The Fickle Finger of Fate

The deaths of four celebrities this past week, gives us a chance to explore mortality, and as Dick Martin of "Laugh In" used to say ' The Fickle Finger of Fate". What is the reason that some leave this world in sudden unexpected ways, while others hold on to life for as long as they are able? Why do we wage wars, which snatch the breath of life from so many young people?

I have no answers, but then maybe we're not supposed to have the answers. Maybe our lot is to question the unexplained, and life's little mysteries . Without the quest for answers, the great leaps of science and technology would not have taken place, without the searches of areas unknown, we wouldn't know about our earth, our solar system, and the vast space beyond.

Maybe we're meant to question, look in awe upon the little things, and just enjoy the ride.

"Live Long and Prosper"

Vulcan Salute

Some Beetles have all the luck!

While in South Africa we saw this sign at Tembe Elephant park and had to get our picture taken with it.
After posing, we were told that they are protected by the government, and that a few species of Dung Beetle are endangered because of vehicles.
I was very impressed with the measures that South Africa takes to protect it's wildlife (which also helps the tourism trade).

I am also happy that our new President signed into law The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, which gave 26 million acres of government land the full protection it needs. Most of the 850 protected areas are largely unknown to most Americans, but include areas like the Missouri Breaks in Montana, the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation area, and Nevada's Black Rock Desert, known to some as the home of the Burning Man Festival. He is undergoing a baptism of fire, but to me our new President is the real deal, a man of his word, and the right person to move us forward while returning our country to a more respected position among the world's countries.
For the Dung Beetles it's life as usual, rolling balls of dung and trying to avoid being squashed by car tires. We all have our work to do, and there are times we all feel like we are dung beetles, pushing poop from one place to the other in order to survive. Too bad we don't get the right of way in our lives too!

Under the Scissors

For the first time in almost eight years, I got my hair cut. My long ponytail is now just a memory. I quit getting it cut as a personal protest against George Bush and his Evil Ways, vowing to not cut it until he was removed from office. George is now a distant Presidential memory, and the world is starting to look more favorably on America. Our new leader told us it was time for change, so I asked my sister-in-law to cut my locks.

Having gone for so long with long hair, it seems strange without it, but it is also a lot easier to manage, and my wife appreciates no longer having to braid my ponytail!

Worker Bee is Buzzzzy

Now that I am back among the employed, and feel like I am contributing to the success of the hive. I have been pondering the absence of Bees in our yard this year. A couple of years ago beekeepers started to find complete colonies of honeybees had just vanished, sometimes leaving a few sick, dying or dead individuals at the hive. A widening mystery, this has begun to impact commercial crop pollination in agricultural regions of the country.

Tricia and I are blessed with a wonderful yard that is full of flowers and flowering shrubs and trees. We have developed this over the past few years as a habitat for birds and other animals in our neighborhood. One of the delights every year is watching the honeybees and bumblebees busily working from flower to flower doing their jobs, keeping their colonies alive. This year we have only seen a couple of honeybees and about a quarter the number of bumblebees we normally see.

Colony Collapse Disorder is killing bees faster than they can reproduce, and this could have a disastrous on the world's agriculture. Is this the bee world's version of our current economic collapse? Are the worker bees losing their jobs, becoming homeless, and starving on the streets? What is happening to the queens? Are they losing their crowns to an unseen enemy?

A number of Corporations have joined the fight against Colony Collapse Disorder. Take a look at what others are doing to help:

http://www.burtsbees.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?contentPageId=531&catalogId=10051&storeId=10001&langId=-1

http://www.greatsunflower.org/en/forum/general-discussion/latest-information-colony-collapse-disorder-thedailygreen-com

http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/

Please get involved! Without bees, crops can't get pollinated, which means less fruit and vegetables, which means more expensive fruit and vegetables. Be a good worker bee and support this hive called earth!!!!!!

Peace

Weather, or not...

Weather fascinates me. Rain, Sleet, Snow, Wind, Sunshine, Clouds, Hail; it all is amazing.

I have been known to pull off the road to watch a sunset, or stand in amazement as rain comes down in buckets. I can't resist, I guess it's the science nerd in me.

Weather also makes for some interesting photo ops. Too bad I can't spend all my time snapping the shutter release.

This morning it was foggy when I got up, this afternoon the sun played peek-a-boo from behind the clouds, one of the great things about the weather; it is never the same. Weather helps make life interesting. Next time it rains, stop, take a few deep breaths and enjoy the moment. Complaining won't make it stop, so let's enjoy it.

Sleeping in - one of life's little joys

Ahhh, Saturday morning. A time to snuggle up with Tricia and the cats and be lazy. Sometimes I am amazed at how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family. Saturday morning has always been our time for being together and just being. After this morning that will change. My new job schedule will require me to work weekends, so Tricia and I won't have our weekend time together to be lazy, explore, run errands together or any of the fun things we have always done. It will be difficult, but hopefully I will be able to get back to having at least one weekend day off soon.

When one door closes another opens

I have neglected my blog for a few weeks while I have been learning the ins and outs of my new job. It is amazing how much harder it is to learn when you are in your mid fifties than it was thirty years ago. Thinking about new things can really tax one's brain. I was as comfortable in my last job as I am in my favorite slippers. Having my position yanked out from beneath me was quite a suprise and a shock! After a few months of searching in this terrible economic climate, I was fortunate to find a position. The door that closed was an old and familiar one, the new door seemed to have some dark and scary things behind it Luckily my eyes are becoming accustomed to the dark, and the things that seemed scary are coming into focus and aren't as bad as they seemed.

Right now I am sitting at the computer watching two Male Rufous Hummingbirds zip around the yard checking the new flowers on our Red Flowering Currant in the backyard. They are bright iridescent copper colored and they are tiny. We are very lucky to have a lot of different birds who visit our yard or fly over on a regular basis.

Our return to Africa is all arranged, we only have car rental arrangements left. Everything else has been sorted out and confirmed. One week of wildlife rehabilitation classes followed by a week in Kruger National Park. (For those who are interested, Kruger is over twice the size of Yellowstone National Park!