DWELLING MELVILLE

BACK TO THE DUNES!

nobody@vox.com(Maya) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:28:49 -0700

I'm playing catch up on Vox. Things have been crazy this summer, mostly because I have been invited to the cypress swamps of South Carolina to conduct my pilot study on chimney swifts.

My research this summer and next year will be to prove that chimney swifts are shifting from the use of chimneys to the use of old growth forests. The 1,000 year old cypress and swamp tupelo forests of South Carolina are the perfect places for my research.

I'm feeling very lucky, not only because I will be working with a really cool ornithologist, but also because J and I will be staying on Kiawah Island again! It's a birder's paradise - especially if you love black skimmers the way I do!

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Vox Hunt: Oh Canada!

nobody@vox.com(Maya) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:52:38 -0700

In honor of Canada Day, show us your favorite Canadian.

Chimney swift July

Although I love many Canadian writers, artists and musicians, I just wasn't in the mood to feature one person today. So I'm thrilled to honor a group who saved my life this past spring, when I was trying to write my chimney swift proposal and plan my pilot study.

COSWEIC is the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. While some scientific articles take a blase and cynical attitude towards chimney swift's decline, COSWEIC took a stand in this document.

In it they had the balls to discuss how people complain about the noise made by nestlings, and how some chimney sweep companies blatantly remove the nest, babies and all, in order to placate their clients. This violates the International Migratory Bird Act, by the way, is a federal offense in the States, and is a crime in any country!

To my delight, they also disucss how the chimney swift hardly has any protection, and how their decline is largely being ignored by the international community. There are many other great things in this document, and COSEWIC is not afraid to speak the truth that others refuse to mention. Thank you, guys!

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THE FIRES OF MIDSUMMER

nobody@vox.com(Maya) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:47:16 -0700

Beach flowers

A very happy Summer Solstice, lovers! Many wishes for bright picnic days, peppermint ice cream, pool parties at night, and tons of homemade lemonade!

In the past week I have learned some amazing summer type facts from my Voxter friends. Jaypo taught me about the Strawberry Moon, and GB taught me really stunning facts about blue whales. Check out those posts for amazing facts.

A quote from Laurie Cabot's book Celebrate the Earth:

"As the Sun blazes upon us.and the Summer skies collide with flashes of heat lightning and thunderclouds, the element of fire is an important part of Midsummer activities. The tradition of hurling fire wheels down from atop a sacred hill was a common practice throughout Europe. In ancient times. Animal herds were driven between the embers of Midsummer fires to purge them of disease. In some regions, the ashes were rubbed on their hides as a talisman for protection."

J and I have a collection of dragon figurines that we place in the windows of each room this time of year, as Midsummer is a great time for Protection spells. May your summer be extremely safe, and fun. Happy Solstice!

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PEARLS

nobody@vox.com(Maya) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 07:42:25 -0700

Pearls

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POLKA DOT CAT

nobody@vox.com(Maya) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 07:37:33 -0700

Andypanda

My older sister used to tease me because I hated being read to at bedtime. I learned to read by the time I was 4 years old, and I loved looking at the newspaper before I went to sleep. I was also very visual, though, so I loved old comic books.

Jamie's post about the Cartoon Network reminded me of the really old comics my mom used to bring home for me. I googled "Comic Books" and found ones I hadn't thought of in years. Some of them were from the 1970's, and some were as old as the 1940's!

Scamp

From my very vague memory, I knew that some of them were obscure and not surprisingly, had cute animals in them. I agonized over what category they would be in. Well, I figured it out. I found most of them under the genre of "Antropomorphic Animals and Objects".

Yes, it was a Walt Diseny production, but I just loved Scamp. He was the most innocent and sweet little critter. Great for dull winter days - he always cheered me up!

Little dot cat

And Little Dot. Everything she went near had dots on it, or would soon thereafter. Get it? I loved reading this one on hot summer days, lying around in the hammock.

Do Voxters have any to add to the list? Ones pre-1970 are my favorite, but any comic would be great!

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KIAWAH ISLAND

nobody@vox.com(Maya) — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:23:24 -0700

Picture 028

I'm in love with this island on South Carolina. We had so much fun. The people are spectacular and sweet, and those fried green tomatoes are out of this world!

Pelicans flying past our balcony. Does it get any better than that? Kiawah Island is a birder's heaven. The palm trees and beaches are divine.

We were also extraordinarily lucky because we found out that the Spoleto Festival was going on while we were there. This is a really cool event in South Carolina that has a sister festival in Italy.

We got front row tickets for a show called Monkey: Journey to the West. If you ever get a chance, you must see this colorful opera. It was concieved by members of the Talking Heads, among others. It's like a Buddhist Cirque de Soleil.

We also visited the Francis Beidler Forest, co owned by Audubon and the Nature Conservancy. It's the largest old growth baldcypress and swamp tupelo forest in the world.You can't beat this place for beauty. The cypress trees are between 1000 and 1500 years old. It's one of the most eerie and sacred places I've ever been.

Yellow crowned night heron

Happy early summer solstice!! More photos to come. I'm starting my summer semester, and I may do some chimney swift research in South Carolina, by the way!

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ICED TEA WEATHER

nobody@vox.com(Maya) — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:54:44 -0700

Tern

We're off to South Carolina. I will have intermittent internet, so I won't truly be away that much! I will send pictures!

To my friends here in the North:

You realize you're going to freeze your buns off if you stay here, don't you? Like, it looks like it's gonna snow for cripes sake!!

So you should just come with me, Jaypo. J and C, I know your Canadian spirits can handle the cold just fine, but this is ridiculous! Come hang out on the beach.

Maybe our Neighbors in California and Virginia will join us! Time to have raspberry iced tea on a warm beach!

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SIR IVES

nobody@vox.com(Maya) — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:26:34 -0700

03020009

Hey guys -

Sorry I haven't been around, right when we got home from vacation, my poor beloved companion, Ives, started having seizures. I have a great vet but these kinds of things are hard to diagnose in cats.

He got a really extensive series of blood tests for toxicity and organ failure, all of which were negative. But his red blood cell count was high, which could be this rare and strange condition so he's being tested again next week.

The vet also thought it could be just dehydration, so please keep Ives in your thoughts for me, hopefully it's nothing serious! Sorry again for my absence. ps I'll probably move this post down a few spots in a week to keep the bummer factor at a low level on my blog. ;)

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WOMEN OWN JUST 1% OF WORLD'S TITLED LAND

nobody@vox.com(Maya) — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:19:56 -0700

Girl in veil

My neighbor Pax has informed me that May 15th is Bloggers Unite for Human Rights day. Thanks, Pax! What a cool idea.

I read this story on BBC a while ago and it kind of shocked me: 70 percent of the world's poor are women, and they own only 1 percent of the world's property. There have also been reports that women own less, and inherit less than men worldwide.

The severity of this issue is emphasized by another BBC report about a bakery in Afghanistan that was run by the U.N. to subsidize bread to the poorest women in Kabul, until the Taliban shut it down. How has this happened?

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MARSH TRIPPERS

nobody@vox.com(Maya) — Wed, 14 May 2008 11:32:10 -0700

Ixobrychus exilis

Greetings Voxters! It's been a crazy winter, but I have just completed my first year of graduate school! Yay! Not only was it a great and challenging experience, but I discovered so much about myself:

For one, I realized that I may be more of a bird and amphibian girl than I thought! The best field day was a beautiful spring morning when we surveyed a local stream for salamanders. I won't go into how I had to write 2 proposals, make 6 GIS maps, et cetera! And the reason I won't is because: J surprised me with a trip to South Carolina!!

I'll be coming back just one day before my summer classes begin, but the whole reason I became a biologist is so I could travel and study wildlife. So I'm happy! Pictured is one of the birds on my wishlist: the least bittern. Much smaller than the American bittern, they are able to balance on reeds and not fall into deep water, so they can "fish" in places where other herons can't!

They also have a rather science-fiction-ey type talent of being able to flatten themselves. John Audubon conducted an experiment where he put a least bittern in between 2 books that were 1.5 inches apart. The bird was able to walk through them; when the bird was dead, Audubon measured the bird at 2.5 inches across. These are the kind of twisted experiments that makes me kind of glad we now have some regulations on how to treat animals, but it's interesting nonetheless!

Least bitterns are declining due to the loss of wetlands and invasive species destroying their marshland habitat. They are also very secretive, so I hope that I can find a way to see one on the trip!! ;)

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