Half A Life; Half The Credit

 

The world is a crazy place right now. It seems to test us more as we close in on the final stretches of the pandemic. And each of us struggles in our own way to try and figure it all out.  While there is hope, there is also much frustration. 

Over the past several weeks, I just gave up writing.  There has been so much happening.  We lost 2 of our older cats to something that resembled feline covid but gained two new members and were able to save our other 2 older girls. We can't shake that we somehow failed to protect them.  Even with 3 vets looking into it all; we were left with no answers. There are often moments of joy with the younger ones dotted by moments of sadness. 

Then there is work.  I don't know what happened to this semester.  It all seems so surreal.  Teachers are being forced to give students half credit for doing nothing.  There is no accountability at all and it goes against every moral fiber of our being. They ask, "How are you?" But they don't mean it. It's just a check on their list that their bosses told them to do. We see through it all. I am an understanding and patient man but to give basically free points to students/parents who abuse the system with unexcused absences? It truly is a lost year. I am not happy about giving free points to those who do not work for them.  Even with a pandemic, there are rules that need to be followed. Leadership on every level in this country has failed the American public. 

Then there is the birding.  I have been reduced to part time birder.  My heart doesn't seem to be into much of it anymore.  Rare birds aren't rare anymore.  I see people's excitement and I don't feel their joy. That scares me a lot. The weirdest part? I have found joy in watching the simple House Finch come to my feeders.  Or watch the Yellow-rumped Warbler feed from my oranges and suet.  I began this blog gardening and then became a birder.  I now find myself turning back into the gardener!  I hope this will pass. My friends tell me that this is common.  Sometimes you have to take a break. I still love my birds, but I have found other interests again.  The silver lining of covid.  Home projects are taking hold of me!  Birding money is spent into home design and art. 

I have been enjoying the work done on the coastal room. We put new furniture together and opened up the space a lot.  I've purchased paint and new light fixtures and have gotten into the art of remodeling. Our next project happens in several months.  It's all set to go.  In February, the coastal bathroom becomes a reality.  

With everything happening at home, like the roof being redone, landscaping...removing of a tree and pruning, etc, I haven't been able to bird like a normal human.  I'd say that I've gotten maybe 3 days to bird all day long.  And it's not even really about birding so much as it is about just taking a walk outdoors. 

I was finally able to do some birding with Gordon who I haven't seen since March!!!  We drove to this area just to check out things.  The best part of that day was catching up with him.  I miss hanging out with him.  Another day, I drove to a far away place to look at a beautiful Field Sparrow.  It was cloudy cool and quiet.  It was what I needed.  

I am going through something.  It's not good or bad.  Not even sure if it's really depression, but I just want to be alone working on personal projects away from everything.  I am emotionally exhausted.  Another road trip is in the works.  I was even thinking about going to Panama City, Panama because I have free flight mileage but covid is raging again and I am so near getting the vaccine. It's too risky.  I don't want to lose my airline points because of a cancellation, etc. 

Teachers in Arizona are set to be one of the first groups to get the vaccinations in the beginning of January. So that means I'll probably take the USS Betty White up along the coast to be near the ocean again to get some fresh air. And play it safe. It would also be nice avoiding getting covid a second time:)  

Right now, the USS Betty White is being serviced for a long range trek.  After that is done, I have to get new tires on the vehicle. In the above pic, a local Javelina eats pecans around my vehicle, the USS Betty White. 

For now, we all sit in a holding pattern.  We wait.  And wait.  A year lost?  Or a year full of new appreciation and perspective?  It will take awhile but at least the vaccinations have begun.  My last blog for the year will be the highlights of 2020.  There were some:)

I sit with my cats now in the catio having coffee with them watching birds and bugs. It's kind of my favorite part of the day.  

The year 2021 is beginning to shape up.  I am hopeful.  It could be the renaissance we have all been waiting for.  And one that we'll never take for granted again. Until next time......

Ahhhh-Oooooo!

On an overcast day, Baby J sat in his stroller listening to the strange "Ahhhh-ooooohs" being made in the distance.  He made his own "ahhh-oooh!" and our hearts melted.

I took a break from the chases.  No more for now.  It was time to hang out with the family. So we headed to one of my favorite and yearly stops at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary.  It's great for kids.  It's also a rehabilitation center for the critters.  And it's also a fantastic wildlife sanctuary. So Baby J got to go on his first birding adventure. 

At the Wildlife Sanctuary, they sell corn for the ducks and Baby J got to feed the hundreds of ducks. 

The baby J's hang out together

But he didn't get to see just ducks.  There were geese and turkeys and all kinds of critters.  

Wild Turkey

I watched his face as the ducks piled up around him. It was absolutely fun!

This is a great place for kids to experience wildlife up close.  Well maybe not too close to those Canada Geese:)

Northern Cardinal

It just so happened that we hit the day at the right time because it wasn't too cold and there weren't a lot of people walking around the park.

While at the sanctuary, he made duck sounds and wolf sounds, tried petting a Canada Goose....um.....yeah no. 

American Black Duck

He got to go down his first tree house slide, play in a turtle shell and throw milk on his uncle.  Stinker. 

The day went by too quickly and soon our adventures in Wisconsin would be over.  We had a fun last day together. 

And the real reason why I don't have kids? My family has contributed quite a few people to this planet.  Currently with a world population of 7 billion, quite a few of us will need to NOT have kids:)  So it's nice being the Uncle with all the nephews and nieces.  I'm just hoping that some of them will get the travel bug and maybe become a future birder?  

It's was nice to hang out with the family during the holidays, but it's back to the Arizona trails next week.  And the weather here is VERY nice:)  Until next time.....

The Caretaker

The Rock Wren remembered.  Passed on from one generation to the next before the Change, the stories were shared from one living thing to the next. The wind carried her forgotten secrets. It whispered......"Ruuuuuubbbby."

The Rock Wren remembered as he peered from his rotted rooftop home at the scarred land below. Rusty old metal scraps supported their weight on the mounds of rock and shattered glass. As he surveyed it all, the bird spotted movement. The whispers were true!

His loud whistle pierced the silence much like the first lightning bolt does during the start of a monsoon storm.

"BEWARE!  BEWARE!  They come again among us!" The mournful cry of the Montezuma Quail echoed their own warnings along the canyon walls. Everything else faded as best they could into the grasses.....vanishing into thin air like ghosts!  But not the Rock Wren.  He just watched with great curiosity.

The passing Javelina and nesting Great Horned Owls made great haste into the trees. It was the Rock Wren who first heard the faint whispers not so long ago.  Not much got by him as he was always moving about on old rooftops and rocks. In fact, that is how he heard about the stories of old. Being extremely curious, the Wren listened intently.

For it was the trees that remembered best.  They whispered their words by breeze and leaf and told the stories of the others who once lived among the Land.

For nearly 40 years, a group of beings came to settle on the Land.  It was a rough life.  At first it was a camp and then it became more. Eventually these beings created structures that the Rock Wren now used for his own home! They dug deep within the earth for the shiny rocks that defaced much of the Land now. There they slept, ate, and raised their young like other creatures do.

At times they fought against another group of similar looking beings .  Now the Rock Wren did not understand this need for loud noise and destruction. And many of the younger trees could not answer his questions. Would these new beings cause more harm to the Land after being absent for so many years?  He knew that if he wanted more information, he would have to go to the source of ancient memory.

So he went to the Great Water Tree along the deep pool and asked why these beings fought.  The Great Water Tree whispered of territories marked along the Land not unlike those created by the Mountain Lion or Bear.  So these beings had established territories.  That the Rock Wren could understand.

But the Rock Wren was still puzzled.  "Then why, Great Water Tree, did they still continue to fight and kill each other? Clearly their territory was marked. Surely they would not cross?"

The Rock Wren had noticed lately that the branches of the Great Water Tree seemed to sag as if the branches were too heavy to hold up.  He also noticed that the water in the dark pool wasn't as deep as it used to be. The Great Water Tree sighed,  "It is not for us to understand."

"But look how they have altered everything around us!  They've even poisoned our Land so that nothing green can grow. Instead of your kind living together, there are great sand dunes that keep you separated!  Even the water is poisoned so that not even my bird friends can drink!  Look at the Coyote.  He stands and hides far away.  I only know he is there when he calls to the bright light in the dark sky."

"They kill each other taking their own kind's things.  Why so much destruction?  I do not understand Great Water Tree."

"It is their way.  And while they no longer dwell here taking from the Land like they once did, you will notice that not far from their old ruins live the other beings who continue to carry things through the pastures and forests.  The Javelinas tell me that these same beings cross through the night with slings on their backs.  Sometimes they fight like the others from before. Wherever they may be, you, Rock Wren, must keep your distance and always alert the others of the Land."

The Rock Wren was puzzled by the Great Water Tree's response. "What shall I do now that these beings have returned to the Land? You are the Caretaker!  I am just a Rock Wren.  My memory is not as long nor as deep as yours! Surely you have the answers!"

The Great Water Tree carefully chose the last words. These days it took great energy to do much of anything. "As the Water disappears from the Land so will I.  You are the Caretaker now. Always keep watch and protect. Pass your knowledge on to your young. Always keep watch." And with those final words, the Great Water Tree slept.

The Rock Wren watched for several days as the new beings stayed together and walked around the Land.  He noticed that even the Coyote or Javelina could not hide from them.  But he also observed that they didn't do any harm to the Land. During the day, they walked vast distances while at night, they ate around a great light. There was much laughter after they drank what appeared to be a lot of dark water.  The following day, the Rock Wren watched them leave.  The Land was once again safe.  The new Caretaker sat on his rooftop lost in deep thought.  He wondered if he would always have to worry about these others destroying the Land around him.  Would more of these beings show up and force his friends away one day?  Could he protect them all?  And so the Caretaker pondered the future of what would be......

I wanted to try something different in my writing form from our last journey to Ruby Ghost Town.  Mining has been on my mind lately and it truly has a great impact on the land around us.  It was very evident here at this site decades later! Water was also scarce as were the birds! If you live around  Southern Arizona, please help keep Rosemont Copper Mine out of the Santa Rita mountains. Mining is bad for the environment and it doesn't belong on that mountain which is visited by thousands of birders and scientists each year.  It will have a long and negative impact on the wildlife if it is allowed to pass.

I'd like to thank Kathy Cooper and Gordon Karre for a wonderful weekend out.  It's always a blast when we explore together.  Until next week.....

Saṃsāra

The North Rim at sunset

As the light fades away from the year 2013, I've been looking back on so many incredible trips taken over the year.

It's a strange feeling.  I don't want this year to end because there is still so much to discover!  BUT there is so much to look forward to next year! And that makes me smile. The journey never really ends:)

Townsend's Solitaire

It transforms and is constantly redefined while we are on the road seeking higher knowledge. 

Pygmy Nuthatch

Recently, we took a co-worker friend out who wanted to film wildlife with her new camera.  That's how it all started for me.  "What's that?!" 

We had a great time and it was fun to see it all from her beginner's eyes.

Because it's more than just taking a picture.  It's listening.  Recognizing.  Seeing beyond sight.  Knowing.  While I watched her trying to fix her camera on the target, I remembered.  

My take on the Tree of Souls from the movie Avatar

I would never want to go back to those first stages, but I miss the innocence of it all.  The missteps. The thrills of seeing a common bird for the first time. They were the times when I was unknown.....just a hopeful photographer who loved hiking and finding whatever came my way. As all of this has gone on, I have become much more in tune with the birds and animals found in our area.  It isn't so much about finding our regular residents now.  It's about understanding them, their habitat and needs.  I am turning from photographer into a field scientist.  While I'm not an expert in these areas, I do want to learn more and work more with the professionals. For the first time on this trek, I will own a pair of binoculars.  I am blind(lazy eye) on my left side and the binoculars interfered with my finding the birds.  But something unexpected has happened from my birding adventures.  My brain is telling my other eye that it needs to work again.  It has caused me great headaches of late, but it's because I'm forcing my left eye to do its' job.  My eye doctor was shocked (as was I) that the eye actually is improving!

a coyote reminds me that we are all connected together in this life

A sparrow for many is a sparrow.  Just a brown bird.  I told Kathie once that I just wanted to see the bird and check it off my list.  And that was ignorant of me.  Today, sparrows are one of the most fascinating groups of birds out there!  The reason I made such an ignorant statement?  I couldn't ID them at first......they were too difficult. Today, when I see one, I get excited.

A curious Canada Goose investigates this guy's massive telephoto lens

And I watch people watch the wildlife watching them.  It is a gift to be in tune with our surroundings.  To really hear and connect with a world that would not have anything to do with our human madness.

A Great-tailed Grackle shows us his moves

Speaking of humans.  I began alone, but now find myself surrounded by beautiful people who have also become the voices of Mother Nature.  There are a few goofy ones.  Maybe I'm one of them, but it's okay. And of course, there are the know-it-alls.  But I find that everyone has something to offer in this great quest.  Alone, I could not do this at all.  I have come to accept the fact that I will need help on this planet-wide journey from time to time.

The Lewis's Woodpecker stores food away for the winter months ahead

While I despise HUGE crowds of people anywhere, I have found that the wildlife crowd is tolerable and many times enjoyable. And in this, I have found comfort.  It's a strange thing to admit, but I have found my place after all of these years being lost. I still avoid crowds though:)

Alone with Kathie, we stare beyond the field at the mysterious wonders of Picacho Peak

"Don't shoot into the light with your camera...not good for your eyes or camera!  Don't try to take a pic of an animal or bird with the sun on its' back because it won't turn out. Put your setting to "sports" for those awesome flight shots. Manual focus on the little birds."  I am still a teacher at heart. Walking on the trails of the snow-capped Santa Ritas with our new wildlife photographer friend, I remembered so much. 

Lesser Goldfinches play Connect 4. A Pine Siskin joins in their fun.

As we improve, we grow.  As we struggle with various challenges, we hope to overcome. And probably the biggest lesson I have learned this year is to help out others who ask for it. For if it wasn't for a kind hearted soul, I may have never discovered the beauty of this epic birding journey.