Some black-bellied whistling ducks stopped by the Swamp Compound this evening. Check out this handsome fellow:
I mean, look at him!
A snowy egret also stopped by:
No matter how awful the humans get, the birds in Florida make it all bearable. So far!
Open thread!
TenguPhule
I welcome our new feathered overlords.
OzarkHillbilly
I am seriously jealous of your swamp birds, Betty. Can you tell me what kind of Ibis (?) that is behind the egret?
Baud
Warren town hall on MSNBC.
Barbara
Very cool!
Betty Cracker
@OzarkHillbilly: It’s a juvenile white ibis. They’re so cute at that age, skulking around together like American teens haunting a Wawa!
Middlelee
I love the new front page.
Lots of white space, better use of space. I’m not a graphic designer so don’t know how to talk about it. Feels expansive.
The birds are stunning.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Egrets. I’ve had a few.
JGabriel
I think we should all just take a moment to appreciate that this is the third consecutive post to feature the syllable duck.
That is all. Carry on.
Steve in the ATL
@Baud: delete your account.
Baud
Baud!/Duck! 2020!
Marvel Norton
thanks for lovely normal beauty….I love you all.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Die in hell!!!!
low-tech cyclist
Try as I might, I just can’t come up with an appropriate wisequack.
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: Thank you. When I went down to NOLA after my son tried to amputate his leg, I saw all kinds of birds I couldn’t quite identify on my walks. Ibis(?) were the most common among the unidentifiable.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Yeah, we have egrets up here. Hell, I’ve seen them in MSP.
Steve in the ATL
@JGabriel: In ancient Egypt, the word for “son” sounded very much like the word for “duck”, ergo in hieroglyphics pictures of ducks were often used to mean “son”. We all about education here.
Could get confusing. Ra was the sun god, who was depicted by a picture of a sun. Son of Ra was depicted by a sun for Ra and a duck for “son”.
OzarkHillbilly
@low-tech cyclist: This site has gone quackers. hattip to O felix culpa I think
Steve in the ATL
@low-tech cyclist: please see post #9 supra
TenguPhule
@Baud: Down with you.
Betty Cracker
@OzarkHillbilly: When I lived in Tampa and in a small town a bit south of there before moving back home to the swamp, I always enjoyed seeing flocks of white ibises working the lawns for bugs. They were really systematic, crossing the streets and sweeping the lawns.
I’ve often wondered if they discuss life with their swamp and woodlands cousins at the ibis family reunions. Do they argue about the merits of city vs. country life? ?
Immanentize
@Steve in the ATL:
And Son’Ra?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Betty Cracker: Wuts a wawa? I know Wah Wah, a pretty good song by George Harrison
Major Major Major Major
That’s a high-quality duck!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL:
@Omnes Omnibus: Wow, tough crowd.
Major Major Major Major
Steve in the ATL
@Major Major Major Major:
No surprise. Isn’t every right winger a closet case?
Betty Cracker
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Convenience store chain.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Michigan Poll — Detroit News — May 30 — (link)
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: ;-)
Baud
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
Interesting. Also, horrifying.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Whoosh!!! Right over my head. Percy has had some… issues the last couple days. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
Major Major Major Major
@Steve in the ATL: gah, we don’t want him! Worst pride month gift ever
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Texas Poll — Quinnipiac — June 4 (link)
Democrats vs Dump
Biden…….. 48-44
Warren….. 45-46
Wilmer……. 44-47
Beto………. 45-48
Pete………. 44-46
Kamala….. 43-47
Castro…… 43-46
In blood red Texas, Dump is averaging a 46% re-election number. While he’s doing great among republicans, he’s doing horrible among independents, losing them by a whooping 22 points to Biden. Because republicans outnumber Democrats in Texas, winning over indies is key to overcoming the partisan disadvantage.
Mike in NC
We had several black-bellied whistling ducks show up at our bird feeder 3-4 years ago. Supposedly seldom seen north of Florida. People noticed.
Baud
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
We’re not winning Texas. Maybe by 2028.
currants
@Immanentize: This is (yet another reason) why I love this blog/community.
trollhattan
The kiddo got to help raise some whistling ducks when enrolled in the zoo’s summer camp. She SO wanted to bring one home–they’re utterly charming little fellows.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: No kidding. I was about to say “Leave Baud alone!!!!”
Major Major Major Major
@Baud: what to make of Biden polling better than Beto?
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@WaterGirl: Hey girl, just wanted to say I really like the renovations to the site.
Great job.
Rob
I love Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks.
currants
@Betty Cracker: Betty I LOVE your bird photos. The black bellied whistling duck is gorgeous! And the limpkin pictures! I know about them because of the apple snails (I believe there’s a bird of prey that feeds solely on those as well), and because I hear them when we visit my daughter’s fairy godparents in December or early January every year, but I have never seen one (and I have seen Virginia rails, so it’s not like I don’t know how to look). We have some gorgeous fowl up here too (in MA), but I have an iPhone for a camera, so…. The wood ducks are some of the most spectacular–and hooded mergansers are pretty great, but the ring-necked ducks are also lovely in the morning light. This summer I’ve got a Baltimore Oriole pair and a nest just off the garden, and they are so flashy and cheerfully chattery to have around they make the humming birds and cardinals and goldfinches and redwing blackbirds and catbirds seem…everyday, in comparison.
NotMax
@David Merry Christmas Koch
That’s unfair. What’s going on with the site at present has nothing to do with the rebuild, other than serving as added impetus for getting it done. Mobile site mess is (apparently) an unfortunate aftermath of the porn scrubbing measures.
The Lodger
@Betty Cracker: A convenience store chain named after a wild goose, no less. I remember them from SE Pennsylvania but I guess they spread to Florida too.
mrmoshpotato
Tone down the handsomeness, duck!
mrmoshpotato
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Omnes Omnibus is under duress.
The Fish slapped the Brewers with a salami log earlier tonight.
leeleeFL
@Baud: Winner of the internets! First laugh of the day for me!
CaseyL
If I were a duck, I’d be all over that.
(I was going to say “if I were a lady duck,” but then remembered that many drakes are, shall we say, bi-curious.)
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
Wonderful photos – thanks so much.
Omnes Omnibus
@mrmoshpotato: You know nothing.
Betty Cracker
@currants: A Virginia rail! Lucky dog! Never seen one, but I’d love to.
Before I moved to my present location, I’d also heard but not seen limpkins, despite living in FL all my life and hiking through miles of swampland with that express purpose.
They’re as common at my house as pigeons in Central Park. Location, location, location, I guess!
mrmoshpotato
@Omnes Omnibus: I know 6-1 Fish going into 8.
Oh, and Wrigley is fog-gy tonight.
I also know I want a tub of Italian beef.
Ruckus
Well it’s an open thread so here goes.
Just heard back from the vendor and Amazon about my return.
They didn’t say it in so many words but the general answer is FUCK YOU PAL.
I’m not a happy camper at this moment and doubt that I will ever be with Amazon or any of their businesses. I’m out $50 and not happy at all. This is not the first time Amazon has been a pain in the ass and not really worth the effort and bullshit. But I’ve always been at least been able to return a defective or not as advertised item. I tried Prime at one point but it really wasn’t worth it and they refunded my cost.
So I’m starting an anti Amazon drive. Don’t purchase anything from them at all, nothing. And not from any of their subs like Whole Foods.
There has to be some other place to get what they are selling.
And yes I will call them and complain but their customer service is not really any better than any other part.
So, a $50 life lesson. Not the most expensive one I’ve ever had that’s for sure.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: Have you considered disputing the credit card charge?
NotMax
@Ruckus
Are you dealing with Amazon by e-mail (or electronically through their site) or by phone? Personal experience dealing with them by phone has always resulted in prompt, courteous and satisfactory resolution, including follow-up calls from them to keep me posted.
Ohio Mom
@Ruckus: Oh rats. I was hoping for a happier ending.
It’s funny you mentioned Whole Foods. Ohio Son just started working there this week as a shopper, pulling together orders made online.
Ohio Dad drove him to work today and came home with a few things he just happened to pick up for lunch.
I’m thinking this could end up an expensive undertaking if Son keeps this job for any length of time. They don’t call that place Whole Paycheck for nothing.
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
@NotMax:
I will call them, they said that because this is supplied by a vendor I had to go through the vendor first. My experience with calling has not really been all that great most of the time but it’s been a while since I’ve called them.
And yes I could dispute the cc charge but really I expected better than what I feel like I’m getting here.
I haven’t given up completely but I have reached my limit with Amazon. There has to be a better way.
Ruckus
@Ohio Mom:
My experience with Whole Paycheck has been mixed. If you shop carefully it really can be reasonable. However if you go in to do a weeks shopping one stop you are going to pay considerably more than necessary. A lot of the products are over priced and not worth it. Here in CA the produce section is very good and the meat dept is first rate. However the closest one to me is about 15 miles away and there is a Sprouts close by, which is a competitor, for the few things I like that I can’t get at a regular supermarket. And some things are cheaper there than at major chains.
cope
Birds in Florida: the first aspect of living in the state I was able to appreciate after moving here 30 years ago from my spiritual home of mountains and high deserts.
WaWa: free air, ethanol-free gas (at some stations) and reasonably cheap, reasonably tasty food. What more is there to ask for.
Original Lee
Re Ivanka fashion failures ( from dead thread downstairs): I think if Ivanka were pregnant, they wouldn’t be hiding it. OTOH, she has been more covered up than usual (very high necklines, long sleeves or raglan sleeves), so maybe she has a health issue of some sort that isn’t as “nice” as pregnancy. Or possibly her staffer who helped with wardrobe has quit.
EthylEster
Pearl is better-looking IMHO.