Thu, 15 May 2008

Thu, 15 May 2008 Fog this morning at Shipyard Cove, from the deck of Diligence .

Thu, 15 May 2008

Thu, 15 May 2008 A 71-year-old man who was brought in by a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter crew to the Forks Municipal Airport is transferred to a Forks ambulance at about 11:15 a.m. Tuesday. The unidentified man, one of three thrown into the sea off LaPush when a recreational boat capsized, was pronounced dead at the hospital. -- Lonnie Archibald/for Peninsula Daily News Via the Peninsula Daily News: By Paige Dickerson, Peninsula Daily News Crewman dies when boat capsizes off LaPush LaPUSH — A 71-year-old man died while two other men survived after their boat capsized in choppy seas Tuesday. It was one of three rescues of recreational boaters undertaken in 13-foot seas and fog during a halibut fishing derby some 20 miles offshore on Tuesday morning, said Lt. Eric Perdue, spokesman at Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles. At 9:47 a.m., the master of a recreational boat radioed Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles that the boat was taking on water, but was unable to give a location before the boat capsized, Perdue said. Only minutes later, two charter fishing vessels, the Fury and the Ultimate , radioed the Coast Guard that their crews had pulled three men in life jackets from the water. The balance of the Peninsula Daily News story is here . Related Coast Guard release with video, photo and audio is here .

Wed, 14 May 2008 Today Bloggers United asks us to focus our attention on human rights. In recent times the Internet has become an essential tool in the fight for human rights. Through the Internet information manages to seep out in spite of the harshest regime crackdowns. A case in point and in the news today is the military dictatorship of Myanmar (Burma). Even as the dictatorship tries to control information about the recent cyclone by restricting the freedom of journalists, citizens and relief workers are posting messages and photos by email, text messaging and on the popular social website facebook . As circumspect as these communications may be they are not without risk. "If the junta finds someone who is corresponding information with any foreign entities, those individuals face 10 to 15 years in prison, torture, with their families' lives at risk," says Sophie Lwin, director of Burma Global Action Network and a Burmese native who lives in the United States. According to Lwin, any foreigners caught sending photos abroad would be "blacklisted, deported immediately and will never be allowed back in the country, fined and have their media related items confiscated."* Link to: Amnesty International ~ Learn About Human Rights Wake up ~ Lo-Star The Burma Campaign UK The song Wake-Up by Lo Star is available to purchase on itunes. Proceeds support the UK Campaign for Burma. *Quotes from Sophie Lwin were gleaned from an article by Kristina Wong , ABC news: Risky Business Sneaking Cyclone News to Facebook

Wed, 14 May 2008

Wed, 14 May 2008 The Doctor's Office on a dreary May morning. Mary, hard at work. Everyone knows there's no shortage of Coffee in the Northwest; it's part of our culture. My favorite haunt in Friday Harbor is the Doctor's Office. They are located at the head of the Ferry Terminal. Since there's virtually no wifi signal down at Shipyard Cove, they have been my FREE ISP. In addition to tasty beverages you can get soups, sandwiches, pastries and ice cream. My current Medifast Plan ( diet of powdery goodness; have lost 37 lbs since mid March,) doesn't allow the great eats that I've indulged there in the past. If you're in town stop by and say hi to the owner Mary, and tell her I said hello. Let me know and I'll join you, if I'm not on a run. I'm a cheap date drinking a 12oz drip.

Wed, 14 May 2008 I have returned home to San Juan Island safe and sound--but as sick as a dog--that is sick...so, since Sunday I have been sleeping, coughing, tossing and turning, coughing some more...sleeping while coughing and all the other variables possible with the above options. In short, while this visit to NE India was indeed a special one--it was an extremely strenuous one. In the next days I'll share a bit more of the highlights. Above is the culprit of the rat infestation. The Bamboo tree's seed pod. It is highly nutritious for pigs, goats, cows and many other helpful livestock--but the rats are far more aggressive.

Tue, 13 May 2008 Back to Eurovision 2008, this week contestants are rehearsing on the stage in Belgrade where they will be performing for the live telecast. Ruslan Alehno from Belarus rehearsed “Remarkably, Ruslan's busy choreography did not affect his vocal efforts at all!” says Marco Brey on the official Eurovision website . The Belarus delegation told a story about the recording of the official video clip: “which took place in Kyiv, Ukraine. A part of the video had to be recorded at night, when it was raining - which was not exactly a pleasure for Ruslan, as this was done in February, at six o'clock in the morning. Ruslan illustrated his feelings back at that time by chattering his teeth during the press conference.” Belarus Eurovision 2008 Ruslan Alehno ~ Hasta la Vista

Tue, 13 May 2008

Tue, 13 May 2008 Two-year anniversary! I've read these words on other blogs, but never thought I'd reach that point myself. What a delightful journey it's been! New friends, new inspirations and new challenges... I love it, am blessed by it, and thank everyone who has visited and generously commented on my posts! How to clelebrate? Why not share a list of my most popular posts? OK... let's go! Of these twenty, the all time most popular post was Glorious, Glorious Green Glass Beads . If these posts are of interest to you, scan scan through the titles below and click on a couple of appealing ones, or go here to see them all. June 30, 06 Confessions of a chocolate addict July 2, 06 Bead embroidery in hand-made book ~ Wedding gift! July 21, 06 D is for Dad August 9, 06 What is Truth in Art? August 15, 06 Yellow August 30, 06 Totem animals (rabbits) September 1, 06 Totem animals (tigers) September 8, 06 Rabbits & bead embroidery September 20, 06 B is for Beads October 5, 06 5 wierd things about me November 5, 06 Memory dolls - All about Dad January 17, 07 Glorious, glorious green glass beads! March 10, 07 Have you ever seen a bead quilt? June 3, 07 Finger weaving - New work & tips July 8, 07 Bead Journal Project ~ my June page September 15, 07 Ripping out October 9, 07 Beading for change ~ BJP August's page November 14, 07 Improvisational bead embroidery ~ October BJP February 1, 08 Bead embroidery ~ January BJP finished April 2, 08 Symbols revealed Writing this post brings back a lot of memories for me. Blogging and all of you, dear cyber friends, are a blessing. Thank you for being here with me!

Tue, 13 May 2008

Tue, 13 May 2008 Well since we have a small break in between races, we have had the time to go through the boat. And we are glad we did! We found some small things to be fixed, and then WHAM! A motor mount was busted. I can see it now, hauling butt down the straight stretch, hit a minor roller, and hello baby! Let's see how high that motor could fly! Hehe, ok, maybe a little exaggerated, but you get the idea. So yah for small breaks in the schedule! So that being fixed, we are dumping the new motor in for Issaquah. This is normally a rough course, and our boat seems to have a love/hate relationship with it. Which is better than alot of others, who just have a hate. So, that is all for now. I was really just here to post some pics from the last 2 races. 1 for each. Enjoy!

Tue, 13 May 2008 If Eurovision tends to have a lightweight pop song reputation the Finnish rock band Lordi broke that mold. Lordi also broke a long losing streak. After 45 years of entering without winning Lordi brought Finland a landslide victory in 2006 with the song Hard Rock Hallelujah. The end of this video, which was made to open last year's contest in Helsinki, shows Lordi in their winning televised stage performance in Athens. Finland 2006 Eurovision Winners Lordi ~ Hard Rock Hallelujah

Sat, 10 May 2008 One of the more challenging aspects of this project is knowing when something is an issue or whether it is just a case of me being 3000 miles away from Tim and his work. This may be the case for deciding on the toe rail profile. As I mentioned last week I quite like the profile number 4 that Tim milled up. My problem is that "I quite liked" and "I think we nailed it" are worlds apart. So, in what has become a typical scenario on this project when this distance exists, I get cranky and rant to Tim. For some reason I think that profile number 4 looks a little fat and bulky for the sleekness of the Shields hull (yes, I am already enrolled in obsessors anonymous). With that in mind I took the concept is a different direction and created one piece concept that tried to emulate a more traditional two piece rub rail and toe rail. There was something about this look that I liked so I took a sketch and made an approximate mockup out of some scrap. I didn't quite have the router bits I needed so the rub rail curve seems a bit too rounded to me but this mockup did allow me to visualize a bit. I also need to deepen the deck rabbet to allow room for the deck screws. Having seen and held this mockup, I "sort of like it" as well. Still my socks have not been knocked off. And Tim tells me that I am allowed to be wowed and that the "devil is in the details". Tim passed along a nice example of a Hinckley Picnic Boat which has a similar toe rail to the rounded concepts that we have looked at. Nothing wrong here. So we are still hashing this out. On another note, we are planning a visit to Tim's the first week of June. This will be the first time that my wife and I have will have seen Bolero or met Tim. It strikes me as closing the barn door after the animals have escaped but the visit should be fun. I plan to kick a few tires and act important but I will probable just end up staring at the beauty of the Shields hull and Tim's handiwork. Well I can think of a lot worse ways to spend my time. Update: It does actually look like something helpful and productive might come from our visit, the toe rail decision. With all the mockups and drawings it seems the best way to decide is to see the concepts in person. Also, we have selected a shipper from from uship . We selected U-Save Boat Transport (uship id: boats). I picked them because they had perfect feedback and Erwin makes frequent trips to the Pacific Northwest and knows the area well. I have arrange from him to bring Bolero all the way to my Island and having familiarity with our ferries systems seemed like a plus. But really I selected them because I liked what I read and the email interchange I had with this husband and wife shipping team (Ewrin & Melissa). Obviously the proof is in the pudding and I will undoubtedly blog about that pudding in the future. Project Stats Total Hours - 437.50 Total Photos - 1278 Click the highlighted days for details. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Tim's Total Time This Week 32.25 hrs

Sat, 10 May 2008

Sat, 10 May 2008 .. .that the owlet didn't make it. However, look at what we have gotten in over the last two weeks! We got in one of these... and two of these... and two of these..... and too many of these... and one of these... and one of these.... ...it likes its swim time... and last but not least, one of these beauties! Til next time...

Fri, 9 May 2008 High in the mountains of NE India live a minority ethnic group called the Hmar. These beautiful and resilient people have experienced trials common to indigenous peoples around the world-lack of respect, void of support, and a general ignorance as to their existence. I had the great privilege to spend some time in these rugged mountains this past week. I visited villages who told me that I was the first westerner that had visited them in nearly 100 years--the last being a missionary from Wales by the name of Roberts...who is lovingly remembered by all in this region because he developed a ministry model of indigenous missions. As a result, this tribe, once known and feared as head-hunters has since come into an amazing communal identity with Christianity and an obvious relationship with Jesus. Through generations of being a forgotten people they grew strong, not requiring the support of a central government In 2006 however, a horrible rat infestation decimated their mountain crops leaving them highly vulnerable. Rice farmers tell stories of them sleeping in their hilltop huts (such as the one pictured above), planning to begin harvest in the morning...and then through the night hundreds of thousands of rats emerging from the jungle like flooding river, eating everything, from seed to plant both in the ground and in storage. Over a period of 8 hours these villages lost the equivalent of 10 months of food. Since this time the indigenous church has joined together with the communities and they have purchased rice and dealt with the massive logistics of transporting it to these high mountain top villages--as a result of their tireless work not a single person has died from famine, though times have been tough. They are an inspiring people

Fri, 9 May 2008 To those out there who have followed the Cascadiantrail--I apologize for the lack of interesting postings. That will be changing soon as I am returning from a very interesting trip now and will be going on another in a few weeks. I look forward to sharing these experiences with you all and reading your feedback. Please feel free to ask follow-up questions that you feel might be interesting. mde

Thu, 8 May 2008

Thu, 8 May 2008

Thu, 8 May 2008 I wish you all could see this work in person! It's a testament to the value of those iddy-biddy size 15 and smaller seed beads, and to the detail you can achieve with them. (You can see more detail if you click the pictures to enlarge them!) The artist here is Janet Dann, a beady friend who used to live on Orcas Island (next "door" to me, as in just a 30 minute ferry boat ride away from San Juan Island where I live). When we met (10 years ago), Janet was making jewelry with beads. But when she saw some of my bead embroidery, she immediately got hooked on stitching. Now Janet and her husband are retired. They travel the USA in a motor home. While not out exploring, Janet beads. She still makes very beautiful jewelry, but the thing that makes my heart go thumpity-thump is her bead embroidery, especially her beaded bags. Let's put it quite simply... I WANT her to make one for ME!!!!! Also her work inspires me to try beading more realistically. Who knows, you may see some very different work in my 2008 BJP pages. Technical info: Janet uses inexpensive suede or velvet-like fabric backed by interleaving paper and nymo thread. She designs on paper using library books and the Internet for reference. When she's ready to bead, she taps into her ever-growing stash of the smallest seed beads. Sometimes, as in the bag below, the design grows somewhat improvisationally. In this case she has not yet planned the center of the design. This will be the flap on an Animal Spirit/Medicine Bag made as a commission piece. She designed each of the animals to be surrounded by things the animal might enjoy in its natural environment. The grizzly bear has its delicious berries. The grey wolf has trees, a full moon and shares mountain lupin with the bear. The mustang has a pasture of green grass, wildflowers and a tree for shade. The orca whales have the aurora borealis in the northern sky. Janet has taught herself by trial and error how to make the bags (with lining and pockets inside) and to weave the straps using kumihimo . Here is a purse she made at her Mom's request featuring a traditional Celtic boar design. Here is a detail picture of the bag shown at the top of this post, made for her Mom. Janet welcomes commissions and works with her customers to personalize the designs, imbuing them with symbolic meaning, healing stones and spiritual energy. Her rates, in my opinion, are very reasonable. If you want contact information for Janet, lemme know.

Wed, 7 May 2008 I made this heart and the wings about 6 months ago. I have been going through my old jewelry journals in which I sketch all my designs and ideas and notes that come to mind. Sometimes I color render the...

Tue, 6 May 2008 I have spent a fair bit of time this week working on shipping arrangements for Bolero. Although that date is still some time away it is actually becoming a date. With that in mind I have been contemplating what to do with this blog. All along I have used this blog as my personal resource for managing and organizing my Bolero Knockabout conversion. This combined with a few of Tim's sites are my central resources for most of my information. For some reason it has been easier for me to organize it here than on my own computer. In light of this transition from a working project to an actual sailboat, I have decided, for a number of personal reasons, to continue my blog as a private resource. I expect to fully blog the rest of the project, the delivery and a few posts of the launching and the initial water trials. So this transition is still months away. My best guess is that I will close this blog in late July. I wanted to give my faithful 40 daily visitors ample warning.

Mon, 5 May 2008 Well what an interesting weekend that was. Saturday we didn't start racing until around 2:30, then 1 heat was ran before we had an hour wind hold. Yes, it was windy on Sat! We finally got our boat out, and in that 1st heat we pulled a 4th. For the final we were 3rd. Barely. Our boat and one other were head to head literally the whole heat, and the other took it by 1/4 of a boat.  Sunday, it was beautiful, hot and not windy. We started alot earlier in the morning, so the day went quickly. First heat I think was a 3rd, final a 2nd. And it was a close 2nd! It makes for such a cool heat when boats are battling, but really sucks when you don't get the win. So, all in all, we did manage to finish 1st for the weekend in points, and a trophy for 2nd in the final. So, we are currently standing (still) 1st in region 10 high points, and I think 2nd in the nation. That one is hard to calculate though, with all the different races going on nation wide, and in Canada, the points revolve alot. But I know we had alot of people commenting and grumbling this weekend about our point standing. Cool is about all I can say. So our next race isn't until June 1st. This one will be in Issaquah, and to date, our boat either loves it or hates it. We are putting a new motor in, and will have a new tow vehicle by then. That means that we can now take our camper and tow the boat, which in turn means no hotel or dining out. Money saved!! I have to point out to the islanders that the ferry isn't going to be any different with the new set up compared to the old. You know, over 30 foot long gets the same charge as those over heights! And we already hit that one! I am dreading the summer prices coming up though. That always hits hard. But, I can't complain to much, it is our choice to live here and race! Well, I am running away, I have much to do this week. Hope you have a grand one! I will post pics soon, I promise!

Sat, 3 May 2008 I awoke this morning at 4:02 am and instantly began thinking creatively. I couldn't go back to sleep but the ideas were flowing like molasses in the summertime. After about 40 min of my mind just racing with ideas I...

Sat, 3 May 2008 With Tim in full blown wooden boat mode, a welcome relief from fiberglass grinding I'm sure, I spent a fair bit of time finding a way to ship Bolero from Maine to Washington state. One of my early decisions was to purchase a new Triad trailer with the idea that I would almost save the cost of the trailer in shipping. This allowed Tim to haul Bolero from Connecticut to Maine at a much lower cost than having to load Bolero onto a semi for hauling. My original plan was to fly to Maine and rent a truck and bring Bolero home myself. I thought that this would be cheaper and there was that little control thing working also. But I had trailered my last boat across the country from Fort Meyers, Florida back to Washington so I wasn't overjoyed with the idea of the trip. I also have no illusion about the relative skill between a seasoned commercial truck driver and myself. With all this in mind I did some google searching to check out my options. This came up with two results. First, I never did find a good source for a reasonable priced heavy duty pickup truck rental. Actually I didn't find any heavy duty pickup trucks for rent. The options I did find didn't provide much cost savings over my second option, uship . This is my first experience so my opinion may well change. But they seem to be trying to rationalize truck shipping the way ebay rationalized individual selling. This is my listing in which I describe my shipment and the location of the pickup and delivery. One of the things that quickly impressed me was the quality of the inquires that I received from the prospective bidders. I sort of got the impression that these guys and gals are driving with their laptops open on the dashboard responding while they drive :). This is the current bidding status of my shipment. I have currently not selected a shipper, although I do have a favorite. I want to do just a bit more research before my final selection. uship is like ebay in that they use the feedback method of rating the shippers. This is certainly not a perfect method but I have grown quite comfortable with using it on ebay. I am still brand new to this service so time will tell, I will post my experiences as they they happen. Project Stats Total Hours - 405.25 Total Photos - 1223 Click the highlighted days for details. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Tim's Total Time This Week 22.25 hrs

Sat, 3 May 2008 FINALLY, AFTER 8.5 MONTHS I’m referring to Moody Blues as ”home,” thus we were excited to return to lovely Bahía del Sol, El Salvador, and get back to our relatively stressfree livestyle. Speeding through three countries had been interesting, educational, yet surprisingly tiring. We spent our time either swimming in the pool to cool off, walking about 1/3rd mile to the [...]

Thu, 1 May 2008 You know when you go on a va-ca, and you have enormous amounts of things to think about? Well that is kinda what it is like for a race. We have to pack our clothes, and all the things you use on a daily basis. Plus if we are camping, all that stuff to. Then food, drinks. Have to make sure we have alot of Red Bull on hand.....the reason? It is the best way to let you down slowly after a big adrenaline rush. You don't just crash. Then the boat stuff. This is the hardest, takes up the most space, is the heaviest, and unfortunately, doesn't all go in/on the trailer. Alot ends up in the truck. My poor truck going over the pass, towing the boat, loaded to the max, is a sad, sad, thing. We need a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. We have been looking, but things just never seem right for that type of payment....I'm sure you understand that! So we are off to Entiat this weekend, hoping that the getting there is easier than it was last week for Lawrence. We are supposed to be in the apple blossom parade on Sat, but I don't know if we are going to get there at a early enough time on Friday to get any sleep, so not sure if we will be in it or not. Although we should do to the sponsor factor. We'll see. Currently we are sitting 1st in points for our region, 4th in the nation. This I can handle!

Wed, 30 Apr 2008

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 This is my article in Belle Amoire this month. I am anxious to read it and see it.

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 Bunny S. is a 2007 BJP member who lives in Bellingham, WA. She and two of her beady buddies have been doing the BJP all along. However, they aren't much into digital (except for cell phones)... no blogs, websites, flickr or even much into emails. A couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of beading with them for a couple of days (a delicious retreat!) and took some pictures of their work. Since nobody in the BJP has seen it, I thought I'd show some of it here. (I'll show Tracy's work in the next post.) Sorry, I don't really know the stories or name that go with each piece. Yet, I think you can catch the drift pretty well! I hope Bunny will finish and eventually get her work in the BJP Member Gallery , as it's really wonderful... I love the mix of fabric, fibers, textures, thread embroidery, bead embroidery and mixed media. Note that some of them are works in progress ... To my eyes, she really nailed the concept of "visual journaling." Don't you think? I'll let Bunny know I've posted these pictures, so she can check the comments and possibly even respond. Here's her work.... and I think it's all clickable!

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 ANTIGUA is antique. Founded in 1543 and served as the colonial capital for 233 years until it was demolished by an earthquake in 1773, which made Guatemala City the capital. The population is now 40,000 and it’s a melting pot of people. Unesco declared Antigua a World Heritage Site in 1979. It is embraced by three volcanos [...]

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 The town and ruins of Copan, Honduras were funky, wonderous, and spiritual. We loved it. Check it out:                                      

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 Sorry folks, but I just have NOT been in a blogging mood as of late. Not sure why, although it could be the weather weirdness we have been experiencing. Anyhoo, I am trying to get back into the blogging mindset and I want to start by sending out a HUGE thank you to everyone who braved the elements and came to the first Open House we have had in a couple of years and to those who made it to the "Keep the Wild Alive" concert fundraiser. Let's start with the Open House. Now, the night before, I did some heavy begging and pleading with the weather gods to please let the weather be pleasant, as the whole week had been filled with days of sunshine, then hail, then snow, then sunshine...you get the idea. And sure enough, at least out at Wolf Hollow, we had a brief period of light sprinkles and that was it! It was only after I heard tales of the weather in town...hail, rain, and snow...that I understood why so few people came out after Noon. But for those intrepid souls who did venture out, they got to feast on a very yummy cake and other goodies made by staff and volunteers. But the cake, the cake was the piece de resistance: Isn't it GREAT?! Oh, and did I mention that it's Wolf Hollow's 25th anniversary this year? Yep, 25 years of helping the locals....local wild animals that is. The "Keep the Wild Alive" concert was great fun with lots of local musicians teamed up into duets singing great tunes. My favorite tune of the night was my favorite from last year as well and that was the song "Wolf Hollow Jamboree" written and performed by Teddy Deane with Cecil on backup: That's Teddy on the left there. It's a great number about the animals rehabbing at Wolf Hollow having a musical jamboree after everyone leaves at night. And everyone got to sing along with the chorus, so that made it even more fun!!! There was also a silent auction and the item that caused the biggest bidding war was this stuffed animal that has a webcode that you can enter on the manufacturer's website and interact with others in this toy community. As you can see, the bidding was fast paced and furious, with frequent side trips to parents to borrow just 50 cents more for the next bid. It was great fun to watch (I have blurred the faces to protect the bid-icence of the kids involved). Thanks again to everyone who made that night so wonderful with their music and support. We appreciate it immensely!! Now let's get to some animals, and honestly folks, there haven't been a lot of them. First we can start with another Bald Eagle that came in. This guy was found downed in a field in Mt. Vernon and was suffering from organo-phosphate poisoning. This is different from the Bald Eagle poisoning that happened on Orcas Island in March of last year . Organo-phosphate poisoning is caused by some agricultural product, like rat poison. The eagle eats that rat, lets say, and then the meat stays in the crop and becomes septic. It was very messy and he required a good deal of flushing of the crop and his entire system with fluids and activated charcoal. Once he regurgitated the meat in his crop he started to turn the corner, but it was VERY touch-and-go there for awhile and they weren't sure he was going to make it. But make it he did and he got released as soon as possible due to the fact that he went ballistic in the Indoor Mew, even trying to fly out the tiny, and by tiny I mean 1' x 2', window, even after it was covered up. We also got in this beautiful Evening Grosbeak. Found on the mainland, her left wing was drooping after trying to fly through a window. She initially had a light wing wrap on but messed with it so much we took it off and left her to her own healing devices. The funny thing about her was that when I went in and cleaned her cage for the first time, she never got overly flustered. She was very laid back and would calmly hop from one branch to another, watching me the whole time. Now that I think about it, she may have just been deliberately lulling me into a state of complacency to make her big break, as I got to see first hand how well her healing was coming along when she decided to exercise her wings in the Isolation Room during her cage cleaning the next week. After her dazzling aerial display, it was determined she could be moved to one of the outdoor aviaries. She did great out in the Aviary and was taken back to the mainland and released near some other Grosbeaks. And yes, baby bunnies, both of the European and Cottontail varieties, have slowly been trickling in: Let's now move on to some updates. The Red-tailed hawk was finally released. WOOHOO! It had been with us what seemed like FOREVER, so we were more than ready to say goodbye to it. As for the New Year's Eve Bald eagle? It's not looking good folks. We put him in the Heron Cage a few weeks back to see how this would affect his wing, and he still can't fly....at all. Here he is taking off from the low perch in the Heron Cage.... ...and here he is not 2 seconds later after landing on the ground not even 10 feet away from the perch he just launched himself off of. Looks kind of stunned, doesn't he? I feel REALLY bad for him right now and the outcome of his situation will most likely not be a good one. I'm just sayin'. In the last week we have gotten in a baby Rock pigeon, a baby Robin and this: Care to venture a guess as to what this is? Here's a better picture of it: Now do you have any ideas? Well, if you don't, that's alright, because while we do know that it is a newborn (See the egg tooth on the end of its beak?! And its eyes are still closed!) owl of the woodland variety, we have no idea which woodland owl type it is. Considering that it's about the size of my palm, mayhaps a Sawhet owl? Assuming it does well, we will know when it gets a bit bigger. It's always hard not to get too attached, but it fell a long ways out of its nest and while it is eating well, probably because it can't see that it isn't Mom feeding him, we try to keep in mind that newborn ANYTHINGS are more than a bit difficult to keep alive. Since I don't believe they have had this young of an owl in before, or at least not while I have been volunteering there, it would be great to watch and document its changes as it grows. Let's all keep our fingers crossed! Til next time...

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 ...I was in Las Vegas...WOOHOO!....visiting old childhood friends. And I didn't go in last Saturday, as I wasn't feeling well....cough, hack! But, as you have probably surmised, feeding baby mice was not the only thing I did that weekend that seems oh-so-long-ago. It was actually MOVING DAY!!! Yes, we moved the three raptors we had indoors to outdoor areas so as to assess their recovery status. Let's start with the Great Horned owl. Dr. Michelle Loftus came over to take a look at her wing handy work, as she was the person who operated on him... ...and she also gave the wing some laser therapy to help with the healing process. I was blissfully taking pictures, including taking ones of his feet.... ...I just love owl feet, with their downy feather coverings and their seriously scary talons...when I got the distinct feeling that I was being watched. I looked around and didn't see anything and then I looked down and saw this! Yikes! The Great Horned owl is giving ME the huge hairy eyeball, and I'm not even the one messing with him!!! After the exam was done, Shona and I went out to setup the mews for everyone. Shona knows how much I LOVE to hang branches....No, seriously, I do!...so she let me do most of it. Thanks Shona! Here is the GHo's mew. And then we placed him in it. At first he looked highly annoyed. But by the next day he was more relaxed, so much so that he pretended like I wasn't even there when I went in for my photo op. Dr. Loftus also looked at the Screech owl's eye. It's a feisty wee thing and this picture lets you see the difference between the two eyes. He, too, got to move outside into a mew to assess his ability to see food and catch food. At first he did this "moth" imitation, as Shona called it, where he just clung to the side of the mew before finally flying to a perch. But by the next day he was doing a lot better and was actually perched ON one of the branches we had hung in his mew. After determining that he could not only see but catch live food, he was released last week! Michelle glanced at the latest shoulder x-ray of the eagle and NOTHING has changed. And I mean NOTHING. So it was decided to move him into the Slatted Flight cage to see if a little more room might sway things one way or another, as he has already been with us for 2 months. And lastly, we come full circle back to the Deer Mice, or Deer Meeces, as Shona likes to call them. Unbeknownst to me, they had been moved outdoors to a tub in a sheltered area. This is what Deer mice, who are rudely awakened when the piece of bark they were napping under is removed, look like. Man, have they ever changed! They have gone from looking like this.... ...to this..... ..seemingly overnight! Sniff..sniff! Our babies done all growed up!! And now comes the part which I always feel must be the most traumatic for babies that were raised without parents to show them how things are done in the real world. We released them. As you can see, one brave soul has made a dash for it. But then there is the one still hanging out in the container, checkin' things out and probably awaiting a status report from the others. He finally braves the outdoor world that is now his home and then comes the look that I just KNEW was coming. And that is that look that appears as they freeze, when it hits them JUST how big their new world now is. It's that "Oh my god, BETTY! It's HUGE and SCARY out here!" look. All of the babies get it, it's just more obvious with the baby mammals. Til next time...

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 Born with the moon in Cancer Choose her a name she will answer to, Call her Green And the winters cannot fade her Call her Green For the children who’ve made a little green, Be a Gypsy Dancer. He went to California Hearing that everything is warmer there. So you write him a letter And say her eyes are blue He sends you a poem And she’s lost to you Little Green, he’s a known conformer. Just a little Green, Like the color when the spring is born, There’ll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow Just a little Green Like the nights when the northern lights perform There’ll be icicles and birthday colds And sometimes There’ll be sorrow Child with a child pretending Weary of lies you are sending home So you sign all the papers in the family name You’re sad and you’re sorry but you’re not ashamed Maybe just a little Green Have a happy ending Just a little Green, Like the color when the spring is born. There will be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow Just a little Green, Like the nights when the northern lights perform. There’ll be icicles and birthdays colds And sometimes There’ll be sorrow. -Joni Mitchell

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 San Juan Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Friday Harbor Washington For more information, call 360-378-8952 February 3     Jean Staben -- The Art of Pilgrimage February 10   Mike and Sandy -- What it Means to be a Quaker February 17   Bea Shockey -- Young Innovators in our World February 24   Benefit Players Theatre -- Contributing to need in local community March 2         Kurt Schwalbe -- A Women's College in India *  *  * CHANGE TO NEW MEETING TIME AND PLACE *  *  * 2:00 p.m. Sundays, at St. David's Episcopal Church, 760 Park Street, Friday Harbor March 9         Note that Daylight Savings Time Starts; first meeting at new time and place                      Kurt Schwalbe -- The Return of Persephone; and a New Member Ceremony March 16       Kurt Schwalbe --  Palm Sunday and Easter March 23       Easter -- No Fellowship Meeting -- we celebrate at home with our families. March 30       Mary Zetetzke -- Discussing "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver April 6           Kurt Schwalbe -- This I Believe:  Exploring UU Motivation April 13         Kurt Schwalbe -- The Hindu Holiday Ram Navami:  Birthday of Lord Rama April 20         Kurt Schwlbe -- Passover - Passage to Freedom April 27         Kamela Chambers -- Exploring the Senses May 4           Elizabeth Schwalbe -- Investigating Unexplained Phenomena May 11         Jane Dill -- Great Minds, Simple Concepts May 18         Updated:  Betsy Wingren -- The Grandmother Drum International Peace Project May 25         Potluck 2:00 p.m. at Jean and Steve's, 323 Moonlight Drive During the Summer, we don't hold our regular meetings, but we do get together to share a potluck meal and to enjoy the beauty of our island home. June 15         Potluck picnic at 4th of July Beach, 10:00 a.m. July 20          Potluck picnic at Whale Watch Park (Lime Kiln Point State Park), 10:00 a.m. August 17     Potluck picnic at South Beach, 10:00 a.m.  Go toward South Beach parking area, but instead of parking there, turn right at the bottom of the hill and go down that road (west) to the picnic table near the big rock. September 7   Start-up Sunday for regular Fellowship Meetings

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 Unitarian Universalist Principles We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: The inherent worth and dignity of every person; Justice, equity and compassion in human relations; Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; A free and responsible search for truth and meaning; The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 I just picked up a set of Selbie drone reeds, I haven't set them up yet but I'm looking forward to getting around to that soon.  It's fun to experiment with different setups and I'm amazed at how some subtle changes to your pipe configuration can have such a dramatic effect to the sound.  

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 A couple of weeks ago I had a most wonderful opportunity to watch Finn for a few hours while Angela ...

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 I recently switched from a medium Bannatyne to an extended small, the only difference here is in girth, the extended small is only 1.5" smaller in diameter.  The difference is noticeable, although I'm not sure it is an improvement but I've only been playing with the new bag for a couple of days. I'll probably need to make some drone reed adjustments, but so far I'm managing OK.  My current pipe bag cover is a tad loose and that may be contributing to some of the difficulties I'm having keeping the bag tucked up under my left arm, though I'm going to try a few safety pins to see if that makes a difference before I go out and order a new bag cover. I like the Bannatyne hybrid bag because it is a synthetic bag with a hide exterior, has a zipper for easy access and feels like hide without the hassles of bag seasoning and all that.  

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 I realize that time has flown by since my last posting. I suppose I could rely on the old excuse of “I have been busy”, which would be true, but would also be just an excuse.

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 San Juan Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is in the local Yellow Pages.  Reach us by phone or leave a message at 360-378-8952.  Send us mail at:  P.O. Box 613, Friday Harbor, WA  98250

Tue, 8 Jan 2008 Winds are North at 9 MPH. The pressure is 30.48" (1032.0 mb) and the humidity is 75%. The wind chill is 59. Last Updated on May 15, 11:53 am PDT.

Sun, 6 Jan 2008 I'm talking about tapping the beat with your foot while you are playing your pipes.  This has been a challenge for me, but I've been forcing myself to do it every time I play and it is getting easier to do. At first my foot tapping was a lot like my entire leg was moving, then my body, it was pretty silly looking and exhausting.  Now I'm able to just tap my foot and on every other part I will switch which foot I tap (it gets tiring to tap just one foot all the time).  

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 When I was young, like in early elementary school, I had this belief about dying men in the movies.  I ...

Thu, 1 Nov 2007 There is a great deal of room to argue against human influence on global cycles precisely for the fact that what evidence we have is deductive evidence. No truly inductive experiments - excepting the uncontrolled experiment called the carbon economy - are allowable or feasible. Intellectual honesty always admits when it stacks the evidence in favor of a preferred conclusion, and always allows for skepticism of accepted conclusions. "In fact the United States was, 15 million years ago, covered with a receding glacier, which thanks to global warming, left us a lovely comfortable place to live." The Pacific Northwest was under several thousand feet of ice just a recent 20000-16000 years ago, and you should see how high the real estate prices are around Seattle! So it's true, everything changes and sometimes it’s really a spectacle to behold. But ask again and again - even as the answers change with new information - the question of "what changes are we facing?" seems a really important and valid practice given what we, a scientifically informed population, witness these days. As its stands, we are examining climatic behaviors that act over exceptionally long time spans. We extrapolate human climatic influence from on a variety of indicators - and the models based on them - to simulate global responses to increased CO2 concentrations, cloud formation, carbon sequestration, sea temperatures, glaciation, etc. So on one hand, we can only listen to what our observations say about how the earth will respond to our activities, and wait and see if they influence things in the way we predict. On the other hand, there is overwhelming evidence that the earth is warming, with or without human influences. It's an important point that really should not be avoided or scuttled simply because we can't determine with pinpoint accuracy the degree to which human are responsible for it. I can't tell you exactly how much global CO2 emissions has changed the face of Washington State in fifty years, but to conduct resource management today based on the patterns from the previous eight decades represents a risk to our communities borne from limited insight into the nature of our miraculous and complex world. Adaptation and climate change mitigation action hardly presuppose humans to be the sole manufacturer of climate instability. Because at the end of the day, the climate is only temporarily stable (temporary is a rather arguable duration, I know). As every physical scientist will point out, there have been a variety of stable climatic states over the geologic history of the earth. But these periods of stability or periods of flux don't change because the earth changes its mood. The web of life adapts to changing conditions, and at the same time, contributes to those same changes. There are forces driving flux, and there are forces driving toward stability, each working in tandem and in unimaginable complexity. There are ranges of homeostasis, built from a complex and poorly understood set of conditions across all scales of distance, of concentrations, of time. Humbling, really, when you get into it beyond the factionalism and the trite retaliationalism and beyond the panic and alarmism. I think it as arrogant to declare, based on our understanding of positive and negative feedbacks - both physical and biological - that our influence in these feedbacks are negligible and insignificant, as it is to declare that we understand exactly how we influence those same processes. If the well dries up, if floods come, if the heat stroke strikes, and if other valuable resources change their behaviors as the many mouths clamor for sustenance, it won't matter who's right. It's only going to matter what our response is. And the best response will be borne of humble means, not self-indulgent righteousness. It's going to matter whether we can maintain our sense of collaboration and common interest, in the face of mounting global adaptation.

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 In California I dream of snow And all the places we used to go With the night falling down with the night falling down now I'm living in Korea Town waking to the sound of Karbala I remember your face when I showed you the ticket Said you were happy for me your heart wasnt in it just a phone call away now theres nothing to say as the days roll by disconnected in the land where the sun's always shining im crying alone palm trees are laughing at me another fool playing songs that don't matter to people who chatter endlessly another suicide on the 405 the black dahlia she smiles and smiles its the same old town that bled her dry one more stallin' one more time bound to make it do or die take a walk to bonnie bray try to wash these dreams away they tell me LA is beautiful when it rains