Still Watching the Martins
I have been watching for them all week. Sometimes their house looks very empty, with no signs of life anywhere around it. Other times there is a great deal of flitting and darting about. Occasionally, there are little heads sticking out of the holes with a guard standing by.
A couple a days last week we had very high winds. Waves crashing on the shore, dark, cold, dismal days. If they were there, they stayed inside. Only the big birds; sea gulls and crows were out catching rides on the wind currents.
Sunday morning I looked out and there was a starling standing on their roof. I thought that would be the end of the Martin occupancy.
Monday morning was bright, sunny and warm. I was working out in my garden and I heard twittering. Authentic twittering! I looked over and was pleased to see two little heads poking out and a guard on duty. There were others flying about as well, so I hope they are there to stay. Guess I will have to keep watching. Wish I could be a guard too to protect them.
Its almost like a song . . .
Waking up early in the bright morning to see the lake like a sheet of glimmering glass. All is silent except for a crow that waits, watching… wanting to catch a fish but doesnt know how.
Its almost like a song. . .
Splash! A seagull dives and captures his breakfast. . . breaks up the glossy water with a fish that is too big to handle. He tries, flutters and digs, the fish fighting a losing war. The crow leaves, looking for a food source he can obtain.
Yes, Its almost like a song. . .
Knowing that in another hour a breeze will more ripples in the water and cause the bright sun to dance across them to welcome another day on the lake.
Almost like the song!
Posted in Nature Lovers by .
May 09
11
Watching the Martins
Free Room and Board in The Purple Martin House
Our neighbour has a Purple Martin house which he cleans every year and reinstalls each year with the high expectation of full occupancy. Some years the house has been fully occupied within hours of its installation.
Last year, while the hatchlings were too young to fly, a smart raccoon somehow scaled the pole and raided the nest. Then, the starlings came and attached what was left. It was sad. Baby bird parts scattered all over the lawns. The adults that escaped the massacre left mid season and did not return.
This year in mid April the house went up, but there was no activity. About a week later I spotted two sub-adults checking it out. They were flitting in and out and around, the flitted away and did not return.
I watched and watched, the starlings watched along with me, to no avail. Today, I thought I heard the Martin twitter, and sure enough, there they were, this time there was one standing on guard and one in the house. I have been watching for 3 hours off and on and they are still there. This is a good sign. I will keep watch.
Posted in Nature Lovers by .
May 09
10
My Mom
A mother lives to love
Gives you the legs to walk
Helps you grow wings to fly like a dove
Mothers all sing a song
A song that echoes through the hallways of life
Into the sea of motherly care flows her melody of no wrong
Mom gives her sole to you from the first breath you take
She wants nothing in return accept to know you have flown away from the nest
Her gentle touch, inspiration of happiness and kind regard will never break
The love of your mother
Shows you your place with a reason for being
She shows you how to love another
Mom, it is you that has shown me who I am
Your warm smile and caring hands give me all the strength I need
I love you mom and thank you for making me a man.
Your Son,
Robert Kennedy
Posted in We Need to Feel Good by .
Apr 08
15
What Makes a Great Logo?
Why a Great Logo is Important
The finest logos are often more memorable than the words we speak. Your logo is an extension of your brand. The best logos are memory hooks about a business or company that are all hung in one closet together- your logo. If you allow a professional to design your logo they will form the graphic handshake that you make in your viewers minds. The greatest logos are always remembered due to the high impact value they carry. Prepared properly it will stand out against all the other image icons people see in a given day.
Example How to Make Great Bakery Logos
You can get great bakery logo ideas from cake images or cute flowers that usually go along with it.
Take a look at your Bakerys beautiful and delicious gift items and try to envision all those cookies, chocolate-dipped treats, cakes and cupcakes a designer that customizes and designs logos could use. Many of the products sold in a bakery are great for holiday and corporate gifting ideas to businesses. If that is your target, the logo designer should be aware of that. If there are chains and trendy eateries it is also part of what a graphic artist needs to be aware of in order to highly personalize your icon.
Posted in Color and Logos by .
Apr 08
11
Make Instant Simple Logos
Ways of Expressing your Big picture
How to make Many Simple Logos in Minutes
Scribble, jot,jot, scribble
Thats usually a great place to start when you are trying to develop a personalized iconic representation known as a logo. After the sketching and brain storming what happens? To be honest its where most people hand it off to a professional graphic designer. Thats usually a wise choice, but is it necessary?
With 3 Every day Tools and you can create unlimited logos for free:
1) Adobe Illustrator
2) Clip Art
3) A brain
Posted in Design Logos by .
Fitting It All Together
Believe it or not, whether you are a small business entrepreneur or a Fortune 500 conglomerate, branding is part and parcel of your advertising efforts. It doesn’t matter if you’re operating on a very limited budget, your organization and the products and services you offer have a brand.
So what is a brand? It is everything you have that creates that distinct impression in your clients and prospects. Whether it’s in the way you provide customer service, or how you design your full color brochures, or even what kind of brochure printing method you apply it all boils down to your kind of brand, which makes a positive or negative impact on your readers.
Posted in Branding Logos by .
The Importance Of A Strong Logo
Size does matter. Even if you dont have the size of your company to show for it.
Being a small company doesnt mean that you should settle for what you can afford with very limited budget. Or that you should work on what you have and make it work to your advantage, such as your agility and innovative qualities.
To successfully create a brand that will work not only for you but most importantly for your target audience, it takes a big effort on your part. Lets face it, big companies are successful marketers because they offer an image that makes it easy for customers and clients to rely on them. Often, big companies project an image of stability and strength that clients and prospects believe that they could trust these companies to deliver on their word.
One of the things that clients look for when they see a companys image is whether they would feel comfortable relinquishing the responsibility of fulfilling their needs. Therefore, if your print ads such as your marketing brochures dont look like theyre strong enough to handle the responsibility, youll definitely lose your leads to your competitors.
Posted in Good Logo Design by .
Jan 08
17
Staying Connected to Your Clients
Why Keeping In Touch Works
Postcard marketing is definitely a great strategy to increase product recognition and retention. Even if your target customers consider your postcards as junk, and that what you have to offer is not important, there will come a time that your prospective client would be able to recognize and remember your name for the sheer irritation of getting your postcard printing pieces in the mail.
This is the reason why most successful businesses use their resources and time to send as many postcards as possible on a regular basis to boot. It is for the simple reason that repetitive marketing works a lot. Many business owners would affirm that repeat mailings are effective marketing strategy to have if you want to grow your business.
I remember from years past a TV commercial about a toothpaste. It was so irritating that every time it comes on the tube I would immediately change channels just to skip the tv ad. The commercial was so bad and the acting even that I was able to remember the brand and the commercial itself so that I’ll be able to tell my friends about it. In fact, I intentionally tried to remember the brand of the toothpaste and made sure that I never bought it in the supermarket.
Posted in Marketing by .
Is Your Business Card a Keeper
Your business card printing piece is an extension of your workplace. Your business card tells the people you hand it to about the kind of office or company you work for. Or if you are a business owner, it tells your contacts about the kind of business you operate and how you operate it. It may even offer a glimpse of who you are. In short, a business card is not just a piece of paper that you hand out, but this piece of paper tells so much about you.
Grab a card now from your wallet or your business card holder and just look at it while I list down some of the things that you might want to know or consider about this important piece of paper.
Posted in Marketing by .
What to Expect from Your Logo Designer
by: Angelina OConnor
I recently had my website designed, and my new logo created for my company. I would like to use it, but my printer cant use the file he gave me! I just got business cards printed from it, but they didnt look good. I dont know what to do.
A frustrated business owner recently came to me with this problem. I told him to calm down, I can redraw the logo in a program where he can use it, and it will always look professional. He was relieved, but didnt like the idea of having to pay for the logo – AGAIN. It has been my personal experience that it is easy to get the wrong type of art when you purchase a logo design. IThis was not the first business owner that came to me with this exact problem. Beware – the Internet Designer!! They design for the web. This is not a bad thing, they have some really cool programs and will build you an awesome website. But when it comes to your logo, you may want to create a brochure, or business cards, or a banner for a show. You will either have to live with a pixilated and unprofessional logo, or pay someone else to fix it for you. (You know when you look at a printed piece and the edges should be clean lines but come out fuzzy, or jagged – that is pixilated)
~Dont be afraid to ask questions~
What I aim to do is arm you with basic knowledge about graphic lingo, files types and what you should ask for from your designer.
Posted in Design Logos by .
