Bird Sanctuary

I live in an area that can only be described as a bird sanctuary. The variety is almost astounding and the opportunities to watch birds only means stepping off the front porch.

In some earlier posts, I described some observations of a family of robins. Since that time, I've seen them, although their territory seems to have expanded.

I've been working on a large concrete dock, so I've been watching what are locally known as "Chimney Swifts", although I don't know if they're that, or some type of swallow. What's interesting is the nest they build. The picture below is a good representation of their nests.

This doesn't look like the bird, but the nest is identical.The birds - whatever they are - spend a substantial part of the day flying to a muddy bank a few hundred feet from the dock, grabbing a beak full of mud, then flying back to paste it to their nest. When not involved with this activity, they fly around and eat the swarming mosquitos, or "bathe" in the dust on a road, which I assume gets rid of parasites.

Yesterday, a crow visited the site. My guess is that the crow was looking for an easy meal of eggs, but its hopes were shattered when it was swarmed by the swifts and chased away. Although it tried more than once, all efforts were futile and it was forced to find a meal somewhere else.

The nests take up a substantial part of the overhangs on the dock and are placed precariously over the water, which has plenty of predatory fish to consume anything that falls in the water. Even without any predators, the birds are not equipped to swim; a fall would probably end with the bird drowning.

So, now you know substantially more about something that doesn't catch your interest.

You're welcome.

I was well into this post, when I realized I was like my father. He was fascinated by birds; he even put a bird bath in his back yard, so they'd have water and he could watch them. 

With me, it calms my mind to watch birds. Maybe it's a longing to escape - even for a moment - and be free of the confines of the ground.

Bizarre News

I started a long post about the zombie attack on the homeless man in Florida and the "personal decision" opinion of the President when it comes to selective abortion to determine the sex of a fetus, but reached the point I was too disgusted to continue.

WTF people? Am I the only sane person left in the world?

No Waste...

...of a catastrophe in California.

If there's any doubt in your mind about never trusting the government, this should remove it forever.

Writer's Block

I think I might be dealing with it. It's that or rapid cycling bipolar disorder, the culmination of a childhood head injury, laziness, procrastination, constipation or fatique. Then again, it might be I'm just pulling your leg and will wow you with something fantastically creative.

Only time will reveal the truth.

Devaluation and Thievery

The dollar is losing value. I know most people don't even have a clue about what this means, but they're being what only can be described as "robbed", and their own government is part of the scheme.

The government spends more money than they have? They print some more. It's like adding water to milk. There's a point where there is a lot of water and no milk, which eventually leads to a point there is a complete loss of faith with the milk supplier. At that point, the ability to trade may end due to a lack of confidence. If it's a currency, the final outcome may mean a collapse of the economy of an entire nation, if not most of the world.

Economists can dazzle with charts, trends and projections, but the root cause of this thievery is greed and unbridled power. The effect is that no matter how much anyone makes, their wealth is constantly being eroded by the devaluation of the dollar, which makes times like today even worse. Not only are raises being frozen, the lack of extra money to offset the loss of spending power means people are losing every day. If you don't believe me, look at the price of food, gasoline, electricity and services. Do a little thinking and remember what you paid as little as four years ago. Don't think too long, you'll realize how irritated you are and want to choke the first politician you see today.