They´ve hatched!

and I´ve had such a good time today! Took my new Mountainbike and Heiko and cycled through the Pine Forest to the canal. Went for a swim, Heiko was highly irritated when I was in the water with him :), rode along the canal and back through the woods and fields.

60 cm...

...from where I now sit, a green finch (Carduelis chloris) built her nest in the vine growing along the wall.

I also found two nests of Wagtails (had to look that up, too: Bachstelze, Motacilla alba *) at work this week while tidying up the greenhouses.
It´s rather sad to throw them away but there´s nothing else to do, there´s no chance of survival.
Probably better now, before the eggs hatch.

* Did you know there are two subspecies, the Nominatspezies (whatever that is in english) M. alba alba with a gray back and M. alba yarrellii with a black back (Source)?
Embarrassingly, I didn´t.

It´s rather nice to have a quiet weekend at home once in a while.
I took Heiko for a two hour walk along the canal yesterday evening.
We live within walking distance from the River Ems, farmland, Pine-forest and the Dortmund- Ems canal (well, 1.5 km) .

Did I mention that I really like this place?
Yes?
Well, I´ll keep mentioning it ;).


Größere Kartenansicht

I´d love to show more photos but it´s too risky to take my camera along when boisterous Heiko is around.

Next Sunday I´m off to Poland and I just realized that I´m going to miss the finch-chicks! Damn.

Quótes & thoughts on a friday evening

Oscar Wilde once said that one's real life is often the life one does not lead. Well, fucking right on, Oscar. [...] The life I was leading didn't let me be, I don't know… be who I thought I was.
[... ]
And maybe everyone feels that way, but that's no reason to stick with it.

From "A long way down" by Nick Hornby.
I really like this book and can also recommend the audio version.
And no, I´m not feeling depressed and I´m not whingeing or wallowing in self-pity *.
I just feel that Mr. Wilde has a point sometimes.

* Well, granted, maybe a bit. But once in a while I have to to get it out of my system, and then it´s ok again :).
A very different quote by another favorite author of mine leaps into my mind almost immediately:
"People often tell me that they wish they had lived a life like mine. I say : "Well, why didn't you? All you had to do was to live it."
This one I like even better, it´s by Gerald Durrell, who´s been a major influence in my life. Life just doesn´t seem to be as simple as that. You may try and fail. But at least you´ve tried. (Soooo many quotes on that topic. Look ´em up yourself!)

And now I´ll try to summon my energy and take my landlords dog Heiko for a walk and enjoy the beautiful farmland and river and woods around my home. And as it´s quoting time today: "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
Robert Brault
Luckily "One day" has come to me a while ago.

More Quotations by (and about) Gerald Durrell:

You can get too scientific about animals. They weren't designed to fit into computer programmes.

Many people think that conservation is just saving fluffy animals- what they don't realize is that conservation is war to prevent the human race from committing suicide.
When we realize that we ourselves maybe one of the species which will go extinct- we are after all just another animal- then we will do something about it. If we want something badly enough, we generally get it. That's when the chemistry changes. What we must realize now is how badly we should want it.

For future generations, their only means of experiencing this natural splendour (the tropical rainforest) maybe by reading about it and, while they read, damning us for not having preserved their heritage.

They`re mad. But they are the people who are saving these animals. You have to be obsessed to work in conservation. We all are. Look at Gerry: You might think he's a nice bloke. He's witty and charming, and given a couple of second she would have your grandmother eating out of his hand. But believe me, the man's a nutter. He's obsessed with saving animals. If you were in a firing line alongside a lemur, you'd get it straight between the eyes.

P.s.: Spellchecker doesn´t know the words "fucking" and "nutter". Seems to be a politically correct dictioniary...us-american?

Surprise!

Someone I got to meet in Costa Rica at La Selva biological station, while I worked on a project with nectarivorous bats, just posted this picture on her facebook account.
I painted it during "art night" - an evening when a bunch of people - all of them natural scientists - got together to draw.
And drink, of course.
Some americans tried to explain the rules of baseball to me that evening...without any success.
Sometimes its good to be reminded what a strange and beautiful world this can be - the unexpected memories, resurfacing all of a sudden put a smile on my face.

Ouch!

1. I remitted 80 Euro for the polish course and mistyped the recipient - everything else like the account numer, iban and swift No. were correct. The bank charged a fee of 50 Euro for sending the money- well, what´s left of it -back.

2. Just happenend:

Stairs in Rothenburg

out of the can

I´ve got a nephew!!!

Hurra, since yesterday I´m aunt twice :)!

One of my pic´s is amongst the best 100 in a photo contest : Click
Nothing to be too proud of, considered that really good Macro-photographers won´t enter their valuable photos into such contests. But one is grateful for small achievements.