Well, yesterday was quite a day at the ASME Human Powered Vehicle competition here in Dallas, TX. Things got off to a great start in the 2.5-hour endurance race, and the UWM team was doing well, but then a component in the tilting mechanism broke. Happily, we managed to “fix” it with copious use of cable ties, and we were back in the race. Then it started to pour, but the students all kept going. Finally, the chain derailed, somehow wrapped around the wheel, tore the derailleur off the frame, put a huge gash in the tire, and that really cooked our goose. Oh well. The students learned a ton, seemed to have fun, and are excitedly talking about what to do differently next year. Mission accomplished, right?
Anyway, speaking of geese, I could hear some of you grousing that the gosling I showed you yesterday looked a bit grown up, and you’d love to see some freshly hatched ones, so here you go.
I see that chipping sparrows are starting to show up in the Milwaukee area, but I haven’t seen one in Estabrook yet this year, so here’s one of the little cuties from Dallas.
We do get to see cedar waxwings in Estabrook all year, though much less often in the winter, but how could I resist taking a picture of these two beauties?
I know I’ve already shown you a mockingbird on this trip, but this one was posing so nicely that I thought one more couldn’t hurt, right?
The fun treat of yesterday morning, before the race got underway, was spotting a couple of eastern meadowlarks. We’ve seen them in various locales in the Milwaukee area, but not yet in Estabrook. The pale underside on this one marks it as a youngster, and it seemed very curious about, but not alarmed by, the old guy peeking over the top of the hill.
Finally, here’s a striking little butterfly I don’t believe I’ve ever seen before, which my sources tell me is a common checkered-skipper (Burnsius communis).
Lastly, I took the liberty of scheduling myself a free day before I fly back home, but the weather forecast is a little iffy, so here’s hoping that I can find something interesting or pretty to show you to make it worth our whiles.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 