Shaddy's Beer Intake Challenge

I like challenges.  I've come up with a new one.  I'm working my way through as many different beers as I possibly can.  I've included several in this post.

Do you try different beers or do you stick with one particular brew?

I'm attracted by the names, labels and tastes of beers.

I realize that if I drank a different beer every day for the rest of my life, I couldn't come close to having all the beers brewed in the world.  

I couldn't even sample all of the domestic beers on the market.

Fortunately, I'm not discouraged.  No matter what, I'll drink to that!!

CHEERS! 

Backyard Birds

Baltimore Oriole

Female Goldfinch

Baltimore Oriole

Female Baltimore Oriole

Rabbit and House Sparrow

Male House Sparrow

Three male Goldfinches, one female Goldfinch and a House Sparrow.

Indigo Bunting

Indigo Bunting

Downy Woodpecker

A

American Robin

White Crowned Sparrow

Mourning Dove

Rabbit

Mother's Day Is For the Birds

Lee Johnson, a volunteer at Sand Bluff Bird Observatory, is a wealth of knowledge.  He's been studying birds since 1943. 

Birds are caught in walls of netting, removed from the nets every hour and transported in mesh bags to the banding station nearby.  The birds are then identified, recorded, banded and released.

We witnessed the process at Colored Sands Nature Preserve in Northern Illinois on Saturday.  This is the second consecutive year that we attended the annual Bird Fest.  The red bird in this photo is a Scarlet Tanager.

We saw birds we'd never seen first hand before.

Lee spoke about each bird as it was brought in from the nets.  I could have listened to the interesting information that rolled off his tongue for hours.  He explained that this bird's feathers aren't actually blue.  Refracted light gives the blue color.

Lee told us about birds that fly from Alaska to New Zealand without ever stopping.  He spoke of birds that fly during migration 3,000 miles in one night!  I know it's mind-boggling.

We will return to hear more from Lee next year, over Mother's Day weekend.     

A Visit With My Aunt Dorothy (Better Known As Babe)

I visited my Aunt Dorothy (we call her Babe) at her condo this afternoon.  This photo of her granddaughter Jennifer, Allen and Babe was taken at Uncle Allen's birthday party last fall.  Sadly, Uncle Allen passed away in March.

Aunt Babe treated me to freshly baked bread today.  Was it ever good!!!  Wherever Babe is, good times are had.

See you again, soon, Babe!!!   

Comparing My Canon, Nikon and Sony Cameras

I used my new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX300 camera to take the photos on display above.

 

I took the photos above with my oldest camera, a Canon PowerShot SX230HS.

 

The previous four pictures, I took with my middle-aged Nikon Coolpix S9500.

I intended to show these photos in order from those taken with my oldest camera to those with my newest, but my blog program wasn't cooperating.  Oh well, I think it's pretty obvious that cameras have improved over the years.