Friday Music

Franzl Lang (1930-2015) is remembered in popular culture as the Jodlerkönig. 

Franzl Lang, the Jodlerkönig - Wikipedia

As the Yodel King he is universally regarded as one of the most technically skilled alpine yodelers in history. 

Sporting his signature Bavarian Lederhosen and playing either a guitar or accordion he brought traditional Volksmusik into the mainstream German television and developed a massive following both in Germany and abroad cutting more than forty albums and selling millions of copies worldwide.  He secured multiple gold and platinum records. 

He taught the complex art of alpine yodeling and published several books on the subject before retiring in the early 2000s.

The Cross of the Blue Mountains - 1976.....

Peeing in the Woods

Something you don't see every day; a whitetail taking a leak.

Same posture as my dog...

  

July Night Sky

Here's a night sky opportunity that doesn't require staying up late or dragging yourself out of bed in the wee morning hours.

Look to the west after the sun sets and you will spot a crescent moon along with the planet Venus.  If you have a pair of binoculars, use them.

If you have a decent camera, mount it on a tripod because the combination of the very bright Evening Star - Venus -  along with the glowing earthshine on the dark side of the moon can make a cool bit of night photography.  Use a focal length of between 50mm and 100mm to capture both objects in the same frame.  If you can frame them with a silhouette of a tree or dark building, better yet. 

If you're using an iPhone or similar handheld device, both a stabilization and timed exposure setting is preferred.

Regardless of your equipment choice a filter app such as Snapseed is useful for adjusting exposures, aperture and additional settings.

Good Luck!  And fingers-crossed for clear skies and fewer skeets. 

Edit to add:  When I place this post in the "can" for publication this morning there was no way to predict that the Canadian and Minnesota wildfires would conspire to cast a pall across the daytime and night skies.

Sigh....
 

Situational Awareness

We happen to have plenty of pollinators winging around the joint.  Naturally, that is a consequence of creating conditions conducive to supporting them; namely habitat.

Anecdotally, it seems to me the numbers have diminished over the years and have dropped-off from the high water mark of 2019.  Don't take my word for it, if you peruse the labels located in the left margin of the blog homepage anything to do with Monarchs or Butterfly Biology is clustered over a handful of years six to nine years ago.  Of course it's also possible my taste for insect subject matter has changed too.  Nevertheless, my anecdotal observation on the raw numbers seems pretty solid.

Anyway, a few days ago The Missus was potting some plants on the picnic table and spotted this newly-emergent monarch sitting of the driveway beneath the table drying its wrinkly wings.  Under ordinary circumstances this moment would pass entirely unobserved.

Likely the first generation born of an earlier migrator.  

You can learn more about the generations of Monarch butterflies here.  And pay attention to what's going around in the natural world.  Situational awareness you know.... 

July Night Sky

New moon is on tap for this evening.  As a consequence of the moon sitting between the earth and the sun the side facing us is totally dark.  In the absence of any moonlight to clutter the night sky this is the best night of the month to observe the heavens.

Our planet is also entering the Perseid meteor shower.  You'll have to wait for the peak of the shower a month from now; nevertheless, earth is entering the outer edge of the debris field left behind by Comet 109P Swift Tuttle.  If you're outside this evening observing the night sky there is a good chance you'll catch some meteors streaking across the sky.

Here's a Pro Tip.  Get yourself into a comfortable lawn chair and pick a wide part of the sky to stare at.  Because this is the Perseids I'm going to look to the northeast and the constellation Cassiopeia.  Constellation Perseus is immediately below.  Grab a lemonade or a cold adult beverage and allow 10-15 minutes for your eyes to adjust too the darkness.  The early Perseids are frequently very fast and bright.

Good luck and fingers-crossed for few skeeters.

 

 

Trail Cam Update

From the trail camera trap line is a selection of photographs....

Sunset

Gobblers

Sandhill Crane

Doe and Fawn

Woodcock

 

Wiley Coyote

 

Better Late Than Never

From the trail camera recently there was this.

One photo grab from a series of several dozen taken over twenty minutes of a gobbler making some moves on a foursome of ladies.  

Pardon me; but isn't it a bit late for gobbler romance?