Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
Bird of the Day: Red-wattled Lapwing
Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
What I brought back from Switzerland: Collection of Alpine Flowers
From my recent trip to Switzerland in early June, I took numerous photos of flowers. As my family and I hiked up the Alpine mountains, I was completely taken in by these flowers covered and surrounded by icy snow. This is a story of Alpine flowers.
p.s. Because I am not a flower expert, identifying the names of flowers was a challenging task for me. Thus, I welcome any feedback and hope everybody can help me finish identifying flower names! 🙂
Burnet Rose / Rosa spinosissima
Heroes & Tuna
A Sea Shepherd activist cuts a tuna fishing net in the Mediterranean in 2010.
Photograph: Simon Ager/Sea Shepherd
Click the image above to read the whole viewpoint, which we have commented on previously here and here, captured briefly here:
These people are, in my view, heroes. They are stepping in where governments have failed, to protect our common heritage. They are among the few people on Earth who will be able to give a straight answer when their children ask them what they did to prevent the avoidable ecological tragedies we now confront.
Tanner’s Cassia (cassia auriculata)
Cassia is a tropical plant native to India and Sri Lanka prevalent in the Western Ghats. It is a popular ornamental throughout Kerala due to its year round blooms.
Bird of the Day: Yellow-browed Bulbul
Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
The Younger Grades at Tomás de Berlanga
This past week, apart from being the second session of the Bird Club, I was teaching 1st and 2nd graders English, Science, and Art (e.g. bird names, bird biology, bird crafts). I wasn’t quite prepared for the radical change in behavior between 7th-12th graders and 1st-2nd graders in the classroom, though obviously I expected there would be significant differences.
But when on your first day a group of nineteen 6-year-olds spontaneously and simultaneously burst into a song about a little yellow chick in the palm of their hand while you’re trying to teach the basic body parts of a duck you’ve drawn on the whiteboard, you have a good sign that things might get tough. If this song includes mention of a hawk, which scares the chicks into hiding under their desks while the chosen bird of prey stalks the room to catch any straying chick-children, then things are already tough and you have to act accordingly.
The Chellarkovil Waterfall
Kerala is considered ”God’s Own Country” for a reason, and that is because of its wonderful people, amazing wildlife, and absolutely stunning landscape. If you are looking to experience the natural beauty of Kerala, then definitely sign up for the Chellarkovil Waterfall trip. The mountaintop views of both Kerala and the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu are unbelievable, and looking out over the rolling hillside at the breathtaking waterfall is a truly unforgettable experience.
Malabar Gliding Frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus)
Malabar gliding frogs are widely distributed in the Western Ghats of India, primarily in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests at altitudes between 500 to 1200 meters above sea level. These pictures were taken at the Aralam Wild Life Sancatury near Kannore.
One More Reason To Love The Science Guy
He did not take the bait (most of us, being called kooky and unqualified, might have) but instead answered the bewilderingly juvenile question with a straight answer. Â Thanks, Bill!
Bird of the Day: Grey Heron
Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
Yes, Marcus
I am known among friends, colleagues and family for being a slave to hyperbole. Â I like to think I am master, but it always gets the better of me. When I love something you will have no doubt about it; and the inverse is true. I will use the strongest words to convey my admiration or displeasure, or whatever. Â Guilty as charged. Â Here goes: in just under 40 minutes of listening to the author of this book speak in an interview, I am compelled to say that I have never heard a better interview in my life. Â It is not merely the superb vocabulary he uses to describe how he became a chef; it is not merely the amazing story line; it is the man’s values, which drip from every word he utters. Â Click the image to the left to go to the podcast of that interview:
“Being born in Ethiopia, where there was a lack of food, and then really cooking with my grandmother Helga in Sweden. And my grandmother Helga was a cook’s cook.”
Helga’s roasted chicken, pan-fried herring and black bread captivated Samuelsson, who spent many afternoons watching and helping his grandmother cook.
“We were jarring, pickling, there was always a bowl of chicken soup ready to be served, there was always sausage ready to be made,” he says. “She was incessant all year round with cooking. … It was really in those rituals that my love for food was built.”
Understanding Social
It is not every day that a publication comes out of left field into your life and illuminates something so interesting and important. Â Take a look at this article in the Columbia Journalism Review. Â The issues are huge. Â The characters are a mix of the usual suspects and the unusual innovators:
Jonah Peretti was 29 and had already earned a reputation as something of a wise guy. He had been a technology teacher at a New Orleans private school when he was admitted to a graduate program at MIT. His plan was to study ways networks might foster communication among teachers, but got sidetracked midway through his master’s thesis. In 2000, Nike was inviting customers to create footwear with personalized wording. The company had been criticized widely for selling sneakers made by desperately poor people in impoverished countries. Peretti, tall, skinny and bespectacled, submitted his request: He wanted his sneakers emblazoned with the word SWEATSHOP. Nike declined. At which point, Peretti did a clever thing: he e-mailed.
Jamaican Blue Spike
Jamaican blue spike is a tropical plant, naturalized in India and Srilanka. These plants are common in the Western Ghats of India, growing widely along stream banks and road sides as well as cultivated gardens. The flowers bloom year round, making them an attractive food source for butterflies, moths and other pollinators.
Bird of the Day: Dark Eyed Junco (Mountain Center, CA)
5 Lenses For Every Vacation
Hey guys,
All of us photobugs and travel-junkies have struggled with the age-old question: which lens should I bring on my River Escapes backwaters adventure or my Roman holiday or my trip to the moon?
As a casual photographer, I’m not crazy about specs. I don’t get the numbers and technical terms! JUST TELL IT TO ME STRAIGHT! I know there are people out there who are like me, so Ben, Milo, and I will make it as easy as possible to understand which lens YOU need to bring on your next vacation! We’d also love to know what YOU brought on your last vacation!
See which of description fits you best:
- I’m out to shoot wildlife. Tell me what I need to know.
- I love architecture and the built world. What should I bring with me?
- I’m a tourist who’s going to stick out like a sore thumb, but I really want to capture candid portraits of interesting people– help!
- I’m going to a naturey place filled with dust/humidity/dirt/whatever and I don’t want to constantly change my lens. What’s the best daily walk-around lens?
- I’m going on a service trip and I’ll be working on a construction site. How do I make it look epic?
Here’s what we’ll be introducing from our private collections today:
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USMÂ with 2x extender
- Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
- Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
- Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
ALRIGHT, I’M READY!! NOW SHOW ME THE 5 LENSES I SHOULD BRING ON MY NEXT VACATION!!!
Let There Be Light
When art meets sustainable development, watch out. Â Rather, watch. Â Olafur Eliasson’s new work, a solar-powered lamp that he and Frederik Ottesen designed and developed, will be distributed throughout the developing world:
Explaining why he had developed a social project, the Berlin-based Danish artist said: “Art is always interested in society in all kinds of abstract ways, though this has a very explicit social component. The art world sometimes lives in a closed-off world of art institutions, but I still think there’s a lot of work to show that art can deal with social issues very directly.”
Christmas Star – Poinsettia
Poinsettia flowers are a very common ornamental plant naturalized in the Western Ghats of India. These flowers are popularly used during the Christmas season to decorate churches and homes. In Kerala, it is cultivated for this use.
Bird of the Day: Greater Flameback
Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
Eine Kleine Bankmusik
Not many people would mistake us for a bank advertising medium. Â But today, full disclosure, we feel willing to play that role. Â Just because the music is nice, the scene is well thought out in a family-friendly, music-as-inspiration kind of spirit. Â As banks go in today’s world, this one has the right idea: it is the community that really matters; and we love the collaboration. Â That town square seems well conserved, doesn’t it?
Big Organic
Stephen McGee for The New York Times The founder of Eden Foods, Michael J. Potter, among the organic stock at the Eden headquarters in Clinton, Mich.
Click on the image above to go to the story in The New York Times, which continues that paper’s journalistic investigation of the evolution of organic farming and its byproducts:
Michael J. Potter is one of the last little big men left in organic food.
