Iraq Study Group

I would not have thought it was possible to feel as optimistic about national policy as I do this morning. I have a whole new list of names to research for possible inclusion in my list of heroes. One of the most wonderful aspects of yesterday's news about the report of the Iraq Study Group is the surprise factor. It's been a long time since Congress and the President accepted an independent report with such apparent open-mindedness as they have received the report of the Iraq Study Group. That indicates that the Iraq Study Group has done its job thoroughly. It's not enough to write the report if you can't get anyone to read it.

I'm comforted by the mere existence of United States Institute of Peace, facilitator of the Iraq Study Group; by the knowledge that not so long ago Congress acted on an idea, first stated in 1792, to establish "an office for promoting and preserving perpetual peace in our country." I am similarly comforted by the roles played by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Center for the Study of the Presidency (CSP.)

From the Timeline page of the Institute of Peace:

In March, Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) asks USIP to coordinate the Iraq Study Group and appropriates funds for its administration. Three other organizations are asked to assist: the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Center for the Study of the Presidency, and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. Congressional organizers select former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, and former chairman of the House International Relations Committee Lee Hamilton as co-chairs of the ISG. The co-chairs, in consultation with the supporting organizations, choose the other members of the ISG.

I recognize problems with the process. Why did we wait three years to start the study? Why did we wait 'til after elections to release the results? I question the use of the term "bipartisan" instead of "non-partisan." I'm horrified at even the suggestion of committing more troops to Iraq. But at some point I'm prepared to accept the work of well qualified people who seem to done a thorough job of collecting the facts and exploring the alternatives. I haven't read the entire report yet. I'm printing it out now. So far, it seems to be an example of the clearest thinking and clearest writing I've seen in a long time.

This image is a tile I've had since I was in high school. I bought it at the drug store around the corner from my best friend's house. On the back it's got sticky tape with remnants of sheetrock from someplace I lived in the past.

Picasso painted many versions of peace doves. This one, with the many colored people dancing, has always been my favorite. Doves are not enough. In fact, as Bill has explained to me, doves are not inherently peaceful at all. Having no meaningful weapons, they haven't developed any behavioral inhibitions for aggressive behavior. You may have seen them beating on each other at your feeder. In fact, in captivity, they engage in bloody battles. (Sidenote: For some reason Bill met the Postmaster General of the United Nations in the fifties and this dove issue came up in conversation. The Postmaster was so impressed that he declined to use any dove designs for UN stamps for the duration of his term in office.)

So, with fervent hope and a grain of optimism, today I'm hanging the peace dancers where I'll see them every day. Perhaps in some magical way, the energy of being reminded daily of the possibility of peace will coalesce and contribute to the peace effort. Or perhaps it will remind me to talk to everyone I know and lots of people I don't know yet, about the possibility of peace and the importance of working for it.

(Cross posted at Dryden Democrats)

Winter Solstice

Most Americans - most people worldwide - celebrating a winter holiday will overlook the centuries old traditions surrounding the natural phenomenon of Winter Solstice. No matter what other cultural or religious traditions people embrace, we would do well to celebrate the relationship of the sun and the earth, the foundation of our existence. This year at about 7:20 PM Eastern Standard Time on December 21 the tilt of the earth's axis will bring the northern hemisphere to its farthest distance from the sun resulting in the shortest possible span of daylight. From that point on daylight will increase until the height of summer.

The winter celebration is all about light. For decades we've mounted bigger and bigger displays of electric lights. They're beautiful and I love them. But I'm increasingly returning to the centuries old traditions of candles and fire. It doesn't take much thought to stick a battery operated candle-looking light in the window. And I like the sense of welcome it gives me when I come home after dark. But lighting a candle requires some attention and gives me a much more satisfying opportunity to reflect on the meaning of light in my life.

Making ice candles has become an important detail in my Solstice preparation. It requires paying attention to the outside temperature. (Well, I suppose I could make them in the freezer - but that would defeat half the purpose) The candle molds have to be outside just long enough to freeze partially. So, it all depends on how cold it is and I have to watch them somewhat closely to get it right.

This year Solstice nearly coincides with the New Moon. So, it will be very dark. Just as, despite my best intentions, I usually failed to go to Midnight Mass, now I generally fail to manage a Solstice bonfire. Maybe this year...

More Carnivals

I'm still hooked on Blog Carnivals.

First there was the Festival of Under 30 Finances. There are links to some good writing. What grabbed me was how similar the writers' circumstances are to Maggy's. While I was reading those posts I was also listening to a Washington Journal guest talking about student loans. A caller commented that young people take student loan debt for granted and it's just a short jump to consumer debt. And then where are you?

The Working at Home Carnival led to some interesting blogs. My favorite is SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution. Take a look at the Top 10 Brain Teasers.

The Dragon Slayer's Guide to Life was worth a look for the name alone and it didn't disappoint me. The post "Think Money Wouldn't Change You? Think Again." Led me full circle back to my initial concern about young people and debt.

When did we start thinking that the reason to go to college was to command a higher salary? When did we decide that made college loans a good investment? I understand why economists measure everything in dollars. It's a convenient common denominator. But I think Ms Lauria's idea for high school english students was better. She gave them extra credit for every time they reported something they heard outside of class that they had previously studied in class. Many kids became aware of references they wouldn't have understood if they hadn't talked about them in class. And isn't that really the point? Education makes our lives richer.

Blog Connections

There's a box in my sidebar that announces current blog carnivals. Carnivals, collections of blog posts on specific topics, are a great way to find people who write about things you're interested in.

The carnival that caught my eye this morning is Festival of the Trees. JLS writes a lovely blog about "trees, forests, and wood, and everything in between."

One of the fun things about discovering an interesting new blog is finding blog friends already there. I found Lene, Roger, Cindy, Bev, Karen, Greenman Tim, and many others whose blog names I recognize but whom I don't really know well yet.

JLS also writes Brainripples "discussing writing, art, creativity, and entrepreneurship." I'm off to visit there now.

Another Change of Season

The weather has been just great the past few weeks. Well, way too much rain and not enough sun, but it's been warm. It really feels like April and I'm not the only one feeling that way. Last week peepers were singing in the yard.

But the forecast is dire. It was in the 50's today. By Sunday the daytime high will be in the 20's. So today I covered the roses, emptied the big outdoor flowerpots and firmed up the deer fencing around the rhododendron. Tomorrow I'll turn off the outdoor water faucet and that will be that. It's time to hunker down.

So my thoughts are turning to decorating for the holiday. I found a terrific silver spray paint and I'm collecting things that with a coat of paint will be shiny tree ornaments. This oak leaf shows every vein through the paint. The berries are Multiflora Rose hips. I know the birds like them, too. But there are plenty to share.

I And The Bird #37

It was a great holiday. Maggy was here to help me cook the Thanksgiving meal "that couldn't be beat." Friends joined us for dinner. It was a beautiful day.

Many cultures have harvest festival traditions. In the United States the tradition has drifted away from thoughts of the harvest. We use the day to take time to reflect on the many things we’re thankful for.

As I began to hear from birders around the world I realized that people who love birds are great people to share Thanksgiving with.

I'm especially thankful for conservationist heros working to make the world safe for the birds we love.

My own hero is George Archibald who has led the incredible, successful effort to save Whooping Cranes from threat of extinction.

Bill Eley highlights the work of the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory and asks How important is this habitat?

I also want to honor the work of Dr. Arthur Allen, his collegues and students. An example of their work is described by George Sutton in his book Birds in the Wilderness.

Birders give special thanks for the addition of each life list bird.

Kay at Don't Mess with Taxes gives Thanks for a Different Bird.

Mike was thankful for the mild Thanksgiving weather that he and the birds were enjoying. Still reaching for 10,000 birds, Mike added the Northern Shrike to his list.

John, from A DC Birding Blog was in New Jersey for the holiday where he also added the Northern Shrike to his life list.

Tho' Ben Cruachan didn't find the elusive Painted Snipe, his trip led to a surprise addition to his life list.

Likewise, Leigh's missed her intended target: the first recorded Ross's Gull in California but still garnered two lifers.

For lots of us there's a favorite bird or place or birdsong or photo opportunity to be thankful for.

From Snails Eye View A wonderful bird is the pelican

Trevor's Birding shares Great Birding Moment #18

Kevin at Natural Visions has gorgeous pictures of Vermilion Flycatchers at Whitewater Draw

Amy from Wildbird on the Fly has a great day at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival

Roger at Words and Pictures got a glimpse of Urban Goldcrests apparently amused by the nearby installation of the city's Christmas tree.

Clare at The House and other Actic musings reports a Falcon Attack

Patrick at the Hawk Owl's Nest appreciates the humor in The Onion's satirical bird stories.

Lillian Stokes got great pictures of a Forked Tail Flycatcher in New Hampshire.

Don't forget the profound lessons that come with many birding experiences.

Karen at Rurality got a close look at the plumage of a Virginia Rail, tho' not by the preferred method.

At Find the River Paul grapples with "to help or not to help" a Bird in the Hand .

John at Birds Etcetera looks closely at Redefining Extinction

Rob, the Birdchaser shares a lesson we should all take to heart: To Bird, or Not to Bird.

Nuthatch at Bootstrap Analysis got an unexpected lesson in Peregrines' cuckoo tastes.

At the end of the day we’ll all be saying thanks for the memories.

Cindy's memories of The Gentle Snowflake Band are recent.

Jayne at Journey Through Grace shares Memories from when she was a novice birder.

Pam at Tortoise Trail remembers bird songs in Taiwan from long before she was interested in birds at all.

I thank everyone for sharing their stories with me. It's been an honor.

Three Degrees of Separation

I know someone who knew someone who sketched this Ivory-bill woodpecker from life. My friend Bill Dilger, retired Cornell biologist, recently shared his copy of George Sutton's book, Birds in the Wilderness, with me. The book is inscribed: "To my friend Bill Dilger in celebration of his twenty-third, the most important, birthday of his life." It was 1946. After years in the Army in Burma and India, Bill was back in school at Cornell. To help pay his way through school, Bill worked with Sutton in the vertebrate collection. A large collection of mostly unlabeled bird skins had been donated by a hobbyist and they were fully occupied identifying and labeling them. Over the years of their friendship, Bill learned a great deal about drawing and painting.

One chapter of Birds in the Wilderness is devoted to Kints -- Ivory-bill woodpeckers. In the Tinsaw valley of Louisiana, in 1935, Sutton and Dr. Arthur Allen were introduced to a local attorney, Mr. Spencer, who offered to put them in touch with friends who would help them find the Ivory-bills. Sutton writes:

"We were amazed to learn that mammalogists consider wolves more common in this section of Louisiana than in any other part of the United States. Wild Turkeys were abundant. White-tailed deer thronged the swamplands. I was still in some doubt, however, about the Ivory-bills. Fearing that Mr. Spencer might, in his eagerness to help us, be confusing the Ivory-bill with the Pileated, which is also a large and showy woodpecker, I said, "Mr. Spencer, you're sure the bird
you're telling us about isn't the big Pileated Woodpecker, the bird the Florida Crackers call the 'Lord God Almighty'?"

"Man alive!" answered Mr. Spencer hotly, "These birds I'm tellin' you all about is Kints! Why, the Pileated Woodpecker's just a little bird about as big as that" -- he indicated with his fingers an object a few inches long -- "and a Kint's as big as that!" He moved his arms generously apart, fisherman fashion, and glared at me. "Why, man, I've known Kints all my life. My pappy showed 'em to me when I was just a kid. I see 'em every fall when I go deer huntin' down aroun' my place on the Tinsaw. They're big birds, I tell you, big and black and white; and they fly through the woods like Pintail Ducks!"

This colorful discourse left no doubt in our minds that Mr. Spencer's 'Kints' were genuine Ivory-bills.

After three days of wading through the swamps Sutton and his companions found a pair of Ivory-bills and their nest!

"The whole experience was like a dream. There we sat in the wild swamp, miles and miles from any highway, with two Ivory-billed Woodpeckers so close to us that we could see their eyes, their long toes, even their strongly curved claws with our binoculars. The male bird sighted me, called more rapidly, and then, instead of flying off in alarm, swung to a tree above me, looked at me first with one eye then with the other, and stationed himself not more than than thirty feet away. What a splendid creature he was! He called loudly, preened himself, shook out his plumage, rapped defiantly, then hitched down the trunk to look at me more closely. As I beheld his scarlet crest and white shoulder straps I felt that I had never seen a more strikingly handsome bird. His crest was gorgeous. But somehow what struck me most was the rich whiteness of his beak and the staring whiteness of his eye."

Sutton returned the next day and sketched for hours. "The mosquitoes were not bothersome." Dr. Allen took photographs and plotted how to get their unwieldy sound-recording equipment to this remote location.

"We had found our Ivory-bills and made drawings of them. Mr. Spencer's 'Kints' were no longer a new and funny word; they were an experience, an achievement, a memory."

Cross posted at Whorled Leaves

Long Time...

Good grief. It's been so long since I've written here, I feel like I'm starting from scratch. With apologies to my regular readers, let me introduce myself. Or at least my cats.

Clockwise from top left: Magda, the grey tiger who has a major seniority claim; Murphy the new SPCA cat; Tang, the old SPCA cat who really belongs to Maggy.

With toddlers, this would be called "parallel play" - doing the same thing side by side but not speaking to each other.

Murphy (who was Winston last week) watched Tang and learned to drink from the goldfish tub.




He's also learning to make himself perfectly comfortable every place he goes. This is the chair I'm trying to teach him not to scratch. It's a log house for heaven sake. He can scratch almost anywhere. Why does he have to choose the most expensive upholstery?


I wouldn't normally allow cats on a dining table. This is more like a writing table. I guess I can share, 'though it is an antique cutwork embroidered cloth centerpiece.



But I may have to draw the line at getting into the refrigerator every time I open it. For this I blame the person who fed him turkey in front of the open refrigerator. You know who you are.

All this talk of cats belies my sincere love for birds. I've been enjoying reviewing the submissions for I And The Bird #37 due out on Thursday. Eighteen articles so far. Today's the last chance to get yours in.

I And The Bird #36

The beautiful IATB #36 is up at Words and Pictures. Roger leads with a spectacular picture of a gray heron from the Netherlands. He continues with links to posts about birders' pursuit of life list birds from Brian at The Natural Stone and Otis at Another Place. There are tales of bird squabbles from Mike at 10,000 Birds and Ridger at The Greenbelt. Seth at Cup O'Books writes about the nearby Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. Sharon at Birding in Maine supports legislation protecting shorebird habitat. Pam at Tortoise Trail has great pictures of the Cooper's Hawk hanging out around her feeders, giving new meaning to the concept of "bird feeder." And much, much more...

I will be hosting IATB #37. Please send me your best recent birding stories. Deadline for submissions is November 28 for the grand opening November 30.

Moving On

I'm elated over the results of the election. And I'm happy it's over for the moment and we can all talk about other things for a while.

On Monday, at Time Goes By, Ronnie posted a growing list of movies of interest to people over fifty. (She calls people over fifty "elders." I call them/us "grown-ups.") Each movie is linked to its entry on IMDB so you can easily get some information about it. Criteria for inclusion on the list are:

Films about being old or getting old

Films with elder characters that are well acted or portrayed

Films that may not be about aging overall, but include good scenes about or
with elders

Films that add to our understanding of or celebrate what getting older is
really like

A lot of my favorite movies are on this list. I'll definitely carry the list with me to the video store.

New Kitty

We have a new cat from the SPCA. Doesn't he look right at home? It hasn't really been that easy. He and Tang and Magda spent a couple of days creeping around sizing each other up.

They seemed to have it worked out. So, the next lovely sunny day, when I knew I was going to be around the kitchen most of the day, I boldly let all three of them go out. They all promptly disappeared under the porch. An hour later Tang and Magda came back without the new cat. I'm thinking, "Oh, great. They've led him into the woods Hansel and Gretel style." And I started looking for him.

When I still couldn't find him at dusk I was pretty frantic. Shortly after dark, Belinda spied him with a flashlight, sitting calmly about a hundred feet away at the edge of the woods. I tried to circle around him so that when I got closer to him he wouldn't panic and run toward the road. But still no luck. He fled into the woods.

We returned to the house to regroup. I couldn't think what to do. But I left the kitchen door open and fretted. I think it always helps to worry. Maybe a half hour later Belinda said, "Don't move!" Of course, I moved. But just a tiny bit - enough to see him sneaking cautiously into the kitchen. Whew. I slammed the door.

He started whirling on the floor and purring ever so loudly and quickly ate up his supper.

There's a longer, more harrowing story about the second time I let him out. But suffice it to say I won't be letting him out again any time soon.



Here's one of the most special things about him. Look at those eyes.

Maggy called him White Cat, which we shortened to WC. But when you say it out loud, of course, it isn't shorter at all. So we settled on Winston. WC - Winston Churchill. Get it?

Change of Season

The barn is clean, the chicken house is clean, half the garden is cleaned up and spread with manure for a headstart next spring. I've fed the bees and spread more than half the mulch that was delivered last month. Most of the fruit trees and shrubs are protected from deer browsing. One and a half cords of wood are in the shed (another cord to go.) Jelly and jam are in the cellar and carrots and onions are stored.

Still I'm absolutely nowhere compared to this red squirrel. He's intent on filling up the maple sugar house with black walnuts. He's covered the woodpile, filled every stray concrete block and syrup bucket.

He's run out of nooks and crannies and taken to simply piling them up wherever he can.

I particularly like this batch on the roof. What made him think that would work?

Seriously, don't ever be tempted to plant a black walnut in your yard. My yard came with them and I've adapted. But I'd never choose it.

Besides the fact that the roots exude a hormone that's toxic to many plants that you might want to include in your landscape, every season brings it's own particular black walnut mess. In the spring I'm still cleaning up the remains of the previous year's crop. In early summer the flowers drop and cover the sidewalk and the deck. In the fall, between the underfoot giant ball bearing effect and the nuts falling overhead, it's worth your life to walk through the yard. They drop their leaves practically all in one day after the first frost and the petioles, the little stems of the compound leaves, persist throughout the winter to be cleared away in the spring. And as if you weren't tired of them already, you find them germinating everywhere a squirrel stored them and didn't come back for them.

On the plus side, they are beautiful. And I have eaten the nuts and used the husks to dye wool yarn. I've been forced to cut a few and gotten some beautiful lumber from the logs (which is good 'cause they're terrible as firewood.)

Barack Obama

This morning Washington Journal referred to the Time cover article on Barack Obama and asked "Should Obama run for president in 2008?" Most people calling in said they didn't know enough about him even to have an opinion on whether or not he should run - several people even slamming the media for making a big deal about Obama when nobody's heard of him. I have to wonder why someone would call in to a talk show just to say how completely ignorant they are. But let's set that aside for a moment.

You've already heard me making a big deal about Obama and slamming the media for ignoring him. So as you can imagine, I'm please with the recent flood of coverage following the release of his book, The Audacity of Hope. If you know people who need some help getting to know Obama, try Americans For Democratic Action. Their 2005 scorecard evaluates voting records on twenty issues important to Democrats last year. Obama, along with twenty one other senators including Clinton and Schumer, voted for Democratic values on all these issues. The League of Conservation Voters ranks Obama 100% on seven key votes in 2006. The National Education Association gives Obama an A on 14 key votes in 2005 and 2006. Obama's Senate website and his professional website both include links to many of his speeches (but not the Iowa speech that so impressed me.)

Should Obama run for president? That's really not the most important question. Just listen to him. If you can't remember what the Democratic Party is about, if you have trouble explaining the Democratic Party to your relatives around the Thanksgiving table, if you're tired of hearing "Democrats don't have a plan," listen to Obama and follow the link on his website to Do More Than Vote.

[Cross-posted at Dryden Democrats]

Gates and Buffett

PBS aired a very funny and uplifting hour long program, "Buffett And Gates Go Back To School." The two business superpowers answered questions from students at University of Nebraska at Lincoln College of Business Administration. (A couple of the students identified themselves as "Actuarial Science" majors. Who knew that was a major at any school?)

Buffett and Gates hesitated on the question "If you could have one superpower, what would you choose?" Maybe they've never encountered this icebreaker popular with college students. Gates answer was not "flying" or "invisibility" but "reading super fast." Buffett agreed saying he figures he's wasted ten years by reading slowly. I've long envied Maggy's super fast reading ability - a talent she seems to have inherited from her father. They both tend to read novels in just a couple of hours. I used to think they couldn't really be absorbing what they read. But I was wrong.

One of Maggy's favorite children's books is "Petunia," the story of a goose who finds a book and carries it around the barnyard feeling superior 'til she learns it's not enough to own the book - she has to be able to read it.

What I'm leading up to is that I came home from the Friends of the Library booksale yesterday with another dozen books.


My new choices in fiction:
Choices by Mary Lee Settle - "A narrative borne on the exhilarating currents of memory, Choices is the story of a courageous woman who puts compassion ahead of society's expectations of her."
Anywhere But Here, Mona Simpson - "a moving, often comic portrait of wise child Ann August and her mother, Adele, a larger-than-life American dreamer."
Clearcut, Nina Shengold - "Set in the gloriously rugged backwoods of the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s, Nina Shengold's gripping debut novel follows three people in search of new lives deep into uncharted terrain of the body and heart."
The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy - "Roy writes with extraordinary grace, creating a world so vivid and strangely beautiful that reading it is akin to entering a mirage."

And essays:
Adventures in Contentment, David Grayson - "...the Grayson stories shed light on the attempts of middle-class Americans to rethink gender norms during the progressive era"
The Merry Recluse, Caroline Knapp - ""A potent blend of the very serious and the highly comical."
Our Land, Ourselves, Peter Forbes, editor - "...a new way of viewing land conservation as the process of building values and positively shaping human lives. "
In Deep, Maxine Kumin - "From a hillside farm in New Hampshire, a talented and perceptive Pulitzer Prize-winning poet records the sprawl and benevolence of nature with intelligence, humor, and tenacity of spirit."
On the Contrary, Mary McCarthy - "The electric snap and crackle of a literate mind and pen in contact with some of the striking intellectual and social currents of our time."
Nora Ephron Collected, Nora Ephron - "As tart and refreshing as the first gin and tonic of summer."

...and a couple I won't list here in case they turn out to be Christmas gifts.

The Friends of the Library sale continues this weekend with prices from a dime to a half dollar.

Getting (and Staying) Informed

It has never been easier to learn about our elected representatives. In high school I discovered the Congressional Record - the tissue thin paper with tiny print reporting the proceedings of the Senate and House of Representatives verbatim. It was the only way to read about what was going on in Congress.

Now the Senate and the House and each and every Congressperson have their own websites. And there are non-partisan summary sites like this one powered by capwiz.com for the New York Times. There you can look up a particular legislator or piece of legislation and find a summary and links to further information. You can even sign up for email notification of upcoming votes and your legislators' records. I've added the "Write Congress" button site to my sidebar.

I was on this site tonight to look up Olympia Snowe. Ronni Bennett at Time Goes By, on a "vote the bums out" rant today, said:

Find out who the incumbent running in your district is and vote against him or her. It doesn’t matter if the other candidate is a Republican or a Democrat. They are all the same these days. (Remember the corruption voters rebelled against when they took the Congressional majority away from the Democrats in 1994.)

They are most definitely not all the same. Ronni lives in Maine where the Seantor up for re-election is Olympia Snowe. I don't always agree with Snowe (I don't always agree with anyone.) But she is one of perhaps only two Republicans I would seriously consider voting for and she's definitely what Ronni Bennett is looking for:

...the candidate who comes closest to speaking with honesty, will be accountable for his/her actions and has an idea or two that can move the country forward.

So, under the heading of "Be careful what you wish for," check it out.

Wegmans vs. Whole Foods

Just as I appreciate Simon for pointing me to Ithaca Journal articles I might be missing, I'm glad I have Maggy to scan the New York Times for me. Among our favorite entertainments, when Maggy's here in Ithaca, is browsing in Wegmans. And when I'm in New York, chances are we'll shop in Whole Foods for dinner ingredients. So, this NYT Style article comparing Wegmans and Whole Foods is a natural interest for us.

The Samurai Shopper is more put off by the "stink of Zen" than I am. There are those here in Ithaca who think Wegmans is too tree-hugger or granola-head and would be appalled by Whole Foods. But the culture of both Wegmans and Whole Foods suits me pretty well. Selection in Wegmans is much wider than Whole Foods, perhaps because of the physical size of the stores. Prices in Wegmans are more reasonable, partly because of the wide range of selection. This summer Wegmans made a greater effort to stock local produce. It will never compete with the Ithaca Farmers' Market on this score, but checking labels reveals a fair number of local products year round.

But the clincher for me has always been service. The only eyebrow raising service I've ever encountered was the checkout clerk sobbing into her tissue as she passed my groceries over the scanner, because she'd just seen her boyfriend checking out with another girl. Otherwise, when I ask a clerk where to find something, they walk with me to where the item should be located. If it's missing from its spot on the shelf, they go to the warehouse to find it. Most clerks make pretty good small talk. They all seem to be happy with their jobs and proud of the store. It's no wonder Wegmans is repeatedly recognized as one of the best employers in the nation.

International Crane Foundation

I had the great pleasure, last night, of hearing Dr George Archibald at the Lab of Ornithology. George was a student of Bill Dilger's and over the years I've heard many stories about him. Bill's very proud of having contributed in whatever small way to George's incredible ability to change the world.

George's life includes an number of examples of chance favoring the prepared mind. In 1967, already accepted to medical school in Canada, he hitchhiked from Montreal to Ithaca to visit the Ornithology Lab. There entirely by chance he met Dr Dilger and after an hour chatting about cranes, Bill asked, "Why don't you come to Cornell to study them?"

Working in New York, George overheard a conversation in the hall outside his office including references to Aldo Leopold and Wisconsin. There he met Ron Sauey, coincidently a student of Dr Dilger’s whom George had not yet met in Ithaca. Ron’s family farm is a few miles from Leopold’s homestead in Wisconsin. George and Ron became friends and in 1973 co-founders of the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Getting his PhD may have taken George longer than usual because he kept pausing to save bits of the world. In 1972, he was studying Red-crowned Cranes in Japan. This flock, which winters at feeding stations, was thought to breed in Siberia. When George found that the flock was nesting in a marsh on the north end of Hokkaido and that the area was scheduled for development he launched a public awareness campaign to save the wetlands.

In 1973 George traveled to Australia to rescue captured six Sarus Cranes in Australia and brought them to Wisconsin for captive breeding. The Eastern Sarus Crane, nearly extinct in 1973 is now being reintroduced in Thailand. In the mid-1970s, living in the Korean DMZ and studying white-naped cranes, Archibald spotted four Crested Ibis. Having received permission to take them to Wisconsin to attempt captive breeding, George spent several very cold winters in Korea in a vain effort to capture them. Later, as the Bamboo Curtain lifted, two breeding pairs were located in China leading to a successful captive breeding program.

Not the least of the accomplishments of the International Crane Foundation is the captive breeding and reintroduction of Whooping Cranes, one of two North American Crane species. George achieved media notoriety courting Tex for several years. Tex had been hand-raised and was imprinted on humans. George's courtship dancing made her hormonally receptive to artificial insemination and eventually led to the hatching of her only offspring Gee Whiz.

Researchers at ICF pioneered hand-raising techniques which avoid imprinting the chicks and enable the young birds to be reintroduced to the wild. Finally, ICF has established Crane School where young Whooping Cranes learn to fly with an ultra-light. Eventually the cranes are able to migrate with the ultra-light to wintering grounds in Florida. The current ultra-light led Whooping Crane migration began last week. You can follow it's progress here.

George Archibald is the 2006 recipient of the Indianapolis Prize. designed "to be a great, enthusiastic, spectacular celebration of victories. ... to inspire the general public to start caring in a way they’ve never cared before, and to place heroes who often live in tents, in danger from both wild beasts and human enemies, on the same pedestal that we usually reserve for sports and entertainment stars.” I'm proud to count George Archibald among my heroes.

Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Maggy sent me a link to Andrew Postman's article "The Energy Diet." Don't know how soon it will disappear behind the pay-wall so take a look. It's a light hearted narrative describing Postman's motivation, after seeing An Inconvenient Truth, to do something - anything - to help. He rushed out to buy 50 compact fluorescent light bulbs. (Yes, some people have asked why he has 50 lights to put them in.) But he found he didn't like the color of the light from them, so he stashed them in the basement and brooded over his guilt.

Weeks later, after hearing about President Clinton's Global Initiative, Mayor Bloomberg's plans for an Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability and California's legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Postman conceived the Energy Diet. He knew, from having taken the “Calculate Your Impact” survey on climatecrisis.net, that his household produced nearly 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide - nearly 5,000 pounds more than average. With the help of information from thegreenguide.com, stopglobalwarming.org and the Natural Resources Defense Council Postman set about trimming his household energy use to achieve a 25% reduction in production of carbon dioxide. He found several simple ideas he could use - involving practically no sacrifice at all. Rinsing laundry in cold water, getting off the mailing list of several catalog companies, putting his computer and entertainment electronics on power strips to save the energy they use in standby mode.

Will this save the world? Probably not. But Postman learned at least one important thing:

“It’s all about attitude,” said Laurie David, the founder of the Stop Global Warming Web site (stopglobalwarming.org) and a board member of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Change one or two things, you end up changing four or five things. You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. Before you know it, you start influencing people around you.”

Website Advertising

I have honestly never before clicked on an ad on any website. But I couldn't resist this one this morning. Why Mommy Is a Democrat.
In the true spirit of Heather Has Two Mommies here's a child's eye view of a political issue. From my adult viewpoint, this is really amusing - the nurturing, protective mommy squirrel making sure "we all share our toys" and "children can go to school." I want someone to write the counterpart: Why Daddy Is a Republican.

But the thought of reading this to a toddler feels pretty sleezy. While Heather Has Two Mommies and books like it are about breaking down stereotypes, Why Mommy Is a Democrat is all about stereotypes. I think it's a great idea to teach children - and adults - about Democratic values. But I'm pretty tired of the black hat/white hat view of the world.

Still, I want this book for Christmas. No, wait. Wouldn't it look great in Maggy's stocking?

Last Rose of Summer

That sounds so sad. I'm trying, in vain, to think of a silver lining...