What If?

Today marks the inauguration of our 45^th president, Donald Trump, whose mantra is “make America great again.”

I listened to his inauguration speech and it provoked me to think, “What can I do to contribute to this effort to make our country great again?”

Instead of expecting to receive something from this new government just because I am a citizen—making me merely “a taker”, what can I do to support an effort to reverse our country’s negative spiral?

Can an older, retired, American with limited funds take any meaningful action to bring about even the smallest progress toward this lofty goal?  I like to believe I am a patriot with something yet to give.  

So, what to do?

I believe it falls into several categories:  home, neighborhood, community, and country.

In my home, I can:  Maintain it, improve it, and make it something I can be happy to live in, while creating a dwelling and yard that my neighbors can be proud to live next to.

In my neighborhood, I can:  Pick up a piece of litter, offer assistance to a neighbor in need, or participate in a neighborhood watch.  I can put forth the effort to meet and know the people on my block, and with that knowledge, I can possibly gain a mutually caring and supportive neighbor.

In my community, I can:  Offer to volunteer in any number of positive arenas that make my town better, from raising funds for the homeless, the police and fire fighters to giving time to the town for neighborhood and park cleanups.  I can plant flowers in public areas, volunteer to paint over graffiti, or pick up litter on the sidewalk.  I can support local businesses.  I can buy local, and to the extent possible only American-made products.  I can learn about what my community struggles with financially in order to understand, empathize with and support my local government as they attempt to deal with these issues.

In my country, I can:  Be positive and patriotic, limit my complaining, and replace verbalizing only negativity with productive action.  Instead of tearing down my President, elected officials and other citizens, I can either remain quiet or contribute a suggestion for meaningful change.

This may all seem lofty, naïve or impossible (especially over the long haul) but it seems like a worthy goal.  Most of all, I want to give the new president a chance to accomplish his dreams, or even a portion of them.  And that will make America, and all of us, great again!

What if everyone made a list of what they could do personally, and then pursued even one item on their list?  Imagine where we could all be in just a short time.

It's the Little Things

Jim has installed a “weather station” on the peak of our roof.  Facing easterly, it meets the onslaught of weather like a brave soldier.  Collecting a multitude of weather data, the little unit can transmit wirelessly to its companion unit sitting on Jim’s desk.  We can now know the wind direction and speed, the amount of precipitation received, temperature, humidity, barometer readings, and more, on a 24/7 basis.  The data from our little station is also transmitted to our computer which sends its information to Jim’s cell phone, as well as an online weather site.

Then there’s an electronic device I received this week that is only slightly larger than my thumbnail.  Called a bone assisted hearing apparatus or BAHA, it literally snaps on to an “abutment” implanted in the bone of my skull enabling it to transmit sound from the left side of my environment (my deaf side) to my right, hearing ear.  I can now hear sounds from both sides of my surroundings.  The BAHA also connects via blue tooth to my iPhone allowing me to hear conversations through it that I receive on my cell phone.  Additionally, it has the ability to receive sound from a small speaker Jim, or anyone I choose, can attach to a shirt while sitting across the table from me in a noisy room such as a restaurant.  There’s even the possibility of it being utilized to my benefit by a speaker in a class room or meeting, if I can convince them to wear it for me.  Designed for people with single-sided deafness, it is another marvel of modern technology.  It brings new meaning to the phrase, “Can you hear me now?”

We have a new group of little infant bunnies to enjoy!  I discovered them when they began to appear briefly during the warmer moments of recent days.  So far I have seen two.  One is gray and the other is light brown—the tiniest of additions to our rabbit family.  We have noted that they seem to escape the cold through an entrance to a covered and possibly underground den beneath the corner of a neighbor’s outdoor shed.  These little creatures wisely escape the elements there, and then emerge to delight and entertain us merely by their existence when the weather becomes tolerable.  I have read recently that it is healthy for older people, especially those in rehab, to have a view of the outdoors and wildlife.  We are well blessed with both elements in our home here.  Possibly this is what brings me such joy on a daily basis.

Draw of the Ice

For weeks, we’ve had frigid weather in Washington.  This has led to ponds and lakes freezing over.  In turn, there have been several episodes of people and animals who have ventured out onto unsafe ice, ultimately falling through its fragile, frozen surface to the water below.  Thankfully, dramatic rescues have been successful in most cases.

There is a fascination in walking on the frozen surface of a pond or lake for people of all ages.  The surface even draws pets and wildlife into its web.  The ability to stand in a place where the possibility normally does not permit such access has to be the draw.  Could it be that within all of us, human and animal alike, there is an irrefutable urge to experience the new, the unknown or even the dangerous?

I like to think this trait is in the genetic makeup of many creatures, passed down generation after generation leading some of us to the heights of experience, and regrettably at times, others of us into the depths of danger.  Admittedly, the adrenalin rush must be an age-old addiction for so many.  I have to admit my conservative nature usually outweighs these temptations, but the contained urge to explore is still there.

After falling on black ice at home unexpectedly (in a faster fashion than I would have dreamt possible and luckily without injury), I was not pulled onto the frozen surface by Pass Lake’s beauty at Deception Pass State Park on Sunday.  Identified as a “Free Day” for parking, many others were enticed to park and wander out to explore this frozen terrain.  One small boy heaved a large rock above his shoulders and dropped it ceremoniously to the ice, delighting in the echoing sound that reverberated across the ice.  Thankfully the rock bounced about on the ice without breaking through its surface.  Another man flew a drone out over the ice to photograph both the lake, and those playing far from the shore.  Far in the distance, a couple embraced in an illusion of solitude.

Content to watch safely from the shore as the setting sun slid down beyond the surrounding hills, I watched children and adults at play on the mirrored surface without envy.  One man said, “I haven’t seen the lake frozen like this in twenty years!”  I honestly can say that I was glad chance brought me to the lake's shore on this day to vicariously enjoy the draw of an unusual phenomenon.     

Full Wolf Moon

Tonight, there is a full moon.  Rising to the east with its bright light surrounded by shades of purple, mauve and pink, it is enthralling.  It demands a photograph.  The mountains chime in for attention as well.  Braving the cold, the only proper action is to respond with a camera and my best telephoto lens in hand.

In Native American and early Colonial times, the Full Moon for January was called the Full Wolf Moon.  The name came about because during January wolves howled in hunger outside their villages.

Moon Folklore:

"A bright first Moon promises rain and a bountiful harvest; a red-tinted Moon means a dry year."

Each full moon throughout the year was given a name by early Native Americans, who associated each moon with a specific feature found in nature.  Names varied according to traditions established by individual tribes and their cultures.  "Full Wolf Moon" is attributed to the indigenous tribes of North America's Great Lakes region.

Full moons coming up this year are:

January:  Wolf Moon on Jan. 12
February:  Snow Moon on Feb. 10
March:  Worm Moon on Mar. 12
April:  Pink Moon on April 11
May:  Flower Moon on May 10
June:  Strawberry Moon on June 9
July:  Buck Moon on July 9
August:  Sturgeon Moon on Aug. 7
September:  Corn Moon on Sept. 6
October:  Hunter's Moon on Oct. 5
November:  Beaver Moon on Nov. 4
December:  Cold Moon on Dec. 3

Wolf Symbolism:

Strategic, resourceful, and incredibly communicative, wolves have a specific protocol and rank within their packs.  Wolves are vastly expressive, and their vocalizations are famous.  Wolves have a complex body language, and an Alpha wolf can convey with one look as much power as the delivery of a physical blow would yield.  His eye contact can convey discipline within the pack, admonishing or reinforcing behavior solely with an intricate expression.

The phenomenal resourcefulness of wolves gave this moon its name.  January is a brutal month.  In northern regions, the frigid winter brings all life to a stand-still.  It is a time of "swim or sink" for any creature exposed to the elements.  In spite of this, wolves can thrive, as they pick off weaker animals.  Designed by nature to handle the brutal cold, wolves manage quite well feasting on a multitude of options offered up for them to wield to their advantage.

Perhaps like the resourceful wolf, in the height of winter we can reconsider our own options in life.  Rather than accepting what seems to be bleak alternatives, we will find an invitation for opportunity.

Royal British Columbia Museum (Part 2)

Woolly mammoths were the subject of a second exhibit at the Royal British Columbia Museum when we visited.  The entire exhibit was quite educational with one rather unique and rare display that most likely is a one-of-a-kind in the world…

Wooly mammoths once roamed in great numbers across Europe, northern Asia, and North America.  Scientists of today observe elephants to better understand the likely behaviors and lifecycles of mammoths.  Finding nearly intact mammoths in the permafrost of Siberia gives scientists fossil bones, tissue remains and DNA to study.  From this they attempt to answer questions about what their life was like, how young were raised and nurtured, and who might have comprised their “family”.

According to the scientists, mammoths migrated out of Africa and into Eurasia.  As they extended their range (about three million years ago,) various groups became isolated from each other.  In the process these evolved into new species as they adapted to different environments.  One of these new species became the “woolly mammoth” which inhabited the far northern grassland “steppes” (large areas of land with grass and few trees) of Siberia, and the woodlands just to the south of those steppes which included open meadows.  

Lyuba

A female woolly mammoth, about one month old, died in Siberia about 42,000 years ago.  Found and studied by scientists, she was named Lyuba (the Russian word for “love”) and is the most complete mammoth specimen ever found.  She apparently wandered into a mud pit from which she could not escape and when she became buried in it, her body was preserved.  Even her mother’s milk was found in her stomach. 

A mammoth molar

Mammoth bone hut

Interestingly, Paleolithic people of eastern Europe constructed homes from bones they collected of long-dead mammoths.   They used skulls, jaws and other large bones to build a foundation.  Then walls were constructed of leg bones and tusks framed an entrance.  A roof was added made of hides.  In the steppes, these bones were a substitute construction material adopted due to the lack of trees.  One to five bone-huts would comprise a camp made from the bones of many different mammoths.

A Columbian Mammoth towers above Jim

Even the bears were gigantic!

One of the reasons we wanted to return to Victoria right before Christmas was the opportunity to see this exhibit before it ended on December 31st.  Now we can only wonder what other great exhibit will arrive to replace it for our return trip in the spring to see the tulips and daffodils at Butchart Gardens.  We will let you know what we find at this fabulous museum the next time around!