Duck, Duck, Gull

Lake Erie still has a great deal of ice covering its surface. However, it also has some spots of open water. Today I saw a great number and variety of ducks and gulls. I even saw a heron.

This little red-breasted merganser swam by and gave me an opportunity to admire his red eye and beautiful feathers.
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Other Matt Keoughs

We all think we are unique, don’t we? We are. Each of us has different experiences and perspectives. Even identical twins are not really identical. The younger goes through life looking at the older and the older goes through life looking at the younger.

It is kind of like the parallax effect.  I only have two eyes, but if I hold my index finger at arm’s length and close my left eye my perception of the world shifts from when I close my right eye.

It should be no surprise, then, that the accident of having the same first and last name is an interesting and a tenuous bond, but really is not much more. Two times in the recent weeks I’ve had people mention that they know a different Matt Keough in the Cleveland area.

My curiosity is piqued at this type of revelation. I’m interested in my family’s history. My father’s family was not particularly close and the fact that my grandfather died when my father was an infant didn’t help any Keough bonding. Plus, Keoughs always seem to find some reason to feud in every generation. I don’t look at this as being difficult, I look at it as having integrity and “sticking to your guns.” As Hank Jr. sang, it’s a family tradition.

So, this is an open offer. If you stumble upon this blog post because you were Googling “Matt Keough” or even “Keough” please feel free to comment and connect. Even if we can’t determine a direct connection in familial relationship we can be friends because there is something we share!

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UPDATE!

Totally not staged. Don’t you think the smirk of the ball player and your humble blog host are a bit similar? I promise you, this was not a conscious pose on my part.

lotsomatts

 

 

 

 

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Update to the update. If you look at my public Facebook profile it has a handy list of  Other Matt Keoughs!

If I had a million dollars…

A good friend of mine once called the state-sponsored lottery “the most successful way to tax stupidity” and I am afraid he is correct. I know my odds of winning the lottery are less than <insert absurd example of being struck by lightning or finding a needle in a haystack> but I do from time to time buy a ticket. Am I stupid? Maybe. One of the great paradoxes of life is that if you really are stupid you will never know it.

The best part of buying a lottery ticket is fantasizing about what you would do with the windfall. Would you like to know my latest scheme?

I want to build a church.

Specifically, I want to build a chapel in the Romanesque style which would be be made available to all the firefighters, police, or soldiers (Reservists mostly) and any other Catholic individuals who may find it  difficult to attend Mass at a regularly scheduled time at their usual parish.

My scheme would, of course, need the blessings of the local bishop. However I’d like to create a situation wherein the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass would be available by appointment whenever two or three would gather in His name. One way this might be practically implemented  would be to have some attachment to a monastery.  So I guess I’m also proposing the foundation of a monastery. Remember, I’m also planning on winning the lottery, so the sky is the limit.

Too ambitious? Perhaps. I just think that this would be a wonderful service to those who serve. Which also makes me think I should not wait to win the lottery. Who would like to help me arrange a system that would help these people never miss Mass?

Driftwood and Ice

When you think of driftwood you probably think of a beach. When you think of a beach you probably think of summer breezes and sunscreen. I live in Ohio and near Lake Erie. I know that summer is fleeting and that the beach is actually there in all four seasons. A couple of years ago I captured this image on my cell phone. Enjoy!

 

Photography Prints

You may be a birder if…

It was Jeff Foxworthy’s birthday yesterday. Those who consider themselves superior to rednecks will sneer. The joke is on them. Mr. Foxworthy is one smart dude and an author of one of my favorite children’s books “Dirt On My Shirt“.

In homáge to the concept and in recognition of the Fall migration I offer “You Might Be A Birder If…”

  1. You take binoculars when fishing.
  2. The possibility that you will tap your brakes to get a better look at a bird on the wing is very real
  3. You worry that your insurance agent reads your blog posts
  4. You get a little lump in your throat when your wife texts you that she thinks she saw a (fill in the blank) at the feeder
  5. You are glad you do not have a corner office with a window because you know you would never get any work done
  6. If you get a corner office you install a bird feeder, then blinds. Face it, you are conflicted
  7. It is perfectly normal to keep a year list on your Google Drive because it can be accessed in the field from your smart phone or from your desktop wgullhen you get back home and have had the opportunity to cross check your reference materials
  8. You die a little bit if you catch yourself saying “seagull”
  9. You think the girls at the Ed Sullivan Show were a little bit over the top at Elvis but your would understand if it were Kenn Kauffman
  10. When you hear “Birds of a feather flock together.” you think “Well, in most cases, but not always.”
  11. You were asked to take pictures of your son’s birthday party but the boy to bird ratio heavily favors the birds
  12. No new projects at work can be due in April or October. There are more important things that must be attended to
  13. You want to invent a time machine only because you want to stop the guy who introduced the EUST to the United States
  14. You didn’t have to look up the banding abbreviation for European Starling (I did)

In all honesty I do not consider myself a birder. I’m not that committed. I don’t see my lists as a competitive pursuit. I simply enjoy observing the endless variety, beauty and complexity of nature. I hope if you do see yourself in any of the items on my list you will see we are kindred spirits and allow a smile.

Happy birding!