You are browsing the archives of 2005 August.

I went out for an early morning walk at Lenoir. The woods were oddly quiet. Though I expected a couple of warblers, I spotted not a one. Interesting birds for the morning included House Wren, Carolina Wren, Hairy Woodpecker, Brown-headed Cowbird, and lots of Wild Turkey. Wild Turkey I also spotted lots of white-tail fawns, [...]

A common misinterpretation of the devastatingly elegant Heisenberg uncertainty principle is that that observation of an event or phenomenon changes that event or phenomenon. This rendition of the uncertainty principle is no doubt popular because it (a) dispenses with the quantum physics gibberish and (b) has the ring of truth. The mere act of observation [...]

This weekend found the endlessly traveling Core Team at Lake Skaneateles in the Finger Lakes visiting Seth and Christine and her family. This annual pilgrimage to Skaneateles is always one of the high points of our summer. Not only do we enjoy the pleasures of the lake and its surrounding towns, along with the good [...]

At last, we get to meet Bad Birdwatcher #2, the lucky reader who received our second free copy of How To Be A (Bad) Birdwatcher. Bad Birdwatcher #2, who goes by the alias ‘Wolff,’ won us over with his honesty, selflessness, and spunk. That he sought this book on behalf of his fellow Urban Park [...]

I announced last month that the kind folks at Pantheon Books gave me extra copies of Simon Barnes’ brilliant How To Be A (Bad) Birdwatcher to distribute to readers as I saw fit. Since this book is so transformational, I wanted to make sure that its recipients were truly open to the potentially life-changing influence [...]

The Core Team ventured out this Saturday to visit a friend at New Jersey’s Lake Hopatcong (seemingly pronounced “octagon” by the locals.) We couldn’t have had a better time. This friend and her delightful parents have a perfect little home on Raccoon Island, just a short ferry ride from the mainland. On this ideal summer [...]