Winter: Flight or Fight?

Posted on January 24, 2014 by RegenAxe

Trumpeter Swans and Seagulls

This winter, a record number of trumpeter swans have descended upon the Saint Louis area’s Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Located along the Mississippi River, 900 of them were counted at the peak of this season. Trumpeter swans are all white, with black beaks, legs, and feet. These swans are named for their resonant, trumpet-like call. They’re the largest waterfowl in North America, weighing about 25 pounds and have a wingspan more than seven feet. At the start of the 20th century, they were thought to be nearly extinct. There were still some in Alaska, but in the lower 48 states, only 69 trumpeter swans were left, clustered in the Rockies. Along the Mississippi flyway, the swans had disappeared. Conservation efforts began in the 1980s and by 1991 five birds were spotted at the Riverlands. The next year a few more swans were seen. Last year there were 500 birds and now 900. That is one heck of a success story.

Kindergarten is like the ocean. You don’t want to turn your back on it.

This week has been a particularly cold and blustery one. Anne had no school on either Monday or Tuesday, because of the weather. Wednesday’s 4th grade left her flat on her back. I had to wake her for dinner and then there was Thursday’s kindergarten. She texted me at noon, “Help, I feel like Arnold.” referring to Schwarzenegger’s Kindergarten Cop stint. Several kids wet themselves and none of them listened to her. It is so cold here that I’m not surprised that these kids have gone crazy and by proxy Anne too. Bracketing quotes are from the movie and bear no resemblance to Anne’s teaching style. I think. 😉

SHUUUUUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

My week was also tough. I spent all week running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I’m planning a trip. So, I’m getting stuff built, lots of stuff. I’m meeting more new people every day. It’s sort of exciting, but it is also pretty tiring. I’m averaging 10,000+ steps at work everyday. I try to get in earlier than normal, because all these new friends work the union’s schedule. This new work schedule causes even more sleep deprivation, but I am motivated. This arctic winter weather is a powerful motivator to get out-of-town. If I pull this off, I’ll work for two weeks in relatively balmy Seattle. Anne’s spring break tacks on nicely after this window. Jay and Carl are welcoming. If I can pull this trip off, I can tell that stupid groundhog to take a hike. I’m choosing flight over fight.

Pocketa-Pocketa-Pocketa

Posted on January 18, 2014 by RegenAxe

Fallen Powder Puff in the Climatron

Cycad Leaves Pattern

Anne in the Moorish Garden of the Mediterranean House

Best Eagle Shot of the Day

Trolling American White Pelican

Seagulls on Ice Floes

I want to see Ben Stiller’s “Walter Mitty” movie, I fell instantly in love with the James Thurber short story when I first read it, but the movie reviews have been lackluster, so I’ll wait for the DVD. A friend of mine was touring Iceland when the movie was in production there. He met one of Mr. Stiller’s personal assistants, who told him, “You would think that working for Ben would be glamorous and fun? You would be wrong.” Today was sort of a Walter Mitty day, not that I ever imagined myself a hero, but we did visit some varied and exotic climes, as varied and exotic as you can get within 25 miles of home. Today, we photo safaried from the tropics to the arctic.

“We’re going through!” The Commander’s voice was like thin ice breaking.

It was cold this morning, when we drove to the gardens. Workmen were busily taking down last year’s holiday lights. We walked around a bit, but since the exterior garden was completely asleep and it was freaking cold out, we ducked into the Mediterranean House. In winter, this route makes for a good halfway house to the Climatron. If you dive right into the jungle, your cold lenses will fog interminably. Eventually, Anne began pantomiming, “Feed me, Seymour!” So, before any bloodletting began, we decamped to the City Diner. On our way out of the Climatron, I overheard a mother of small children announce brightly, “This air will help breakup all of our coughs!” The last thing that I need in the middle of this flu season is to contract a tropical disease.

“Puppy biscuit,” said Walter Mitty.

At brunch, we planned our afternoon, the rest of the weekend and Anne’s spring break. I wanted to go to the Pulitzer next to see their new show, but Anne, seeing the Post’s front page, suggested eagle watching. I was fine with that. On the way up to the Riverlands, it began to snow and then it began to stick. We almost wimped out and turned around, but that wouldn’t have been very Walter Mitty. We saw Bald eagles, Trumpeter swans, Golden Eyes, Great Blue herons, American White pelicans and seagulls. The pelicans and seagulls congregate around the Mel Price lock and dam. When the fish come squirting through that lock’s coffer dams they get a little stunned and then make easy pickings. Dusk was hurried by incoming weather and we then beat a hasty retreat.

“To hell with the handkerchief,” said Walter Mitty scornfully.

This Was The Week That Was

Posted on January 10, 2014 by RegenAxe

Crow and Calls

This post is an eclectic collection of workplace conversations that I’ve culled over this first week back from Christmas vacation. We’ve all been off from work for a while, some like me for a long while. Now that were all back at work, it’s sometimes difficult to get the workplace’s machinery gears to smoothly mesh again. The social lubrication resulting from these stories that I’ll relate here seemed to help to expedite this process.

We are always watched at work. We watch each other and we watch ourselves. There is even a dedicated cadre to watch over all of us. We don’t have to worry about the secret NSA spying, because we’ve already contracted with the government to spy on us, but unlike the rest of the country, we’re at least getting paid as part of that contract. Anyway, the main complaint in this conversation was about private companies collecting on us. Here are two examples that were discussed after supposedly being reported in the news:

After the NSA, Walmart is the next largest acknowledged collector of metadata in the world. In an interview, a company spokesman surprised everyone with a fact culled from their collection of metadata that after a Florida hurricane, the single most sought after item was Pop Tarts.
Target also uses metadata. Its example is both more personal and egregious. A father complained to Target about the chain’s practice of sending diaper and baby formula advertisements to his 15-year-old daughter. Then he learned a week later that she was pregnant. Target knew before he did.

After actually writing up these two stories and then rereading them, they do smack of urban myths, conservative myths. I am now skeptical about both stories, but I’ll leave it to the readers to decide this for themselves. This next story is totally unverifiable, but considering its source, I’ll vouch for it, even if it comes from the likes of Duck Dynasty.

It occurred on a camping trip and involved a Dalmatian. Now this Dalmatian had only one spot. It certainly was not Budweiser advertisement material. This story also included a brother-in-law. Don’t these stories always? Sitting around the campfire and after a twelve pack or two, or more, the brother-in-law announces that that is a city Dalmatian. Further, with just one night out in the country it will become “spotted out”. After almost everyone else went to bed, this nefarious brother-in-law went to his truck and pulled out the biggest black Sharpie that you have ever seen. He then proceeded to spot out the dog. The dog seemed to love the attention. I got no clear read on the owner’s reactions, because the guilty parties had already left in the predawn hours.