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ferineThunder, Thunder, Thunderbeasts, Ho!
Who you callin' a ho?
Er... *ahem*:
Blessedly, the weather was decent enough for the boys and I to freakin' finally go hiking Saturday! After months of being unable to, we visited the 104th Open Space & Bike Trail.
Much squee and glee were had. Jay was uber-photo-facilitator, of course. >;-)
Among the views captured were: A Bald Eagle in the distance! A Belted Kingfisher on a wire and in a tree! Pigeons clustered on a pole and wires, plotting to take over the world! Canada Geese in flight! A Red-tailed Hawk in flight! A Male Downy Woodpecker, er, beating wood(!), Evergreen genitalia (seriously!), mountain views, the sunset at different times, the barely visible first phase sliver of the moon, and, for the first time, a decent Black-capped Chickadee shot! I love chickadees, and they're always around us, yet they move so quickly they're difficult to photograph.
Omegadog one again graced us with his presence that evening, thus leading to another record-breaking late night -- rather, early Sunday morning. I crashed, slightly comatose, around 2:00-ish AM, and Lu and the boys left around 5:30 AM. >;-D
Had to rise uncomfortably early on Sunday to visit grandma in Boulder. Counted birds of prey on the way to and from, which kept me surprisingly awake and alert. A total of 19 this time, and one of those my parents and I thought for sure was an eagle given it's size (it was too far off to differentiate between Golden or Bald). Only four were close enough to tell that they were Red-tailed Hawks. So, once again, it's a fair guess that the others were Cooper's Hawks and Red-tails.
Reading: I finished Werewolves: A Field Guide to Shapeshifters, Lycanthropes, and Man-Beasts by Dr. Bob Curran (thank you, Watching!), which was an excellent read. Much of it was a good refresher "course", detailing many old histories and information from other sources I've read through the years. The black & white illustrations by Ian Daniels have a Gothic bent to them that aesthetically appeals to me (and--refreshingly--no stereotypically "Native American"-looking ones). The only word of warning about the book's information: the few statements on Navajo cultural beliefs are wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. But that didn't surprise me. The best thing to do (well, what I do, that is), whenever you read a book about monsters or the paranormal that espouses any supposed American Indian spiritual beliefs or superstitions, either don't trust its accuracy, gloss over it completely, or view it as pure camp, fantasy, or personal (IE, ignorant) interpretation. Don't let that deter you, it's otherwise a wonderful book.
Also finished The Werewolf's Guide to Life: A Manual for the Newly Bitten by Ritch Duncan (thank you, Nona!), which was pure delight! This book left me enthusiastically grinning after each reading. The dry lycanthropic humor is right up my alley. I can't recommend this enough for the werewolf enthusiast. The book's website also amuses me. Click here and check it out. >;-)
Which leads me to the steaming pile I'm attempting to stomach now: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves by Nathan Robert Brown. Now, I've purchased other "Complete Idiot's Guide" books that were intelligent, concise repositories of information with a wealth of references. This, sadly, is the opposite of those.
Now, anyone who knows me knows I have a perverse love for the craptastic--campy monster and/or horror films, B-movies, Z-movies, Blacksploitation, etc. This love can transcend film and relate to books as well. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves doesn't even earn a place in that hallowed hell hole of my heart.
I'm forcing myself to finish it solely for the satisfaction of intelligently shredding it to pieces in an amazon.com review. Yes, it honestly is that bad.
Photos coming soon.
Love!
Who you callin' a ho?
Er... *ahem*:
Blessedly, the weather was decent enough for the boys and I to freakin' finally go hiking Saturday! After months of being unable to, we visited the 104th Open Space & Bike Trail.
Much squee and glee were had. Jay was uber-photo-facilitator, of course. >;-)
Among the views captured were: A Bald Eagle in the distance! A Belted Kingfisher on a wire and in a tree! Pigeons clustered on a pole and wires, plotting to take over the world! Canada Geese in flight! A Red-tailed Hawk in flight! A Male Downy Woodpecker, er, beating wood(!), Evergreen genitalia (seriously!), mountain views, the sunset at different times, the barely visible first phase sliver of the moon, and, for the first time, a decent Black-capped Chickadee shot! I love chickadees, and they're always around us, yet they move so quickly they're difficult to photograph.
Omegadog one again graced us with his presence that evening, thus leading to another record-breaking late night -- rather, early Sunday morning. I crashed, slightly comatose, around 2:00-ish AM, and Lu and the boys left around 5:30 AM. >;-D
Had to rise uncomfortably early on Sunday to visit grandma in Boulder. Counted birds of prey on the way to and from, which kept me surprisingly awake and alert. A total of 19 this time, and one of those my parents and I thought for sure was an eagle given it's size (it was too far off to differentiate between Golden or Bald). Only four were close enough to tell that they were Red-tailed Hawks. So, once again, it's a fair guess that the others were Cooper's Hawks and Red-tails.
Reading: I finished Werewolves: A Field Guide to Shapeshifters, Lycanthropes, and Man-Beasts by Dr. Bob Curran (thank you, Watching!), which was an excellent read. Much of it was a good refresher "course", detailing many old histories and information from other sources I've read through the years. The black & white illustrations by Ian Daniels have a Gothic bent to them that aesthetically appeals to me (and--refreshingly--no stereotypically "Native American"-looking ones). The only word of warning about the book's information: the few statements on Navajo cultural beliefs are wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. But that didn't surprise me. The best thing to do (well, what I do, that is), whenever you read a book about monsters or the paranormal that espouses any supposed American Indian spiritual beliefs or superstitions, either don't trust its accuracy, gloss over it completely, or view it as pure camp, fantasy, or personal (IE, ignorant) interpretation. Don't let that deter you, it's otherwise a wonderful book.
Also finished The Werewolf's Guide to Life: A Manual for the Newly Bitten by Ritch Duncan (thank you, Nona!), which was pure delight! This book left me enthusiastically grinning after each reading. The dry lycanthropic humor is right up my alley. I can't recommend this enough for the werewolf enthusiast. The book's website also amuses me. Click here and check it out. >;-)
Which leads me to the steaming pile I'm attempting to stomach now: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves by Nathan Robert Brown. Now, I've purchased other "Complete Idiot's Guide" books that were intelligent, concise repositories of information with a wealth of references. This, sadly, is the opposite of those.
Now, anyone who knows me knows I have a perverse love for the craptastic--campy monster and/or horror films, B-movies, Z-movies, Blacksploitation, etc. This love can transcend film and relate to books as well. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves doesn't even earn a place in that hallowed hell hole of my heart.
I'm forcing myself to finish it solely for the satisfaction of intelligently shredding it to pieces in an amazon.com review. Yes, it honestly is that bad.
Photos coming soon.
Love!
