Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl (RUBO VIRGINIANUS) 1950 edition Audubon print, with commentary on the reverse by Roger Tory Peterson. Printed in the USA, slightly larger than 9"x11". Rescued from a church bazaar, the page has a slight yellow patina, to be expected after 60 years

According to Peterson: “Its wide yellow eyes and the ear tufts (which have nothing to do with its real ears) give the bird a cat-like look – in fact, in the foggy forests of Newfoundland, lumberjacks call it the “cat owl”. Distributed widely, it thrives from Labrador and Alaska to South America and varies from near-white at the edge of the Arctic to dusky in more humid regions. It is a resident of every state in the Union….”

Summer Tanager

Summer Tanager (PIRANGA RUBRA) 1950 edition Audubon print, with commentary on the reverse by Roger Tory Peterson. Printed in the USA, slightly larger than 9"x11". Rescued from a church bazaar, the page has a slight yellow patina, to be expected after 60 years.

According to Peterson: “In the South there are two “red-birds”: the “winter red-bird” (the cardinal), which remains all year, and the “summer red-bird,” shown here. The only two birds in the eastern states that are ALL red, they are easily recognized, for one has a crest, the other has not… In Latin America four hundred species of tanagers, garbed in vivid shades of red, blue and yellow, vie with the parrots and trogons in making the tropics gay. Why, out of all this gorgeous galaxy, only two tanagers should be adventurous enough to cross the Gulf of Mexico is one of the many mysteries of migration.”

Bachman's Warbler

Bachman's Warbler (VERMIVORA BACHMANII) 1950 edition Audubon print, with commentary on the reverse by Roger Tory Peterson. Printed in the USA, slightly larger than 9"x11". Rescued from a church bazaar, the page has a slight yellow patina, to be expected after 60 years.

This bird has not been seen since 1961. According to Peterson: “Discovered by the Reverend John Bachman near Charleston, South Carolina, in 1835, it was described for the world by Audubon. For fifty-three years the little fugitive dropped from sight before it again turned up, this time in Louisiana, but during the succeeding few years, just before the end of the century, hundreds were found. It seemed to be common throughout the river swamps of the south, living in tangled places where trees stood knee-deep in the stagnant pools. Then, before anyone noticed, it again faded away.”

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker (SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS) 1950 edition Audubon print, with commentary on the reverse by Roger Tory Peterson. Printed in the USA, slightly larger than 9"x11". Rescued from a church bazaar, the pages have a slight yellow patina to them, to be expected after 60 years.

According to Peterson: “It has the habit of drilling rows of holes, as evenly spaced up and down “as corn on the cob,” and from these pits it gathers the tree’s oozing life blood, sapping it up with its brushlike tongue. Downy woodpeckers, squirrels, hummingbirds and butterflies patronize the sapsucker’s wildwood bar, and sip the stolen brew when the bartender is away.”

New lows in anti-health-reform

The anti-health-reform groups are stooping to new lows.

1. These disruptions are being funded and organized by out-of-district special-interest groups and insurance companies who fear that health insurance reform could help Americans, but hurt their bottom line. A group run by the same folks who made the "Swiftboat" ads against John Kerry is compiling a list of congressional events in August to disrupt. An insurance company coalition has stationed employees in 30 states to track where local lawmakers hold town-hall meetings.

2. People are scared because they are being fed frightening lies. These crowds are being riled up by anti-reform lies being spread by industry front groups that invent smears to tarnish the President's plan and scare voters. But as the President has repeatedly said, health insurance reform will create more health care choices for the American people, not reduce them. If you like your insurance or your doctor, you can keep them, and there is no "government takeover" in any part of any plan supported by the President or Congress.

3. Their actions are getting more extreme. Texas protesters brought signs displaying a tombstone for Rep. Lloyd Doggett and using the "SS" symbol to compare President Obama's policies to Nazism. Maryland Rep. Frank Kratovil was hanged in effigy outside his district office. Rep. Tim Bishop of New York had to be escorted to his car by police after an angry few disrupted his town hall meeting -- and more examples like this come in every day. And they have gone beyond just trying to derail the President's health insurance reform plans, they are trying to "break" the President himself and ruin his Presidency.

4. Their goal is to disrupt and shut down legitimate conversation. Protesters have routinely shouted down representatives trying to engage in constructive dialogue with voters, and done everything they can to intimidate and silence regular people who just want more information. One attack group has even published a manual instructing protesters to "stand up and shout" and try to "rattle" lawmakers to prevent them from talking peacefully with their constituents.

5. Republican leadership is irresponsibly cheering on the thuggish crowds. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner issued a statement applauding and promoting a video of the disruptions and looking forward to "a long, hot August for Democrats in Congress."

It's time to expose this charade, before it gets more dangerous. Please send these facts to everyone you know.

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole (ICTERUS GALBULA) 1950 edition Audubon print, with commentary on the reverse by Roger Tory Peterson. Printed in the USA, slightly larger than 9"x11". Rescued from a church bazaar, the pages have a slight yellow patina to them, to be expected after 60 years.

"As if following some invioble schedule orioles make their annual pilgrimage over tropical jumgles, across or around the Gulf of Mexico, through the plantations of the Gulf states and ever northward until in early May they reach the elm-shaded towns of the Great Lakes and New England. A few continue into southern Canada. Bad weather might hold them up a little, but not much, and they arrive within a day or two of the same date from year to year."

Summer is almost over

Summer is almost over.
School will be starting soon.
Schedules and routines will begin
to carve away at time and energies.
The seasons will begin their shifting.
It's still July,
but I can already see
a few yellow leaves under the maples.
(Hopefully these are a harbinger
of a colorful fall, and not
a sign of impending drought.)
Before we know it,
we will wonder where
all the leaves went,
and The Dreaded Daylight Savings Time
will arrive,
plunging those of us who toil
deep in the windowless bowels
of lecture rooms,
cramped impromptu conference areas,
and ergonomically-challenged office spaces
designed by sadists
vehemently opposed to the concept of feng shui,
to commutes in utter darkness.
(This is the part
where you may join,
with the marching goblins
of the Wicked Witch of Western Oz,
in singing, "Ohh-wee-ohh, o-waaaay-ohh!"
The lament of teachers
and schoolchildren across the country
rises into the stifling summer sky,
mixed with the sobs of bus-drivers,
cooks, janitors
and an occasional part-time ice cream truck operator.
This mournful chorus is counterbalanced
by the long, grateful sighs of soon-to-be-liberated mothers, grandparents, babysitters and
(rare-as-hens-teeth) househusbands.
It is an annual call-and-response.
(This where you may insert
the gleeful caregivers as they parody
Snow Whites' dwarves in singing,
"Heigh, ho! Heigh ho! It's off to school they go...")
Soon most households will push the young
out of the nest,
if even for a few blessed hours.
Cats will nap peacefully.
Any doors remaining on their hinges
will remain closed.
Dust will settle.
To the goblin horde,
duty calls.
To the rest of you,
enjoy for now.