Peel Away

Looks like a Rauschenberg, doesn’t it?

I’ve lived in this apartment 56% of my life.  When I first moved in, I gave this door a tug to see if it would come out of its pocket. It didn’t budge. Over the years I would occasionally give it a pull to show someone how it didn’t come out, unlike its twin which slides smoothly along its tracks.

When we bought our new air conditioner, Shari figured out that if we were able to block off the doorways to the living room, the new one was powerful enough to cool both that room and our bedroom, a distinct advantage for someone who works at home.

“Ah, but that door doesn’t open,” I said. She gave it a tug. Nothing. Another tug. Slight movement—it moved about the inch I was once able to get. Determined, she gave a mighty pull and the door screeched out of its slot, raining down dust and paint chips. With a shoulder shove we could get it back into the pocket and with slightly less effort get it out again. Great news, now we could live in air conditioned comfort.

But we weren’t going to live in air conditioned comfort looking at a door that hadn’t been exposed in at least 33 years, probably more like 50 or 60 or 70 years. The door was ochre, with underlying layers of dull white, cream, perhaps a salmon shade, with little spots of varnished wood where the paint had chipped off altogether.

Shari said she’d paint the doors. She even went out a bought the paint. However, I pointed out to her that one more coat of paint would probably make the door so thick that we’d never get it to slide back, especially if it swelled from the summer humidity.

So I decided to strip it.

I’ve stripped pocket doors before. I used to have another apartment in this building that I used for an office (oh the days of really cheap rent!) and when things weren’t going well down here with my former wife, I’d go up there and strip the pocket doors and the surrounding frame.  I used Zip Strip as I recall and it was a mess and took forever, but I didn’t care because for one, I didn’t actually live up there and secondly, the more time it took, the less time I had to spend dealing with my marriage.

In the 25 years or so since then, the technology for paint removal has somewhat improved. With Peel Away, which looks like gray cake icing, you slap on a thick coat, press the paper over it, smooth it down, and wait around 24 hours. Then, in theory, 75 years of paint peels off onto the paper, you wash the door with water and vinegar and you’re all set.

Theory is great, but it doesn’t quite work like that. The stuff works great, but 75 years of paint is apparently too much for it, despite the company’s claims, and while some of the gook sticks to the paper, most of it does not, so a liquefied hill of paint and varnish builds up on the drop cloth as it sloughs off the wood.

It was also a big mistake to try to strip the entire door at once. You're overwhelmed with  gooey crud and you can’t possibly scrape off all the residue before it starts to dry. I’m doing it in sections now and it that seems to work better. I’ll probably be finished by September, just in time to slide them back into the walls for the winter

Still Hanging Out

A very out-of-season Greater Scaup is still hanging out on the West Pond of JBWR. I don't know that we've ever seen a scaup in June.

Continuing along the path I saw what I first took to be a Snow Goose which would be even more unusual than the scaup. However, no grin patch, a gray belly, a very white face instead of the blush of a breeding Snow Goose quickly turned it into a domestic goose. There were two, actually. Probably escapees, maybe released by someone who got tired of them.                    
Finally, in the adorable department, we have this Gadwall family.

The complete list for the day:
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
(West, East, and Big John's Ponds)

Number of species:    39
Canada Goose     100
Mute Swan     9

Gadwall   8
American Black Duck     3
Mallard     50
Greater Scaup     1     Around Bench 5
Double-crested Cormorant     31
Great Egret     12
Snowy Egret     19
Black-crowned Night-Heron     7
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron     9
Glossy Ibis     5
Osprey     4
American Oystercatcher     3
Willet     3
Semipalmated Sandpiper     12
Laughing Gull     100
Herring Gull     5
Least Tern     1
Forster's Tern     5
Mourning Dove     1
American Crow     4
Tree Swallow     25
Barn Swallow     4
Carolina Wren     2
Marsh Wren     1
American Robin     2
Gray Catbird     10
Brown Thrasher     4
European Starling     7
Cedar Waxwing     2
Yellow Warbler     5
American Redstart     1
Common Yellowthroat     1
Eastern Towhee     2
Song Sparrow     2
Northern Cardinal     1
Red-winged Blackbird     15

American Goldfinch  1

JBWR 5/31--One More Oddity

We finished out the month with a relatively quick jaunt around the West Pond at JBWR. A fellow birder pointed out a bird in the bay that he was pretty certain was a Red-necked Grebe and after consulting Sibley, Peterson and 5 or 6 other birders we concluded that it was indeed a very out-of-season grebe. It wasn't in breeding plumage like the Horned Grebe we saw a couple of days ago on Staten Island, but looked like either a non-breeder with very worn plumage or else one that was in transition. It also wasn't diving (which was fine for us in terms of ID--grebes are notorious for disappearing on you) which led us to wonder if it was ill. I often think when I see a rare or out-season bird that this is great for me, but that the bird has just hit a reproductive dead-end.

Naturally, we left the camera at home.

I wasn't certain, but I didn't really remember ever seeing a RNGR. I remember once on a very cold day in Belmar, NJ trying, with a couple of other birders to turn some Horned Grebes into something more exotic, but we apparently weren't successful because when I consulted our master life lists the grebe turned out to be a lifer! Not a bad way to end the month, especially with the bonus of a Wilson's Phalarope in breeding plumage. We'd heard that one had been reported, but we had long passed the location where it had last been seen when I scoped it out running along the beach down from Bench 12. Lucky Bench 12 where we also saw the White-faced Ibis twice this month.

This year's northern migration is just about over. Summer is upon us. Birding in the summer can really be a challenge since counter-intuitively it can be a relatively barren time to go birding.  Add in the heat and the bugs  and you really have to want to seek out birds (& hope for a rarity to come your way) to go birding for the next 3 months

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond

Number of species:     46

Brant     14 These are real stragglers!

Canada Goose     100

Mute Swan     7     Bench 2 5 cygnets

Gadwall     1     Bench 2 sleeping on the beach

American Black Duck     5

Mallard     25

Greater Scaup     1

RED-NECKED GREBE     1     In bay off Bench 6

Double-crested Cormorant     15

Great Egret     5

Snowy Egret     2

Little Blue Heron     1     In marsh near Osprey nest

Black-crowned Night-Heron     1

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron     2

Glossy Ibis     10

Osprey     4

Clapper Rail     1     In marsh by Bench 1

Semipalmated Plover     3

American Oystercatcher     4

Willet     1

Semipalmated Sandpiper     1000

Dunlin     1

Wilson's Phalarope     1     Bench 12

Laughing Gull     20

Herring Gull     25

Forster's Tern     10

Mourning Dove     2

Willow Flycatcher     2

American Crow     3

Tree Swallow     50

Barn Swallow     1

Marsh Wren     1     Marsh near Bench 10

American Robin     1

Gray Catbird     25

Northern Mockingbird     1

Brown Thrasher     2

European Starling     1

Cedar Waxwing     4     Parking lot and trail between Visitor Center and blind.

Yellow Warbler     10

Common Yellowthroat     5

Eastern Towhee     1

Song Sparrow     2

Northern Cardinal     1

Red-winged Blackbird     25

Common Grackle     1     Chased by blackbird

Boat-tailed Grackle     1

Staten Island 5/29--More Leftovers

Hen Common Eider, photo Shari Zirlin

We birded Staten Island yesterday, spending most of our time at Great Kill and Mount Loretto with a couple of quick stops to look at Lemon Creek and the Arden Avenue Purple Martin houses.

We were surprised to see a Common Eider and a Horned Grebe off the mud flats of Great Kills. But not that surprised, since we often find out of season waterfowl (like scoters or Buffleheads) there. We've seen plenty of Horned Grebes, but never one in its spectacular breeding plumage. It was pretty far out and a lot clearer in our scope than in the picture Shari digiscoped:

Great Kills Park
5/29/10

Number of species:     41

 Brant     2     Mud Flats

Canada Goose     15

Common Eider     1     Hen, Mud Flats

Horned Grebe     1     Male, in breeding plumage, Mud Flats

Double-crested Cormorant     3

Snowy Egret     1     Mud Flats

Little Blue Heron     2     Mud Flats

Black-crowned Night-Heron     2     Flyover Marina

Turkey Vulture     1

Black-bellied Plover     1     Mud Flats

Semipalmated Plover     3     Mud Flats

American Oystercatcher     6     Mud Flats

Ruddy Turnstone     1     Mud Flats

Laughing Gull     2     Mud Flats

Herring Gull     15

Great Black-backed Gull     12

Rock Pigeon     6

Mourning Dove     3

Willow Flycatcher     2

Fish Crow     2

Tree Swallow     10

Bank Swallow     25     Mud Flats

Barn Swallow     1

Carolina Wren     1     Crooke's Pt White Trail

American Robin     25

Gray Catbird     25

Northern Mockingbird     5

Brown Thrasher     3

European Starling     5

Yellow Warbler     15

Common Yellowthroat     1

Eastern Towhee     5

Field Sparrow     1     Crooke's Pt

Song Sparrow     1     Crooke's Pt

Northern Cardinal     10

Red-winged Blackbird     4     Mud Flats

Common Grackle     1

Boat-tailed Grackle     16

Brown-headed Cowbird     2

Baltimore Oriole     1     Trail to Mud Flats

American Goldfinch     5     Crooke's Pt
Mount Loretto Unique Area

Number of species:     30

Brant     24

Canada Goose     7

Wood Duck     1

Mallard     4

Double-crested Cormorant     5

Great Egret     2

American Oystercatcher     2

Spotted Sandpiper     2

Herring Gull     5

Great Black-backed Gull     5

Belted Kingfisher     1

Red-bellied Woodpecker     1

Willow Flycatcher     1

Eastern Phoebe     1

Warbling Vireo     1

Blue Jay     1

Northern Rough-winged Swallow     5

Tree Swallow     2

Barn Swallow     1

American Robin     10

Gray Catbird     2

European Starling     5

Yellow Warbler     5

Common Yellowthroat     10

Eastern Towhee     2

Northern Cardinal     2

Red-winged Blackbird     5

Common Grackle     5

Boat-tailed Grackle     2

Orchard Oriole     1

Lemon Creek Bridge

Number of species:     5

Mallard     8

Great Egret     1

Killdeer     3

Barn Swallow     10

Red-winged Blackbird     2
Arden Avenue & Ocean Driveway
Number of Species:   1
Purple Martin

JBWR 5/28--Red Knots!

At the end of the Terrapin Trail today I spotted 5 Red Knots and Shari was able to get some pretty good digiscoped photos.

This is a real "See 'em while you can" bird. Unless something miraculous happens, it won't be around very much longer--some studies have estimated it will be extinct by the end of the decade. It is a case of the tragic flaw--that which makes it great holds the seeds of it downfall. The sub-species of Red Knots that fly up the east coast of North America start their migration in Tierra del Fuego. They breed in the Arctic. True, this is probably not the best strategy for survival, but it's worked for who knows how many millions of years until fisherman in the Caribbean ran out of conch for bait. That didn't matter to the knots. It was the brilliant idea of  some entrepreneurs in NJ & Delaware to harvest horseshoe crabs and ship them to the Caribbean as a substitute for the vanished bait. That mattered to the knots because during their epic journey they stop along the beaches of Delaware Bay just about the time that the horseshoe crabs (a truly ancient species, by the way, that looked as it does now when the dinosaurs were around) crawl out of the water to lay their eggs--mid to late May. They feast on the eggs--no other food they can eat contains enough nutrition for these birds on their 10,000 mile flight.

They used to congregate on the beaches in the hundreds of thousands, but their numbers have decreased incredibly since the drastic reduction of the horseshoe crab population. Even with a moratorium on taking crabs it is probably too late for the knots to recover. This may rank as the stupidest reason for an extinction if it comes to pass.

So seeing five in breeding plumage was a happy surprise.

There were a few odd ducks around the ponds today: Lesser Scaup, Northern Shoveler, and hen Bufflehead, all out of season.

The List
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Species: 49
Brant     6

Canada Goose     150

Mute Swan     71

Gadwall     8

American Black Duck     6

Mallard     50

Northern Shoveler     1

Lesser Scaup     1

Bufflehead   1 Hen, East Pond

Ruddy Duck     8

Double-crested Cormorant     50

Great Egret     3

Snowy Egret     2

Black-crowned Night-Heron     6

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron     5

Glossy Ibis     10

Osprey     6

Clapper Rail     2

Black-bellied Plover     2

Semipalmated Plover     1

American Oystercatcher     3

Willet     2

Red Knot     5     On beach of Terrapin Trail

Semipalmated Sandpiper     155

Least Sandpiper     10

Laughing Gull     200

Herring Gull 10 East Pond

Great Black-backed Gull     13

Forster's Tern     16

Rock Pigeon     2

Mourning Dove     1

Willow Flycatcher     1

American Crow     5

Tree Swallow     50

Carolina Wren     1

Marsh Wren     1

American Robin     3

Gray Catbird     25

Northern Mockingbird     1

Brown Thrasher     2

European Starling     1

Cedar Waxwing     5     Parking Lot

Yellow Warbler     15

Common Yellowthroat     7

Eastern Towhee     4

Song Sparrow     1     Across from Bench 3

Northern Cardinal     4

Red-winged Blackbird     60

Brown-headed Cowbird     3     One female on WP trail, male & female in parking lot

11 Months, 101 Books

I was laid off last June. In between looking for jobs that apparently don't exist, it gave me a chance to read books. I kept a list because keeping lists is what I do and because I was curious what the list would look like in retrospect.

The layoff also helped alleviate that panicky feeling I often have when I look at my bookshelves and can't seem to remember anything about a book I've read. Nabokov said you can never read a book; you can only reread it. Rereading constitutes 55% of the list (the little ® indicates a reread) and some of them had completely left my memory, so that it was like reading a new book. Others were better than I remembered them. Many were worse. 

I can also see skeins of somewhat related titles: an Updike jag, a sudden urge to reread all the David Carkeet books I own, reacquainting myself with the poetry of Philip Levine, picking up old John McPhee books off the shelf, and recently an inexplicable interest in reading plays.

There's a fair of amount of history on the list, one science fiction book which was the worst piece of writing I've read possibly in a decade, one mystery by Tony Hillerman which taught me that if I were stuck in a summer rental with only a history of hockey or Tony Hillerman books I'd delve into the hockey book.

Some of these books I ripped through, some of these books I slogged through; the list doesn't include the few that I started and couldn't finish. A book has to be abysmal before I'll ditch it. And so, here they are 101 books of which I'd recommend probably 95%.
=============================================
     1)    6/29: The Crying of Lot 49 ®

2)    7/6: The Defining Moment

3)    7/9: The Great Comedians

4)    7/18: Hiding Man. (& parts of: Come Back, Dr. Caligari; Guilty Pleasures; City  Life;  Sadness; Not-Knowing ®)

5)    7/21: Decoding the Universe

6)    7/27: The Island at the Center of the World.

7)    7/30: Lenya

8)    8/11: Stephen Crane by John Berryman®

9)    8/13: The Greatest Slump of All Time®

10)     8/14: Cosmopolis ® (may as well have been the first time I read it)

11)     8/16: Lives of the Poets by E.L. Doctorow®: ditto

12)     8/17: A Streetcar Named Desire

13)     8/22: Moses

14)     8/28: True History of the Kelly Gang

15)     9/1: Paper Lion®

16)     9/7: Reflections on a New Work by Marcel Duchamp®

17)     9/9: Étant Donnés

18)     9/10: The Unteleported Man (absolute incomprehensible LSD drivel)

19)     9/11: The White Album

20)     9/22: In Patagonia® (not as good as I remembered it.)

21)     9/24: The Essential Groucho® (tedious)

22)     9/28: Tender is the Night® (this was on my shelf, so I suppose I read it previously, but I have absolutely no memory of it.)

23)     9/28: Living Well is the Best Revenge®

24)     10/1: Written Lives®

25)     10/4: The Bread of Time®

26)     10/4: Not this Pig® (eh)

27)     10/5: 7 Years From Somewhere® (eh)

28)     10/7: A Long Desire®

29)     10/7: A Walk With Tom Jefferson® (a little better)

30)     10/15: The White Lantern®

31)     10/17: Great Jones Street®

32)     10/19: Portnoy’s Complaint®

33)     10/26: Anja the Liar

34)     10/27: An Artist of the Floating World®

35)     10/29: A Pale View of Hills® (didn’t really remember anything about either of the last two)

36)     11/1: The Humbling

37)     11/4: Invisible

38)     11/8: The Telephone Booth Indian®

39)     11/11: The Years with Ross®

40)     11/12: The Sun also Rises®

41)     11/14: The Zimmerman Telegram®

42)     11/17: Licks of Love®

43)     11/20: Rabbit, Run®

44)     11/21: Of the Farm®

45)     11/23: The Manner Music®

46)     11/25: Rabbit Is Rich®

47)     11/29: The Music School®

48)     12/3: Alone®

49)     12/4: La Place de la Concorde Suisse®

50)     12/17: The Culture of Counter-Culture by Alan Watts (what a bunch of hooey)

51)     12/21: My Century by Günter Grass

52)     12/26: The Man Who Loved Only Numbers®

53)     12/26: Waterbirds

54)     1/02/10: In Harm’s Way

55)     1/05: The Design of Everyday Things (Peters out at the end; sold the book)

56)     1/13: The Maples Stories

57)     1/13: Things I Didn’t Know I Loved—Nazim Hikmet

58)     1/18: A Roomful of Hovings®

59)     1/21: Proofs by George Steiner®

60)     1/25: Thank God for the Atom Bomb®

61)     1/27: People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman

62)     2/1: Memoirs of Hecate County® (Remembered one scene from the entire book)

63)     2/2: Levels of the Game®

64)     2/4: Irons in the Fire®

65)     2/8: When Science Goes Wrong®

66)     2/8: Beat Zen, Square Zen, and Zen®

67)     2/10: Lonely Avenue

68)     2/13: The Full Catastrophe®

69)     2/17: The Error of Our Ways®

70)     2/19: Players

71)     2/23: Double Negative®

72)     2/23: Home Truths®

73)     2/25: The Mechanic Muse®

74)     2/25: The Post Office by Charles Olson®

75)     2/26: Krapp’s Last Tape®

76)     3/1: Legs®

77)     3/4/: No Exit®

78)     3/11: When Nietzsche Wept®

79)     3/11: Nietzsche®

80)     3/12: Woman in the Dark

81)     3/16: The Real McCoy

82)     3/22: How the States Got Their Shapes.

83)     3/26: Silk Parachute

84)     3/29: From Away

85)     4/2: Of A Feather

86)     4/6: Picture

87)     4/9: Wonder Boys

88)     4/12: The Armchair Birder

89)     4/15: Next

90)     4/20: Solar

91)     5/3: The Surrendered

92)     5/6: The Baseball Codes

93)     5/11: The Man with No Endorphins

94)     5/14: Blackeyes

95)     5/24: The Seven Year Itch

96)     5/24: The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

97)     5/25: Come Back, Little Sheba

98)     5/26: Death of a Salesman®

99)     5/26: Voyage (The Coast of Utopia part 1)

100) 5/26: Shipwreck (The Coast of Utopia part 2)

101) 5/27: Salvage (The Coast of Utopia part 3)