The Eagle... will Hatch!!!

This is really cool. I think that the eggs will hatch pretty soon.

Nature's Alarm Clock

A nice thunderstorm came through this morning. About 605am, with some nice lightning, and even pea-sized hail. I called in my report to NWS' Skywarn Spotters. Funny thing is that there was little noticeable increase in wind with the storm. Kind of odd, I would have expected more of an associated gust front, but I am thankful for the rain, nonetheless.

Wildlife

I've been having some good luck with wildlife as of late. Back on 4.12.06 I saw a bald eagle. This week, the American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) have begun showing up. I thought I heard a hawk in the trees this afternoon. Lisa and I also just purchased a nyger/thistle feeder, in order to attract/keep around our finch population. And just tonite, we heard an American Toad (Bufo americanus) in our area. He's been going all night so far, and we can even hear him while inside the house, with all the windows closed. He's sure louder than the Northern Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) that we have in our subdivision.

On another wildlife note, I think that this year might be the year of the Bear. I know that the Chinese have this year as the Year of the Dog, but I might beg to differ. Remember a few years ago, when we had the Summer of the Shark? All those shark attacks/sightings along the east coast? Well, so far there have been 2 highly publicized bear attacks in the US (Tennessee, and Washington) (not to mention one mountain lion attack as well). Maybe the bears are all confused/angry/hungry, with spring upon us and all. We shall see what the rest of the spring/summer brings.

Other people may argue that this year is turning into the Year of the Octane.

Great Few Days

What a good couple of days. I had the GREs on Friday. I did better than my first time, which should make my application move much easier. I then had another professional appointment in the afternoon, which I think went well too. I rewarded myself that night, and Lisa said I was in "rare form", probably because I was drinking Rare Vos.

On Saturday, we went with the AMC Young Members group on a hike to Ricketts Glen SP. This is an awesome park. It was once slated to become a National Park (but WWII happened). There are some 20+ waterfalls over the 7 miles Falls Trail (pdf), about 3 falls per mile! On the carpool up to the hike, we discussed the redevelopment of Bethlehem, with the condos, casinos, museums, and the like. There were some familiar faces on the hike, and some new faces as well. On the trip home, the group met at "Red's" (oops, we just passed it), for some good cheap grub.

After the hike, we continued directly to my parentals', where we spent Easter. Yesterday was a nice day as well. Relaxing. Oh yeah, I also bought a new lawnmower (Home Depot had a great deal with the financing).

Pictures are here.

The Eagle Has Landed...

Actually, it was just perched on a branch. I spotted the Haliaeetus leucocephalus as I was taking a morning walk along the D&R Canal in Frenchtown NJ. The eagle was overlooking the Delaware River, probably looking for fish, along its spring migration route. Maybe its nesting there, and I can see it again.

I tried to take some pictures with my camera phone. They did not come out well. If I were to post them, they would be inconclusive, and lumped somewhere on the beliveability scale with the JFK Zapruder Film, the Alien Autopsy, and the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot Film.

In the end, sure enough, it was an eagle. I walked by it twice, and even drove by it.

-J

Surprise Landing

Tracie stopped by Quakertown yesterday! Actually, she also flew over Quakertown. Tracie was working on her cross-country hours, so her and Martin (friend/instructor from AHC) flew from Frederick > Princeton NJ > NYC/Statue of Liberty > Quakertown > Frederick. They had to stop and fuel up, for the <2 hour trip back to Frederick. Tracie was nice enough to take some aerial photos of our house. We should get them really soon (look for them here). So, Lisa and I high-tailed it from work to Quakertown Airport (UKT)to see her for a little while. It was a nice surprise visit, and I hope she does it again. I can't wait until my next helicopter ride!

Tracie's pictures are here. She took pictures of Princeton, NYC (Central Park, NYC, Liberty/Ellis, Verezano), our house, and other things.


-J

Home Away from Away

We spent the weekend at home! Lisa and I woke up Saturday and Sunday in our own beds. I spent 3 hours running errands in Quakertown Saturday morning. We spent the afternoon at Moravian Tile Works in Doylestown. What a cool place. Henry Mercer made clay tiles there for over 32 years. They still operate a tile shop, which uses Henry Mercer's original designs, and a few annual special edition pieces. Its nice that the Bucks County Parks Dept. was able to save the building, and preserve the dying art. They have production/demonstrations daily. The tiles are all still made by hand, using period equipment. The only thing that has been updated is the ignition on the kilns. They even harvest the clay from Lake Towhee (another Bucks County Park), which is 5 minutes from us. The lady even had to pick bits of stone and woody debris out of the clay before pressing the mold. Impressive.

Great Falls... and Great Friends

...or maybe "Beltway Boomerang".

Marc and Jenn are moving back to CO. This was their last weekend in Reston, and we wanted to go down and visit with them one more time before they left. It might be a while before we see them again. We got down there late Friday, after Lisa's Mary Kay appointment. No worry though, since Marc & Jenn were out for another good-bye with his Jiu-Jitso friends.

We decided that we should go out to Great Falls NP for a hike/picnic. I brought my little grill from home, and we made Bubba Burgers on the grill. They were really good. A good beef burger is such a treat every now and then. We then packed up lunch and headed down the canal trail, stopping at the overlooks. We saw kayakers and whitewater. Pretty amazing scenery. We even saw a car that had both silver and gold rims. Even more amazing were the high water marks, which are even some distance above the fall line of the Potomac at that point.

We then returned home for some naps, pasta, and chilling. Lisa and I left early sunday, to get back for my basketball game.