Open Thread – Puffins!
After ravens, puffins are definitely my favorite Alaskan bird. This pair of horned puffins found a “comfy” nesting spot on one of the islands in Resurrection Bay. By the end of the summer they have gotten so fat that when the boat goes by you see them trying to haul their big bodies out of the water, and they run and run and run, barely getting their feet out of the water, trying so hard to take off, and then half the time they say “Oh, forget it,” and just dive. It’s very funny to watch their antics.
And for all their clumsiness, underwater they are absolutely graceful and amazingly beautiful. At the Sealife Center in Seward, there’s a big tank where you can watch puffins and murres under water. They look like little airplanes painted like clowns, gliding and swooping in big circles.
I have always been sad that there are no penguins in the northern hemisphere, but these guys come pretty close to making up for it.
They are gorgeous. I love puffins.
Sweet! I’ve heard of puffins but now I know what they look like.
I love puffins! They are the cutest birds EVER!
I WANT ONE! (No, two!)
Great pic, AKM!
Luffin’ the Puffin!
They remind me of penguins and dodo birds so it flips me out when they fly and sound like regular birds.
There Once Was a Puffin
Oh, there once was a Puffin
Just the shape of a muffin,
And he lived on an island
In the bright blue sea!
He ate little fishes,
That were most delicious,
And he had them for supper
And he had them for tea.
But this poor little Puffin,
He couldn’t play nothin’,
For he hadn’t anybody
To play with at all.
So he sat on his island,
And he cried for awhile, and
He felt very lonely,
And he felt very small.
Then along came the fishes,
And they said, “If you wishes,
You can have us for playmates,
Instead of for tea!”
So they now play together,
In all sorts of weather,
And the Puffin eats pancakes,
Like you and like me.
by Florence Page Jaques
(there’s an adorable little tune that goes with this. Here’s a video of an equally adorable little girl singing it :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ63V2nQHUw )
Wow! You flashed me back to childhood. I used to love that song, and had forgotten all but the first and last verse. Thanks for the road trip down memory lane!
AKM
I adore puffins.
Buffalogal, that video is just too cute.
http://cgi.ebay.com/DINNER-WITHOUT-SARAH-PALIN_W0QQitemZ280399457786QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Gift_Certificates?hash=item41491c2dfa&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
ebay bidding on Dinner W/O Sarah. =)
Great Picture!
Puffins are nature’s comedians!
I guess one of my favorite birds is the magpie. They can be so playful. We had a squirrel who thought it owned our yard. We had two birdfeeders out, flat surfaces, and this magpie landed on one of them. Well, needless to say, this was not acceptable to the squirrel. He chased the bird away, which just transferred himself to the other feeder. This went on for several minutes, till the magpie tired of the game. The squirrel sat there and panted. Sure wish I’d have had a video of it.
Keep up the good work AKM. I have my morning coffee with you.
Ok, AKM, I love ravens best too! I think they are the clowns of the bird world. They just crack me up!!! People here in the desert use them for target practice without ever realizing how intelligent and ingenuous they are. Most people also don’t know that they mate for life. Growing up, I had a friend who had a raven she raised as a pet. He lived a free life, but chose to stay at their house. If they went out in their Jeep, he would land on the windshield for a ride around the block before they could continue on their errand. Sometimes, however, he was a little too protective of their front door and threatened visitors with a pecking and wing-beating.
Puffins are cool – and so fun to watch. Thanks for the photo.
This short video from Japan is a testament to the ingenuity of some of our feathered friends. Crows, who would otherwise have to pass up nuts that are too tough-shelled for them, have learned to take advantage of automobiles to do the hard work for them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_UajXZEZF0
[BuffaloGal @ #4 - I came in here to add "The Puffin" poem, too! I read it to my sons when they were little things, 3-odd decades ago; they and I just loved it. Still do. It's too good not to share - thanks for posting it. beth.]
Yep fair and balanced, producer rallying the teabaggers. Notice that after she’s caught on camera she ducks out of the way, and covers her face. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/19/fox-news-producer-caught_n_292529.html
I used to love Ravens until a pair decided that the mirrors on my truck make for a good roosting place this summer!!! White piles of excrement on the mirrors,and trails of it down the doors,caused me to have a new love/hate relationship after a few weeks!! We solved it by playing loud music on a boombox inside the truck for a few days,pretty simple once we thought of it.
I’ve been watching George S.( This Week with George S.)
President Obama was first. He spoke intelligently and covered the same bases as before. The issue of ‘ racism ‘ came up by George and used the comments of Pres. Jimmy Carter as a comparison for his question. He didn’t agree with Carter But I think he does this so the Right has no talking points.
( don’t give them ammunition)
He says the ‘bulk’ or the protest come from a fear of ‘ growing government’.
Round Table time : Going around the table… Ed Gillespie ( R- talking head ) decides to quote something that Dana Perrino said or quoted to make a point.
( Well… gee Ed. You might as well just quote Dick Cheney.Dana would tie with SP for the number of lies she has told and for credibility)
Peggy Noonan: ( takes a BIG sigh of exasperation before speaking) She thinks the way the President has been speaking to America would be described as ‘ boorish ‘.( Hello Peggy..? reality calling…please pick up the phone ….? )
Bob Reich- is asked about the Baucus Bill. If he was grading papers… he gets a grade of ‘D ‘… OR an ‘ F ‘. Says it is a starting point( Only)… needs to build on it. Calls out Mitch McConnell and says he refuses to work for any kind of reform.
George Will- Typical George. Nothing totally outlandish. At one point he even had praise for something the President was doing. Might have been about Afghanistan. Who listens to Mr. Will anyway.
Yup, I like magpies. Here’s a song for the Australians:
Magpie, as performed by Craig Nichols and friends
on YouTube.
This is an Oregon group. Unfortunately the lyrics are indistinct, so here are the lyrics by Canadian Ian Tyson:
http://www.lyricsbay.com/tyson_ian_magpie_lyrics-ian_tyson.html
It’s a small world. June Watts from the Salisbury Circle Dance network choreographed or recorded a circle dance to this song-it involves much sticking out of one’s butt and wagging it happily.
Thanks honesty, I can’t watch that show anymore, drives me nuts. I used to like George, but his people are too frustrating. Peggy is a bit boorish…
Hi all- just wanted to submit a poem…
(Trees Without Bark)
In Autumn- leaves fail-
They drift away
They fall and break
And whisper ourselves apart-
And become the grains of Winter-
The assumption that gray is not a color becomes a narcotic slumber that forgives the advice from a younger heart-
And urges forward- and onward- and hints that once upon a time- we could do anything we wanted- but forgot how-
The essence of What We Were- has become a tide of water that we dare not cross… Lest we embrace moisture that was meant for dreamers and adventurers-that are bold and true to heart-
Are we of such a nature- ?
Does the heart follow the flagrant soul- or does it lay sterile in a white room?
To become quiet- Granite- unrealized…
A Far away- beat- that only pulses when time meets expectation’s end?
Or does the paint peel and curl from the canopy of the art itself?
Do the shells that flake away- reveal more of us- then the silhouette that once was us?
The softening clouds that collide with our memories- Will they rage on to become a fury of dreams unrealized- … and ultimately a thunderstorm of hope?
A painted sky that begs- the next move- in a chess-match for the soul that we believe we have- ?
Delivering a song of color that then spurs a challenge to better what we have become- and fell our walls-
If Not-
We ourselves shall fall to winter-
And become trees without bark….
teutonic13, I hope you are submitting your poems to forums besides just the mudpups!
AKM, I like when your Alaskan puffins migrate down to the Oregon coast and settle on Haystack rock to nest. They are so cute, hardly swanlike, as they fly around and around the huge rock. With good eyes (or a telescope) you can see them trudging up the sides and sitting on nests right on the edge. They are great swimmers too. Love ‘em!
CNN : I will not watch… especially John King.
I did tune in just because I knew President Obama was on there.
After his speech he has Mitch McConnell on as rebuttal.
John King is very ‘ helpful’ in the way he asks Mitch questions. He does this interview just like he did with Cheney earlier this year.Lobbing softballs. Shows a clip where Mitch says ” We are winning ” from a conference on Friday. Mitch is not even worth comments. Nothing intelligent will ever come out of his mouth.
The President was asked about this quote as well during the interview…The President said ” They said the same thing last Nov. ”
King has conveniently spliced his interview together with asking a question…. and them they cut back to the studio where he can give his Opinion and ‘ commentary ‘. Then he goes back to the interview. ( King is SO transparent)
King in an ongoing attempt to help defend his BFF’s brings up in the interview the question of a statement from 7 ( Senators… I think ) people who have put forward a statement asking the DOJ to stop an investigation into what Cheney and his Buddies were doing. President says he is for going forward ( same as he has said before – no change of stance ) but NO One is above the Law. Obama feels the Attorneys can make an honest decision without bias.. etc.
John…apparently doesn’t want to see his friend Dick in a Orange Jumpsuit.
Time to turn off CNN again. CLICK! Unless the President comes back on.
i no longer watch cnn. ted turner said a few months ago that he regretted selling cnn. he is very disappointed in them and so am i.
i have never seen a puffin before today. thanks akm. they are very attractive.going to wikipedia to find out more about them.
Puffins (and giraffes, ostriches and platypuses) are proof that God has a sense of humor.
I do like Zakariah and Amanpour on CNN. I think there are a handfull of reporters that do a good job, but it seems that once they get their own desk in front of the camera, well, it is not the same unbiased reporting. I really choose individually, no matter the station. Good and bad on all. (Some more than others, of course!)
Very interesting comment on the princess winky ebay dinner story over on ADN. Comment is by moesshoplogging at 9/19 7:37 AM. More reference to
“the stolen trust fund” and ramifications to come. Feds and POTUS onto her
and watching. I’ve read a few things like this before. Is this person serious? Or just a paranoid wingnut? Who is this person? Inquiring minds want to know!
The old-time sailormen called puffins “sea parrots”. Aargh!
Years ago, one winter in Anchorage, I was taking a short cut down an alley to get back to my office after lunch. A big raven kept hopping backward in front of me, swooping over my head, and making all kinds of noises. I talked back, and we had about 5 minutes of interaction. After a bit, I noticed that an old Alaska Native gentleman was standing on the back steps of a building, watching us. When I got near him, he told me earnestly, but with a real twinkle in his eye, that I shold be very careful about talking to ravens, because “Sometimes they decide to marry human girls”, and that by talking to the bird, I might be agreeing to do something I wouldn’t really want to do. I sometimes wonder if I still have a raven boyfriend out there…
you are right boodog. i am not being fair. i miss Amanpour on cnn. just feel so let down by all the news media. i will watch Ed and k.o. and rachel from time to time. doctor says to ease up on watching the news. bad for blood pressure and for ability to fight depression. …bubs
Looking again at that beautiful photo of the puffins, I am reminded of an Audubon oil painting. Terrific use of the light available.
bubbles, I think we all are feeling what you are right now-there is cause for even the sane to be mistrustful. It is not you who is not being fair at all. It is the media. So much media out there! When you get depressed, think out how it would be to have lived in the 10th century right now? Ha, for women, THAT would be depression! (((bubs)))
Mag, I KNEW it! That explains so much about my ex…
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/rolling-stone-finds-smoking-gun-betsy
Oct 1st issue of Rolling Stone has a piece about Betsy “death panels” McCaughey being in bed with the tobacco industry.
Should be a good one !
Honestyingov: Loved your comment about reality calling Peggy Noonan and asking her to pick up the phone. Did you notice also how she also referred twice to Obama as being young and inexperienced. “Snarky” is also a good word to describe Peggy.
Love your Raven story, Mag the Mick. If he was making popcorn noises it was definitely a propositon.
@3 Mona Lisa – LOVE the addition to your name!
As for Peggy Noonan – she has always had a certain arrogance and grand lady manner about her that is a bit overdone and I have trouble listening to her, especially when she and her best-buddy Pat Buchanan are on the same show at the same time!
Bubbles – try not to feel too badly, you aren’t alone. I think many of us feel very depressed watching the continually lop-sided reporting and commentaries. When I feel down, I put on some good music and grab a good book and try to put politics out of my mind for a few hours.
Fired Up!
Ready To Go!
my bird story:
Our peacocks ran away from home in the Spring.
This morning, mommy peahen was back in the front yard honking & tooting & and generally carrying on, demanding food, as if she had never left.
DH was beside himself with joy!
I have no bird stories, just sending out hugs to mudpuppies everywhere.
Well, I figure that no one on earth should be more depressed than our president right now. He is still smiling. If we stop and think that there really are more good people, by far, in this world than bad, it helps. No country or generation has been without it’s problems.
justafarmer, where did all the others go? They can be dangerous when they’re on the loose, you know…
irishgirl, very nice..hugs to all. Which is why we love mudflats so much…
boodog,
they have apparently spent the summer terrorizing other farms
I LOVE puffins!
http://www.ride2recovery.com/
I wrote this organization a letter and told them that, while I applaud their work, I find the fundraising auction of “dinner with Palin” to be ethically challenged.
The fact that the location was changed to Alabama days before the winner (who happens to live in Alabama) was announce is very telling. Plus, the last minute shut out of others add to the evidence that this was rigged.
I am sure Palin was telling them what to do, but they should keep their fundraising efforts above board. It reflects poorly on their organization to be involved with the rigging of this auction.
I didn’t realize that today was Bird Story Day. I have a big picture window that looks over the back yard so it is my pleasure to watch the birds who come to the bird feeder. For a metropolitan urban area, I get a nice assortment, especially in the spring when they migrate through here.
In the last few days, the yard has been unusually quiet. No birds. Not time for any of them to leave for warmer areas. Then, I saw the reason why. I have a new bird, a very menacing hawk. That bird is a born predator, waiting for all the birds to be lined up at the window feeder. Then, it flies at them full speed, scaring the birds. In their haste, one is likely to crash into the window or the house. If it’s stunned and staggers, it is dinner.
Later this afternoon I discovered that the hawk had been successful, sitting proudly in a nearby tree finishing off the …no more details. This is the cycle of life. Sometimes it is very beautiful, as AKM shows us with her stunning photographs. And sometimes, it is can be a little sad, that is, if you care about the birds.
Just remembered…when I was in college a bird fell down the chimney. I think it was a crow. Well you can imagine the droppings a frightened bird leaves in your bedroom. I had to enlist help to get that maniacal bird out of there.
A good friend of mine works in the records department at the Bronx Zoo where she handles paperwork on breeding and lending animals. Two years ago she sent one of their Arctic sea birds to the Sealife Center in Seward because it was not doing well in the Bronx (no surprise there!).
That summer, she came with me and my sister to Alaska and we spent three days on the Kenai Peninsula. While in Seward, we made a point to visit the Sealife Center and got to check up on the bird, which was doing splendidly in its new home in Seward. The woman who supervises the birds also brought us behind the scenes to see some baby puffins get their first solid meal (SOOOOO CUTE!). They were scampering around on the floor and kept pecking at my shoes…just adorable!
Buffy@32:
I got that issue of Rolling Stone in the mail yesterday.
Page 47 has a picture of President Obama wearing moose antlers.
AKM-
I used to think I was a pretty darn good photographer and writer as well. You have taken the lead in both categories and I admire your work.
An amazing shot of the Puffin but not nearly as amazing as the house you have built here. Thanks for the invite.
Am on a poetry run- but got a good response here-
http://thedailygeorge.com/poetryentries_09-13-09_winner.html
KateinCanada: I’ve heard ravens make that popcorn noise. I had no idea it meant they were popping the question! Cheeky fellows, those ravens!
congrats on the poetry win, teutonic!
What an interesting post. I never realised they were so great.
Puffins are a common dish in Iceland. Is that the same in Alaska? I went to dinner in Reykavivk one time and I wasn’t brave enought to eat Puffin. One of our dinner parties was. She liked it. She was from Finland and was used to all sorts of unusual items.
A brief item about a man who saw a photo of birds on power lines and
saw a musical score:
http://www.monoscope.com/2009/09/jarbas_agnelli_birds_on_the_wi.html
This is so beautiful. I posted it on an earlier open thread, but it is so appropriate to the bird theme I just had to post it again. Enjoy!!!
Congratulations, teutonic13! It was a beautiful poem that I was proud to vote for.
Icelanders eat puffin??? No wonder Bjork is so weird.
One of the biggest east coast puffin rookeries is off Pemaquid Point in Maine. It is one heck of a long boat ride, made worse when there’s a low pressure system off the coast. I only tried that trip once.
Another example of how private insurance plays the scam. They don’t want to lose that 14 bil.
**************************************************************************
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched an investigation into Humana Inc.’s effort to enlist beneficiaries to fight proposed cuts to Medicare’s private plans.
The investigation, launched Friday, is looking at whether Humana, one of the largest providers of Medicare Advantage plans, violated marketing rules by sending letters to beneficiaries in Michigan, Florida and other states urging them to contact lawmakers to register their opposition to proposed cuts.
The letters state that “millions of seniors and disabled individuals could lose many of the important benefits and services that make Medicare Advantage health plans so …
******************************************************************************
They gotta protect that 20% bottm line profit.
Oh. Oh my! I was just browsing around on Huff Po and noticed my fan count had gone up. I went to check on who was new on the list…lo and behold, it is AK Muckraker!!! AKM fanned ME!?! WHOOOOOEEEE! I am so honored and excited by that.
I love birds. The Puffins are beautiful.
Nice poem and interview, Teutonic.
Update on Sarah goes to Hong Kong~
This goes so much deeper than a practical joke. And you know it would, CLSA being the sharp professionals that they are…of course, they aren’t giving it all away ahead of time!
Here’s what CLSA ain’t tellin’ – they’ve also booked Dr. Marc Faber to speak with Sarah. She’s a midwestern American girl foil to an eccentric European financial expert. She doesn’t have a speech. Or perhaps topic and content are just not going to matter.
CLSA nailed it – it’s going to be spectacular. I just hope they all show up and no one cancels out. I actually explored how I might get an invitation to attend.
Dr. Marc Faber was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He went to school in Geneva and Zurich and finished high school with the Matura. He studied Economics at the University of Zurich and obtained a PhD in Economics magna cum laude at the age of 24.
Marc Faber is a contrarian. To be a good contrarian, you need to know what you are contrary about. It helps to be a world class economist-historian, to have been a trader and Managing Director of Drexel Burnham Lambert when the firm was the junk bond king of Wall Street, to have lived in Hong Kong for a quarter of a century, and to have a contact book crammed with the home numbers of many of the movers and shakers in the financial world.
Nury Vittachi (“Riding the Millennial Storm”) writes: “Faber has style. A ski racer in his youth, he remains a flamboyant character. He plays to the press, who call him Dr. Doom; his monthly newsletter, always an excellent read, is called ‘The Gloom, Boom and Doom Report’. He wears a ponytail in defiance of the expectation (in Asia, especially) that investment managers should look conventional. His book, The Great Money Illusion, written in a hurry after the 1987 crash, was dedicated ‘to many beautiful and kind women whose names are better kept confidential’.”
A 1998 South China Morning Post polled public figures in Hong Kong with the question, “Have you ever taken Cannabis?” Cannabis is illegal but not uncommon in Hong Kong and freely available in many countries around Southeast Asia. Most people said no or refused to be quoted.
Faber was more straightforward and confident: “Naturally, I have smoked a lot of marijuana, but for breakfast I prefer omelette of Balinese mushrooms.”
Has Sarah left for China yet??? China is 16 hrs ahead of Alaska and the flight from Anchorage is about 10, SO if she shows up, she’s better be on her way !!???? ANY SIGHTINGS OF THE ICE QUEEN YET?
no mention of Hong Kong on the Palin’s facebook. What are the odds she doesn’t show?
It is hard to know…she is being offered big bucks for this.
Apparently she has been asked to talk about US Foreign Policy as regards governance, healthcare and China.
I can’t post the link as I get caught in the spam box.
Andy Borowitz has done it again……this guy cracks me up, talk about truth in humor!:
Criticism of Obama ‘Not About Race,’ Says New Poll of White People
Foreign Birth, Resemblance to Hitler Cited
People who criticize President Obama do so for reasons that have “nothing to do with his race,” a new poll of white people indicates.
According to the poll, which was conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, those who take issue with the President do so because of his “questionable birth certificate,” his “love of socialism,” and his “Hitler-like health plan,” but “not because of race.”
A significant number of Mr. Obama’s critics “strongly agree” with the statement, “I don’t have any problems with Obama being black, but I do have a problem with him being a socialist from Kenya who is trying to kill my grandmother.”
Professor Davis Logsdon, who conducted the survey, says that the poll is “full of good news” for Mr. Obama: “It indicates that race is no longer an issue in America, but a foreign-born president trying to institute a Nazi-slash-socialist euthanasia plan is.”
Elsewhere, Fox News host Glenn Beck called for stricter limits on the nation’s IQ.
http://www.borowitzreport.com/index.aspx
#61 @Irishgirl
Apparently she has been asked to talk about US Foreign Policy as regards governance, healthcare and China.
——————————————————————-
And her expertise and experience in these areas is. . . .? (crickets)
Good post on healthcare confronting Glenn Beck’s lies by Jim Wallis, there is also a link to sign a pettition to GB asking him to choose hope over fear if anyone’s interested in signing please do!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-wallis/pray-for-glenn-beck_b_291340.html
Sorry, but I think signing a petition for Beck is useless. You have to understand his motivation. He is a Mormon who’s goal is to try and fulfill a Mormon prophecy that a Mormon will rise up and “save” America.
His attacks on President Obama are only a set-up for Beck to try and get his Mormon Brother Mitt in the White House. The only way he will change his ways are if the Mormon church tells him to cool it. However, they won’t because they LIKE that Beck is attacking President Obama and doing their dirty work.
The Mormon Church excommunicates people for far less reasons that fantasizing about murder in front of millions. But, the church has been dead silent on Beck’s behavior. Why?
They want Mitt in the White House and Beck is just the guy to try and usher in a Mormon President. If you want to stop Beck, you need to start looking to the Mormon Church and start putting pressure on them to speak up about Beck.
Last year, the church excommunicated some young missionaries because they took off their shirts to pose for a calendar. But, Beck can carry on his daily hate speech….. and silence from the mormon church. Odd, isn’t it?
Take off your shirt and you are excommunicated. Spew hate and the church is silent.
this gives the crazy a whole new spin:
CSLA CEO Jonathan Sloane comments re SP speech from http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/59575-palin-to-address-us-china-relations-in-hong-kong-speech
“We are very pleased with her attitude towards us. Sarah could have come here and made a media circus,” he said.
“But we said to her, ‘Look, we want you to give the most information to our clients. Do you feel comfortable doing that with the press around?’
“She said, ‘If I do that with the press in the room, I will have to say different things.’”
Slone said they decided to close the event to media because the primary objective of the annual forum was to let their clients get hold of as much industry-related information from the speakers as possible.”
Seriously, “Industry- related information” from SARAH PALIN??? “I will have to say DIFFERENT THINGS” if press are in the room?? If indeed she is making a savvy and sophisticated policy speech (snort) why the ban on media? And isn’t she the latest tool in Murdoch’s box anyway??
I have to go think about something else. Santa Anas are coming to LA this week and that puts everybody on edge.
That was the information in the link that wouldn’t pass the spam test.
Unbelievable isn’t it?
Puffins were also a traditional part of the menu in many villages of far-western Ireland until about the middle part of the 20th century. People out on the Blasket Islands (as my Irish granny would say, “The Blashket”) hunted and ate puffins, seals and whales (when they could get them) and routinely made trips all over the west coast in their little skin boats. Interestingly enough, it was a traditional lifestyle very similar to that of Alaska’s coastal Yupik people. The Blasket people had an incredibly rich tradition of oral history and literature, and two of Ireland’s best books, “The Islandman” and “Twenty Years A-Growing” came from the island. (Both are highly recommended.) Maybe eating puffins, like drinking Guinness, is good for you.