Effort

Bird Trip

It feels like this week has been at least 18 days long.  When I took my dirty laundry out of my hamper to wash clothes, I was surprised to see an outfit that I swore I wore more than a week ago.  I had a really busy week.  It didn't help that I worked 15 1/2 hours yesterday (which is very unusual for me) and had to get up early this morning for bird class. Oh, the alarm clock seemed especially cruel at 6 a.m.  But I am glad I got up because we saw a lot of cool birds at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.  We saw a lot of red winged blackbirds who fill up the air with sounds.  We saw robins, song sparrows, lark sparrows, a Harris sparrow, a meadowlark, a Cooper's hawk, a bald eagle, a kestrel, several Eastern towhees, goldfinches, tree swallows, barn swallows, common yellow throat, yellow rumped warblers, two yellow warblers, Canadian geese, blue winged teal, mallards, trumpeter swans, sandhill cranes, a great blue heron, a kingfisher, phoebe, morning doves, ring necked ducks, a pied billed grebe, blue jays, cowbirds, lesser yellow legs, killdeer, a Tennessee warbler, 4 kingbirds, half a dozen brown thrashers, a yellow eyed vireo, a rose breasted gross beak, scaup, and, last but not least, the piece de resistance, the ultimate bird sighting of the day, a great horned owl.  It was 11 a.m. and we had been birding for four hours already.  We came to mile 6 on the wildlife drive.  Our driver quietly said, "Owl."  She uncharacteristically jerked the car to a stop by slamming the transmission into park.  She was out of her Buick LeSabre and had her spotting scope out of the trunk in one swift motion.  Normally she doesn't move this fast.  There she had the great horned owl (that I could not even find with my binoculars yet) in the spotting scope. All four of us had a great look at it.  The other and larger half of our group had to run to the gas station because they were nearly out of gas.  So they missed seeing this owl.  As I watched in the scope, the yellow eyed owl acted nervous. I think he knew we were watching.  He flew off his curved branch through the woods and onto a lower position where we couldn't see him.  We praised and hugged our teacher for this owl sighting.  What an exciting moment. Some people see owls in the wild all the time.  I don't.  For me, this was very special. 

Who Remembers These?

From left:  Dancing Bear, Mr. Moose, Mr. Green Jeans, Bunny Rabbit, and Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan).  The show played from 1955 to 1984.  Funny how the Captain never seemed to get any older. He was like Dick Clark that way.  I used to love the Captain Kangaroo Show.



Run

Run was written by Ann Patchett.  I read it because people in my book club really liked her novel Bel Canto.  And although I enjoyed this story, I'm not impressed enough to recommend it to others.  Ann Patchett writes well.  Her character development varies.  As I read it I felt the story was implausible.  The plot didn't have a true feeling to it.  Bernard Doyle, the family patriarch and former mayor of Boston, didn't feel real to me.  His three sons, Sullivan, Tip and Teddy felt a little more real.  The other characters, Kenya, Tenessee, Bernadette and Uncle Sullivan lack full structure.  Run is a good book to pass the time but not a page turner or a book where you think about the characters for days after you have finished it.

Dancing

Last night was my dance class - the Thriller/Michael Jackson line dance.  I had an absolute blast.  We had a great teacher. She was funny, encouraging, talented, and enthusiastic.  The older I get the more I realize how much I appreciate enthusiasm in a teacher.  All you teachers out there - don't hold back your enthusiasm.  I love it.  We had 13 students ranging from late teens to sixties I guess.  We had two sets of couples (one late teenagers and the other in their early 40's).  We had a mother with two daughters. The mother arranged a surprise evening for her daughters (late teens/early 20's). She took them out for dessert and then to the dance class.  Her daughters had no idea what they were getting into but they loved it.  Our teacher asked us why we came.  I came because I love Michael Jackson music. I dance to it every weekend anyway when I clean the house.  Now I can pretend I'm one of his back up dancers!  One older woman said she was here for the line dance class and what was Thriller and who was Michael Jackson?   She did fairly well considering she was expecting to hear country music.  One person came because it was more fun that watching television.  I had to agree with that.  Our teacher led us through two moves at a time. Then she paired them and we practiced.  Gradually our paired sets of moves grew longer until we had all the moves down.  She made the moves into a story so we could remember them better.  And she had a unique way of teaching.  For example, one move she called the "Michael Jackson" move.  We stood with feet apart and most of our weight on the right leg, left toe touching the ground.  Our right hand lays flat on the front of the right hip (not over the crotch but over the right hip).  The left arm is extended straight except the hand dangles down at the wrist.  For three counts we contract the buttocks, rock our hips and simultaneously lift our left hand as if a puff of wind pushed it up.  As she does this she says, "Squeeze!  Squeeze!  Squeeze!" in a high pitched and unforgettable voice.  What a hoot!  Our class was in a middle school gymnasium and it was hot and humid in there.  We were worn out after an hour and a half of dancing.  I was glad my body cooperated and I could enjoy the evening.  Our instructor asked for suggestions for future classes.  The older woman suggested country line dance.  I suggested Beyonce's "Put A Ring On It." 

Thriller Dance Class Tonight

 Wish me luck!

Wire Hangers

I've been cleaning out the house and getting rid of clutter.  I've emptied closets and sifted through things.  I have so many wire hangers it's freaking ridiculous.  We've lived here, what, 20 years?  I think the house was empty of hangers when we moved in.  Where are they call coming from.  I don't recall buying any hangers.  We seldom  used a dry cleaners.  How is it possible that I am still finding another 50 empty wire hangers?  How?  The only plausible explanation is that the wire hangers are reproducing in the dark closets.  Male wire hangers hook up with female wire hangers and baby wire hangers are born or hatched and they jump up on the wooden closet rods and hang there in wire hanger family groups.  Anybody want some wire hangers?