The Texas Ruby Red House Finch
A fellow micro.blogger Clifford Beshers posted a beautiful picture of a red house finch today.
Dipped in raspberry juice. That was the joke that always made my mother laugh. Those finches look like someone turned them over and dipped them in raspberry juice. link
I saw a red house finch in the spring this year at the South Llano River State park here in Texas. It was a beautful bird. The South Llano State Park is at the eastern edge of a lot of birds western migration patterns.
I am no expert. I am learning as I go and I picked up that little bit of knowledge from a birder I met at the State Park.
I searched around and found this interesting little writeup called The Texas Ruby Red House Finch from 2015.
These are all taken at Utopia, Uvalde Co., Texas, near southern edge of Edwards Plateau, and are all House Finch. The south central Texas House Finch has long been said by Texans to be the reddest of them all. It is no brag, but fact. But because they were caught bragging about the size of their state just once a long long time ago, nobody believed them. In my opinion this House Finch also has the sweetest song of ‘em all. I call it the Texas Ruby Red House Finch.
Follow the link and take a look at some of the pictures. Here is another link to his 2020 bird pictures.
Tropical Hibiscus
I think this is what this flower is called. My friend calls them a double bloomer.
Wishing you the best if you see this picture.
Red Fish on the fly.
I wonder how this would stack up to my iPhone 12. Found in my guest room at my father in-law
Micro.Blog in the wild. Cosmic Coffee. Austin Texas.
Bald Eagles in Llano, Texas
From Wildlife Management, Habitat Management & Outdoor News from 2012
Most folks don’t even know we have bald eagles in Texas, but they are found here. In fact, they even nest and raise their young here. If you have ever driven eight miles east of Llano, Texas
Sunday I was fly fishing the Llano river. I am used to seeing red tailed hawks etc around the river but that day I saw the largest bird I have ever seen swoop in over the river and land in a tree.
I was in my kayak and I drifted up to the tree. There she was looking at me. A bald eagle. I wish I got a picture. I had my gopro with me and I took some but the damn wide angle is not good enough and the zoom is just a dark area in the photo.
After some searching we have around 30 that migrate here each winter.
Central Texas is an amazing place.
My favorite pen. The Parker Jotter. Instant Classic.
Llano Uplift
Llano River - South of Mason, Texas
Llano Uplift from Wikipedea
The Llano Uplift is a geologically ancient, low geologic dome that is about 90 miles (140 km) in diameter and located mostly in Llano, Mason, San Saba, Gillespie, and Blanco counties, Texas. It consists of an island-like exposure of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks surrounded by outcrops of Paleozoic and Cretaceous sedimentary strata.
At their widest, the exposed Precambrian rocks extend about 65 miles (105 km) westward from the valley of the Colorado River and beneath a broad, gentle topographic basin drained by the Llano River. The subdued topographic basin is underlain by Precambrian rocks and bordered by a discontinuous rim of flat-topped hills. These hills are the dissected edge of the Edwards Plateau, which consist of overlying Cretaceous sedimentary strata. Within this basin and along its margin are down-faulted blocks and erosional remnants of Paleozoic strata which form prominent hills.
I can drive 2 hours and spend the day in a place that has rock formations that predated land animals. It is humbling.
A friend of mine and me used our trucks to drop our kayaks in at one crossing and we left the other truck at the next crossing. We spent 7 hours on the water and we did not see another person.
- Guadalupe Bass link
- Hawk
- Bald Eagle
- deer
Great day on th water. Many fish were caught. I cannot express how amazing this area of Texas is.
Relationships are the Buffer for the Human Experience
Hat Tip to CJ Chilvers for capturing this on his blog
From Cal Newport via Lex Fridman:
“If I was going to give advice to young people…If they haven’t already, bad things are going to happen that you can’t control. So, what’s the plan?…How do you live life when life is hard in ways that are unfair and unpredictable? Relationships is the buffer for all of that…It’s all we’re wired to do. It’s like ALL of our brain is for this…It’s at the core of human thriving. I worry that social media is reducing strong relationships. Strong relationships, where you’re sacrificing non-trivial time, attention, resources, whatever — on behalf of other people — that’s the net that’s going to allow you to get through anything. THEN, what do you want to do with the surplus that remains?”
This is a warning to our culture and the antidote. That is one of the reasons I love Cal Newport’s writing and podcast about “The Deep Life” is that he give actionable, practical advice to modern day knowledge workers.
Do not allow Social Media or the use of iMessage/texts to replace your community. Community means real people that you see. That you offer non trivial time too. Use a reminder app or calendar entry and set an appointment to call them again in 30 days to check on them. It matters.
Choices. Choices. Choices.
Blogger and Photographer CJ Chilvers writing about his perfect pen and paper.
Writers spend way too much time and money seeking out their “grail” pen and paper combo — the tools that will make their work so much “smoother.” It’s a pattern we’ve seen repeated in all creative pursuits.
I do not think this is just an issue with modernity. I think the ability to order new pens etc quickly and easily amplifies this issue.
My friend Pete Moore
It’s funny, despite all the advances in technology and software, sometimes the myriad choices we have end up being just that… choices.
But whatever the case his closing advice the most relevant
If you focus on creative process and output, the equipment will usually figure itself out.
I think the key is action. Doing something is better than thinking about doing something. Enjoy the process. Write. Think. Share. Learn. It is all part of the human condition.
PS: My favorite pen is my 1980’s Parker Jotter with the Easyflow 9000 insert.
Broken Links
or Why twitter and social media has ruined the open web
I have been reading a back through Merlin Man’s 43 folders blog.
It started in 2004
His last post was 2011 - Cranking. which is “peace out” I had a kid and that is more important.
His blog was part of Web 2.0 movement. Remember that? His blog is like a time capsule and it has a lot of relevant and helpful information about how productivity. It is quirky and fun and full of broken links.
It makes me think about all of the time and attention people are putting into twitter, instagram or tiktok and where that work you put in will be in 10 years? Will it result only in your vain attempt to find self affirmation in your 10 seconds of fame?
What Am I Going to do Today?
I have every device.
-
Iphone
-
ipad
-
apple watch
-
laptop
-
desktop
For the question:
What Am I Going to do Today?
It can be a challenge. If I use tech of any kind - I find myself in another app, searching or looking for something, something that is of little use to me. In short, I fiddle around. More blunt. I dick around vs putting on my shoes and getting to work on my list.
Instead the most effective thing I do is:
I sit in the morning with my coffee at desk with zero tech and making a 3x5 card (I use and love the baron fig task cards)
I fill out a card. I put it in my pocket. I start.
My Most Productive Time in My Life
The year was 2001. The Device was the Handspring Visor Platinum. The Software was Palm Desktop.
It was a simple setup and the sync was perfect.
Palm Desktop contains four main modules which correspond to the four main modules of the original Palm Pilot:
Contacts, analogous to index cards in a Rolodex card file or address book
Calendar information as discrete or repeating appointments
Tasks, sortable by priority, date or category in task lists
Notes, for reference materials, memoranda or journal entries
I made my life fit in these buckets.
I had spent a year trying to make Microsoft Outlook work for me. Then I got the handspring - and I spent another 3 months trying to make it work with Outlook via 3rd party sync apps. Horrible.
I met a guy at a networking group and he had a Palm Pilot. I asked him what he used etc. He said Palm Desktop. Quick. Easy. Simple.
There was not a lot of options back then unlike today. iOS has how many task and calendar and note taking apps that rarely work together?
iCloud
It is one reason for my personal (not work life) I use icloud. It is not perfect but it has all of these elements and they work.
I even had a folding keyboard so I could journal into the note app or update things in a coffee shop.
sigh
Me.
Nipsey our cat. About a year ago he showed up. Took a couple of months before he accepted us. Now part of our family.
Lunch
Crawfish Boil. Texas Style.
Osprey Oysters
Texas Bluebonnet 2021
