Holy shit. Ebola cure. Like really.
Mortality rates from 75% untreated to 6%. SIX.https://t.co/5NzKMN5wU0
— Stephen Blackmoore (@sblackmoore) August 14, 2019
So what is your good news today?
Open Thread
by David Anderson| 147 Comments
This post is in: Something Good Open Thread
Holy shit. Ebola cure. Like really.
Mortality rates from 75% untreated to 6%. SIX.https://t.co/5NzKMN5wU0
— Stephen Blackmoore (@sblackmoore) August 14, 2019
So what is your good news today?
Open Thread
This post is in: Faunasphere, Nature & Respite, Open Threads, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome
This is awesome! At a major warehouse fire on Sunday the @SouthBendFire Department set up ladders so two raccoons could escaped the burning building. Glad everybody make it out okay, including the raccoons!
(??: Paul Bierwagen) pic.twitter.com/DbGyB1joNi
— Max Lewis (@MaxLewisTV) August 5, 2019
I’m glad the little guys escaped safely, but if you’ve ever lost power due to a coon (or squirrel) taking down a transformer, you’ll get the joke…
Where were the raccoons when the fire started.
Extremely suspicious conduct by the raccoons. pic.twitter.com/iD7NHrjJRD
— Jeff Konrad (@konrad_jeff) August 6, 2019
by TaMara| 129 Comments
This post is in: Duck Blogging, Nature & Respite, Something Good Open Thread
JeffreyW has been wowing me with his butterfly photos over on our blog. so I had to share.
I tracked down this video because of the telephone car…but the entire video is full of fun classic cars.
I’m still completely tuned out and my energy level is much better. I feel like I’ll better be able to fight for the racist-in-chief’s ouster if I’m not completely overwhelmed by the awfulness of it all.
Yesterday, a full-length mirror fell from the wall and shatter, so I’m assuming I’m doomed anyway.
Respite open thread.
ETA: Bonus ducks because I know what you really want.
Ducks are messy. They can make mud in a drought. Here are three mud-covered quackers. Of course, Penelope is the only one it really shows on.
Respite Open Thread: Butterflies and Classic CarsPost + Comments (129)
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 36 Comments
This post is in: Albatrossity, Birdwatching, On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture, Travel
Good Morning All,
I’m back from my mad dash halfway across the country for some high-altitude mushrooms, Palisades peaches, Pueblo chiles, Pueblo Jalapenos, and some assorted trinkets and touristy stuff. I had a wonderful, if brief time, in a state I had the pleasure of living in for 9 years. I visited a number of places and did things I wanted to do in a mad dash of nostalgia and reminiscence. I also checked on my rental property, so there was a business component to my trip as well. I learned a lot about modern travel tech, and I’ll share some insights soon.
Monday and Tuesday, I have some canning and roasting, and sauteeing to do. Yes, I’ll be posting about my kitchen adventures, and am grateful to John for providing much helpful info and technique to remind my rusty ass on proper canning. I’m pulling my canning stuff from storage tomorrow morning, the jars are in the dishwasher awaiting the morning, and I’ll be briefly visiting Walmart for fresh lids and Fruit Fresh, then hitting the local international/ethnic supermarket for some fresh herbs, spices, shallots, garlic, sugar, vinegar, and ginger.
The drive – to and from – was also a grand adventure. Luckily, no bad weather or issues. I hope next year to do something similar, though not so fast paced (I drove when the rains hit, and when I could squeeze some time away from things at home), and for a few more days. Perhaps we’ll do a meetup or two along my route so I can drive 8 hours a day instead of 12.
On that note, today we see some gorgeous photos of birds (and prairie!) in Kansas. I really enjoyed driving through the state going West, but my eastbound route was different, and I missed the western third of the state on I-70, so missing most of the topography and prairie that I so love. I didn’t see any birds of note beyond hawks and some wonderful songbirds singing at a rest stop in the Western part of the state. I really enjoyed the Kansas rest stops – they were not fancy, but the space, layout, green, and general atmosphere were just relaxing. They felt like an oasis.
I have a cool 4k dashcam and had it running for the drive out, but a) I did not realize the microSD card was only 128 GB and so I overwrote my drive after 6 hours, and b) even though I had some of that Western Kansas footage, when I went to swap memory cards the next morning, it somehow popped up and hit something plastic on my dash/console and bounced who-knows-where. I suspect it went into the ac vent. So for now, I have lost footage, literally.
I’m busy copying footage from other days and adventures and hope to have a few clips or stills from them to share to complement the photos I took with my iPhone. All dashcam videos and stills show the windshield and top of the hood, but the wide angle and high quality are neat, and I hope to be able to share some small clips of things I saw that caught my eye or deserve a share and a story. Since the early part of this week is about canning and cooking and food preservation, I don’t expect to have my photos and content until next week.
Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
Today, pictures from valued commenter Albatrossity.
I do not live in a place with the variety of scenic opportunities that Bill enjoys in SoCal; I live in a place which is largely unknown and underappreciated, the Flint Hills of Kansas. This is the last stronghold of the tallgrass prairie, an ecosystem that once covered 240 million acres in the center of the North american continent, and which has now been reduced to about 2% of that acreage. In other words, the percentage of tallgrass prairie that is left is significantly less than the percentage of old-growth forests remaining in the Pacific Northwest, yet that ecosystem gets a lot more ink and angst.
The Flint Hills remain as a tallgrass ecosystem thanks to that eponymous flint; the soil is only a couple of inches in depth, thus it is too thin and rocky to plow, which was the fate of prairies in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and elsewhere. It is grazed for cattle, but since it was originally grazed by bison, that is not a radical change in land management practices, and much of the original biodiversity remains. That is not to say that it is pristine, or protected, or out of danger; it is, however, hanging on pretty well. Periodic controlled burns and grazing, which were historically part of the ecology here, are still used to maintain the grasslands here.
So I’m gonna submit a bunch of photos of this part of the world and some of its denizens. As you might imagine, lots of these images will be birds!
Taken on 2013-07-23 00:00:00
Konza Prairie Biological Station, Manhattan KS
The Flint Hills of Kansas, with a pale rainbow in the dawn sky.
Taken on 2017-06-05 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
Many sparrows can be found in grasslands, and the grasslands of the Flint Hills host some very fine sparrows. Some are summer residents only, like this Henslow’s Sparrow, which requires “old-growth” grassland, i.e. prairies which have not been burnt that year and which have some standing dead stems and understory. This sparrow was historically much more widespread across North America, but is not doing well in other regions these days.
Taken on 2019-07-24 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
Another iconic summer resident is the Grasshopper Sparrow, a diminutive but vocal bird in much of the Flint Hills. Like all sparrows, the closer you look at them the more you see; they are not just the LBJs (little brown jobs) that many birders and others dismiss without much appreciation.
Taken on 2013-11-10 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
Winter brings another sparrow from the far North back to the central prairies, the chunky yet handsome Harris’s Sparrow. If you look at the range maps for this species, you will discover that you might have to visit Nebraska, Kansas or Oklahoma to see one of these sparrows; their wintering range is right in the heart of the continent.
Taken on 2017-10-11 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
Another winter resident sparrow is the Lincoln’s Sparrow. This species is much more widely distributed across North America, but is not easily seen, since it is what birders call a “skulker”. Sometimes you can lure one out for a portrait, however, so that you can appreciate the fine details of its elegant plumage.
Thank you so much Albatrossity, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email
This post is in: Faunasphere, Open Threads
Even a loon family deserves to stay together. https://t.co/97L1sUCW9b h/t @MaineLisaD
— David Beard (@dabeard) August 8, 2019
Gary Bennett gently removed the 2-week-old loon from a box and cupped the chick in his gloved hands as the boat drifted Monday in the sparkling waters of Messalonskee Lake.
Then came the high-pitched cry from the baby, whom he had named Jordan. Just three days ago, Bennett, who runs Snow Pond Cruises on the 9.5-mile-long lake, had captured the chick after noticing a grape-sized tumor on its leg. An animal rehabilitation center in Freedom surgically removed the tumor and Jordan was returned with a clean bill of health.
Monday afternoon, the chick’s parents paddled near the boat and responded with a series of distinctive wails that loons are known for when searching for a mate or a baby. The eerily serene wails heralded an emotional reunion for both human and bird, as Jordan came back to the waters of the lake and back to its parents.
Bennett, 68, is a registered Maine guide and licensed commercial boat operator who has lived on the lake for 33 years and has been running Snow Pond Cruises since 2014…
The loon is known as one of Maine’s most beloved birds, with a population in steady rebound in recent years. Maine Audubon has estimated that there are some 3,200 adult loons and 400 loon chicks in the southern half of Maine, which is the part of the state covered by the annual count…
Full story and pictures at the link. Loons only hatch one or two chicks at a time, so it’s not surprising they’d be more open to reuniting with a ‘stolen’ chick than a passerine with half a dozen other offspring to protect.
Saturday Morning Open Thread: In Sympathy With LoonsPost + Comments (93)
by Major Major Major Major| 56 Comments
This post is in: Cat Blogging, Nature & Respite, Open Threads, Pet Blogging
This big galoot turned five today.
I had a terribly long day and just got back to the apartment. At least I’m working from home tomorrow, so I can spend some time playing Psychonauts, which I bought on sale for $2. I love Tim Schafer games but haven’t played this one before. Yay!
Let’s call this a respite thread; nothing that would upset the birthday boy too much, please.
This post is in: Nature & Respite, Open Threads, Post-racial America, Republicans in Disarray!, Television, The Brown Enemy Within, Assholes, Flash Mob of Hate, Go Fuck Yourself, Just Shut the Fuck Up
A monster turned a transcript of Carlson's show into a manifesto and then killed 22 people. His career depends on no one pointing this out. https://t.co/cJVZdr2eIQ
— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) August 7, 2019
What time of day does Fox News transition from "the celebrity used bad language" to "do not be deceived by the rootless cosmopolitans who control society, blood and soil are the only truth?" Like happy hour-ish?
— David Roth (@david_j_roth) August 7, 2019
Perspective: Tucker Carlson’s claim that white supremacy is a hoax is easy to prove wrong, @Sulliview writes.
Just watch his show. https://t.co/ixQxrxKPAa
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 7, 2019
Facing mounting controversy for declaring the very real problem of white supremacy in America to be a "hoax," Tucker Carlson announced at the end of his Wednesday night Fox News show that he will be taking a vacation. https://t.co/vpXNHmSoaw
— CNN (@CNN) August 8, 2019
IIRC, Bill O’Reilly went from ‘sudden vacation’ to ‘suspended’ to ‘Bill who?’ when he pushed the boundaries a little too far. One can hope that Carlson will also be forced into doing podcasts from his basement… assuming Tucker’s penthous *has* a basement…
I hear he got a tip on a fun 6-day weekend airbnb spot from the NRA social media team. https://t.co/uc6eqsKRac
— Zeddy (@Zeddary) August 8, 2019
Reference:
Breaking —> Documents show the NRA planned to purchase a $6 million mansion for Wayne LaPierre, an uncompleted transaction that is now under scrutiny by investigators, @CarolLeonnig & @bethreinhard report https://t.co/g7A1rYoMge
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) August 7, 2019
“Respite” Open Thread: Tucker Carlson on Unplanned VacationPost + Comments (119)