It's now the middle of June and in just two weeks I am off to Ireland to spend two weeks of R&R. Looking forward to getting together - it's been three months almost. I hope to post some while I am there.
This month has been a drag, as I have been down with some upper respiratory infection (URI) that has me running on 5 cylindars. I have been trying to rest and take OTC medications, but finally had to go to the doctor and was given some antibiotics and told to rest:) My good friend, Nicole, has been telling me that - like every day:) I am finally feeling almost near full speed. Haven't been birding or anything since the beginning of the month, so maybe I can get out there this weekend.
I have started a house/pet sitting stint for the rest of June. I am spending time in Steineke Hall getting my things together for my trip to Ireland and Great Britain, but spending nights at the house, to take the dog out in the afternoon and the morning and make sure there is food and water. I will keep Nicole's budgie for the weekend (a long one for her) while she goes home to visit family. When I return for Ireland I am probably going to house/pet sit for one or two more people until September. One thing I want to do is cook up some meals in the house and have some friends over for dinner once of twice a week. Want to find some good fish at the market to cook up.
One of the nice things about this house sitting is that one of the rooms is set up as an art studio, so I will have to use the space to finish some watercolors that I started for a book. The owner (wife) is really into art and has almost every painting medium available. I will stick to my watercolors and some pen & inks. She has been trying to get me to come over and use the space on the weekends when her husband in home. She knew that I was using the corner of the mess hall to do my work.
Nicole and i have been working on a lecture that we will give tomorrow night to the ANHA Birding Group. We have two hours to teach bird identification to the group. Some will come with a good skill set and others will little skill in identifying birds, so we have a challenge. Next month's lecture will address bird behavior, habitats, etc. By August, we will still be in the heat of summer, but the fall migration will be starting and we don't want to miss a day out in the field over the fall months. I am looking forward to spotting some new birds for my checklist in the British Isles. Many of the birds that Nicole has on her list might be everyday birds to her, but for me, a whole lot of them (Guillimots, Puffins, and a whole slew of northern ranging seabirds) have been out of my range back in the US Gulf Coast:)I am going over to Bahrain next weekend for a Thursday night party at Senior Pacos, staying overnight and going out banding/ringing tern chicks with my friend, Brendan.:)
I have also been working on my "Snakes of the Eastern Province" presentation scheduled for July 18. I had it pretty well put together, when I asked Nicole to critique it and she ripped it apart - too frightening for her and the bulk of the ANHA audience (too much focus on the poisonous species - fangs anf all that stuff), but right on target for the Traveling Naturalists (scheduled for October) and the Bahrain Natural History Society (some time next year). Actually, she knows the ANHA audience better than I, and I welcome her critique. I did much the same to her Birding Life Lecture. Turn around is fair play, Nicole:)
Weather has been consistant here: sunny and hot (113 F in the shade every day). Just don't get out much in the midday heat around here, xcept to peddle over to the mess hall or hospital to eat. Even the snakes and lizards dig down deep into the sand and rodent holes to keep cool - they almost hibernate.
Photos of a several desert blooms/plants
No comments:
Post a Comment