We have a lot of these in Florida. Sometimes they will visit our street. There is a sandhill crane crossing on the intersecting street and they do cross there! The colts are too cute.
I live directly under the flyway of both sandhill cranes and Canada geese. I always look forward to seeing huge v-shaped echelons overhead in the fall and spring. I can always tell them apart, even at great heights, by their distinctive calls. I find them somewhat melancholy markers of he passage of time.
Lemme tell ya, sandhill cranes - which are about the same size as me - can be scary up close and personal. They're HUGE and they can get real "Jurassic Park" during mating and nesting season. A flock of them, passing overhead, looks like pterodactyls.
Each fall and spring, you can witness thousands of magnificent sandhill cranes hanginout out during a layover on their migration route, about 90 minutes southeast of Chicago. You should see it!
Before most of the Grand Kankakee Marsh was drained for farmland, people used to come down by the train load to hunt/picnic/gawk. Apparently large numbers of birds were shot for sport, helping to hasten the extinction of the passenger pigeon.
The sandhills certainly could have met that same fate. But better people made sure that didn't happen. Sometimes we as a species do good things. I may be naive (and I'm fine with that), but I like to think that when we celebrate the good things people have done, we're likelier to keep on doing more good things.
I saw a photo of a big group of them yesterday and was confused by a couple of white ones. Then I read the caption, which noted that a few whooping cranes had joined them. They did look very similar other than the color.
I call them Jailbirds, as they act like they own the place, get in your way, and when they finally move along they walk, not run, look at you like you owe them money, and talk shit at you.
My big takeaway from the long read tab is that “moving on” is a non-starter. I had this conflict within myself. I want all this Trump criminal shit to have consequences, but I feared voters would be mad for looking back. The author makes a great point that “moving on” undermines our case that this autocratic regime cannot be repeated. We have to look back and not let the fascists and their coward enablers off the hook so the next wannabe dictator knows that the reckoning will come. For the future we want, we can’t just move on.
Man. The 5th Circuit Court and our current state government . Looks like they are going to kill off the Texas Dream Act. For non-Texans, the Texas Dream Act is the Texas law offering in-state tuition for undocumented students. The law was signed by Governor Rick Perry back in 2001
I think Florida just did something similar. Oh, actually they did that last year, and now they are trying to ban them from even attending college here.
We decided to hold off on solar in our current house but go whole hog on it when we move into our next one. Mostly because we intend to move to a HOA-less neighborhood next time.
The “Election Integrity” charade— ginned up with nothing but propaganda. The belief that there’s election fraud is just that—a belief. It is poorly anchored in the shifting sands of fantasy. Yet this nasty rented mule has been ridden to a point where the President can simultaneously decry RIGGED & STOLLEN [sic] and fire Election Assistance Commission officials.
"A big problem that has become obvious through all this is Schumer and the DNC did not groom anyone to run against Collins. My guess is Schumer, still living in the pre-Trump era, prefers Collins to anyone else because he thinks he can work with her. Schumer is the damp rag of the Democratic Party."
Being more or less prehistoric myself, possibly not. I do volunteer at my local food bank as often as I can. Last time around there were four-packs of pints of Reed's extra strong ginger beer. Summer in glass.
Back before the internet, children, the was this medium called "RADIO". What it was, was audio programming that wafted freely through the air. If you had a "radio receiver", you could listen to this programming at no cost. Almost all cars had radios, and if you were driving any distance, you'd likely turn on your radio. You can still find this "radio" if you know how to look for it.
Large cities had lots of radio stations. These stations played music, mostly, sometimes with news or maybe a ballgame mixed in.
Anyway, there was a time, children, in the late 1970s/early 1980s, when you could not tune in a radio for any period of time without hearing a song by Bonnie Tyler, may she rest in peace. It was always either "Total Eclipse of the Heart" or "It's a Heartache". I'm sure she had other songs, but you never heard them on the radio.
Now then. Let me tell you about the American Motors Corporation. It all ended with a car called the Pacer ...
Not really looking for answers to this question, but a thing to contemplate:
What if Trump is successful in fucking the midterms? What if Democrats lose bigly across the board, and it is glaringly obvious that the election was neither free nor fair? What do we do/where do we go from there?
I don't believe this is going to happen, and the surest way to ensure that it doesn't is to vote in overwhelming numbers to ensure a blue-nami that cleanses our land and washes away the MAGA movement. We have the momentum, our cause is just, and we simply must show up in big numbers.
Let's plan to win big, and then make sure our comfortable Democratic majorities in the House AND THE SENATE know how to handle prosperity.
If that doesn't happen, well ... There will be time to burn that bridge when we get to it. I'm accentuating the positive, because as silly as it is, there really is something to that old Bing Crosby song.
"Eeeee-lim-i-nate the negative" can refer to you-know-who.
As our esteemed Mr. Triggs advises, check your voter registration, have a plan to vote and bring others along. And just like Rosie muscled up to whoop fascists, We can do it!
What do we do? I dunno that there is anything legal we can do. Donnie (may his name be erased) has hit upon a principle that used to be a joke, and he has made it his SOP. Namely, it's not illegal if you don't get caught. He has committed dozens of crimes, and nobody stops him. Therefore, according to the principle, he has committed no crimes. So he keeps on doing them, pushing the boundaries ever further. Since the "checks and balances" apparatus has been corrupted, from the Supreme Court to the legislature, we can't count on the "system" to stop him. At some point stronger measures will be required. This is why pitchforks were invented.
Read up on what happened to Russia in the years after the breakup of the USSR and the country got in control of a handful of rich oligarchs that installed Putin to control society and make sure their money wells still flowed.
So we'll be both like before the breakup and after? The "before" is because they had Lysenkoism, and we have RFK Jr., and his Merry Band of Miscreants.
Not entirely sure, and most of the options that come to mind at that point aren't things we discuss here.
That said, I'm not sure talking about it now can do anything but help suppress the vote, by convincing people that voting is pointless. First step, no matter how things turn out, is doing what we can to get as many voters to the polls as possible. Overwhelm the bullshit, like they did in Hungary. Odds are good that we get enough people out when it matters, the shit they're prepared to pull won't function.
it's not so much regional though this time, is it? NY is a very blue state; but get out of the cities and artsy-fartsy liberal towns, and you are very much in Trump country. Same in the South; the cities, which have been largely stripped of power and representation tend to be very Blue. It seems to me largely Rural vs Urban; and older white people vs the rest of America. I dunno.
The Chicago Public Liberry regrets to inform me that they "...are experiencing temporary issues with our delivery process. Holds may arrive later than expected. Thank you for your patience."
HARRUMPH! says I, like some common ingrate!
Seriously, the library has the temerity to tell their clients that they have a situation, acknowledge a problem and ask that they bear with it, and some people are expressively unhappy about it...
Never mind that the library has been experiencing the same extreme heat alternating with flood inducing downpours that the rest of us have...
That's why taxpayers should spend a billion on the plane's upgrades so it can be cut apart and hauled over Biscayne Blvd. to his Trump Library in two years
Your hed gif has a sandhill crane learning the finer points of flight: https://martiniambassador.substack.com/p/flying-lesson
And your meme chat: https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/8047704f-b7de-4775-a3f3-75bea8573597?utm_source=share
We got a nested pair who strut around the neighborhood as if they own the place.
We have a lot of these in Florida. Sometimes they will visit our street. There is a sandhill crane crossing on the intersecting street and they do cross there! The colts are too cute.
I loved watching the adult finches male and female demonstrate wing spreading and flapping to their fledglings on the back porch nest this spring
I live directly under the flyway of both sandhill cranes and Canada geese. I always look forward to seeing huge v-shaped echelons overhead in the fall and spring. I can always tell them apart, even at great heights, by their distinctive calls. I find them somewhat melancholy markers of he passage of time.
I love watching their fall migration south to the wildlife refuge . One of my favorite things.
Lemme tell ya, sandhill cranes - which are about the same size as me - can be scary up close and personal. They're HUGE and they can get real "Jurassic Park" during mating and nesting season. A flock of them, passing overhead, looks like pterodactyls.
Well, they are dinosaurs.
It's obvious when you seem them up close.
And hear them.
VERY true.
Public service announcement/Nice Time:
Each fall and spring, you can witness thousands of magnificent sandhill cranes hanginout out during a layover on their migration route, about 90 minutes southeast of Chicago. You should see it!
Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Birding / Birdwatching Opportunities – Indiana Birding Trail https://share.google/DpO02OTpC9jI5bgmk
People do good things sometimes, such as preserving these birds' essential flyways.
Before most of the Grand Kankakee Marsh was drained for farmland, people used to come down by the train load to hunt/picnic/gawk. Apparently large numbers of birds were shot for sport, helping to hasten the extinction of the passenger pigeon.
The sandhills certainly could have met that same fate. But better people made sure that didn't happen. Sometimes we as a species do good things. I may be naive (and I'm fine with that), but I like to think that when we celebrate the good things people have done, we're likelier to keep on doing more good things.
Adorable!
I have to admit, I was disappoint, I had “Whoop, there it is!” all ready to go.
I saw a photo of a big group of them yesterday and was confused by a couple of white ones. Then I read the caption, which noted that a few whooping cranes had joined them. They did look very similar other than the color.
I saw some driving with my sisters from the St Pete area to St. Augustine! I was so excited, absolutely nerding out.
So why were your sisters driving with the cranes?
I’m still drinking coffee, yes that sentence does come off as unintentionally funny.
I can't be the only one who egrets not heron their song.
*** stork! ***
"You have to do this!"
"But Dad, I'll look like an idiot and none of the girls will date me!"
"Trust me, Son, the girls love a guy with big wings!"
And some day, you too may have a crane wife.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S8IM6GQS9g
"Someday, Junior, you will make it to Carnegie Hall, if you practice, practice, practice!"
I can't help it. I adore their clicky squawks...
I call them Jailbirds, as they act like they own the place, get in your way, and when they finally move along they walk, not run, look at you like you owe them money, and talk shit at you.
Fly like a…crane?
“Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “I Need A Hero” are two of my favorite Bonnie Taylor/Jim Steinman songs.
My big takeaway from the long read tab is that “moving on” is a non-starter. I had this conflict within myself. I want all this Trump criminal shit to have consequences, but I feared voters would be mad for looking back. The author makes a great point that “moving on” undermines our case that this autocratic regime cannot be repeated. We have to look back and not let the fascists and their coward enablers off the hook so the next wannabe dictator knows that the reckoning will come. For the future we want, we can’t just move on.
Man. The 5th Circuit Court and our current state government . Looks like they are going to kill off the Texas Dream Act. For non-Texans, the Texas Dream Act is the Texas law offering in-state tuition for undocumented students. The law was signed by Governor Rick Perry back in 2001
I think Florida just did something similar. Oh, actually they did that last year, and now they are trying to ban them from even attending college here.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/02/florida-undocumented-college-students
‘Mitch McConnell Trounces Trump on Cognitive Exam’ —Borowitz
https://substack.com/@borowitzreport/note/c-291781160
It took me a moment to figure out that Bonnie Tyler video. It's wicked funny.
We decided to hold off on solar in our current house but go whole hog on it when we move into our next one. Mostly because we intend to move to a HOA-less neighborhood next time.
HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT JOHN OLIVER ON GH?!? My life is now complete.
I love this heel turn for him.
The “Election Integrity” charade— ginned up with nothing but propaganda. The belief that there’s election fraud is just that—a belief. It is poorly anchored in the shifting sands of fantasy. Yet this nasty rented mule has been ridden to a point where the President can simultaneously decry RIGGED & STOLLEN [sic] and fire Election Assistance Commission officials.
What a world.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/us/politics/trump-fires-election-assistance-commission-members.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wlA.ORD4.sV-D8rNsrugZ&smid=url-share
JFC, Dems...
https://bsky.app/profile/ronfilipkowski.bsky.social/post/3mqbst7g6ys2p
COMMENT:
"A big problem that has become obvious through all this is Schumer and the DNC did not groom anyone to run against Collins. My guess is Schumer, still living in the pre-Trump era, prefers Collins to anyone else because he thinks he can work with her. Schumer is the damp rag of the Democratic Party."
counterpoint: Damp rags might actually get something done
Lol. Got any examples that aren't prehistoric? Visited a food pantry lately?
Being more or less prehistoric myself, possibly not. I do volunteer at my local food bank as often as I can. Last time around there were four-packs of pints of Reed's extra strong ginger beer. Summer in glass.
Valid point.
Back before the internet, children, the was this medium called "RADIO". What it was, was audio programming that wafted freely through the air. If you had a "radio receiver", you could listen to this programming at no cost. Almost all cars had radios, and if you were driving any distance, you'd likely turn on your radio. You can still find this "radio" if you know how to look for it.
Large cities had lots of radio stations. These stations played music, mostly, sometimes with news or maybe a ballgame mixed in.
Anyway, there was a time, children, in the late 1970s/early 1980s, when you could not tune in a radio for any period of time without hearing a song by Bonnie Tyler, may she rest in peace. It was always either "Total Eclipse of the Heart" or "It's a Heartache". I'm sure she had other songs, but you never heard them on the radio.
Now then. Let me tell you about the American Motors Corporation. It all ended with a car called the Pacer ...
Don't forget AMC came out with the first crossover years before anyone else. Now the fucking things are everywhere.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Eagle
And they were a heavy proponent of unibody design.
That FREE part cannot be overemphasized. "No subscription fee? What's the trick?" wasn't a thing, just yet
What would period movies be without a frame or two of a Pacer?
I had a '74 AMC Javelin briefly. With the 401. Pretty underrated sled.
Not really looking for answers to this question, but a thing to contemplate:
What if Trump is successful in fucking the midterms? What if Democrats lose bigly across the board, and it is glaringly obvious that the election was neither free nor fair? What do we do/where do we go from there?
We become UNGOVERNABLE! Who wants to live forever anyway?
I don't believe this is going to happen, and the surest way to ensure that it doesn't is to vote in overwhelming numbers to ensure a blue-nami that cleanses our land and washes away the MAGA movement. We have the momentum, our cause is just, and we simply must show up in big numbers.
Let's plan to win big, and then make sure our comfortable Democratic majorities in the House AND THE SENATE know how to handle prosperity.
If that doesn't happen, well ... There will be time to burn that bridge when we get to it. I'm accentuating the positive, because as silly as it is, there really is something to that old Bing Crosby song.
"Eeeee-lim-i-nate the negative" can refer to you-know-who.
As our esteemed Mr. Triggs advises, check your voter registration, have a plan to vote and bring others along. And just like Rosie muscled up to whoop fascists, We can do it!
What do we do? I dunno that there is anything legal we can do. Donnie (may his name be erased) has hit upon a principle that used to be a joke, and he has made it his SOP. Namely, it's not illegal if you don't get caught. He has committed dozens of crimes, and nobody stops him. Therefore, according to the principle, he has committed no crimes. So he keeps on doing them, pushing the boundaries ever further. Since the "checks and balances" apparatus has been corrupted, from the Supreme Court to the legislature, we can't count on the "system" to stop him. At some point stronger measures will be required. This is why pitchforks were invented.
Read up on what happened to Russia in the years after the breakup of the USSR and the country got in control of a handful of rich oligarchs that installed Putin to control society and make sure their money wells still flowed.
So we'll be both like before the breakup and after? The "before" is because they had Lysenkoism, and we have RFK Jr., and his Merry Band of Miscreants.
Not entirely sure, and most of the options that come to mind at that point aren't things we discuss here.
That said, I'm not sure talking about it now can do anything but help suppress the vote, by convincing people that voting is pointless. First step, no matter how things turn out, is doing what we can to get as many voters to the polls as possible. Overwhelm the bullshit, like they did in Hungary. Odds are good that we get enough people out when it matters, the shit they're prepared to pull won't function.
"Not entirely sure, and most of the options that come to mind at that point aren't things we discuss here."
I assume that's because they sound like a whisper, but I don't know ow.
Canada?
Seriously I don’t know what we do except take care of each other….as best we can..
It means we're fucked and that Americans are fine with...this.
< -- is trying to not think about Civil War 2.0
it's not so much regional though this time, is it? NY is a very blue state; but get out of the cities and artsy-fartsy liberal towns, and you are very much in Trump country. Same in the South; the cities, which have been largely stripped of power and representation tend to be very Blue. It seems to me largely Rural vs Urban; and older white people vs the rest of America. I dunno.
"Trickle down economics explained with cats."
https://bsky.app/profile/philoof.bsky.social/post/3mqajnsmni22e
Going to have a good and funny day since it would be my dad’s 💯. He died in 2010. Also supposed to be 100 degrees today so there’s that 🥵
The Chicago Public Liberry regrets to inform me that they "...are experiencing temporary issues with our delivery process. Holds may arrive later than expected. Thank you for your patience."
HARRUMPH! says I, like some common ingrate!
Seriously, the library has the temerity to tell their clients that they have a situation, acknowledge a problem and ask that they bear with it, and some people are expressively unhappy about it...
Never mind that the library has been experiencing the same extreme heat alternating with flood inducing downpours that the rest of us have...
Fingers crossed.
"This is precisely what I was talking about yesterday (and when this retrofit started).
There’s simply no way to turn a regular plane into a mobile command center for a nuclear-armed nation in 10 months.
Even allowing Trump to fly on the Qatari plane is a security risk."
https://bsky.app/profile/angrystaffer.bsky.social/post/3mq7v5uviw227
Even allowing DFT to be the commander of a nuclear-armed nation is a security risk.
That's why taxpayers should spend a billion on the plane's upgrades so it can be cut apart and hauled over Biscayne Blvd. to his Trump Library in two years
AWWWWW, You let widdle baby trumpy do everything else he wants, why not this? 😈
I'm game.
https://substack.com/profile/157158612-lmurr/note/c-291826439