February 7, 2007

  • Crane update!

    One of the cranes has been found alive! They thought he was buried in the mud, but on Sunday they picked up a signal from his transmitter. They found him with 2 Sandhill cranes. Instead of calling him 615, maybe they should name him Lazarus. 8-]

    Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^

     

February 6, 2007

  • more on the cranes...

    I've been scanning the Operation Migration website, hoping to learn why the birds were kept in a pen. There doesn't seem to be any explanation. Apparently, these birds were all juveniles and whenever the adult birds came around, the young'uns were herded back into the pen. The only hint was a comment about the adults hogging the food and water.

    I did learn that, apparently, an airboat is needed to get to the pen. Reckon I wouldn't be out on a dark and stormy night in an airboat myownself! I'll be interesed to see what changes are made after this. Hopefully, no more penning. After all, young birds in the wild aren't 'protected' from the adults' greedy appetites.

    It's really hard for me to read stories like this. I'm way too soft-hearted and empathetic. I start thinking about how the poor birds must have felt... how frightened they had to have been... It's like telling myself, 'don't think about elephants'. 8-/

     

February 4, 2007

  • Central Florida storms kill flock of endangered whooping cranes

    Saturday, February 3, 2007, 5:52 am
    By JAMES A. CARLSON
    Associated Press
     
    MILWAUKEE -- All 18 endangered young whooping cranes that were led south from Wisconsin last fall as part of a project to create a second migratory flock of the birds were killed in storms in Florida, a spokesman said.
     
    The cranes were being kept in an enclosure at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge near Crystal River, Fla., when violent storms moved in Thursday night, said Joe Duff, co-founder of Operation Migration, the organization coordinating the project.
     
    "The birds were checked in late afternoon the day before, and they were fine," he said Friday.
     
    The area of the enclosure was unreachable by workers at night, and all the birds were found dead, Duff said. He speculated that a strong storm surge drew the tide in and overwhelmed the birds. The official cause of the deaths was not immediately known, but he said it may have been drowning.
     
    The thunderstorms and at least one tornado that hit central Florida caused widespread damage and killed at least 19 people.
     
    For the past six years, whooping cranes hatched in captivity have been raised at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin by workers who wear crane-like costumes to keep the birds wary of humans.
     
    Ultralight aircraft are used to teach new groups of young cranes the migration route to Florida. From then on, the birds migrate north in the spring and south in the fall on their own.
     
    Duff described the loss as an "unavoidable disaster" for the whooping cranes project that ironically followed a milestone.
     
    For the first time in six years, an entire group of young birds reared at the Necedah refuge had made it to the Florida refuge without the loss of a single crane.
     
    The project's previous losses all involved individual birds killed by predators or fatally injured in accidents.
     
    "It's a fluke. It's an unforeseen thing," Duff said. "So many birds and they were such good birds. It was our hardest migration and our most difficult one to fund."
     
    The various groups and agencies working on the project had seen the size of the flock grow to 81 birds with the latest arrivals, but the loss of the young cranes drops the total back to 63, and there may have been additional losses.
     
    Duff said there was no way of knowing whether other whooping cranes that winter in the area had survived the storm.
     
    Operation Migration is part of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership. Partnership officials and Duff said the work would continue.
     
    Members of the whooping crane recovery team were meeting in Louisiana when the Florida storm occurred, going over the past year's progress and setting goals for this year, when they learned what had happened, Duff said.
     
    After the initial shock, "it just reinforced the support and determination to get this done," he said.
     
    The whooping crane, the tallest bird in North America, was near extinction in 1941, with only about 20 left.
     
    The other wild whooping crane flock in North America has about 200 birds and migrates from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast. A non-migratory flock in Florida has about 60 birds.
     
    Re the comment that the loss was an 'unavoidable disaster'... am I being naive in thinking they should have let the cranes out of the enclosure, so they might have stood a chance? In which case, the disaster was certainly avoidable. If they can reach it during the day, why can't they reach it at night? And they certainly knew some bad storms were on the way. Obviously, I don't have all the facts, but it seems, from what is reported here, they were careless - or foolish.
     

February 3, 2007

  • Thanks for thinking of me!

    Yes, I'm still alive! We got some bodacious weather, but no tornado here, PTL! I saw some of the devastation on tv. DAWG! I used to live in two of the counties where a state of emergency was declared. So far, I haven't been able to contact 2 dear friends in one of those counties. Rob, how did y'all fare down there?

    Amazingly, even after all that rain, there is no standing water in our yard or driveway. When we first moved here, there were lakes all over the place whenever it rained. Shows just how dry it's been here!

    Gotta scoot for now. Some people are coming to see the house tomorrow.

    Y'all have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^

     

  • RULES OF THE SOUTH

    A man just moved from Southern California to Georgia and he emailed this back to his family. He said they gave it to him at the state line.  If you are going to live or visit in the South, you need to know these rules:
     
    1. That farm boy you see at the gas station did MORE work before breakfast than you do all week at the gym.
     
    2. It's called a "gravel road." No matter how slow you drive, you're going to get dust on your Navigator. Drive it or get out of the way.
     
    3. The red dirt — it's called clay. Red clay. If you like the color, don't wash your car for a couple weeks — it'll be permanent.
     
    4. We all started hunting and fishing when we were seven years old. Yeah, we saw Bambi. We got over it.
     
    5. Go ahead and bring your $600 Orvis Fly Rod. Don't cry to us if a flathead breaks it off at the handle. We have a name for those little 13-inch trout you fish for — bait.
     
    6. Pull your pants up. You look like an idiot.
     
    7. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of mallards (ducks) are making their final approach, we will shoot it (the phone). You might want to ensure it's not up to your ear at the time.
     
    8. No, there's no "Vegetarian Special" on the menu. Order steak. Order it rare. Or, you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the two pounds of ham and turkey.
     
    9. Tea - yeah, we have tea. It comes in a glass over ice and is really, really sweet. You want it hot — sit it in the sun. You want it unsweetened — add a LOT of water.
     
    10. You bring Coke into my house, it better be brown, wet, and served over ice.
     
    11. So, you have a sixty thousand dollar car. We're real impressed. We have a quarter of a million-dollar combine (it's farm equipment) that we only use two weeks a year.
     
    12. Let's get this straight. We have one stoplight in town. We stop when it's red. We may even stop when it's yellow.
     
    13. We eat dinner together with our families. We pray before we eat (yeah, even breakfast). We go to church on Wednesdays and Sundays and we go to high school football games on Friday nights. We still address our seniors with "yes, sir" and "yes, ma'am," and we sometimes still take Sunday drives around town to see friends and neighbors.
     
    14. We don't do "hurry up" well.
     
    15. Greens - yeah, we have greens, but you don't putt on them. You boil them with salty fatback, bacon or a ham hock.
     
    16. Yeah, we eat catfish, bass, bream (pronounced brim) and carp. You really want sushi and caviar? It's available at the bait shop.
     
    17. They are pigs. That's what they smell like (money). Get it — pig farms — income — money? Get over it. Don't like the smell? Interstate 85 goes two ways .Interstate 40 goes the other two. Pick one.
     
    18. Grits are corn. You put butter, salt, and maybe even some pepper on them. If you want to put milk and sugar on them, then you want Cream of Wheat — go to Kansas. That would be I-40 west.
     
    19. The "Opener" refers to the first day of deer season or dove season. Both are holidays. You can get pancakes, cane syrup, and sausage before daylight at the church on either day.
     
    20. So every person in every pickup waves? Yeah, it's called being friendly. Understand the concept?
     
    21. Yeah, we have golf courses. Don't hit in the water hazards. It spooks the fish and bothers the gators...and if you hit it in the rough, we have these things called diamondbacks, and they're not baseball players.
     
    22. That Highway Patrol Officer that just pulled you over for driving like an idiot...his name is "Sir," no matter how young he is.
     
    23. We have lots of pine trees. They have sap. It drips from them. You park your Navigator under them, and they'll leave a logo on your hood.
     
    24. You burn an American flag in our state, you get beat up. No questions. The liberal contingent of our state legislature — all four of them — enacted a measure to stop this. There is now a $2.50 fine for beating up the flag burner.
     
    25. No, we don't care how you do things up North. If it is so great up there, why not stay there?
     
    26. And no, down here we don't have an accent, you do.
     
    In God We Trust.
     
    YA'LL COME BACK!

February 1, 2007

  • nota bene: for those who are subbed, i have posted a PR to my protected xanga site.
    I actually posted twice over there this week, can ya stand it?

     

  • In today's news...

    I thought it was interesting that these two headlines appeared together, in this order...

    2006 personal savings drop to 74-yr. low (AP)
    Exxon Mobil posts record annual profit (AP)

    Hmmmmm...

     

January 31, 2007

  • Is it just me?

    One of my primary goals, as a mother, was to teach my child that the world's view of male/female relationships is caddywampus. Along with that went protecting his childhood by not exposing him, as much as is humanly possible, to more than a child is emotionally or spiritually prepared to deal with. Not an easy task in this society, but we maintained a fairly decent average.

    A local church has a program called Best Sex Ever. OK, that's cool. I understand where they're coming from and think it's a great idea.

    HOWEVER - you knew there was a however coming, dincha? - I was a bit taken aback the other day when I saw a huge billboard with a giant picture of 2 pairs of feet under a sheet positioned... well, you get the picture, right? The only text was BestSexEver.org and, in small print, Genesis Church something. While I applaud their efforts to reach young people with a Godly message, I felt that this was inappropriate. I mean, while they are surely reaching some of their target audience, young eyes/minds are caught in the crossfire. Most people, I realize, barely notice this kind of thing anymore. But there are still some mothers out there who don't want to have to answer these type of questions from their 5-year-olds. Let them be kids for Pete's sake. They have to grow up way too fast, anyhow. I'm putting all this badly, but I hope y'all get what I'm trying to convey.

    I emailed the church, voicing these concerns about younger children, and this was their response.

    Dear Spohie:

    Thank you for your comments regarding the GenesisChurch.TV's Best Sex Ever series. 

    We believe that the best way to effect change in our culture is to directly engage culture from a biblical perspective.  We believe God created sex and that he has something important to say about it.  This series is about discovering God's view of sex and how it impacts our lives.  We hope this series brings hope and healing to so many who struggle with sexual issues, as well a sense of renewal to those married couples who are looking to have the Best Sex Ever. 

    Again, thank you for your comments and concern.

    So, is it me or is that answer canned? And does it totally ignore my specific comcerns? They could at least have spelled my name right.

     

  • Prayer Request update

    I just got word that my aunt had her surgery and is back in her room. Her daughter says she 'has some pain but they are keeping her medicated'. Thanks ever so, y'all, for your prayers.

    Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^

     

January 29, 2007

  • Prayer Request

    My aunt, bless her little pea-pickin' heart, fell and broke her hip back in October. I think she's in her mid-70's. Well, Saturday night, she fell and broke the other hip! She's having surgery sometime this week. I haven't found out yet what day. Please pray for her, that it's an easy, uneventful surgery and that she won't fall anymore! Thanks ever so!

    Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^