Fresh off the loom - Rug #17

I've been trying to think of or "see" our museum rag rugs in new ways. This end view catches my fancy - slightly abstracted - bulbous, like the balls of rags we started with.

A somewhat more traditional view shows four stripes of simpatico coloration and equal width in a regular rotation - quite a nice rug altogether. The photo doesn't do justice to the visual depth created by the "wave" of warm to cool colors - standing on the rug, you might perceive a ~ one - two inch trough between the warm and cool areas of the rug.

very cool rug

An Exciting Big Year

2010 was a great birding year for HB & Me.

201 species for the year (21% more than 2009).

10 new life list birds, including this feisty little Broad-winged hawk we had a chance to meet up close and personal. (photo credit to HB)

2011 is off to a good start with 51 species so far, and a new life list bird - the Bonaparte's Gull.

Though not technically a great photo, the dark trailing edges on the wings and the ear spot on this immature Bonaparte's Gull clearly distinguish it from the larger Ring-billed Gull flying with it. We also saw several mature Bonaparte's flying around in the area, almost walking on the water - they were about as beautiful as gulls get - a truely memorable sighting.