Four States, Four New Birds

Lots of travel this past week, resulting in four new birds to my ABA life list.  Last Wednesday, Nutting’s Flycatcher near Lake Havasu, Arizona (at this spot):

A break on Friday in Washington, D.C.  for a meeting with the President:

Then off to Ocean City, Maryland to see Purple Sandpipers feeding along this shore:
Had to take a photo of what real lump crab cakes look like:
Then on Sunday off to a place in the middle of Indiana to see a Hooded Crane (very rare sighting in the U.S.) - see link:   http://flic.kr/p/breSJr
And then yesterday morning in St. Louis, a rush to see Eurasian Tree Sparrow (making it ABA # 642) before scrambling to the airport to head out before the approaching snowstorm!
What I will do for a bird!
 

Meeting with the President

This afternoon I was part of a group who met with President Obama.  An incredible experience.  This photo was kindly taken by a really nice guy to my left as the President was beginning to respond to a question I had just asked:

Dimitri, a 76 and a Deal Closed!

Last week’s highlights included a lifetime low round of 76 (at Renegade), seeing one of the top singers in the world - Dimitri Hvorostovsky (below) - perform at The Orpheum in Phoenix, and closing the sale of ModernMed to Paladina Health (link).

Birdgasm!

Okay, maybe that’s stretching it.  But when you see hundreds of raptors fly over your yard over the course of the day (with some peak times of a rate of over 100 per hour!), it’s pretty darn exciting.  I am slowly getting back into bird photography and took some photos toward the end of the day.  Here’s one photo of a Merlin; these guys are often like bullets zipping through the sky at easily over 60 mph just above the tree line.  You see them, and before you know it, they’re gone!

Release!

Big thanks to Crystal and Scott with the Wisconsin Humane Society for their help yesterday.  Here’s a photo in the yard of the ‘release’ of a just-banded, rehabilitated Cedar Waxwing, which was joined by three other waxwings that were also just returned to the wild:

The storm has passed, but the raptors are just starting.

We’ve endured an unusual cut off low pressure system that hung around for over a week, with winds from the east almost the entire time.  And incredible amounts of rain. But now, a strong front from the north has arrived, and with it, heavy winds………and RAPTORS zooming down the coast.  Finally!

Trips Recap

Been traveling on both coasts the last few weeks.  Some highlights, with photos taken from my iPhone:

At chef’s table at Rioja in Denver; terrific meal with head chef Jennifer Jasinki frequently roaming food prep stations and clearly in charge: 

Located new life bird ABA #635 at Salton Sea - Yellow-footed Gull:

In NYC during Hurricane Irene weekend:

Radio City Music Hall (seeing the least impressive Cirque du Soleil for me to date):

The Pack at the White House

Yesterday flew to D.C. to attend President Obama’s welcoming of the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers at the White House.  Some gentle trash-talking between the President and Charles Woodson!  The President, an avid Bears fan:  "This hurts a little bit…you guys coming into my house to rub it in…enjoy it while it lasts!“

Fly fishing in the Northwoods

Last weekend learned how to fly fish for trout and bass in the Wisconsin Northwoods, with some limited success!  Thanks Andrew and Diana for a great time.

Now Available on Kindle, iBook, Nook and Amazon!!

My book ‘What I Really Think - The Business Chapters’ is now available on Kindle; here is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/What-Really-Think-Business-ebook/dp/B0056B6IOA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1308537102&sr=1-1

The book will soon also be available on iBooks and Nook. It’s companion book, 'What I Really Think - The Deep End Chapters’, will also be available in e-book format in the next couple of weeks.

The photo above is the paperback, or perfectbound, proof of 'What I Really Think - The Business Chapters’, that will be going to press in the next week (click on photo for larger image). Hopefully they will be at a bookstore near you in the not-to-distant future!

The Book of Mormon and Two 29's

I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a Zagats 29 food rated restaurant, if at all, but I was lucky to enjoy incredible food with great company at the following two places these past few days:  Sasabune, a sushi place that looks like a dive on the Upper East Side in NYC,  where there’s no menu and you basically eat whatever fantastically fresh fish the guys put in front of you; and The Inn at Little Washington in the Virginia countryside outside of Washington, D.C., a spectacular place that I’ve wanted to visit for years.

And then, there was Broadway, and The Book of Mormon.  I just cannot say enough about how smartly written and composed, constantly laugh out loud funny, and shake your head irreverent and satirical this play was.  It was by far the most enjoyable Broadway play that I’ve seen in my life.