Author: Rich Horner

  • Hummingbirds Galor

    Hummingbirds Galor

    September 10, 2026 From Our Back Porch The hummingbirds are migrating back south, stopping over here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to fuel up before crossing the Gulf of Mexico — and we have hummers galore. I think this is the most we’ve had in the three-plus years we’ve lived here. We have seven feeders…

  • A Buff-breasted Sandpiper & Back Bay Blvd Residence

    A Buff-breasted Sandpiper & Back Bay Blvd Residence

    September 6, 2026 Patty, the kids, and I had our Sunday morning breakfast at Fat Spoon. Midway through, Patty got word of a sighting on the coast in Biloxi — a Buff-breasted Sandpiper on the large lawn in front of Harrah’s. They’re an unusual bird and a species of growing conservation concern. And a life…

  • Protected: Muscadine Grapes, Pears and Old Friends

    Protected: Muscadine Grapes, Pears and Old Friends

    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

  • Morning in the Gulf of Mexico

    Morning in the Gulf of Mexico

    August 30, 2026 Good morning world. A few mornings ago, Baby Girl, Rascal and I launched the Bird Barge at Biloxi Harbor around four-thirty in the morning; our purpose was to greet the sunrise. We headed out around the west end of Deer Island toward the shrimp boats. There were four of them working out…

  • Looking After: A Son’s Memoir

    Looking After: A Son’s Memoir

    By John Daniel Genre: Memoir / Literary Non-Fiction Core Themes: Aging, Alzheimer’s/Dementia, Filial Duty, Memory, and the Oregon Landscape Categories: The Human Condition & The Burden of Observation 📖 No-Spoiler Synopsis Looking After documents the final years of John Daniel’s mother, Zay, as her mind gradually succumbs to the relentless progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Moving…

  • Sunrise Over Fort  Bayou – 8/22/26

    Sunrise Over Fort Bayou – 8/22/26

    As many of you know, I love sunrises and love to photograph them, and you may have noticed most are over water. From our location on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, on the northern edge of the Gulf of Mexico, we only have winter sunrises from the south. Occasionally I will take the Bird Barge out…

  • Closing the Four-Hour Blind Spot: AI’s Growing Role in Continuous Monitoring

    Closing the Four-Hour Blind Spot: AI’s Growing Role in Continuous Monitoring

    Essay #4: Living With AI in Healthcare series Essay three ended with a promise: this piece moves from the moment of diagnosis to what happens after a patient walks out of the scanner room — how AI is starting to watch, quietly, for what happens next. You are lying in a hospital bed. A nurse…

  • Early Morning at Ward Bayou 8/13/26

    Early Morning at Ward Bayou 8/13/26

    Owls Talking to Us Patty and I were out at Ward Bayou the next morning, at the end of the road before sunrise. What a delight! There were at least four owls calling from the heavy canopy of the huge Live Oaks. We could not see them, but we could certainly hear them. Turn your…

  • An Owl at Ward Bayou  8/12/26

    An Owl at Ward Bayou 8/12/26

    August 12, 2026 Barred Owl Anyone who’s spent time with me in the field or followed MY VIEW, knows how I feel about owls — there is simply nothing quite like coming across one. Yesterday morning Patty and I headed out to Ward Bayou, a little later than usual and already hot. We’d seen plenty…

  • Through the Flood: AI’s Growing Role in Diagnosis

    Through the Flood: AI’s Growing Role in Diagnosis

    Essay #3: Living With AI in Healthcare series The Diagnostic Horizon Essay two ended with a promise: this piece turns from the conversation to the data itself — how AI is beginning to read scans, flag lab results, and catch patterns a tired pair of human eyes might miss. That promise runs up against a…