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It's not in the US but they do speak my kind of English (smirk),

While ten per cent of those questioned in th survey said they were birdwatchers, only four per cent went fishing.

This week sees the start of Birdfair, in Rutland, the world's biggest event of its kind, known as "the Glastonbury of birdwatching". Read the story at

Birdwatching back in fashion with Rutland fair - Telegraph

Labels: birds, fun, slow movement

I have not posted for about a month. No good answer except that we are taking a break from the busyness to enjoy the great August weather.

We did travel to the Black Hills via Farm Island and La Framboise Pierre and got in some excellent bicycle rides along the Missouri River and a ride up Spearfish Canyon with our cousins in mid July plus a hike up to the top of Bear Butte. Several things we had not done before although it is right in our home state. They were great times but could not match what happened this morning right here on our favorite bicycling route.

After we got back from the family visits on the western part of the state we embarked on a natural foods diet as it is about this time of year that the garden produce starts to roll in. We can hardly wait for the corn, beans, tomatoes, ..., but this year we decided to go totally vegan, no refined sugar (including high fructose corn syrup that is added to nearly everything), no animal products (that eliminates dairy, eggs & meats), no caffeine (no coffee), no alcohol (no beer?), no gluten (breads, pastas & flour products). Surprisingly, it has not been that hard to do.

The diet has set the basis for our vacation from the busyness. We get out every day for an outing on our bicycles, mainly aerobic but sometimes just to be out there in the fresh air and abundance of flowers and wildlife. We had good workouts yesterday so today was one of those special days.

We took our dog, Nickel, out early for an early run about 6:30. She has been limping a bit lately so it was a short one. Carol had met us on the way back and went ahead. There were raggad, beautiful clouds with the rising sun peaking through here and there, fog was drifting out of the river valley from time to time, and the birds were singing every new song they had learned. We spotted an Indigo Bunting in a shelter belt out by the lake. It was the first one that we have ever seen along our route so it was quite a treat. There were curious little marsh wren fledglings in the ditches to inspect us and a new growth of the mid summer wild flowers everywhere. Butterflies and dragonflies above our heads and all around. A doe and her twins in the bean field and geese browsing in the newly harvested oat stubble by the lake.

The entire ride was most relaxing and rewarding. Neither of us had to verbalize that it was a day for going very slow and stopping often. We just knew. Let me explain what going slow really is, 3-5 mph is approximately the speed, but the important measure is to be going at a rate that virtually eliminates the noise of the tires on the gravel. Nothing but the sounds around you meet your ears.

We were out about 3 hours and when we returned, we fixed a blender full of fresh fruit smoothies. Fresh fruit, that is almost as good as it gets and today it was the refreshment that centered that special time together that around here is called "morning coffee." We found we don't really need the coffee.

Nature taught us another lesson this morning.

posted by HL

Labels: bicycle, birds, food, slow, SLOW_bicycling

Sounds like a great idea to me. Go there and find out more











Another site that all bicycle riders should know about

BikePortland.org



Our 4th of July bicycle ride was to one our favorite waterfowl observation sites at a slow and comfortable pace on rural country roads to the intersection 1.4 miles West of Lake Goldsmith shown on the Goat Hills Map.

Labels: bicycle, bikes, birds, zero carbon emissions

Click for an interactive map of a Ride around Lake Mitchell

Back home for a family reunion. This lake was the center of lots of good times from way back when. There are so many nice houses there now...

Labels: Bicycle Tourist Loop, birds, Mitchell SD

Imagine calling a friend in a city of 5 million people and they say, "I am at work and have bicycle. I will meet you for dinner in your neighborhood."

Everywhere you go bicycle lanes are filled with people of ages and all kinds of bicycles traveling at a broad range of speed, everyone less than 20mph. Shops and gathering spots for food & drink are no more than a few 100 meters apart

That's the capital of Germany. When I ran across this post quoting Paul Krugman (NYT) on the Carfree USA Blog comparing Atlanta and Berlin, I was reminded of the great people friendly qualities of this large German capital. As the Krugman quote says,

Greater Atlanta has roughly the same population as Greater Berlin — but Berlin is a city of trains, buses and bikes, while Atlanta is a city of cars, cars and cars.

Cars are like cancer once they move into the vital arteries of a city, take over and kill its ability to serve the needs of the organisms that it was designed to serve in the first place. The big difference is Berlin is a modern city and Atlanta is well, hooked on phony logic, just like most US cities who were deluded into believing "cheap oil meant community doesn't matter."

Think about that, 5M people, going to work on a bicycle. That implies a great deal about how a city manages its people moving responsibilities. I don't know what Atlanta might be doing but the Twin Cites of Minneapolis and St. Paul Minnesota have made some great strides in the past few years. The Transit for Liveable Communities is the kind of comprehensive set of alternatives to driving that is needed to counteract the diabolical ills of an automobile culture: 3 acre lots, McMansions, SUVs. entertainment news, obesity, strip malls, 2 hour commutes, need we go on?

We visited many carfree areas in European cities and as we traveled through rural Germany by train, everywhere we looked there were people on bicycles riding down country lanes or stopped at places along the trails and paths to enjoy the outdoors.

What a reminder of how so many of us have lost the capacity to enjoy what we have in our own local areas. In a word, proximity.

Proximity is what makes where you live special. What is it that you don't yet know about your place? When we value where we live, we make it better. The slower we go the better it gets. The better it gets, the more we want to make it a better place to live and discover new ways to enjoy what it has to offer.

That is how we discovered birds. Click here and look at the posts below to see what I mean.

Labels: alternatives, bicycle, birds, travel

Full moon, cool dry air, before sunrise.

Took Nickel out with our bicycles to our favorite Birdwatching area to see what happening. We saw the Brown Thrasher the first day. The guide books say "Brown Thrashers are able to vocalize 3000 distinct songs," but we never really have seen them performing, they are always just flying way ahead of us. but today was different. From a perch high in a cottonwood tree he sang and sang, each trill another new sound. On the way back to town about an hour and half later he flew low across the road in front of us showing his brown back then hopped up the tree and began singing once more.

The sedge wrens were and common yellow throats were all along the route and we saw a yellow legs for the first time this year although I am sure they have been around. Meadow larks and bobolinks were in the fields and on the fence wires, plovers and dowitchers in the wet fields plus teal, mallards and geese everywhere we looked.

We are so glad we didn't miss the spring migration. We are on the lookout for a Kingfisher and maybe we will check out the orioles at the lake this afternoon. The weather is jus too nice to stay inside.

No Kingfisher, but the yellow and yellow-rumped warblers, orchard and Baltimore Orioles, and song sparrows were out and putting on a natural vocal performance while the Kingbirds keep us company on the way home.Of course there are always the Yellow head and Red wing blackbirds that I enjoy hearing as I ride, which proves that I am no birder after all.

Labels: bicycle, birds, prairie

Location: 210 Bird Circle on the far east point.

I love the way they announce their presence. For a real treat check out the birds of Sarah Rogers. She may not have the Kingfisher online just now but when you see her work, you will recognize her wonderful style that depicts birds as creatures that cannot be captured in s photo.

Labels: art, beauty, birds

From our front yard 11 Sep 2007

Labels: beauty, bicycle, birds

Butterflies of South Dakota

Begin watching the migration sites now
Journey South Interactive Map of Monarch Roost Sites, hummingbirds, etc

Monarch Watch : Dedicated to Education, Conservation and Research

Labels: autumn07, bicycle, birds, RIDE SLOWLY

On our backyard deck in town. Click on the pic to enlarge.

2:30 pm.
There are at least 2 juveniles, one has the beginning of the ruby spot. They have been in and out all day.

Labels: 082407, birds, hummer

Check out the bird sitings at the intermediate points.

SLOW--not just for food anymore.

We started early enough so we don't have to hurry to see the end of Stage 4.

Labels: bicycle, birds, Golden Retreiver, TDF

This is a RIDE SLOWLY route. RIDE SLOWLY is movement to travel by bicycle on gravel and rural back roads taking time to enjoy the sights and sounds of rural areas, stop frequently to observe the flora and fauna, smell the wild flowers, and listen to the birds. SLOW - not just for food anymore.

Mouse over the map and take a quick tour of the route with the pop-up comments.

If you would like the cue sheet, click on the title of this article or the map and it will go to Bikely where you can print out the map and cue sheet and take it with you.

Enjoy a slow and rejuvenating bicycle road.

Oh, when you ride and see some road grader or farm tractor tracks, don't avoid them, enjoy the gentle rumble in your hands and feet.

Labels: bikes, birds, meditation, RIDE SLOWLY