Blog de Puree

The San Diego Union-Tribune recently reported that Surf-first.org was launched by “Surfing Magazine journalist Matt Walker in association with the Surfrider Foundation” in order to get a scientific and all-encompassing  picture of “who surfers are; where they come from; what they do for work; how, when and where they surf; and where they spend their [...]

Amateur astronomy buffs will want to check out the 2009 listing of night star-gazing highlights for 2009, provided by Space.com.
From the Solar System and beyond, you definitely don’t want to miss these during the year. Mark your calendar!

It seems that the GBBC ended like it started for us, rather unexciting. Having to zip off to work in the morning also didn’t leave much time for feeder-gazing.
On Monday, the weather was the same as the weekend, sunny, slightly breezy and in the mid 30’s. Here’s the list of the morning’s meager sightings:

5 American [...]

Another quality day of bird watching this past Sunday. It seems that the word finally got out to the neighborhood birds.
The weather was sunny and warm for the season, in the mid 30’s. Visibility was great and there was just a slight breeze.
Here’s a listing of Sunday’s sightings:

5 American Goldfinches
6 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 Tufted Titmice
2 Black-capped [...]

Today was a much better day for bird watching. Lots of flying critters in the backyard. The weather was sunny and in the mid-30s, although a bit windy.
Here’s a breakdown of what flew in:

6 American Goldfinches
2 Blue Jays
7 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 Female Northern Cardinal
2 European Starlings
4 House Sparrows

A dismal first day.
Here’s the meager list of feathered visitors to our backyard feeders:

3 American Goldfinches
1 Tufted Titmouse

When it comes to in-laws and my wife’s family, I truly got lucky.
But sometimes, no matter how you slice it, family can be just plain old zany. Check out these two videos about a squirrel caught in my in-law’s chimney and the hoops they jumped through to get it out in a humane way.

I’m having an ignominious start to 2009’s Great Backyard Bird Count! There’s not a bird to be seen. Plenty of food and three squirrels hopping around by the base of our feeders, eyeballing the piles of nuts and seed, but no birds.
Curses!

Google brought us online search that has yet to be matched and Google Earth, a wicked cool bit of software that lets us view almost any part of Planet Earth. The software is so accurate and detailed that governments and security agencies worldwide are extremely uncomfortable.
NASA has brought us, well, space! Moon missions; the space [...]

NASA wants your input on what Hubble’s next target is going to be.
You get to choose from one of six astronomical objects in honor of the International Year of Astronomy, the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s observations, which began this month.
Want to cast your vote? Go to HubbleSite.org to cast your vote for [...]