Fox Squirrel on New Year's Eve

Photo: Marge Ishmael

New bird feeder and a wild turkey

Fascism, the 1930s and the 21st Century - BBC News

Definitely worth reading: a comparison of 1930s and contemporary fascism by Mark Mardell. 
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-38317787

All Along the Watchtower

Jimi Hendrix's version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" seems appropriate for these strange times. Dylan said: "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way. Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."
 

There must be some kind of way out of here,
Said the joker to the thief,

There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Businessmen - they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None will level on the line
Nobody of it is worth.
No reason to get excited,
The thief - he kindly spoke,

There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now
The hour's getting late.
All along the watchtower
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
Barefoot servants too
Outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl, hey.

 

The Human Family - Apple

Best ad of 2016, featuring poet Maya Angelou:

Tiffany dome

 Largest Tiffany glass dome in the world at Chicago Cultural Center.

Photo: Marge Ishmael

 

Somewhere only we know

Heard this song by Keane at my local coffee shop today. Can't believe it's from 2004:

Multicultural

We are all different and yet all the same...

Black Swallowtail and Skipper butterflies

Two butterflies at Bobolink Meadow yesterday:

Photos: Marge Ishmael

The rapid decline of the British hedgehog

At the current rate of decline, British hedgehogs will be gone by 2025... http://www.wsj.com/video/britain-hedgehogs-hit-a-rough-patch/A65BD2FC-1D67-4E9F-870E-C35B22857F89.html

http://www.mrwallpaper.com/Hedgehog-wallpaper/

U.N. admits role in Haiti cholera epidemic

Stunning news in today's New York Times: confirms the idea that the U.N. is a Remington typewriter in a Smartphone world: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/world/americas/united-nations-haiti-cholera.html

An earlier New York Times article from March this year: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/opinion/sunday/i-love-the-un-but-it-is-failing.html

Black-crowned night heron

We saw this black-crowned night heron with a fish this evening at Bobolink meadow, overlooking the lagoon.  http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/black-crowned-night-heron

Photo by Jane Masterson

Common yellowthroat

Spotted a common yellowthroat (female) this evening in Bobolink Meadow.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Yellowthroat/id

Photos: Marge Ishmael

Also this butterfly but not sure what type:

Half of US food is thrown away

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/13/us-food-waste-ugly-fruit-vegetables-perfect

See this link to the Real Junk Food Project : http://therealjunkfoodproject.org/

Nature walk

Three photos from this morning's nature walk: monarch butterfly, common yellow throat, song sparrow:

Photos: Marge Ishmael

Summer solstice and full moon walk

Three photos from last week's summer solstice, full moon walk on Monday June 20th.

UK Brexit poster

This poster seems appropriate, following all the acrimony over the Brexit/Leave vote last Thursday:

Democracy is far too important to be the preserve of the elite (Giles Fraser)

There are very few journalists that I find inspiring, but the Guardian's Giles Fraser is one of them:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2016/jun/23/democracy-is-far-too-important-to-be-the-preserve-of-the-elite

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giles_Fraser

Japanese Iris and Clematis

My Japanese Irises and Clematis are out now.

Woodland phlox and columbines

Photo: Marge Ishmael

Woodland phlox (above): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlox_divaricata
Columbines (below): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquilegia

Photo: Marge Ishmael

Indigo Bunting

Indigo bunting singing its heart out at Burnham Nature Sanctuary: http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/indigo-bunting

Puccini aria

Listening to WFMT radio and a beautiful Puccini aria by Dorothy Kirsten.
"Chi il bel sogno di Doretta" from Puccini's La Rondine:

Cuckoo

One bird that I miss from Europe is the cuckoo. You don't find them here in the U.S. My father used to sing this song: "Cuckoo Cuckoo, what do you do?" and he sang it as a boy soprano in his church and school choirs.

Cuckoo, cuckoo, what do you do?
In April I open my bill;
In May I sing night and day;
In June I change my tune;
In July far far I fly;
In August away I must.

Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany's

Black Skimmer & Egret (Charleston, SC)

Egret (photos Marge Ishmael)

Black skimmer

My flowering dogwood tree

My favorite dogwood trees are in bloom this weekend in N.W. Indiana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornus

Photo: Marge Ishmael

Families win case against fracking company

Two couples were awarded nearly $4.25 million today after a federal jury found one of the largest natural gas producers in Pennsylvania was responsible for the contamination of their well water.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/03/10/3758832/dimock-fracking-case-decided/

Weekend in the snowy woods of N.W. Indiana

Fracking in Lancashire

American actor Mark Ruffalo has called on Prime Minister, David Cameron, to abandon fracking and leave fossil fuels in the ground: 

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/13/fracking-lancashire-terrible-injustice-mark-ruffalo

Buck and doe

Spotted through our window last weekend - a young buck and doe:

New Bernie Sanders ad

Young white-tailed deer

Young white-tailed deer outside my bedroom window last weekend. I wonder if it was getting a bit of warmth from the cabin and that's why it slept so close. Bit blurry -- taken through a glass window.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_deer

Oil boom over in North Dakota

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/08/us/built-up-by-oil-boom-north-dakota-now-has-an-emptier-feeling.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Bernie Sanders ad in Iowa

Mute swan

This afternoon we saw two mute swans at Jackson Harbor Yacht Club and here is one of them:
http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/mute-swan

Photo: Marge Ishmael

The Third Coast

Walking the dog by Lake Michigan today and watching the waves out on the lake. I suppose this is why they refer to the Great Lakes as the Third Coast:

Photo: Marge Ishmael

The missing whales

https://www.thedodo.com/whales-annual-trip--1538944738.html