Mount Evans Goats

When I was with the NANPA group in the afternoon session, there was only one billy goat that showed up at the summit of Mount Evans. Fortunately, we got to hang around another day or so. On one of several visits to the top, a small herd of nannies and kids showed up at the bathroom area. The work crews put a de-icing salt on the walkway and the animals come in to get their salt intake. The top of Mount Evans is made up of piles of rocks - so the setting just behind the pathway is a natural setting for them.



This particular group had some yearlings as well as some new kids.



This year's kids are small, soft and look cuddly (no, I would not try it!) They stay pretty close to their moms and have a cute clear bleat when mom is too far away.




They get interupted from their salt lick as people need to go to the bathroom and retreat up the pile of rocks.



Because I was shooting in the morning, the light was coming from behind the goats, so I tried a different technique using fill flash. I did not want an obvious flash look to the photos. I'm still working on being able to use fill flash consistently. What I've learned so far is that you want your exposure settings as they would be if you were not using flash, but you have to have a shutter speed that will work with your flash unit. I was varying my shutterspeed hoping to do some stop motion - I checked and the shutter speed varied from 1/125 to 1/300. I was shutter shutter priority and I'm pretty sure I played with the exposure compensation to make sure I was not blowing out the whites. I used the ETTL (Evaluative through the lens flash metering) and I set the compensation on the flash to minus 1 1/3. Granted my batteries were probably old, but I think the fill flash worked in this situation. You don't see harsh lighting, but you do see good details in the faces in spite of the back lighting. Photo Notes has a good section on flash photography that is worth studying. I've looked at it before, but I need to keep studying this so I can have fill flash figured out better than I do now.

Photo Contests

Several years back one of the photo reviewers recommend that I start entering the large, prestigious photo contests. So each year I pick out what I think are my best images and submit to contests like the Shell BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and the Nature's Best Windland Smith Rice International Awards. The first couple of years my photos did not succeed. However, the last couple of years, they at least made it up the ladder to semi-finalist or finalist rounds.

I was recently notified by the BBC Contest that while my photos had "not succeeded" that I could log in and check on their website to see if any had made it to semi-final or finalist levels. I was pleased that three of them did make the semi-finalist level. You can see them on website.

One of these days . . . one of these days . . . I hope to make the exhibition. I'll keep trying.

Ruth Dillard, a special person

There are people in your life who are very special. Ruth Dillard was one of those folks. She was an inspiration to me on gracious living in old age. She was always smiling, always had a joke to share and always had a great attitude. Everyone at church knew Ruth and loved her. I am so glad that I saw and spoke with her at church the Sunday before we left. She will be missed!

Photo Credit: Richard Tyler

Blogs

Over the last few years, I have a morning routine of things to read on the internet. My Yahoo provides my news. Sometimes I'll head over to one of the larger newspapers or a local newspaper to check on news. This morning I checked out the Amarillo.com to read about the storms that went through last night. My mother-in-law is in a nursing home and they had to take cover in a hallway last night.

I use RSS feed that shows me on my bookmark bar when there is a new entry. That eliminates the need to open each of the blogs separately each day. I have some blogs I read that are primarily news about friends and family. I have some blogs that I read almost every day and others that I read occasionally. Here are some links (in a random order - not based upon which are my favorites) that I think would appeal to some of my readers:

Henry's Idle Thoughts, is my husband's take on what is going on around us. Partly a travel journal, partly his reflections on life, and a look at the publishing world, I read his posts not only because he is my husband but because I find it interesting to see his view of what we've been doing.

Secrets of a Lazy Trainer is written by my friend, Bettye Baldwin. She has been working with horses most of her life and is an expert animal trainer. Her blog contains amusing stories as well as practical advice about training animals which can cross over into how the same application works well with humans as well. She is also a writer of both fiction and non-fiction. She writes books about horses and articles at Helium.com.

I met Julie Zickefoose at the Festival of the Cranes. I enjoy her National Public Radio broadcasts about raising hummingbirds. Her blog varies between stories about her dog, Chet Baker, her children, her birding trips, and life in Appalachian Ohio. Her book, Letters from Eden is a delight from her beautiful artwork to the stories of life in the natural world.

I just added Mike Murphy to my RSS feed. He has retired as photo editor for Texas Highways magazine and has set up his Texas ranch for nature photographers. Currently he is in Alaska on a photo expedition. Having been to Alaska, I'm enjoying hearing about what he is seeing and doing.

David and Linda Gregersen moved from the Austin area to Zambia three years ago. I am enjoying reading about their adventures in the mission field, Africa. I especially love the application stories from their chicken coop!

Bill Crider is a mystery writer that Henry and I have known for a long time. When you set his blog up in RSS feed, expect to find lots of short posts throughout the day. He is interested in many things from mystery books, science fiction, alligators and crocodiles, movie stars. When he finds something interesting on the web, he posts the link so we can enjoy it as well.

Carolyn E. Wright is an attorney whose speciality is photographic law. Her blog is worth browsing through the entire history as there is much to learn about the legal issues related to photography.

Bill Thompson, III is editor of Bird Watcher's Digest. He is married to Julie Zickefoose. They are invited to many birdwatching events and not just in the United States. Anyone interested in birding will enjoy his blog.

Chris Nystrom is the son-in-law of one of my closest friends. His blog is ecclectic ranging from stories about his family, to the techworld, to interesting movies, and his viewpoint on current news.

Susi Lawson does not post often to her blog, but her photographic art is so beautiful that I am always interested in what she posts.

Travis Novitsky is a photographer in beautiful Minnesota. I especially love his winter scenes, but I am always inspired as I watch what he finds to photograph.

Sheila Finch is a science fiction writer we see regularly at the conventions we attend. Her books about The Guild of Xenolinguists are both fun and thought provoking.

Mount Goliath Natural Area Revisited

Bright and early Monday morning, I went back to Mount Goliath Natural Area. Henry and I were the only ones there - so different from when I went with the event. When I was there before I had done some visualization and I had some images that I wanted to try. I also wanted to explore the area at my own pace and not have to struggle to find compositions without other people or their belongings in them.

One of the images I wanted to try again was the rows of mountains against the hazy morning colors of dawn.



This one is hard to get "right" because it is hard to get the distant mountains sharp in the camera. Also each day will have different atmospherics which either provide beautiful color and great separation or the sky will be clear and the mountains in the distance are not so well defined.









This mountain bluebird couple were doing their morning preening and allowed me to get fairly close.


















This chipmunk scurried around trying to get breakfast.





















This yellow rumped warbler finally perched near enough for me to get a photo.
















This snowshoe hare was very skittish. Most of the time, when I caught sight of him, he was already making his departure.










He did give me one clear shot. But most of the time, he was in a hurry, scampering through the rocks and around the bristlecone pines.








By myself, I was in no hurry, so I had time to examine the beautiful patterns in the bristlecones. The swirls of the grain and the knots in the wood offer an infinite possibility of abstract images. Amazingly the patterns also create face-like patterns.
My what a long nose we have . . . hummmm is your name Pinnochio?









Can't you see the old man smoking his pipe here? Come on . . . use your imagination!!!!!

The Summit of Mount Evans

My afternoon excursion at the NANPA Regional Event was the summit of Mount Evans, one of Colorado's 14,000 peaks. The highest auto road in the United States winds its way to the top of the peak. Photographers know it as one of the most predictable places to photograph mountain goats.

Mountain goats and big horn sheep like to lick the de-icing salt off the path to the bathrooms. While people going to and from the bathrooms disturb them from their salt lick, they usually come right back for more. I was fortunate in getting a seat on one of the large rocks and happily spent time photographing first a billy mountain goat and then a group of big horn sheep ewes and yearling lamb.

At this time the billy goats hang out by themselves. this particular billy was skittish and left shortly after I set up.



Shortly after he left, I heard a voice cry out, "Here come the sheep!" A group of about five big horn sheep ewes and a couple of yearlings came over and began to get their salt intake. They were not perturbed by the people, but would startle onto the more photogenic rocks above the pathway.

Apparently big horn sheep bleach out their color in the winter giving them this whitish appearance and then their coats darken during the summer.



Occasionally they would scatter in the opposite direction, giving me some opportunities for photographing "wildlife in their environment." This photo gives you one of the panoramic views from the top of Mountain Evans.

Mount Evans' Bristle Cone Pines

On the first morning of the NANPA Regional Event in Colorado, my group headed up to the Mount Goliath Natural Area. We left a little after 4:30 with the intent of getting there at sunrise. The view to the east of the mountain ranges and foothills was beautiful.

Sometimes when I am at a new location, I enjoy soaking up the surroundings and figuring out what will catch my attention. I was also going a little slow as this was my first day at high elevation. It was so much fun watching all the photographers as they worked their way through the bristlecone forest, but it also made getting a composition without someone in it a little difficult. I tried some people shots, but they did not come out as well as I would have liked.





These two are my "best" of the day. I shot for high dynamic range (HDR) as the things that caught my eye seemed to be shooting into the sun. The goal of HDR is to create an image that is more as the human eye sees it. Both digital and film cameras have a limit to how much they can capture between bright and shadowed areas. Film actually has a deeper range than digital. But with photoshop and other programs, I can shoot several exposures of a scene and then combine them. While there are programs that automate this process, I do my HDR manually using layers and layer masks in photoshop. Being a control freak, this allows me to choose what I want to leave as a silhouette and where I want to bring detail out of the shadows.

Mount Evans - Sunday

I'm going to be posting things "out of order." After the Regional Event we checked out of our hotel and headed over to a different hotel in Idaho Springs. I can't say that my photos today are "great." But I enjoyed identifying the American Pipet.



I had a lot of fun with this marmot:



Another marmot peaked its head over the rock to check on things:



As we were driving down the mountain, we noticed several cars stopped and were thrilled to see a herd of mountain goats. I counted at least 12. I got to watch a lone billy cross the road. It was fun to watch him jump out of the snowbank. My camera was pointed up the mountain so I missed that shot.

The lighting was not great, but I had fun taking the shots of the goats. Here is one of the better ones - cropped down:

Passion

I'm up in Colorado at the North American Nature Photographer's Regional Event. It is so much fun to be around a group of photographers. They are very passionate about what they are seeing and the beauty of what they are trying to capture with their cameras.

I enjoy the photographic opportunities, but I also enjoy getting to meet new people and hearing their stories.

Photos to follow . . . .

Early Morning Wakeup

We got into Evergreen, Colorado this afternoon. I'm here for the North American Nature Photographer's Colorado Regional Summit, "The Alpine World of the Colorado Rockies."

Tomorrow I'll be going with Craig Lewis to the top of Mount Goliath to photograph the bristlecone pines. We are driving away from the hotel at 4:30 in the morning to be at the top of the mountain before sunrise. My wakeup call comes at 3:00 in the morning.

I've brought long sleeved t-shirts, my wool sweater, corduroy pants, wool socks, gloves, and my wool hat. I got off without my winter coat, but I borrowed a jacket from my mother-in-law's house.

Yes, I've come into this event tired, but I am looking forward to getting out tomorrow. I'm hoping for a gorgeous sunrise!

Blessings

As I've been reading my daily psalms recently, I've found several that have beautiful blessings. I often use the psalms or other scriptures as a basis for prayer.

Here are two that I encouraged me recently:

Psalms 122:6-9
May those who love you be secure
May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels
For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, "Peace be with you."
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.

Psalms 128
Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways.
You will eat the fruit of your labor;
Blessings and prosperity will be yours.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
Your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.
Thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,
and may you live to see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel.

When I think on these beautiful blessings, I find it useful to make them more meaningful in my prayers by substituting my family's names or my city or country.
For example:
May I see the prosperity of my country and prosperity for the world. . . Peace be upon the world!

May those who love me be secure: my mother-in-law, my children, my friends, etc.

I wish these beautiful blessings on all my readers today.

Update on Yellowstone's Bison and Montana's cattle industry

Sigh . . . Despite all the effort of the state of Montana and the cattle industry, Montana has lost its brucellosis-free status. From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle comes the information that the owner of the cow did everything "right." The cow had been vaccinated twice and was part of a herd management plan. For the unfortunate owner, the entire herd may have to be slaughtered. For all of Montana, all cattle over 18 months old shipped out of state must be tested for brucellosis thirty days before shipping. For cattle owners on tight budgets this will be costly. Plus there had been plans to ship cattle to Russia that will now have to be scrapped costing Montana ranchers a new market for their livestock.

But, what is worse, to me it means that all those Yellowstone bison were slaughtered "for nothing." Montana still lost its brucellosis-free status. Bison were not the cause of this latest case.

From Robert Hoskin's comment on "Ralph Maughan's Wildlife News," the bison census numbers seem to show that from a population last summer of 4300, the current population may only be as few as 1300-1400 left after the natural winter kill and the slaughter. If my math is correct that means we lost 67% of Yellowstone's bison this past winter!

Brucellosis is truly an issue for the cattle industry.The Bozeman Daily Chronicle has another excellent article about how it will affect the ranchers. And not all ranchers are "big business." Many are just small family ranches with a few hundred head. But killing 2300 bison did not prevent the problem. With winter conditions still present in the park (Hayden Valley still had snow cover as of last week with minimal grass growth) more bison may die of natural causes. Bison are herd animals and the social groups have certainly been disrupted by the slaughter of family and herd groups. It will take awhile for their numbers to increase.

Further, I've read stories of property owners near the park who wanted to allow the bison on their lands. However, despite their efforts, their property rights were violated as helicopters and horsemen hazed the bison through their lands to get them back in the park.

Folks, this is just not a pretty picture anyway you look at it.

Memorable People

My mother-in-law has been in a skilled care facility for about a month now. This is our second run up to the panhandle to visit and hopefully give moral support to the family here. We have begun to meet some of the people that are in her unit. Most are elderly.

There is one lady there who seems close to my age. I generally see her with her husband pushing her wheel chair around. What impresses me is her attitude. When we greet people, we usually say, "Hi! How are you today?" She always answers you with a big smile and says, "I'm wonderful!"

I don't know her story. I can tell her husband is very attentive (which also impresses me). I don't know if she is in rehab because of a car accident, an illness, a fall, or whether she is living there as a long term resident. But that bright smile, that friendly look in what don't seem to me to be the best of circumstances for someone my age, tells me she sees the world differently than I do sometimes. She seems to be very happy.

Phillippians 4 tells us to "Rejoice in the Lord always!"

From Habbakuk: 3:17-19
17Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.

This happy lady in the wheel chair is a blessing and an inspiration to me. I hope I can find that deep well of joy when it becomes my time to deal with physical problems.

Yellowstone's Wolves

I keep browsing the Yellowstone sites as part of my heart is there. On The Yellowstone Net Discussion forums today I found these amazing photos of wolves on a "kill." Jaime and Lisa Johnson came across these wolves very near the road. These are some of the best wolf shots I've seen.

Wish I could have been there.

Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area

Henry and I have both been feeling a little cooped up so we decided to go out for a drive on our anniversary. I had some business I needed to take care of in Fredericksburg so we headed in that direction.

The highlight of the day was sunset at Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area. Amazingly enough this is the smallest wildlife management area in Texas (16.1 acres) with the most mammals of any wildlife management area. At the peak of the summer bat season, over 3 million Mexican Free tailed bats live in the old railroad tunnel. Each night volunteers give a presentation about the bats before it is time for the bats to leave for the nightly hunt. Thursday through Sunday there is a lower observation area open for a small fee to get a closer look at the bats during the exodus.

We arrived early and I got a front row seat with my big lens. There were a couple of hawks, one a red tailled hawk, who were cruising the area. The volunteer thought the presence of the raptors might be a signal that the bats would leave early. I was watching the hawk soaring when all of a sudden it tucked its wings in and did a spectacular nose dive. Sure enough the first bats were exiting the tunnel!



When I first set up my big Sigma lens, I was afraid it was going to be too big. Light was not great, so I chose a high ISO so I could keep my shutter speed fast enough to get stop motion on the bats. My goal was to get some close shots as they exited the tunnel. I was also hoping to get shots of the big picture - the patterns of the bats as they spiraled up in the sky before dispersing for their feeding.



The females and young have not yet taken up residence in the tunnel, so the spectacular show of the bats lasted only about 13 minutes. When we were there later in the year, I think it took 45 minutes for all of the bats to leave the tunnel.

I was actually glad we were on the upper deck, because I think i got better shots of the bats and the surrounding landscape. But i would also like to go back with the Canon 100-400 lens and get some shots from the lower deck. No flash is allowed, so I'm hoping to go in July or early August and hope that the bats will be leaving before it gets too dark.

Truly an amazing spectacle to see the sky so filled with these small amazing creatures.

Our thoughts matter!

As you know, I try to start my mornings outside with my binoculars, my bird book, my devotional books, and my Bible. Often the thoughts from the books work together to remind me of some important truths that relate to what is going on in my life right now.

My readings today:
Mary Engelbreit, Just Be Happy!

If you observe a really happy man, you will find . . that he is happy in the course of living life twenty four crowded hours of each day.


“We are what we think.
All that we are arises
With our thoughts.
With our thoughts,
We make our world.”
-- The Buddha

From Grace Notes by Alexandra Stoddard:

Inaction snaps the vigor of the mind . . .:
Leonardo da Vinci

Nothing makes one more tired than just sitting around purposelessly. That's quite different from sittig in solitude when we can daydream in peace and then spring into action. Our minds need to be occupied not to feel sluggish.

Often unrelated actions or thoughts trigger concentration. Something kicks in, like an electrical charger. The mind is an amazing electrical appliance. Plug it in and it goes.

From a few days ago in Nancy Rotenberg's Photography and the Creative Life:
"Television, artificial ingredients, polyester, and email to mention a few, can all narcotize creativity and immobilize any artist. Consider limiting these benumbing environments."

I have always believed that what we say to ourselves matters. If we tell ourselves that we can do something, we probably will be able to do it. If we tell ourselves that something is impossible, that we can't do it, that often becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Many years ago when I was a girl in Girl Scouts, my troop leader had a saying: "Can't can't do anything but fall in a bucket of paint." Needless to say, we were not allowed to say "I can't do it - it's too hard, " in Girl Scouts.

Now obviously, it won't work if I tell myself I can jump off a cliff and fly, but I think we often contribute to our failures by negative thinking. I also think that we have some measure of control over our attitudes.

Lately, I've found myself being pessimistic. I know I'm not getting everything done that "needs" to be done. I've also found myself doing the kinds of mind numbing things that Nancy talks about - checking my email too frequently, browsing websites repeatedly during the day, playing cute but repetitive internet games. Plus, there have been legitimate things to grieve over, things that are unlikely to get better. But I don't want to live my life as a pessimist. I want to cultivate positive attitudes. I want to be a "can do" person. Today's readings were certainly helpful to me.

Further research on the internet (for this blog) brought these gems:

“We become what we think about.”
-- Earl Nightingale

“Our lives are defined by our convictions of who we are.”
-- Anthony Robbins

“Man is what he believes.”
-- Anton Chekhov

"Dwell in thought upon the grandest,
And the grandest you shall see;
Fix your mind upon the highest,
And the highest you shall be.''
unknown

Christian minister, Norman Vincent Peale, wrote The Power of Positive Thinking, an entire book and built his ministry around the benefits of being positive and upbeat.

Going to the scriptures validated this line of thought:

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he , , ,
Proverbs 23:7 (King James Version)

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ . . .
2 Corinthians 10:5


Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things . . .
Philippians 4:8,9


***********************

I want to be remembered as someone who is cheerful, fun to be around, and capable. I don't want to be remembered as a pessimist, a grouch, or a negative person. I believe I have a choice and I choose joy!

Mining Issues

I suspect you could call me a voracious internet reader, but I suspect that there are others who really spend more time than I do. I generally only read blogs from people that I have met or with whom I am friends. I met Julie Zickefoose at the Festival of the Cranes at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. I was fascinated with her stories of caring for hummingbird chicks and swift chicks. I have enjoyed the beautiful artwork and the stories in her book Letters from Eden. So I added her to my list of blogs that I regularly read. Her last two posts are important to share: Mountaintop Removal Mining and How it all works.

I've been a regular visitor to Colorado since I was a young girl. I have enjoyed the rustic old mining ghost towns with their dilapidated houses and sluices. It represents a time in history when we thought everything was unlimited. We were not as aware of what the process of digging out ore did to the streams. There are a number of streams that still run red and orange from mining in the past. To our credit, there are a few areas that have really been cleaned up and revegetated. There is even one stream that used to be red that is now clear. But the residue remains on the stream bed.

In my local area in Texas, Alcoa runs a big mining operation near Rockdale. I know that one of the leaders in Girl Scouts used to set up tours. Historically this area has produced lignite, oil, and aluminum. It claims: "Today not only does the mine produce more than six million tons of lignite annually, it manages an extensive, award-winning reclamation program in the effort to restore the land to a condition that is equal to or better than it was before mining."

Texas rolling blackland prairie is going to be much easier to reclaim and revegetate than West Virginia mountain tops.

I foolishly thought we had more protections in place to protect our environment. I don't see any of our presidential candidates taking stands and talking about what they would do to protect our environment.

I realize that this is still "heresy" but part of me wishes that we had done more with nuclear energy. There has only been one major accident (Chernobyl) and a minor incident at Three Mile Island. I know that we have not figured out what to do with the waste, but so much of the research ended as well. The other issue is certainly what developing countries would do with nuclear power plants and waste with their much more limited budgets. There is a part of me that wonders whether global warming would be as much of an issue if our power plants were nuclear rather than coal and if we had developed a way to run our cars with clean electrical batteries or hydrogen fuels.

There are so many jokes about technologies that "big business" has buried to protect their own interests. I so want to believe that we as humans are smarter than that.

Wind power is clean with at least 30 years of research. We still have to be careful to protect view corridors and migrating birds, but I am hearing good things about the possibilities ahead of us with wind energy. It seems to me to be a lot better than tearing down mountains and fouling streams.

La Meute de Druides

From the Yellowstone Net Discussion groups, I found this link: Wolf footage, "La Meute de Druides." This is an amazing short film showing wolf behavior from the hunt seeking an elk, the chase of the herd, and final success. Note the magpies and ravens that benefit from the kill. A coyote comes in showing how much difference in size wolves and coyotes are. Nine minutes of amazing closeup footage of the wolves. Technically I wonder how they did it - was it digiscoped - do they make digiscoping equipment for video cameras? If not what kind of lens would that require to get such marvelous closeups?

Note: I, for one, did have an emotional reaction when the wolves finally got an elk, but . . . it is part of the natural cycle. And there is vegetation that is returning along some of the stream beds because the elk have altered their behavior because of the wolves. For nature lovers, this clip is well worth watching.

Austin Lyric Opera presents "The Bat"

Right after my mom died, I chose to get season tickets to the Austin Lyric Opera partly to honor her memory. My mom loved opera. As a kid, I will have to say that opera music did not "grab" me - it seemed boring. With the season tickets, I found that watching opera live on stage is a very different experience than listening to opera on a record player at home. Opera singers can do amazing things with their voices - it is a very different style of singing. Most operas are written in European languages, but with the subtitles over the stage and the actors' movements, it is easy to understand what you are seeing.

Once we started our years of travel, I discontinued the season tickets. We were never in the right place at the right time. But yesterday, my daughter called. They had tickets for the performance of "The Bat" last night, but Jonathan did not feel like driving all the way into Austin. I had heard from one of my friends that this particular presentation was going to be fun . . . they had moved the setting of the opera into the present day. When I looked up "The Bat," I realized that this was going to be a lot of fun. Austin Lyric Opera had collaberated with Esther's Follies to produce a new version of Johann Strauss, Die Fledermaus. While I've never been to a performance by Esther's Follies, I knew they have been performing on 6th Street for years. The setting had moved from 18th century Vienna to modern day Austin. What an intriguing idea!

So . . . Debra and I went . . . the exciting tale of getting there is worthy of a blog entry on its own, but suffice it to say, she and I arrived at our seats at the exact moment that the orchestra began to play the overture. Then the fun began!

Having lived in Austin two thirds of my life, it was so much fun to hear the "in" jokes as the story unfolded. The lyricist did an incredible job creating English lyrics with modern jokes that worked so well with Strauss' music. My daughter and I would love to get a soundtrack of the music and lyrics.

"The Bat" is creative, funny, and unique. Be warned, it is modern sometimes rawkous humor, but I found it light and enjoyable. Austinites will recognize some of the characters portrayed at the party in the second act. Another innovative feature is the perfomances from local musicians during the party. Each day's performance will be unique as the the acts will be different for each show.

The link above to "The Bat" has a trailer that gives a great overview and background with stills from the production that will give you a taste of how cool this really is. While I suspect this will surface again, it really is a limited run - so you need to see it now.

For those of you with more money available there are before and after events that look like fun as well.

This is uniquely Austin at its best! Don't miss it!

The joys of Yellowstone

I find myself thinking about this time last year when we were in Yellowstone experiencing all the joy of nature there - the bears and their cubs, the coyote pups, the owl chicks, the wolves, and the natural beauty there. Each day was always a new adventure as we drove the roads looking for wildlife. After discovering the Yellowstone Newspaper and the Yellowstone Net Discussion Forums I continued to enjoy Yellowstone activities and events vicariously.

I still dream of going to Yellowstone in the winter months and driving the north road hoping to see the wolves bounding along near the road in the snow.

I sometimes wonder if people who have never been to Yellowstone or who have never spent time with the wolf watchers understand how much these wild wolves have come to mean to the people that spend so much time watching, studying, and enjoying these wild creatures.

We've been there several times since the wolves were reintroduced. The first time they were still heavily monitoring the pack movements with the radio collars. You could count on the presence of the people with the monitoring antenaes in the upper end of Lamar Valley. Not only could you listen to them talk to themselves about where the wolves were, they knew each one individually.

Through the years, you can still find the wolf watchers, although their location varies. There is a lingo (I don't know it) about the different watching sites in Lamar Valley - names like trashcan (for a long removed trash can landmark). My personal favorite watching spots involve a hike up a steep hill to get a better look at one of the older denning sites. I have very special memories of watching a morning reunion of the pack there.

I went to those sites last year. One morning there was a group of people and I got a good look at the wolves through my binoculars. The next morning I found myself up in position by myself. I was rewarded by a short wolf siting as they entered the older den area.

From the Yellowstone Newspaper today, I found Kathie Lynch's blog that echoes this inexplicable wonder from one of the wolf enthusiasts at Yellowstone. She uses words so eloquently to describe wolf activities she just witnessed. It will inspire you to make the trek to see these wonders yourself.

Most people who go to Yellowstone are on a tight time deadline. They have a few days to see a huge park. A large number of people go through on a bus that will show them the highlights, but will probably not give them very much time to wait and hope to see one of the elusive wolves. And even when you know where you are likely to spot an individual wolf or the pack, you wont' get a sighting every time.

And perhaps this unpredictable reinforcer of sometimes getting to see the wolves and sometimes not makes each sighting that much more special. I can truthfully say that there is something extremely joyful about spotting that elusive wolf (or bear) going about its natural activities. For me, watching the animals in Yellowstone feeds something within my spirit.

It is unlikely that I will get to return this summer, but I treasure the extended time I had in Yellowstone this time last year.

Wolves in the News

428 Wolves, a New York Times article came across my "radar" this afternoon. As we have travelled across the United States, we generally find that we did not know very much about the local and regional news. As I follow the Yellowstone Newspaper links I generally see articles from local papers around Yellowstone and Grand Teton. But right now it really pleases me when I see either the wolf issues or the bison issues make the larger papers such as the New York Times. Yellowstone wolves and Yellowstone bison are national treasures. But for the average person, they are not only out of sight out of mind, many have never gotten to experience the thrill of seeing these amazing creatures in the wild. Bison have always been easy to find in Yellowstone and even with the greatly reduced numbers this year, I suspect most park visitors will get to see either one or a herd. But the Yellowstone wolves require more effort and some knowledge about where to go in the park, when to be there, and how to look for them. Yes, some people will be lucky enough to get a chance look when a wolf crosses the road, but that is the exception rather than the rule.

While I can understand the ranching interests (more so about wolves than the bison), I also believe that it is important to keep the greater Yellowstone ecosystem healthy.

We visited Yellowstone while they were in the planning stages for the wolf reintroduction. I remember how few wolves were in the lower 48 states. Only Minnesota and Michigan had wolf populations. From the reintroduction, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming (and perhaps Colorado) now have wolf populations. However, if the hunts progress as planned, the genetic diversity will be reduce, the wolves will only exist within the Yellowstone Park Boundaries.

I would love to see the protection for the bison and the wolves to be extended to include the federal lands that surround Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. And perhaps, we need to be sure that the ranchers whose livestock on private lands that have been killed by wolves are reimbursed. I'll be radical here . . . if ranchers want to lease public land around Yellowstone for cattle, then they need to accept wolf predation as a normal cost of doing business. I don't know the current status, but it used to be that the leases for federal lands were significantly less than leases on private land.

Yellowstone is a unique treasure. It draws tourists from all over the world. The local economy benefits from these visitors. This area was set aside to be preserved for future generations to marvel, to appreciate, to enjoy, and to learn about nature.

I hope more large newspapers pick up these stories, so that people all over the United States can be more aware of the issues involving our national parks.

A Primitive Society - still untouched

We live in such a global society - we hear news from around the world. When we visited Zambia, cell phones were common. I heard that the people in the villages knew where to stand to get reception. We have surveillance satellites that are continually sending images of all parts of the world. So I was a little surprised to see this news article this morning:
" Uncontacted Brazilian tribe found."

It is amazing to think of these people, living as their ancestors did with no contact with the modern world. But my mind wonders: "Surely they saw the plane that took their photos. Do they know about the world outside their tribe? Have they chosen to continue the traditions of their ancestors or is it truly all they know?"

In a prior age, when such hidden people were found, anthropologists would want to study them and their culture. Today the government is protecting their existence. It sounds as though this group is actually from Peru and has been driven across the border from illegal logging.

After viewing the photos, some of my questions were answered. They undoubtedly saw the plane, you can see their arrows raised to protect their people from the people in the plane.

Their village looks to be a beautiful forest. They have a different struggle to live each day than I do - hunting and farming and providing for themselves, subsistence living. I'm sure they work much harder than I do for their basic necessities.

I see lots of story ideas here, lots of questions in my mind, and a sense of awe and amazement that there could really be societies still untouched by the modern world. And I wonder what will happen to the people over the long term. Will they continue their subsistence living or will they eventually be dragged into the modern world as civilization creeps out into the tropical rain forests?

Appreciating Today

I think it is partly my age . . . several of my friends have cancer, one was hospitalized (and released, thank God) for possible heart issues. Some of my friends have died. The generation just ahead of me is making that transition from independent living to assisted living or have already passed on into their heavenly home. I've had my share of injuries, from a fall through the ceiling, to sledding accidents, falls on ice, etc that leave me with joints that are sometimes cranky with me.

The fall through the ceiling from the attic to the ground floor was the most serious. I injured my back and spent most of the summer sitting in a chair. But that fall could have been fatal . . . I will always believe that if I had been turned differently when I fell that I would have hit my head on the stone hearth. When I first landed, the thought went through my head that I could end up paralyzed. The next thought that went through my head was that whatever had occurred, God was with me and that it WOULD be OK. During the first week, each day I could do something that I was unable to do the day before. When I went in for the office visit a week later, I envied the people that could walk normally across the room. As I continued my recovery, life had a joy because I was able to do something, or be somewhere. By the end of the summer, I was able to travel. I had tears in my eyes when we were at the Wolf Creek Ski area. During the fall, I was so glad to be able to go to the football games and watch my son play his first season of football. I was grateful for so many things. Life itself was joyful . . . I was so glad to be alive and able to walk and able to do things with my family. It is hard to describe that special feeling when you've had something major, something life threatening happen and you have lived through it.

I have a photoshop student who has been fighting cancer for a number of years. When I first met him, he was weak and in need of a bone marrow transplant. Without the transplant, his days were numbered. I've been following his progress on Caring Bridge. The bone marrow transplant has been successful, his energy and vitality are returning. His posts have been very encouraging to me because they are reminders to treasure life each day. It is so easy to get stuck in a rut . . . going about our daily routines, maybe wishing we were doing something else. But, life is precious, life is fragile, and life is transient. We are human, we forget.

When I read Joel's posts, the memory of how precious life felt that summer after the fall rises to the surface. I want to rediscover that joy and wonder and appreciation of how good it really is to be alive and relatively healthy.

Doldrums

According to Wikipedia, Doldrums is a word that comes from an area of the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Interestingly enough the area can have heavy squalls, thunderstorms, and hurricanes as well as the times when the wind disappears altogether. We usually think of weather in the Doldrums as days on end where the sailors were trapped because there was not enough wind to power their sails. When we say we are in the doldrums, we usually are describing states of listlessness, despondency, inactivity, stagnation, or a slump. Writers often talk about "writer's block" that window when the words just won't flow. Psychologists would use the word depression.

A couple of days ago, my chapter from Nancy Rotenberg's book "Photography and the Creative Life" referred to just such a phase in a photographer's life. The main topic for the chapter was "Fear" those things that we allow to discourage our creative pursuits. I was encouraged by these words: "Just knowing that the process of art is cyclical and has a rhythm of ups and downs is reassuring when you hit one of those down times." During those down times, unproductive times, it is so easy to get discouraged, to feel that you are "failing." Nancy prefers to refer to this as "a seasonal interlude - a temporary pause in the flow-a speed bump." She used the season "winter" as a good description - a time when "we're cold and the juices aren't flowing." But I love the rest of this comparison. Winter is a time of dormancy, a preparation in the soil for the next season.

I've been in a winter season. I can list the causes - deaths of friends and family this year, watching the aging process with its ultimate deterioration of mind and body, the need to curtail the extensive travel we've enjoyed, the seemingly long process to become established as a photographer and writer, the large number of tedious tasks that need to be done around the house and yard . . . all of these can rob my creative energy.

If you are in the doldrums right now, I hope these words from Nancy will cheer you as they cheered me:
"Instead of running away from the dark times, give yourself permission to be in winter's shadow. You need to be allowed to feel vulnerable, weak, afraid, and weepy. Ultimately, you want to know who you are and that includes your dark side. It is in that authentic self that you should be living and sharing."

Everyone has cycles of ups and downs, cycles of great productivity and not such productive times, cycles of joy and sorrow, cycles of sickness and health. Ecclesiastes refers to this: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."

Patience is an important component as we go through these cycles. I find encouragement and wisdom from Nancy's chapter: "Have faith that winter will not go on forever and the energy of spring and growth will soon be with you."

Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve

When my daughter was a student at Pepperdine, she lived one year in the San Fernando Valley in Encino. When we visited here there I discovered a wonderful area for nature photography: The Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Refuge.
The Los Angeles Parks website provides a wonderful history of how this refuge came to be and how much work has been put into providing habitat.

My memories are that it was a wonderful place. Near one of the major water treatment plants and along a natural waterway, Los Angeles has created a wonderful greenbelt area. As part of the water treatment plant, a beautiful Japanese garden was built with beautiful walkways, waterfalls, a pavilion and wonderful plants. The Nature Preserve consists of several ponds and lakes, walkways, and various habitats. I enjoyed watching white pelicans landing and fishing, cormorants, herons, egrets, and ducks along the water. I never got a chance to explore the treed areas for songbirds.

Nearby is Balboa Park with Lake Balboa now called Anothony C. Beilenson Park. I was amazed at this wonderful lake and recreation area all watered by reclaimed water. I would love for my home area, Hutto to do something as creatively beautiful when they build their next needed (soon) sewage treatment plant.

I've had the headlines from the Los Angeles Times on "My Yahoo" page since Debra was in college. So when I saw the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve in the headlines, I had to read the story.

While I understand the traffic issues in the Los Angeles area, it sure seems a shame to me to destroy part of this wonderful natural area just to add more traffic lanes or a different artery. I believe that people benefit from time they spend in nature whether it is in their gardens in their backyard, in a city park, a forest, near a stream, the ocean, or a wildlife preserve. The Sepulveda area was set aside long ago, while there was still open space. Now, open space in the LA area is at a premium. Houses and apartments surround this park and wildlife area.

I don't live out there, I don't have influence out there, but I sure hope that the plan that would leave this wildlife area intact is the one that is used.

The New Indiana Jones Movie

We went to see the new Indiana Jones movie this evening. It is a lot of fun to watch Indy back in action. Yes, Harrison Ford has aged (haven't we all?) Karen Allen did a great job reprising her role from the first movie. Lots of action, lots of special effects.

I will have to say my favorite is still Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Since I don't want to do any "spoiling" I'll just conclude that if you enjoyed the other Indiana Jones movies, you will enjoy this one.

P.S. The opening shots were filmed in areas that looked familiar to us from our travels in New Mexico. And when they first started the waterfall sequence, I thought for a moment that it was Victoria Falls. From the credits, it must be a waterfall somewhere in Hawaii.

This Old Brain just ain't what she used to be . . .

From Bill Crider's blog today: comes a link from the New York Times: Older Brain may be a Wiser Brain.

I know I have an aging brain, facts, figures, place names and people names don't immediately jump to my lips. I've been jokingly calling it "middle aged memory" as I am not willing to call myself "old" yet. Since several of my ancestors had issues with mental functioning in their later years, I worry about Alzheimers.

So this article offers encouragement to those of us who fear our brains aren't working as well as they used to.

Molly the Horse

When one reads the news on the internet, some of it is good, but a lot is bad. I've been reading the Yellowstone Newspaper and the last several months it has had the sad stories about the death of so many bison, the wolf delisting and the subsequent kills, and the guns in the National Parks issue. I read about the Border Wall and the problems and damage it will cause. There's global warming and what it may do to the polar bears. Some of the news stories from Africa deal with problems I can't fix. I look at the political candidates in this election year and I don't find any that really inspire me that they will really make a difference in some of the things that I think are important. When I get focused too heavily on the sad or bad things going on around me, I can end up depressed, tired, and drained. While it is important to stay aware of what is going on in the world around us so that we can do things that will make a positive difference, it is also important to remember the good things that are also going on around us.

Paul in Philippians 4 has some words that are wise for me to remember: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (New International Version) The New Living Translation words it even better: "Fix your thoughts on what is true , and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

My friend, Bettye (who writes a great blog, Secrets of a Lazy Trainer) sent me this great story about Molly the horse.

A Google search gave me Snopes account that verifies the truth of the story as well as some other links such as the one above from the LSU site.

If you need some good, encouraging, uplifting news, take time to read about Molly, an equine survivor from Hurricane Katrina.

Blogging Addiction

The New York Times has an interesting article today about an "over blogger." It is a long article to read, but it does show an interesting but sad side to blogging.

The internet is a big place. I use Google Analytics to track the number of hits to my blog and my webpage and where they come from. It amazes me that so many of the hits come from new people. I have to wonder how do they find me. I definitely do make posts and then publicize them when I think I have information worth sharing. So I know where some of my readers come from.

My blogs are vastly different from the writer of the article. I hope that I have useful information - things that will help people either in their photography or their spiritual lives. I hope that I find things that will be interesting, entertaining, or inspiring. I want my blog to touch people's lives in a way that makes life richer, fuller, happier, and more spiritual.

I am also hopeful to be a professional Christian writer, motivational speaker, and professional photographer. I want my blog to be part of my "platform" that will become a readership when my first book (whether Christian or photographic) gets published.

I think that sometimes we need to share things that are going on in our lives - when what we experience and how we deal with it can help someone else going through the same situation.

But I also read several discussion forums and it is amazing that on the internet things that I take for granted like politeness and civility become lost. People will say things so much more viciously on the internet to people they have never met in person. Internet posts don't give you the body language or facial expressions so what seems like an innocuous remark gets misinterpreted and produces anger and ill will where none may have been intended.

There are so many outlets these days as well - My Space, Facebook, Blogger, Live Journal, Twitter. While it may be very important psychologically to express our feelings about the things that happen in our lives, sometimes putting them out there in public can have consequences we don't expect. When we post private things in public places, anyone and everyone has access to them. While sometimes it is good to be transparent about where we are in life, other times those angry feelings and emotions are fleeting. Far better to express them in person or over the telephone to our closest and most trusted friends or in a private journal for our eyes only.

I stepped away to have breakfast and think more about this post and where I wanted it to go. It is amazing to me how often my morning readings give wisdom appropriate for the day. From my morning readings from Grace Notes by Alexandra Stoddard come these words of wisdom:

A wise man sees as much as he ought, not as much as he can - Michele de Montaigne

Concentrate on seeing all the beauty your soul can absorb but turn away from what is ugly and vile and degrading. The higher your sights , the better your spirits.

We all have neighbors. Greet them on the sidewalk or in the elevator, but try not to peer through their windows. Windows are to look out from, not into.

Polar Bears

From Reuters: Alaska to sue to block polar bear listing

Not even the scientists can predict what will really happen in terms of global warming. But there is too much evidence from the melting of the ice sheet in Greenland (New York Times) to the escalating ice loss in Antarctica (Washington Post) for us not to recognize that our polar regions are in trouble. Polar Bear International has some good information on the current status of polar bears. Studies seem to show that the population has declined and that cub survival rates are down.

The polar bear is already listed as a "vulnerable species" on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species. The Alaska governor is worried that if the United States lists it on the federal endangered list that it will impact development in Alaska.

With the price of oil going up at such a rapid rate, there will certainly be a hue and cry for further oil exploration in Alaska. While some of that would help the local economy (and perhaps the national economy as well), Alaska is a priceless national treasure. So much of Alaska is pristine, undeveloped wilderness. At some point in time, the world needs to wean itself from its dependence on the fossil fuel, petroleum. When push comes to shove, humans are inventive, creative, and capable. Sooner or later we have to move to alternative fuels. If we go ahead and drill for oil in Alaska wilderness areas, it only postpones the inevitable. The arctic tundra is fragile, growing seasons are short. Land that is disturbed will take a very long time to recover its natural vegetation. If we resist the urge to drill in these pristine areas, perhaps the new technology will be forced to be developed more quickly.

Funerals and music

Music has always been a part of my life. I remember as a small child Brother Carver (yes that is what everyone called him) led the children in songs on Wednesday nights. In elementary school, I learned to play the violin. In junior high, I added the viola and the oboe. In elementary school, I had one year in choir. They did parts by age, so I was supposed to be an alto, but I did not really figure out how to sing alto until middle school and I played the viola which always had harmony. I learned to sing alto in church. I would start with the soprano part and then when the notes converged I would move over to the harmony.

In high school, I was one of several who sang at weddings. Weddings are cheerful, happy occasions. A wedding is a beginning, filled with the promise of good things to come.

I first started singing at funerals in my twenties. I'm not a solo singer, I sing as part of an acapella group. Some funerals stand out in my mind more than others. When my grandmother was ill, I sang at a funeral of an older lady. When they closed the casket, the tears started to flow because I knew that my grandmother might not live much longer. Somehow I managed to sing in spite of the tears that day.

There is something about music at a funeral that touches the heart. My Grandmother Marshall was one of the first close deaths for me. One of the songs was Beyond the Sunset. The next time it was sung at church, I ended up leaving the auditorium in tears. It took a few years for that reaction to wear off.

As each person is unique, so each funeral is unique. Some funerals are very small, private affairs with just immediate family. Sometimes they are small because the person has outlived most of their friends and family. Other funerals are large with filled auditoriums - people who had a wide sphere of influence both at church, in their workplace, and community.

Funerals are really for the living - a formal way of saying good-bye. I appreciate the stories that are told, many times things I would not have known about the person.

During the past year, too many of the funerals I've attended have been close to me - my father-in-law, one of my closest friends, the husband of a close friend, and yesterday a special woman who had been in my Ladies' Bible class.

When we sing at funerals, we have to maintain our composure. Dan, who leads our chorus, often reminds us that we are singing for the family . . . we can grieve later. For it is a reality, if one of us loses it, others will follow. There have been a few funerals where I did not sing, because I knew I could not - it was too close - I needed the comfort of the music.

As I waited at the cemetery yesterday, part of me is weary of funerals. I'm tired of loosing friends and family. I grieve over the loss and incapacity that is a part of the aging process. But funerals also have a message of hope. Aging and death are all part of life. Everything that lives will eventually die. And while death ends a chapter in our lives, death is not the end. I believe that death is a journey, an entry into a new life. We leave this life with tired, broken bodies and enter a new life where everything fresh, healthy, and radiant. For those who have died, death is a victory, a new beginning. For those of us left behind, we know that the spirit lives on.

Death is a mystery, a journey into the unknown. Our bodies are programmed to live, to fight death with all our might and strength. When friends move away, we can still call them or go visit them. They can tell us about their new life. When people die, they can't share with us their experience to make it easier for us. It is our faith that sustains us, our faith in God and an eternal human spirit given to us by God.

The beauty of the songs at funerals is that they remind us that death is not the end. Funeral songs are often upbeat happy songs about heaven and the new life to come. They bring comfort to those who are grieving.

Yes, I'll keep singing.

Morning Birds

I like to start my day on the front porch with my Bible, my devotional books, my binoculars and my bird identification books. Add breakfast and coffee and I'm set for 30 minutes or so.

Most mornings I can predict pretty closely which birds I'll see: cardinals, white winged doves, house finches, house sparrows (yes, I know I need to trap them), field sparrows, white crowned sparrows, chickadees, carolina wrens, turkey vultures, red wing blackbirds, cowbirds, barn swallows, mockingbirds, etc. We have a northern harrier that must have a nest in the trees on a neighbor's property, I see it regularly. Sometimes I get a glimpse of the caracaras that live somewhere around here.

I put out a lot of bird seed in the form of loose ground seed, seed cylinders, and various suet feeders with fruit and insect suet.

Every now and then I see a bird I'm not expecting. This week, I saw two bluebirds - I'm always thrilled when the bluebirds show themselves - I've got bluebird houses out, but I don't know that we've ever had a successful clutch. But I also saw a glimpse of a bright yellow bird. A little later I got a better glimpse. I had a yellow warbler!!!!! I hope it stays around!

I need to spend more time on the back porch as well. I know we have a family of wrens that is frequenting the seed feeder back there. The titmice also seem to prefer the backfeeder, although ocassionally I see them in the front.

It really is a great way to start the day - watching the birds, hearing their sweet songs and calls and trying to focus my mind on things bigger and grander than myself.

If you live in Texas, this link: FYI will let you use your address to find all your state and national elected officials.

Making a Difference

I will have to confess, I tend to procrastinate. I work best when I have a deadline looming. I usually meet those deadlines, but it gives me a target. But I am usually finishing a project at the "last minute." Sometimes, that costs me money, because if I do things ahead I can mail at a standard rate rather than paying extra for FEDEX to get it there the next day.

A week or so ago, I blogged about the Border Wall and the Congressional field hearing. There was an excellent opportunity to provide testimony that will become part of the Congressional Record. Since I tend to do the urgent first, this letter that needed to be written stayed on the "back burner." It would have been all too easy just to let this slide by, even though I had encouraged my blog readers to write.

But the beauty of the Rio Grande as it flows through Texas is important to me. The environmental issues and the cost of the Border Wall concern me.

As I sat down to write my letter, I found some interesting threads running through my head:
1. Who am I to write this letter? I'm no expert. I don't have "credentials." Why would my letter make a difference?
2. I'm just one person . . . one letter . . . it won't matter if I don't get it done.
3. What am I going to say? This has to be worth reading. I don't know how to word this . . . How am I going to write this so that it comes off intelligent and reasonable rather than as just one more zealous environmentalist?
4. I blogged about the importance of this . . . I MUST get this off . . . yes, I WILL FEDEX this - they have to have it tomorrow . . . this IS important . . . worth spending this money to get it there tomorrow . . .
5. I must do some more research - so I know what I am talking about . . . (surf the web . . . )
6. My Word program isn't working - I don't know what is wrong with it . . . I'm not home, so I've got to email the letter to myself, get my email on Evelyn's computer and then print. The letters are brown not black . . . will that matter? Everything is taking too long . . .
7. I had a great photo, but I did not bring my thumb drive, there is not a RITZ camera in Amarillo anymore - no, I don't HAVE to have a photo to go with this (would have been better with a photo! sigh)
8. After first draft printed . . . this is not long enough . . . there are more topics that might make a difference. Think some more . . . check another website . . .
9. This is HARD.

Notice how many self defeating thoughts were there. It is very easy to ponder about the things around us that need to be changed. It is easy to complain about our politicians and the stupid things they say and do. We often feel powerless to change these things that we see happening around us that we don't agree with.

So why did I keep on until I got that letter written? Why did I look up my US Congressman and Senators and their addresses this morning?

About 10 years ago I was working on a project for my mom. She was a bondholder for the Central Arizona Irrigation and Drainage District. This district had issued bonds to pay for the construction of canals to bring water from the Colorado River to the farms around Eloy, Arizona. Desert farming was not going well and the districts could not (or would not) meet their obligations. I learned more about Arizona and western water issues than I probably wanted to know. But as part of that project, I went to Washington, DC and talked with congressmen and their aides. I learned a lot about how the process works.

I also was active on some issues with our local school board and our local city council in Hutto.

Here are some "truths."

Elected officials DO listen to their constituents. Sometimes it changes what they do . . . sometimes it doesn't. One school board member told me after a very hot issue that he believed that he was elected because people trusted him and expected him to use his best judgement. He believed his constituents expected him to vote his conscience. He also believed that just because there were a number of very vocal and upset people who came to the board meetings to protest an issue, he also had to think about the less vocal voters and what they might think. Other school board members were influenced by what the individual speakers had to say.

In Washington, there are layers. Senators and Representatives are very dependent upon their aides. When you write a letter to them, it will be screened first by the aides. They may add it to a tally to keep the statistics on what the voters are wanting. They may show it to their boss. You will get a form letter back . . . but you can't be discouraged by that form letter. What I learned is that there is a hierarchy . . . and your contact is weighed . . . lowest - email, next letter, next phone call, highest a visit to Washington to talk in person. Note that this weight is based upon the amount of effort you have put into your contact - an email is easy to send, a visit to Washington involves both time and expense. I suspect that they also have a database of who has contributed to their campaigns. I would expect that those letters carry more weight as well.

When i went to Washington, I talked with 2 Congressmen, one representatives aide, and a senator's aid. One Congressman could hardly wait to get rid of me, one listened and was very helpful. My mother's congressman's aide listened very carefully and arranged two meetings for me that were most helpful for what I was trying to do. When I left Washington, I understood the issues involved a lot more throughly than before I came.

The next thing I need to do to try to make a difference about the border wall is to write those letters to my Congressman and the two Texas Senators. I know as I get ready to compose them that those same self defeating thoughts will go through my head. But if I have not written those letters, if I don't follow up with at least a phone call, then I don't have the right to complain when that wall gets built.





http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

Animals and human rehabilitation

As many of you know, my mother-in-law has recently entered a skilled nursing rehab facility. At the entrance to the building is a fairly large finch aviary. There are maybe 15-20 finches of various species. There are cute nesting baskets, perches, and toys for them. There is always activity in the aviary - preening, snuggling, feeding, flying, entering and exiting the nesting baskets, etc.

I took my mother-in-law down there twice. She was fascinated with the birds. Another resident rolled himself up. Turns out he goes there twice a day. The women that share the dining table with Evelyn also talk like they enjoy those birds.

It is restful, it is calming, and it is a connection to the real world to watch these birds.

It is a fairly long wheel chair push to get to the birds, I have to agree with my brother-in-law, I wish they had this in each of the common areas, so that it would be easier for everyone to get that few moments a day watching the birds.

I bet tropical fish might have a similar positive, calming effect.

Lake Tanglewood birds

One of the things I enjoy at Lake Tanglewood are the mornings with the birds. If I were going to be up here longer I would put out bird feeders - the seed cylinders and the suet feeders. This morning I wanted to enjoy the birds at my sister-in-law's house. So I got out fairly early and went and sat on her patio.

My morning bird list:
house finches
cedar waxwings
Western kingbirds ( yes . . . I know there are several birds,(flycatchers) that are similar - but because of where I am I think these are truly the kingbirds rather than fly catchers)
Bewicks wren - I got several good looks with the binoculars - but I had to check online to be sure which wren - white eyestripe, gray breast- must be bewicks
Northern harrier - He was soaring way overhead - hard to see the white spot on rump. I also went back online to check - white breast, dark head. I'm pretty sure of this id.
Bullocks oriole - He did not give me a good look, but based on better looks last year - bright orange with black on the head -
Turkeys (on the way to Mary's house)
Curve billed thrasher
Turkey vulture

And, after birdwatching, I got to sit and have some coffee with Mary and Walter . . . a good morning.

Urban Wildlife

As we drove into the entrance this morning at the Craig Retirement Center, Henry and I saw a fox cross 9th street in Amarillo. This area is near the outskirts of town, but this is still an urban area. For me it is always a treat to see a fox.

I also think I saw a western bluebird near the golf course as we drove out of Lake Tanglewood this morning.

In Williamson county there have been reports of a mountain lion including a very poor photo of what might be the mountain lion near a neighborhood along Brushy Creek. A number of years back there was another mountain lion sighting near us which came documented with tracks somewhere in the Hutto area.

As we visited with family for Mother's Day, it turns out there is some big cat in the Lake Tanglewood area - either a bobcat or a mountain lion. I've seen a few bobcats in the wild, but never a mountain lion. In the right circumstances I would love to get to see the mountain lion, but I am quite aware that a mountain lion would view me as prey. And, naturally, I would love to get to see either one with my camera in hand with the appropriate lens.

Meeting People

At the reception at the Coastal Arts League And Museum I got to meet a lot of interesting people. Karen Ande had a wonderful photo, Hide and Seek of African orphaned children paying hide and seek. She has been documenting the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. She and Jeff Johnson created three calendars for 2008 where a generous portion of the profits help fund the Saidia Orphanage in Kenya. Saidia - Helping Africa's AIDS Orphans, African Elephant Butts 2008, and African Animal Butts 2008.

I really enjoy visiting with other people who have experienced Africa. Africa touches your heart and your spirit through its natural beauty and resources and through its wonderful people. It encourages me to meet people trying to find ways to help those families struggling with AIDS related issues.

The Border Wall - Big Bend

My husband and I made our first trip to Big Bend in the 1970's. When we first went you could walk across the river to the small, rural border town there. We've been back several times. The last time it was no longer legal to visit the little town across the river.

When I think about the Border Wall, my first thoughts have been the issues in the Valley with the birding and agriculture. But building a wall through Big Bend National Park bogles my mind as well. There are three very scenic canyons there. There is white water rafting and much beauty. How do you build a wall without disrupting the beauty of the national park as well as going against all the conservation laws about protecting these unique treasures?

See yesterday's post and write a letter not only to that address, but also to your representatives in Congress. It is an election year. Let them know this is an important issue to you.

Here is a blog with more information about The Border Wall.

The Border Wall

For reasons I don't fully understand, the US Government is planning to build a wall between Mexico and the United States. This is not news to most of us . . . But, have we really thought out what this means in reality in the State of Texas . . . Our border is a river - think floods, think a dam and a lake, think estuaries near the coast. Plus in the Valley Area of Texas, there has been a lot of habitat restoration along the river. BIrders know that the Valley of Texas is an important ecological area. I've been fortunate to spend time twice in the Valley exploring the bird watching opportunities. There are a large number of species that are only found in the United States in the Valley. I've been birding with people who have come from Europe to see the birds here. Birders provide a lot of income to the valley. There has been a lot of money spent over the last 20 years restoring natural habitat along the river. This will all be bulldozed. Many migratory birds stop and rest in the valley and the Texas coastal areas.

In addition, all of the environmental studies about the effect of this construction that would normally be required for this type of work are going to be by passed. So, wonderful things will be destroyed and damaged that will take years to replace once we decide that the wall did not work.

And a wall along a river will be expensive - what a way to waste taxpayer money when our national deficit is at an all time high!

The Wall will disrupt all of that, destroy some beautiful areas. And the people who are determined to cross the Texas border will still find a way to get across.

I found this posting at TexBirds. I hope it is OK to post this from TEXBIRDS, but this is a very important issue. So I want to get the word out. It is very important to send written testimonies to fight the building of this wall. Here is the information as to how and where to write. Send your letters this week, the deadline is May 16th.

From TexBirds:

Hi Everyone,

This past Monday, there was a US Congressional field hearing in Brownsville on the border wall. Written testimonies can now be submitted in association with this hearing and added to the Congressional record. This is one of the best opportunities yet we have had for our voices to be heard. Please pass the word on to others who might be interested, and let me know if you need more info.


Thanks, Betty


Here are the guidelines for written submissions to the U.S.Congressional field hearing record. They need to be in by Friday, May 16th.

1. Head your comments with the hearing name and date: Walls and Waivers: Expedited Construction of the Southern Border Wall and the Collateral Impacts on Communities and the Environment, April 29, 2008.

2. Do not exceed 10 pages.

3. No cover page is needed, although your name, title, and the organization that you represent (if you have one), should also be stated at the beginning of your testimony.

4. Please use typed single-space letter-size (8½ x 11) white paper.

5. Send via the postal service as they are not equipped to handle mass amounts of e-mail. The mailing address is:

Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

6. If you submit attachments or exhibits to your testimony please include them as separate items at the end of your testimony. If attachments are more than 10 pages (in addition to your original testimony) or on paper larger than 8½ x 11, they will not be accepted for printing in the Congressional record. Instead, you should paraphrase or quote as needed. If including charts, tables, maps, or photographs, they should be included on separate pages, not within the text of a page.

7. THINGS TO AVOID: Underlining, footnotes, capitalization of the whole document or solid blocks of text.


Wayne Bartholomew
Executive Director
Frontera Audubon Society
Weslaco, Texas