politics

Even though I have some definite opinions, getting involved in politics takes amount of ego. I mean, surely few people will consider my thoughts worth hearing. However......

The trouble with Democrats is, we really expect conservatives to see the wisdom of our beliefs and vote with, forgetting there is little the GOP will not do to win, never mind who is right.
President Obama really has been naive to expect Republicans to work with him, when they only want to win and remain in power.

Why are tax cuts for the wealthy the most important thing on the Republican agenda? They will scuttle everything, use and form of blackmail, in order to get them extended and made permanent.

Beavers again

Apparently some of the beavers which are removed from sites where they are causing a problem are relocated into our rural parks. We have been watching such a family, two adults, young ones about two years old, and two kits which look to be from this year's litter. Like all baby animals, the kits are unbelievably cute.

Wildlife around us

Our creek is a summer haven for neighborhood children, with very few places deep enough to be dangerous, and many splashing pools for cooling off. It is also home to much wildlife, including muskrats, possums, and raccoons. Upstream is an marshy area which draws an occasional heron and now and then a common snipe. There was a beaver dam there, too, but the city sent workers in to remove it (can't dam up the waterway) and take the beavers out of town. We miss them.

Midsummer

Finally the garden is bearing, pretty well. Everything was late due to the cold winter and late spring, not very like our usual maritime climate. Cucumbers especially were reluctant to grow, but now we have a few beginning to develop.

Leave it to small boys to get the most out of summer. The nine-year-old next door spends his days exploring the creek with friends, imagining monsters in each deep, quiet pond. He has built a tree house and a pier over the creek water which will wash away with the first big storm.

Climate change

We have to believe the scientists who tell us the Earth is getting warmer. In just our small corner of the globe, we have had unseasonably cold or warm weather. Plants and animals are having to adapt. And it is true we are burning more fossil fuels, even while we get a goodly part of energy from renewal sources.

However, we are more concious of damage to the environment than ever. Time was when it was common practice for factories to use rivers as sewers, and for individuals to dump trash wherever they could. We as a nation are doing better. Is it in time? And how will the Gulf oil spill affect the process?

A Doggy Town

Hooray for all the dog-walkers around here. The dogs love the outing and everyone is healthier.
What puzzles me are the (very few) owners who leave dog poop behind them, like little land mines. Any dog can have an unexpected accident, but can't the owners do something about it? A responsible (there's that word) person will at least find a stick and scoot it off into the bushes or gutter. But I guess it goes along with a trend (hopefully beginning to turn) to just drop food containers (even food) where you happen to done with them. What is up with that?

Recession gardens?

The back-to-the-land craze comes along every so many years, and it will be nice if this one sticks around. A family down the street has installed goats, numerous chickens, and assorted rabbits in their small backyard, leaving little space for a garden.

Graduation

Much about high school was different 50 years ago, including graduation. There were no cell phones or computers, so if we wanted to cheat on tests we had to take the risk of passing notes or peeking over our neighbor's shoulder. Research meant checking the library for the right book and actually reading it, taking notes and writing an essay. No ready-made stuff to print out and pass off as your own.
Graduation? 95% of us did, because it was expected, by parents and teachers. But kids still got into trouble on that special night. Drunk driving and teenage pregnancy were not common, but they happened.

Rainy weather

I have family in Southern California. They laugh when I tell them about moss growing on the car windows. I'm not sure they really believe it, especially being able to wash their cars whenever they want. I'd like to trade them some of the drizzle right now for some of their sunshine, just for a while. Like most, we love our drizzle, it is why we live in Oregon.
Thinking about joining the trend toward home windmills. There is probably a city ordinance against them, but outside town, how great to be off the grid that way.

Rain, rain, and moss

The garden is delayed while the weather settles down a bit. We may gripe about the cool weather when we are ready for some warmth, but in 2007 it was a record 32 on this date.