So here it is the end of the year.  I have been blogging since March (2009).  I have posted 130 times.  This is 131.  I thought I would end the year with a review of some of my favorites and according to the numbers some of your favorites too.  Here they are, not in any order:

Lyrics Gone Wrong . . . I had entertained the idea of doing this once a month, but after the second month I ran out of songs to play with.

Interesting Picture – Marilyn Monroe Albert Einstein . . . I LOVE optical illusions and this one is a doosey.

Hummingbird Tongues . . . they still fascinate me and I am still surprising people with the fact that the birds have tongues and use them more than the beak is a straw.  And usually they tongues dart in and out so fast it is a rare treat to catch it out for a picture.  Yay!

A Poem Says A Lot . . . Fabulous!  We Have Come To Be Danced . . .

Nia Belt System . . . Before you can move onto the next belt they say a year must pass.   You do not have to get involved.  It is a great workout without being involved with the belts.  The belt system only comes into play if you care to get that involved in Nia.  Nia’s belts mimic some Martial Arts; white, green, blue, brown, black.    I am learning so much with my White Belt, I can see myself waiting at least another year before I move onto the next belt.  There is so much to learn and enjoy in each belt, I am not in a hurry.

Say: “I Am Wonderful” . . . I like to say this, I like to hear this song.  I like to remind people to go to iTunes each week to download the free song.

A Brief Look At Nia . . . still excited to share Nia with people.  It is a great body-mind practice and a workout that can make you sweat yet not really feel like exercise.  It is learning to follow the body’s way.

Wrapping Tips . . . WHAT?  I was shocked that everyone did not read my blog.  On Christmas Day and the dayafter the bags and bags and bags and bags of wrapping trash that I saw on the curbs just blew my mind. In this day and in these times, I was just utterly flabbergasted that people don’t re-use the wrappings.  It amazed and saddened me.

My Favorite Mugs . . . so I found out that not everyone got my little joke.  Ya know, back in the day(what day, I don’t know), they used to call faces mugs . . . get it now?

The Seven Cycles Of A Nia Workout . . . The workout has cycles, somewhat like Jazzercise.  I like to share this aspect of Nia so people have an idea of what a workout class will be like.  We set a focus and an intent, step in, warm up and move all the way through the cycles to the floor, and then we step out.

Well, thank you so much for joining me on my blog.  I hope that you continue to read, I hope you enjoy and learn.  I learn from your comments so keep them coming.  Thank you for a great year.  Here is to the NewYear.

But . . .before we jump into the New Year, share with me what your favorite post from my blog was?  AND/OR give meideas on what you would like to see posted in the New Year.

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When I wrote my post ‘10 things I hate about 2009′, it was not like I hate 2009 so much as I have been struggling hard enough to get through the year. Many obstacles I had to face throughout the year. However, 2009 is not all about bad days. I had still had some nice moments I enjoyed or things that happened and actually made me smiles.

To make it fair between love and hate I will reveal those moments with the list below. Here are 10 things I love about 2009:

1. I could not tell you enough how happy I am when I passed my repeats exam. Those days were full of nightmares. I did not sleep for 3 straight days and I only depended on energy drinks to make my brain keeps functioning. However, in the end all the sacrifices I made was more than enough to give myself a satisfactory result. It was not an honor but it was enough to rebuild my confident.

2. Just a week before the end of the year I finally got my answer regarding my future as a medical student. The uncertainty was the main problem that I had to face throughout the year. However, it is now solved and I am gonna stay in Dublin for another 2 and half years to finish my degree. I could not wish a better result after all the efforts I made. Thanks to everyone.

3. I was very sad when I had to change the Italy trip with Australia trip which was eventually cancelled due to swine flu. Bali and Garut came into the discussion but all did not happen. However, I am grateful enough with the last decision which is Cilacap. It is somewhere I had never been before and the city certainly gave me a new experience.

4. Cilacap is not all about holiday. In fact, we went there as a business trip. This is what made me even more grateful because it means we can expand the business to Central Java which we did not actually believe as a potential area.

5. I watched a rugby match for the first time in my life, and sadly, the stadium is actually just across the road from my apartment. Sitting in the second row from the pitch was another wonderful moment. It was a good relief after the disappointment of not getting a ticket for the FIFA World Cup 2010 Play-off between France and Ireland just a day before. Thanks to Wafiy Dzaki.

6. I watched another fantastic musical in London! It was Wicked the Musical. I had waited for it for several years and finally I watched it early this month with my sister and her friends.

7. I went down to London for Taste of Christmas festival. That day was seriously all about food, food and food! I tasted great cheeses, wines, and many foods from good restaurants in London! Also, I tasted a cake from the famous bakery in Kensington, The Hummingbird Bakery. Last but not least, I went to a pub/club/bar or whatever they name the place to booze me with 2 glasses of cocktails. Thanks to my little sister, Michael Toa and Rani Nindyasari.

8. I got a new pair of shoes to replace my legendary Clarks which had comforted my feets for 7 years before they finally retired on Dec 17th 2009. I replaced them with a new pair of Clarks. They look nice and elegant. They are very comfortable. Hopefully they will last long enough just like their predecessor.

9. I failed to meet some of my friends because I had to return to Dublin during summer but there was one day I could meet someone whom I fall in love with. I would not call it as a date but it is always a thrill in my blood vessels when I could see her face to face. Her smiles are like *indescribable*. She is someone I respect. She has the personality I admire as a woman. She is one of a kind. She is simply the best. She is the one makes me crazy. Anyway, we went for a simple lunch and a movie. I could not tell you enough how happy I was on that night. I went to bed with big smiles and woke up with even bigger smiles. Although I am just nothing in her heart but she is always a special diamond in my heart and that is the way it is gonna be until it is impossible to love her.

10. Once upon a time, I wished that I would have at least once in my life to travel with my best friends or girlfriend. I had never got a chance to travel somewhere with my friends only, not even to somewhere nearby Jakarta such as Bandung. My parents never allowed me to do it and they always prepared something for my holiday since my first day of school, and it is always religious trip or business trip. I blame it as the reason why I don’t have many close friends. I am always in jealousy when I see my friends travel with their best friends together. As I grow older, the chance will only be lesser and lesser as most of my friends are now already working or even get married. Finally, it all came to an end when my best ever friend came all the way from Indonesia to visit the so-called United Kingdom. We went up to the north to Scotland and I seriously enjoyed the blessed trip as we did not just have a trip. That was a unforgettable trip. I still can’t believe I could walk up the Calton Hill (and all were white with snow), walk along the Loch Lomond with my best friend, cooked a dinner together, sharing stories, and celebrated Christmas Eve and Day with her. After more than 13 years we know each other, those days were I felt the closest to her and I understood how special she is as a friend, more than just a friend indeed. I can tell you that there is no one can ever replace her in my heart. I still regret I could not accompany her to celebrate New Year in London but it was all due to my incoming examinations! As she is enjoying her days in London and she might not miss me by any chance, I would like her to know that just across the Irish Sea I miss her so much and many stories I have in mind to tell her. I can not wait to see her again next July and hope she likes the gift.

Missing my friends a lot. and my dog, Keanu. and I’m homesick.

With Love,

eldios©

Female Redhead on Ashland Pond.  This species breeds in small numbers around Klamath Lake, but is an unusual wintering bird here in Rogue Valley.  Let’s hope this one sticks around for the nascent Ashland Christmas Bird Count.

This morning the bird flew onto Billings Ranch with a pair of skittish Mallards.

It must’ve been ladies day at the olds ponde.  Female Wood Duck.

Ring-necked Duck, female of course.  I didn’t get anew image of the two female Shovelers that have been onthe pond for a couple weeks.  Usually with heads below the surface and  butts pointing to the heavens.

One of a trio of Purple Finches on the pondshore.  And an image of the bird launching into flight.

There was a lone YR Warbler sharing the weeds in the pond with the usual Blakc Phoebe.  No sign of a raptor nor the WT Sparrow.

Time as a river is one of those metaphors that resonate for me.  I took this picture of the flow of the Pigeon River as we were coming home from our honeymoon, and it seemed just perfect for a post about the year’s forward movement.

I’m not usually one for lists.  But 2009 was so eventful, and so wonderful, that it didn’t seem strange at all to list some of the joys and thrills of it at its conclusion.  (Oh, my God/dess, does the fact that we’re almost to 2010 freak anyone else out a little bit?  It seems impossible….)

In fact, I was amazed at how much had happened this year, and the exercise reminded me yet again that I set my standards for myself way too high.  Before I made the list, just this morning actually, I’d been mentally berating myself for failing to get as much accomplished as I’d hoped during the calendar year.  Now I’m shaking my head, bemused at my own foolishness.  My list of achievements was obviously much longer than this, but I narrowed it down to the top 9 in three categories for the post.

Where possible, I’ve included links to my own blog posts, some of them from my other blog, to illustrate my selections.  Perhaps you missed out on some oldie-but-goodies.  Just roll your mouse over the item you’re interested in, and the linked portion will show.

It was a really fun exercise for me to go back and reread my earlier blog posts.  If you count both blogs, I’ve now written nearly 250 posts.  Isn’t that amazing?  I’m now not quite such a baby blogger.  I’d say maybe more like a toddler.

Without further ado:

9 Not-to-be-forgotten Events in 2009

1. F. dug me a kitchen garden from our blank-slate, rented yard.  In it, I grew some of our food organically, trying to pursue a no-kill, cooperate-with-nature policy.
2. The family heirloom seed was brought back from the brink of extinction in one glorious season.
3. We joined a CSA and got almost all our food supply locally for about five months, including pork, chicken, eggs, fruit, vegetables, herbs, beef, butter, and milk.
4. I quit smoking.
5. In August, I started a blog.  Two, actually.
6. A hummingbird flew so close to me her wing brushed my skin.
7. I went on a retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my closest girlfriends.
8. F. and I got married.  And we did it in Walhalla, the county seat named after the mythical Nordic paradise.
9. Our honeymoon was in Tennessee  — and the trip was a totally out-of-the-blue wedding gift.

9 Favorite Victory Garden Posts in ‘09

1. in a hurry to bloom (the one that started it all)
2. fire ant confidential
3. yin yang
4. golden treasure
5. the jig is up
6. seeing things
7. the unknown radish
8. sweet reminder
9. heritage

9 Excellent Performers in the ‘09 Garden

1. Family heirloom half-runner bean (It really needs a name; doesn’t it?)
2. ‘Cherokee Purple’ heirloom tomato
3. ‘Sumter’ cucumber
4. Genovese basil
5. Japanese eggplant ‘Ichiban’
6. ‘Whirlybird’ nasturtiums
7. Cardinal climber vine
8. Heirloom morning glory ‘Grandpa Ott’s’
9. ‘Fife Creek Cowhorn’ heirloom okra

Flapping his wings at 12-90 times per second while practicing the art of levitation more effortlessly than David Copperfield, this little Hummingbird, the smallest of birds, was the star attraction in our photo shoot at Mt Griffith Park, LA.  He was busily feasting on the nectar of some bright red flowers, which got us thinking, which essential oils do we have to thank him for?!

After our post Thank Butterfly for Chamomile, where we captured a Monarch Butterfly feasting on rosemary at the amazing Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, we didn’t expect to be presented with another spontaneous photo shoot so soon, but lo and behold, this fellow has obviously been in LA long enough to have practiced his acting skills.

Hummingbirds are the only birds who are able to fly backwards and can fly as fast as 54 km/hr.  They are extremely fussy about the nectar they eat and reject anything with less than 10% sugar.  They require 2-3 their body weight in food so supplement their nutritional intake with insects and spiders, especially when feeding their young.

Hummingbirds have very good eyes. They are attracted to red. In fact, red is by far their preferred color, but they also love yellow and pink, anything bright and vibrant.  They have long bills and tongues, which they thrust deep into flowers to retrieve nectar. When they withdraw, their faces are covered with pollen. Flitting from flower to flower, they successfully pollinate the species they frequent.  In this fashion they are actually accidental heroes; they come in search of nectar, not the pollen.

This is the gorgeous flower he was feasting on, notice the long tubular funnel and curved petals beckoning any cheeky Hummingbird to come and have a taste.

The most important species to the desert areas of North America is Rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus).

We’re not sure if it is a Rufous hummingbird that we captured with our amateur digital lense, but anyhow are pretty inspired to get a decent digital SLR as this wild life photography is awesome stuff!  We sincerely wish we could have presented a sharper image but Aromamuse is still finding their photography feet.

He will eat every 10 mins (this must be one of 6 fast food snacks every hour), is very picky about his nectar and just luuurves bright red flowers.  His heart beats 1,260 beats per minute, he visits hundreds upon hundreds of flowers daily and will go into hibernation at night to conserve his energy… for the span of his life which will be anything from 3-5 years on average.

Hummingbird-pollinated plants include honeysuckle, sage, fuchsia, jewelweed, fireweed, cardinal flower, bee balm, nasturtium, century plant, columbine, and red salvia.  In North America, essential oils of Clary Sage Salvia Sclarea and Common Sage Salvea Officinalis owe their existence to this energetic, fussy eater.

The Hummingbird animal totem is a messenger of hope and jubilation.

Hummingbirds are signs of:

• energy
• vitality
• joy
• renewal
• sincerity
• healing
• persistence
• peace
• infinity
• agility
• playfulness
• loyalty
• affection

The existence of the Hummingbird is somewhat threatened by agricultural conversion and overgrazing.  During the last 50 years, millions of hectares of desert and thornscrub vegetation in western Mexico and the southwestern U.S. have been converted to chemically-intensive agriculture or to pastures of exotic grasses.  Non-native species have also taken over millions of acres, threatening their food supply.

Hopefully, though, this little bird with this very big personality & multitude of talents will be with us for many centuries to come.

project 365 entry for August 7th, 2009
Another one of the hummingbirds that visit my front porch. (Again, not a great picture)

Hope I made you smile. Until next time …

project 365 entry for Tuesday August 4th, 2009
The older kids had their Youth Group End of the Summer party Sunday night. They seemed to have fun. The middle school youth group party was suppose to be today, but it was rained out.
Here’s a photo (not the best, but oh well) of one of little friends. They are always coming up on the porch. I just love watching the hummingbirds.

Hope I made you smile. Until next time …

My mother, who doesn’t get out as much as she used to, has grown fond of the birds that frequent her back yard. She used to fuss at my dad for feeding them, calling it “bird welfare,” but these days, with dad no longer with us, she has taken on the task of keeping their feeders full and keeping a watchful eye on them.  She watches the birds so much that she’s afraid the neighbors, who see her at the window with her binoculars, think she’s watching them.*

She hates the neighbor’s cat, a skillful hunter of songbirds.

With winter upon us, I decided she needed a hummingbird for her house.

So I needle felted her one:

Once I got started, it wasn’t so easy to stop. Not only did she get a hummingbird, but several other birds, all native to the part of Tennessee where she lives, also found their way south to her house for the holidays:

She ended up with a cardinal, an owl, the hummingbird, a bluebird, and a goldfinch. About the goldfinch, the less said the better. He’s apparently from the shallow end of the goldfinch gene pool, and I hope to replace him soon with a more advanced goldfinch.

The cardinal is my favorite:

Special thanks to my niece, who made sure a nice sturdy branch was waiting for the felted birds to perch on when they arrived in Tennessee. And merry Christmas, Mom. Spring down your way is only about 3 more months away.

__

*Oh, okay, so maybe a little.

The first holiday I ever spent in a warmer climate was: Thanksgiving, 1989 on Captiva Island in Florida.  I said to myself, “hmmm, this isn’t so bad!!

This year, I spent Christmas in Phoenix and we were visited by a winged angelic creature – a hummingbird.

I used to be bummed as kid in Chicago when I got a bike or skateboard and the streets were filled with snow — that, or it’d be so cold, it’d chase the likes of me back indoors in a hurry!!  In Phoenix, when you find out you’ve gotten photography lessons, you can run outside and practice for awhile with your newest lens.

Christmas flight:

wings

wings!

more wings!

green

the "usual" hummingbird photo

again

neck?

feet!

lovely.

satisfied

less than satisfied

It does get chilly here…this is frost on December 24, 2009.  Tee-times delayed by hours and hours!!

Troon Golf

I know, I know…life is rough!

Happy holidays wherever you may be…

(And joking aside, “please be safe”…just finished reading msn.com about weather hazards.)

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We finally got started on our holiday baking.  Better late than never.

Hummingbird has been my faithful assistant, of course.  She loves to bake cookies, but I think she loves to eat them even more.  So,  in the vein of the little red hen, “she mixed the flour, the measured the butter, she cracked the eggs, and she stirred the batter”, so I guess she will eat the cookies.  But there are plenty to go around for both the boys and the neighbors, for whom the cookies were intended.

While the guys were outside playing soccer and/or tag,  she and I got to eat the leftover batter.  Yum!!!!

 National Geographic September 2009

Praying Mantis Catches Hummingbird Caught on Film

I’ve heard of birds eating spiders and spiders eating birds–but who knew that praying mantises can catch hummingbirds!

The photo here proves mantises can turn the tables on birds. It was submitted to National Geographic Magazine’s “Your Shot” feature and was picked as one of the “Daily Dozen” images featured on September 2.

I also saw this picture at Clark’s Pest Control blog

-Patricia Cadareanu

Drawing can be used as a tool to learn about our surroundings.

The preschoolers can be seen here making a map of the area – a collaborative project that involved many discoveries. Children included play areas, houses, apartment buildings, schools, and other landmarks with meaning for them.

Learning along the way: Communication, visual-spatial skills, drawing-as-representation, map vocabulary and concepts, neighbourhood familiarity

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She cannot resist the slate
surface of your skin strengthening
the faith in hers. The floor reverberates 

with the heartbeat of a hummingbird
she sees in the corner
of the sky she forgot to touch. 

The scent of rain falling on slate
draws her to you. In her faltering, she believes
the echoes will never smell 

this sweet again. She cannot see
the hummingbird but knows she heard
its hunger spill over the deck. Recycled 

boards stack up to the ceiling,
broken open
by diamond-shaped clerestory windows. 

She’s not cheating,
she’s using her resources. The black stone
path of possibility shrinks at the edge 

of her thought. Purple gems block the gray
light. You are free to live
with her beside the ocean now 

that the sun has settled down. And the wind will smash
the glass panes into fragments
of salted lies—a beautiful disaster.

Needing some color to remind me of the warmth and wildlife of summer I spent some time tonight looking through last summers photos.  While I did take hundreds of hummingbird photos, for some reason I chose this one to post – something about her feathers …

copyright: g. joder

Two images of the same lone Turkey Vulture battling against the wind as it flew upstream along Bear Creek.  I shot these two pics from a viewpoint next to Ashland Pond.  Also passing by in the gusting gale:

Am adult Red-tail.  There was also a juvenile and a Red-shouldered near the pond.  The TV is an unsual bird here in winter.

Definitely out of torpor was this busy Anna’s Hummer male:

Our desert climate defines seasons very differently than most other places. Winter is officially only days away, but there appear to be as many signs of spring and summer around us as autumn.

This honeysuckle blooms at various points throughout the year and adds happy orange cheer to the front yard. It feeds our pollinator friends the bees, and I suspect may also feed the hummingbirds.