Info Burung Kicauan

Where to begin, where to begin.  I realize I spend an incredible amount of time waxing on about Free People, but I honestly just can't help it.  There is rarely a time when I glance at their online shop or visit a store and don't find something that is truly unique and a blast from the past.  If you get their catalogues then you know firsthand how well they capture a moment, an item, and your wallet....

As much as I love an expensive handbag, come the warmer months I am full swing embracing my inner hippie and searching for ways to express that to the fullest - especially in the accessory department.  Does it have fringe?  Is it made of burlap?  Any tassels on it?  Okay I'm in.  About a month ago I was in Barneys making mad attempts to avoid scoping out the the Isabel Marant selection...

Living close to the water has to be my favorite thing about living in Southern California.  As much as I miss home on the prairies in Canada, there is something glorious about being able to walk onto warm sand and have salty ocean breezes tousle up your hair.  Truth is I somehow always knew, even as a kid, that I would end up in SoCal.  I realize that sounds crazy, but it's true.  As a result I never...

...and it's not from Blogger.  Holy shazam was that a gong show or what?  Bloggers far and wide lose marbles over site being down for what seemed like an eternity.  Can someone give me the 411 on the miraculous upgrades we're supposed to be experiencing because all I've got is about 35 missing comments?  Uh, yeah.Onward and upward to the weekend dear readers.  This has been the week from Friday...

How many cars could a chukar chuck if a chukar could chuck car...

The rain is coming down softly tonight in Southern California.  It's after midnight and the first time I've had to sit down and truly breathe.  What is it with some Mondays?  From start to finish mine was go, go, go with a side of grueling interactions with slightly unhinged people.  The kicker was when the crazy old lady next door called to have a chit chat while I was in the middle of a conference...

Last night was quite possibly the most epic Cinco de Mayo yet.  Let's face it, I'm not 21 partying down and barfing in a back alley.  I'm 22 and far too mature for that.  The Chef and I decided to roll over to our favorite Mexican place around 9:30 - let me preface this by saying it is a family owned restaurant.  Key word being family - that's the bulk of the clientele as well.  Never in my...

I'm fresh off of yet another day of Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred - read:  I'm too scared to venture into Level 3 territory.  In an effort other wise known as procrastination I worked late, tidied a few things (walked in circles trying not to think about chocolate) and then made guacamole.  You do realize that the entire time I knew I was avoiding the Shred?  Why do I do this to myself?  I...

This spring, for the first time ever, a male rose-breasted grosbeak has been visiting the sunflower seed feeder outside the kitchen window. We get them annually on the feeders outside the studio windows, which are farther from the house. And their tennis-shoe-on-the-gym-floor eeek! is a common sound on spring mornings here at Indigo Hill. But this dude was so close that I was able to take this image with my Canon G12...

The past couple days in SoCal have been incredibly warm and summer-like.  You know it's a good day when it's bloody 78 degrees by 9am...except when 2pm rolls around and it's roughly 780 degrees in your home office.  It was right around that time yesterday when I started to get a bit woozy and headed straight to the refrigerator for a Mr. Freeze.  Ta-da!  Within moments I was revitalized, back on...

Recently I was birding in Oklahoma and I was astounded at the number of wind farms—clusters of giant wind turbines—that I saw as I drove around the northwestern part of the Sooner State. This should not have surprised me. After all, Oooooooooklahoma is the state where "the wind comes sweepin' down the plain!" And as the photo above shows, wind-generated power has been around a long time.No bird watcher would argue against...

Left to right: Loggerhead shrike, boat-tailed grackle, mourning dove, Eurasian collared-dove.And the winner IS..... Oggie. Who correctly identified all four species and wrote a haiku to proper haiku specifications. His entry:Loggerhead ShrikeBoat-tailed GrackleMourning DoveEurasian Collared-Dove My Haiku:Dove flies to the westDove circles the world in timeDove that ate the southOggie wins a copy of my latest book...

When I last left off it was the eve of the Royal Wedding and I was going off the royal tracks with excitement.  Suffice it to say I stayed up all night Thursday watching it unfold, tweeting with several of you, and texting back and forth with one of my top Canadian girlfriends. It was a mixture of tiaras, tea cups and tears over at the bird (oh and possibly 15 mini cream puffs, but who's counting?).  Friday...

It's time to announce the winner of the Bill of the Birds Caption Contest #18. You can see the original post for Contest #18 here.Congratulations to Robert Mortensen from the Birding is Fun blog for his winning caption which is:On the eve of their nuptials, Prince William and Kate Middleton kissed and they both turned into toads. A very public couple, regrettably with no modicum of privacy, British paparazzi photographed...