Patti and Jeanne have probably seen this already, but there is an excellent manual for those new to backpacking and out of the way camping: http://tinyurl.com/ccy97xu billed as "an environmentally sound approach to a lost art".  A huge amount of good information, packed into a rollickingly funny small paperback 
Carol
WV

Yes, we actually have that book; it's a lot of fun!

They're a really great group; Jeane and I support them and have visited their rehab center.  They also do a lot of events with their education birds.  For a while we were going often enough they were calling us raptor groupies.

They occasionally announce a public release and we like to attend those if they're local.  One year we watched a Golden Eagle release, and not too long ago we were invited to a release of a whole family of Red-Shouldered Hawks who had come in together.

iPad meets iPeed.

   

 iPood!! 

We actually found a product called iPood that is a lightweight trowel designed for backpacking.  The name was so funny we traded our old model in for this one:
http://photos.bellhanley.com/Trips/Hiking/Bighorns-Backpacking-2009/9715903_xgCvFf#!i=657227321&k=Gwt5MPx&lb=1&s=L

That was some seriously gorgeous footage...very mesmerizing.  Did you check out the other videos on his page (peregrines at an eyrie and peregrine bathing)?

Lou, I know I'm being greedy, but I bet you could find some more in that year's worth of pictures that are worth sharing...

That was a really cute, but really odd little creature.  And when I saw the subject line "this is apparently a frog.", somehow I knew Dale had posted it before I looked.

At least the hunters didn't manage to accidentally shoot any Whooping Cranes (that we know of), which has been one of the big concerns with opening up hunting of Sandhill Cranes, since they often hang together.

In addition to the obvious downside to the cranes, the downside to crane watchers is that it makes the birds more skittish and much harder to see from convenient places like roads.  In a hunted population, the ones who survive are the ones who learn to be elusive.

Kentucky is backwards in many ways...I love it...but it drives me nuts sometimes, and the decision to allow hunting of Sandhill Cranes is downright embarrassing!

Laugh-out-Loud funny!

Joyce, I hope you're recovering well, aren't in too much pain, and have lots of folks pampering you over the holidays.

Patti

The last of the Galapagos Boobies wishes you a very happy 2013!

Christmas Eve with the Blue-Footed Boobies

More happenings from the Galapagos Booby Colony:

Blue-footed Boobies at the Christmas Dance...

A fellow on my Ky Bird list discovered, when browsing some Google satellite images, that a giant flock of wintering American White Pelicans is visible!

This is on Lake Barkley, in far western Kentucky.  They don't nest here, but come down to spend the winter.  If you follow the link below, and start zooming in...the green arrow points to a large flock of pelicans on the water, and you'll see long strings of the birds in flight, and another huge group on a sand bar on the right side of the map.

Hopefully this works...

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=36.884547++-87.894208&hl=en&sll=38.188805,-85.67677&sspn=0.681082,1.674042&t=h&z=15
http://tinyurl.com/c5lunp9

I thought it was pretty cool!

I like this one...

Hey macarena!