Today Oneida Lake

A short drive this morning - literally a couple of miles down the road - in search of the ever-elusive Great Blue Heron. Didn't see any. I might have had more luck had I set out a few hours earlier. But I did get a great picture of this Northern Flicker and an interesting shot of the lake.




P.S. If you want to see a really great shot of a Great Blue, check this out.

Mr. Obama and My Change

(Max's blog today comments on the reasons and needs for Barak Obama as our next president. I started this as a comment on his blogsite but decided to expand on it here)

I was raised Republican. More than that, my dad was a true believer in the political process and in the ability of the Republican Party to serve the needs of the American farmer. I loved my dad. In my adoring eyes what he said was law. He went on to be a local JP, county legislator, head of the county Civil Service Commission, and a member/advocate of the Office for the Aging and a national Hazardous Waste Task Force. He should have - probably would have - made a career of politics and serving his country had circumstances been different. In my home "democrat" was synonymous with "alien." It was rare to have a Democratic candidate on any ballot much less having one elected. In my early twenties I was outraged when a co-worker slammed Republicans as caring only for the wealthy elite. I knew better: the Republican party was for the humble farmer. I say all this as a brief background to my political foundations.

As I grew older I became more disillusioned with the Republicans. I think Reagan was the final straw. But even then I couldn't go Democrat. Now here we are after almost 8 years of King Dubya. He is arrogant. He is hypocritical. He is manipulative. He seeks to steal our basic freedoms in the name of American values. Is his Alfred E. Neumann "What - Me Worry?" approach to running the country a joke or is he really that stupid? He assumes that his way is the only way. That we need a "Marriage and Family Act" to tell us who to love. That we need a war in Iraq to remind us who to kill. Republicans want to impose their moral and - more importantly - religious values on the entire country and Dubya plays Mortimer Snerd while Cheney pulls the strings.

Enter Senators Clinton and Obama. When my son-in-law first mentioned Obama a few months ago I had never heard of him. I worried that his lack of public exposure and experience would cause him to be an ineffective leader. I was rooting for Clinton. I wanted to like her. But she left me feeling that she is just another arrogant, manipulative politician and in the end I couldn't bring myself to trust her. I'm somewhat relieved that Obama will get the nomination so I don't have to again be in the uncomfortable position of voting for the lesser of the evils.

So what do I really know about Obama? I'm embarrassed to say that I know precious little about his position on most issues. But I think he is a bright light at the end of a long dark tunnel. I think he could turn us around if it isn't already too late. If he can get the legislature and the judiciary to support him. If he can get his senatorial and congressional children to stop bickering and start working together. Obama is smart. But is he strong enough? It's going to take someone who has strength of character and the strength to get others to stand behind him. Max is right. We need Obama.

I will admit to a nagging conscience that feels suspiciously like my father tsk-tsking at me for deserting my Republican farmer roots....But Dad, I cannot morally, ethically, or intelligently vote for more of the same. King George is dead. May he rest in more peace than he gave his country. Perhaps one day the Republican party will lose their arrogance but until then I will be voting for Obama and others who have a chance and a desire to bring us back to where we belong.

More from Beaver Lake

More birds at the observation area

- a goldfinch and a black-capped chickadee...

a really unusual above-ground root system - kind of looks like some kind of camping structure with a little campfire in the middle...






and some fern fronds - I was trying to get real close and see how fractal they really are.

Spiders and Birdies and Frogs, OH MY!

Today's destination - Beaver Lake Nature Center. I took the Lake Loop Trail, 3 miles around the lake. The day was mostly overcast and very muggy. Much to my disappointment I saw very little wildlife. A spider web and a bunch of bullfrogs, but otherwise pretty quiet (except for the dueling squirrels which were a hoot to watch). When I got back to the lodge I sat and watched the birds at the feeders and took photos just so I wouldn't be completely skunked. I did have fun experimenting with the camera. What do you think?

After Beaver Lake I took a quick side trip to Three Rivers to check out the eagle family. Their nest is too far away to get good shots but I caught Papa (or Mama?) Eagle fishing for dinner. Not a bad day after all.

Are you SURE Dubya didn't say that?

"Humanity is a parade of fools, and I am at the front of it twirling a baton."

spoken by Odd Thomas in Brother Odd by Dean Koontz

Fractal Lives

My plan was to write about fractals. Since I first learned about them I was fascinated by the concept: Symmetry in nature. Objects that appear to be asymmetrical or randomly constructed have a symmetry – what is referred to as self-similarity, a characteristic in which the component parts resemble the structure as a whole. A fern frond, tree bark, snowflakes, ice crystals, coastlines…the list goes on and on. Fractals were first described in the 1980’s by a man named Mandelbrot. The key characteristic of a fractal is the way it is constructed: With most geometric forms, the closer you look the more they resemble a straight line, but in the case of a fractal, the closer you look the more complexity you see. A simple shape is repeated within the fractal, each iteration increases the number but decreases the size so as you examine the shape more closely you see it repeated over and over and over….getting smaller and smaller and smaller…theoretically into infinity. Computer-generated fractals, like the one shown here, are fascinating and beautiful.

What else could I say about fractals? I had some ideas but I decided I’d better do a little research first. I got to wondering if humans might fit the fractal mold – a person may seem uncomplicated at first glance but on closer inspection we are complex creatures. Hmmm...it makes me think about a previous post discussing the inner depth of the human self that is often unrevealed to those around us. I wonder….how fractal are humans? Physically I supposed that if plants could be fractal, so can animals. If I understand what I’ve read, even DNA has fractal characteristics.

The article Noisy Nucleotides (Scientific American Sept 92 puts it this way: “Commuter traffic, earthquakes and the selection of presidential candidates usually seem to take place in random ways. But investigators of chaos theory who turn to patterns called fractals manage to find order in the midst of such unpredictable events. Now add DNA to the catalogue of things fractal-like.”

In Ecology and the Fractal Mind in the New Architecture: a Conversation Professor Nikos A. Salingaros relates the history of fractals in architecture: “Fractals have two related characteristics: they show complexity at every magnification; and their edges and interfaces are not smooth, but are either perforated or crinkled. A fractal has some connective structure at different scales. Historical cities are richly structured at every magnification, whereas contemporary cities enhance the largest scale but suppress everything else. There are no straight lines in fractals.”

Interesting…..apparently fractals abound everywhere in nature, perhaps even being a key element in the formation of both animate and inanimate natural objects. Many man-made objects as well seem to take on a fractal form. My mind wants to take it one step further: Can our inner selves – our psyches – be said to have a fractal design? In the article referenced above, Professor Victor Padrón says, “It is not difficult to concede that our psyche, which has its assumptions built into the brain, has an essentially fractal structure as well.”

Okay, so after all that research and thought (and reading for those of you who have made it this far) here’s my question: Is this fractal design of nature pure coincidence? Can it be scientifically explained? Is it just another characteristic that can be explained by evolution – change over time? Do fractals support the idea of a supreme hand in the creation of the universe or do they refute it?

Are you listening Freddy?

Today was the annual AIDS Walk/Run at Beaver Lake Nature Center. Amelia and I volunteered and checked in the 10K run participants. My daughter Sarah, her husband Jeff and several friends and co-workers were a team in the 5K walk. Amelia and Sarah have participated before but this was my first year. It was fun and rewarding. They had over 1000 participants and raised almost $186,000 - $35K more than last year! Next year I think Amelia and I will head up a team and Amelia has a great idea for a team name: We will be the Fat-Bottomed Girls.....I think Freddy Mercury would approve.

Beyond the Red Badge

Did you know that Stephen Crane, famous for his novel, "The Red Badge of Courage," was also a poet? I discovered this several years back, I think in my senior year of high school. I was never particularly interested in Crane until I found his poetry. Don't really like his prose but boy do I love the poems! I love his sense of irony, his cynicism that sometimes left room for hope but more often seemed desperate - and desolate. Take a look at some of my favorites:

A man said to the universe
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."

Think as I think
"Think as I think," said a man,
"Or you are abominably wicked;
You are a toad."

And after I had thought of it,
I said, "I will, then, be a toad."

Have you ever made a just man?
"Have you ever made a just man?"
"Oh, I have made three," answered God,
"But two of them are dead,
And the third --
Listen! Listen!
And you will hear the thud of his defeat."

I was in the darkness
I was in the darkness;
I could not see my words
Nor the wishes of my heart.
Then suddenly there was a great light --

"Let me into the darkness again."

In the desert
In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said: "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter - bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."

Crane's thoughts may seem maudlin but I think you have to admit they make you think. His poetry often included God or a faceless, authoritative voice but I think his opinion of God/authority was not a kind one. He seems to hold no patience for those who won't face life head-on and follow their own beliefs rather to bending to the view of authority. I wonder if he was as outspoken publicly as he was in his writing?

There's Always Something to See at Montezuma

Saturday - cool, breezy, threatening clouds, off-and-on rain. Still we saw plenty of birds and not just geese and ducks as we've seen on previous days this spring. At least one lifer for me - a Redhead (noooooo, not Lucy - think duck). Red-winged blackbirds are always everywhere around the preserve but of course since we decided to try to photograph their brilliant colors, they did not want to cooperate. Eventually I got some good photos. Also snapped shots of a blue-winged teal, great blue heron, goslings, and a dunlin who looked to be "singin' in the rain." At mud lock the month-old eaglets sat atop the nest with mom and pop keeping watch from adjacent trees. Some of the photos aren't great quality but it's nice to have a record of what I've seen.

Penny Candy

When I was a kid we used to buy our groceries at Curtis & Ward, the mom & pop store in the nearby village of Lysander. I remember Mom ordering chicken, pork roast and other meats from the butcher counter in the back. There was a big spool of string hanging from the ceiling that Mr. Ward (or was it Mr. Curtis) would use for tying the packages. The string went from the spool through an i-bolt on the ceiling and hung down for easy access.

After Mom finished shopping we'd go to the front of the store where Mr. Curtis - or more often his wife, Ruth - would add up all our purchases and enter the amount into the ledger under our name. Once in awhile Mom would have some money to pay on account - she'd pay what she could, the rest went into the ledger, and that was the way it worked. The groceries would get packed into cardboard boxes and tied with string from yet another ceiling-suspended spool.

If my mother was really feeling flush, we kids might get a dime to spend behind the counter where all the candy was kept. A dime might not seem like much but in the late '50s you could get tootsie rolls, fireballs, gum, and other candies for a penny each, and if we were really careful we'd have a nickel left to buy a Snickers or Three Musketeers (which was much bigger than what costs $.69 or more nowadays). Ruth was always happy to let us crowd behind the counter while we carefully analyzed and agonized about how best to spend our fortune. We loved Ruth, proprietor of all things sweet and chocolaty. We loved going to Curtis & Ward. Heck, we just loved going to town on a Saturday afternoon!

Were Those the Days?

If I hear one more person propose, in response to an unfortunate event, that "society just isn't what it used to be," I'M GONNA SCREAM!!!! Is nostalgia so potent that it blinds us - wipes the memory clean? I submit that the "good old days" weren't that great. Abuse, divorce, drugs, the atrocities of war.....all those things have been around for ages. Anybody want to return to the days where women were property? Interested in harking back to a time when villages were sacked, homes burned, women raped, children killed all in the name of claiming new territory? When kids duked it out behind the schoolyard? Auschwitz anyone? Slavery? ....I didn't think so.

There are two significant differences between then and now. The first is technology. Television, internet, newspaper. Nothing is sacred, no story taboo. So we hear about the school shootings, the teenage rampages, the senseless killings, rapes, tortures. Iraq and Afghanistan are right in our livingroom. In previous generations we all had the family secrets - weird Uncle Joe who should not be left alone with children, or crazy Aunt Sara who got into the gin bottle a little too much. We kept it quiet. Divorce was considered shameful, cancer thought to be contagious...we didn't talk about it.

The second difference is perhaps a by-product of the first: Things are not hidden and because of that we have taught our children to be aware, to be strong, and not to do anything an adult says without question. We have told them to speak up and tell what's happening. They know not to feel at fault when they're not. So is it surprising that children now are more outspoken, seemingly less respectful but perhaps also less afraid of adults? Like a pendulum we've gone from "don't ask, don't tell" to "speak up, speak out." And maybe right now we've swung too far but just as the pendulum will over time begin to lessen its arc and slow down, we will eventually moderate. I for one am grateful that my kids are not afraid to speak up - and yes they do say what they think whether I like it or not, but they are not afraid.

So what do you think? There was a lot of good, there is a lot of good, there will always be a lot of good.....and bad.

The Eagle of Delhi

Another great Sunday, overcast at times but warm. We drove down to Delhi hoping to see the nesting eagle. She obliged us by sitting regally next to her nest and allowing us to photograph her. We were lucky enough to get reasonably close and - HUZZAH! - my new camera did a pretty good job. What do you think?

One Camera at Three Rivers

This week I found out about two more places to find nesting pairs of bald eagles, so when the sun finally came out this afternoon I took off in search of Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area just north of Baldwinsville. Of course I didn't know the name of it when I set out - all I had was a vague set of directions. It took awhile to find the right spot but sure enough I found mom and pop eagle. The nest was in a tall tree on a small island in the middle of a pond and about twice as far from the observation deck as the nest in Mud Lock. But it was a chance to try out the new camera. The pictures I took came out pretty good but I still have a lot to learn about the camera. I got some pictures of other birds too - an eastern wood peewee (pictured at left), an eastern phoebe, and a couple other birds I haven't identified yet. Next on my wish list: a good pair of binoculars!

We have seen the enemy and he is Exxon

February 1, 2007
New York Times "Exxon Sets Record on Annual Profits…Oil prices for the quarter ranged between $55 and $63 a barrel, averaging just shy of $60"

February 1, 2008
cnnmoney.com: "Exxon shatters profit records"
"Oil giant makes corporate history by booking $11.7 billion in quarterly profit; earns $1,300 a second in 2007....Crude prices skyrocketed nearly 60% last year. The surge helped prices break through the $100 a barrel mark for the first time ever early last month."
Msnbc.com: "Exxon Mobil Corp. posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company — $40.6 billion — on Friday as the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from historic crude prices at the end of the year. Exxon also set a U.S. record for the biggest quarterly profit, posting net income of $11.7 billion for the final three months of 2007, beating its own mark of $10.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005. The previous record for annual profit was $39.5 billion, which Exxon Mobil had in 2006."

April 29, 2008
The U.S. Energy Information Administration website:
crude oil is selling $116 a barrel down from $119 one week ago. Gas prices are up 20% (over $.60/gallon) from last year.

From Susannah: Okay, you get the point and we've all heard it ad nauseum: gas is going up, up, up at the pumps, and big oil profits are better than ever. I have a question: WHY IS THIS NOT PRICE GOUGING????? Exxon and other oil giants say its simply supply and demand: supply is low, demand is high, people will pay, big oil will flourish. But aren't there laws against what they are doing?

Case in point: In April 2003 there was a huge ice storm in Central New York. Everyone was without power for close to a week while temperature highs were in the low 40s. Gas generators were a scare commodity. We were trying to keep warm, trying to save our perishable food, getting by until the electricity was restored. You could turn on the radio and hear people calling in with tips on where to find a generator - perhaps offering them for sale themselves - at an exorbitant price. And guess what? Those sellers got in trouble with the law for price gouging. The supply was low, the demand was high, but it was illegal all the same.

So what makes Exxon and Standard Oil and Mobil different? Is there something I'm missing here because right now I'm thinking the only thing that keeps them out of the pokey is Mr. GW "a'hm a Texas oilman" Bush. Can anyone out there set me straight?

Migrating through Central New York

Today Max and I went birding. First to Derby Hill on the far southeast shore of Lake Ontario to see the Hawk migration. Most were too high but we did see a bald eagle, a vulture or two and a couple of hawks. From there we drove to Sterling Nature Center (about 30 miles west along the southern shore of the lake) and I showed Max the great blue heron rookery. There was also a great egret there.

I am so annoyed that I don't have my new camera yet! I had to settle for using my little Kodak digital and my old Pentax 35mm film camera with a zoom lens. It was so great watching the herons, they are one of my favorite animals - so majestic, especially in flight.

After Sterling we went southwest to the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge. Lots of geese, a couple of great blue herons, carp (orange carp? are orange carp native?), and - the best part - two osprey nests. The first had one osprey, pretty sure she/he was incubating eggs. The second nest was one we had visited a couple weeks ago, at that time there wasn't much to the nest - just a shallow shell. We were pleased to see that the ospreys had rebuilt the nest and both ma and pa were sitting in it. We also saw what I think were Caspian terns at Montezuma. If so, that's a lifer for me.

Gorgeous day. Gorgeous wildlife. And now I am pleasantly tired, relaxed and ready to watch the Yankees game. Who could ask for anything more?

What I did on my summer vacations

Yesterday we celebrated three birthdays: My two sons, born on April 14th and April 8th, and my youngest daughter, born on April 7th. I can hear all your brains working backwards 9 months....I'll save you the trouble: July...It's JULY!! The ironic thing is that the boys were both due in March, the girl in May...go figure.

Anyway, now that my baby is 21 and ALMOST out of the nest, I get to reflect on 29 years of motherhood and see how I did. For as long as I remember being a good mother has been my top priority in life. That's all I wanted - to be a good mother. So......did I do it? I suppose that's not for me to say, and maybe it's not possible to quantify, but I look at all four of my kids (the other was born in October - smart girl!) and I see mature, responsible adults. Even the ones who grew up kicking and screaming every step of the way....I see the way they live, the way they interact with others and I think, "Wow! They are such great young adults! Maybe I did at least some of it right!"

There have been many proud moments in my life as a mom. Watching my oldest perform a sax solo in high school and quietly weeping, wishing my dad were alive to see him. Being with my #2 son and his wife when my first grandchild was born - His calm, gentle manner not only with his laboring wife, but with his worried mother-in-law was something that every man should have witnessed. He took charge, he took care - of his wife, his mother in law, and his new baby daughter. Seeing my oldest daughter marry her "cutie" on a hill on the farm where I grew up. Witnessing my youngest overcome her fears and set off on a trip to Michigan..... wow....they've grown up.....and we all survived (me with a few more wrinkles and gray hair for which I blame them every chance I get!)

Someday, when my life is finished, I hope I will have earned these three words as my epitaph: SHE DONE GOOD

Check out the Argonauts!

So much to say, so little space....you should listen to the Countless Screaming Argonauts podcast. My favorite so far is Episode #20 where the guys talk about (among other things) the Doomsday Ark and the legacy we as a planet might leave behind. Max and the Penguin are great - and that Manhattan Man! Geez can you GET anymore New Yorkian?? Don't believe me? You gotta go see - errrrr...hear - for yourself.

The Story of Me

The following in an excerpt from Max's blog followed by my thoughts

So who are you? April 11th, 2008 by Max

Ever wonder how people are going to talk about you when you’re gone? Could you tell the story of the me that is inside me, by telling the stories people will remember of me?

It’s so hard to capture, really capture, who someone is. How do you show the inner mind? The person inside who says hey look at me, see me, I’m in here. I’m not this shell, I’m here and I’m alone.

We like to have a handle on who everyone else is, but I think we don’t know the inside. Is any of that, the piece of one’s soul that one keeps only for one’s self? Do we even keep these things for ourselves? Or is it in showing ourselves to people that we create these caricatures of ourselves that people will talk about when we are gone?

I suspect, in presenting ourselves to the world in the way that we do, to not show the holes in our panes while trying to let the world see in. We try to get the thing that we need, we ensconce in translucent frost the lens we are trying to focus on ourselves.

Somewhere behind the glass, is us!


Susannah thinks...

Behind the frosted glass, inside the fortress the voice cries, "I am here! See me! But don’t hurt me please!" It is the ultimate trust, the ultimate vulnerability, allowing others to see our true self. People think that physical intimacy is the ultimate act. I say it is nothing to offer one's body - sure the physical risk is real but it's the emotional intimacy that is most difficult to share. It is our soul that we keep safe inside and souls can be damaged far more deeply than bodies. Perhaps that is the secret to finding one’s “soul mate” – our “other half.” It’s not just about good sex, or similar personalities, or common interests.

The soulmate I want – the soul mate I think most people want whether or not they realize it – is the one to whom I can safely reveal the me inside. My soul mate would be able to tell the real story of me.

Higher Powers?

A friend and I have had a few chats about religious beliefs and whether God or some other supreme being really exists. For myself, I believe in some sort of higher power, but this conversation got me thinking. Here are my musings on the subject:

I believe that there are (perhaps sentient) forces greater than I that affect my life, that I cannot explain, and that I do not fully understand. It may be that I think of these forces in human terms because that is what is familiar to me. Giving human form to this power provides a shape and context that helps me define what I feel. Is it possible this power is just another part of me? Perhaps we all have an intuitive, unconsciously-tapped inner resource that only seems to us to be an external being.

I believe that this power - these forces - are possible to alter by virtue of the choices I make but although I might influence events, they often resist change: Our paths are to some extent pre-determined, but there are many and we can choose. I see life as a room full of doors: some will open to me, some may open with effort, some are not for me and will never yield. Each of these doors eventually leads to more rooms, more doors, more choices. Sometimes there are obstacles, false paths, dead ends. Sometimes I must retrace my steps and start again. But there is always a guiding force - a higher power? a sentient being? my own instincts?

Considering all of these things, I realize how a good debate such as the one between my friend and I forces us to closely, perhaps intimately, examine our own beliefs.