Road Block

No, these are not raptors! Along with my survey partner, Chuck, I was back on the Armendaris Ranch to begin the winter season of roadside raptor surveys. One of the largest ranches in New Mexico, this is one of three New Mexico ranches owned by Ted Turner. It is also the release site for fledgling Aplomado Falcons, an endangered species, and subject of intense scrutiny. Will the tiny falcon survive in the harsh climate of the Journada del Muerto? Our job, at Hawks Aloft, is to conduct surveys to assess raptor populations in this desert grassland and, over time, determine change in numbers or in species composition. This is the first winter of surveys, and it is too early yet to report any hard numbers.

On this ranch, the primary grazer besides pronghorn antelope and the exotic oryx, are bison. They run about 1100 head on the vast expanses of grassland mixed with yucca and other shrubs. The ranch is so large that we often see no evidence of the large herbivore. However, this was not the case for the December survey. Fortunately, the herd was quite cooperative and briefly posed for photos. The first image gives one an indication of the immense size of the ranch.

The Armendaris is managed for wildlife as well as bison, and supports impressive numbers of birds, mammals, and reptiles. In fact, during the December survey, we observed no less than 17 Loggerhead Shrikes, a species of high conservation concern due to precipitous declines in its total population size. We also observed 4 Prairie Falcons, another bird that is seldom seen. Both are indicators of the quality of the habitat present and the food resources available for wildlife.

I feel fortunate to be able to spend time in such a beautiful location, far from the frantic pace of life in the city.

Bohin Quilt Marking Tool

Simply the coolest, greatest, most awesome new item found at International Quilt Festival in Houston. This mechanical quilt marking pencil by Bohin, a French Company, will revolutionize marking tools. My friend, Mary C., and I came upon their small booth because she was looking for hand applique needles for a class. Bohin is a noted needle maker. While we were there, we watched a demonstration of the new marking pencil. The 'leads', which are actually colored chalk, come in yellow, gray, and white. They are interchangeable, just like a mechanical pencil. I used them to mark this block on the Hawks Aloft raffle quilt, which will be awarded on Dec. 8, tomorrow evening. The lines are clear, easy to see when stitching, and not messy. Like other mechanical pencils there is uniformity in width. In the above photo, I did not remove the marking so that you could see just how wonderfully well it works. Check it out yourself. The pencil comes with white chalk, but you can buy refills. I have not tried the other colors yet, but the white showed well on this busy red print. As I understand it from the company you can remove one chalk and replace it with another, while still saving the first chalk for another use. It retails for about $13.00.

A Room with a View - on the inside

This is Ferrug, a 10-year-old, non-releasable ferruginous hawk, and one of the Hawks Aloft educational ambassadors. He was likely hit by a car on a remote mesa top in northern New Mexico during the fall of his hatch year. I have never been able to understand just how it would be possible to actually strike a bird on the narrow two-track dirt paths that are the only vehicle friendly roads on the mesa, and further, how it also happened that someone picked him up and turned him in to a wildlife rehabilitator. He has a badly broken wing with joints that do not extend fully in his right wing.

Because he was so young when his injury occurred, he has adapted well to captivity, and can travel to accompany us at educational programs around New Mexico. Here, he and I, along with a red-tailed hawk, a Mississippi Kite, and an Eastern screech-owl shared a hotel room for the night. We had traveled to eastern New Mexico to give training classes to utility companies for the New Mexico Avian Protection Working Group. The goal of this group is to reduce mortalities due to electrocution and collision with utility structures.

Ferrug is unique, as are all animals, and while he travels well, he does get car sick. That means that the morning of a travel day, he is not fed. It also means that when we arrive at our destination he is voraciously hungry. Shortly after this photo was taken, he wolfed down about 6 mice - whole. Lights out, shortly thereafter, he settled down nicely for the night, and slept contentedly on the perch on his travel box.

In other bird related news, check out David Sibley's Blog
He has been experimenting with ways to reduce avian collisions with windows, and has possibly come up with a novel and inexpensive way to make windows more visible to birds.

In even more bird news, check out International Bird Rescue, that has been rescuing and cleaning birds trapped in the oil slicked waters of the San Francisco Bay.

The Debut!

He arrived in May, a nervous, jumpy , frightened fellow. Like all of our other educational ambassadors, this little Red-tailed Hawk has an injury that will permanently prevent his release to the wild. Unlike most red-tails, however, he is a chocolate brown color with a russet red tail, what is known as a dark morph. About 10% of all soaring hawks have this plumage. He had been hit by a car, and is missing the tip of one wing.

One of my favorite things to do is to work with a bird, helping it to become comfortable around me, and then around others. The ultimate reward is being able to present the bird to the public at an education program or an outreach event. Some birds adapt quickly, while others may take years, and some simply are never able to overcome their innate fear of humans.

At first, he just tried to get away from me. But, it quickly became apparent, that eating was his most favored activity. And, he was so motivated by food, that he trusted a little more each day. Little by little, he gained a bit of trust, until he finally came to the glove to take food. Now, he waits and watches for me to open the back door.

We presented him in public for the first time on November 10. It was a little scary, but he adapted well. Now, he doesn't have another program until 2008. It will get easier and easier.

A Room with A View

Taken with my little, old point-n-shoot Olympus, this was the view from my 18th floor hotel room at the Hilton in Houston. I was there to teach for Quilt Festival, but the wellness gods did not shine on me during this trip. Due to a very painful ear infection, most of the week was a blur. I am so thankful to the wonderful students who graciously overlooked the sniffling, sneezing teacher that couldn't hear well.

Still, there were some remarkable highlights at the 2007 International Quilt Festival. Among the most remarkable quilts was the 10.5 foot high x 120 foot long masterpiece of Esther Bryan and Friends, "Quilt of Belonging". It features the work of 263 different Canadians depicting their countries of origin. An unbelievable piece of art and history come together in this stunning interpretation.

The winners of the IQA judged show were equally stunning. The grand prize winner for 2007 was Hollis Chatelain, whose quilt "Hope for our World", is another of her masterpieces. In the quilt, Desmond Tutu is standing in a field surrounded by all the children of the world. Hollis spoke about her vision for this quilt, "I dreamed in purple, that Tutu was standing in a field surrounded by the children, representing hope for our world. Hollis' painted and heavily stitched quilts stand alone. Like many other artists, Hollis works toward a cause, and her cause is Africa. She is a remarkable woman.

Tiny Tote

Okay, so it isn't really a whole quilt, but it could have been! Last December, I stupidly signed up to demonstrate at "Bag Lady Day" at Quilt Festival in Houston. The only problem is that I don't do purses. It was beginning to look like my demo would be a disaster, that is, until the Katazome class came along and inspired me. This little bag was a blast to make, combining the Katazome dyed panel with the flying geese across the top. Way too much fun. Now, I can go to Houston with confidence, knowing that I will at least have something to show.

The Young, the Old, and the Middle-aged

It was at the Capital Quilters meeting in Raleigh, NC that I met this duo, not related. The six-year-old showed of her first quilt during show and tell. The 91-year-old was visiting from Nova Scotia. Me, well I am the middle-aged one.

Squash

Hmmm! Squash is such a simple plant, but beautiful beyond many others.

Imaginary World

The Special Shapes Glowdeo is yet another other worldly experience, rather like being on drugs legally. It's a great excuse to dust of the burden of adulthood, and act like a kid again. Tonight, and tomorrow are dedicated to those fantastically shaped balloons: trees, bees, octopi, pumpkins, the cow-that-jumped-over-the-moon, and even Darth Vader. Only in Albuquerque!