I've watched Canada geese do that from up close. Important safety tip! Do stand under the flock as it takes off. They lighten the load on launch, if you know what I mean. (and I think you do)
I was walking by a lake near sunset one evening in early December when I saw there were thousands of geese on the lake. They started lifting off in battalions. A hundred would fly up, and when they were in the air another hundred or so would fly up. By the end they were all heading south and not a goose was left on the water. A moment in the goose’s year that I don’t expect to be lucky enough to see again.
One of my earliest memories is looking into the hill pasture and seeing over 1000 white geese honking. My father and grandfather used them in the strawberry fields to weed grasses from the beds. My mother and father would take the eggs to a hatchery and then ship live goslings to Texas where cotton farmers used geese for the same purpose, all before the widespread use of selective herbicides
Friends of mine run a cashmere operation in Northern California, and it turns out that goat rustling is an actual thing, and geese provide a marvelous remedy.
I am fascinated by the ins and outs of this "nature" stuff
My house is directly under the flyways for Canada geese and sandhill cranes. When they are overhead they are easily identifiable by their distinctive calls. They have become harbingers of coming change each fall and spring.
True. I recall that certain British fellows in WW2 tried to train seagulls to poop on U-boat periscopes to blind the submarines. They failed, as you might expect.
And yet, you have to admire the Brits for having the fortitude to (a) think up something this crazy, and (b) actually put in the effort to try to make it happen.
I agree Dems should have filled the spot Bove ended up with, but it's not like that was the only place Trump was allowed to put him. Bove was going to end up on the first available Appeals Court regardless of what Dems did.
A FB music group I belong to does countdowns every couple of weeks of various sorts - sometimes it's themed, like songs about the sun or daylight, and sometimes it's a particular year. Last go-round was songs from 1968*. I just put the tabulated results into a playlist. 285 songs, 17 hours and 23 minutes worth of music from the year I first got a radio. Take a listen if you're interested.
I used the 5 Calls app to call my Congress Critter's local office to see if she is going to have a town hall during this August recess.
I have complained about her in the past. I live in what was John Lewis' district here in Atlanta. His replacement is Nikema Williams who is no real substitute. She doesn't attend protests or rallies even when they are being held during congressional breaks when she's at home. Yeah, Nikema is in a safe seat and knows it. She's not actively fucking up but I don't see her providing extra value. She just does her job.
So the guy who answered the phone didn't know and had to check. He came back to say that there will be a town hall on August 15 and to check her IG and FB. I did and no details yet. Hopefully, they will post the event to FB soon. So we'll see what Miz Nikema has to say for herself later this month.
I am so done with solar sidewalks. An aesthetic, designery approach to power engineering is fine and cool in small doses, but we need fucking ENERGY right now. Right in that article some Artisanal Energy Provider says that the urban environment doesn't have room for solar panels, having forgotten the concept of "roof", while ignoring that a lot of sidewalks are in the shade. Why aren't governments requiring parking lots over a certain size to have solar panels above them. They would provide energy and also keep the asphalt from absorbing all that heat.
Solar "pavement" is a horrible idea that will never work. This has been proven repeatedly over the past 10 to 15 years. Go to YouTube, search for "Solar Roadways" and watch a few of the thousands of hours of videos demonstrating why it is a massive failure.
To get a better idea of the companies promoting this stuff, watch The Simpsons "Marge vs. the Monorail" episode.
Yeah, the solar roadways is was what I was remembering. I can get these solar sidewalks as a showpiece on a University quad to show the Alumni donors how forward thinking your engineering department is, but they are never going to be a significant piece of the energy puzzle.
"While Trump announced earlier this month he would be imposing tariffs of 30% against the European Union and Mexico starting August 1, his latest post said he will extend his current agreement with Mexico by 90 days.
"We have agreed to extend, for a 90 Day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time, namely, that Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, 25% Tariff on Cars, and 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper," he posted."
Mexico is paying that tariff to the exact same degree as they paid for the border wall. Why the fuck can't one shred of truth find its way into his alleged brain?
Let the cat out a little bit ago, to find a nicely presented dead baby mole on the front porch. It wasn't there last night when we let said cat inside, so what I believe is going on is that my cat's friend, who we call Puzzle Cat (interesting markings on its face), left a present for our boy. Interesting ritual!
Cats are serial killers, mostly of birds. If you let your indoor cat outdoors, put a bell on the collar to give the prey a fighting chance to get away. Our cats NEVER go outside.
I live in a tiny town, and my cat does get the occasional bird when he’s in the woods nearby. He catches shrews and mice more often. I can’t have a collar on him because of the danger of strangulation when he’s in the thickets. Small town living with pets is different sometimes; in other parts of my life I’ve had indoor-only cats, but when I live semi-rural, they are allowed outside.
Uggh, I just can't this morning. THe world is sad and wretched and cruel, and it won't stop being so any time soon. Pacing myself, I think, is the best way to stay strong for the long haul. And it's going to be a long haul.
Your hed gif source info: https://martiniambassador.substack.com/p/gaggles-and-gaggles-of-geese
And meme chat: https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/28490364-c85a-48e6-9ace-23f495075f12?utm_source=share
I've watched Canada geese do that from up close. Important safety tip! Do stand under the flock as it takes off. They lighten the load on launch, if you know what I mean. (and I think you do)
Flamingos flapping!
That’s one hell of a lot of cobra chickens.
I blame myself for not making goose cassoulet nearly often enough to keep the snow goose population in check.
From the number of creatures in this morning's gif, i was expecting to enough TABS to keep me occupied until December.
I was walking by a lake near sunset one evening in early December when I saw there were thousands of geese on the lake. They started lifting off in battalions. A hundred would fly up, and when they were in the air another hundred or so would fly up. By the end they were all heading south and not a goose was left on the water. A moment in the goose’s year that I don’t expect to be lucky enough to see again.
One of my earliest memories is looking into the hill pasture and seeing over 1000 white geese honking. My father and grandfather used them in the strawberry fields to weed grasses from the beds. My mother and father would take the eggs to a hatchery and then ship live goslings to Texas where cotton farmers used geese for the same purpose, all before the widespread use of selective herbicides
A flock of geese is a really good alarm system too.
They are! Like hadedas in my beloved land
I had to look up hadeda, and boy do they look cool. I'm a big fan of ibis in general, but had no idea that this species exists.
Friends of mine run a cashmere operation in Northern California, and it turns out that goat rustling is an actual thing, and geese provide a marvelous remedy.
I am fascinated by the ins and outs of this "nature" stuff
Usually one is enough
100%
Snow geese are amazing to see in person. I have never seen them except on the large flocks. ❤️
Sounds like a plane taking off when they take to the air with all the wings flapping. Just astonishing.
My house is directly under the flyways for Canada geese and sandhill cranes. When they are overhead they are easily identifiable by their distinctive calls. They have become harbingers of coming change each fall and spring.
There’s Whistling ducks flying around here. Their calls are quite distinctive also.
Burds going to fight The Tomorrow War
One of them dropped Major Kong on my yard. Fortunately, he was well supplied.
Lots of Foie Gras!
On the hoof, as it were.
An awesome sight.
My first paycheck jerb was as a golf cart mechanic, the country club greenskeepers were somewhat unfond of 'em. There were hundreds of the birds
I appreciated them, from adequate distance.
They crap a whoooole lot.
Canada geese are not popular on Canadian golf courses either. For just that reason.
I don't think they're any more popular on golf courses south of Canada.
Organic Flying Fertilizer Distribution System.
Any of them lay golden eggs? Asking for Veruca Salt.
I had SUCH a crush on Veruca as a kid.... despite what a little snot she was.... :)
She was a bad egg.
Geese causing a skein.
I wouldn’t want my car to be under all that.
I would train them to roost or fly over Swastikars and Wankpanzers.
Training geese might be like herding cats.
True. I recall that certain British fellows in WW2 tried to train seagulls to poop on U-boat periscopes to blind the submarines. They failed, as you might expect.
And yet, you have to admire the Brits for having the fortitude to (a) think up something this crazy, and (b) actually put in the effort to try to make it happen.
“The Men Who Stare at Goats”.
Absolutely, and some of the things they did try (the bouncing bomb, the Grand Slam, etc.) did work quite well.
Wild is as wild does.
Heavenly thought!
Or, better yet, do an overflight and bombing run the next time The Homunculus has an open-air rally.
WOOT!
Flyover at a military parade?
Dan Hartman did one of my favorite disco anthems, "Instant Replay".
I agree Dems should have filled the spot Bove ended up with, but it's not like that was the only place Trump was allowed to put him. Bove was going to end up on the first available Appeals Court regardless of what Dems did.
A FB music group I belong to does countdowns every couple of weeks of various sorts - sometimes it's themed, like songs about the sun or daylight, and sometimes it's a particular year. Last go-round was songs from 1968*. I just put the tabulated results into a playlist. 285 songs, 17 hours and 23 minutes worth of music from the year I first got a radio. Take a listen if you're interested.
https://tidal.com/playlist/023caf93-9bb0-4a3e-a66d-c66f4fa3329f
*We're not too fussy about dates, as sometimes a song is recorded in one year but not released in the next, etc.
We play a lot of these songs (really a lot) on A Jet Age Sound, where we spin vinyl on the air on Saturday nights. A great year for music.
The Mothers of Invention? Radical!
Hey, thanks. This will be fun!
Thanks for the Georgia voter site.
*DO NOT* miss that Jeff Tiedrich piece!
https://shorturl.at/uDmMa
I would totally hose down the electronics on the back of those Tesla diner screens from my balcony. Probably with urine.
Might want to transfer it to a container first ...
https://youtu.be/ntl8GD2w1qc?si=_2otN1YM9nHc0tZX
I used the 5 Calls app to call my Congress Critter's local office to see if she is going to have a town hall during this August recess.
I have complained about her in the past. I live in what was John Lewis' district here in Atlanta. His replacement is Nikema Williams who is no real substitute. She doesn't attend protests or rallies even when they are being held during congressional breaks when she's at home. Yeah, Nikema is in a safe seat and knows it. She's not actively fucking up but I don't see her providing extra value. She just does her job.
So the guy who answered the phone didn't know and had to check. He came back to say that there will be a town hall on August 15 and to check her IG and FB. I did and no details yet. Hopefully, they will post the event to FB soon. So we'll see what Miz Nikema has to say for herself later this month.
I am so done with solar sidewalks. An aesthetic, designery approach to power engineering is fine and cool in small doses, but we need fucking ENERGY right now. Right in that article some Artisanal Energy Provider says that the urban environment doesn't have room for solar panels, having forgotten the concept of "roof", while ignoring that a lot of sidewalks are in the shade. Why aren't governments requiring parking lots over a certain size to have solar panels above them. They would provide energy and also keep the asphalt from absorbing all that heat.
Solar "pavement" is a horrible idea that will never work. This has been proven repeatedly over the past 10 to 15 years. Go to YouTube, search for "Solar Roadways" and watch a few of the thousands of hours of videos demonstrating why it is a massive failure.
To get a better idea of the companies promoting this stuff, watch The Simpsons "Marge vs. the Monorail" episode.
Yeah, the solar roadways is was what I was remembering. I can get these solar sidewalks as a showpiece on a University quad to show the Alumni donors how forward thinking your engineering department is, but they are never going to be a significant piece of the energy puzzle.
"Mono" meaning one, and "rail" meaning…rail.
If your fentanyl is more expensive, this is why:
"While Trump announced earlier this month he would be imposing tariffs of 30% against the European Union and Mexico starting August 1, his latest post said he will extend his current agreement with Mexico by 90 days.
"We have agreed to extend, for a 90 Day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time, namely, that Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, 25% Tariff on Cars, and 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper," he posted."
Mexico is paying that tariff to the exact same degree as they paid for the border wall. Why the fuck can't one shred of truth find its way into his alleged brain?
Too spongey?
NYT - Do solar sidewalks cause foot cancer? We asked 10 voters from the American Enterprise Institute for their thoughts and concerns”
Solar sidewalks are silly. We shouldn't be wasting money that could be used so much more efficiently on utility scale.
Let the cat out a little bit ago, to find a nicely presented dead baby mole on the front porch. It wasn't there last night when we let said cat inside, so what I believe is going on is that my cat's friend, who we call Puzzle Cat (interesting markings on its face), left a present for our boy. Interesting ritual!
Cats are serial killers, mostly of birds. If you let your indoor cat outdoors, put a bell on the collar to give the prey a fighting chance to get away. Our cats NEVER go outside.
I live in a tiny town, and my cat does get the occasional bird when he’s in the woods nearby. He catches shrews and mice more often. I can’t have a collar on him because of the danger of strangulation when he’s in the thickets. Small town living with pets is different sometimes; in other parts of my life I’ve had indoor-only cats, but when I live semi-rural, they are allowed outside.
Delivery!
It's not even a diner if it is not run by a old hairy Greek guy,
Or a nice fat old lady who seems banal enough but will stoutly defend the queer kids in her neighborhood.
Diners are a much more interesting culture than all those coffee table books would suggest.
With a waitress named "Libby"
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/Supertramp_-_Breakfast_in_America.jpg
That Elno hates women is not a surprise. That has been obvious for some time. That he also considers them a commodity, is equally apparent.
Send Elno to space.
One way trip pls.
Uggh, I just can't this morning. THe world is sad and wretched and cruel, and it won't stop being so any time soon. Pacing myself, I think, is the best way to stay strong for the long haul. And it's going to be a long haul.