*Update* The bird has flown away. It recovered :)
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Bird!
This bird was stunned in my yard... at least I think it was stunned. It's still on the porch. I moved it so that the dogs wouldn't trample it.
I'm hopeful that it will recover and fly away soon.
*Update* The bird has flown away. It recovered :)
*Update* The bird has flown away. It recovered :)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The line between wildness and domestication
I vicariously explored the line between wildness and domestication today. One of the four resident swan babies decided to pay an up close and personal visit today. I fed him bread bits in order to get some fantastic photos... he's still gray, will get his white adult feathers very soon and fly away for the winter where hopefully he will learn that humans are dangerous and that he should keep his distance.
In the meantime, here is documented proof of this wild encounter:
That white thing in the photo is my knee... for perspective...
In the meantime, here is documented proof of this wild encounter:
Monday, August 23, 2010
Leslie's been here
My life has been a whirl of busy the past couple of weeks.
First I went with Lori to Lilith Fair at the beginning of August. We had seats on the lawn. It was lovely. And then they upgraded us to row 6 for the Indigo Girls and Sarah Mclachlan. I mean, wow. We were up close! But the people around us didn't like me... they wanted me to sit down (??!!!). Ummmm... it's not the symphony, guys, it's a ROCK concert. And I love the IGs. I didn't sit down. Instead, I sang my little heart out (no one could hear me anyhow) and danced the night away.
Then I went to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee. This is an annual trek made by my family on my father's side. For the past 20+ years our family (usually around 25 of us) have hiked Mt. Leconte outside Gatlinburg to stay at Leconte Lodge on the first Thursday in August. This year my 82 year old grandfather hiked it for his 21st time!
I on the other hand did not hike this year. I spent the day with my grandmother, my dad and his wife, and my little nephew Timothy. And when the hiking group got back the next day, I got to hang out with my totally awesome cousin Katie, who has worked the last 2 summers at the top of Leconte and is an amazing woman.
After I returned home from the Smokies, I had a week to recuperate before Leslie flew out to visit. She left yesterday :( But while she was here, we had some super fun!
We went hiking after picking Leslie up from the airport, back to Bluff Point with Tag:
The rest of the week went quickly! On Sunday we went to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk and found a sheltered beach where Leslie experienced her first "Horseshoe Crab rescue" (for additional references, please see previous blog posts).
Monday, we ran a bunch of errands (I know, exciting... but we rode a carousel!).
We played Settlers of Catan nearly every evening. On Tuesday, Leslie and I grabbed the train to NYC. We bought tickets to Phantom of the Opera for the following Saturday and then proceeded to the Central Park Zoo by way of Shakespeare on the mall, and Balto, who is my new favorite statue in the Park.
The sea lions were in rare form at the zoo that day.
As were the snow monkeys:
On our way home we heard this awesome band in the subway. I wanted to show you the video here, but the web goblins are preventing me. I'll see what I can do about that.
Leslie is so awesome. She helped me barn-shop on Wednesday. We went to 3 barns, 2 of which are fine prospects for me to resume riding. The first one was in Ridgefield. They didn't have a huge lesson string, but the woman we spoke to seemed to think she could come up with something. They just hired a new dressage coach, so I'm definitely interested. The barn was beautifully situated, with lots of grassy, green pastures, willows and stone walls. It seemed like a very laid back kind of place.
The second barn was further away... Sunny Brook Farm... yes, I am a Shirley Temple fan :) The actual barn looked like a bunker, made out of cinderblocks and set into the hillside. They had a lot of horses for lessons, and the trainer believes that you should ride as many different horses as possible, because each one has something different to teach you. We watched her give a lesson, and I liked her style. I liked the people there, too... my only problem with the place was the distance and tiny roads... oh, and the almost non-existent indoor arena space. Winter will make both of those items into major issues for me.
So much to contemplate.
By the end of that day, Leslie was pooped!
On Thursday, Leslie and I loaded up into Subaruby and drove back past Groton to Mystic for a day at the Mystic Aquarium. It's been 20 years since I went to the aquarium and I was so excited to be able to go back with my friend and explore!
The belugas were by far my favorite!
Leslie got to pet a shark and see her second shark feeding of the week!
It was strange being back at the aquarium, since I have some pretty solid memories tied to my experiences there. They don't do a dolphin show there anymore. I'm not sure why they decided to change that, though I'm glad they did. The dolphin habitat was way too small. But walking back into that arena, I had some serious deja vu. As a child, I did a report on being a dolphin trainer and got a private session at the aquarium. I got to ask questions and watch a training session. The memory of the arena is still very vivid!
Now they do a great sea lion show. We were very entertained.
Friday Lori came, too and we went on another hike with Tag, this one at a nature area close by. And Saturday was our big day in the city. We went to the Strand bookstore (18 miles of books, new, used, and rare!), ate lunch in view of the Empire State Building,
and then went to see Phantom!
Phantom was great. The plot line runs a bit thin, so I was glad I knew the story beforehand. The music and the theatrics were spectacular. As usual, the swell of the orchestra during the Overture brought tears to my eyes. What a great time.
Yesterday it rained all day. I think Connecticut was sad that Leslie was leaving. Lori stayed with us, too, and we played Settlers of Catan and Quiddler all morning/afternoon. Then we drove Leslie to the airport.
Today I'm pooped. It's gray and cool out, and will probably rain later. The bird feeder is alive with action. Chickadees, cardinals, nuthatches, and tufted titmice, not to mention a swarm of field sparrows, have been fluttering about and providing me and the cats endless amusement. I hope that by the end of the week I will have come up with something constructive to do.
First I went with Lori to Lilith Fair at the beginning of August. We had seats on the lawn. It was lovely. And then they upgraded us to row 6 for the Indigo Girls and Sarah Mclachlan. I mean, wow. We were up close! But the people around us didn't like me... they wanted me to sit down (??!!!). Ummmm... it's not the symphony, guys, it's a ROCK concert. And I love the IGs. I didn't sit down. Instead, I sang my little heart out (no one could hear me anyhow) and danced the night away.
Then I went to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee. This is an annual trek made by my family on my father's side. For the past 20+ years our family (usually around 25 of us) have hiked Mt. Leconte outside Gatlinburg to stay at Leconte Lodge on the first Thursday in August. This year my 82 year old grandfather hiked it for his 21st time!
I on the other hand did not hike this year. I spent the day with my grandmother, my dad and his wife, and my little nephew Timothy. And when the hiking group got back the next day, I got to hang out with my totally awesome cousin Katie, who has worked the last 2 summers at the top of Leconte and is an amazing woman.
After I returned home from the Smokies, I had a week to recuperate before Leslie flew out to visit. She left yesterday :( But while she was here, we had some super fun!
We went hiking after picking Leslie up from the airport, back to Bluff Point with Tag:
The rest of the week went quickly! On Sunday we went to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk and found a sheltered beach where Leslie experienced her first "Horseshoe Crab rescue" (for additional references, please see previous blog posts).
Monday, we ran a bunch of errands (I know, exciting... but we rode a carousel!).
We played Settlers of Catan nearly every evening. On Tuesday, Leslie and I grabbed the train to NYC. We bought tickets to Phantom of the Opera for the following Saturday and then proceeded to the Central Park Zoo by way of Shakespeare on the mall, and Balto, who is my new favorite statue in the Park.
The sea lions were in rare form at the zoo that day.
As were the snow monkeys:
On our way home we heard this awesome band in the subway. I wanted to show you the video here, but the web goblins are preventing me. I'll see what I can do about that.
Leslie is so awesome. She helped me barn-shop on Wednesday. We went to 3 barns, 2 of which are fine prospects for me to resume riding. The first one was in Ridgefield. They didn't have a huge lesson string, but the woman we spoke to seemed to think she could come up with something. They just hired a new dressage coach, so I'm definitely interested. The barn was beautifully situated, with lots of grassy, green pastures, willows and stone walls. It seemed like a very laid back kind of place.
The second barn was further away... Sunny Brook Farm... yes, I am a Shirley Temple fan :) The actual barn looked like a bunker, made out of cinderblocks and set into the hillside. They had a lot of horses for lessons, and the trainer believes that you should ride as many different horses as possible, because each one has something different to teach you. We watched her give a lesson, and I liked her style. I liked the people there, too... my only problem with the place was the distance and tiny roads... oh, and the almost non-existent indoor arena space. Winter will make both of those items into major issues for me.
So much to contemplate.
By the end of that day, Leslie was pooped!
On Thursday, Leslie and I loaded up into Subaruby and drove back past Groton to Mystic for a day at the Mystic Aquarium. It's been 20 years since I went to the aquarium and I was so excited to be able to go back with my friend and explore!
The belugas were by far my favorite!
Leslie got to pet a shark and see her second shark feeding of the week!
Now they do a great sea lion show. We were very entertained.
Friday Lori came, too and we went on another hike with Tag, this one at a nature area close by. And Saturday was our big day in the city. We went to the Strand bookstore (18 miles of books, new, used, and rare!), ate lunch in view of the Empire State Building,
and then went to see Phantom!
Phantom was great. The plot line runs a bit thin, so I was glad I knew the story beforehand. The music and the theatrics were spectacular. As usual, the swell of the orchestra during the Overture brought tears to my eyes. What a great time.
Yesterday it rained all day. I think Connecticut was sad that Leslie was leaving. Lori stayed with us, too, and we played Settlers of Catan and Quiddler all morning/afternoon. Then we drove Leslie to the airport.
Today I'm pooped. It's gray and cool out, and will probably rain later. The bird feeder is alive with action. Chickadees, cardinals, nuthatches, and tufted titmice, not to mention a swarm of field sparrows, have been fluttering about and providing me and the cats endless amusement. I hope that by the end of the week I will have come up with something constructive to do.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
on Challenging the Norm
I'm sitting on a stool at the counter in my kitchen turned office in our new-as-of-a-month-ago home in Southern Connecticut. Dog is at my feet; music is pouring out of the stereo... Jennifer Knapp music, to be specific...
I just bought her new album, Letting Go, from iTunes. She's been a fave of mine since college. I learned to play songs from her first album on my first guitar back then. Her music has this raw simplicity to it... at least, that album did. She's become increasingly complex, actually. And I love that about her.
This new album comes with an interesting side note that, were JK not the musician she is and had I not grown up in the conservative culture I grew up in, would be nothing more than a passing blip. See, JK is a "contemporary Christian" musician... at least, that's where she got her start. And shortly before the release of this new album, she publicly announced that she is a lesbian.
There's been a mixed reaction from the conservative Christian community regarding that announcement. It's basically a black mark on her soul, according to most. There have been calls to boycott her music. I'm sure there has been more hate mail than there should be (I'd go with... there should be NO hate mail).
Personally, I love her more for her authenticity. There's something admirably real, something vulnerable, about JK not backing down from the call of her heart. It's ALWAYS been reflected in her music. Especially now that she has to deal with the backlash of a culture that should open it's arms to accept her as she really is, no masks, no "fitting a mold."
It's a challenge that most of us who have been raised in that culture are afraid to take. Daring to question the status quo, to live outside the prescribed norm takes guts; it takes re-wiring. It's HARD. But it's not WRONG. It's the Path to finding what's Real.
I find myself Challenged. And I Challenge you. See you on the Path.
I just bought her new album, Letting Go, from iTunes. She's been a fave of mine since college. I learned to play songs from her first album on my first guitar back then. Her music has this raw simplicity to it... at least, that album did. She's become increasingly complex, actually. And I love that about her.
This new album comes with an interesting side note that, were JK not the musician she is and had I not grown up in the conservative culture I grew up in, would be nothing more than a passing blip. See, JK is a "contemporary Christian" musician... at least, that's where she got her start. And shortly before the release of this new album, she publicly announced that she is a lesbian.
There's been a mixed reaction from the conservative Christian community regarding that announcement. It's basically a black mark on her soul, according to most. There have been calls to boycott her music. I'm sure there has been more hate mail than there should be (I'd go with... there should be NO hate mail).
Personally, I love her more for her authenticity. There's something admirably real, something vulnerable, about JK not backing down from the call of her heart. It's ALWAYS been reflected in her music. Especially now that she has to deal with the backlash of a culture that should open it's arms to accept her as she really is, no masks, no "fitting a mold."
It's a challenge that most of us who have been raised in that culture are afraid to take. Daring to question the status quo, to live outside the prescribed norm takes guts; it takes re-wiring. It's HARD. But it's not WRONG. It's the Path to finding what's Real.
I find myself Challenged. And I Challenge you. See you on the Path.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
My name is Elisabeth and I am a vegetarian
1veg·e·tar·i·an Pronunciation: \ˌve-jə-ˈter-ē-ən\
Function: noun
Etymology: 2vegetable + -arian
Date: 1839
1 : one who believes in or practices vegetarianism2 : Herbivore
(taken from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegetarian)
If you know me at all you know a couple things about me:
1. My husband was raised vegetarian and maintains that lifestyle still.
2. I am from the South where all food is fried in, boiled with, sauteed in, etc., pork fat.
Growing up it was "One size fits all" and you cleaned your well-balanced plate of meat, bread, and a token vegetable. This is how the majority of middle America lives, eats, and understands the order of the universe courtesy of the USDA food pyramid. Although... have you looked at that thing lately? http://www.mypyramid.gov/ It's become remarkably more customizable.
When I met Noah (who is a fab cook, by the way), switching off the part of my brain that set off an alarm if meat WASN'T included in the meal was... challenging. So we started slowly.
After 7 years of marriage and gradually reducing my meat intake, the leap to vegetarianism wasn't so dramatic, at least not habitually. But I didn't stop eating meat altogether (minus fish now and again) just because it was an easy, gradual switch.
In 2007, Noah and I moved to Davis, California, so that he could continue pursuing his bachelor's degree in sustainable agriculture (he officially graduated this past June. Yay Noah!), an interest he had developed over the years. There are so many different facets to the world of sustainable ag; most exciting and compelling for me (though I was not the one studying it :)) are the impacts on social and environmental justice.
While living in the Davis/Sacramento area, we drove down I-5 to LA a number of times. You only have to do it once to know about Harris Ranch. Long before you can see the ranch, you can smell it. The odor is potent, toxic, and accompanied by a brown cloud that hangs ominously in the air for miles around. Drive by this place and it'll make you think twice about eating beef. Except that, most people forget that this is where their beef comes from!It's not cellophane wrapped, conveniently dyed and sterilized from start to finish. It comes from a once live cow that, unless you are extremely conscientious in which beef you purchase (and let's face it... consumers aren't offered too many choices in the matter), probably lived out its days standing in its own filth, fed all sorts of inorganic matter (not its natural diet) and hopped up on hormones and growth supplements. Talk about bad for the environment!
But... driving past Harris Ranch more than once was not what caused me to quit eating meat.
I had already begun researching sustainability and meat, and trying to buy my beef from places like the Davis Co-op, where I as a consumer actually had an option to purchase meat more ethically raised. But it's not enough.
I'm appalled at how little we actually know about what we eat... and about the practices of the companies that market our food to us. But I'll save all that tirade for another blog... after I do some more research.
In Winter Quarter of 2010 I took a class on Asian American literature. I've not extensively read any Asian American authors... this class offered a broad overview of female authors from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds within the Asian American experience. I learned a LOT... and I read this book:
Ozeki didn't set out to make us all vegetarians with this book. But her ironic insights into the marketing of the American lifestyle had a profound impact on me. Add to that the poignant scenes describing slaughter, not to mention the consequences of mass producing livestock... and I lost the stomach for it.
I decided in February that I would not eat meat anymore. In the beginning I was bolstered by my idealism. As time wore on, it began to get harder. At one point I decided I would be a vegetarian on most days... maybe not on Fridays... and so the other day I ordered a hamburger... and couldn't swallow a bite of it. I was surprised by this change. Until that moment I had thought I was masquerading as a vegetarian and would likely someday revert to old habits. Perhaps not.
I'm able and willing to eat fish now (which is new, I NEVER used to eat fish)... and the Little Pub down the street has some killer fish 'n' chips. But I don't think I'll ever go back to cow, chicken, or pork.
My name is Elisabeth and, whether you agree with my decision making process or not, I am a vegetarian.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
For the record
Segue number 2
Lori has been here all week :) So I haven't worked on my post I mentioned the other day... instead we did fun things like going to yoga, the Maritime Aquarium in South Norwalk, the Central Park Zoo...
Here are some pictures of our day in New York yesterday, courtesy of Noah :)
This last photo is of people watching the World Cup 3rd place match in Grand Central Station. Pretty cool!
Apart from the zoo in Central Park, we also visited the carousel (of course) and the statue of Balto the sled dog! My sister and I used to watch the cartoon movie about Balto over and over :) It was fun to stop at the actual monument.
\
This week should be back to normal, somewhat. I'm going to start going to yoga regularly... starting this week, and we have Noah's company picnic on Thursday.
I started a post that I want to finish for anyone who is reading this blog and cares about my mindless musings... I'm hopeful that I will finish it later this week. I need to start keeping a schedule for myself so that I will write more. There's one fiction project in particular that I would like to complete.
It's Sunday evening and I'm going to step outside with a glass of wine to keep my husband company spying on river otters in our back yard. Maybe I'll bring the dog if he promises to be good. (This last photo is courtesy of Lori Marois, a great friend and amazing woman)
Here are some pictures of our day in New York yesterday, courtesy of Noah :)
This last photo is of people watching the World Cup 3rd place match in Grand Central Station. Pretty cool!
Apart from the zoo in Central Park, we also visited the carousel (of course) and the statue of Balto the sled dog! My sister and I used to watch the cartoon movie about Balto over and over :) It was fun to stop at the actual monument.
\
This week should be back to normal, somewhat. I'm going to start going to yoga regularly... starting this week, and we have Noah's company picnic on Thursday.
I started a post that I want to finish for anyone who is reading this blog and cares about my mindless musings... I'm hopeful that I will finish it later this week. I need to start keeping a schedule for myself so that I will write more. There's one fiction project in particular that I would like to complete.
It's Sunday evening and I'm going to step outside with a glass of wine to keep my husband company spying on river otters in our back yard. Maybe I'll bring the dog if he promises to be good. (This last photo is courtesy of Lori Marois, a great friend and amazing woman)
Friday, July 9, 2010
An aside
I'm working on a new blog entry... that's taking me some time to complete. So while you're anticipating... I thought I'd share this lovely little tid-bit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6z8GUywyc&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6z8GUywyc&feature=youtu.be
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Third of July
It seems like everyone was celebrating the 4th of July on the 3rd this year. Barbecue, drink margaritas and shoot off fireworks a day early? Who are we to complain?
Noah has started feeling better so, he donned his trusty hat to ward off the sun and a-grilling we went with our neighbor Chad's grill (Chad and Sadie are out of town. Sadie is Tag's girlfriend).
We also made Noah's famous margaritas. Mmmmm....
The food was fabulous, if I do say so myself.
After dinner we settled down to play Catan the card game (which I ended up winning, by the way), but Noah wanted some fireworks. We obviously weren't planning ahead. So we picked up and drove over to the fireworks stand down the street...and were I think their last customers of the 2010 season... by this I mean they had already broken out the beer and were celebrating closing up for the year.
We bought some Black Cat fountains, a couple of these little ball thingies and, of course, sparklers and headed home. Finished the card game while waiting for it to get dark (did I mention I won?).
Then we went down to our dock on the pond to set off our stash of fireworks!
Fun was had by all. The neighbors down the street had the big guns... illegal fireworks... and were shooting those off. I thought Tag would be scared by them (last year was particularly traumatic for him) but he was relaxed... that is as long as we didn't ask him to go outside. So he stayed inside to comfort Jack and Gill, who were quite upset...
I think their glowing eyes add to the drama of their feelings. Don't you?
All in all a good night! What did you do to celebrate the 3rd of July?
Noah has started feeling better so, he donned his trusty hat to ward off the sun and a-grilling we went with our neighbor Chad's grill (Chad and Sadie are out of town. Sadie is Tag's girlfriend).
We also made Noah's famous margaritas. Mmmmm....
The food was fabulous, if I do say so myself.
After dinner we settled down to play Catan the card game (which I ended up winning, by the way), but Noah wanted some fireworks. We obviously weren't planning ahead. So we picked up and drove over to the fireworks stand down the street...and were I think their last customers of the 2010 season... by this I mean they had already broken out the beer and were celebrating closing up for the year.
We bought some Black Cat fountains, a couple of these little ball thingies and, of course, sparklers and headed home. Finished the card game while waiting for it to get dark (did I mention I won?).
Then we went down to our dock on the pond to set off our stash of fireworks!
Fun was had by all. The neighbors down the street had the big guns... illegal fireworks... and were shooting those off. I thought Tag would be scared by them (last year was particularly traumatic for him) but he was relaxed... that is as long as we didn't ask him to go outside. So he stayed inside to comfort Jack and Gill, who were quite upset...
I think their glowing eyes add to the drama of their feelings. Don't you?
All in all a good night! What did you do to celebrate the 3rd of July?
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