Sunday Concert: Both Shall Row

When Sheila and I merged our record collections in 1971 we found a number of duplications. We both had some PP&M I remember. We also both had James Taylor albums. Here is James singing an ancient folk song that we often sing at our occasional "hoots". "The Water is Wide"


This beautiful tune is now used for a wonderful hymn based on the 13th chapter of First Corinthians. Here is a children's choir singing "The Gift of Love".

Poison E-mails

I haven't checked in on The Questing Parson as often as I ought lately. He usually hits the nail on the head, and has again with this post:

Dear Jack,

I received your email this morning. As the pastor who baptized you, I am a bit disturbed...

(Read more)

Learning in the Great Outdoors #12

Charlie at 10,000 Birds has done a magnificent job of hosting the May edition of Learning in the Great Outdoors. Check it out. His photography alone is worth the visit!

I am neck deep in the usual end-of-school-year fuss and have been too busy to get to the blog much. Please check back here every now and then.

Call for Submissions!

Charlie at 10,000 Birds has issued a call for submissions for the May edition of Learning in the Great Outdoors.

If you haven't visited 10,000 Birds lately, you should check it out. Charlie and company have redesigned the site to make it even more entertaining and helpful.

If you have written or read an interesting post about the great outdoors, submit it to Charlie today. If you have a suggestion of a deserving website that should be noticed by those interested sharing nature with children, pass it along. Do you have a favorite nature-related children’s website that would be a candidate for the Virtual Outdoors award? Send it to Charlie. Would you like to see this carnival grow? Copy this Call for Submissions to your own blog! And after Charlie posts #12 (around May 12), post an announcement and link on your blog. Help us make Learning in the Great Outdoors a great tool for anyone interested in watching children learn in the context of the environment around us.

Email charlie10000birds - AT - gmail - DOT - com.

Birds of Yucatan

In looking through the many pics from our five days on the Yucatan peninsula, I noticed a number of birds. So for a first collection of shots let's pick a few of those. Maybe Charlie, of 10,000 Birds, will help me know which species I have captured in pixels. [Thanks, Charlie, for IDing the birds for me in the comments. I have added Charlie's identifications in red.]

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Carnival Invitation!

Speaking of Charlie: he will edit the May edition of Learning in the Great Outdoors (LIGO). If you have an outdoor post on your blog, submit it to Charlie for inclusion in the carnival. Unfortunately the webpage I set up as a home for LIGO has become somehow corrupted. I have been unable to update it for several weeks.

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This [Brown Pelican] pelican posed for me on rocks near the Punta Cancun lighthouse.


These [Magnificent Frigatebirds] seem to have different destinations as they glide above the Fiestamericana Hotel. I think the lower one is male (red throat pouch) and the other female.


This [Social Flycatcher] flew among the trees around one of the huge water holes near Chichen Itza.


I am unsure which bird makes this interesting silhouette.


This [Osprey] perched atop the lifegaurd stand on the beach at Punta Cancun to eat the proceeds of a fishing expedition.

This beautiful [Tourquoise-browed Motmot] clings to vegetation hanging into a deep ancient sinkhole where Mayans obtained their water and where modern locals and tourists swim.


Another fellow I don't know. [Tropical Mockingbird] He reminds me of our mockingbirds.


This may be the same bird as the one just above. [Tropical Mockingbird]


These noisy brown and black [Great-tailed Grackles] were everywhere about our hotel with their oversized tail feathers. This guy was streching sleepily early Sunday morning. A local man, a worker at the hotel, told me the Mayan word for this bird is (phonetically spelled here) "peech".



Finally an anhinga or snake bird [Aninga or a Cormorant (can't quite tell)] swimming in the lagoon as Sheila flashes by in a speedboat. These strange birds swim about with only their necks and heads above water.

The Lap of Luxury

Thanks to Sheila's company and her hard work the past year (and before) we have just had a few days in paradise. No e-mail. No web browsing. No cell phone. White sand. Crystal-clear, turquoise waters. Savory food. Elegant accomodations. Luxuriant nature. Fascinating history.


We're back.

More later.

Sunday Concert: Godfathers of Soul & Opera

The late, great Godfathers of Soul and Opera,
James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti,
once shared a stage and a song.
It's a Man's World.

Hoorah!!

Our "Watchable Wildlife Project" is one step closer to fruition thanks to a Boy Scout's Eagle Project and his fellow scouts and leaders who came Friday in in just a few hours constructed this beautiful bridge on our trail.

Ain't it grand!