger Peterson, died as well.

As a complete and total hack behind both the drums and guitar, I can appreciate the talent these guys had and the loss to music overall. This is especially true with Holly's death. Even to this day, he mentioned and honored by the likes of The Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan. Wow, I could go on and on....

Looking back on episodes like this, the mind can certainly wander with an entire series of that peculiar question - "What if...."
- What if Peterson refused to fly knowing he was not qualified to do so?
- What if Waylon Jennings had been on the plane instead of Richardson?
- What if the heater on the tour bus had been working correctly?
- What if the tour had been scheduled to allow for proper travel time between gigs?
- What if Holly had clean clothes?
- What if Holly's wife had been on tour with him?
- What if no one died? Or only Holly? Valens?

So where would music be today if these pioneers had not died so early in their careers? I'll guess we'll never know, but I would like to think there would be no hip-hop....

#697 and #698

So, I spent a bit of time tonight with Uncle Steve and an elf.

We......wait, I just re-read that first sentence.

Please let me try again.

So, I spent some time tonight critiquing Uncle Steve's Irish Stout and the 4 Elf Winter Warmer Ale.

The stout (#697), from Shorts Brewing Company, was a visual trick. It is the kind of drink you could pass to someone without telling them what it is and they might have a slug thinking it was a Coke. Of course, they could only do it if they never took a whif. Once they did that, there is no way they could be fooled. The smell of chocolate and a slight burned "something" would be a dead giveaway. That chocolate (and coffee) sensation carried through the taste and into the finish, as well. A hint of vanilla was at the finish, too. But, that overriding "burned" sensation never really left. On top of all that, the carbonation was way too high (in my opinion) while the body was not even close to what I would expect from a stout. It simply was not thick enough. In fact, it wasn't thick at all. I have to give a 3 out of 5. If I was in a bad mood, I might give it a 2. Contrary to the label, I would suggest that Leprechaun magic is not back.

The Elf (#698) hails from the Dark Horse Brewing Company in Marshall, Michigan (not to be confused with the Marshall Brewing Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma). You may recall that I visited this place a few weeks back. While the beers that night was pretty damned good, I'm afraid the Elf comes up a bit, um, short (sorry). I think the brewers may have "low elf esteem" and thought it was a good idea to dump every known spice into this beer. While the texture (creamy) and carbonation were perfectly balanced, the addition of clove, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, salt, motor oil, bells from red shoes, and kitchen sink extract were a bit much. By the time I finished it, I was all spiced out - you might argue my elfactory nerve was trashed. While not really noticeable, this beer apparently has a high alcohol content. If you drink too much, you might suffer from a "elf inflicted wound". Call a designated driver. They'll be the one in the mini-van. 3 out of 5.

Gray Days Again

If you are hopelessly bored in life and read my last post, you may have noticed that I mentioned the weather has not been that cooperative for me as of late. Yesterday? Gray and clouds. Today? Go figure - gray and clouds. What do the two days have in common? Yeah, you guessed it - they were both days off. There seems to be a pattern here...

So, despite the rotten weather, I made a go of some shooting. Yesterday, while at Dingell Park in Ecorse, I had a great chance to take some pics of some cool waterfowl including American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck and Common Goldeneye until that Bald Eagle came and scared them all away! Anyhow, I managed a pic (at left) of some Redheads in flight as they all returned. Once again, the lack of light shafted me. If there had been some sun, who knows what I could managed. I suspect something at least average. On a positive note, I did manage a glimpse of a Northern Goshawk as it sliced it's way over the treetops next to the park. Very cool.

Today, I opted to make a swing through Elizabeth Park in Trenton. By my count, I would say there are 1.39 million Fox Squirrels running around. All one needs to do is stop the car and they scurry out by the thousands (I mean it - thousands!). I must have been just behind the free-munchies truck as the little rodents, some with mange, were running around with entire slices of bread in their mouths. Comical, but sad. Needless to say, I was happy to find one who would not approach my car when I stopped and seemed to understand what native foods are all about. That Goshawk up the road at Dingell Park needs to quit wasting her time there and move here for the season.

By the way, my next day off is Saturday. It is now guaranteed to be cloudy. Plan accordingly.

Case Study - Don't Forge The Gear

I am convinced I am a solid novice photographer, but I do enjoy time spent with my camera. That said, I won't lie - I sometimes DON'T like it when I forget to bring some important gear and the weather isn't cooperating.

Case Sudy #1

Yesterday, I, with my good friends Don and Natalie, headed out to do some birding (hmmm, imagine that - me birding with friends....). Anyhow, after dipping on the Iceland Gulls at the Visteon Pond (but securing two Glaucous Gulls instead), we opted to check some hotspots for winter owls. They have been sorely lacking this winter here in Metro Detroit.

One of those hotspots includes Oakwoods Metropark. Knowing that Michigan Memorial Park, right across the river, has some good habitat too, we opted to check it out. Imagine our excitement when we confirmed the raptor sitting on the crucifix was a Merlin!

While I was able to "save" the picture (positive exposure compensation and some minor Photoshopping), the whole situation was almost a complete loss. The skies were much darker gray than what the picture shows (the exposure compensation (+1) blew out the gray and made it almost white) and the sun was getting closer to the horizon with every passing minute so my situation was not going to improve. Plus, the bird and the post were very dark. Unfortunately, taking a picture of a dark subject on a brighter background can be a tough. What could have helped me with the shot? My external flash with the Better Beamer. So why didn't I use it? Like a bonehead, I left it on my kitchen table. Had it been with me, I could have put some light on the bird, limiting my need to overexpose, thus keeping the background a more realistic gray instead of that fake white.

Note to self - bring all your camera gear. Don't leave parts behind.

Case Study #2

Today, solo, I went back over to the boneyard with flash in hand. No Merlin. Fine. Heading back to my place, I spied a Kestrel hunting a field not far from my place (a half mile away, to be exact). I basically crawled halfway out of my sunroof and got the pic below. What a difference a flash can make a gray day.

Granted, both images are stunningly sub-average, but you can really see a difference, can't you? Now, if I can just get these small darlings to perch on something eye-level 30 feet from my driver's side window in front of a pleasing background with good lighting and no traffic of any kind.

Is that asking too much?