I'm not sure what this bird is, but he obviously has something to say. This was taken by Space Ritual and uploaded to Flickr. So cute.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
WHO ARE WE HELPING?
If we are all connected
Part of the same
Then what is war but self-sabotage?
What I do to my enemy I do to myself
There is no reason big enough
To make a war right
To ask the young to do things and see things
No one should have to do or see
How will those who come back be whole again
After they have been taught to kill
To kill or be killed
To accept it as all in a day's work?
Today's wars kill more than soldiers
Kill the armed and the unarmed
Families at meals
Teenagers on bikes
Vendors in the markets
Mothers nursing babies
Children at play
Think of those faces
Looking at you
Asking you why
What good have we done?
War destroys people in more ways
Than by bullets or bombs
If we who are safe at home
Had to spend one day with our soldiers
Had to see what they see
See what they do
We would say stop!
Nothing is worth this devastation
This savagery
This blood.
Stop!
Just stop
Part of the same
Then what is war but self-sabotage?
What I do to my enemy I do to myself
There is no reason big enough
To make a war right
To ask the young to do things and see things
No one should have to do or see
How will those who come back be whole again
After they have been taught to kill
To kill or be killed
To accept it as all in a day's work?
Today's wars kill more than soldiers
Kill the armed and the unarmed
Families at meals
Teenagers on bikes
Vendors in the markets
Mothers nursing babies
Children at play
Think of those faces
Looking at you
Asking you why
What good have we done?
War destroys people in more ways
Than by bullets or bombs
If we who are safe at home
Had to spend one day with our soldiers
Had to see what they see
See what they do
We would say stop!
Nothing is worth this devastation
This savagery
This blood.
Stop!
Just stop
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
King of the Beach
I am so sad to report that three elephant seals on the beach at San Simeon were shot and killed this last weekend. I can't imagine why anyone would want to kill such an animal. They don't bother anyone, and are so interesting to watch that people come from all over the world to see them.
These animals used to be hunted for their blubber, and in the early 1900s were thought to be extinct, but there were a few left on an island off Baja California. Present day elephant seals are descended from that group. They began to appear on the beaches in the San Simeon area in the late 1990s. The growing rookery was visible from Highway 1, and began to attract the attention of passersby, sometimes even causing traffic jams as people stopped to look.
Now California State Parks owns the land, and wardens and rangers patrol there regularly. Docents provide information to visitors. There are barriers there to keep people from bothering the elephant seals, or vice versa, and a parking lot has been created for interested travelers in order to prevent traffic jams.
A friend and I went up to San Simeon a couple of months ago on a cold, windy, wet day. We were shivering as we approached the fence and saw hundreds of big blubbery bodies laid out on the beach basking in the horrible weather. Only an elephant seal could have enjoyed it.
As we were leaving, we saw a seal out of the enclosure and in the ditch along Highway 1. We wondered about it, and two or three days later we heard on the news that an elephant seal had crossed the road and ventured onto Hearst ranch. A day or two after that there were pictures in the paper of the seal enjoying himself in a little pool. All the powers that be were trying to figure out how to coax him back across the road, and back to the rookery. It took several more days for them to finally succeed in getting the runaway, well, the flopaway, back home safely.
There were no quotes from the miscreant seal, so there was no way to know how he felt about his experience, and whether or not he was glad to get back home. But I do know he looked awfully happy taking his ease in that private pool.
These animals used to be hunted for their blubber, and in the early 1900s were thought to be extinct, but there were a few left on an island off Baja California. Present day elephant seals are descended from that group. They began to appear on the beaches in the San Simeon area in the late 1990s. The growing rookery was visible from Highway 1, and began to attract the attention of passersby, sometimes even causing traffic jams as people stopped to look.
Now California State Parks owns the land, and wardens and rangers patrol there regularly. Docents provide information to visitors. There are barriers there to keep people from bothering the elephant seals, or vice versa, and a parking lot has been created for interested travelers in order to prevent traffic jams.
A friend and I went up to San Simeon a couple of months ago on a cold, windy, wet day. We were shivering as we approached the fence and saw hundreds of big blubbery bodies laid out on the beach basking in the horrible weather. Only an elephant seal could have enjoyed it.
As we were leaving, we saw a seal out of the enclosure and in the ditch along Highway 1. We wondered about it, and two or three days later we heard on the news that an elephant seal had crossed the road and ventured onto Hearst ranch. A day or two after that there were pictures in the paper of the seal enjoying himself in a little pool. All the powers that be were trying to figure out how to coax him back across the road, and back to the rookery. It took several more days for them to finally succeed in getting the runaway, well, the flopaway, back home safely.
There were no quotes from the miscreant seal, so there was no way to know how he felt about his experience, and whether or not he was glad to get back home. But I do know he looked awfully happy taking his ease in that private pool.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Unknown Beautiful Flowers
These lovely blooms were photographed and uploaded to Flickr by Luke Brown, who is located in England, and who also is responsible for the "robins" on one of my recent blogs which I did not believe were robins. Well, they are robins--European robins, which is why they are so different from American robins. It's never too late to learn, and learning is something I love to do.
I would like to learn what these beautiful flowers are. I hope someone will enlighten me by leaving a comment.
I would like to learn what these beautiful flowers are. I hope someone will enlighten me by leaving a comment.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
brant-geese-estero-bluffs
This simple and perfect picture of geese just being geese caught my eye, and I had to add it to the birds I have been intrigued by lately. It was uploaded to Flickr by Mike Baird, whose photos can be seen at http://bairdphotos.com, and who is one of my favorite photographers of bird life and other things in nature.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Watching Me
Another little bird person. They turn their heads to look at us. I love this one. More later.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Sparrow
Here's another bird I couldn't resist. I will soon be writing a blog about birds, and will make an attempt to tie together all my miscellaneous bird pictures.
I find birds endlessly fascinating. Even the Turkey Vulture, whom I used to dislike, now entrances me. He has such an interesting personality. Turkey Vultures are not aggressive, they are generous to each other, they like to play together in the wind currents, and often, when rescued by humans, they bond to them and will follow them around like a dog. One in California that was rescued when it was tiny, bonded with people even though its rescuers tried to prevent that. It was released it into the wild, but ended up in a parking lot following people around, so its rescuers had to take it back, concluding that it didn't qualify for release. In my mind's eye I could see this poor bird trying unsuccessfully to find a buddy in the parking lot.
Turkey Vultures are ugly, its true, but beautiful in other ways. They are beautiful when they fly, floating on the air currents without flapping their wings. Plus, they do a clean up job that none of the rest of us would want to do, a job that benefits us all.
I find birds endlessly fascinating. Even the Turkey Vulture, whom I used to dislike, now entrances me. He has such an interesting personality. Turkey Vultures are not aggressive, they are generous to each other, they like to play together in the wind currents, and often, when rescued by humans, they bond to them and will follow them around like a dog. One in California that was rescued when it was tiny, bonded with people even though its rescuers tried to prevent that. It was released it into the wild, but ended up in a parking lot following people around, so its rescuers had to take it back, concluding that it didn't qualify for release. In my mind's eye I could see this poor bird trying unsuccessfully to find a buddy in the parking lot.
Turkey Vultures are ugly, its true, but beautiful in other ways. They are beautiful when they fly, floating on the air currents without flapping their wings. Plus, they do a clean up job that none of the rest of us would want to do, a job that benefits us all.
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