canteloupe spotting

canteloupe spotting, originally uploaded by lalapapawawa.

Covered in garlic and cayenne but here it comes finally!

sugar baby grows up

sugar baby grows up, originally uploaded by lalapapawawa.

I have a shameful confession. I photoshopped the melon! I know it's subtle, but I wanted to lighten the foreground without blowing out the melon itself. I did a layer mask, and now I think it looks brighter. I should have changed the original picture a bit, however, to darken the melon and bring out more detail on the top. Maybe next time.
Anyway, one branch of the vine had gotten outside the bed, and this ping pong ball sized melon was sitting on it, pretty as anything.
I have to say, it is constantly nice to think that my last garden at this house is going to produce such a nice harvest. I feel really grateful.

morning beauty

This hasn't been the best week. Enjoying a period of workplace equilibrium, I should have understood the pendulum would continue its swing, and it did. Details would bore you, but I'm feeling pretty low about the development. Intellectually superior, but truly frustrated.
There are times when I wish I was a drama queen. I know people who can poop out a temper tantrum without being that mad even, just because they know it will make others uncomfortable. I am not this person. I can't watch Jerry Springer, because the drama makes me so uncomfortable. The problem with this is that when I express anger, particularly to people used to dealing with drama queens, it doesn't seem angry enough.
That's not the point of this post. The point is that I wanted to marinate in my anger this weekend. Instead, I walked. A lot. And my dog loved it. And this morning, as I rounded a bend in the road, I saw a flash of golden red and a sweep of wings taking flight. It was the neighborhood red-tailed hawk, adult rufous which is my favorite. Hawks like open expanses, and when you see their wings unfurl, you have to agree that they seem suited to large fields where the drafts support them. But this one was almost crouching in a stand of hardwoods and pine trees, in the tree's mid story. When he took off, he floated under the lowest branches, then banked heavily to pop to the top of all the trees and out of sight.
He was definitely bigger than the Eastern Towhee I saw recently. And yet in the same stand of trees. I am beginning to feel like they wait for me, like they stand watch. If I'm an early riser, I see a bluebird. If I'm running behind, like this morning, I have a moment of raptor rapture.
Was it sufficient grace for the day? I will let you know. But it helped, as did the bramble of ripening blackberries and the entertainment of Mollie stalking squirrels (good girl!) and the discovery of new squash after I thought all my plants had been massacred by chipmunks.
I think that's what birding does for me. If I give it some time and step away from my everyday life events, it shows me glimpses of nature I wouldn't have had otherwise. And that fills up the reservoirs of grace. It's not enough to fill up the heart indefinitely, but it is enough for today.
And today is all you can plan for. It's blessing enough for anyone.

--Laura

down to business: part I

I've been talking for a while now about my plans once I relocate to Colorado. I've struggled for a while now to keep things very clear and linear in my mind: focus on what's in front of me, and leave the future to the future. I do not know how the picture will look once I move, and I will need the flexibility to shape my decisions based on new information, rather than blindly proceeding with plans I made in Georgia that don't work in Colorado.
But the project I want to create in Colorado is fun, and I enjoy thinking about it. So when I found an outline for a business plan at the Small Business Administration website, I copied it. It was posted to help the entrepreneur begin the process of putting their dream on paper. After you answer the questions it asks, you are supposed to have the outline of a solid business plan. So that's what I've been doing.
I apologize if this "Down to business" series of posts is long and boring. I'm blogging about it because I like to think out loud. I like to have people play devil's advocate. Opening my process up to scrutiny is how I figure out things that nag at me, and how I prepare myself for the unforeseen.
So this is part I. First, the question from the SBA:
What business will you be in? What will you do?
My answer:
This is a specialty retail store, a one stop shop for everything related to birdwatching or birding. It will offer products as well as services. It will also be a community resource for both the 61 million birders who report watching birds at least 20 days a year and those individuals and families looking to connect with nature and the outdoors learning an interesting hobby.
Products will include seed and seed blends, optics, nest cams, bird feeders and nesting boxes, feeding stations, books and videos.
Service will be the cornerstone of the store. Building relationships builds loyalty, even in a down economy. The services will be defined by customer demand, but could range from birdseed delivery, loyalty programs, delivery and setup for birdfeeding stations, digital picture processing for those who like to catch their birds on camera, in-store product testing, so customers can see how products work before they buy them, craft activities for children of different age groups, to help the parent foster an interest in bird watching with their children, and free or low-cost lectures about the varied topics related to birding.
Being a community resource serves on multiple levels. First, I believe in partnerships with local merchants, even ones that might not seem an obvious fit for a bird watching store. I want a community presence and I believe that small business owners, particularly in the same neighborhood, either “hang together or hang separately.” Second, if I am a clearinghouse for information about birding, I will become better informed. Something as simple as devoting a small space on my wall to a map of the immediate area for reports on the first hummingbird sighting of the year or bird lists at the local reservoirs can add value to my customers’ experience. Additionally, I can partner with businesses in my neighborhood and experts in the field of ornithology and related aspects of bird watching, so they are brought in as needed instead of full-time. Their businesses will be in partnership with me rather than in competition. They will benefit from the increased business and I will benefit from adding a useful service for my customer without being saddled with the extra overhead that’s detrimental to a new business.
Here are some illustrations:
I could be tempted to rental retail space large enough to hold classes and give lectures. However, I could rent a smaller retail space devoted completely to merchandise and rent space as I need it from the Old Firehouse Art Center (http://www.firehouseart.org/OFAC/home.html), located at 4th and Terry Streets. They have facilities to support both meetings and arts and crafts, so I could provide activities for both adults and children. Also located nearby is a retail store called Crackpots (http://ecrackpots.com/) with similar facilities for children’s activities.
Downtown Longmont is also home to seven art galleries and more than two dozen restaurants. During the summers, I could partner with Audubon and downtown businesses for a Progressive Birdwalk Urban Stroll. Strollers would be entertained with a discussion of the kinds of birds that can be found in an urban environment, beginning at my store, and stopping along the way at different galleries. At each gallery would be appetizers and drinks featuring food from the different restaurants. This format could be customized with different themes, or to work in conjunction with one of the several activities taking place in downtown throughout the summer, like the Alive After Five, taking place each Thursday, or the Festival on Main.
The profile of the store is one that helps individuals and families become better informed about their neighborhood and their environment, using the hobby of birding. There will be products, services and a community resource component to connect them to local information and experts in every area of birding.
Other retailers could use this model. Franchises also offer this service. But there is room in this market and this geographical area for my store.


---Laura

vacation continued

The parents left this morning. I'm alone. Does anyone want to have a vacation with me? Come on over. Call ahead.

a comment about bird rehab

I've been reading several articles about the pros and cons of doing bird and wildlife rehab. Those opposed to the measure say first that the birds are often so stressed out that they don't survive long past the rehab, and second that they almost never breed post-rehab.

Startling information, in and of itself. This serious disaster, this tremendous onslaught to a bird's life cycle, affects not just today but the rest of its life. I think it prompts one to ask if we humans are just so much more highly evolved than birds, or if there are more of us out there than we realize who are walking wounded. But that's an aside.

I'm pro rehabilitation, though there may be some selfish reasons for it. First, I think it's important to face the true measure of what we've done. I think it changes people, even if momentarily. People should be shocked and depressed by a shocking and depressing situation. It will not kill us.

Second, though the rehab efforts have shown to have unimpressive long term effects, I think it's good for education. Doctors make the distinction between the first heart transplant and the first SUCCESSFUL heart transplant. They weren't the same event. They also gained tremendous insight in caring for the wounded during VietNam, when their skills were called into play in new and unique situations. With rescue efforts going on in the Gulf, more will be learned. Are we truly such that all we are concerned about is the bottom line? It's an unscheduled disaster. Let's not do a profit analysis on it. We certainly can't make it go away. So let's learn from it what we can.

I feel better about that than I do about the prospect of tossing up my hands, saying all is futile, and walking away from helpless and dying animals. Yes, they will repopulate, and in time all will be rebalanced. But we would have learned nothing.

My opinion, for what it's worth.

-Laura

vacation

It's what's for breakfast.

recent discovery

Discovery: Mollie is a joyful morning walker. I am NOT a joyful AM walker. But we did it. What's funny is we circled the neighborhood once, and as we approached my driveway to come home, Mollie mystically sped up! I went along with the game, and after we passed the driveway and rounded the turn to circle the neighborhood, she mystically slowed back down to normal walking speed.
Yes, Mollie is a joyful morning walker. But at least I'm an entertained follower. And for the effort, on the 2nd time around the circle, I was serenaded by an eastern towhee, male. Go to the site and read about them and have a listen to their call. Towhees don't like the exposure of feeders, and mine are kind of out in the open, so it's nice to have some shrubby forested areas in my walk where I can see them. I don't think he was all that happy to see me, but our approach did inspire him to fly to a higher branch and address us with a morning towhee song.
Not bad.

-Laura

Deep Water Horizon Report

Fish and Wildlife report: June 4, 2010.
You can go to this site for updated information on the numbers of animals reported, dead or alive, that are "visibly oiled."
It's not olive oil for roasting them either.

not everything you learn is for a good reason

Unless you've been under a rock, you know about the Gulf oil spill. To monitor the ecological impact, I've been surfing beyond some of the usual news shows. For example, there are some people out there with some really neat satellites taking really startling pictures of our waters. There are also people out there with memory of the Exxon Valdez spill, and what had to be done to assist the wildlife.

If you haven't seen the kind of assistance the seabirds need, I direct you to a short piece submitted by the Boston Globe, with pictures from East Grand Terre Island in Louisiana. Let that sink in for a minute.

There. Now, I was under the impression that rescue and rehab for these birds was labor intensive because if you washed them with harsh soaps, you'd take the oils out of their feathers, which would eliminate their natural waterproofing. This is not actually the case. Birds do have an oil gland. They do spread this oil around by preening. This is only a conditioner, however. The insulation and waterproofing for a bird is in their amazing wing construction.

This image, courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle, shows a healthy and oil-soaked wing. The feathers of a healthy wing act like shingles on a house, overlapping. They have have a hook and barb construction, making a truly effective, flexible covering that insulates them from sun and cold and keeps them dry. The oil destroys that. And of course, the bird's first tendency is to remove the oil by cleaning itself. The oil it swallows can severely damage the internal organs.

Sad yet? What's the solution?

Well, reality time. It's a lot of work. The bird isn't just dirty. A quick shower doesn't fix it. Get this scenario, from the International Bird Rescue Research Center:

Initial procedures may involve cleaning the eyes, nasal and oral passages of oil and dirt, applying saline eye solution, giving oral fluids and activated charcoal solution, but not washing.
To wash a bird that is already highly stressed and not medically stable could mean death. Many oiled bird's die because well-meaning people, anxious to get oil off the bird, wash it immediately, resulting in death from stress. It is actually more important to give oiled birds the much needed nutrition, hydration and medical treatment they need before they are washed.
Once stable, oiled birds go through a series of tub washes alternating between baths with a one percent solution of Dawn dishwashing liquid and clean water. The wash time varies depending on the amount of oil, and the size of the bird, but on average it takes two people 45 minutes and 300 gallons of water to do a thorough washing.

A lot more complicated than you thought? Same here. Even after that, the birds have to be observed to make sure they are preening themselves again, and have recovered from the stress enough to be returned to the wild.

Before you ask, I am definitely sad that PEOPLE lost their lives in this tragedy. I don't forget them. It just doesn't make my concern and disgust over this any less. Personally, I want to go down to the local bird-cleaner recruitment office and head down to Louisiana or Pensacola, or later perhaps even Savannah or Charleston. And I would be one of those well-meaning people who make it worse. If you feel the same way, you might consider visiting this site, read the news from the experts rather than from the CEO of British Petroleum, and if you see their value, send them a little money. If you want to follow some of the work they're already doing, you can visit their flickr page. They're definitely going to be using lots of Dawn dishwashing liquid. And buckets of compassion as well.

-Laura

so... time to clean the gutters?