Marty April 28th, 2008
I went out looking for migrant birds Saturday - because I just needed to get out of the house and away from work, although the weather wasn’t helping much (overcast and spritzing). But I did get to see some cool birds at Palmyra Cove, including a lifelist worm-eating warbler. Continue Reading »
Marty April 25th, 2008
The other day, my boss Dante and I got into a discussion about the first albums we had ever bought. I can’t remember how it started but I said that my first 5 albums were Kiss - “Love Gun” and “Hotter than Hell”, Styx “Kilroy was Here”, Journey “Escape” and Def Leppard “Pyromania”, to which he replied his first album was The Who “Live at Leeds”, which he said he thought was still one of the best live albums ever done. I wasn’t sure but it spurred a debate about what was the best live album out there. So, here are my choices: Continue Reading »
Marty April 22nd, 2008
The Phillies line-up is amazingly agonizing. One one hand you have the hottest player in baseball, Chase Utley (.364, 9 HR, 18RBI, homers in 5 straight games) and the surprising Pat Burrell (.354, 7HR, 19RBI). On the other hand, you have one of the saddest hitting line-ups out there: the Phillies’ starting line-up has 2 players hitting .250 or under and THREE PLAYERS HITTING UNDER .200 (Bruntlett - .174, Howard - .193, Ruiz - .196). That’s just unforgiveable. Continue Reading »
Marty April 16th, 2008
Some of the most common butterflies in this area are the sulphurs, part of the family Pieridae, which includes most white and yellow butterflies. In the tri-state area, most of the sulphurs (sub-family Coliadinae) are members of four genuses: Colias (Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Pink-Edged Sulphur); Phoebis (Cloudless Sulphur); Pyrisitia (Little Yellow) and Abaeis (Sleepy Orange). Continue Reading »
Marty April 14th, 2008
Some of the most interesting butterflies in these parts are the various species of the genus Polygonia. The two most common species in the NJ-DE-PA area are the Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) and Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) butterflies. Both species are very similar on both the dorsal and lateral faces of their bodies, but with subtle differences. Continue Reading »
Marty April 14th, 2008
With spring approaching, it’s getting to be time for the butterflies and odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) to come out to play. My region - the NJ-DE-PA tri-state area - is a great place for both types of insects, but there are many species that are tough to tell apart unless you know what to look for. I’ve put together some ID lessons to help people identify some of the commonly confused species. Continue Reading »
Marty April 13th, 2008
Well, we’re back from our trip to see my nephew for his 3rd birthday. I haven’t gotten to see Caleb as much as I might like over the few years of his life, but we’ve been making a more concerted effort to stay in touch and see the little guy. So, for our trip to Georgia, we made an extended vacation that would allow us some time with him and my sister outside of the ‘group’ visits we’ve had (like the beach where there are 8 families, and too little private time). Continue Reading »
Marty April 1st, 2008
Today are the softball tryouts for our company team - or should I say, teams. We had so many people last year that it was hard to get in the game and assure an at bat - and with more people in the company than last year, we were almost assured of a worse situation. So, we are putting TWO teams out there this year. Hopefully that will mean some increased playing time and more at bats this year.
On a slightly more somber note, I suspect the rate of heart attacks in the city of Philadelphia will increase over the next few weeks, if yesterday’s game was any indication. The Phillies offense did their job, but our bullpen … well, SUCKS. Announcer Larry Anderson had the gumption to say, “Well, the bullpen has been a concern all spring…”. SPRING? Of what - 2002? The bullpen has been the achilles heel, bum rib and sciatica of the team for the last half-dozen years, and they never do anything to solve it. Tom Gordon has the highest possible ERA in the majors (135.01, in case you’re counting) and Ryan Madsen isn’t much better. Brett Myers didn’t pitch horribly - nor did he pitch well - but it’s going to be a long season if he has to be used much. And what was Ruiz thinking throwing to third base when you’ve got 2 men on base, down by 2 in the 9th inning? That’s just bad baseball.
In other news, I worked more on the ZPC project and sent Van over some new files. I’m finally seeing this shaping up to be what I wanted it to be. Cleaning up stray pieces that look bad, adding some flair, etc. I have a little ways to go, but at least it’s acceptable now. Maybe I’m too anal … now, I’m a perfectionist. That’s it.
Marty March 31st, 2008
I finally got out for some birding on Saturday morning at Palmyra Cove. It was a little chilly, and there weren’t any real big migrants there, but I still have a good time. One of the highlights was seeing quite a few Field Sparrows (Spizella pusilla) - a species I had seen before but not yet photgraphed. This little casanova was singing his heart out near the beaver pond. Continue Reading »
Marty March 25th, 2008
Late last year, I entered some of my pictures into a contest sponsored by the National Wildlife Refuge Association. I got a notice yesterday that at least one of my photos had been selected as a winner. Continue Reading »
