a stick in the water or a rock in the storm

There is a stick poking out of the reservoir at about mile 2 and a half on the Sprain parkway, visible only on the southbound side. It has been sticking out there for five years. I know that stick because a family of commarants uses it as a perch to scope out fish, I assume. From April through September I when I drive by at around 4 or 5 pm, there is always at least one and as many as five commarants on that stick. They seem to come back later in the Spring than other water birds.

I think they are commarants: black birds with long necks that look like the one Chinese fishermen use to catch fish with a band around their neck in books written for children. It looks more or less like this. I'm not convinced I saw the yellow around the beak.

There is no way for a human or other predator or other pest (from the birds point of view) to get to the spot. The stick pokes up out of the water off an island in a reservoir that is surrounded on both sides by a highway.

A branch of a log that fell in the water years ago can be a remarkably stable and reliable landmark.

It has been the focal point of a family of birds life for at least five years when I began to notice it. It has not rotted or broken off. The log that holds it up has not rolled over. The birds leave in the fall and can rest assured that when they get back next Spring, it will still be there.

While change is the only constant, and all that, something as apparently transitory as a tree falling into a pond, which is what the natural corollary of a reservoir would be, leads to this stable situation.

Further lessons:

In the time that that log has been holding up a branch providing a stable fishing spot, thousands of houses have been built in Ireland, houses that will never be occupied and will be demolished without anyone ever living in them. Ghost Estates, symbols of the housing bubble. Meanwhile, that branch keeps on trucking.

We think of humanity's impact on the environment in terms of oil spills and CO2, and that is true, or bulldozers plowing into wetlands, which is a big deal, but what is the impact of people doing stuff like kicking over logs? If the log I am observing were in the Catskills or in the Adirondacks instead of in between the north and south bound sides of a highway, it might have been absentmindedly kicked over by someone, or someone's canoe might have bumped into it and broken the branch. You might say that kicking it over might make it a better spot for them to fish. But how long would it take them to figure that out? Maybe not long... but maybe the birds would not have prospered as they have with the log left as it was.

Just a thought.

off topic

This has no dogs, except going to the dogs:
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/04/the-greek-crisis-has-me-thinking-about-1931.html

yesterday, upload a day late

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

rocky eating oak, harley getting stuck upstairs, lola chasing wood shavings, etc.

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

recital, no dogs, sorry

a great dog video tomorrow, promise... but here is yesterday

oh give me a home, home on the range from glencadia on Vimeo.

geese ducks turkeys chickens dogs

And the video misfired.
http://www.vimeo.com/10951818

I'll try again.

new birds and old dogs from glencadia on Vimeo.

load of sand

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

This much sand costs as much as one, single peacock, as Ollie points out. Charlie is still a little reluctant but has come a long way.

And now the dogs:

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

And now out for a walk:

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

I get a load of sand like this all the time. Here is 2009 and more sand. Another one. And here is 2008 or here.

who wants popcorn?

kids over to play, sunny day, Jim's back is better, things are good

Too bad Frankie killed the rooster. I liked that rooster; he wasn't mean and most are, so he was perfect. Still, I have another one.

Maximus jumped up to get the ball out of my hand and bit me and knocked the camera on the floor. What a jump! Kind of caught on video, below.

I was trying to find the perfect place for Piper. I think I may have. Watch!

I know, Stella, not Ruby. I had 2 Stellas and 2 Rubies and 3 went home. The last one was a Stella, not a Ruby. I still have 3 out of 4 Lucies.

Ollie, my son, says I should get the photo that Budgi took in this video and post it, and she forgot to take her camera home, so I can. And I will.

And this is pretty funny if I say so myself:

kids and dogs april 2 2010 from glencadia on Vimeo.

At about 9 minutes you will see this picture get taken:

I can't. Wrong USB chord.

spring spang sprung sprunk sprink

Story lines in and out of the video:

We have 4 dogs named Lucy here: Long Lucy, Lucy with a Lease, Little Lucy, Lucy Loo
We have 2 dogs named Ruby.

Senja is somewhat nervous. The first hint that she was not sure about the dog camp idea was when she peed on me getting in the van. Then, when she's out with the other dogs, she finds a nice sunny spot and sort of lies down in an inconspicuous manner. And she didn't eat much. Still, as you see in the video, she's coming around. And after the video she got even more comfortable and relaxed. She'll be fine.

Bond is obsessed with fetch. I should never have started. He won't let it go.

Mingus got time out.

Peanut thinks she has to break it up when other dogs play.

Theo makes strange noises.

Happy is a bit naughty in terms of coming when called.

Lotta and Leo put coats on the dog.

You can't tell Darcy from Gustov in person, let alone in the video.

We went all kinds of different places.

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

spring is back and so is the blog

Sorry for delay in updating this... here is today's video. Beautiful day.

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

Delay might have been due to this:

cinnamon bay st. john's us virgin islands from glencadia on Vimeo.

the frogs are out

Loud and clear as a bell. Tonight is the night this year.

And here are the other years: 2009 or here 2009

2008

The earliest day yet in my short notation of the day the frogs come out. They all come out at once. It's quiet one night, loud the next, no ambiguity.

The weather is fantastic and my video camera is working again. It will be dog heaven on the blog tomorrow.

attacking the shavings and all about gracie

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

chicken attacks a dog, dogs discover ice, leo knocks the camera out of my hands and butchie howls

Those are the highlights. I should get some more video but this was pretty good for now.

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

more snow, snow, snow

I always said that you don't need 4-wheel drive around here. You wait until it stops snowing. You wait for the plows to do their work. Then you drive whatever car you have. But this theory requires that it stop snowing. I hadn't thought about what do you do if it never stops.

So I looked at yesterday's video again and I think I missed Basil. He's at the end of this video and he really likes the snow too -- he was out with us he just didn't make the video. He's popular. Getting humped, actually.

This video includes a long shot with no editing. It was quiet, the snow was falling gently and the dogs were not all hovering around me and I kept shooting.

If you click the link and look at the video on the Vimeo site you can see it bigger.

Here it is:

2-28-2010 from glencadia on Vimeo.

post 405 snow, wet and warm

To see the video bigger, you might want to click the link to go to the vimeo site and get it full sized... or watch it here. Thanks.

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

not a good video but great snow

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

quick video

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

the second upload seemed to work

second try at uploading 2-18-2010 from glencadia on Vimeo.

Oh, and Sugar (see below) has been found!

finally, entry 401 is ready

And I haven't done a real video in awhile and I'm having technical problems.

THIS IS TAKING FOREVER TO UPLOAD from glencadia on Vimeo.

And here is a lost dog for all the Brooklyn folks. Keep your eyes peeled. Thanks.

dog party all the time

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

quick video

Untitled from glencadia on Vimeo.

new blog entry

I just got my cameras out and went to do a video of the dogs... and they were really mellow right now, kind of napping until I woke them up. I thought I would finally get a new entry in, but it's not happening today. I'll go check on them in a few hours. Or tomorrow morning when Jim comes to help out, I can focus on the video. Sorry for delay!

Martin Luther King in Burn-My-Hand, Ali Baba on the Yellow Submarine

This story is being re-written!

last blog entry of 09

There are two videos to watch!

see, more snow from glencadia on Vimeo.

last glencadia video of 2009 from glencadia on Vimeo.

It was a good decade for me, except for George Bush, a rotten tooth, a few other things. Not bad. It was long, though, 70 years, in dog years.

There is much more snow now than when I shot this video.

last glencadia video of 2009 from glencadia on Vimeo.

Anyone need the music for Auld Lang Syme?

my camera doesn't work

I have to hold the on/off switch and press the play/record button on the screen at the same to record. Plus all these dogs and the broken tripod and it's frustrating to get this video done.

glencadia christmas from glencadia on Vimeo.

Here is the bigger version:
http://www.vimeo.com/8396461

I will get a new more durable camera probably -- since they seem to get knocked around.A new battery might help but I'm not sure if it will or not. I haven't found a "shockproof" camera, as they call them, that takes good video, is fairly small, and isn't a lot of money. In fact, there only seem to be professional grade (around $2000) which would be too big if I could afford that and generic, around $300 but with lousy reviews for video quality. So, then I could buy another one just like the one I have, used, and try to cobble the two together. Whatever I do, it'll have to wait until January.

Anyway, I can do better and more comprehensive video when the camera actually works, damn it.

Third Annual Brooklyn vs. Manhattan Christmas Fetch Competition

glencadia christmas from glencadia on Vimeo.



2008: Brooklyn Pulls Out Surprise Final Victory in a Squeaker


2007: Manhattan Gets By Hapless Brooklyn

More video of 2007.

And 2009? Mahattan 5, Westchester 4, Brooklyn 1
Video to follow shortly!



Christmas past:
http://glencadia.blogspot.com/2008/12/merry-christmas.html
http://glencadia.blogspot.com/2007/12/with-this-fire-on-place-is-quite-warm.html

black on ice, white on white, orange in pumpkins, red doors, red pick up

black on ice, white on white, orange in pumpkins, red doors, red pick up from glencadia on Vimeo.

more text and stuff coming soon

skating day at glencadia from glencadia on Vimeo.

cold today

It's too cold to stay out for very long or to operate a video camera... so we're not doing a nice video today. Today's mission is just to stay clean and warm. Thank you.

zoning problem

Never mind.