The loons on our lake, (about 8 miles northeast of Eagle River, WI) had 3 wee ones this spring but lost one, probably due to predation. We saw the family unit while on our putt-putt around the lake this morning and the two babies are almost as big as their parents now. By the end of October they’ll be ready for their first trip south to the GULF OF MEXICO, YOU FUCKING-MORONIC-ORANGE-FACED CLOWN. That’s always a sad time: hoping they all survive the trip…hoping they survive flying back north in the spring…and knowing that soon the lake will ice over and be mostly dead to us for four or five months. It’s not even winter yet and I’m already longing for spring…….
Once while on the way up north to climb some mountains, we camped near a loon lake during breeding season. It was lovely, and quite loud. I've seen them in winter when a group of us hiked on the beach during a blizzard at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Au clair de loon.
My family used to spend a couple of summer weekends at our friend's house on Great East Lake (one of the seven lakes in the NH Seven Lakes Region). The lake was clear as crystal, and a loon family lived there in the summer. The sound of the loons was so appealing to me that I bought a loon stuffie that had the call so I could hear the sound at home.
I love loons. They are amazing birds. They always rekindle memories of home. The closest I ever got to one in the wild was years ago when I was a camp counselor I was teaching canoe rescue on one of the lakes in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. We had just swamped a canoe and another was paddling over to do the rescue. I was in the water with the swamped boat and up pops a loon from a dive about two feet away from me. We stared at each other for about a minute. I will never forget its cool red eyes and how big it was. Then it just dove under the water again and was gone. One of my best Northwoods experiences ever!
They are fucking huge close up. I've had groups of up to 9 approach then swim to either side and UNDER my kayak. And did I mention they are fast? Like watching living torpedoes zip beneath you.
Typically, loon pairs stay within their own territory with or without their young. But a few times a year they do these social things and visit other bodies of water.
Oh, you were so lucky! Your experience reminded me of one that happened at my home in Arlington, MA (a suburb of Boston). One very hot summer day we were sitting on our open back porch when a fledgling cardinal flew over from a nearby bush and landed on the railing. He looked hot so I quietly got up and filled the bottom of a pottery saucer with water. He hopped right in and drank and took a bath while we sat quietly watching. I was able to take a video and I enjoy watching it from time to time. Like you, I remember it as one of the loveliest experiences of my life!
The guardian story about HeeHaw is going to put me in a rage, and I know this because I'm still recovering from the rage I felt at the IDF dragging a Palestinian farmer's donkey behind a truck until it couldn't keep running and fell and died. I really, really, REALLY want something very bad to happen to those people. Fuck them with a brick. sideways. Into the sun.
I'm ROFLMAO over the whole SexMaxing thing. I remember the study they're referring to and they're taking the completely WRONG message away from it. Women did NOT prefer the stinkiest man but the man whose pheromones were the most different from their own. This is likely an adaptation to avoid breeding within your same gene pool and increasing genetic diversity. But hey, these jokers don'y believe in any science they don't like. You know, at least women will be able to avoid MAGAots from a distance. You'll be able to smell 'em coming!
I’d like to believe that there’s no way Pedo47 could have standing to sue once he’s no longer White House Occupant, but with this corrupt SCOTUS, we can never tell.
"Such an artillery weapon would be unusual . . . (?)"
NYT: "The U.S. military said on Sunday that its forces had bombarded Iranian troops on Larak Island that were preparing to launch rockets armed with mines into the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping corridor for oil and gas. Such an artillery weapon would be unusual, and it was not possible to independently confirm the military’s report."
NYT (different article): "But such a weapon — an artillery rocket that releases a mine into the water — would be unusual and could mean that Iran has created yet another way to potentially cause chaos in the Strait of Hormuz. It was not possible to confirm the military’s report independently, but it would mean that Iran has added a new type of mine to its arsenal — though probably not a very powerful one.
The Maritime Executive, a shipping and maritime industry news outlet, reported in January 2025 that during military exercises at sea, Iran had demonstrated a variant of its Fajr-5 rocket that could dispense “a single free-floating mine” into the water. These rocket-delivered munitions, or “drifting mines,” are pushed by winds and currents as soon as they land in the water. Each would eventually make its way into the open ocean or possibly wash up on shore, where it could harm anyone who picked one up."
Heartily agree! Episode 4 of the first season (aired Dec 1976) has guest stars John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson in a sendup of a Harold Pinter play called "Crosswords".
They're all so young – Catherine O'Hara is only 22 and is hilarious.
They're affectionate differently. I'm almost sure cats react differently to the gender and also express their own gender. I had a neutered male that positively fell in love with me. The females loved me too but expressed differently-- often by sitting next to me and ignoring me, with the occasional head-bop for scent marking. In case I had any doubt who owned me.
Brian Beutler on Off-Message today was talking about how the media focuses on one candidate questrionable connections while ignoring the other candidates foibles. Specofocally how they keep asking El-Sayid about Piker while ignoring Mike Rogers many fascist connections. Just like Bari Weiss is trying to make hay out of El-Sayid's comments about Covid. It's all Bad Faith messaging.
NYT (article on Trump admin's War on Bike Lanes): "Last month, the Transportation Department told National Public Radio that liberals believe “that everyone should ride a bike to their shoebox-sized apartment to eat crickets to achieve a phony climate agenda.”
Ta, Evan. Antifascist now and forever. Radley Balko wrote about pet shootings in Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces. Ta, Martini. A little disappointed the babbies aren't called loonettes. Darling Meccalopolis served us flowery green tea and luscious fruit bowls; we have to shop today so he can make lion's mane in butter sauce and I can make a second pizza. Good day, beloved Wonketteers. We love and appreciate you all and we bless us all with love, health, peace, and grace.
Please, please stay safe. Wear a mask or two, wash your hands, sanitize when you cannot wash and let the sanitizer dry completely, stop touching your face, take Vitamin D, get a booster shot six months after your last (and get kids in your household vaccinated also, too), and stay the fuck away from us or anyone with whom you do not share a roof. Do this because you love yourself, and because we love you, too. Do this in memory of 27 Club member Treg, Holly's heroic pilot friend Tony, and around eight million dead worldwide (maybe including FukuiSanYesOta; he had long COVID and that can lead to cardiac arrest). Do this to honor the nurses and other frontline medical personnel (we love and appreciate you, medicos of Wonkette, including retirees), especially ICU Hera Mrs Land Shark RN. Please, please stay safe. When we vote, we WIN!
I've been typing things into google prompts like "why did google maps cave to trump" and "why did google change the name of lake ontario before the trump admin's executive order," and so on.
I do stuff like this to let off steam, but if enough of us do it, maybe it makes a small dent?
Anyway, I typed in "why is google such a pathetic wuss" and the AI engine compliantly produced:
"Google’s often cautious or "wuss-like" behavior stems from its position as one of the largest public companies in the world, forcing it to constantly balance intense legal, financial, and public relations risks."
That doesn't explain doing anything BEFORE the supposed "intense risks" manifest.
Loons to soothe your soul: https://martiniambassador.substack.com/p/loon-a-chicks
And a meme chat: https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/d1936713-f273-4142-bc13-f571f39e0ec9
There is nothing common about the common loon
Loons sound lonely. But they dance divinely.
The loons on our lake, (about 8 miles northeast of Eagle River, WI) had 3 wee ones this spring but lost one, probably due to predation. We saw the family unit while on our putt-putt around the lake this morning and the two babies are almost as big as their parents now. By the end of October they’ll be ready for their first trip south to the GULF OF MEXICO, YOU FUCKING-MORONIC-ORANGE-FACED CLOWN. That’s always a sad time: hoping they all survive the trip…hoping they survive flying back north in the spring…and knowing that soon the lake will ice over and be mostly dead to us for four or five months. It’s not even winter yet and I’m already longing for spring…….
Another *thanke* for including thees beautiful *birbs* in yr post!
Loons are beautiful and goode. :) :) :) :) :)
Once while on the way up north to climb some mountains, we camped near a loon lake during breeding season. It was lovely, and quite loud. I've seen them in winter when a group of us hiked on the beach during a blizzard at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Au clair de loon.
That's loony!
‘Okay, what cute animals are coming at us, and why is someone in a black ball cap swimming next to them?’
No, no, my brain’s fine; I blame it on dearth of coffee.
P.S., Good morning.
Well I'm certainly convinced that baby loons have one hell of a digestive tract.
The reigning monarch of the British Commonwealth is pictured on the Canadian one dollar coin.
On the reverse side is a loon in flight. The coin is therefore called the 'loonie'
Perhaps the Canadians could strike a limited edition set of loonies with donnie's face on it.
Just for the lulz.
Why would you subject the noble loon to sharing a coin with the Bloated Pedo?
I like the idea of putting his face on a coin called ‘loonie’.
Seems appropriate.
And we really need soothing.
Most groups of birds, but not all, are called flocks. I think, given our current administration, that a group of loons be called a cabinet.
A "covey" of quail.
Heh, they would do a better job....
What do you call two or three crows hanging around?
Attempted murder
Maybe it's a regional thing, but I was taught that 3 crows DO constitute a murder.
Two's company, three's a murder?
A group of loons is called a raft. A group of administration officials is called a grift.
Maybe for you. I'm calling a group of loons an asylum.
Like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4IUAzcw5t4
That works.
TIL.
Well, I'm pretty sure at least one cabinet member can swallow a whole live fish.
Oh, two loons. A twoonie.
There's nothing more otherworldly and comforting than the haunting sound of a loon calling across a lake into the starry night in the Great North.
One of my best memories of working in Alaska, on a (rare) glass-still morning on Skilak Lake.
Lovely.
My family used to spend a couple of summer weekends at our friend's house on Great East Lake (one of the seven lakes in the NH Seven Lakes Region). The lake was clear as crystal, and a loon family lived there in the summer. The sound of the loons was so appealing to me that I bought a loon stuffie that had the call so I could hear the sound at home.
Oh my, lucky you.
👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆
"You're a loony."
"I am not a loony!"
Good morning, and welcome to another episode of "Spot the Loony."
“Look Norman, the loons!”
"You old poop."
😁😁😁
I love loons. They are amazing birds. They always rekindle memories of home. The closest I ever got to one in the wild was years ago when I was a camp counselor I was teaching canoe rescue on one of the lakes in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. We had just swamped a canoe and another was paddling over to do the rescue. I was in the water with the swamped boat and up pops a loon from a dive about two feet away from me. We stared at each other for about a minute. I will never forget its cool red eyes and how big it was. Then it just dove under the water again and was gone. One of my best Northwoods experiences ever!
They are fucking huge close up. I've had groups of up to 9 approach then swim to either side and UNDER my kayak. And did I mention they are fast? Like watching living torpedoes zip beneath you.
Typically, loon pairs stay within their own territory with or without their young. But a few times a year they do these social things and visit other bodies of water.
Oh, you were so lucky! Your experience reminded me of one that happened at my home in Arlington, MA (a suburb of Boston). One very hot summer day we were sitting on our open back porch when a fledgling cardinal flew over from a nearby bush and landed on the railing. He looked hot so I quietly got up and filled the bottom of a pottery saucer with water. He hopped right in and drank and took a bath while we sat quietly watching. I was able to take a video and I enjoy watching it from time to time. Like you, I remember it as one of the loveliest experiences of my life!
Damn! I thought "HeeHaw" was the new insulting nickname for Hegseth.
The guardian story about HeeHaw is going to put me in a rage, and I know this because I'm still recovering from the rage I felt at the IDF dragging a Palestinian farmer's donkey behind a truck until it couldn't keep running and fell and died. I really, really, REALLY want something very bad to happen to those people. Fuck them with a brick. sideways. Into the sun.
same
I'm ROFLMAO over the whole SexMaxing thing. I remember the study they're referring to and they're taking the completely WRONG message away from it. Women did NOT prefer the stinkiest man but the man whose pheromones were the most different from their own. This is likely an adaptation to avoid breeding within your same gene pool and increasing genetic diversity. But hey, these jokers don'y believe in any science they don't like. You know, at least women will be able to avoid MAGAots from a distance. You'll be able to smell 'em coming!
I’d like to believe that there’s no way Pedo47 could have standing to sue once he’s no longer White House Occupant, but with this corrupt SCOTUS, we can never tell.
"Such an artillery weapon would be unusual . . . (?)"
NYT: "The U.S. military said on Sunday that its forces had bombarded Iranian troops on Larak Island that were preparing to launch rockets armed with mines into the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping corridor for oil and gas. Such an artillery weapon would be unusual, and it was not possible to independently confirm the military’s report."
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/us/politics/us-launches-air-strikes-iran.html?emc=edit_na_20260901&nl=breaking-news&segment_id=225864
NYT (different article): "But such a weapon — an artillery rocket that releases a mine into the water — would be unusual and could mean that Iran has created yet another way to potentially cause chaos in the Strait of Hormuz. It was not possible to confirm the military’s report independently, but it would mean that Iran has added a new type of mine to its arsenal — though probably not a very powerful one.
The Maritime Executive, a shipping and maritime industry news outlet, reported in January 2025 that during military exercises at sea, Iran had demonstrated a variant of its Fajr-5 rocket that could dispense “a single free-floating mine” into the water. These rocket-delivered munitions, or “drifting mines,” are pushed by winds and currents as soon as they land in the water. Each would eventually make its way into the open ocean or possibly wash up on shore, where it could harm anyone who picked one up."
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/us/politics/us-strikes-iran-new-naval-mine.html
Nice times ahead: just noticed that starting today Netflix has the entire run of SCTV.
SCTV was far superior to SNL.
Heartily agree! Episode 4 of the first season (aired Dec 1976) has guest stars John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson in a sendup of a Harold Pinter play called "Crosswords".
They're all so young – Catherine O'Hara is only 22 and is hilarious.
"female cats aren't as affectionate."
Meanwhile, my ladies are both within a foot of me, chilling with their backs towards me because I'm a safe & trustworthy hooman
Pretty much any generalization about cats is wrong. IMVVHO.
They're affectionate differently. I'm almost sure cats react differently to the gender and also express their own gender. I had a neutered male that positively fell in love with me. The females loved me too but expressed differently-- often by sitting next to me and ignoring me, with the occasional head-bop for scent marking. In case I had any doubt who owned me.
Real World TV boy Sean Duffy is really excited the Trump regime has conquered the real enemy, which is on/off buttons on cars.
I get his frustration as according to his wife he’s never been adept at finding the button
Brian Beutler on Off-Message today was talking about how the media focuses on one candidate questrionable connections while ignoring the other candidates foibles. Specofocally how they keep asking El-Sayid about Piker while ignoring Mike Rogers many fascist connections. Just like Bari Weiss is trying to make hay out of El-Sayid's comments about Covid. It's all Bad Faith messaging.
NYT (article on Trump admin's War on Bike Lanes): "Last month, the Transportation Department told National Public Radio that liberals believe “that everyone should ride a bike to their shoebox-sized apartment to eat crickets to achieve a phony climate agenda.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/us/politics/trump-bike-lanes-funding-dei.html?emc=edit_ufn_20260901&nl=from-the-times&segment_id=225863
Neither of those quotes Bari Weiss thinks are gamechangers are gamechangers. That was a nothingburger. She can't do better than that?
She cannot, in fact, do better than that. She could, however, do worse. And probably will.
OK, so your assignment for the week is to watch KPop Demon Hunters. It’s a blast.
Kelly nailed that song!
This doesn't sound good: https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/local/macon-road-ice-operation/522-5a9ab9cb-73f6-4d6e-8808-aca98ae2d47d
Ta, Evan. Antifascist now and forever. Radley Balko wrote about pet shootings in Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces. Ta, Martini. A little disappointed the babbies aren't called loonettes. Darling Meccalopolis served us flowery green tea and luscious fruit bowls; we have to shop today so he can make lion's mane in butter sauce and I can make a second pizza. Good day, beloved Wonketteers. We love and appreciate you all and we bless us all with love, health, peace, and grace.
Please, please stay safe. Wear a mask or two, wash your hands, sanitize when you cannot wash and let the sanitizer dry completely, stop touching your face, take Vitamin D, get a booster shot six months after your last (and get kids in your household vaccinated also, too), and stay the fuck away from us or anyone with whom you do not share a roof. Do this because you love yourself, and because we love you, too. Do this in memory of 27 Club member Treg, Holly's heroic pilot friend Tony, and around eight million dead worldwide (maybe including FukuiSanYesOta; he had long COVID and that can lead to cardiac arrest). Do this to honor the nurses and other frontline medical personnel (we love and appreciate you, medicos of Wonkette, including retirees), especially ICU Hera Mrs Land Shark RN. Please, please stay safe. When we vote, we WIN!
Slava Ukraini. 🌻🇺🇦💙💛
Do you happen to have a recipe for Lion's Mane in butter sauce that you could share? I love Lion's Mane & it sounds absolutely divine...
Mwah! More rain last night, the end of the foraging season will be epic. Have a great day, every Wonk!
I've been typing things into google prompts like "why did google maps cave to trump" and "why did google change the name of lake ontario before the trump admin's executive order," and so on.
I do stuff like this to let off steam, but if enough of us do it, maybe it makes a small dent?
Anyway, I typed in "why is google such a pathetic wuss" and the AI engine compliantly produced:
"Google’s often cautious or "wuss-like" behavior stems from its position as one of the largest public companies in the world, forcing it to constantly balance intense legal, financial, and public relations risks."
That doesn't explain doing anything BEFORE the supposed "intense risks" manifest.
Janky six-fingered robot...
This answer only makes sense if one interprets it as saying massive global corporations have to be evil:
Why did Google drop the "don't be evil" motto?
𝘈𝘐 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸
𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 "𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭" 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴.
Janky six-fingered plagiarism robot.