tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897204587907592769.post1131465044047217180..comments2024-02-10T06:51:18.063-05:00Comments on Punk Rock Big Year: Is this even a birding blog anymore?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897204587907592769.post-90306780215122664872012-07-06T08:08:11.063-04:002012-07-06T08:08:11.063-04:00Thanks for the nice words Laurence. True fact abou...Thanks for the nice words Laurence. True fact about banking time. I'm having a great year with the family. I do miss the trips and chasing. I didn't even go get that Frigatebird in Ontario this year. But as you say life is more than just birds. I'm working very subtly at making my kids into birders. Shep seems more interested as is typical of boys over girls (why is that?) but Georgia gets pretty excited when the robin comes looking for snacks in our vegetable garden so there's hope for her yet.<br /><br />I'm so disappointed in that film. It's not what birders are. I think it perpetuated the stereotypes of what we are as a community. I place blame squarely on the director. Mark's book was a fantastic look into our world but the film just felt so emotionless.<br /><br />Those lists are a killer. My writer partner has to listen to me groaning from behind my monitor every couple days when something really cool pops up. I really wish I had had the time for the Frigatebird. That is an amazingly good Ontario bird. Maybe, though severely unlikely, it'll head east before south and I can see it.<br /><br />Anyhow, thanks for following and especially commenting. It always helps a blogger keep going knowing people are reading.<br /><br />Cheers<br />Paul RissPaul Risshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08836288855338082991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897204587907592769.post-17540139961440717982012-07-05T15:49:55.076-04:002012-07-05T15:49:55.076-04:00Hey, the birds were a part of your life, and you f...Hey, the birds were a part of your life, and you focussed on them last year. This year you're focussing on other important (probably more important_ aspects of your life. Just think of it as building up capital, both for future birding expeditions and maybe nurturing a few burgeoning birders along the way. <br /><br />Since we've all based our lives on the examples set by The Big Year movie (not really, not even close, but that's what some of my non-birder friends assume far too frequently), we must remember the Bostick lesson (as in, don't be a Bostick). There will be cool birds and rare birds every year. They live in cycles. Family life is not so cyclical, and every day spent there is precious and irretrievable. <br /><br />Cheers to you for managing all of your priorities and even fitting in a few rock concerts too. It's so tough to be working when you read the listserv reports of all the rare sightings--I've got it pretty bad working 7am to 4pm Mon-Fri while the emails come in about all the amazing stuff turning up in southeast Arizona, just a few hours away. <br /><br />Nice set up in the back yard!Laurence Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14766876797454283812noreply@blogger.com