DEN - ATL (delay) - DTW

Flew DEN - ATL - DTW yesterday. Naturally, we were delayed in ATL due to weather and a late inbound aircraft so we returned to DTW about 1.20 late. I've got some stuff to accomplish around here today—a little study mostly and packing—then I'm off to MSP for CQ. After that is over, then DG conference! Yahoo! Should be fun. Phil, Jon, and PJ Davis are going to be there as well.

Sunday Morning, 26 September 2010

I woke up early—ugh—because I could not stay awake last night, having woken up at 5 am in Laingsburg. It's a vicious cycle. Flew to DEN and then a layover down town. I took my binos and went walking to a park in the middle of town. Saw some grackles and pigeons before finding my way to a beautiful flower garden and running into a new (for me) species of sparrow. They are called Brewer's Sparrows and they only live in the Western U. S. so had I not been in DEN, I wouldn't have seen them. They seemed to enjoy the dirt, like they were taking a dirt bath, and then were kind enough to perch on tall stalks of bushes in the bright sunshine, only a few feet away so I could study them with my binoculars. Very friendly.

Off to ATL then DTW today, then to training tomorrow evening. I'll be gone a week with the Desiring God national conference going in MSP on Friday through Sunday.

Great Egrets on the Move!

We saw a flock of great egrets hanging out in a swampy pond just off of Alward Rd., when we drove by yesterday. They were still there when we came back from Lansing, so I jumped on my mountain bike, and rode in a (howling) wind to check them out. They were real beauties, and so patient as they waded around the pond fishing. I just wish I would have had a spotting scope so I could have seen them better. Egrets only pass through our area on migration south, so it was a real treat to see them.

Sleepy Hollow 23 September 2010

I was out at Sleepy Hollow yesterday, looking for birds. I saw a great blue heron standing knee deep in the lake almost exactly where I had seen one a couple of weeks previously. I snuck around the island to see if I could get closer to get a shot of him. When I got back near where he was (he was actually still there), these two girls were standing in the lake. At first I thought they were drinking, but they were really eating plants from underneath the water. I watched them and the blue heron for quite awhile. Neither one ever reacted to me. It was a glorious God-given moment and one I will treasure. I've decided I like hunting birds and animals with a camera much more than hunting them with a rifle.

New York, 21 September 2010

3.54 am and I've polished off my devotions and still have a little time before I have to get ready to fly DTW - DCA - DTW. Day 5 of a 5 day. Long day yesterday, 5 legs between BOS and LGA. At least the weather was good. I've come into the layover dragging so much that I have barely had time to workout, more less time to go see some birds.

I did, however, see an ovenbird on the way up to Mike's Coffee Truck (a favorite joint. I love the rice, beans, and sausage dinner plate) to get dinner. An ovenbird looks like an olive-colored sparrow with a striped breast. Very pretty fellow, although he was a little leery of me and wouldn't let me get too near him.

DALMAC Day 1

Wednesday, 1 September, 2010. We dropped off our gear at the MSU Pavilion the night before so that we wouldn't have to trek all the way into Lansing the next morning and we could just leave from the house. This would give us approximately 8 miles less than the mileage for the day, but that was fine with us.

We woke up to a windy day with forecasts of rain in the afternoon. Our goal was to get to Shepherd (our over night stay) before the rain started, so we left prior to 7 a.m. and didn't even take the ride route; rather, we took the most direct route, through Elsie and Ashley, then Ithaca, before finally catching up with the DALMAC route south of Alma. We had strong winds from the WSW so the north legs were a tailwind and the west legs were a headwind. Our first real stop wasn't until Alma!

We were the first bikers to arrive at Shepherd HS. We even beat the luggage trucks there. The luggage trucks eventually arrived and we grabbed our gear after unloading the trucks and set up our tents out near the road and parking lot. It rained a little that evening, but it wasn't too bad since we had everything all set up. It rained virtually every day of DALMAC!?!

Ben spent the night in our tent since he finished late at CMU and then started early the next morning. All in all, a pretty good day.