Saturday, October 22, 2011

Event Update: SCAS Birdathon

Oh golly, today was a fantastic day! 11 hours of birding with great company, for a great cause (supporting the Florida Keys Hawkwatch). I was lucky enough to be joined by the lovely and talented Lana, and together we spotted 51 species and raised $360.

Our species list was: White Ibis, Pine Warbler, Snowy Egret, Black Vulture, Cardinal, Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher, Eastern Kingbord, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Mourning Dove, Great Blue Heron, Killdeer, Turkey Vulture, Boat-tailed Grackle, Great Egret, Anhinga, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Palm Warbler, Kingfisher, Moorhen, Woodstork, Swallow (sp), Coot, Shrike, Limpkin, Tricolored Heron, Pied-bill Grebe, Green-back Heron, Glossy Ibis, Little Blue Heron, Kestrel, Ring Bill Gull, Rock Dove, Laughing Gull, Reddish Egret, Yellow Rump Warbler, Willet, American Avocet, Capsian Tern, Greater Yellowlegs, Red-wing Blackbird, Florida Scrub Jay, Catbird, Towhee, Brown Pelican, Red-shouldered Hawk, Double-crested Cormorant, Forrester's Tern, and Starling.

Here are the pictures from the day followed by our total listing:
The intrepid explorers begin with a healthy
nutritious breakfast at Bucky's.

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Eastern Phoebe

Mourning Dove

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Boat-tailed Grackle

Pied-bill Grebe

Tri-color Heron

Anhinga

Green-back Heron

Glossy Ibis

White Ibis

Little Blue Heron

(Baby) Moorhen

Palm Warbler

Shrike

Bald Eagle

Reddish Egret

Yellow Rump Warbler

Greater Yellowlegs

Turkey Vulture

Florida Scrub Jay

Mockingbird

Kestrel

Catbird

Lana, the photographer,
being photographed

We finished up at
Gator Creek

Friday, October 21, 2011

Friday Textercizing

Let's play cards again, but let's make it more reasonable this time. Get a deck of cards. Draw one card for ever exercise below. 

  • If you draw A-5, triple the number on the card. (e,g, if you draw a 4, do 12 of whatever the exercise)
  • If you draw 6-10, do twice the number on the card.
  • If you draw a face card, do 20 the exercise. 
As with last time, mark down your first 5 cards and let me know the poker hand you have drawn. Best hand wins a super secret prize. Good luck!



Warm Ups:

Arms/Core
ARM: Arms/upperbody (I like her suggestion to use soup cans if you don't have dumbbells)
  • BIC: Bicycle
  • CRU: Crunches
  • PU: Pushups
    Note: Some people prefer to do them "girly style" where you start on your knees, but I can't do them that way cause of my knee issues. What ever works best for you.
Abs/Legs:
Stuff that will make you call me names:
  • BUR: Burpies
    Note: I do the beginner one, and due to knee problems usually start with my hands elevated, on a curb or stair instead of on the floor.
  • LC: Leg Climbers
    Note: The scrawny twits in the video make this look easy, but they are HELL.
  • MTN: Mountain Climbers
    Note: Due to knee problems usually start with my hands elevated, on a curb or stair instead of on the floor.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Thursday Textercizing

Warm Ups:

Arms/Core
  • PU: Pushups
    Note: Some people prefer to do them "girly style" where you start on your knees, but I can't do them that way cause of my knee issues. What ever works best for you.
Abs/Legs:
Stuff that will make you call me names:
  • BUR: Burpies
    Note: I do the beginner one, and due to knee problems usually start with my hands elevated, on a curb or stair instead of on the floor.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Wednesday Textercizing

Warm Ups:

Arms/Core
  • ARM: Arms/upperbody (I like her suggestion to use soup cans if you don't have dumbbells)
  • BIC: Bicycle
  • CRU: Crunches
  • PU: Pushups
    Note: Some people prefer to do them "girly style" where you start on your knees, but I can't do them that way cause of my knee issues. What ever works best for you.
Abs/Legs:
Stuff that will make you call me names:
  • MTN: Mountain Climbers
  • Note: Due to knee problems usually start with my hands elevated, on a curb or stair instead of on the floor.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Tuesday Textercising

Warm Ups:

Abs/Legs:
  • BLR: Back Leg Raises
  • SLR: Side Leg Raises
    Note: I do both types shown in the video, but I don't alternate, I do all one style, then switch to the next, then switch sides.
  • STLR: Standing Side Leg Raises
  • SQU: Squats
    Note: Due to knee problems, I can't go down as far, On days my knees are bad I do side lunges instead.
Stuff that will make you call me names:
  • BUR: Burpies
    Note: I do the beginner one, and due to knee problems usually start with my hands elevated, on a curb or stair instead of on the floor.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Monday Textercising!

Warm Ups:

Arms/Core
  • ARM: Arms/upperbody (I like her suggestion to use soup cans if you don't have dumbbells)
  • BIC: Bicycle
  • CRU: Crunches
  • PU: Pushups
    Note: Some people prefer to do them "girly style" where you start on your knees, but I can't do them that way cause of my knee issues. What ever works best for you.
Stuff that will make you call me names:
  • LC: Leg Climbers
  • Note: The scrawny twits in the video make this look easy, but they are HELL.

Review: Water Bottles

You really can't work out, or do anything in Florida for that matter, without drinking a LOT of water. I was reminded of this on Saturday when we did our SOS walk. The weather was markedly cooler, so I didn't think I needed to bring my CamelBack. I was quite wrong - 6 miles is a long way to walk, no matter how hot it is. But it got me thinking, I have a ton of water bottles, and they all have their plusses and minuses. So here is a quick run down on water bottle basics:

If you plan on spending any serious amount of time outside, this is, hands down, the best investment you can make. It is called a CamelBack, and is an insulated backpack that has a built in water bag. Depending on the size you get, you will spend between $30-50. Mine, shown here is 50 oz and I think it set me back around $40, and worth every penny. It also has pockets for cell phone camera, etc. Because it is insulated, water stays cold. Only downside is that if you do not rinse and DRY it out when you get home, the liner and tubing get skanky pretty quickly. If this happens, just buy a new liner for around $14. Trust me, you will never get the smell/taste out once it gets skanky.
 This is probably my favorite water bottle. Pro's are:

  • It is insulated
  • It has a carrying strap
  • It holds 32 oz
  • It doesn't leak
The only real con is that, like the CamelBack, because it is water tight, it gets skanky pretty quickly if it isn't rinsed out immediately after use. This bottle can go in the dishwasher though. 

This type of bottle is great for in home use. Because it is not shaped and doesn't have a strap, it is not practical for carrying in the gym or when hiking. But because it is insulated, it is great for sitting on your desk while you work.
This type of bottle is okay for home use if you don't care about your drink staying cold. Again, not practical for use in the gym or hiking as it is hard to carry.
This type of bottle has all of the disadvantages of the one above, with the added disadvantage of, due to the straw, is not spill proof. Other than perhaps being bedridden, I can't really think of a practical use for this type of bottle, and even then, if you tilt it at all, it will leak.
 This is a semi-insulated cup with a lid that has a straw opening. Unlike the bottle above, there is a rubber gasket around where the straw goes on this type of cup, which makes it quite a bit more spill resistant. Plus, it has Spongebob on it, how can you not love it? But seriously, it is a good cup for in home use, not practical for the gym or hiking.
Aluminum water bottles have their pro's and cons. On the one hand, they are sturdy, don't leak and as shown here, this one has a little clip so you can clip it to your back pack or bike. If you are concerned with such things, they do not contain any chemicals suspected of messing with human hormones as many plastic bottles do. Aluminum bottles also do not seem to hold the skank the way plastic bottles do. The disadvantage is that, not only is it not insulated, but it can absorb heat, which can make it impractical for outdoor use in Florida, but should be fine in cooler climates.
This is a bottle specifically made to fit on the cross bar of a bicycle. Seemed like a great idea when I got it, but I didn't notice till I was 6 miles out into a marsh the shape of it. It is very small, and indented, which means it only holds about 8 ounces of water. If you are taking a 10 foot bike ride, it might be appropriate, anything longer, you need a real water bottle. Note that the purpose of this is supposed to make it easy to grab on the bike, but in reality, it would be far easier to just use a CamelBack.
Glass bottles are not appropriate for workouts, unless you are exercising your right to consume alcohol.
This is the absolute WORST kind of water bottle. The only time you should consume water in disposable plastic bottles is if you are for example, traveling or at an event, you forgot your own bottle, and there are NO other options.

ALWAYS bring your own water. Although plastic can be recycled, just the process of making these water bottles wastes an insane amount of our natural resources. I realize that not everyone has drinkable water. Our house water is pretty nasty, so I have a PUR water filter, and David has a Brita. I have used and would recommend either.



Let me know if I left anything off here. Coming up next week, I will be writing about what to put in your water bottle!