Free Republic

This happened to me on SR 41 in Tampa on Monday March 24th. This pathetic excuse for a human being tailgated me for about three minutes. After about a minute, and me shaking my head, I pulled out my phone and started recording. I couldn't move over because there were trucks in the right lane, and I sure as heck wasn't going to speed on a rainy day with the roads being as slick as they were. I was turning left in about a half-mile when this happened. Now bear in mind, that this guy had already passed a truck...

ST. GEORGE — A Staten Island woman has sued the city claiming police entered her St. George home without a warrant, beat her family and killed her beloved pet parakeet, according to court documents. Last year, Evelyn Lugo's bird, Tito, was thrown from his cage after it was knocked off a dresser as cops came into her Corson Avenue home, the Daily News first reported. The officers then stepped on the bird intentionally, killing it, court documents say. Officers also beat two of Lugo's sons, her daughter and a family friend, the lawsuit claims. According to court documents, police entered...

With two other turkeys ticketed for a presidential pardon at the White House, their brother met Minnesota's governor Monday at a state Capitol ceremony featuring much of the same upbeat pageantry ahead of a far gloomier fate for the bird. Jokingly dubbed "Delicious" by a farmer traveling with the 20-pound gobbler, the unfortunate turkey enjoyed only a brief stay of execution - not a reprieve - during a ceremony laced with gallows humor at Gov. Mark Dayton's Capitol office. The next stop for the pink and white bird: a trip to the St. Paul Salvation Army and, eventually, dinner for...

<p>Nothing quite communicates the wrath of a scorned lover like the middle finger. But in Bloomfield Hills, this middle finger is loud and proud - in the form of a near 12-foot high statue one man erected next door to his ex-wife.</p>

Doctors appt. today, got a few shots while waiting for the bus ride home. Most of these Roseate Spoonbills are young birds, the adults were at the other end of the pond where I couldn't go today.

LONDON - The first scientific analysis of probable human-to-human transmission of a deadly new strain of bird flu that emerged in China this year gives the strongest evidence yet that the H7N9 virus can pass between people, scientists said on Wednesday. Research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) analyzing a family cluster of cases of H7N9 infection in eastern China found it was very likely the virus "transmitted directly from the index patient (a 60-year-old man) to his daughter." Experts commenting on the research said while it did not necessarily mean H7N9 is any closer to becoming the next...

There hasn’t been a sighting of a White-throated Needletail in the United Kingdom for 22 years, so nearly 80 birdwatchers flocked to Scotland this week to get a look, the Telegraph reported. But instead of enjoying the world’s fastest flying bird soaring, they watched it fly into the small blade of a wind turbine and die.

AFP - Taiwan on Wednesday reported the first case of the H7N9 bird flu outside of mainland China. The 53-year-old man, who had been working in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, showed symptoms three days after returning to Taiwan via Shanghai, the Centers for Disease Control said, adding that he had been hospitalised since April 16 and was in a critical condition. A passenger (right) has her temperature checked by a Centers for Disease Control staff member at the entrance of Sungshan Airport in Taipei on April 4, 2013. Taiwan on Wednesday reported the first case of the H7N9...

Around the world, scientists are now beginning to examine samples of the virus with a significant question in mind: Could this strain of the disease cause a global pandemic? This international network of scientists keeps constant watch for good reason. In 1918 and 1919, a flu pandemic killed between 20 million and 40 million people, more than the total death toll of World War I, more in a year than the Black Death of 1347 to 1351. More recently, an H1N1 swine flu pandemic was blamed for more than 284,500 human deaths worldwide between April 2009 and August 2010. So...

Doctors appointment today so I made it into town. The tide was low so most of the waders were on the saltwater flats. This is the big freshwater pond near Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine. These Mallard ducklets are pretty independent, momma was around but not really herding them. The White Ibis is one of last year's chicks, the white plumage is coming on strong. The Double Crested Cormorants feed in this pond but they were napping this morning.The flower is a Tradescantia, or Spiderwort.

Grey and gloomy day, chilly wind driving intermittent drizzle. The tide is way up driven by the wind. The sea and marsh birds tend to hunker down on days like this and sheltered fresh water ponds are favorite places for them.Storks, Roseate Spoonbills, White Ibis, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Little Blue Herons and Tri Color Herons were in clusters in this pond. The Osprey was just chilling out.

I got these Thursday after a doctor's appointment. Not much time, just one pass along the water and I had to head back to catch the bus.The Roseate Spoonbills with white feathered heads are the young birds, breeding age birds develope the bronze helmet look.

Got out for a while, low tide, birds should have been in the saltmarsh but weren't.I found an Anhinga so stuffed with fish it couldn't swallow the last one, watched an Osprey catch a fish and carry it to a light pole, and then I found a democrat rally going on at the Publix dumpster enclosure.

Surprise visitor (at about 1:30) during performance by Josh Williams at the Doyle Lawson Bluegrass Festival at Denton Farm Park in Denton, NC on May 5, 2011.

This guy in Ohio! American Revolution 2012 via Government Mess

From a retention pond on the Flagler Hospital campus, St. Augustine Florida. The little Cypress trees were full of Roseate Spoonbills and Common Moorhens were all over the place. The Moorhens saw me coming and hid the chicks before I could get a decent shot. One squawk and all the little ones head for cover.

More from my Easter Day shoot.The Roseate Spoonbills have gone from scarce to fairly common in recent years. This one was gathering Red cedar for nest material.The little Snowy Egret was very carefully checking out eggs.

One of the great things about being a nature lover is that your powers of observation seem to improve. While others are walking by, oblivious to the activities going on all around them, naturalists notice the creatures and the behaviors, especially if they are out of the ordinary.   The Ogden Point Breakwater is a popular spot with folks out for a weekend stroll. (Photo by Craig Spence, sourced online at Flickr.com) Such was the case on March 24, 2012, a sunny Saturday morning, when Ginger Morneau, her husband Ken, and brother Lou Baker were walking along the Ogden Point...

More from the rookery.

I'm gradually getting some work done, my short naps are using up a lot of time lately.