Eagle Cam Update

April 22, 2010April 22, 2010 / still a dreamer

Just a quick note – if you haven’t checked the Duke Farms Eagle Cam lately, and are interested, take a look. The two chicks are growing in leaps and bounds are are now half the size of momma! One of the disconcerting things about watching the eaglets is that they sleep in the most bizarre positions, and more than once, I thought one of them must have died. But no – they’re alive and well and just sprawled all over the nest. For a little background, you can read an earlier post of mine from the end of March.

This is a unique opportunity to watch nature … hope you find 2 minutes to look in on the little family. They’ve come a far way from March 10, when this photo was taken.

And … Happy Earth Day!

Warm Spring Sunset

April 8, 2010 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

It’s far too warm for early April. And I am the last one to be excited about 83 degrees this early in the year. I look forward to it getting cooler, and tomorrow’s being back to a more seasonal 60. But the one thing this warm spell has given us is a spectacular sunset. Or two. This was yesterday evening’s. The sky was just glowing with creamy colors and, framed by the trees just beginning to bud, was quite lovely.

Many buggy little beings are out and about as well, the ladybugs that appear in just one upstairs window frame; the stinkbugs that march along the floor, coming from who knows where. I’m less excited to see early wasps looking to make homes around the porches. I’d like it to at least be June before they visit. But with temps expected to drop to near freezing Friday night, there’s no telling what will happen to them.

I know I’m not alone in hoping we really do have a spring, and not just the occasional slide we’ve seen from winter to summer. While I watch to see what will happen, I look forward to more spectacular skies, and …

… the huge annual county library book sale this weekend, where all manner of things go for $2/hard-bound and $1/paperback on Saturday and half that on Sunday. Woo Hoo!

Watch Live Web Cam of Eagles’ Nest

March 29, 2010 / still a dreamer / 1 Comment

This is the second year I’ve been watching the live streaming web cam of a Bald Eagle pair at Duke Farms. Although eagles are very sensitive to humans in their habitat, the camera installed on a nearby part of the tree has been accepted by this nesting pair, and allows for viewing and monitoring by researchers. They have shared this with the public as a way of our observing an aspect of nature we would otherwise never see. Take a look at the nest in Duke Farms.

On the endangered species list, the Bald Eagle is slowly making a comeback in New Jersey. In 1973, there was only one nesting pair. Today there are approximately 80 nesting pairs, many in South Jersey in Cumberland and Salem Counties, but now eagles can be found nearly statewide. They are highly sensitive to environmental toxins, habitat loss and disturbance by humans, and in part, their comeback is attributed to increased protection of the land areas and waterways they call home.

In this particular nest, two eggs were confirmed and thought to have been laid around February 20. As of March 15, two eggs could be seen. (See photo above.) But now the young have hatched! When watching the eagle cam, you may find not much is always happening … sometimes mom is just sitting on the babies — or, as I just saw now, mom is feeding the two little snowy eaglets. Too cute! Other times the 2 adults are moving about, one flying in and out of the nest. Whatever is happening, it’s a unique opportunity to check in with this magnificent bird and see how the family is coming along.

Photo courtesy of Duke Farms

Snow, Snow and More Snow

February 10, 2010 / still a dreamer

And an antidote! If you are anywhere in the Northeast, you are getting slammed about now. It’s been snowing here since last night around 8:30 – going into 20 hours straight so far – and hopefully letting up sometime after midnight. From the looks of it, my neighborhood has had 14″ so far. But it sure is pretty.

The girls next door were out in the backyard building forts and having a snowball fight. The people next door – well, I just looked and see the young son standing out on the (slanted) porch roof shoveling snow down off it – now that’s a little scary!

But when I’ve really had enough of the snow, I have an antidote … hot chocolate! A friend gave this to me as part of a fabulous bag of Christmas goodies, and the bottle is so sweet, I almost don’t want to open it. But I’ll get over it!

Looking out my living room window and across the side portion of my wraparound front porch, it’s snow just as far as the eye can see. The plow comes through every now and then, but not so often. I suspect overnight, when the snow starts to let up, they will make more headway.

This isn’t a day to work, but I’ve tried and gotten some stuff done. I think it’s time to do some stuff for me – drawing? writing? Sounding good …

Stay warm everyone and happy digging out tomorrow!

Bones

January 3, 2010April 2, 2012 / still a dreamer

Although I wrote this poem December 4 and had made a few edits, I intended to tighten it up further and submit it before the deadline to children’s book author David Harrison’s blog. He has a poetry contest each month, writing to a specific topic. December’s was “Bones.” I’m guessing with the holidays, my intentions got lost in the shuffle as I missed the deadline, so I’m posting it here. If interested, David’s topic for January is “Time.”