Sunday, January 29, 2006

Weblog Error

Wouldn't you know it ... just when I thought everything was just fine with this weblog ... I discovered it isn't. Thanks to a friend in Australia who was viewing a recent post with his Internet Explorer (IE) browser he alerted me to a problem. It seems when viewing this weblog in IE all the links on the right-side of the page are shown at the very bottom of the page, instead of the top. Now, that is NOT the way it is supposed to be. And the problem only seems to exist when viewing this weblog in the IE browser. The weblog page looks just fine using the Foxfire browser.


I wasn't aware of the problem because I rarely use IE anymore ... since a friend recommended Foxfire many months ago. So I'm certainly grateful to find out about my weblog IE problem, although a bit late. So I went to work trying fix things so IE users would have a "good" page to look at, too. Well, that led to the next frustration. I couldn't find a solution on my own. No problem, I thought, I'll just contact the program support department ... they'll help me fix things. Not to be. Their online Help didn't have information to solve my particular problem, so I wrote them. I received a standard computer-generated reply ... and it essentially said to go look in Help. Hmmmm! That led me back to where I'd come from.


Does this sound familiar to you? Computers and the Internet are so wonderful ... until something goes wrong and you are stuck for a solution. Then they are so frustrating.


In case this weblog is one that you'd like to revisit on occasion and you use IE ... my apologies. Until someone comes to save the day for me the only suggestion that I can offer is to view the posts with Foxfire. It's my browser of choice ... maybe you'll find it more to your liking, too.


Now, having made my explanation about the weblog error and becoming more frustrated as I think about the inability to solve it ... I'll stomp out to the deck to watch the birds. It is the best way to calm down.

Bird Gardening

Here in Southern California -- the San Diego area to be exact -- we've enjoyed a very mild winter, so far. The weather has been mostly sunny and the temperature at the moment is 64 with the 70's predicted for next week. The only thing we need a lot more of is rain. Sitting at my window looking at the bright sun shining through the palm trees makes me contemplate spring. And thoughts of spring get my juices flowing for working in the yard ... replanting pots, trimming back hedges, pruning the numerous palm trees, as well as general maintenance. The two Hong Kong orchid trees will have to wait for their "haircut" until summer since winter is their season to bloom. For that reason summer can't come soon enough as these trees are looking shaggy.

Anyway, I'm giving thought to what might be added to my garden to make it more bird friendly, with the goal of attracting more species. Perhaps planting to attract insects will help some, too. These thoughts make me wonder if you like to birdscape. Do you garden for birds? If so, I'd sure be interested in learning about your experience. Here are a few questions in case you would like to leave your comments. Just click on the comment button below. Any other thoughts would be most welcome, too.


Why do you garden for birds?


What motivates you to spend all the time and energy it takes to develop and maintain a bird garden?


Do you design and plant to attract specific species? If so, what have you done?
I'm very interested in learning about your experience. It will help me do the best for the birds visiting my yard. And I'm sure your comments would also be of interest to others visiting this weblog.


I've created a page on birdwatchin.com dedicated to bird gardening. As more time is available I'll be expanding the information there. So you may want to visit and allow me to share my thoughts and experience with you.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

My Favorite Bird Blogs

It is always fun to discover a new blog created about birds. It is a voyage of discovery which continually adds new information about how people enjoy the immensely satisfying hobby of bird watching and bird feeding. "My Favorite Blogs" is a new section I've added to share links to bird blogs. You'll find it over there in the right column. I imagine as time passes I'll discover blogs that may stray a bit from birds ... however, the main purpose for adding this new section is to share links to blogs that focus on birds. Two long term favorites are The Night of the Kingfisher and I and the Bird.


Just recently I've received comments from two new visitors to my blog. Contacts such as these are most welcome because I enjoy meeting new friends and learning the ways in which they enjoy their bird hobby. These new friends have great blogs which I'm sure you will enjoy. The photographs are incredible and the weblog discussions are just wonderful. I'm happy to add them to my list of favorite blog links. Look for Local Birds from Melbourne Australia authored by John Archer, and Easy Bird Watching Basics authored by John Lynn from Singapore. John Lynn's blog is reached by clicking the link which opens his website ... then search the nav bar for his blog.


Seeing the wonderful photos on these blogs has generated a lot of enthusiasm for learning more about my digital camera so I can take some great photos of my own.