So, crickie.com is officially back up. It’s far from being done, but it’s working mostly now. I have to add in each of my previous 354 posts by hand (cut and paste helps a bit, but.. meh) to get the archives working, but much of the hard stuff has already ben taken care of. The photo gallery is back up and linked properly over on the right. The ** means that particular album is new or has been recently updated. The ‘I read’ section is back, and autolinks are also working. I’m working on getting a FAQ up, getting an ‘about me’ page up, getting all of my OpenCanvas movies up, and getting a CafePress section back up. I have trouble remembering what was on the page without actually looking at it, so if you remember a particular section of bit I’ve not gotten, let me know. I have to talk to Blixem about getting the LJ feed running again.
Crickie.com died about two days ago. Either a server upgrade killed my archaic version of PostNuke, or something else untoward happened. I went to bed and it was working, I got up and it was dead.
Anyway, as you can see, I’m working on it. It’ll take quite a while, and you’ll see a ton of back posts popping up and I get the archives back. I’ve also upgraded form Gallery to Gallery2, so the pictures will be back, but later as well.
Bear with me.
Saturday, August 13, 2005 10:00am-4:00pm at Gaither’’s Plantation near Mansfield. I had only two complaints about this entire event. First, it was in a really out-in-the-boonies place. We had to drive on a gravel road for about a mile. Suck. Second, it was really really hot. Georgia in August isn”t the most appealing of times. Both, however, I can understand. Hummingbirds are begining to mirgrate south from Canada now, so you”ll see more of them in August and September. Also, in order to get big numbers of birds, you have to be out-in-the-boonies. The Georgia Hummer Study Group put the festival on, so Presdident Rusty Trump was there banding. Rusty is one of only two licensed hummingbird banders in the state. I”d been e-mailing him back and forth about what I thought to be a black-chinned female at one of my feeders (turned out to be a ruby-throat). He”d banded about 19 birds when we got there at 11:00. We wandered around the festival for a while before finally finding the garden they were trapping the birds in. There were literaly hundreds of hummingbirds in that garden. Next to the garden, they had a table set up for banding. Rusty was just finishing up an immature female. I hurried and wrote my name on two slips of paer for the releaser drawings, then grabbed my camera and got a few photos of her back. Cheryl drew my name out of the jar for that very release, so I was thrilled. There were people crowded all around me, watcing with mouths hanging open. It was awesome. He just set the bird in my hand, and she just sat there for about 30 seconds before flying off. There was a collective “Ahh!” from the people crowded around, then he went back for another bird to band. The next one was an adult male with a much darker emerald green back. Each bird he banded, Rusty would show to the audience up close before releasing. He had to rush a few to release because he had several waiting in bags. He”d get one out, measure it’’s tail, wings, bill and body, check for fat stores, then weigh it wrapped in a footie, give it a drink, show it to the audience, answer questions, then let someone release it. The birds were all in captivity for less than 10 minutes, even when they had to wait in bags. The whole day was great. They took a break from banding for a while, so John and I got somehting to eat. We hung around until my name was called again. I was hoping to get a female and a male, and this one was a male! He measured it, weighed it, and showed it to the audience. The bird was actually a recapture from the previous year, and he was done with being handled. He stayed in my hand for less than a second, too fast for any photos without Rusty’’s hand around him. After that, we left. I”d been working on a migrane for half the day, and John was working on a sunburn. Whee for hummingbirds! I even told Rusty who I was (from e-mailing him), and he asked “Are you from Athens?” I told him yes, and he remembered me. Forgive a little geekery here.
For all of the photos, go Here
At my new job, I have my own room. This means I get to decorate as I see fit. This moneht, I chose a fish theme. I just thought I’d share a few pictures.
My Large Board (7ft wide): Clickey
My Small Board (4ft wide): Here
My Door: See it
The Whole Room: Poit!
‘I got sucked into it too! 
Google your name like this: “Heather is” (But use your own name) and select 15 of the best (your name) is and post in your LJ/blog.
1. Heather is a short hairless undershrub.
2. Heather is up on crutches now, and was even in the Haines 4th of July Parade–riding in the front of the ambulance instead of the back.
3. Heather is obsessed with sex, violence, rape and abuse.
4. Heather is traditionally macerated and made into a liniment for treating rheumatism and arthritis.
5. Heather is learning to communicate her feelings and direct her anger and/or jealousy to positive outlets.
6. Heather is pregnant, read all about it.
7. Heather is skilled in various vibrational healing methods and is able to tailor sessions to the needs of the individual.
8. Heather is easy to find at most garden centers and nurseries.
9. Heather is combined with dark green Ivy in a rustic planter box.
10. Heather is a patron of Adopt-A-Minefield.
11. Heather is a sexy, earthy redhead given to belting out bawdy lyrics and punctuating her songs with wicked pelvic thrusts.
12. Heather is a slim figure, dressed in an unlikely combination of a daisy print dress and black motorcycle boots.
13. Heather is lost and alone, and she turns to handsome Frank Marshall for affection.
14. Heather is afraid her nightmares are about to become her reality.
15. Heather is hardy in USDA zones 4-6, but must be protected from drying winter winds.
Today at work, while I was out on the playground with my kids, I kept hearing a strange sound in one of the branches above me. As I kept walking underneath this tree, I kept hearing the sounds. I looked up to see if I could figure out what on earth it was, and my eye was caught by a little brownish-red … thing. At first I thought it was a dead leaf, then I thought it must be a really huge cocoon for some sort of moth. As I looked closer, I realized it had fur and was breathing. After staring at it for a few more seconds, I realized it was a bat, hanging upside-down in the tree leaves! I was so shocked! I”ve never seen a wild bat that close before. I ran inside to get my camera so I could get at least one shot before it was woken up my playing children. Little did I know that I didn”t have to hurry. I took many pictures and watched it for quite some time. I went back out to look at it as I was leaving work, and it was still there! I got home and checked bat species to see if I could find it. It seems to be a very common Eastern Red Bat. They grow to be 4-5 inches, but this one was less than that.. maybe around 2.5 -3 inches long. Since it’’s the very begining of August now, I”ll guess that what I saw was a baby. So, if you ever see a hamster hanging from a tree branch… it might be a bat.
Happy birthday to me! I”m 26 years old. Or, I will be at around 8pm Texas time. I got a special package from Random yesterday, but I didn”t open it until today. As you can see from the picture on the left, it’’s a shirt! A chinese shirt that fits me perfectly, and it’s even in red. I love red. With the weight I”ve gained, it fit better than my lavender one that I bought in San Diego. I”ll have to iron it before I wear it anywhere. It’’s beautiful! Thank you David!! He also sent a lovely postcard with it, even after he sent one to me for Ottowa. I”ve already added the first to my postcard wall, and will add the second later tonight. I have to get pictures of all of them. I”m getting quite to collection going.
Also, who sent me flowers? I was shocked as hell to find them on my desk when I got home from work. John unpacked them and gave them water for me. Unfortunatly, the message that came with them has no name on it! I called Larry to see if he”d sent them, but he said not. They”re a lovely set of blue irises and yellow daylillies, and I”ll get some more photos of them as they bloom. Someone, please claim your handiwork so I can thank you!
Christine is throwing me a party, so I”ve got to run, but I”ll add more later!
Edit: Birthday party was great fun. We talked tons and pretty much chatted the night away. We played a funny game of Apples to Apples (Flapjacks, Whore!) and checked out Bruce’’s fish. Brian gor me stunning Ruth Thompson framed print, How to Draw Manga book. Christine was pissed that hers she ordered didn”t come in, but I told her not to tell me what it is, so I”ll see later. John and I are too tight on budgeting right now, so my present from him will come later as well. Still no idea who the mystery flowers are from though.
Edit edit: Christine’s gift was the Peterson Field Guide, Hummingbirds of North America, which was on my most wanted bit of my list. It has awesome color plates of hummingbird feathers and faces. It’s the best hummingbird guide ever. Also, Laura owned up to sending the birthday flowers. Thanks Laura!
