Just some pics

As promised, here are some photos from our recent adventures...

Indiana has a town named Moscow! They have a covered bridge, lots of cats roaming around, and this lovely Christian church. A few years ago a tornado came through and really wreaked havoc...it still looks like a war zone just outside of town. But the bridge has been rebuilt and is ready for business!

This is Thing 2. He is a trackable that came from a trackable hotel in Florida with a goal of seeing as many places as possible. We dropped him off at a nearby cache.

He might have grown up in Dayton, Ohio, but Wilbur Wright was born in Indiana. A great museum and memorial is in east Central Indiana.

We like finding small post offices. They are a travel directory of where we have been. Here I am outside the Carthage, Indiana post office.

And this one is outside the Yoder, Indiana post office.

And then there are the bridges...

Cousin Philberto on a Steek...

 in Rush County

(under cover...do you think anyone will know it is me?)

Peering over the edge...this was one shaky bridge!

 We've been having fun...and with summer and warm weather coming, more is to come! The Phlock and I will see you later.

Philbert

 

Lessons Learned While Geocaching

I have to admit I have been hiding out. Ever since those humans of mine dropped me face first in the snow, I've been afraid of the cold. Winter seems to have gone on and on and on. But I am cautiously optimistic, and feel that perhaps spring is finally here in Indiana.

To catch you up on what my humans have been doing, I must say they have been neglecting me somewhat. Diane has been tending her mother and had to say goodbye to her forever. That was hard on all of us, but we know we shall see her again. And then those humans started hunting for a new nest. They seem to want to find a place with water around it...and of course, we the Philbert Phlock of Phlamingos would like this very much. Not just a flood zone, but an actual lake or something similar.

But in the midst of all of this, we set out to do some waymarking and geocaching. I'd like to share some thoughts and lessons I have personally learned watching my humans do these crazy activities.

1.  Geocaching can take you to some really neat places that can be waymarked! For example, we found some covered bridges that we would never have located if we had not heard there was a geocache nearby.

2.  Things are not always what they seem. Even ordinary objects may be hiding a secret.

3.  Forget lesson number two. Sometimes things are exactly as they seem and you have over thought the obvious.

4.  Humans should not drink large amount of diet soft drinks before going out to geocache.

5.  Learn from the experience of others. They will often leave clues if you know how to look for them.

6.  Noah had the right idea. Going two by two into the world of caching is not a bad idea.

7.  Small things can have big payoffs.

8.  Large things can also have big payoffs.

9.  Keep a walking stick nearby.

10. It is important to have fun and remember that caching and waymarking are just hobbies.

Catch ya later with some pics!

Philbert

Just a quick update

GREAT NEWS! FANTASTIC NEWS! According to the humans, my dear friend and (former) phlock member Percy de'Mingo has recently been spotted winging his way back to Emerald Springs! He was lost with the D of dnrseekers was geocaching in some place called Colorado. Geocachers have responded to the call, and he is now northeastern Iowa--not too far from some other place called Illinois. Spring is coming--maybe the cachers will be out soon and Percy will make it home.

In some not so good news...D has been sidelined by something called caregiving duties. I'm not completely sure what this means, other than she is is not able to go waymarking or geocaching as much as the phlock would like. She started a blog of her own at www.confesesionsofabasketcase.blogspot.com.   Maybe that will explain it better.

More to come as the weather improves and the phlock is back to phrolicking!

Philbert

Humans and Flight

Hi friends...Philbert here in the land of the frozen tundra. Last we talked, I was heading "southwest" to Florida, which was so confusing. There is more confusion. Did you know humans don't really fly? If a bird flies, we flap our wings and propel ourselves through the air. Sometimes we catch a wind current and soar. But humans? They go to a place called an "airport".  The airport is an interesting place. There are places to shop, get food, pick up some light reading materials, and even get shoes shined. There are items of "local interest"...like in Indianapolis, there was a race car. They stand in lines...I even had to be x-rayed after standing in a line. Then they get in a big tube, sit down, and then this "airplane" thing goes into the air. A couple hours later, the process is reversed, the big tube goes back down to the ground, and off we go.




Once we got back on the ground, it was so nice and warm! I was able to fan out my feathers and relax a bit. I saw my cousin a Harry the Heron from a distance, but wasn't able to catch up to him. Maybe another time.

Our biggest adventure was going to the Land of the Mouse. We started in a place that had a lot to do with movies. There was talk of a mouse, but this didn't seem to be the biggest deal. My humans found old friends...they had some funny names. They weren't human either. They saw Kermit, Miss Piggy Gonzo and Fozzy Bear. That Miss Piggy character was hanging out in a fountain...but she sure made the humans laugh! Uncle Philbert took time to pose by the fountain.

Yup--that's Miss Piggy in the background. They were so excited by her! They even had to go watch a movie that she was in.

Because my humans really don't know how to fly, they took a train to go to this place where a mouse is in charge. A mouse! A four legged mammal! I don't get it. But there were lots and lots of people there interested in that dang thing. I may even have to grow ears. That's the only thing it has that I don't, as far as I can tell. Although there was one critter with disturbingly big ears...but Baby Philbert became a good friend.

There was a lot of talk about "Disney"...and Baby Philbert posed in front of Mr. Disney and the mouse...lots of people were calling him Mickey.

I'm a Tropical Bird! Really!

The problem with living with humans who waymark in Indiana, is the weather. It gets COLD in Indiana in the winter. Now some of you who have visited this fine state in 2012 might find this difficult to believe. It was a freakishly warm winter last year. But now it's January, 2013, and it is COLD!

Now this wouldn't be so bad if I could hibernate in my nest. Or in my travel bag. But no. Those intrepid waymarkers, Rick and Diane, tore out of their warm home yesterday to do some exploring. The entire phlock had to go along because the bag got thrown into the back seat. I took the lead and warned all my phlock to keep quiet--perhaps they wouldn't remember we were there.

This plan appeared to work. They explored Henry County--just to the east of where they live. They found abandoned cemeteries and places where old pictures had been taken. They found places of which they had read where long ago people lived and died. Rick was in and out of the car, taking pictures in the same location and same view. To think that trains called "Interurbans" actually ran between towns!

The light was fading. It started to snow. Rick and Diane stopped for human fortifications and I thought the phlock and I were safe. But then it almost happened. Rick had one more place he wanted to compare an old photograph to a current place. (You see, there is this waymarking category of Photos Then and Now. Pretty self explanatory.) It had an address--based on the grid system. Easy to find. So off we went. To be fair to Rick, it was on the way home. To give you an idea of what this is like, here is the "then" photo.

And here is the "now" photo. With snow flying...

Do you see me in this photo? No. I am not in this photo. I am snug in the backseat of the car, safely hidden in my traveling bag. So off we went again, heading for home where there is a fireplace. I was so excited. We were going to make it! We were going to stay warm and tropical.

But through the snow and in the dusk, Diane spots an Indiana Historical Sign. Out of her mouth comes the words "That's already a waymark!" I was done for. Posing on signs is my specialty, especially since the wire surgery. Diane pulls over, Rick selects me from the bag as I knew he would, and out into the biting cold we went. I am a dedicated bird, but I was freezing. Rick placed me on top of the sign, but he didn't secure the wire. Down I went. Face first. Into the snow. Rick plucks me out and puts me back on the sign.
At least he moved quickly. Picture taken, off we went.

So here I am...

This one shot logged the dnrseekers team three visits. This sign has to do with nine Indians being massacred. White people actually were tried and convicted and hung for the crime. Pretty sad piece of history!

Well, Rick and Diane assure me I home going to the tropics next week. They say we are flying down..by flying Southwest. Clearly Florida is South EAST! I sure hope we actually make it. Humans flying? Should I be afraid? This could be one messed up trip. I've seen how they drive. I can only imagine how they fly.  Regardless, this bird has snow on his feet and its time for the feel of sand between my toes.

Florida here I come!

Philbert

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

My humans have been celebrating the holidays and have been staying pretty close to home. So for the New Year, I thought I would share with you their profile as listed on waymarking.com. It kind of explains how I came to be....

Why play Where's Waldo Waymarker when you have pink flamingos to fill the world? Doesn't make sense to you??? Well read on...

Rick and Diane enjoy exploring and finding the odd and unusual. Both of us are somewhat camera shy, so we've allowed Philbert to adopt us and stand in to verify we were actually at all the places we say we were. Philbert is a "phlamingo"...actually, an entire "phlock" of "phlamingos" available for photo opportunities of all sorts. You will find him either obviously, or not so obviously in most of our visits and many of our own waymarks. It all depends on the setting as to which Philbert has his photo taken. It's great fun and he has turned out to be a inspiration for us to keep waymarking. We have turned it into a game to find new ways and poses to slip him into our photos. 

The only down side to all this frolic is our friends (the few we have left...) seriously question our sanity. With our ever handy bag full of pink flamingos ready to be pulled out at moments notice the raised eyebrows seem to grow exponentially. None the less while most think our capacities have flown the coop we think we have only begun to tap the potential of this most admirable pink avian creature. They are undoubtedly destined to replace those silly white geese and their outfits adorning everyone's front lawns if given half a chance. 

Yes, given the direction our country is headed its only a matter of time before everyone is able to realize the American dream of owning their very own pink plastic flamingo and joy of placing it in the front yard as a symbol of their undying patriotism. It is with abundant gratitude that through waymarking we, dnrseekers, are able to introduce this amazing pink bird to noteworthy sites throughout the world and share the love! (It's hard to believe some people don't take this waymarking thing seriously isn't it???)


My resolution for the new year is to look as phabulous as I possible can and to not fall off of signs when I am put there. I would say it is to blog more regularly, but I have to rely on either Rick or Diane for that. 

Happy New Year!

Philbert--the newest phlock members and me...the uncle