loving art, science and creative kids
6/26/2021 3:18:55 PM
Larch Tree
It is easy to be fooled when passing a Larch tree during the summer. They grow cones and have soft two-inch needles bundled like a pine. Each fall, the needles turn a golden yellow before dropping their leaves. They are among the first deciduous tres to grow new needles (leaves) each spring.
Take the Hard Road
A few days ago I watched a TV show where a high school athlete was given a scholarship opportunity on the track team at UCLA. Acceptance rested on her willingness to move far away from home, leave friends behind, and forgo the usual social activities of an incoming freshman. To succeed, along with academics, she would have to devote herself to her sport. The twelfth grader wasn’t sure she wanted to make such a sacrifice, thinking of how difficult it would be to travel along such a singularly focused path.
Feeling conflicted, she spoke to her boyfriend, asking him what to do. And, though he didn’t want her to leave, without hesitation, he told her she had to go for it. “I used to wait tables and do odd jobs,” he said. “I had no direction and never thought about my future. Now I’m that I’m in an EMT course in training to be a first responder, I find it hard—but, it feels so right. I’m not sure why, but the work is fun. It feels great to have a purpose. Take the hard road to fulfill your dreams.”
It was sound advice from a young man and it holds for people no matter what their age. Walking on a purposeful path, sacrificing playtime to do something meaningful, though not easy, is likely to be interesting. The boy’s comment made me remember my childhood passion to be a world-famous prima ballerina and my college desire to travel to exotic places as an anthropologist. It was easy to spend hours practicing dance and studying primitive peoples. Absorbed in what I was doing, I was happy and never thought of it as hard work. As a child, I spent hours in my basement practicing pliés and pirouettes. When older, my time was spent in the library reading about social, political, religious, economic, and childrearing customs in tribal societies. Though I never achieved either career intention, having goals to pursue enriched my student days.
I still enjoy dancing and continue to do so. Exercise became embedded in my daily routine and it helps me stay healthy and flexible. Anthropology taught me how to think and analyze different cultures. I learned that every society has customs and beliefs to answer questions about human existence and they all have ways of organizing their communities. Anthropology turned me into a more tolerant person by realizing that human beings see the world through different lenses. It made me forever curious and spurred a change of goals
.
That I eventually pursued a career with museums was not a far reach from having been wrapped up in Indian and African cultures. But the road to success as a science museum director was unexpectedly hard. I had a lot to learn with bumps in the road that, at times, caused me to trip and fall. Thankfully, my earlier studies and training remained with me and served as a buffer going forward. The sum of my effort and failures were a help every time I took a fork in the road.
Whether young or retired, those walking the hard road feel alive. Elders are advantaged by having a wealth of past experiencesto to draw on when planning their next mission. Today's political situation, confused ethical considerations, pandemics, and global warming make the path forward appear dangerous. Yet, now more than ever, it is important to ask what issues are important and decide what you are going to do about tackling them.
No one can afford to sit back and wait for "the others" to come up with miracle cures. It won't happen. Traveling on the hard road will continue until we die. But have heart. Taking on a cause adds purpose to each day. Setting goals and following them through with passion will grow your inventory of wisdom and keep you feeling energized and complete.
6/19/2021 8:13:34 PM
Hope, Love, Survive
Safety Nets of Love
A friend, whom I shall call James, discovered that his son-in-law had left his 38-year-old daughter for another woman. Overnight she had become a financially vulnerable single, working parent. James left his affairs hanging in Portland and flew to New Mexico to rescue his daughter and two grandchildren. He showered her with love without questioning what had happened or giving advice. Confused about what to do next, she accepted her father’s offer of temporary shelter and moved north. His compassion and secure financial situation ensured she wouldn’t stumble along on shaky legs. She was offered a job within three months, but it took a year for her to become emotionally balanced and able to cope on her own. Several years later she fell in love with a man who appreciated what it means to be a family.
Only half-joking, my partner says, “When the kids reach 60, they’re on their own.” I don’t agree, for life keeps demonstrating that no one is ever on their own. Each of us live a teeter-totter existence balancing finances, health, and love. Fortunately, most parents prioritize care for their children over all else, whatever their age.
It is not unusual for traumatic situations to occur that we're not prepared to deal with. Relatives who live in close proximity are able to provide a safety net for kin when troubles occur. It is not as easy for those who move great distances where friends have to be nurtured to take over the role of close relations. Doing so is awkward for many people for it involves reaching out and giving back.
I’ve observed that friends are rarely as committed to stepping in as biological relatives, especially if their help is needed for an extended period. My partner and I invited a homeless youth to live with us. We mentored him for five years and embraced him as a member of our family. After becoming licensed as a commercial painter, he fell from scaffolding and broke his neck. We had to put our lives on hold and cater to his needs. Though not legally our son, he was ours emotionally. There was no hesitation on our part about our role. He was fortunate to have our help and that of excellent therapists for that type of assistance is not there for those living on the streets.
It saddens me when I hear someone say they don’t get along with a parent, child, or sibling. I believe it is the responsibility of parents to teach their young ones that they too have a responsibly for the well-being of their family. Children have to be coached on how to get along with relatives even when it is not easy to do so.
The learning process starts in an atmosphere of open and honest communication. One way I stayed in touch with our children while working was through a problem box. When neither my husband or I were around, they wrote notes about what was bothering them and put in the box. After dinner, we brought the box to the table. As a family we considered ways to solve their problems. By putting feelings out in the open, our children gave us a platform to analyze issues from a variety of perspectives. No one ever stomped out of the room in anger or frustration at the way they were treated, and I do believe the discussions helped my five children become good communicators who support each other now that they are adults.
Having a close-knit family involves paying attention to the three Ls—listening, listening, listening. It also is having the patience and giving time to problem solving. Children who are heard feel valued and acknowledged for who they are. When a child’s concerns are taken seriously, it is a direct demonstration of a parent’s respect and love.
As a young mental health professional, I was called to a hospital emergency room to see to teen who had attempted suicide. She was sixteen years old, Catholic, pregnant, and afraid of disappointing her parents. When they found out, her parents were more anguished to learn she would rather kill herself than seek their advice. That she was pregnant was less of a concern. With the situation in the open, the family discussed their options rationally and agreed that an abortion would be in her best interest. Without a history of honest and open communication, their troubles were compounded when the unexpected happened.
I’ve heard adults say, “I don’t understand my relative, don’t like their beliefs, and don’t want anything more to do with him or her.” Those are pessimistic statements, for you can still have a good relationship though not concur with the person’s lifestyle or beliefs. It is possible to agree to disagree about certain issues and enjoy picnics and soccer games together. Relationships are complex and are a long time in the making. Since we need people in our lives we can rely on, it is worth putting in the effort to make them work. The Blue/Red divide in the country is nonsensical. There is more that unites us as human beings than sets us apart.
Millions of individuals depend on the government for care based on statistical calculations rather than love or compassion. The award-winning movie Nomadland describes how a vast number of American seniors take to the road when they lack the financial resources, family, or companions to enable them to retire at home. Many learn quickly that social security does not provide enough money to live on.
There comes a time in everyone’s life when assistance will be needed from a friend or family member. The time to think about that eventuality is now—don’t wait. Reach out and discuss the parameters of a helping relationship with close friends and/or relatives. And, when thinking about where to live, consider residing in places that emphasize community and provide safety nets woven by love and companionship.
Art is always for Sale. Contact me at [email protected]
Hope, Love, Survive was painted after my 15-year-old-son was diagnosed with cancer. He is fine today. Acrylic on Canvas 40” x 30”/ $499.
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6/12/2021 6:50:45 PM
The Gorge
People living in urban and rural areas must come together as one nation, undivided.
Tribal America
Political Tribalism in America
Tribal tendencies in the nation have grown stronger, counteracting the vision our founders had to ensure that this wouldn’t happen. During the country's earliest years, white immigrants identified themselves as belonging to their state rather than the United States. Many were religious dissidents who came to escape restrictive measures in their homelands. They kept themselves separate from those arriving with a different set of beliefs.
Constitutional writers overcame many early divisions by guaranteeing religious freedom. They declared the country would have no national church or give religious tests to people running for office. In this way, the country avoided religious wars like the one in Ireland that tore it apart for centuries. Rather than a country based on ethnic, religious, and tribal loyalties, America developed as one based on laws and the constitution. Citizens joined groups based on political ideology enshrined in our founding document. It took the Civil War, to see racism as an issue the country had to deal with.
Our long history with slavery undermined our nation’s identity as a united people. It took abolishing it through constitutional amendments and laws establishing birthright citizenship before guarantees of equal protection were put into place to set things right. Civil rights leaders of the 1960s hoped that additional changes to the law would counter the constant pull towards racism, religion, and ethnicity and fortify the notion of an American people.
Unfortunately, there are things that went on behind the scenes that not only strengthened our two-party system but made it toxic. What we have now is a form of tribalism based on politics that is undermining democracy and the constitution. It is tearing our wonderful country apart. In 1780, John Adams recognized this as a possibility when he wrote, “that the “greatest political evil” to be feared under a democratic constitution was the emergence of “two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other.” George Washington in his farewell address, mentioned the “spirit of party” as democracy’s “worst enemy.” He said, it “agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection.”
Barack Obama’s presidency brought about an escalation of hate groups based in part on the prediction that whites will lose their majority status. Other contributing factors to the growth of a tribal mentality were the decline in social mobility and the escalating class divide between rich and poor.
Throughout the country, subgroups believe they are under attack. Minorities face-off with whites, conservatives with liberals, and working-class people with elites. Rather than focus on issues like the right to work, political associations are demanding the right to define who we are as Americans. The media and social networks now in play have made matters worse. People listen to programs aimed at those who think as they do. Newscasters reinforce their beliefs and strike fear in them about those who see the world through a different lens, bringing about the ugliest of instincts. We operate more like a primitive society based on tribal connections.
I have a friend from Somalia who fled home at the age of 13 because of an implied infraction his father caused to a person in another tribe. As in gangs and drug cartels, memories don't die quickly and vengeance is expected. The offended tribe went after his father. When he couldn't be located their hatred turned on his young son who had to escape to stay alive. As citizens of the United States, he and his wife are a conscientious hardworking couple who understand the importance of tolerance and compassion.
I include his story to show how easy it is to become vengeful if you identify a group of people as your enemy. The attack on the Capital on January 6th is an example of what can happen when political tribalism takes control and abstract idealism becomes more important than the people residing on our soil. We must fight against separatists instincts that can divide society.
Freedom of speech, a basic American principle, has always been held sacrosanct by progressives and conservatives. Today, the left sees it as a way of dehumanizing women and minorities. They speak of religious liberty as discrimination, property rights as shields for structural injustice, and to further embed white supremacy. An article in The Atlantic reports that "only 30 percent of Americans born in the 1980s believe that living in a democracy was "essential," compared with 72 percent of Americans born in the 1930s.”
Mainstream conservatives also reject constitutional principles. Less than half of Republicans support freedom of the press if it means criticizing politicians. In 2017, Trump supporters agreed that the president should be able to overturn decisions made by judges if he disagreed with them. They give Trump the right to act as he pleased without being held accountable. Polls conducted in 2016 by the non-partisan group, the Democracy Fund, found that large numbers of Republicans believe European ancestry and Christianity are important to being American.
Let’s stop a moment and ask ourselves why, despite our flaws, so many people still want to come here. Most likely it’s because the dream of what America stands for still exists in the minds of immigrants. Throughout the years, we’ve somehow managed to overcome biases and hatred for the unaligned. We’ve been able to forge an identity that allows individuals to belong to subgroups yet remain loyal Americans. We don’t say, “I want to introduce you to my friend, a British American. Your friend is simply an American, united to other citizens through the Constitution of the United States.
Yes, race matters, but it mustn’t be elevated and turned into a separate tribe. Millions of people who feel disenfranchised today need to be treated equally in accord with fair principles defining the constitution. Yes, past injustices need to be recognized, but it must be done without wallowing in the flaws of forefathers and claiming they were smokescreens for oppression. They did what they did in their time—some good, some bad. We must move on. Now is not the time to dissolve into hate groups based on gender, sexual preference, racial, religious, or political affiliation. And yes, Jefferson was a slaveholder, but he also did a tremendous amount of good for the nation. By recognizing the past, we can climb on the shoulders of the people who built our country, look further into the future, become more inclusive, and do better.
References:
Gudmundson, S. (2021) Tribal America. FIlmore County Journal. retrieved from
https://fillmorecountyjournal.com/tribal-america/
Chua,A. & Rubenfeld,J. (2018) The Threat of Tribalism. The Atlantic. retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/10/the-threat-of-tribalism/568342/
Belcher, C. (2015) Tribal America. Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. YouTube. retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FniHDOuBUHg
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6/5/2021 5:57:14 PM
Feeding Crow
They're big, black, smart, and noisy. Most of us recognize the short and long caw sounds of crows invading our neighborhoods. I've been on the park blocks in Portland when it was difficult to talk to the person standing next to me. Trying to understand what birds are saying is like trying to understand an alien language. But, with study, determination, and patience it can be done. And, doing so might keep them from going extinct.
Bird Talk
While hiking on Fairmont Boulevard last week I met a fellow traveler. A large raven landed seven feet ahead and to the right of where I walked. As I continued, the bird hopped ahead always keeping the same distance away from me. After ten minutes the bird changed tactics and flew onto a nearby branch. Flying from tree to tree slightly ahead, he waited patiently until I arrived. We continued to travel together for at least an eighth of a mile until another raven, perhaps his mate, lured him away.
I’m certain the raven was trying to communicate. His antics made me wonder if I had passed too close to his nest and he was luring me away. My partner thinks he wanted food, but I don’t agree. He never called, nor did he seem impatient. I’ll never know.
This was not the first time I watched a wild bird reach out. One time, when the bird feeder on our back deck was empty a Towee approached the sliding glass doors on our deck. Cocking his head he stared through the window with a pleading look that asked why the feeder was empty. We responded to his demand immediately and filled it with seeds he devoured.
The twittering sounds and body language of birds say a lot. Chirps, cheeps, and melodies send messages that can be understood by humans. Some sing love poems designed to woo a mate while others use sound to show strength and warn unwanted birds to back off. Critters in the wild pay attention to their messages. Squirrels, for instance, respond to the short low-and high-pitched shrieks of robins indicating a predator like a coyote is in the area.
The Yao people in Mozambique team up with wild birds to find beehives. Scientists documenting the hunt for honey say it is a two-way relationship. The birds, wanting the combs inside the hives, can’t crack them open and risk being stung. So when they spot a hive they seek out human partners who will smoke out the bees and crack open the nests. The natives leave the combs for the birds to eat. And, when the people have a yen for honey, they make a “brr-hm” sound that calls out for bird assistance.
For the past twenty-five years, I’ve been entertained by watching birds at my feeder, though recently I’m seeing things that make me sad. I always looked forward to the return of the ring-necked pigeon from central America. A few years ago one arrived with a dart in his shoulder. How he managed to fly, eat and drink with a stick in his wing is hard to imagine. Birds hit by darts are in pain, subject to infection, and to becoming entangled or stuck in something. Unfortunately, blowgun injuries are being reported more often in the United States.
I consider shooting birds for pleasure to be malicious, yet expensive pigeon and dove hunting trips to Central and South America are increasingly popular. Though prices vary, a hunter will pay $1,725 for a two-day trip for a high volume (1000 birds) shooting in Montaraz, Argentina this fall. The cost excludes airfare, hotel room, hunting license, permits, and insurance). These hunters with use guns that leave pieces of shot embedded in the birds, making the meat impossible to eat.
It is not surprising with activities like this there we see fewer birds at our feeder each year. Birds have rapidly been losing the habitat they need to live, find food, rest, and raise their young in safety. According to an article in USA Today, there are three billion fewer birds in North America than there were in 1970. In addition to habitat loss, birds are threatened by pesticides, free-roaming cats, insect decline, and disease. While the nation was worried about COVID-19, Pine Siskins fell ill and were passing their infection on to other birds. For awhile, the Audubon Society asked people to stop feeding birds. Early spring, I found two dead Pine Siskins on my deck.
Birds are killed by moving vehicles and hit them when they are seeking food from road kills. It is a common end for Condors that are newly introduced into the wild. Planes strike birds more than 40 times a day and they fly into windows on houses and high-rise buildings. We had to put an image of a hawk on our large picture window to stop that from that from happening.
All of the problems I mentioned are accelerated by climate change. Two-thirds of the continent’s bird species are at risk of extinction. In 2015, nearly 1 million common murres died at sea and drifted ashore, blighting beaches between California and Alaska. It was the largest mass die-off of seabirds in recorded history. When I vacationed on the Oregon coast, my dog licked over a half-dozen of them scattered on the beach before I could pull him away. The next day my beautiful poodle was dead and I was in tears.
A warmer planet and expanding population is causing more wilderness land to be converted into farmable pastures. Breeding and nesting grounds are becoming agricultural fields and housing developments. “It’s a bird emergency,” says David Yarnold, CEO and president of Audubon. Yes, it is, I agree.
The raven I saw while out walking did not vocalize, but rather used body language to communicate with me. Rather than words, he used a more concrete, sensory way to reach me. By doing so, he woke me up and invited me to pay attention. If I want to continue hearing birds sing for a mate and be I will have to do more than I currently doing to see that they survive.
A birdie with a yellow bill
Hopped upon my window sill,
Cocked his shining eye and said:
"Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head!"
Robert Louis Stevenson
From A Child’s Garden of Verses.
References:
Hammeri, tl (2017) More Pigeons With Blow Gun Dart Injuries Appear In The Castro, Mission. Hoodline. retrieved from https://hoodline.com/2017/05/more-pigeons-with-blow-gun-dart-injuries-appear-in-the-castro-mission/
Rice,D.(2019) There are 3 billion fewer birds in North America than there were in 1970. USA Today. retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/09/19/3-billion-fewer-birds-north-america-now-than-1970/2365747001/
Woodward, A. (2020) An avian apocalypse has arrived in North America. Birdsong could become a rare sound. Business Insider. retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/birds-disappearing-in-north-america-2020-1
Jones, B. (2018) How to decode the secret language of birds. Popular Science. retrieved from https://www.popsci.com/learn-bird-language
MacDonald, F. (2016) Scientists Document Wild Birds ‘Talking’ With Humans for the First Time. Science Alert. retrieved from https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-document-wild-birds-communicating-with-african-tribespeople-to-help-them-find-honey
Mertins,B. (2021) Do BIrds Have Language? Yes! AndIt’s Amazing What they Say . . .Nature Mentoring. retrieved from https://nature-mentor.com/birds-language/
(2011) Language and Culture of Crows. Crows.net. Retrieved from http://www.crows.net/crows.html
Pepperberg, I (2008) Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence—and Formed Deep Bond in the Process. ISBN 978-8-06-167398-6. HARPER.
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Do share stories of your communication stories with birds below.
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