Greensboro Birds

Josh is taking his art show on the road again, but this time right here in Rockingham County. See the press release below:

The Madison-Mayodan Recreation Department is pleased to announce a new class, Introduction to Drawing Fundamentals, which will be held on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to noon, from November 7 to December 5 (no class on November 28). The class is open to ages 9 and up (adults are welcome, too), and the cost is $40. Supplies will be provided by the Recreation Center. Students only need to bring their willingness to learn and have fun.

The class instructor is Josh Sutcliffe, who is a member of the Art Alliance in Greensboro (www.artalliancegso.com), where he also teaches art to children.

To register for Introduction to Drawing Fundamentals, please contact the Madison-Mayodan Recreation Department at (336) 548-2789.

New Jerseyites can deal with a lot of crazy stuff, but throw a few wild turkeys in the hood and the people go nuts.

Money quotes:

“I wanna just be able to go back to a normal life and go out of our house without worrying where a turkey might be,” lamented Nancy Giordano.

“[They] do not belong,” one angry homeowner said. “They need to find someplace to be with their own kind and enjoy life instead of trying to deal with urban life.”

As you might have heard, Josh likes to run—barefoot—having run the Grandfather Mountain Marathon in July and many local runs around the Triad (he placed 4th in his age group and set a PR in the Salem Lakes 10k last weekend). He’ll be running in the very first Blue Ridge Marathon on the Parkway next April 24 (that’s 2010, people).

If you’re a runner and want to join Josh—did I mention he’s a barefoot runner?—click over to his running/art blog, Art and Sole, to enter his contest for a free entry to the race! (That’s an $80 to $100 value!) If you aren’t a runner but know someone who is, be sure to send them to the contest page before midnight on October 11 (that’s 11:59:59, October 11).

Me, I’ll be enjoying the spectacular scenery and the tasty treats of downtown Roanoke while you and Josh hammer up and down beautiful mountain roads. Good luck!

Enter now! Art and Sole’s Blue Ridge Marathon on the Parkway Contest

Infinite Stet Tee

I’ve been up to my elbows with my non-birding job all summer. Much as I’m very pleased to be so busy during These Economic Times, I’d like to have a do-over and get in more birding. Stet the summer, if you will. Hence the new Infinite Stet tee. I’ve also started blogging a little over at Stet That Blog, if you’re interested in publishing hoo-ha. (Hoo-ha is a “real” word, btw, with the hyphen and everything. Who knew?)

The past few days have seen early morning warblers beginning to pass through the yard. It’s my habit to grab a cup of coffee and wake up with it on the patio in the wee-ish hours while watching the chickens and the birds. Here’s what I’ve seen recently from the comfort of my chair (I’m such a lazy birder!):

• American Redstarts: Lots of females, typically finding tasty treats in the sweetgum trees and arrowwood viburnum.
• Pine Warblers: These hang out here all year, but typically make themselves scarce until fall migration. Had a very nice sighting in the holly this morning. Looks like another great year for holly and other berries, by the way; the native hollies are weighed down with lots of green berries, and our pyracanthas are already jam-packed with ripe, bright-orange berries.
• Black and White Warbler: This was a first for the yard! Spotted this morning, it was creeping nuthatch-like up the trunk of a pine tree, then dropped down for a splendid appearance on the fence.
• Magnolia Warbler: In immature fall plumage, this warbler flitted around in the viburnum for a few minutes. Nice! If you can get a stand of southern arrowwood viburnum going on your property, you will be rewarded with many bird surprises.
• Common Yellowthroat: A female dropped in a few days ago, just long enough to get my attention before moving on.

No photos, unfortunately. Early morning is not when my fine motor skills shine.

In other news, I ran my first-ever 5K on Saturday, in the Eden Riverfest 5K! My time was 37:04, which was by no means with the front-runners, but not entirely last. An 8-year-old girl clad in denim capris, however, did cross the finish line a good 10 seconds before me, but of course she has yet to acquire the weight of the world on her shoulders. My next public feat of athleticism will be in October at the Lexington BBQ Festival’s Hawg Run. I’ll run many miles for a slow-roasted pig.