National Tea Day: Builders Tea YouTube video by Tim Akimoff

Happy #NationalTeaDay!

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An absolutely stellar Jay gives the perfect rendition of an over-the-shoulder smolder.

They look good forward too.

And, of course, there is side eye.

Masters of the over-the-shoulder smolder, Stellar jays, no disrespect to Steller, of course, it just rolls off the tongue better, are my favorite part of taking visitors hiking in the PNW.

Bushtits are the besttits

Absolute bushtit!

Just saw a report that they’re finding them associated with old fires in Souther Oregon, and they’re wondering if they’re slowly adapting to additional habitat since so much of the oak scrublands have disappeared.

A Lewis’s woodpecker forages on a white oak in White River.

I finally knocked my nemesis off my list, and oh, what a gorgeous nemesis it was.

I’ve been known to stop at every old stand of white oaks I can still find and just post myself there until I’m sure Lewis’s woodpeckers are less common than Ivory-billed woodpeckers.

This beauty was in White River

Congratulations to Hungary for overwhelmingly saying no to Putin, J.D. Vance and the far right.

Topwater Black Rockfish on the Oregon Coast YouTube video by Tim Akimoff

Crazy Black rockfish topwater bite off the Oregon coast yesterday.

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Shows a person with a cat sitting on his chest

I can have hot tea or I can have Toby cuddles. I cannot have both.

A bowl of dyed eggs sits on a table top in the sun.

Summoned the old earth gods by using red cabbage and yellow onion skins to dye some eggs.

Shows a fishing boat with the name Earendil

Helluva name for a ship 🫡

Cave Tubing Crystal Springs Cave in Belize YouTube video by Tim Akimoff

After learning I was pretty severely claustrophobic while hiking Mammoth Caves National Park a few years ago, I swore I'd never willingly go into a cave again. Then I visited Belize, which is basically all caves, and discovered that I really love cave tubing!

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It felt good to be out there with my community raising our voices in protest yesterday.

#NoKings #Protest

Toby with everything he loves in life. A silk Turkman carpet and a sunbeam to lay in. Happy #Caturday!

Conch diving in Belize YouTube video by Tim Akimoff

I’ve wanted to try conch for as long as I’ve known about these giant sea snails. This experience taught me that I need to do more research about eating local specialties when I travel, because conch numbers have been declining lately.

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Sick of the oil wars? Ride a bike! YouTube video by Tim Akimoff

Sick of the oil wars? Ride a bike!

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Shows a Brown Creeper climbing a Douglas fir in a wide-legged stance. The bird blends into the tree very nicely.

I wonder why nobody has marketed Creeper Camo yet?

Ah, no, yeah, I see it now. NVMD

I love that there are names for these things!

Shows a blown glass vase full of flowers arranged with some other flower thingies.

Trying my hand at some artistic work that I’m hoping AI can’t emulate enough to replace the folks who do this kind of stuff. My second attempt at flower arrangement.

Bowling back and forth would be super entertaining.

Howler monkeys are the second loudest animal on earth after the Sperm whale. This is a pretty low-level interaction we had with a troupe of Howlers at Tikal earlier this month. In the mornings, you can get several troupes bowling back and forth at each other.

Shows Yozakura lanterns in Cherry trees

The Yozakura are lit and the Cherry blossoms are peaking.

Day Trip: Tikal YouTube video by Tim Akimoff

Day Trip: Tikal

I love day trips, because they’re a unique way to put a frame around a particular experience.

Tikal was one of the best day trips we’ve ever done.

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A pair of Osprey perched in a tree in San Pedro, Belize

Apparently the Raptor is nigh, but it’s a specialized Raptor that mostly takes fish.

Shows a loaf of sourdough bread on a Dutch oven.

Shows three sourdough baguettes on a steel, perforated pan

Bread is an underrated way of caring for your mental health. I’ll touch grass as often as I can, usually while birding, but baking a loaf of sourdough and a few baguettes to take to work to share with colleagues is a bright spot in the week.

Our resident female Anna’s was a little put off for a couple of days but stayed a persistent thorn in his flesh. He’s gone now and she’s queen of the nectar again.

Shows a male Rufous hummingbird sitting on a branch end.

A male Rufous hummingbird sits on a swing.

A male Rufous Hummingbird sits on a swing.

A male Rufous hummingbird perches on a feeder.

Some better shots of the first Rufous to “grace” our yard. Took to the swing like he owned it.

First yard Rufous!

My sugar water brings all the Anna’s to the yard, so it was a treat when my partner got home and asked what kind of hummingbird is that?

I broke both ankles running to the window and found this sweet little devil just a swinging.

A Black vulture on top of Temple II in Tikal, Guatemala

A Black vulture on temple II in Tikal, Guatemala

A Black vulture guarding a door on Temple IV in Tikal, Guatemala

A Black vulture guarding a door on Temple IV in Tikal, Guatemala

A Black vulture atop temple Il in Tikal reminded me of thin veils and ancient fears. A species reckons with its own cognition, tapping into dark places and trying to wash them out with blood. The vulture sits in situ, an emissary of death, so that life isn't blotted out.

Happy Buzzards Day!

Bird-Watching in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge I scan every utility pole for raptors on the 130-mile trip between Bend and Burns. As I cruise through a landscape of sagebrush toward a horizon that appears unreachable, I want to believe every dark ...

My latest travel piece takes you to the far reaches of Oregon’s Great Basin country for some of the best bird watching in North America.

traveloregon.com/things-to-do...

I was so amazed by the first one I saw, I just sat down in a pool chair and watched it flit around an umbrella for twenty minutes completely amazed. I was glad I found another to photograph, because I've done nothing but stare at these photos for the last two weeks.