Birds and Things 06/30/2009
 



It's a beautiful fresh morning - the last day of June. As I sit outside in the early sunshine at my table in the back yard, there is a tiny bird about 30 feet up in my fir trees singing his heart out. The stellar jays are hopping around nearby, flicking over leaves and cones - picking into the piles of fallen needles, on the hunt for tidbits of grub where ever they can find it. Amusingly, both of them found a peanut that had been stashed, at the same time. There was an open-beaked, indignant squawk from the one who was a fraction of a second too slow, but that was the extent of the confrontation, so they are obviously working together to feed young ones. There are two robins flapping around in the branches, chasing each other, and a finch having a quick drink at the bird bath. The orioles nesting on the light pole are busy swooping around catching breakfast and singing their thanks for it while sitting on the hydro lines. Beneath the cacophony of voices I hear the buzz of hummingbirds as they zip through my yard to a neighbour's feeder. I must find a plant that likes my yard so they will stop and feed. I only have one type of plant for them in my garden. It's an early bloomer and is all done now, but when it was blossoming, they would come and feed right beside me near my patio.

The singer from the top of my firs was just hopping around about 5 feet away, and I am no bird expert, but I believe he was a wren. I've been hearing him sing for days, but never seen him close enough to tell, before. There is also a woodpecker picking at a neighbour's clothesline pole to see if he can scare out any bugs hiding in the decaying wood. In the trees behind the next street over, I hear the squirrel complaining about something, and along with it a stellar jay, so I expect they are arguing over who the stash of peanuts belongs to. I don't know where they come from, but someone in the neighbourhood is putting out peanuts. I find the remnants in my birdbath thanks to the crow; broken shells beneath a tree branch courtesy of the squirrel; and stashed in the oddest places by the stellar jays.

Jays can be amusing little critters. Bold and sassy, they have very little fear of us humans. The ones I am most familiar with are the stellar jays and Clark's nutcracker, along with the magpie of course. They are all rather raucous in their calls and habits. A nutcracker (which I've always known as a whisky jack) will often come and take food from your hand if you coax it, and the stellars like shiny things. I had some glass pebbles set out on a table to use for a game. They were the kind you fill flower vases with, and were shiny. Every now and then I would find them in the oddest places in the garden and couldn't figure out how they got there until one day I saw a stellar jay pick one up in its beak and carry it to the back of my yard, where it promptly poked it into a hiding place, pushed some dry leaves over it, and flew off, no doubt proud of its accomplishment!


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This young buck was wandering through grazing for his breakfast too. And the daisies, like me, were soaking up the sunshine. If you ask me what my passion is, I will tell you it is a passion for life. No, I don't mean the kind where you run off cliffs with a hang glider, or go ice climbing on waterfalls although I am sure that the exhilaration would be awesome. My passion is not just for what I can do in life, but for life itself. All life. The bugs and birds and trees and plants and animals. Even the rocks and water. It is the fact that there is life at all that I find awesome, and the variety of forms it comes in is just totally awe inspiring.
 
 

Recently on facebook I noted that one of my friends had posted a song video, and because I like music I clicked to see what it was. Well, what it was, was excellent! Very moving. Not just the video, but the whole idea behind it. It was a version of the popular song "Stand By Me" sung by street musicians from around the world and mixed into one recording. I was so moved by it, I had to investigate.

The project is called "Playing for Change" - a play on words itself - and a fantastic idea. This first video explains the start of the project and how it is put together. The second video is one of the songs they have recorded. There are a few free videos you can access on their site or on YouTube, but you can also buy the album through Amazon.com or from Starbucks outlets. Well worth the listen, and well worth contributing to the cause. It's not often I come across anything created by humans that has moved me as much as this.

Please listen, and you will definitely enjoy.
 
 

Surfing the web looking for eco-friendly ideas and finding many out there. Some are good ideas, some are just smoke screens to make people think the products have changed when they have only moved the pressure from one ecologically damaging area to another. All of these things are good in many ways regardless, because they focus the public's attention on the fact that changes in our thinking must take place. As the saying goes, change your thinking, change your world.

It is the thinking that must change before the products for the lifestyle will. The mental attitude we have about how our lives should be lived. We tend to think that cutting back on our energy consumption to save the planet will put us back in the Dark Ages and we don't want to give up our cars, computers, microwaves and electric light - but it doesn't have to be that way.

There is an interesting article written by Clair Go-eun Chun, the Managing Editor of the Korea IT Times that I read recently. It's called 'Nothing Made of Gold Lasts Forever'. She has a vision that encompasses a green lifestyle and convenient, wireless technology that would allow people to connect no matter where they are. We do that to a great extent already, but her vision is to have a lifestyle where we could learn, work and play at home if we desired. In the process we would save the massive amounts of energy we now consume, running children to school every day; getting to work; shopping; heating and lighting massive buildings full of offices and such.

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Seagulls on Skaha Lake Shore
These are the spaces we need time to sit still and appreciate.
I like her idea. It doesn't mean we have to obliterate those activities - it just means we could cut down on the energy used if we could do them for the most part from home. The amount of space and energy consumed by an office building that houses 300 people on a daily basis would be immediately slashed if we alternated the days we worked at the office with days worked at home- or in situations where it possible, work entirely from our home. The same could be done with schooling. Some days could be at the school, some days at home. We would definitely save the gasoline it takes for school buses to transport the kids back and forth, or for our own transport to work and back, for a start. Then there would be savings on power to light and heat the space.

Much of this can be done today - but we don't - for several reasons -one of which is habit. Cultural expectations and the way the system is set up have us 'thinking' in terms of getting up and out the door at a specific time, and driving to where we are expected to be. Another is that the infrastructure for such a program is not completely in place. We can do it to a degree, but it is not set up so everyone can take part. Third, we tend to think that people will cheat on the time they spend actually working or studying. And fourth - some of the technology has not been perfected to the degree where it is easy to use and not without challenges to operate.
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Flower Centre
This is the beauty we need time to explore and  enjoy.
There is a vision, though, that includes wireless technology easily integrating text, photos, audio and video from all over the world; the free  sharing of files and information; the ability to join in a conferencing group from anywhere. Compatibility of systems is increasing, the size of the networks is increasing, new tools and toys are being created almost every day. If we add these advances to products and processes that allow us to power and heat our homes in an eco-friendly manner and build them with sustainable products, we could cut our consumption very swiftly. It's not an idea that is impossible. We are on the cusp of reaching that place and time right now. Many people are already living this way. What we need is the attitude change that pushes it over the edge and it becomes something easy for the masses to accept. A way of life.

 
More Walking 06/12/2009
 

This is the time of year when the weather is just perfect for walking (not too hot, not too cold) and everything is in full growth mode. If you miss a few days, you miss plants in bloom or babies out exploring, so here are a few more photos from my walking tours.

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Saskatoon blossoms.
The saskatoon bushes have blossomed and some are showing the beginnings of the berries. Small nubs of fruit waiting for the rains to expand them and the sun to ripen them ...... and then I can go harvesting again!!

The wild mustard is in bloom and always creates a beautiful spread of yellow on the hillsides at this time of year.

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Wild roses are in bloom still but they won't be much longer. Most of the blossoms have fallen off and the ones still left are becoming pale in colour. There are a few left that are slow bloomers, but not many. Next, of course will be the rose hips to nibble for Vitamin C!
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The marmots are out soaking up the warmth of the rocks. I have seen a few really young ones, but mother chased me away before I got photos. Will try again another day to see if I can capture some pictures of them before she gets upset with me. They were very small and extremely curious.

I love exploring in spring. I am always amazed by how much beauty and energy I find in small spaces. At first glance, our landscape can look dry and barren with not much besides scrub and pines. But on closer examination one finds all manner of change and activity. The plants grow, the flowers bloom, the bees and insects come for the nectar and spread the pollen, the berries appear as 'fruits of their labour' and as food for the birds, animals and humans. The seeds are spread and the cycle begins again. The leaves fall and the nutrients become food for next year's growth.

It may seem boring to some but it is what sustains us - the humans of this planet. Without it, we would not exist.

 
 

Went for another long stroll on the Trans Canada Trail this past weekend, camera in hand, to see what is in bloom right now.  Found several really pretty spots of colour in the otherwise hot and dry landscape.

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Wild pentstemon growing amongst the grass along the trail. It grows in some pretty tough places and always adds such a bright patch of purple.
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Toadflax is in blossom now too. This, I am afraid, is considered a 'noxious weed'. I find that unfortunate because it really is a rather pretty flower.
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Perhaps Scarlet Gilia - but not certain. Definitely stands out as a lonely spot of brilliant red on this sandy cliff.
There are actually quite a number of striking wild flowers that grow unaided in our parched soil in the heat of spring and summer. I try to introduce a few into my garden because they don't require any attention from me, no special watering or fertilizing, and they put on a good show of colour.

The more natural my garden is, the better I like it - and the more the birds and insects like it too. Of course, so do the deer - but that's fine with me.
 
Early Morning 06/03/2009
 

It is early, early morning. The moon has completed its arc across the sky and gone from my view to hang out over distant countries. There are two brilliant stars left shining - all others are overpowered by the pale glow of early dawn. Spring run-off, from the melted snow held captive all winter in the mountains, can be heard furiously tumbling over boulders squished between the river banks as a continuous background rumble accompanying birds who are singing their hearts out as if this was their last chance to find a mate. It is cool, quiet (apart from the birds), and the air is still. I have opened my doors and windows to let fresh, cool air laced with the scent of freshly cut lumber from the mill's night shift drift through and replace the dregs of yesterday. Standing on my doorstep I take some time to soak in the wonder of the coming day.

I notice that the deer have found my snapdragon blooms and the coleus to be to their liking...... fresh growth at the top has been nipped off. It is perhaps my penance for yesterday's misdemeanour. As I sat on my patio working I noticed a small worm hanging from the tree on an almost invisible strand. I watched it sway in the slight breeze for a few minutes, noting that it was gathering up the strand into a ball is it worked its way up. Not being close enough to satisfy my curiosity, I grabbed the strand and carried it over to a flat piece of wood where I laid the worm down to watch closer. It crawled with a few body squiggles on its many feet - then promptly flipped onto its back, convulsed for a moment, then went still. I watched in horror, waiting for it to make another movement, thinking perhaps it was playing dead as a survival tactic. No such luck. In my curiosity and ignorance I had killed it. Some time later I checked and it was still there in that same contorted dying pose - tiny feet in the air. It may well have been a worm that was eating my evergreen, and perhaps I did the tree a service by removing it. But the point of the matter is that I have birds to do that job - and it was not my intention to kill it. So I guess that losing a few pretty blossoms from my plants is a small price to pay. I will accept my come-uppance and carry on.

Yesterday was a day for photography and I will share a couple of snapshots with you.

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There is a pair of birds that have built a nest atop the arm of the street light, midst wires and transformers - right in the blazing sun. It is tucked between the pole, the light and the transformer (right behind the bird in the photo). They flit around all day chattering to each other and taking turns keeping watch, gathering nest material and snatching bugs out of the air. I can't tell if there are eggs laid in the nest yet, but the mother doesn't seem to be sitting for any length of time. They have claimed this section of the power lines for themselves, chasing away all other comers. Sparrows, swallows and especially starlings get chased off with a great deal of squawking and determination. They are a noisy pair of flycatchers - I think. They never stay still long enough, close enough, for me to determine with any accuracy. It's a crazy place to build a nest, but I must admit I enjoy being able to watch them so easily.

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I also have a crow who has made claim to my bird bath. Not to bathe in, mind you - but to wash his/her food in. Every day I have to tip out the dregs of soggy bread, peanut shells, chicken bones, and things I don't want to examine closely enough to determine exactly what they might be! It came one day with a small snake dangling from its beak, but I was working nearby and it flew off to find somewhere else to wash that one down - which was fine by me. Not that I don't like snakes, just that I didn't want to have to clean up the left-overs! He can be a messy bird.

I really do love to be able to sit outdoors and do my work. I feel focused and at peace. I can accomplish what I set out to do and still watch all the goings on with the birds, smell the scent of the lilacs in bloom at the moment, hear the wind in the trees and the river rushing. It certainly answers the questions about why I feel so cooped up and stressed in an office atmosphere, and why I have fought it so hard throughout my life even though I was good at what I was doing. I am ever so grateful for being able to work as I am now, on the patio, outdoors with the rest of the natural world.