O Canada

You did us proud!

Snowy Owls

I just found out that a group of owls is called a "parliament". It seems that there are many parliaments of snowy owls are making their way southward from the Canadian Arctic down to the open fields, beaches and airports of Newfoundland, eastern North America, Bermuda and Florida.

Snowy owls are migratory birds. It used to be thought that higher numbers of Arctic owls drifted southward when more northerly prey was scarce, but fairly recently there has been new information that the reverse is true. Last summer the snowy owls' chief prey, arctic lemmings, were particularly numerous so that the owl nestlings enjoyed a higher than normal survival rate.

When prey is abundant, snowy owls lay up to 9 eggs and of these, there are, in normal years, maybe two owlets that survive to fledge. Last summer though, thanks to the abundance of lemmings, there are now vast numbers of young snowys taking to the air and exploring widely during their southern migration. 

Since there are so many more snowy owls around, bird watchers are spotting them more often and their sightings are making headlines. See The Globe and Mail .

One of the unfortunate things about so many snowy owls in our more populated part of the country is that they look for landing areas that resemble the Arctic tundra - low and flat, such as beaches or airports. At airports they scare off other birds, such as gulls, but they are, in turn, threats themselves to aviation.

For some reason people find owls attractive in a way that they do not find, say vultures and buzzards attractive. Owls, with their wide, forward stare and beautiful plumage, seem "cute" to many of us (including me) and it's important to keep in mind that owls are raptors: expert and ruthless hunters.

Speaking of migration, snowy owls travel vast distances. Here's the map of one owl tracked between March 2012 and January 2013:

•  Owl 99906, a juvenile female, was equipped with a transmitter and released at Parker River Wildlife Refuge (in Massachusetts)  on March 4. She moved south near Boston's Logan Airport and was spotted there on Monday, 12 March. From March 12 - April 26, the owl is moving north relatively quickly compared with some of the more recent past owls and as of 26 April she was east of James Bay in Quebec Province. She continues to move north and by May 25 was approaching northern Quebec's Ungava peninsula region. PTT temperature and activity sensor values are within normal parameters.

Here's a video about a snowy owl rescued in Ohio recently:

Video: Rescued snowy owl recovering at Lake Erie Nature ...

More excellent snowy owl videos at this BBC website.

It's That Time of Year Again

Today  the Decorah Eagles started spending a lot of time on the nest. Sometimes both at once, often the female by herself. In the picture above, Mama is on the left. She's bigger and more ferocious-looking than Papa. There are other differences as well which I have put in a previous post. 

Below is Papa.

Last year the first egg was laid on Feb. 17, so I suspect the female is feeling broody and the male is supporting her behaviour. Maybe tomorrow morning she will be sitting on her first egg of 2014. I believe the whole cycle hinges on the length of daylight. 

This pair of eagles are experienced parents and their nests have been under video surveillance for a few years. I took these shots this afternoon while watching them via the live web cam installed just overhead.  

Magnificent, aren't they!! You can count on regular updates throughout the season.

Chris Hadfield

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth

• 

Late on a July evening in 1969, when Don and I were in our car on the road between Port Carling and Bracebridge returning to the city after a cottage weekend, we listened on the radio to live coverage of the first landing on the moon. It was an unbelievable moment, in the same realm as knowing where you were when you heard about JFK’s assassination.

It’s funny to think now that at that very same moment a 9-year old boy, listening to the same broadcast, was inspired and motivated to transform his life into the reach for the stars. Chris Hadfield, from that moment, imbued everything he did in life with the intention to better himself so that he too could qualify as an astronaut. For the next 26 years he worked hard at  everything he did - school, sports, improving his skill-set - and became the best that he could be. In 1992 he was selected to be a Canadian astronaut and in November 1995 he was launched into space for the first time.

Learning, practice, learning, practice, skills upgrades, learning, practice: it all continued even after that first space flight. Finally, during 2012-2013, Chris Hadfield spent 144 days in space and became the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station. He was at the top of his game.

His book, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, serves not only as an autobiography, but as a guide on getting the most out of the life with which we are each gifted. Hadfield works hard and plays hard and rarely does a moment go by that he does not maximize. Yet he is charmingly self-effacing and it’s easy to become a fan. His use of Twitter during his ISS days to connect, educate, awe and inspire is unprecedented. I’m a huge fan. (Witness some of his tweeted pictures that I posted on this blog Jan. - Apr. 2013 )

 

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth belongs in homes and schools everywhere. It’s an affable read, with biographical information, technical details (but not excessive, thank heavens) and photographs. I really enjoyed it and most people I know will also like it a lot. Thanks to Jacquie and Lionel who gave it to me for Christmas! xo!

Happy Valentine's Day

It's hard to believe, but this is my 350th post!!

Chocolate Brownies

Valentine's Day is coming closer, so naturally my thoughts have been turning to chocolate. The other day I tried a new recipe for gluten-free brownies. Other g-f brownie and flourless cake recipes I've tried, with almond flour, have tasted really good, but I didn't care for the texture. This recipe from Skinnytaste uses black beans, of all things, so I was a bit doubtful about how the texture would turn out.

Actually, I'm fascinated with recipes that have alternative or unusual ingredients, so for me, making black bean brownies was a great adventure and the bonus was that I enjoyed the end result.

The recipe calls for use of the food processor, so I made sure I processed the heck out of those beans and the result was pretty good, texture-wise. The comment from my other half was that maybe they weren't as sweet as other brownies and I'm thinking that's probably a good thing (I confess that I cut down just a teensy bit when adding the sugar).

Anyway, thanks to Skinnytaste, here's the recipe. About the beans, though: all the beans in my pantry are in 19 oz. cans, so after I drained and rinsed the beans I poured them into a measuring cup and removed a quarter of them before throwing them in the food processor. You'll notice a couple other unusual ingredients besides the beans: balsamic vinegar and ground coffee. Yes, I used them both. The brownies were amazing. In fact, I think I'll indulge in one right now with a cup of afternoon tea. Wish you were here to share one with me!

Amazing Flour-less Brownies
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 16 • Size: 1 brownie
Calories: 144 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 26 g • Fiber: 3 g • Protein: 4 g • Sugar: 17.5 g
Sodium: 150 mg • Cholesterol: 23 g

Ingredients:

·        1 (14 oz) canned low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

·        2 large eggs

·        1/2 cup cocoa powder

·        3/4 cup sugar

·        1/2 teaspoon oil

·        1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk (or dairy, skim)

·        1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

·        1/2 teaspoon baking powder

·        1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·        1/2 teaspoon of fresh coffee grounds or instant coffee

·        1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided (Hershey's)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Grease a non-stick 9 x 9-inch square baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

Blend the black beans, eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, oil, almond milk, balsamic, baking soda, baking powder and coffee grinds in the blender until smooth and pour into a bowl. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips until combined.  Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips evenly over the top of the brownies.

Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 to 32 minutes.  Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing them into squares. 

Hope you will also have time to check out other awesome recipes at Skinnytaste.com