A Bird on a Mission

This Florida fellow is no bird brain. He's waiting for the right moment, and he has an easy meal.

Ducks Unlimited

This was shot behind a physician's office in Westport, Connecticut. They could have been waiting for their yearly bird flu virus shot.

News Item from the Danbury News-Times

There are times the newspaper sends a chilling message, by getting it wrong. An example was an obituary in the Danbury News-Times printed in 2002. Apparently the unfortunate gentleman the death notice was about was a Marine veteran of the Korean War, and, therefore, he had earned a special military send off, but what the paper reported was more than one would anticipate. The article dutifully presented the normally expected information about this gentleman (when he was born, who is family was, where he had worked and where he attended church). It then continued, "Funeral services will be held (deleted) at 9 a.m, from the (deleted) funeral home...buriel will be at 10 a.m...military horrors will follow in (deleted) cemetary." The current editor, who recently spoke to our Rotary Club, respectfully declined responsibility for the snafu, and had a good excuse. The paper has repeatedly changed ownership since 2002, and he has only been the editor for a short time. Also, death notices are no longer handled by the editorial staff; they are now handled by "classified ads."

Nearsighted Tomato

Some tomatoes apparently don't see well.

Lover of Weeds

This 30 inch long snapping turtle, who comes through our backyard every year (apparently to lay her eggs), stopped at this dandilion, and seems to be saying to herself, "I love pretty things; I'm a lady, you know."

Revolutionary War Mushroom

I thought this mushroom looked a lot like a Revolutionary War soldier--that makes it an authentic New England mushroom.

Mount St.Helens Illusion

While visiting my brother-in-law, and sister-in-law, in Lake Oswego, Oregon, I captured this image of smoke coming out of the volcano. Their home has a marvelous panoramic view of the mountain, allowing this picture possibility. I simply waited, with a telephoto lens, until this unique cloud formation positioned itself right over the volcano. It is just an illusion, but who would have guessed?

It has been said that insects have a unique way of communicating with each other. This representation, of course, is only a guess of what the conversation is all about between this butterfly and this bee.

A More Efficient Room at the Inn

One of my thoughts for the day, in the Spoke, was about a new stickum material, recently developed by scientists at Northwestern University, which they named "geckel. The name of the glue was inspired by the gecko's ability to climb walls. I suggested that it would enable the Ethan Allen Inn, where Rotary meets each week, to increase their dining capacity by having us Rotarians luncheon on the walls and the ceilings. Of course, it presents one minor problem. Parking would become even worse than now.

It then occurred to me I could photographically represent how our meeting room might look if geckel was used to actually increase the Inns seating capacity, and this image appeared in the Spoke, the following week. The montage is particularly goofy due to the fact that several people appear more than once in the image.

This praying mantis just consumed her mate, but is looking for a more hearty meal. He just didn't know how to satisfy her, we surmise.

Thanksgiving Thanks to the Cook

When asked how he liked the meal, Jason was ready for the camera.

Joshua Proudly Displays His Pumpkin

There are times the red-eye enhances a photo.

The Squirrel Challenge

We tried vaseline on the bird feeder pole, we put a conical device at the top of the feeder pole, we put a vaseline covered milk bottle on the post, and the end result was what you see in the photo. Squirrels are convinced they belong on the feeder as much as sparrows and cardinals do.

Did you ever try to keep squirrels off of your birdfeeder? It is a challenge of monumental proportons--and the squirrels will ultimately win.

Chipmunk in Need

A begging chipmunks in the suburbs of Connecticut does not garner as much sympathy as does a homeless man the streets of New York, as well it should be. It appears that our mighty Connecticut oak trees take very good care of most of these little critters.

Doggie Doors Must Be Updated

If you have a puppy, and it has the potential of getting to be a really big dog, you should update your doggy door, periodically. Otherwise, bad things happen (see photo of our German Shephard, Henry).

News Item: Obviously Smokey the Bear Lost an Eye in a Fire

Smokey the Bear is everywhere. This image was found in Kettletown State Park in Connecticut. He looks like my old teddy bear, much like thousands of rag-tag beloved teddys across the country. If he had a voice, he'd probably be saying, "Be careful with fire in the forest. People who are careless just burn me up."

Turtles are Slow

Not only are turtles physically slow, they can be slow witted. Here is a visual example.

The Power of Prayer

Does prayer work? I think it does, but the reason it works may have little to do with the reality of what people’s religious beliefs are, and more to do with what praying psychologically does for the prayee.

People pray for many reasons. In Islam, it is a daily multiple requirement. In other faiths it can be done when the feeling hits. Many children pray at bedtime, and prayers are often said at meals. Prayers are even said in the Senate chamber, and at the beginning of a service club meeting. I have no trouble saying “the prayer” at Rotary, because I became well practiced at it growing up in the Mormon faith, and I do it pretty well.

Some people believe God listens to each and every prayer. Due to the immense size of the universe, I rather suspect he is too busy to be there for the multitudes including all of those souls on other planets (if one knows anything about the Drake equation—and you can look it up—this can involve million if not billions of habitable worlds).

Still, the research in psychology is on the side of prayer. Prayer gives people hope, it increases the beta endorphins, it elevates the mood, and it pulls together people of diverse backgrounds. It hardly matters if there is no listener, larger than life, out there taking notes. Sure, petting a dog increases the beta endorphins, too, but a dog is not god, and he can offer little in the way of hope—although a wag of the tail, and a vigorous face lick isn’t all that bad.

A Lot of Folks Look Alike-
Ever had that feeling you had met someone, somewhere before?

A Visit to Ellis Island- We understand the processing of refugees wasn't always efficient.

Do Not Stare at Cats. It Makes Them Feel Really Uncomforable- One can easily see what this cat is thinking--"You lookin'at me, buddy? You lookin' at me BUDDY!"

This ball of fur belongs to my daughter, Sydney, and her family.

For the Birds "Hey, Alice. He doesn't look anything like me. Does he look like someone on your side of the family?"

THE FLY AND THE DRAGONFLY

Obviously the fly is saying to himself, "Will I ever grow up and be like him." Flies, of course, are quite stupid. One investigator tried 26 years to train a common housefly. He got nowhere. In fact, one of his experiments involved micro-surgery, cutting the gut ring around the fly's neck. The fly ate until he exploded. Like I say, flies are really stupid.

Flies are difficult to photograph. I was lucky getting two "flies" to pose so nicely for me.

Since the common house fly is so automatic (hard wired as we put it) in his behavior, catching a fly by hand is easily learned. A fly always takes off backwards, so one can slowly inch their hand toward the rear end of the fly, about 6 inches off the ground or table (or wherever the fly has landed) and close the hand when the fly takes off.

Flies make great motors for toy airplanes. The airplane has to be extremely small, made out of slivers of balsa wood and cellophane, and the fly is glued to the front of the device. Of course, one has to catch the fly first, and immobilize if in the refrigerator. Make sure the fly is in a secure container. Once my mother opened the refrigerator before the critters had been immobilized, and when they flew out, she thought the fridge was in need of a total scrubbing. My older brother, Byron, and I made many such airplanes--blow flies make the best motors, because they are big.

Who said Rotarians are cold and not affectionate?

SPANKING KIDS: A REALLY BAD IDEA

I am one of those shrinks who has been accused of being an advocate of permissive child rearing. Unfortunately, this is a term that quickly took on a pejorative element since many parents took it to mean "Let the kids do whatever they please." If that is what the term means, I am far from permissive. I believe that children, like all animals on this planet, want direction and structure, both of which make a child feel secure. My approach is best described as "consensual" child rearing. I believe that parents must be highly active in their children's upbringing, but need not be punitive in doing so. In fact, after more than 25 years of reasearch into the causes of delinquency and aggression in children, I am force to conclude that the single most damaging act a parent can engage in is hitting their child. After all, just try to socialize a pit bull by hitting it--not a really good idea. Past recipients of the "belt" include Adolph Hitler, Josef Stalin, Idi Amin, and all of the 9/11 highjackers we have data on. I will say more, later, but encourage the reader to check out my views on the web by typing in Ralph S. Welsh, PhD, and you will find a good sampling of my work.

LIGHTER MOMENTS IN ROTARY, FROM THE DANBURY ROTARY SPOKE

Thought for the Day- If you think your life is tough, just turn on the evening news.

Thought for the Day- We probably should start calling the North Star, the North Stars. That dot in the sky is actually three stars, the latest of which was just discovered this year. Also, due to the odd wobble of the earth during its rotations, the North Stars will cease to be north, and will be replaced with other stars at that point in the sky---but that won’t happen for a very long time….so don’t worry about it. If you get lost in the forest at night, next week, you can still use the “North Stars” to get home.

Several Thoughts for Valentines Day – Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. Robert A. Hainlein

The only two things in life worth anything, are loving and being loved. Anonymous

I like science. The image to the right reflects two of my sincere interests, science and Rotary





News Items Worth Sharing- -Man falls 30 feet into vat of Guinness, and breaks his pledge.
-Cannibal complains of bitter after-taste after boiling and eating a Franciscan Monk. He failed to realize Franciscans are friars.
-House catches fire; man with two wooden legs burns to the ground

Thought for the Day- The best way to get a job done is to give it to a busy man. He will have his secretary do it.

Seat saving is rare in Rotary, which makes the picture below so funny.


Scientific” Observations From Our Early History- On 6/23/1666 a dismal storm of rain with thunder and lightening hapned…they saw the house full of smoke, and perceived a grievous smell of brimstone. The wife, struck down dead for present, but God recovered her…though a dog which lay behind her was killed….{Editor’s note: The devil is obviously involved in what we commonly term ‘acts of God.’}
Some remarkable land floods have hapned in New England. In the Spring time, the great river in Connecticut useth to overflow but this year it did so after Midsummer, and that twice… August 13 a dreadful flood came, the waters were then observed to rise 26 feet above their usual boundaries. There is an awful intimation of Divine displeasure remarkable in this manner, inasmuch as August 8, a day of public humiliation, with fasting and prayer, was attended in the colony. {Editor’s note: Be careful what you pray for.} Rev. Cotton Mather, Remarkable Providences, 1684

Thought for the Day- When I did it well, I heard it never; when I did it ill, I heard it ever.

Silly Tidbits About our Fellow Workers: During a flu epidemic, stay away from your mailman. He is a carrier.

Brave electricians do it without shorts.

When lightning hit a train, everyone was shocked with the exception of the ticket taker—he was a bad conductor.

Something to Ponder, but Not Too Long- Global Warming: You Haven’t Seen Nothing Yet: We worry about global warming, the sea rising a bit, and adjustments having to be made to a world which will be quite different from that we are use to. However, one billion years from now, global warming will reach epic proportions. The sun will expand so much, that the oceans will boil away, and the earth will be nothing but a dry, scorched planet unable to grow as much as a one celled animal. Now that’s global warming, big time. Unfortunately, even 100 SPF sunscreen will do no good. Oh well…

Comment to Ponder- I’ve never seen the movie An Inconvenient Truth. Therefore, I can claim an unbiased opinion when I say everything in it is wrong. Sen. James Inhofe

Speaker Gaff—One of our members spent years building a large boat, and frequently discussed the trials and tribulations of building a his dream pleasure craft from scratch. During one of his presentations, John discussed his purchase of thousands of oily ball bearings he found very cheap, to use for ballast. However, the cleaning bill became excessive, he trashed a number of cement mixers, and used up hundreds of hours of time, and thousands of dollars trying to get them clean. When John miss-spoke about the oily problem of “cleaning his balls,” he brought down the house.

Following an unusually large raffle pot, I caught the “keeper of the cards” talking on his cell phone. The image, below, seemed to fit the moment.

Thought for the Day- No matter how old parents get, they keep watching their middle-aged children for improvement.

Police Report for the Day- An officer spied a man playing his guitar while he was driving his car. The officer pulled the man over, and asked him, “Sir; do you know you’re an affront and a mockery to the traffic laws of our sovereign state?”
The man turned to the officer and responded, “No officer, but if you will hum a few bars, I’ll give it a try."

We pass a “Happy-Sad” bucket around to augment our fund raising efforts. Since Mike is, indeed, a former Federal Bank Examiner, I thought the caption on the picture, below, was hillarious

This was a pretty good image of Jesus on the tree belonging to a neighbor. My son, Scott, said I should "Cut the sucker down, and sell it on Ebay."

My sister, Harriet, had some difficulty seeing Jesus in the oil slick on a driveway. Therefore, I had to point it out. I wanted to sell it on Ebay, but I had no idea how I was going to transport it. Maybe one of the readers of this blog will tell me how.

The Mormon faith believes there are 3 enteties in the Godhead; God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Less is known about the Holy Ghost than the 2 others, but we can imagine what he/she looks like. This may be a fairly good representation of the fella. I found this image on a cliff wall in Watkins Glen, New York.

Rotarians do not view themselves as followers. We like to think of ourselves as leaders. I think this photograph conveys that attitude, rather well.

Turkeys have feeling, too. Think about the poor little chicks left behind when mom ends up on the Thanksgiving day table. Wait. Those are tom turkeys, aren't they. Never mind.

Makes you think twice about picking flowers, doesn't it?

Talking Plants-Daffy Dills

Plants are people, too. At least, they have the ability to resemble human beings, and the human condition, and it should be noted they share our DNA.