Unusual number of arctic owls

An unusual number of arctic owls are being spotted in the U.S. this year and not in their usual habitats:

The owls live in the Arctic, but when their population spikes or lemmings are scarce, young ones fly south.

“Snowy owl populations are synchronized with their food source, lemmings," wildlife photographer Lillian Stokes, who co-authors the Stokes bird guides, said Dec. 5. “If the lemming population crashes, the owls have to go south in search of food."

A few snowy owls are seen in the U.S. every year, Stokes said. “But this year is phenomenal. People believe this could be historic numbers."

- See more at: http://pikecountycourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131209/NEWS01/131209955/-1/news01/Unusual-number-of-Arctic-snowy-owls-seen-in-US#sthash.2yqdCLBu.dpuf

The owls live in the Arctic, but when their population spikes or lemmings are scarce, young ones fly south.

“Snowy owl populations are synchronized with their food source, lemmings," wildlife photographer Lillian Stokes, who co-authors the Stokes bird guides, said Dec. 5. “If the lemming population crashes, the owls have to go south in search of food."

A few snowy owls are seen in the U.S. every year, Stokes said. “But this year is phenomenal. People believe this could be historic numbers."

- See more at: http://pikecountycourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131209/NEWS01/131209955/-1/news01/Unusual-number-of-Arctic-snowy-owls-seen-in-US#sthash.2yqdCLBu.dpu

The owls live in the Arctic, but when their population spikes or lemmings are scarce, young ones fly south.

“Snowy owl populations are synchronized with their food source, lemmings," wildlife photographer Lillian Stokes, who co-authors the Stokes bird guides, said Dec. 5. “If the lemming population crashes, the owls have to go south in search of food."

A few snowy owls are seen in the U.S. every year, Stokes said. “But this year is phenomenal. People believe this could be historic numbers."

- See more at: http://pikecountycourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131209/NEWS01/131209955/-1/news01/Unusual-number-of-Arctic-snowy-owls-seen-in-US#sthash.2yqdCLBu.dpuf

http://pikecountycourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131209/NEWS01/131209955/-1/news01/Unusual-number-of-Arctic-snowy-owls-seen-in-US

Sir David Attenborough is honored

Great news! Britain's most famous naturalist Sir David Attenborough has been awarded the freedom of the city of Bristol - the highest honor the city can bestow. The award marks the close association between Sir David and the BBC's Natural History Unit. He described the award as a great honor not just for him, but for the whole team. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25412432

More dead whales in the Florida Keys

Associated Press

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Eleven more pilot whales were found dead in the lower Florida Keys on Sunday, believed to be from a pod of 51 that became stranded there last week, and authorities said chances were slim of finding the remaining whales alive.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/09/3808627/eleven-pilot-whales-from-everglades.html 

Snowy Owl on 63rd St. Pier

My friend took this photo of a snowy owl today:

Photo by Jane Masterson

According to the Field Museum in Chicago: They're back! Snowy Owls are staging an impressive flight south of their normal range,  with as many as five being seen at a single location on the Chicago lakefront. Local photographer Jerry Goldner has been closely monitoring them and caught this incredible  image of a Snowy Owl chasing after a Common Goldeneye. Jerry reports that the goldeneye  won this round, diving under the lake just in the nick of time.

The owl is the symbol of the feminine, the moon and the night. The owl is the bird of magic and darkness, of prophecy and wisdom. The owl is associated with Athena. An owl totem gives you the power to extract secrets. Meditate on the owl and things will be revealed. Listen to its voice inside of you. You will hear not what is being said by others, but what is hidden. You can detect subtleties of voice that others cannot. People cannot deceive a person who has an owl totem. Owl people can see into the darkness of others souls. Most owl people are clairvoyant because of this ability. It can be very scary at times. Learn to trust your instincts about people. Let your owl totem guide you.

Snowy Owl Conserve your energy until the time is right; be observant of your surroundings. Has the power of prophecy.

Appalachia Waltz on Thanksgiving

I was listening to WFMT radio station yesterday, Thanksgiving Thursday, when a beautiful piece of music caught my attention -- Appalachia Waltz by Mark O'Connor featuring Yo Yo Ma on violin.

Chairman of Co-operative Bank allegedly on crystal meth and crack cocaine

Mirror.co.uk

Just when you thought banks couldn't sink any lower: how on earth did the Reverend Paul Flowers become Chairman of the Co-operative Bank in 2009??? If these allegations are true, no wonder the bank came close to collapse with this guy at the helm!
More @ http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/paul-flowers-crystal-meth-crack-2803420

Lancashire Bonfire Night

Ten things about Bonfire Night that you probably didn't know at this link:  
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/guy-fawkes-2013-from-timid-testicles-to-gunpowder-plot-truthers-ten-things-about-bonfire-night-you-probably-didnt-know-8922156.html

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot... 

Here are three photos from last night's Bonfire Night celebration at the farm:

Below is a picture of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators Thomas Bates, Robert Wintour, Christopher Wright, John Wright, Thomas Percy, Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby and Thomas Wintour.

Fall Day in Chicago

My dog, Poppy, standing in the burnished maple leaves of a Chicago Fall day (taken earlier today):

Photo: Jane Masterson

Ode to Autumn (by John Keats)

SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,	5
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease;	10
For Summer has o'erbrimm'd their clammy cells.
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;	15
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twinèd flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;	20
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
While barrèd clouds bloom the soft-dying day	25
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river-sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;	30
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Pink-Foot Geese at Martin Mere

Spent the afternoon at Martin Mere WWT Wetland Centre and saw an amazing assortment of birds, including thousands of migrating Icelandic Pink-Foot Geese and Whooper Swans. Unfortunately we couldn't stay until dusk when around 20,000 pink foot geese fly onto the Mere from the surrounding fields, where they spend their daylight hours. A few pink foots can be seen in the photo below which I took around 3.30 p.m. today. http://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/martin-mere/

Photos by Marge Ishmael

Otter watching at Martin Mere

Visited Martin Mere today and watched the Otters. Apparently they are a rare sight as they rarely venture out of their den. Maybe the fact that someone was throwing squid to them had something to do with their afternoon appearance!   For more info. on Ned, Thai and their offspring, see the following link:
http://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/martin-mere/whats-on/2012/07/12/otter-talk-and-feeds/

UK High Street Giants Avoiding Millions in Tax

This is depressing and shocking news...but can't say I'm so surprised:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eurobonds-scandal-the-high-street-giants-avoiding-millions-in-tax-8897591.html

Breathtaking level of food waste in UK (£700 per family on average)

ww.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10066394/Tesco-to-battle-breathtaking-level-of-food-waste.html

From SKY News:

"Every family in the UK wastes an estimated £700 a year throwing away food, according to Tesco, which is launching a campaign to help curb the problem. The supermarket's first ever food waste figures for its operations reveal that in the first six months of this year, 28,500 tons of food waste were generated in Tesco stores and distribution centres. 

The research shows that 68% of salad to be sold in bags is thrown out, as are just under half of bakery items. Around 40% of apples are chucked away, a quarter of grapes are wasted between the vine and the fruit bowl, and a fifth of all bananas are unused - with customers throwing one in 10 in the bin. 

As a result of the findings, the retailer is to end multibuys on large bags of salad and is developing mix-and-match promotions for smaller bags to try to help customers reduce the amount they are wasting.

It is also removing "display until" dates from fresh fruit and vegetables, using smaller cases in stores and rearranging 600 in-store bakeries to reduce the amount of bread on display, with the aim of better stock control and less waste."

Earthquake rumors over giant oarfish mystery

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24546693

Two giant snake-like fish (oarfish) washed up onto Californian beaches in recent days may have died as a result of seismic activity under the seabed that occurs days or weeks before an earthquake, scientists say.

These giant snake-like fish are linked to a Japanese myth that says when they come ashore, an earthquake will follow. In the land of the San Andreas Fault, people listen more carefully to harbingers of doom.  Scientists are also testing the fish for radiation after leaks at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant which could have crossed the Pacific ocean.

Sweden is the best country for old people

Getty Images

Sweden is the best country in the world in which to grow old, a new survey reveals today, closely followed by Norway and Germany, with USA and Britain trailing behind in 8th and 13th place respectively.

Global Rankings Table:  http://www.helpage.org/global-agewatch/data/global-rankings-table/ 

More@http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-24346962

David Attenborough on why sending flour to Africa is balmy

Sending bags of flour to Africa in the hope of preventing famines is barmy, Sir David Attenborough has said. Crises over the lack of food in the Third World were about too many people and too little land. Speaking in advance of David Attenborough’s Rise of Animals, he made a strong case for population control. 
 
“We are heading for disaster unless we do something. If we don’t do something, the natural world will do something.”

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/sep/18/david-attenborough-famine-population

Paws4Prayer4Princess

Photo by Marge

My friend Jane's dog, Princess, is sick with cancer. I was trying to find a prayer for her and came across this website http://paws4prayer.blogspot.co.uk/p/prayers-for-sick-animals.html

"When our beloved animal companion is sick, it's vital to remember the promise of God in Psalm 91: 14-16: Since he clings to me I rescue him, I raise him high, since he acknowledges my name. He calls to me and I answer him: in distress I am at his side, I rescue him and  bring him honor.  Of course, our animals are helpless to raise this cry of and by themselves -- hence, it is our call to be intercessors, on their behalf, in their hour of need. 

To “intercede” is to go or come between two parties, to plead before one of them on behalf of the other. It has been shown that the faithful in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory are one mystical body, with Christ for their head. All that is of interest to one part is of interest to the rest, and each helps the rest: we on earth by honoring and invoking the saints and praying for the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven by interceding for us. The Catholic doctrine of intercession and invocation is set forth by the Council of Trent, which  teaches that the saints who reign together with Christ offer up their own prayers to God for men. It is good and useful to invoke them, and to have recourse to their prayers, aid, and help for obtaining benefits from God, through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, Who alone is our Redeemer and Savior.

And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel. (Revelation 8:4) In addition to the efficacious intercession and prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, there are other saints whose concern for sick or  injured animals is well known, and who provide us with a powerful resource for the intercessory healing of our animal companions."

St. Francis, Pray for Us!

The value of suffering

Daehyun Kim

Thought provoking article by Pico Iyer in today's New York Times Sunday Review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/opinion/sunday/the-value-of-suffering.html?pagewanted=all 

Fukushima radiation levels 18 times higher than previously thought

Tepco employee. Photo: Noboru Hashimoto/EPA

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/09/01/uk-japan-fukushima-idUKBRE9800HH20130901

Radiation levels 18 times higher than previously reported have been found near a water storage tank at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing fresh concern about the safety of the wrecked facility.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said radiation near the bottom of the tank measured 1,800 millisieverts an hour – high enough to kill an exposed person in four hours. Tepco said water levels inside the tank had not changed, indicating there had not been a leak. But the company said it had yet to discover the cause of the radiation spike.

The plant was struck by a powerful tsunami on 11 March 2011. The tsunami smashed into the plant after Japan's north-east coast was rocked by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake. The waves killed almost 19,000 people, while the resulting triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi forced 160,000 people to abandon their homes.

The chairman of the country's Nuclear Regulation Authority, Shunichi Tanaka, said: "We cannot fully stop contaminated water leaks right away. That's the reality. The water is still leaking in to the sea, and we should better assess its environmental impact."

333 dolphins die from virus

Photo: Reuters

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Federal officials say a virus is likely what's causing hundreds of dead bottlenose dolphins to wash ashore along the East Coast. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says 333 dolphins have been stranded between New York and North Carolina since July 1. That's more than nine times the historical average for the region during July and August.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/28/measles-virus-dolphin-deaths

Wednesday's Nature Walk for Kids

Here are some photos from today's Nature Walk for Kids which started at the back door of Museum of Science and Industry (10 a.m.):  
http://passitonchicago.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/nature-walks-for-kids-wednesdays/

Photos by Marge Ishmael

Wonderful Wedding Weekend!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.418534874919301.1073741836.128886350550823&type=1

Sunday morning walk on Hunter's Hill and Harrock Hill

Two photos taken during Sunday morning walk on Hunter's Hill and Harrock Hill. The ruined windmill (below) must have been a hive of activity at one time as it was used to grind local grain. The mill caught fire and burned down in 1880. Tom Culshaw, a local farmer, wrote a verse describing the fire and this was subsequently set to music and recorded by a local folk group. Now it stands in peace; just the place to take a well earned rest.

My brother at ruined windmill on Harrock Hill

View over the West Lancashire Coastal Plain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lancashire_Coastal_Plain

Shark found on New York subway

BBC: "Pigeons and even an opossum have made their way on to the trains before, but never a shark, transit officials said. However, where it came from remains a mystery. Isvett Verde, of Brooklyn, New York, who took a photo of the shark, said she noticed that the empty carriage of the N train "smelled extremely fishy" when she boarded at 8th Street."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23610105

Great egrets and cormorants in Jackson Park

Two photos taken by my friend, Jane, in Jackson Park this week:

Six great egrets and three cormorants.
A butterfly on butterfly weed.

Photos: Jane Masterson

George Clooney tastes sustainability in Nespresso Coffee

Photograph: Nespresso PR

George Clooney -- he's not just a pretty face!

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2013/jul/17/george-clooney-nespresso-coffee-ad

Grizzle girl pigeon rescue

Photo: Marge Ishmael

I'm attaching a couple of photos of a grizzle girl pigeon who got lost on a Cheshire to Lancashire training flight yesterday. I collected her this morning. The nice guy who found her on his windowsill had kept her in a cat carrier with a little dish of water and a dish of bird food. He was renovating and living in a lovely old mansion, Bradlegh Hall (below). Richard III allegedly slept here.....which makes a change from "Oliver Cromwell slept here"...

My dad thinks the wing isn't broken but she has a big 3-inch gash under the left wing - possibly caused by a hawk attack.  I will get some antibiotic powder from my brother. She is resting in a separate compartment of the loft with two other young pigeons, as one of the older male pigeons could attack/savage her.  Fingers crossed!  Maybe I should call myself the "Grizzle Lady"!

Erik Satie: Gnossienne No. 1, 2, 3

Erik Satie is probably my favorite classical composer and I love this YouTube video featuring his Gnossienne No. 1, 2, 3.   And somehow his music goes well with paintings by Edward Hopper, such as the one below:

Idle No More

BBC Radio 4 interview with one of the founders of the Canadian "Idle No More" movement, Jessica Gordon (above right on photo):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01csgh8

“In a gentle way you can shake the world”-- Mahatma Gandhi

Below is an excerpt from an article by Febna Caven on the Cultural Survival website:

"On December 11, 2012, northern Ontario Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence began a hunger strike, calling the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper and the Governor General David Johnston to “initiate immediate discussions and the development of action plans to address treaty issues with First Nations across Canada.” Her peaceful resistance emphasizing the pertinence of dialogue catapulted the IdleNoMore (INM) movement to a new level of urgency.  The movement that began as a resistance against the impending Bill C-45 in Saskatchewan, Canada soon spilled over the boundaries to United States and spread as far as Ukraine and New Zealand as a movement that empowers Indigenous communities to stand up for their lands, rights, cultures, and sovereignty. With vision of a people united for nature, a focus on dialogue and a strong feminine leadership, the movement is a potent counter narrative to the metanarrative of hyper-masculinity of our times.

Ours is a world of hierarchized dualisms. Where spaces for man-woman, culture-nature, the mainstream and the subaltern are all marked out and dominance is ascribed to one over other. Seen as structures that range from patriarchy to capitalism; as “isms” that range from Fordism to ageism; as exhortation for reason, competition and efficiency, the masculine paradigm reigns predominant in our society today. It weaves an interdependent web of oppression involving class, gender, race and nature. A dissent to that web of oppression, to be effective, should also be an interdependent web that weaves strands of values, histories and communities together. The Idle No More Movement, which today is spreading across the world, is a potent example of the feminine appropriating its rightful place. Not only because of the fact that it was a group of women who birthed the movement. But also because of how the movement has evolved and what values have been upheld throughout its course."

IUCN red list of threatened species

Photograph: Boris Roessler/AFP/Getty Images

Tigers all over the world are under threat and the Sumatran tiger is on the brink of extinction due to human encroachment. For other threatened species:  http://www.iucnredlist.org/

Preston Guild Wheel

Yesterday I cycled part of the 21-mile Preston Guild Wheel with a friend:

http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/web/?siteid=5989&pageid=34335

The Preston Guild Wheel is a 21-mile "Greenway" that encircles the city of Preston, linking the city to the countryside. It is both a walking and cycling route. We cycled the part from Avenham Park to Brockholes Nature Reserve at Salmesbury. The Brockholes floating visitor village (see photo below) and hiking trails are well worth a visit: http://www.brockholes.org/

Save the Gran Chaco wilderness

Photograph: Dan Collyns

The second largest wilderness in South America is threatened by farming, ranching and the drugs trade. Biologist Erika Cuéllar says that unless the indigenous inhabitants are involved it will be impossible to save the biodiversity of the Gran Chaco wilderness in Bolivia.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/08/bolivia-indigenous-people-gran-chaco-wilderness

Summer Saturday Afternoon

Seen yesterday afternoon -- a cat in the grass; a friendly Jersey cow; cricket on the village green; my father waiting for his pigeons to return from a race: