The incredible damage done by the border wall, which simply replaces a fence and truly does nothing but make a statement, is not understood by most Americans. It's not understood because there is so much chaos in our country, the media is kept occupied daily. When we finally have sanity in the White House, we will begin to unravel the damage done to our country, starting with our environment. This wall damage has not been understood because the wall has been built in a remote area, removed, isolated, out of sight of eyes of most people. Furthermore, most of us don't appreciate our responsibility for damage to our wild life, or how that damage will eventually impact all of us. Click on the picture below to read about the damage and wasted money associated with Trump's Disastrous Useless Wall. Click on picture below to read article.
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Every late October and November, I am visited by hooded mergansers. Gorgeous, fishing-eating birds( Lophiodytes cucul atus) related to ducks but quite different than them-- or at least the mallards--in behavior. They are most like wood ducks, because they nest in trees, or small holes. Like wood ducks, they're also gorgeous. But these ducks can hold their breath and swim underwater. They have translucent eyelids that protect their eyes underwater, allowing them to hunt small fish and crustaceans. They dive quickly, disappearing for a minute or two, reappearing several yards down the pond. They eat tiny fish, insects, plant life, and down south--custaceans. While wood ducks nest here in the spring and summer, I've never seen hooded mergansers nest around here. I've never seen a hooded merganser chick. However, I see them court and mate all the time, because they visit me during courting season. They love to mate in my pond. Actually, my pond is a huge love bed for mallards, wood ducks, hooded mergansers. When the hooded mergansers attract mates, they perform an interesting and unique head dance. The fully extended head feathers resemble a large white fan fully spread from the back to the front of their head. This makes them look very top heavy. In fact, when mating, they all look like they have massive heads that appear hard to balance upon their small bodies. When the females are ready to be entertained, the males lift their chests up, shake their fanned white feather back the forward, all while making this soft, buzzing sound. The female, with her chestnut fan, like all females in the bird world, calmly observes and makes her decision based upon beauty and skill. Below are two males performing. So, election day, Lorene came to see me with the babies. Here she is, below. Her babies, who have successfully avoided fox, coyotes hawks, eagles and bobcats, have grown into beautiful young adults. I'm sure Lorene had something to do with their survival in our predator heavy world here on the coast of southeastern Connecticut. I was kind of surprised her runt has survived. I call her itty bitty . She's a bit too small, but she sure is resilient. I'm sure siblings help Mom look after her. I knew Lorene was back because I heard loud drake grumblings and quaking in my yard. Drakes can get aggressive with each other and sometimes squirrels. When I looked out the window, there she was-- Lorene, wings spread out, her leg lifted, hopping up then scratching the duck. I've never ever seen a turkey go after anything. They fight with their feet. She did a little pecking, but her big weapons were her long fingers and talons. I suspect the Drake came strutting in and saw the runt, figured she was an easy target so pecked at her for the hell of it. There was no corn out there at the time, but maybe he was going after the few seeds that had fallen from the bird feeder. Drakes peck at others, quack, strut, pull feathers out if they can. All a show. They have their colors and feel sexy and aggressive. Which means they want to mate or fight or both. Lorene kicked his butt. It's what females do best. I was so impressed with her defense of the babies that I took all of them a little corn. When I walked out, Lorene came right up to me. Other turkeys run as soon as a human appears. Not Lorene. She wants corn, and she will come right up to the patio and demand it. She's tough, aggressive when necessary, and yet peaceful and kind to her babies. She ate, then they strutted around the yard. Peaceful, calm, aware. And that is what we'll all do today when we vote. We will be like the female turkeys. We will be peaceful, calm, aware. We will look after those who cannot look after themselves. And if any asshole tries to intimidate, we will kick their butt. Vote for peace. Vote for a kinder country. Vote to save our great planet. My next novel, DEAD FISH and What the Blue Jays Knows, has many themes, but its primary theme deals with the future of our wildlife if we do nothing and continue to normalize tragic consequences of our irresponsible behavior. We have already lost 70% of our shoreline birds. If we continue to do nothing, many species of birds will be at risk of extinction.
The House has recently introduced legislation to help our coastal communities deal with the climate crisis. Please tap the picture below to read about this legislation and contact your legislators, encourage their support. And... VOTE. Vote, vote, vote. It will be a tough election, but stick with it. The outcome will dictate the projection of our lives and the lives of wildlife that surround us. I am volunteering. You should too. Thanks! Before we get into Turkey love I want to wish everyone good health. Please wear masks, take precautions, listen to scientists, turn off propaganda. We have to get this virus under control so our economy will come back, so please everyone, be cautious and think of others. Also, don't forget the victims of wild fires! Let's keep the west in our hearts. Here are some places you can send money to help with victims of wild fires: https://www.cafirefoundation.org/.../supplying-aid-to.../ • The Solano Disaster Relief Fund: https://www.solanocf.org/Funds/Public/FundView.aspx.... • The Napa Valley Community Foundation: https://www.napavalleycf.org/donate/ • The North Valley Community Foundation: https://www.nvcf.org/donate • The Community Foundation Santa Cruz County has a Fire Response Fund at https://www.cfscc.org/updates/fire-response-fund. • The American Red Cross, which is paying to house people in motels this year instead of in traditional shelters due to the pandemic, is calling for cash donations. Its website provides numerous ways to donate. • The Diocese of Sacramento Fire Assistance Fund is accepting donations by mail at Diocese of Sacramento Fire Assistance Fund, 2110 Broadway, Sacramento, CA 95818; by phone: (916) 733-0266; or online by visiting www.scd.org/donate. Click “Fire Assistance Fund.” OK. Now. Turkey Love. Turkeys! My love of Turkeys began with Lorene and Harold. Lorene started visiting my yard a year before Harold showed up. She came by herself, walked around, approached me when I talked to her. She, like all Turkeys, was very shy. She picked at seeds that dropped from my feeder, and enjoyed corn I tossed her way. While she pecked at corn, she wasn't obsessed with it like ducks. She ate some of it a moment or two then scratched around the yard with her huge fingers, looking for worms. I named her Lorene because she felt like a Lorene. Eventually, she recognized her name. I think. A few times I was honored with the presence of flocks of females, who would show up for seeds, corn and worms. If more than two hung out in my yard, I'd call out to Lorene and one would usually walk towards me. That's how I identified her. I tried to find ways to mark her, but every time I was sure of a marker--blue place on her neck or other markers, another Turkey would appear with the same markings. So, I figured the only way to truly mark Lorene in a crowd was by noting behavior. Lorene wasn't nervous around me. Most of the time, Lorene was alone , so marking wasn't an issue. She liked my yard. The seeds. Occasional corn. My lazy, harmless bulldog. And then there was me--not lazy, but crazy. And harmless. So she came to my yard. All the time. Then, the next summer--rather late in the turkey mating season, Harold appeared. He snuck up behind my rhododendrons to spy on Lorene who was grooming in the front yard. Harold was something else! Feathers extended. Bright red swollen snood flopping over his beak. Red and purple wattle exploding from his neck. He stood quietly behind flowers, and peeked at Lorene. I was convinced Lorene would fall in love, but, no, she seemed disinterested. But was she? Or was she playing it cool. I am certain she knew he was there because she groomed quite a while. He did nothing for a while, only stalked her. Then..... he slowly creeped forward. Below is a picture of his first sighting. I've seen other male turkeys with swollen snoods, feathers extended, and in my nonprofessional opinion, Harold is an amazing looking male turkey. Colorful, large head. Gorgeous eyes. Huge, brightly colored wattle. Perfectly symmetric fan of tail feathers. I've noticed other males with ratty tails, skinny heads, weak snoods. Harold had it all. Harold was our Brad Pitt of turkeys and he was after my Lorene! Harold strutted, gobbled a bit, displaying his handsome self for hours. Lorene ignored him. I hid behind a tree, eager for a picture of the sex. Nothing. Strut, strut. gobble. gobble. Nothing. I left. I came back two hours later. There they were. She grooming herself. Him strutting. Finally she lay down, and I thought this was it, so I positioned my camera, sneaked behind my cedar. Here we go. But the approach was off, she was not satisfied with his technique. At the last minute she stood up and said no. Harold failed. He did not chase her, nor did he gobble in anger. He simply stood there. Rejection at the last minute is OK in the Turkey world. Or it appeared OK with Harold. Harold was a gentleman. Are all turkeys gentlemen? I don't know. From what I've read, there's no rape in Turkeydom, so this may be normal behavior. So, it appeared that mating was not going to happen at the Ice love bed that particular summer. But maybe it did happen elsewhere. Maybe they waited till night, or wandered off somewhere else, as my presence annoyed them.
Towards the end of the summer, a flock of females showed up with several babies. I think one of them--the female with the youngest babies--may have been Lorene, but I wasn't certain. I'm always certain of duck identification, as I know Louise's markings and she makes her presence known. But, as I said earlier, Turkeys are difficult to mark, and, and all the females were nervous with their offspring, so I couldn't walk too close. I did suspect that the smaller female with very young babies could have been Lorene. Her mating would have occurred late in the season, which would of course result in younger offspring. But I truly didn't know if Harold was a father or if Lorene said no that year. Flash forward to this summer. Lorene shows up again in my backyard. And so does Harold. We have the same couple coming to the same love bed. Here we go again. I'm taking a break from birds for a moment in order to pause and grieve the loss of one of our most intelligent, insightful and, importantly, ethical Supreme Court jurists, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was a tremendous role model for so many young women in our country. In fact, she exemplified the importance of role models.
We so desperately need to get back to good people with decent characters and strength in visible positions of leadership. Years ago, I rated corporate bonds for a large rating agency in New York. The energy department was changing and I and another director were put in charge of a new field of ratings that addressed project finance. I won't get into all that boring finance stuff, but basically this new area led to start up companies or fresh subsidiaries with unusual structures meeting with us to discuss the possibility of public debt ratings. There was no history, only projection. We put considerable weight on the qualifications of the CEO. His character, how he led. Because his modeling was critical. It would bleed through the entire company. Respect would enliven morale, disrespect dampen it and lead to loss of top management. When industry changes, and new forms of structure and finance emerge, retaining top management is key to survival. This is true for government, too, even though politics appears to be more of a war nowadays. We need to start seeing the importance of behavior modeling. Bad models, similar to bad management at corporations, bleeds into us. Good models, like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, lift us up. The loss of Ginsburg also threatens a critical balance that has always anchored our liberal democracy. A majority Supreme Court that reflects extreme minority views, particularly in regard to civil liberties and the balancing of societal costs--such as environmental protections-- combined with our current erosion of checks and balances, threatens our liberal democracy. We are a republic and, from what I have read, the erosion of liberal democracy will not look like other countries that have drifted towards authoritarianism. We may survive in bubbles of locality at first, but the inevitable corruption and dismantling of our necessary management of societal costs and individual liberties will eventually impact all of us. Why do I bring all this up? Well, this is what my next novel, DEAD FISH... and What the Blue Jays know is about. Yes, it's light and has quirky characters, but it also addresses this idea--that bad behavior --lying, corruption, win at any cost etc-- will infect all of us like a virus. Some may deny, some behave unethically, some drift into a form of nihilism. Furthermore, our acceptance of extremist, minority positions in our highest court will threaten our democratic foundations and survival. I hope we don't head there. I hope my novel is just a what-if story that makes for an interesting read. Rest in peach, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Your integrity and insight will be missed. Lorene is one of the females, although she could very well be two or three females and I just call them all Lorene because it is very hard to differentiate females. Males are easier, particularly in feather display during mating season. The video above--or to the side-- shows a flock of males who came by looking for females last spring. And the picture above that one is the male who is in love with Lorene--- the Brad Pitt of Turkeys whom I've named Harold. Harold does not linger around my yard, he arrives, he goes after Lorene. Going after a female in the world of Turkeydom is not aggressive, but, instead, passive, gorgeous and patient, patient, patient. The male display of feathers and inflamed snood (over the beak) and wattle (the red, sometimes purple skin on the neck) is amazing to watch. It's a lovely, beautiful and most importantly peaceful dance. As is common in the avian world, the female is in control of mating. This makes evolution managed entirely by females. This is particularly true in the Turkey world. The female Turkey chooses her mate and can freely back out of the deal at any time (or this is what I observed.). There is no rape in the Turkey world. If the female says no, then it's no. I will discuss mating later, though, because it is.. Just. So. Fascinating! It requires an entire few blog posts to discuss.
The picture above is of the wonderful Lorene and her amazing babies. She started out with five, now it's merely three and I fear they will not survive the Hawk migration season. I have my fingers crossed. Before I move on, I'd like to add my thoughts on bird intelligence. I think cognitive ability is a relative concept. That is true not only in the human world, but also, IMO, in the bird world. While the Turkey has a reputation for having a rather limited I.Q., I don't believe they are dumb birds. They are actually quite astute in many ways. Assessing brain competence depends upon what you are looking at--survival, emotional control, intuition, creativity? My observations have revealed, an incredibly intuitive and alert bird. The females usually raise the young in matriarchal flocks, but Lorene has managed alone. She runs from the other females who actually try to find her, bring her and the babies into their flock. Or maybe they are chasing her for nefarious reasons. I do not understand their motivations. All I know is what I see. And I see her running from the other female Turkeys, the babies running after her, the flock chasing them. Based upon my readings, this behavior is unusual. This chase tells me there's a story. And when there's a story, there's a degree of emotional and social intelligence. The fact that she insists on raising them alone says she has seen something, experienced something, remembered it and acts accordingly. It tells me she is a very concerned and devoted mother. Lorene and her babies--even the other "Aunties" who chase her and come around pecking at fallen seeds under my bird feeder-- are, usually, very peaceful and generous birds. I've never seen them bully any other bird, even though they could easily do damage with their long fingered talons and powerful legs. The other birds keep a distance, but are not fearful of them. They make low subtle noises but are mostly quiet and shy. Well, the females are quiet. Mating season is another story. Males are very loud! Their competence and peaceful natures inspired my name for them-- Buddhist birds. Ok below, we have the gang. Louse and Bubba are to the right of the screen. The gang shows up but as soon as I walk out, they know the routine. Slowly they march to the pond. I do toss corn to them over the fence. I am not that mean. They understand the yard belongs to the matriarch, mate and offspring--grandchildren etc. I have to really pay attention to how she behaves around the ducks to determine if a few are related to her. Usually the related ducks fly in with her first, then the others, mostly males, or drakes, fly over later. They usually linger around my pond until molting is complete, which is soon. Then most fly south. Bubba and Louise usually stay around here, or within a few miles from my town. All ducks can fly now, but as they molt and replace ugly brown with gorgeous colorful mating feathers, they'll lose flight feathers. I think many stay around our pond because during their vulnerable molting, they feel safe here. We have plenty of hawks and other predators, but they can avoid Hawks. The do disperse to various locations when the heavy molting occurs. Below are Bubba and Louise. They are wearing their summer colors. They had disappeared for a while, Louise returning with her injured friend, Bubba missing in action. I did see one of her offspring with babies who were brought to me for inspection. I approved! I suspect Louise helped raise her grandchildren, and while Bubba was gone for a while, he is now back and with the love of his life. Unfortunately, after this picture, they returned with all the grandchildren which I cannot allow. I don't want duck chaos again in my yard, so as they watched, I shooed her offspring and grandchildren away. They watched, then munched on fallen seeds and some corn I gave them, drank their water and flew away. I will try to capture a picture of the Bubba Louise dynasty the next time they all arrive. I do not like shooing ducks away but they have to learn that only the grand Matriarch and her mate are allowed.
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AuthorI like to write about people, animals, dogs. I enjoy ideas, good books about ideas, funny books about ideas, funny people who have ideas, advocates for people who don't have voices to express their ideas, and animals who have ideas we can't understand. Archives
November 2021
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