Thoughts for Today - 24 Apr 11

I thought about going on an educational tirade on the origins of the symbolism used for the holiday that is today - Easter - and how the meanings of the symbols have been lost over the years, as we have turned from a society, community, etc., tied to nature and the Earth to one that loves technology and the almighty currency - be it dollar, Euro or yen - to the detriment of the most important tenet in life - love thy neighbor as thyself. All the symbols come from ancient pagan religions, and have been - subjugated is not the right word, but only what comes to mind - borrowed for want of something more in line with what I really want to say by the newer religions.

However, instead I will focus on my thoughts about mating rituals and long-term relationship building and a few other tidbits gleaned from the birdwalk I participated in at Heritage Oak Winery yesterday.

In bird life, the females are the drab ones and the males are the colorful ones. The males are the ones that primp and preen and compete for a female's attention. They also help in the house hunting - whether looking at bird boxes or looking for another suitable nesting area - last year's bluebirds reminded me of human house-hunting, going from property to property, until she finds just the right one - I could even imagine the hen-pecked male asking just what was really wrong with birdbox A only to be told it was too close to those darned tree swallows and you just KNOW what they're like! This year, we watched a few Brewer's blackbirds go through their ritual - I wrote this up in yesterday's poem, complete with pictures. Too funny!

Some birds, particularly the raptors and larger water fowl, mate for life. They are constantly attentive to their relationship, doing everything together, even sharing the responsibilities of next-building, egg-incubating, and fledgling-feeding through the breeding season. You won't find a male red-tailed hawk off playing golf with his buddies or down at the bar while the little lady stays and home with the brood of chicks to tend too! He might just find himself mate-less next season if he pulled a stunt like that. Once they are mated, they become each other's best friends and constant companions. Just step outside and watch them as they soar and swoop this time of year, in perfect tandem at times - why can't we humans be more like that?

And on a lighter note, I watched a lot of Merry Melodies and other assorted cartoons when I was younger. One depicted the California quail as constantly blowing its drooping top feathers out of it's face. Well, hearing them yesterday, I see where the artist got the inspiration for that sound/image combination. And then there's Woody Woodpecker's memorable laugh...the call of an acorn woodpecker was the inspiration for that I bet!

So, y'all enjoy the painted Easter eggs, the chocolate rabbits (especially the ears!), and most importantly the gathering of family at whatever your traditional meal of the day is...I think we're having ham!

17 Apr 11 Post

Last week, I was beseeching the members of Congress to do their job and pass a budget for this fiscal year - well they did so. Now, I'm waiting for the news that the President has signed said budget - really a Continuing Resolution that funds the government through 30 September 2011.

So, is it business as usual come tomorrow, or are we still on pins and needles here? But for the want of a signature...sigh...

On to the rest of life.

The picture above was taken at Hidden Falls Regional Park in Auburn CA, and was the impetus (along with the hike I took) for my poetry offering yesterday on my poetry blog. I've managed to write a poem a day for 16 days so far this month, which happens to be National Poetry Month!

I've written free verse, sapphic verse, tankas, haikus and senyrus. I feel most drawn to the 5/7/5 tempo of the haiku and senyru, but also the 5/7/5/7/7 tempo of the tanka. I'll see what other traditional styles I can fit in over the next 14 offerings.

And, like several weeks recently, the hike is the only exercise I've gotten around to this week. Am likely to pay for it with stiff calves for the next few days!

Next week, however, I am looking forward to a My Girlfriends Garden event in Roseville - the second session of Creative to the Core: Peeling Back the Layers - on Thursday!

And, I have a job interview on Wednesday for a potential promotion. Wish me luck! The job would be very challenging, but I feel that I am up for it!

Watching the Sun Rise

I don't normally quote from the Bible, but as I wrote today's post, this part of a verse came to mind: "Inashmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me" - Matthew 25:40

I sit here watching the sky turn from dark to light, wondering what I am doing up so early on a Sunday morning. The stress of waiting to see what Congress is going to do with the budget (among other things) has me wiped out by early evening. At least I’ve been sleeping through the night the last couple of nights, instead of waking up halfway through and tossing and turning the rest of the night.

The last time we had a furlough, I was the lone admin person (out of five) that was left working. And all of us got paid. This time, if a furlough had been implemented, all the employees graded GS-9 or below (non-excepted employees) would have been sent home, and there was no guarantee of back-pay.

Last time, I was the one raising three children on a GS-4 salary. This time, I watched our support staff, many of them raising children, some of them single parents, get the news late Friday afternoon that they would be the ones not coming into work beyond a few hours on Monday. Remembering how tight money was when I was there, my heart broke for them.

I was also watching most folks take either the ostrich sticking its head in the sand approach or the Pollyanna approach, neither way really believing that Congress would allow the Government to shut down. As the eleventh hour approached – as Wednesday, then Thursday, then the end of the work day Friday passed – and watching the rhetoric being thrown about and the verbiage of the bills being introduced, it became clear that this was a clear and present threat to the financial well-being of nearly 800,000 Federal workers across the country.

A clear and present threat cause by men and women in the ivory tower called Capitol Hill back in Washington DC. People who either have never lived on the razor’s edge financially, or who have been away from it so long they have truly forgotten the hollow feeling when you cannot pay your bills or feed your children.

And no, the working stiffs in these financially precarious positions do no choose to be there – these economic times have made it very difficult for folks to find work, plain and simple.

Congressmen and women and Senators, I beseech you – do your job, pass the budget, but do so with care and thoughtfulness on how your actions affect the least of us in this once great nation – the children, the poor, the elderly – those with less of a voice than others.

The elders are our past, the children our future – would you jeopardize either for the fleeting glory of the present?

4 Apr 11 - Poetry Month

This week has been busy, yet not. Four days of day job work, one day of grocery shopping and grandchildren, and one day of bicycling and enjoying Nature and music. And today - a day of languid stillness.

Also this week, we saw the beginning of a new month, April, which is also National Poetry Month. As I stated in my last blog, I've started a new blog dedicated to poetry and the art thereof. Here is the link for today's poem - Savoring the Stillness.

And, I'll share a quote and a couple of pictures I've run across/taken this week:

"Inside myself is a place where I live all alone and that's where you renew your springs that never dry up." ~Pearl Buck

The two cabins are along the route of Party Pardee, the bike ride I went on yesterday. I love my iPhone! ; )

The time spent with my grandchildren was at Fairytale Town and the Sacramento Zoo - it was a beautiful day, the weather had been clear enough that all the attractions were dry, and the carousel was running at the Zoo! Somehow the last time we were at the Zoo, we missed a whole row of animals, even though we walked around the grounds three times that day!

As for the nus and bolts of the exercise/writing/et al this week...

The only real exercise was the nearly 29 miles I rode yesterday for the Party Pardee, which starts at Charles Howard Park in Ione, CA and winds around near Lake Camanche and Lake Pardee in Amador County. No gym, no trainer, and no yoga. : (

I've managed the Daily Pages, even when I've totally spaced them in the AM. The languidness and stillness of the day came to me as I was writing the ones for today.

I also attended a really cool session of My Girlfriends Garden in Roseville this week - this group is doing a program called "Creative to the Core; Peeling Back the Layers" over the next six months or so.

Thanks for reading, and we'll see you next week!

National Poetry Month 2011

I've started a new blog - Butterflies of Possibility - just for National Poetry Month. At least to start with.

My challenge to myself: Write poetry and/or poetry-related items everyday for a month.

The first one came easy this morning...we'll see how the month progresses!