And now for a bucolic interlude...

I have never understood the fascination with soap operas, but then again, I'm sure most people would never understand my fascination with nature. I can sit on my porch and watch nature for hours. And believe me, the drama is no less riveting! Two years ago I finished a screened in porch so I could sit outside and enjoy my backyard without being bled to death by the round-the-clock mosquitoes that reside there. We are fortunate that during the summer when the trees are leafed out you really can't see any of the neighbors houses, just green leafy trees and dappled sunlight. Most of the time you can hear the birds but there is frequently the grumbling roar of a leaf blower or the shrieks of the neighbor's children playing. I don't mind. It just reassures me that life in this middle class neighborhood goes on as always. In fact, it sometimes makes me a little nostalgic for the days when my children could be heard shrieking "give that back!" "MOM!!" and "I'm going to KILL you!" Ah, the happy days....I digress...
Most of the drama involves the various critters that happily feed in the nirvana I've created in the yard. I have every kind of feeder that one can put out. It takes about 45 minutes to completely refill everything. Two kinds of suet feeders for the woodpeckers (4 varieties), meal worms for the bluebirds, wrens etc. Seed tubes for the cardinals, nuthatches, titmice and chickadees as well as critter feed on the ground for the towhees, mourning doves, chipmunks, rabbits and squirrels.
Of course, I had to put out three hummingbird feeders strategically placed so they can't see each other. Who knew that the tiny little hummingbird is a vindictive, fierce and lightening fast attacker when he spots another hummingbird? The aerodynamics begin pretty much at first light and continue unabated all day until they can't see each other to attack any more. Jon was amused yesterday by two hummingbirds hovering on either side of a large oak tree trunk feinting first to one side and then the other, just daring the other one to try to get by him! If you stand near the pumpkin patch (my other pet project) you risk being buzzed by two or more hummingbirds in hot pursuit of each other! I find it fascinating that although you really have to be looking to see them since they are so small, you can usually be alerted to their presence at the feeders by the leaves bending under the heavy wind created by their hovering wings.
The other amusement is watching the mourning doves trying to land near the ground feeder. They seem so bulky and awkward and never seem to land anywhere near where they intended so are forced to waddle back to their target. On the contrary, the Blue jays do a straight drop from the boughs above the ground feeder and never miss a perfect landing. A few weeks ago my son, Patrick, and I watched in fascination as a Blue Jay did some incredible flight maneuvers through the trees to evade a pursuing hawk. The crashing amidst the branches as they danced this deadly dance was frightening. the Blue Jay was shrieking wildly in panic the whole time. I have to admit that I was relieved that the hawk finally gave up the chase and went off for easier prey while the Jay sat in a tree panting and cursing loudly (oh, yes, it WAS cursing) for at least 15 minutes.
Having watched the backyard scene for hours this summer I've grown familiar with the calls of the various birds and critters that come by for a feed. I think my favorite is the ladderback woodpecker who sounds exactly like a dog's squeaky toy. The woodpeckers absolutely LOVE the suet feeders and they are actually pretty civil with each other about using them. You can sometimes see 2 or more woodpeckers of various descriptions waiting patiently on a nearby tree trunk while another woodpecker is on the feeder. The squirrels have a low chattering sound when warning each other from getting too greedy at the seed bowl and the cardinals have a distinctive chip, chip call as they fly in as a group. If there is ever a total silence it is usually broken by the high pitched whistle of the local hawk. Everyone gets real quiet and still when it is heard. I've seen him cruise quietly through just to see if any small critter is too involved in feeding to run for cover.
Of course, my favorite critter that was rarely seen and heard was the Screech Owl that nested in the box hung on a tall pine in the backyard. While she (and probably he) were there you would only catch a glimpse of them for about 15 minutes just at dusk before they would swoop off for their night's hunting. No matter how hard I tried, or where I stood I would only see them swoop down from the box and then disappear into the darkness silently. I could never see which direction they flew towards. I was totally fascinated when I realized that there must be a fledgling owl in the box and you could hear the parent coming to feed it when you heard a very low quick pulsing oh, oh as the parent approached. It was like the parent was saying "Get ready, supper's coming". Of course, after the fledgling left the nest the owls have disappeared. I sometimes can hear one calling if I'm letting the dogs out late at night.
The rush and demands of school sometimes really get me crazy and I find that spending some time quietly observing the nature around me helps to calm the nerves and refresh my attitude. I can get as much genuine enjoyment watching a wolf spider spin a giant web on the front porch as most people get from watching a television show. I'm happy that the bald cardinal (mites can really wreak havoc with a beautiful red crest!) found a lady cardinal to hang out with in spite of his pitiful appearance. I was saddened when our baby possum met an untimely end after an encounter with a poisonous snake. I even enjoy finding the empty shells of the cicadas knowing that the familiar sounds of the southern summer come from this incredibly ugly bug.
Well, gotta go refill the seed tubes and check for new pumpkins....

Same song, second verse

Sorry, but I must vent about some parents again...kind of a follow-up to my earlier post on the Problem With Education today. The parent whose kid was absent all year due to "medical" problems has apparently decided not to enroll him in school at all. At the end of the school year it was decided to place him in 9th grade at the high school. Recently our middle school received a call from the high school (who are now holding the huge file of paperwork on him) inquiring about him because he has not been enrolled for this year. Hmmm.
Along the same lines is the parent who requested a special hearing with the administration this year to protest her son's retention in 8th grade. Now, he had actually been retained in 7th but this same parent moved him to another school into 8th and then a few weeks later moved him back as a TRANSFER into 8th, completely circumventing the retention. As you can guess, the boy, having learned how to work the system from mom, proceeded to do absolutely NOTHING during 8th grade fully expecting to manuever his way into 9th. It really annoyed he and his mom when we insisted that he would have to do 8th grade again. So, once again, he simply didn't show up for school. We have just heard that mom tried to enroll him in 9th at a nearby high school. They accepted him at first until they checked for previous records and realized he is supposed to re-do 8th. I can't imagine what her next ploy will be to get her way!

Chicken Little follow-up

Last Friday my classes had the Firing Line activity described in my last blog entry. All in all, it was very successful. Some classes did better than others but overall I'm very encouraged with the student's efforts. We managed to cover several topics of technology that potentially do in the the world including global warming, nuclear weapons, biological and chemical weapons, cloning and terrorism. They discussed hybrid cars and life support systems. Many were very well prepared with comments from creditable sources. I required that they have articles printed from Galileo they they had highlighted and annotated. Several had whole folders of information with tabs to show each of the topics mentioned above! Since this is early in the year, I hope this bodes well for future Firing Lines.
Our next unit is on Archaeology and I need a good, pithy, controversial archaeological topic to use....any suggestions? (Mark, I'm talking to you!) I have been using an article about some dinosaur footprints in Alabama http://www.westga.edu/~bpsweb/BPS_Trips/bps_ft_00_01.html

for the past few years but now I'd like to find something more recent.