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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

World Bird WednesdayXLIV


Turn On, Tune In, Don't Drop the Fish




Oh, this poor heron. She nailed a Gar pike right behind the head with a perfect shot and worked hard getting her prize into position to swallow it. Just when it looked like the day had been won, the injured fish slipped free, hit the water, and revived. Our heron, now in a panic, dove in pursuit but it was not to be. You could feel the frustration in her heated leg kick when she knew the fish was lost. Herons don't usually act out their disappointments with outbursts bordering on tantrums. I really thought this bird needed to "chill out" and I might have been able to help her in that regard if only she could have come over this evening.


While thinking about what I might want to write about for WBW this week I set the mood for my efforts in that direction by turning on my Lava Lamps. Yes, I'll come clean, I have a Lava Lamp collection. I also have a pretty damn good YoYo collection and, Oh yeah, about 40 antique Schwinn bikes in the barn all ready to ride. The YoYo's and bicycles are what I term intentional collections, I set out to acquire the pieces with a purpose and a cause. Lava Lamps are quite different in the sense that they find me, no active searching on my part is involved. I am blessed with them and even my frustrated and hungry heron friend would ultimately mellow out in the presence of their hypnotic pulsations.
Lava lights are an icon of the 60's Hippie movement, therefore; at their essence, is a innocent psychedelic silliness. These old relics of mine come to light at yard sales and resale shops. They wait for me; their caps missing and bulbs burnt out. I feel like the Lava Lights modern day Statue of Liberty calling out, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teaming store. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my molten lamp beside thy golden door!"  

The first Lava lamp was discovered endlessly melting in an English pub by Craven Walker just after WWII. He found it to be the life's work of a Mr. Dunnett who was unfortunately deceased. A Singapore inventor, Mr. Walker took the "contraption made out of a cocktail shaker, old tins and things," and worked to perfect its mysterious mixtures of colored oils and wax. The Lava Lamps time arrived with the Swinging Sixties and his business, the Crestworth Company of Dorset, England sold millions and still manufactures them today.

It's interesting that my love of Lava lamps and bird photography began around the same time a few years ago. What drives these little interests of mine, what compels me to collect things, whether they be Lava lamps, bicycles, yoyos, or bird photographs, is beyond me. Is there a logic or thread of commonality to these seemingly random, compulsive collections? When asked to describe the appeal of his Lava Lamps Mr. Walker explained, "It starts from nothing, grows possibly a little bit feminine, then a little bit masculine, then breaks up and has children. It's a sexy thing."  I suppose that's it!


 The trick is to mix the correct bulb with the right lamp to acquire the perfect melt.

Now it's time for World Bird Wednesday!

This is the home of World Bird Wednesday. A place for bird photographers from around the world to gather and share their photographs and experiences as they pursue Natures most beautiful treasurers, the birds.

World Bird Wednesday will be open for posting at 12 noon Tuesday EST North America through midnight on Wednesday.
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#2. Come to The Pine River Review on Tuesday Noon EST North America through Wednesday midnight and submit your blog entry with Linky.
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29 comments:

  1. OMG! I'm dying here on your lava lamp collection! and that sexy description of them! whew! ;)

    love the heron shots. poor thing! yup, a mellow lava-lamp lit den, complete with yo-yos and bird photos would do the trick. :)

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  2. Poor heron! And so beautiful! I sure hope she got another fish later on! :-D

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  3. the heron shots are wonderful (poor guy) but i am distracted by the lava lamps!!

    i'll be back....i have to figure out which birds i am going to link to this!!

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  4. Love it! I have one lava lamp...I could use more- i like the purple one!
    I was frustrated for the heron - what great timing on your part! Hopefully he snagged another meal soon afterwards. Love that first shot! As common as they are, I can NEVER get photos of Great Blues, go figure! Great post!

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  5. Would you believe we have one too! Our's is green! Makes a great night light in the bedroom!

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  6. poor heron, a blue one, right? But you got some great shots. This is what I like, action shots if possible. And lava-lamps? Yes they are nice, but I don´t have any.

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  7. A great capture of the Heron, it's a shame she couldn't reward herself for the pose.
    It's great to hear about your other passions... Original lava lamps are probably quite a good investment (for your future generations) Art Nouveau of the 60's.
    My secret passion Stamp Collecting..
    Have a great week.

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  8. Love the heron series. Too bad she lost it!
    Fun hearing about your collection!

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  9. Fantastic captures of the Great Blue Heron Dave! That third one, as the bird is coming up out of the water is awesome! I had a lava lamp back in the day. Very relaxing. Love your collection.

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  10. Wonderful capture of the heron. They usually are better at fishing, this one must have been having a bad day. I hope it didn't go hungry. Neat Lava lamp collections, my son has a small collection too.

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  11. Oh Springman, you have to come visit this part of Oregon sometime. There are birds here and lava lamps(...and people who have never left the 60s!)

    I love the heron series -- yeah, I've never seen one show that much emotion either. Granted, I understand it!

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  12. Your header is a tad bit scary!All of those birds coming at you...
    I had another gut busting laugh with the photo of your lava lamp collection,you never fail to make me smile.
    I love your pictures of the heron,you were at the right place at the right time when the bird was having his little "fit".I hope he was able to get his meal on down the river.Beautiful bird I rarely get to see,thanks for sharing the heron & your lava lamp passion,phyllis

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  13. Like a Lyrebird or Bowerbird, you are collecting all these useful/useless items to impress your ladylove. Come to think of it, bicycles you can ride together, yo-yos you can impress her with your prowess of walkin' the dowg, lava lamps make for a great romantic atmosphere and who doesn't like bird-shots? You'd have to be downright silly not to!
    That poor frustrated heron, I wish you had had a fish to toss to him. I mean to say, if I hooked a gar and it got away, I'd be disappointed too.
    Your migratory header is a delight. If I saw that many , just maybe I could get a shot too.

    Re 400mm lens, I found I could no longer cart my 300 around, it must be the extra weight of the man-made heart valves that keep me wriggling.
    Two have been replaced and the tricuspid is shot and no-one will touch that so I just have to work within my limitations. I'll probably treat myself to a newer camera that has video option and, just maybe a 400mm lens for my 75th b-day on Sunday. Aren't I a greedy guts, I'll have to invest in a carrier pigeon as well to hoist my gear . . LOL

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  14. Great series of bird photos. It's nice to see them in action rather than just standing still.

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  15. Springman, First: I adore your Header. That is the best photo of a flock of ??? that I have ever seen. What are those birds?
    Second: Love your photos of the GB Heron. Very nice sequence of action. (Thumps-up)
    Third: Groovy lava lamps!!! I remember those good times.:-D)

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  16. Correction: Meant to type "Thumbs-up" and I remember those good "years". LOL!

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  17. Oh herons are cranky birds...love their bark..would not want to be on the receiving end of that bill. I watched one fish today, but it didn't have any luck. You got great photos and I would love to know where my lava lamp went to. Really no hummers at the feeders? I love watching them..and love the header...Michelle

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  18. Hi there - great set of shots of the heron! Don’t seem to have much luck with action shots of these birds - have some good "just standing there" shots - but not much else.

    There is a Simpson’s episode that links lava lamps to Homers stomach - that’s not am image I care to summon around dinner time!

    Cheers - Stewart M

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  19. Great heron shots, and I love the lava lamp lit cave! That half light gives the sculpture a mystic look, nice!

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  20. Good morning and welcome to WBWxliv!
    Thank you as always for your kind comments, I certainly treasurer them and appreciate the time it takes to write.
    I think the flocking birds in the header are starlings. How a group like this can simultaneously lift off the ground without colliding is incredible. That they stayed in a fairly uniform focal plane kept them all relatively focused and made for an interesting, if chaotic picture.
    Thank you also for loving the lava lamps! I agree, I do think they cast a romantic, mystical light!
    Cheers, Dave

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  21. Another fantastic post, Dave! I found when you click on the heron photos, you can run through the whole series and see the action almost like a movie. Re lava lamp, I used to own a lava nightlight but my husband banned it - he's not the romantic type. It's still around somewhere. I'll have to dig it out. Maybe if I show him this post, he'll change his opinion.

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  22. Wow! I love the tangle of birds in that header! Large flocks moving en masse always fascinate me. The Heron series is really wonderful - I hope he had more success later. The lava lamp shot is fun! Nice collection.

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  23. I love your photos of heron and I'm absolutely fascinated by the header - terrific!
    Tour collection of lamps is impressive, wow!

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  24. Great sequence Springman. Love your lava lamps!

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  25. Yads of Yo Yo's, swaths of Schwinns, and heavy loads of lava lamps ! ? ! ? Now I start to understand the essence of Springman more deeply... and come finally to comprehend that he is mad, stark raving mad, with a mind like a melting lava lamp... and this could be why we love him all the better as time goes by, and we see more of the master. Just look at that header photo, it says all...

    Oh, and a friend just passed this link on to me, in case you haven't seen it already, I don't know to what extent it is famous or not, but given it gives another vision of Detroit, or more precisely, The Ruins of Detroit, I thought of you :

    http://www.marchandmeffre.com/index.html

    May your lava flow forevermore... quoth the raven...

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  26. PS and oh shoot and fiddlesticks, I was too slow and had my post ready after the deadline, so I couldn't link it in linky, but please do stop by Dave and check out a chic chick at :

    http://magiclanternshowen.blogspot.com/2011/09/chic-chick.html

    This one's all for you... :-) Feast your eyes !

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  27. Lava lamps and birds? Who would have thought you could find a common thread between those 2 seemingly unrelated things! Love the shots of the birds and the lava lamp collection. I did not know most of that stuff about the lamps and I love the quote at the end! What a fun read!

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  28. Gee, everything I always wanted to know about lava lamps but was afraid to ask! I'll just dig out my love beads and bell bottoms and be right over. You can teach me how to Walk the Dog with a specimen from your yo-yo collection. I don't think we should attempt a Trip Around the World within swinging range of those lamps, though! But maybe a trip on one of those Schwinns.

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  29. That heron looks like a morning commuter who was cut off from his exit..pitching a "hissy-fit" Aweseome shots--and The header is amazing!!
    Lushious lava lamps--dont have one but admire people who do!

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