Month: March 2011

Signs of Spring

We got a break from the rain this weekend, so we took Leslie’s friend to Belfair and Theler Wetlands. It’s still a little too early to see many song birds, but the male Red-Winged Blackbirds were out flying their brightest colors,

male Red-Winged Blackbird

and for the first time this year a females have also shown up, looking quite smart themselves.

female Red-Winged Blackbird

There were the usual Canada Geese, Great Blue Herons and Song Sparrows, but the only shot that I really liked was this one of a female Goldeneye in flight

female Goldeneye

since I seldom get to see them doing anything but contentedly paddling around the marina. In fact, I didn’t even recognize the bird when it flew by in the distance because I couldn’t remember ever seeing the white wing patches before.

It still doesn’t quite feel like Spring, but we also managed to find a couple of mud-splotched Skunk Cabbage,

mud-splotched Skunk Cabbage

generally the first native harbinger of Spring. This one seemed to portray the dangers of being the first to venture forth.

Horned Grebes

We’ve had so much rain, that I’ve only managed to get out birding twice in the last two weeks, and birding wasn’t very good either day. But I did get a few shots I liked in Port Orchard, like this one of a Horned Grebe in non-breeding colors,

Horned Grebe

and this one almost in breeding colors that clearly shows why they were named “horned.”

Horned Grebe in breeding colors

We did go out birding again today, but I’m still waiting to see one in full breeding colors. Shouldn’t be too long now.

Pardon the Interruption

in our regular programming.

You’ve been spared this aspect of my personality unless you’re a long time follower of this blog, one I started in protest of America’s invasion of Afghanistan, God only knows how many years ago.

Recently I’ve only been expressing my political views on Facebook, though doing so seems like little more than preaching to the choir since nearly all my Facebook friends share similar views.

Still, since this blog is a tribute to my desire to lead the best life I can and since I devoted much of my life after Vietnam trying to create a better, more just, society, I don’t see how I can ignore anything as devastating as the rise of the Tea Party and the continuing assault on the middle class.

Though I would never display my emotions as effectively as Kucinich does in this video, he articulates my present feelings as well as anyone I know.

I’d love to see Kucinich run in the primaries against President Obama before the next election. At least I’d have a chance to vote FOR somebody rather than AGAINST somebody.

For What It’s Worth

Though posting has been a little irregular here, I haven’t just been playing my new computer game. In fact, I might have been reading and thinking even more than normal, thanks, in part, to a long period of rain.

Mostly, though, it’s due to recent changes in our country’s political tone. Though I’ve learned to tune most of the political rhetoric out since my first outrage after Bush’s attack on Iraq, Tea Partyers and Obama’s increasing turn to the right, apparently in an attempt to gain the middle ground has left me steaming more than usual.

My mood wasn’t improved when I attended a “Town Hall Meeting” with our local representatives, all liberals. Basically, the meeting was an attempt to decide what services to cut because State tax collections have fallen radically in our state and, due to a recent initiative, it’s impossible to raise taxes or fees without 60% approval, nearly impossible to achieve at the moment.

Although the accompanying video isn’t particularly relevant at the moment, unless you, like I, consider the money fighting these endless wars immoral, this could well be the theme song of this generation: