I Can Always Find Something Useless to Whine About

     Don't you just hate it when blogs just disappear? They just stop.

     I guess why I get upset when a blog disappears, is that I've enjoyed the blog and am just plain disappointed when it's gone.

    A few people do say that they have decided to stop blogging. I can handle this because there's closure. They also give reasons as to why it's time to stop blogging. Good! There was some thought to this decision. One blog I really liked and was disappointed when it closed was Just Another Day on the Prairie. A good reason for stopping was given and a good bye was said.

  One blog that really impressed me was where the blogger posted until a few days before his death. There were some intense comments shared on this one. I learned a great deal from this one. Much reflection took place after this one closed. His wife wrote a couple of posts when he was too sick to write. His daughter wrote a final post.

    In one or two blogs illness has set in and I think that the blogger passed on. Sad.

     Sometimes a very active blogger just starts to slow down. Time between posts gets longer and longer and then ceases. Sometimes bloggers try something new. They go from posting every day to once a week. You know something's up. Not long after things dry up and stop. Some bloggers are involved in more than one blog and they are stretched too far so something has to go. Sometimes bloggers move on to a completely different area and start a new blog. I can follow their new blog or call it a day.

    Sometimes the area that they cover just dries up and they have no new material to use. 

    Sometimes the fire in the belly just goes out.

    I would think that some bloggers find something else to occupy their time and blogging is what is dropped.

    So once in a while I have to go through my blog list and "clean it up."  It's sad to take these blogs off your blog list. They are old friends.

    On the other side of the coin one can search for more blogs. That's a blog post for another time.

   So how do you handle things when a blog shuts down?

Missing the Forest for the Trees

       A while ago I bought a new camera. It was a step up from the little old point and shoot I had to another point and shoot.  I wanted some zoom so that I could do a better job on some topics.

        I'm a birder so I want to get some better photos of birds. I will be satisfied if my photo is good enough so that the bird can be identified.

      So I've been practising a bit. I went to our local nature center. They have some feeders and they are very active. So for an impatient person like myself , the action is fast. There's also a convenient post I can lean against so that I can steady my camera. I park myself close to the feeder. So I've been learning a few things.

     Now I posted some of my bird photos. One comment was that "it was pretty good for shooting out a window." Then I saw something! I saw the brilliant reflection in the windows! I was concentrating on the bird so much that I missed other things in the photo. The person making the comment was looking at more than the bird.

    So I learned a little more about taking pictures. I will have to see more than I've been seeing.

These reflections were much brighter than I thought. 

The bird isn't interesting but the background is very busy

The Gadgets Just Keep Getting Smarter.

      I recently attended a session put on by the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. This organization's objective is to inventory all the  various living organisms in the province. They have set up 1529 posts throughout the province where they identify all living organisms on the site. So areas such as grain fields, grasslands , forests, wetlands and mountains are studied. They first choose three by seven mile sites and then choose something in that area which is narrowed down to a few acres.

     So a small site of  few acres is studied very carefully to identify all organisms. The purpose of the whole operation is to set up a level which can be used when deciding on land uses.

     They've made some interesting discoveries. They've found several new species of soil mites. They've also found species that were not known to exist in Alberta. They also plan to go back to each site every five years and survey again.

     Now a lot of this work is just hard observation. Sit and observe. Take photos. Dig a bit here. Take samples.

   There are a few gadgets that can be used. The familiar one is the trail webcam. Some of you have trail cams and if you are patient in monitoring you will see some interesting critters travelling through your yard.

    The gadget I found most interesting was a sound recorder. The device is placed on the site and left for a year. For ten minutes of each hour the device turns on and listens. Each year the device is read for the sounds recorded. They can identify an amazing number of sounds. Bird and animal calls are a no brainer. They can also identify creatures that are moving in the area. So it will hear mice rustling through the grass, a bear ambling through the site, a deer munching on some browse, a coyote scratching his ear or a bird flying by. This device is extremely sensitive. I thought this was pretty neat.

    This organization has many tools in its toolkit but the one using sound for a whole year was most fascinating.

    Once this study is complete it will have a most detailed and complete inventory of the things around us.

March 1: Lion or Lamb?

    March 1 is a fun date that I like to notice. The "in like a lamb out like a lion" or the opposite "in like a lion out like a lamb" is important when you get to this part of the winter. Everybody would like to see winter end.  My felt boots have holes in them and my fleece lined underwear are the same. If winter lasts much longer I'll be cold!

    Now for a skeptic like me, there are a few questions about conditions on March 1. What are the rules and regulations about the weather to define lion or lamb? So last night at one minute after midnight it was minus 15 C (5 F  ) calm and dark. At 6 AM it was minus 16C (4 F) , calm and the beginning of the dawn.  At noon it was minus 2 C ( 29 F) very windy and clear  At 6 PM it was minus 2 C(29F) 16 kph (10 mph) and clear. So some of this was lion and some was lamb. What am I to do? Toss a coin and pick one? 

     Whatever happens it's always pleasant to reach March 1. We know that we can get cold weather but it won't stay long. We will be getting much more mild weather. 

     The sun rose this morning at 7:22 AM and set at 6:12 PM for 10 hours and 50 minutes of sunshine.

     It was a good day to get out and walk, snowshoe or ski.

Starting a pleasant walk

Great blue skies

Coming back from the walk

My best shot of a chickadee today.

Darn! Wrong Date!

      Now with my history, this could be a story about the wrong woman. But it's not.

      On my Face book today , somebody had an example of what they thought was a humorous card which said, "Yesterday was National Middle Child Day, but I missed it." I only caught the "middle child" term  and that sent me off on a tangent. 

      I immediately thought, "I have to make a post on this topic." 

     I like discussions of birth order and  day of birth. I find the assertions and all the contortions people have to go through to make their case quite interesting.. I do not know the day I was born. I once asked one of the local autistic guys, I know well, to tell me the day of my birth. I forgot it before I got home.

     So I thought I should do a little research. To my horror I found out that yesterday was not National Middle Child Day. National Middle Child Day is August 12.

    So I was looking forward to posting on a topic I find interesting.

    But since it's not the right day, I've been left at the altar!

     So how do you feel when some inaccuracy spoils your day?

Are You Safe?

      The micro manager developed a very sore neck on Friday. Yes, I know I'm a pain in the neck!!! The pain shifted around got less and got worse. 

     Yesterday we went to the walk in clinic. The Micro manager did not follow any of the directions given by the attending Physician. She was going for other medical tests this morning and didn't want to take medication that would interfere with the test. So you guessed it .This morning she had excruciating pain. So we decided to come home after the tests for breakfast and then go to emergency.

    We got to emergency and she was seen in less than half an hour. Many questions were asked. She was asked if she had a recent accident. Medications were prescribed and she was to stay for a few hours to see what the medication would do. I went home. She had a two hour sleep.

    While I was away she was asked, "Are you safe?"  She wasn't sure what they meant. They were wanting to know if there was any domestic abuse happening! She was most surprised by the question. I knew that they were asking this question of people who came to emergency showing some trauma or indication of trauma. I was not surprised . I was asked this same question when I went to emergency a few years ago with an owy.

    It has been found that domestic violence can be discovered by asking this question in emergency clinics. 

     Before I retired from teaching we were asking kids the same question when we saw certain types of injuries or bruises. The question was the same, "Are you safe at home?" We were to report to the councillor and the councillor would check the student and then if there were suspicions the case  was moved to professionals who handle child abuse. The professionals would decide what action was needed if any.

      The Micro manager still thought the question was odd when she came home. I do not find the question odd and I hope it discovers domestic abuse and that actions can be taken to prevent and resolve abuse situations.

     Have you ever been asked this question or have you been the one asking the question?

One Enchanted Evening, Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan.

     Don't worry! I'll connect these.

     I would be willing to bet that all my followers are very familiar with the song One Enchanted Evening. Probably all of you have seen the movie South Pacific and some of you have seen it many times. I have an LP (LOL) of the South Pacific soundtrack  that I listen to once in a while. You may be able to name a number of singers who've recorded the song.

     One Enchanted Evening is a show tune from South Pacific. It was written by Rogers and Hammerstein and was popular for it's romanticism and varied musical pattern. Giorgio Tozzi , a bass , sang the  song on the soundtrack of the 1958 movie. This is probably the version that most of us have in our head when we remember this song even if we've never heard of the opera singer Giorgio Tozzi.

   Now many other singers have sung and recorded One Enchanted Evening: Perry Como, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Jay and the Americans, Barbra Streisand, the Temptations, Art Garfunkel, Harry Connick and many more. I have probably heard all of these sung but don't remember any specific version.

    Frank Sinatra sang One Enchanted Evening and is probably one of the better known and recognized versions. Sinatra sang and recorded many many tunes over many decades.  He had his fans. He carefully crafted his image.

    Bob Dylan started out in the folk song genre. Since I liked folk music at the time Dylan came on the scene, I listened to Bob Dylan. I liked the protest songs. I also liked Woodie Guthrie and all the other protest singers. Over the years Bob Dylan went through many different music genres. Sometimes he was quiet for years. His image was hap hazard. His personal life went through many changes. I liked Bob Dylan's songs but his singing and voice weren't that famous. In fact, his singing was weak. 

     Recently Dylan put out a CD of Frank Sinatra's songs and wouldn't you know it one of those songs is One Enchanted Evening. When I heard this I thought well cool I wonder what it would be like. Well, it was underwhelming. I couldn't wait for the song  to end. 

    Well, you probably haven't heard about Dylan's CD . I do wonder who's version of One Enchanted Evening you like best?