Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)

Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
Originally uploaded by cosmicsailor

Here's another view of the beautiful Western Scrub Jay, looking just the way they look in our yard. They are so beautiful they almost take my breath away. And so much fun I never tire of offering them peanuts, and then watching what they do with them after they take them out of my hand. They are fearless and intelligent. A wonderful bird.

Western Scrub-jay in Tiburon

Western Scrub-jay

 

We are constantly entertained by the blue jays in our yard who come for peanuts, and also for fellowship. We know they like the peanuts, but they seem to enjoy us too. When my son was feeling very low, there was one blue jay who would come to see him in his shop at the end of the car port. First he would sit on the open door and and look in, and then he would come inside and sit on the counter by the vise and look at Bob. It was just as if he were saying, "What's the matter? Can I help?"

One day, when I was dispensing peanuts, the blue jay, instead of eating it, pushed it into the ground of our gravel-covered back yard. He worked really hard at it, and finally got it poked down out of sight. Then he carefully covered it with rocks, one at a time, and as a final touch, found a leaf and placed it carefully on top. I was laughing at this performance because it was so cute, but was impressed because it was done so well. To me it was amazing that he could conceive such a project and then carry it out with such finesse.

In spite of such close and friendly association with the blue jays, I have never caught a good picture of one. I found this one on flikr. It was uploaded by little.jafa.

Great Blue Heron in flight

Great Blue Heron in flight
Originally uploaded by Erica_Marshall

I have been trying for so long to get a good photo of a Great Blue Heron, and have not succeeded, but I just found this one on flickr, uploaded by Erica Marshall. What a beautiful view of a stunning bird! Way to go, Erica.

UNFAIR DEBATE and MEDIA BIAS

After watching Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton indulge in a nasty spat like two little kids in a school yard, I am completely turned off of both of them. The Clintons are playing "two against one", and I sympathized with Obama when he said to Hillary, "Sometimes I'm not sure who I'm running against." I wonder if others besides myself felt the unfairness of the situation, disgust with Hillary, and disappointment with Obama because he wasn't mature enough to avoid taking the bait. Once you do that, you lose control. Neither Obama nor Ms. Clinton came off looking anything but petty.

John Edwards, on the other hand, seemed like the only grown-up in the crowd. He made excellent points, even though he was overshadowed by the ridiculous barbs and accusations of Obama and Clinton, due to the moderator's lack of fairness . Why did Wolf Blitzer let them go on so long with their spat? Was that fair to Edwards? Or to the listeners who wanted to hear what all of them had to say? I am disgusted, because this sort of unfairness deprives us of the opportunity to hear enough from everyone to be able to choose the best person to be the democratic nominee, and thus (we hope) the president.

Just because the media is obsessed with the idea that the nominee will be either Obama or Clinton does not mean the voters agree. In fact, this obsession continues to make it more and more difficult for us to hear what Edwards has to say. Why is there not more fairness in handling the debates? Why should the media be telling us who we can listen to, and who we get to pick from in choosing our nominee or our president?

I'd like to be able to get the media to stop making up our minds for us, and to cover news about the candidates in an unbiased way. The media is supposed to be reporting what happens, not trying to make things happen.

If anyone has any answers to these questions, I'd love to hear them.

About Voting

When I was born, women did not have the vote. At the time, this was not a matter of great concern to me, I was mainly interested in being fed, dry, and warm. I still like to be fed, dry, and warm but, as soon as I was old enough to vote, voting became even more important than mere physical comfort. It's mind-boggling, now, to realize that once women couldn't vote, or own property, or have control over their money. "What if I couldn't vote?" I asked myself. Politics, candidates, unfairness, laws, ideas for change--all those things I found so fascinating to think about and discuss--all would be beyond my power to affect with a vote, or even a conversation.

I recently heard some young people discussing voting, and opining that it wasn't worth it to vote because "it doesn't make any difference anyway." I wasn't part of the conversation, but would love to have been able to tell them how precious a right it is, the right to vote. I wanted to tell them it's the only way to make their voices heard. And if they don't vote, they have no right to complain about the results, They have to live with them whether they like them or not. If everyone gave up on voting, there would be no democracy. We would be ruled by those who's main interest is to get in power and stay in power.

Sometimes elections are won by very small margins, and those cases demonstrate how important every vote can be. We are lucky to live in a democracy where the voice of the people really counts. Or it does unless we become so apathetic that we don't take any interest. Whoever reads this, whether you are young or old, and whether or not we agree or disagree, please vote. Think about what you want for your city, your state, or for the whole country, and speak up with your vote. Take a serious look at the candidates and ask yourself which ones you would like to have making decisions about your life. Vote!

New Year, New Moment

The importance of now.

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PROMOTING PEACE

It's Christmas, and here we are, still at war. Many of us didn't want it, didn't believe it was right, and would like to see it come to an end. Many times in life, we have to ask ourselves what we as individuals can do when things around us seem to be wrong in so many ways. What can one person do? We feel helpless and ineffectual.

I meditated, and asked how to promote peace. This was the answer that came.

Be peaceful.
Think peacefully, speak peacefully, act peacefully, respond peacefully, relate to others
peacefully.
If anger should arise, use the energy of the anger to accomplish peaceful ends, to bring
about the best for all concerned.
Peace begins in one's own heart, and if it isn't there, it won't be in your life, nor can you
pass it on to others.
If you want to promote peace in the world, it must begin with you, in your own heart, in
your own life.

Here is a poem on the same subject from my book, "The White Tree."

PEACE

No matter what appears
Around us in the world
Injustice
Wounds
Wars
Peace is the answer
Individual peace

Peace in our thoughts
Our minds
Our hearts
Our actions
Can change the world
Nothing else can

There is no way to peace
Peace is the way