After a long absence

I haven’t posted in quite some time, as many of you have noticed. Captain Paul has inspired me to begin writing again. For this, I thank him.

Part of my long hiatus is due to the fact that my job this summer is the position of Councilor for a resident Boy Scout Camp – something that severely limits my internet access. And while much of my time is spent out-of-doors, it is rarely spent on the type of pursuits I enjoy greatly. Even less does it concern something I can write about with any flair.

Anyways, I plan to try to throw a post out every week, if possible. Please keep checking back, as I may update unexpectedly.

 

Spring Foraging

I went out to check for fiddleheads (Ostrich Ferns, Pteretis pensylvanica) today. They aren’t up nearly far enough yet. I suppose the fact that they were underwater last week has something to do with it.

I did find some Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) recently. I wrote an article for the Wilderness Wiki. You can find it here

I also found some Clintonia (Clintonia borealis) shoots that will be ready in a few days.

Yes, spring is certainly here, and its bounty will be available for the harvesting from now on. I can’t wait.

 

Woodpecker Work

I took a stroll today, going nowhere in particular. Obviously, I took my nasty little camera with me, and so I took plenty of photos. I gave special focus to woodpecker holes, and here are a few that really impressed me.

One of these days, I’ll go a different way and snap a picture of an old beech trunk that a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) have decimated so badly it is in danger of falling. It is really impressive, the work these birds can do when they set their mind to it (groan).

No, really, they sure put their nose to the… nevermind. That one was worse.

 

Sunset Photos

I snapped some quick pictures of a sunset over my lake today. These are the ones that came out best. The second was taken about thirty-five minutes after the first.

I hope you like these pictures. I’m still using a small, cheap digital camera. Hopefully, at the end of the summer I’ll be purchasing a nicer camera. I’m currently looking at the Canon Rebel XT, but I don’t know what lenses yet.

 

Ecocho!

I found something awesome today. A website like this has only existed in my dreams before this moment. I had never really hoped that someone might have come up with the idea, and even less that they would have implemented it successfully!

Anyways, this is Ecocho. What it is – basically – is a search engine, powered by Yahoo! that plants trees every time people use it to search the web.
How? Ads. Nice, little, unobtrusive ads.

I have found that it performs very nicely – on par with Google, in my opinion. Besides, it’s planting trees.
If you don’t believe me, there is a nice little FAQ, along with other information pages on the site.

I find it ironic that a Google fan such as myself would switch to a Yahoo! program so quickly. But I look at it this way: While Google is cool, the environment is cooler. Although it won’t be for very long if we don’t do something about it.
I think Ecocho is a good place to start. Please, check it out. I like it.