I'm just a bloggin' fool

Paul Lester asked an interesting question on his blog earlier this week. In his post, Paul Lester Photo » Blog Archive » Why I blog, he challenges his readers to explain why they blog and if they've ever been tempted to quit.

The second question is easy to answer. I did quit, for nearly two years, when other aspects of my life demanded my full attention. No one was more surprised than I when I started up again.

The first question - why do you blog? - is harder to answer. I don't know the reasons. I first started to learn the technology; but it's not that complicated, and that was quickly accomplished. Yet I blog on, despite the progress in interfaces that makes it ever easier to do so.

For more than 20 years I've been part of online communities. I've met good friends (not to mention my husband), and I've learned a lot about a lot of different things. In many ways, online communities are much like the colleges and universities at which I work. Both are full of talented, knowledgeable, and diverse people who are incredibly interesting and who value many of the same things that I do in life.

As my network of online friends has expanded, as more and more friends and family have moved online, and as email has overrun itself with spam (it's so crowded no one goes there anymore), blogging has simply become an easier way to keep in touch.

And I've learned so much! I learn from all the blogs I read - about photography, invertebrates, plants, birds, other animals, and the weather. I gain glimpses into lives very different from mine, lives of people with whom I have many common interests but would never have met in the offline course of events.



Or maybe it's simpler still. Where else would I find a community of people who would care to see a photo of a bird's nest I found in the yard this morning?

Twofer eight things

Mary at Mary's Corner of the World and Jayne at Journey through Grace both tagged me for this meme, the eight random facts. Here are the rules:

Bloggers who are tagged write a post giving eight random facts/habits about themselves.

The post must start with these rules.

At the end of the post, the blogger tags eight more people to play and lists their names. She/he then leaves them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Since I was tagged almost simultaneously by both Jayne and Mary, this one list of eight will satisfy both tags. I'll need the time I save to find eight bloggers who haven't already played this one. :)

So here goes:

1. I don't take vacations in places that don't have indoor plumbing. My mother grew up on a farm with neither electricity nor running water and passed on her very strong feelings about life under those circumstances.

2. I only got interested in photography when digital cameras became available.

3. My definition of the four basic food groups is chocolate, coffee, single malt scotch, and diet coke with lime.

4. My favorite movie is Casablanca. It has everything you need: good guys, bad guys, love interest, noble sacrifice, and great humor.

5. I read voraciously. I'll read anything, but prefer fiction, particularly mystery and detective stories, but some sci fi/fantasy as well. I also enjoy and frequently reread Jane Austen.

6. I come from a long line of animal lovers. One of my fondest childhood memories is of watching my father's father feed chipmunks on the back porch.

7. I've always been good at math and lousy at music. I can't sing on tune to save my life.

8. I once made bread and baked it in a wood stove. It turned out okay, but I've since made it a rule to live in houses with more modern kitchens.

I'll update this post tomorrow with eight tags of other bloggers.

Where I live

In a recent comment, Patricia asked where I live.

I live in a suburban neighborhood with houses close on either side of me. In front of the house is a nice paved road that goes nowhere (ie, around in a circle) and just out back is a golf course. The heavenly part is that the piece of the course right behind the house is what I think is called "the rough" so we look at trees and deer instead of golfers.

Between us and the golf course is a protected wetland - a small stream with a 25 yard buffer on either side of it that cannot be disturbed, mowed, or planted in. At angle to one side there's a field, currently cultivated, that will undoubtedly be sold some day for development. For now, this is my therapy. I sit out back and watch the non-human, non-urban, non-automated world, and I feel myself relax.

Clouds

The sky is sunny blue except for the horizon. Two bambis are playing tag amongst the corn, a grackle and a red-wing proclaim their territories from adjacent trees, baby dove practices flying with mama, and a downy woodpecker, a goldfinch, and two sparrows take turns on the snag.

Life is good.

Vibes

Cate has tagged me for this meme, Beyond the Fields We Know: High Vibes which originated at OptimistLab with the post, How I raised my Vibes. The challenge is to blog about five favorite tricks for “Raising Your Vibes.” So here are mine, in no particular order.

#1 - Enjoy the freebies. Monday morning as I was driving to work, I was basking in the sunlight, the warm breeze, and the low humidity. Arlo was talking about how he met Steve Goodman, and then sang "Riding on the City of New Orleans." I was looking forward to a day rife with new opportunities at work. All of this combined to set me wondering about what it is that makes some days so great, some moments in our life so perfect we want to freeze time and revel in them. Then I thought about blogging about that, but didn't put aside the time to do so. The next day, Cate tagged me for the vibes meme. I know as well as the next person that correlation does not equal causation, but the nudge was fortuitous and encouraged me to think and write along these lines. I can't summon weather or command signs and encouragement, but I can choose to enjoy them when the opportunity presents itself.

#2 - Laugh. I have a robust but idiosyncratic sense of humor. It responds to the absurdities of life, of which there are many, such as the Department of Homeland Security setting up its future headquarters on a site previously used as a psychiatric hospital. Regardless of your politics or your opinion of that agency, surely you see the humor! However, I don't rely solely on the news and current events to tickle my funny bone. I start my day with my favorite comic strips, Cute Overload, Cute Otters, Penguins, Daily Kitten, and Kitten Break. Awwwhhhhhh .....

I've also focused on reading books and watching movies that are funny or upbeat. Last night we went downtown to see a The Thin Man as part of a classic film festival. I also enjoy the Marx Brothers, screwball comedies from the forties and fifties, and animations. I have a collection of Rocky and Bullwinkle shows on DVD, as well as a collection of favorite sitcoms from years gone by (Barney Miller, WKRP, Northern Exposure, and the greatest of them all, Sports Night).

#3 - Read. All my life, reading has been a joy, a relaxation, an escape, and a restoration. Strictly speaking, it's reading per se, not necessarily books, that I enjoy. Though my taste runs largely to popular fiction for escapism and spirit-lifting, I will gladly read newspapers, blogs, websites, encyclopedias, museum placards, or cereal boxes, if that's what's available. I highly recommend the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series, Donna Andrews, Maeve Binchy, or Jane Austen, though my entire list of favorites is much too long to list.

#4 - Talk to the animals. Of late, I've come to appreciate nature more and more. Watching birds and animals is a great treat, and sitting on the desk with a cool drink, a book, and binoculars or camera, is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable ways I know of to spend an afternoon. I always enjoy spending time with Kinsey, my resident critter, and in this regard I have scientific observation on my side. Studies show pets are helpful to both the sick and the well, the young and the old, for maintaining a sense of well-being or raising spirits when down.

#5 - Spend time with other people or spend time alone. While this sounds like a conflict, both raise my vibes. I need more time to myself than most people - my theory is that my brain needs this time to process all that it has absorbed. If you believe in personality types, I'm an introvert. Being around people takes a lot of energy, energy that I need to replenish.

On the other hand, I am neither a hermit nor a misanthrope. I need and enjoy interaction with other people, particularly smart, funny, slightly unusual people like my husband and good friends. My friendships are deep rather than wide, and I'd much rather have dinner with one friend than go to a party. The less fuss involved the better; I'd rather go out to dinner than have guests in or be part of a pot luck and a tee-shirt-and-jeans dress code is my favorite.

I have other "rules" for life, but these will do for now. The second part of the meme is to identify five favorite posts, each from a different blogger. Only five is tough, so I'll concentrate on recent ones that are fresh in my mind and know that I'll undoubtedly miss one that I shouldn't.

Rabbit, rabbit yourself from A Mark on My Wall
Resilience, from Journey Through Grace
Chain Link Fences and Rioting Flowers from Wanderin'Weeta (with waterfowl and weeds)
Early July in the Garden from In the Garden Online
Boats at Sunset from Somewhere in NJ

How I spent my summer vacation

At least one day of it: Playing football. (You gators just stop listening, right now!)

If you know Ann Arbor, you know that football is serious business and that Maize and Blue are not just colors. So what better way to spend the day than at the Women's Football Academy? It's a charity fund raiser for the UM cancer center and has been running for nine years.

We spent the morning at the practice field rotating among 10 groups of coaches and players, learning basic skills and going through the same drills as the players do when they are training. Of course, we got to stop after a couple of run throughs, and we skipped the part where you put on pads and try to knock each other out off the field and back to Ohio.

After lunch, we went over to the Big House and ran some plays in scrimmage. Even starting from the 20 yard line, we found touchdowns challenging but just getting out and playing was a ton of fun.

So, I had a great time, learned more about football, and helped a good cause. The event raised more than $180,000 for the cancer center patient and families fund and I have a shirt and hat autographed by every player I could get to sign it, plus Coach Carr. I now have the perfect outfit for all those upcoming football Saturdays.

The Bluebird of Happiness

Right now he's on a branch in my backyard, and that's not a bad place, for either of us. There are other colors, other birds: Joy, light, laughter, love, peace... like the bluebird, they are easier to find some times than others. They come and go no matter what you do.

If you try too hard, you're doomed to miss them.

They are easier to find if your eyes are open.

What rules for birding life do you live by?

Wonderful Weekend

This picture is from the Wrenaissance Era in Virginia, and is the first digiscoped picture I took, ever. Not bad, eh?

I spent this past weekend with a dear friend, visiting from my former life down south. It was wonderful to share the vista, the comings and goings of the local birds and wildlife, and good weather with someone who appreciates them all as much as I do. Reconnecting was wonderful. We spent a lot of time "vegging" - reading, playing with scope and binoculars, chatting about nothing and everything. I used some veg time to update my website and set up a flickr account, in between catching up on life, solving the problems of the world, and deciding the important issue of what to do for dinner.

I'm famous!

Wren brand Florida Citrus Fruits.

I hadn't been aware of this brand until my husband gave me a pillbox which had the label design on its top. Isn't it great?

People

In her post Talking to Strangers, Robin recounts her meeting fellow bloggers in person for the first time.

It's not so unusual as it may sound, as virtual communities are often strong ones, and in-person gatherings and "real-life" relationships are natural corollaries. Of course, I speak as one who met her husband online, and who has many close friendships with roots in overlapping online communities from twenty years ago. Yes, people were online back then, though only geeks and spies knew about ARPANET and BITNET, those precursors of the Internet. Some of us dialed our phones and put the handset (a concept now almost as obsolete as "dial") in the acoustic coupler and called up a local bulletin board at 300 baud. Real geeks had 1200 baud modems and talked to friends all over the world on Fidonet.

You might think that friendships born online would be least likely to change over time and distance. Not so; we began to meet in person as well as online. We had parties and happy hours and group outings. After a time, the friendships expanded to include significant others, spouses, and children. We attended each other's weddings, christenings, and bar mitzvahs. The friendships matured and deepened, and while parties and group events continued, we also became close friends with individuals and like all friends, went out to dinner and to movies and to reciprocal charitable events. We visited our friends in the hospital and cried at their funerals and tried to preserve real memories in a virtual world. These are people who know me as I am, like me for who I am, and make me laugh and think and try new things.

Just like any good friends, anywhere.

And so, when I moved to Michigan, I left many friends behind. We still exchange emails. One of our BBS systems migrated to YAHOO groups, and maintains conversations that haven't matured much in the intervening years. But we can no longer drop by for a spur of the moment dinner, we're missing this year's parties, and the kids are older and taller and prettier and smarter, and we're not there to see it.

So, if anyone tells you virtual communities aren't as good as "real" ones and virtual friends aren't 'real" friends - tell them they're wrong. Virtual holes in your life are just as big.

What is it in nature that speaks to our souls?

While I was having breakfast, uploading egret photos, and nature watching the back yard, a grackle flew overhead with a beak full of dead grass. I was thrilled to see it, and began to wonder why such an ordinary sight gave me such joy. It's easy to understand the joy of seeing the egrets. I've never before seen one in my backyard and they are intrinsically beautiful and graceful. The grackle flew overhead so quickly, there was no time to appreciate its irridesence, no pause to reflect on the signs of spring, nest building, new life, continuity ... just a moment of happiness in response to the ordinary.

Perhaps such self reflection works better in the afternoon, with glasses of wine, than in the morning fueled by coffee, because I came to no conclusion. I just know that this connection to nature - however tenuous, however fleeting - brings with an awareness of beauty and a connection to the greater world. With that connection comes happiness, peace, and joy.

Wow!

As I type this, I'm watching three beautiful great egrets out back. One of them is stalking something in the creek, so far unsucessfully, but I am in awe of his grace as he seeks his prey.

It's a beautiful day - sunny, just warm enough, and not too windy. The frogs are in full voice, despite the close proximity of the predator. The sparrows, blackbirds, and finches flit about the yard. I am glad I am inconsequential in the shadow of the deck, as this as near to perfect as life can be.

inukshuk

inukshuk: 1) a milestone or directional marker used by the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic 2) a new word I learned from kerredelune in her comment on my post yesterday. I love words and language, so a new addition to my vocabulary is a joy in and of itself. In addition, however, her comment and Floridacracker's post both struck a chord with me.

"The perfect is the enemy of the good." How often have I told myself that there was no point in doing something because it was so small an effort? or was mainly symbolic? Listening to my inner cynic meant that a small step that would have made a small difference didn't happen.

Perfectionism is a seductive trap. It may remain beyond my abilities to single-handedly change the entire world, but if I can make it better in one part, or for one person, plant, or animal, then the world is in fact a better place.

Back Home Again

I am here, in Michigan, once again. Nothing like a refresher course on traffic in major metropolitan areas to remind me why I fell in love with Ann Arbor.

The wetland waters have receded and the grasses are starting to green up and grow taller. It's interesting to watch the transformation, as we weren't here this time last year.

With luck, life will settle down a little now and I'll have some time to attend to the yard and plants, get out birdwatching and shooting photos, and just enjoy the nice weather and scenary.

On the road again...

I came to Virginia for a meeting, and am staying on to visit friends. I woke this morning to the sound of a Carolina Wren, the first I've heard since moving to Michigan.

Memories times two

This picture is from our home and habitat in Virginia. Although I'm happy with my move overall, I invested a lot of time and emotional energy in creating a habitat there, and it was hard to leave it behind. In addition, we have a sentimental attachment to this plant. Our pussywillow was rooted from one which my husband rooted as an elementary school project, then planted in his parents' backyard. We took a cutting from it and after several attempts, successfully rooted in in Virginia. I'm still trying to restart it here in Michigan.

Pussywillows are a member of the willow family. They thrive in wet soil and in soil with lots of clay and/or poor drainage (In Virginia, we had a high water table, being on the edge of the flood plain, and lots of clay). They are nonetheless drought resistant and hardy to zone 2.

The catkins appear in mid-to-late February, an early sign of spring, and provide early season food for migrating songbirds as well as resident birds and small mammals.

I'm looking forward to the day that the next generation of this plant successfully puts down roots in Michigan.

What I'm waiting for

In spring, this is what I see out my back windows.

Right now, it looks a lot like this, but coated in white everywhere. Earlier this winter, during the ice storms, it looked like a fairy tale come true, glistening in the sunlight.

The wetlands run across the entire width of our yard in the back. On the far side of them, the right hand side of the picture is a distant view of a golf course; the middle is a buffer of trees where we frequently see deer and other wildlife; and the left side is an open field - currently farmed, and I hope it remains that way as long as possible. You wouldn't think from this picture that we are in the middle of a typical suburban housing development, would you? But sure enough, we have a paved street out front, near neighbors on both sides, and a full complement of other houses and their occupants all up and down our street. That street is also part of a much larger housing development, in the middle of a golf course.

It's an odd area - you can go out one side of our neighborhood and drive through farm country, and out the other side and drive through endless auto dealers, strip malls, and fast food joints just like those which seem to be outside every city in the country. The next stop light past our turn, the paving ends and the dirt road begins. But go three miles in the opposite direction, and we're downtown.

Unfortunately, we're on a side of town that is growing rapidly. On my way to work (a roughly five-mile drive) I daily pass one former farm now under construction, and across the street there's a large "for sale" sign in another field. Despite all the talk about the housing glut in this area and the downturn in the economy, the building continues unabated. Like everyone else, I want to pull up the drawbridge now that I'm here.

Opposites Attract?

One of the hottest topics in pop and new age culture right now is "The Secret." If, like me, you haven't read it, here's the short course In case you still don’t know “The Secret”… » Massage, Mind & Body and here's the equal time link Shaking Riches Out of the Cosmos.

So, now that we're all on the same page, tell me: why is there snow, sleet, and ice outside my window? I've been very, very thankful for warmer weather, water not ice on the roads, migrating geese overhead, the promise of blackbirds returning before the end of the month, and the days the sun has shined this week. I've believed, based on my former life in Virginia and on blog reports from my southerly neighbors, that spring is imminent. I didn't even think about the weather reports yesterday, because I was so happy that it was going to be bright, warm, and sunny.

Nonetheless, I awoke to the tap, tap, tap of little icicles on the window panes, nearly fell on the ice as I was going to get the paper, and thought I'd lost my glasses the first time I looked through the ice coated window into a very blurry back yard. Half an hour ago, I was watching and listening to the second round of ice taps on the windows. Right now, it's snowing: big, wet, messy snowflakes are plopping on the ground and deck, on top of the ice, just to make walking and driving that much more fun.

Someone may have a secret, but not me.

Spring! Spring!

The bird is on the wing!
My word - absurd!
The wing is on the bird.

What is it about spring that brings out our deep-rooted silliness? Joy that winter is leaving us? Physiological response to more hours of sunlight? Elevated temperatures overheating our still-frozen brains?

I don't know, but I'm rejoicing in each and every sign that spring is approaching. This morning I heard a Phoebe - I'm not great on IDing birds calls, but that one's pretty unmistakable - so the migrants are returning. Seconded by the multiple flocks geese flying overhead, the sunlight still visible at 7pm, and the second day of greater than 40 degree temperatures. Not only are there mud puddles, there are vast clear swaths of street, sidewalk, and driveway, and even a few bare patches of lawn.

Maybe the red-winged blackbirds aren't all that far behind!

Should Auld Acquaintance ...

One of the nice things about returning to blogging after a year and a half absence was finding that several of the blogs I read regularly are still alive and thriving. I'm still catching up on what I've missed, but it's nice to see Niches and The Taming of the BandAid still thriving.

Sometimes it seems like there are many, many fellow travelers on the native-plant, backyard-habitat bandwagon, but that's only because likes attract. In "real life" most of the people I meet or talk gardening with are lawn-crazy, irrigation-system loving, tropical-plant cultivating folks who just don't get native plants and think wildlife habitats should be banned from suburban neighborhoods. The other night I was chatting with a new acquaintance at a party, and almost fell off my chair when I asked about her gardening and she replied that she was mostly interested in native plants and reducing the amount of lawn around her house. Eureka!

What happens while you're making other plans?

Life, that's what.

In the last two years I've dealt with illness and death among my family and friends, a new job, a move to Michigan, a new house, and as part of all this, a new habitat. Blogging hasn't been my highest priority. But now I'm back.

I've just updated the Wrenaissance website and I'm hoping to improve and expand it as well as start the blog up again.I've removed all the dead links and comment spam I could find, and I've also disabled comments on older posts (hey, you've had two years to comment!). Future comments will have a challenge word, and if I still get spam, I'll change to moderated comments.

The web will take additional work, which I'm hoping to complete over the winter months so I can turn to gardening and photography come spring.