Earth Hour

As Earth Hour sweeps across 24 time zones, here is the Earth Hour 2015 official video and a website link: https://www.earthhour.org/

California's Sea Lion crisis

Hundreds of sick and starving sea lion pups are washing up on California beaches, and scientists say they don’t know when it will end.

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/03/17/things-to-know-about-californias-sea-lion-crisis/21154585/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00001348

Appalachian Spring -- Aaron Copland

Today being the first day of Spring, it seems appropriate to play this lovely piece by Aaron Copland - to me, as a relatively new citizen of the U.S., he is a "pure American" composer...and "Appalachian Spring” captures the essence of an ideal America: one of open fields and endless possibilities that many immigrants dream of when they come here. Part of the score is a melody based on a traditional Shaker song, “Simple Gifts.”

A very small Junco on a very big rock...

Photo: Marge Ishmael

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junco

I was just about to zoom in when the Junco flew off.  Luckily my friend Jane got a closer shot (below):

Photo: Jane Masterson

St. Patrick's Day Parade

It felt very springlike at today's St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown Chicago.

Photo: Marge Ishmael

Photo: Marge Ishmael

And, yes, they do dye the Chicago River green, with an eco friendly vegetable dye (I'm told):

Photo: Dani Fasone

UK woodland being sold off

Privatisation of UK woodlands is happening by the back door. Plans to build luxury holiday cabins, majority-owned by venture capitalists, in public forests put protected wildlife and their habitats at risk:  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2015/feb/17/privatisation-uk-woodlands-happening-by-backdoor

There was a similar article in the Telegraph back in 2011. Between 1997 and 2010 the Forestry Commission sold almost 12,000 hectares of forest: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/8964197/Swathes-of-British-woodland-sold-off.html

Geese at 63rd Street

A warm day at 63rd Street Beach (around 55 degrees Fahrenheit) and the geese are enjoying it as much as the humans!

Photo: Marge Ishmael

And there were some white-winged scoters:

Photo: Jane Masterson