…a good pair of rainboots and stripey socks can’t handle…no road too broken, no hill too high, no sadness too deep, no situation too mussed.

© BeNonsensical.com / Crowgyrls.com

Oh, the road gets so bumpy and rain falls. Good thing I love rain, love, love, love it. And bumpy roads make for great photographs, don’t they? I will move forward through the muddy times, through the sadness, through the tears and find new photographs to take, new books to read, new friends to make, new adventures, new cubbies to explore.

Life is all about the cobblestone and rubber boots. It is all about the rain and the struggles and the unexpected connections. It is about the frailty and exposed state of being exactly who you are…

Did you know crows are a lot like humans in how they socialize with one another? According to the Humane Society,

Offspring spend up to six years with their parents, helping to care for subsequent nestlings and learning parenting skills. Most crows do not survive past the first year of life. Those who do survive often live 17 years or more. (The oldest known wild American crow was 29 years old.) [This is the equivalent of human youth staying with their parents through their teens and longer!] The groups of crows in your backyard are extended families, usually numbering six to nine, which gather into larger groups to roost, a practice that protects them from predators.

So, it makes sense that crows are so protective, cawwing and swooping when you come near their family members or that they remember when you were standing by a crow that died or if you harm or threaten a crow. It makes sense why a mother crow would seem absolutely crazy flying straight towards you despite your ability to harm her—just to protect her young.

I say to the mother crow, good for you, fearlessly love them while you can!

I feel crow-like this week, this month, this year, this life. I feel fiercely protective and unable to resist the urgent rise of worry that forms as inherently in me as breath. And I am swooping, hovering, and crazed in my attempts to keep you safe. I’m tired but never too tired. Never too tired but sometimes alone. Perhaps I’ll tell it to the crow…maybe they can understand.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is so profoundly sad. It is causing widespread damages that we cannot even begin to access or understand accurately. It is such a shame. And most people feel so helpless… what can we do?

Well, when 5th grade Olivia Bouler heard about the oil spill in the place she vacations with her family, she sat down to write a letter with an offer to help the birds…

http://www.aolartists.com/profiles/olivia-bouler/

And so began “Save the Gulf” operation between Olivia, her drawings and the Audubon Society. As of today, June 11 2010, she has helped raise over $80,000 to help rescue the birds from the oil spill still happening. You can read the news story here. Or visit her AOL artist site and enjoy her drawings here. And you can donate to help save the birds here.

http://www.aolartists.com/profiles/olivia-bouler/

It only takes a willingness to help. And one person can make a difference. Thanks Olivia… you give hope to the future! I look forward to seeing you become an Ornithologist one day. The birds are lucky to have you!

(Originally posted elsewhere on one of my other sites for birds. However, I felt it worthy to share as many places as possible.)

This is such a fun game! You should play…it is available on iTunes as an iApp.

Angry Birds

Click here to get it –>    <– Click here to get it!

I find the simplest things in life are most enjoyable. I love reading, writing, good conversations. I love researching my ancestry and the ancestry of those I care about. I like to read the stories of yesteryear, tales of Scottish lords and English peasants. I treasure time spent with people I care about in whatever way I can get it. I like to laugh and love and live. I have been on the quest for meaningful interactions with others. Genuine engaging conversations. Talking of everything that is real and avoiding that which is not. I find comfort in the warmth of silence enveloping the end of a satiating conversation. I like to read aloud to those who will listen and I love to be read to, particulary whilst falling asleep.

This past year I have returned to simpler motivations. I want those I care about to know why I care, why I enjoy their company, why I choose them to be in life. I also want to steer clear of overconsumption, of wasteful spending, of collecting things I do not need. I decided for birthdays to get creative, to get personal. I will make compilations of music that are thought out and relevant. I will make gifts and cards that say, “you are important to me”. I will give my time, my attention, my thoughtfulness. I will share of myself more. I have already started this… with the birthday Cardis (Tardis), handmade Valentines, a homemade custom birdfeeder and handwritten journals filled with descriptive reasons I like a person. I’ve jotted down things people have done that made me smile or feel warm and fuzzy. I’ve typed them up on notecards and filled them in small boxes…sharing them like love-filled recipes of how to appreciate the more important things in life.

It is time to return to a time where people mattered more than things. And I don’t mind being in the forefront of this change.

In keeping with the going trend…I will post another time about books and birds. This week’s bird of the week is a female Pine Siskin and Anna’s Hummingbird.

Female Pine Siskin

Female Pine Siskin

Female Pine Siskin

Female Pine Siskin

Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

I really enjoy these little birdies. =) They are fun to watch, relaxing even. I would be hardpressed to think of a better day than a breezy Spring day relaxing with a good book and an unobstructed view of the birdies. These are the books I am currently reading—I know I haven’t given a thorough review of my last ones yet but I will get to it eventually.

I have always enjoyed handwritten correspondence. I like paper, envelopes and stamps. I like the impression left on the paper with the pen filling with ink on the paper. I like the feel of the paper under my hands. I like to post them and I like to receive them. I am always searching for new pretty paper with matching envelopes. I even use holiday paper… I know, I am a geek. =) I also like to pick interesting stamps. I have for many years. I think the flag stamps are boring (patriotic but…boring). I used the Breast Cancer Awareness stamps as default for a long time. Each stamp meant a few more cents towards Breast Cancer research. I am a sucker for a good cause coupled with something I enjoy—like writing letters or sending mail.

I’ve slacked a bit in my writing the past few years. Tsk, tsk. I will try to work on that.  I did order some stamps recently. I had some of the Breast Cancer Awareness stamps and some Edgar Allen Poe stamps (because I love his work) but I wanted to buy a bird stamp (to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day 2009) so I went to the UPSP site and started looking. Here is what I ordered.

The 2004-2005 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp—the Redheads (in my honor hahahaha). It is a $15 stamp but it is not mailable. It is purely for conservation means. The money is donated to the National Wildlife Refuge System to help maintain the 5-million-plus acres of habitat.

2004-2005 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp

Next, I came upon the Alzheimer’s stamp and thought of my dearest friend whose grandfather is struggling with memory issues. Naturally, I ordered them.

Alzheimer Awareness Stamp

And last but not least I got some stamps from my birth state. I will leave you guessing on that one.

I am still in pursuit of some cool new paper but I am simply not finding any. However, I did find this most interesting journal. I ordered it for someone special. It arrived yesterday. It is plantable. Brilliant idea. It is symbolic as well as earth friendly (made with post-consumer recycled paper and plantable!). It is perfect for anyone who needs to grow through some pain. Write it out and plant it.

Two constants in my life are books and birds—that is not to say there are not other constants but these two stand out for me right now. I wish to share the books I am reading with you and the birds that are coming to my feeders. I have four feeders and 2 bird houses. This is quite the feat considering I live in an apartment and all of those are on my balcony. Hahahaha. I do so love my birds.

Anna's Hummingbird

I have better photos but this one I took just a few moments ago — and so I thought it would be the best to share. I will also share a photo of a female house finch that visits regularly.

Female House Finch

I really enjoy watching and listening to the birds. This week has been sunny and they haven’t missed a note in enjoying the newly come spring time weather. They were flying in elaborate aerial patterns trying to impress potential mates. They were singing pretty for all to hear. I like spring and I like birds.

I am currently reading the following books.

Women of the Asylum by Jeffrey L. Geller and Maxine Harris

This book is a collection of personal accounts by women who were locked away in the mental institutions against their will. It is sad but revealing. Not so much has changed for women and mental health.

Lover of Unreason: Assia Wevill, Sylvia Plath's Rival and Ted Hughes Doomed Love

This is the biography of Assia Wevill—Ted Hughes’ second wife who committed suicide, taking her daughter’s life with her own. I will let you know in detail what I think of this book when I finish it.

I am reading a few for classes but I won’t share these with you unless you really want to know…then you can leave a comment. I will also give thorough reviews of these books when I am finished with them.

The Audubon released a report indicating the sad reality for the rapid decline in population of even the most common of birds. Instantly, I cringed. The thought of losing more birds quite literally brings me to tears. I am not a fanatic PETA member or animal loving freak but I can and do appreciate the living beauty that surrounds us. I do appreciate looking out my window and seeing the birdies peck on the seeds I leave for them. Thoughts drift to the Great Auk, the Passenger Pigeon and the Dodo bird—birds we will only ever read about—birds we will never see. Extinction. It is real. It is harsh. And it is happening to all too many species and something must be done.

The fact that even our most common birds are declining drastically should serve as a big red flag warning us of what is to come. People ignore global warming because they think they can. It is a widely accepted delusion that our environment will slowly degrade—that we have many, many, many years until the effects of our actions really catch up with us. However, is it really that simple?

I think not.

Like anything in this world when pushed or bent far enough, something will snap–something will fall over. We are setting into motion things we cannot reverse or control and we certainly do not understand. I think rather than a slow decline, we are going to reach a point of no return, the tipping point–if we have not already. We are going to knock the earth’s ecosystem off balance and we will suffer the severe consequences of doing so. Today it is a 68% average decline of our most common birds, 40% less koalas, 1/3 of the amphibian population currently extremely endangered . Tomorrow, a complete energy crisis. What about in five years time? What then? When will we finally get the picture?

The culprit? Over-population. STOP HAVING CHILDREN. No one wants to say it. It is too complex, too taboo. But if we do not address this issue, the core issue, we will seal our fate and the fate of every species on this planet. We must stop popping out babies willy-nilly when we have no space or resources for them. The United States and all first world countries can do their parts by funding family planning and birth control efforts in third world countries. We must stop the conservative right from fighting against them here. This is so ridiculous.

As I write this the world population reached a smothering 6,767,700,260!!! That is billions folks! BILLIONS! We must find a suitable way to address overpopulation before it is too late, if it is not already. We will bring about the next great extinction–ourselves.

Machiavelli once wrote…

When every province of the world so teems with inhabitants that they can neither subsist where they are nor remove themselves elsewhere… the world will purge itself in one or another of these three ways ‘listing floods, plague and famine.’

We have seen this come to fruition. According to Oxfam, more than four times the number of natural disasters are occurring now than did two decades ago. The religious deem it is the end times as set forth by their bibles and korans. The ignorant chock it up to coincidence. It is the earth purging itself the only way it knows how. The earth is a living organism, trying to survive. There is a balance in every organism that is optimal. We have skewed that balance for almost every living organism we come in contact with — and so goes the Dodo… and so goes the Quagga…and so goes the Irish Deer…and so goes the Cave Bear…

And so it goes, until there is nothing left but the beast… and so it goes.

I have not been writing much. Sorry. I have been reading a lot and working on the first chapter of a book. I also have been watching the little birdies. =) Let me share with you some things I have been enjoying…

The World of Goo

This game is fantastic! Really. I had so much fun. It is not like any other game I can think of… and the graphics and sound quality are both amazing. It is a game of physics, trying to get the goo to attach itself to itself or to other goo in order to reach a certain direction. I cannot possibly do justice to this. Try it yourself.  You will not reget it. I am anxiously awaiting a sequel.

I also have been playing this game:

This is fun. Exploration, resource creation and management… fight pirates, plant crops, set up trade routes, build your civilization 1701 style. This is worth hours of fun. And if you have a server, you can play this with friends. =)

This is the book I am currently reading:

This is the long awaited second novel from Keith Donahue. His first “Stolen Child” left me waiting for more, waiting years! So far this book is enthralling — realistic, engaging characters; the story pulls you in. It is about a woman and a boy who needed someone and someone came. =) I do not want to spoil the story. Read it! You will not regret it.

Last but not least I have been practicing around the house taking photographs with my new camera, the Nikon D60. It is amazing thus far. I will some photographs soon.

Photos I have taken…