Busy, busy, busy......
.........so much so that I haven't read a newspaper or seen a newscast to know whats going on in the world - globally or locally.
Yesterday was Remembrance Day for our veterans of WWI, WWII and the Korean War so I took a time out to think of those who didn't come back from those conflicts and the millions of lives affected. I was also thinking about our young troops peacekeeping in Croatia and rebuilding/fighting the Taliban in Afganistan. Canada has lost over 40 troops to date in Afganistan.
On a happier note; today is Mom's 82nd birthday!!!! I'm hoping for some sort of a quick visit and maybe a meal between when I get up this afternoon and when I come in to work. The lot of us are meeting for dinner next Saturday in downtown Toronto; both my older brothers and their wives are coming from up north, our sister Linda and a niece or two - a rare opportunity to celebrate together. 'Mabel! Get down off that table! And put down that beer!'
We did get those couple of mild days but unfortunately the week was mainly grey and wet. Tonight the temperature has dropped again and it feels like it may snow a bit.
After work on Wednesday I stepped out of the house for a smoke just after sunset and noticed a column of small birds flying south. Wrens, finches, sparrows....I don't know but the column was about 50 feet in diameter and after watching for a few minutes I started trying to get a rough count. They were pretty consistent with only a few gaps and I figured there were 250-300 passing each minute and I stood there gawking at them for 20 minutes before they finally petered out. By then it was gathering dark and I wondered....'are they going to cross Lake Ontario tonight into New York state?...in the dark? It has to be 25 to 30 miles; I hope the little buggers don't tire and wind up drowning.' When I went back in the house step-son #3 said I'd just blown off 20 minutes of my life looking at a bunch of birds. Hmmm...20 minutes of awe and wonder. Damn right I did. Priceless.
Yesterday was Remembrance Day for our veterans of WWI, WWII and the Korean War so I took a time out to think of those who didn't come back from those conflicts and the millions of lives affected. I was also thinking about our young troops peacekeeping in Croatia and rebuilding/fighting the Taliban in Afganistan. Canada has lost over 40 troops to date in Afganistan.
On a happier note; today is Mom's 82nd birthday!!!! I'm hoping for some sort of a quick visit and maybe a meal between when I get up this afternoon and when I come in to work. The lot of us are meeting for dinner next Saturday in downtown Toronto; both my older brothers and their wives are coming from up north, our sister Linda and a niece or two - a rare opportunity to celebrate together. 'Mabel! Get down off that table! And put down that beer!'
We did get those couple of mild days but unfortunately the week was mainly grey and wet. Tonight the temperature has dropped again and it feels like it may snow a bit.
After work on Wednesday I stepped out of the house for a smoke just after sunset and noticed a column of small birds flying south. Wrens, finches, sparrows....I don't know but the column was about 50 feet in diameter and after watching for a few minutes I started trying to get a rough count. They were pretty consistent with only a few gaps and I figured there were 250-300 passing each minute and I stood there gawking at them for 20 minutes before they finally petered out. By then it was gathering dark and I wondered....'are they going to cross Lake Ontario tonight into New York state?...in the dark? It has to be 25 to 30 miles; I hope the little buggers don't tire and wind up drowning.' When I went back in the house step-son #3 said I'd just blown off 20 minutes of my life looking at a bunch of birds. Hmmm...20 minutes of awe and wonder. Damn right I did. Priceless.
Labels: birds, family, migration, military, Mom, Remembrance Day, troops, wildlife
posted by Norm at 11/12/2006 02:21:00 AM
1 Comments:
Most certainly worth 20 minutes of your life. That's one of my favorite activities, watching the birds during their migration. Those big flocks doing a synchronized dance in the sky...amazing.
Thank you for your note about the collage. I haven't done one since I was a kid and was a little afraid of putting it out there for others who might be more artistically inclined to criticize. Everyone's been very nice about it. :)
Post a Comment
<< Home