I had to make a quick trip to the doc today. Sunday, my right eye developed a problem. Well...actually, it started with the skin around the outer corner of my eye. It felt abraded and stung if you touched it. By Monday morning, my eyelid was puffy. Now, the good thing about this was that it got me out of a visit to the dentist. She has a policy about colds, etc. If you're coming down with something, you're supposed to reschedule. So, I called, and they moved me to next week.
The doctor's office was able to schedule me to see the newest member of the practice this morning, and she decided that I had a virus. I'm doing the two eye drops every two hours routine, and antibiotics for ten days. My eye is already feeling better. I was sure that it was an allergic reaction to something that flew into my face when I was weed eating on Sunday, but it seems the doc may have known better.
So, what does this have to do with Audubon? There weren't many non-parenting magazines in the doctor's office. I settled on the October issue of Audubon. I wish I could remember all I read. It was fascinating! I'll have to see if there are still any issues at Borders.
Did you know that a resting hummingbird's heart beats 250 times a minute? More astounding than that is the fact that when in flight their hearts beat up to 1200 times a minute! A group of volunteers are banding hummingbirds in the US. There are over 300 varieties of this species, but only 20 or so migrate up into the United States from Central America and Mexico. It seems that those birds return to the same gardens every summer. I can't imagine the job of banding a hummingbird. I don't think my hands would be gentle enough.
Habitat seems to be the subject that is on everyone's minds. The hummingbirds are loosing the habitat they need as they migrate back and forth. They are having to depend on gardens and landscaping around homes to replace their natural habitat. The Florida panther is loosing it's habitat, and there are now just 100 of them left. The raccoons here, have lost their habitat, and have adapted by trying to become house pets.
While we consider blacktopping over huge parts of the world, maybe we need to listen to the world around us, and see what we will loose. I understand the concerns of loggers, and farmers, and construction crews, but we have an obligation to be good caretakers of the Earth. If we disregard Nature around us, we could kill off species that hold the keys to our future. We need to find ways to co-exist. Maybe the hummingbirds can lead the way.
Alright, everyone. Next spring I expect each of you to plant trumpet vine for the humming birds!
Comments (14)
I adore trumpet vines. Now I am motivated to see if they are annuals or perennials in ehduhmonton's climate.
Posted by Essay | September 21, 2004 9:48 PM
Posted on September 21, 2004 21:48
No humming birds over here but you are right. Every creature has an equal right to live in the world and together we all form a cohesive whole. Lose one and problems may occur.
Isn't this something to do with the concept of Gaia?
Posted by Adele | September 22, 2004 5:02 AM
Posted on September 22, 2004 05:02
This displacement of species is what lead me to place bluebird boxes in the back and fend off HH from removing the barn swallow nests that get built on our front porch. Then, I feed the critters in the woods and have all sorts of bird feeders that change with the seasons. We were the last house to be built in our "block", but the whole development took over land that was pasture land 15 years ago. We would all be better stewards if we insisted upon negative human population growth and either scattered the population evenly over the earth (living off the land--without nuclear power plants, electricity, gasoline) to eliminate concentrations (allowing the earth to heal over our individual assaults) or concentrated everyone in as small an area as possible. But, I cannot escape the fact that I am part of the "problem".
Posted by Cop Car | September 22, 2004 9:39 AM
Posted on September 22, 2004 09:39
Essay, it doesn't look good. I did a little research and I don't think trumpet vine can last as a perennial in Eduhmonton. I'm guessing that you are in zone 3, but I could be wrong. If you plant the plant in an area where the house or a structure shelters it from the prevailing winter wind, and if you mulch it HEAVILY, you might get it to winter over. It's a very shrubby vine, and the pictures I saw made me think that it might not be worth trying to grow this as an annual. The one place I discovered zone information on it said that it did well into zone 5, but was iffy in zone four, and I think your zone is even colder.
These are other plants that hummingbirds like: Beebalm (Monarda didyma), Trumpet honeysuckle, Cardinal flower, Red columbine, Canada Lily, Indian Pink, Red Buckeye, and the Catawba Rhododendron.
I guess I should ask.....have you ever seen a hummingbird that far north??
Posted by Buffy | September 22, 2004 2:05 PM
Posted on September 22, 2004 14:05
Adele, I've heard the word "Gaia" but I'm not familiar with it's meaning. It's one more thing I'd like to learn about.
I agree with the idea of a cohesive whole. I doubt we know how everything interacts, and it worries me when men starts something they can't finish. Storage of nuclear waste is a good example. Razing the Amazon is another. I worry about the people who are adding bT to some plants genetically. Are we creating plants that won't be able to defend themselves in the future when their predators mutate? And the entire issue of cloning viable animals bothers me.
You found one of my "hot" buttons! *G*
Posted by Buffy | September 22, 2004 2:14 PM
Posted on September 22, 2004 14:14
Cop Car, we think so much alike! You need to get to know Adele, too....she's our triplet in England.
The area where we live used to be rural. We purchased a few acres from the last of a row of "farmettes" that line our road. We used to see woodchucks, skunks, deer, a beaver, and something cougar-like, in addition to all the smaller critters. Now, we have hundreds of houses and apartments surrounding us,and the animals are having a hard time finding a place to live.
When we moved in, my brother, (bless his heart), asked if we were going to clean up the land. He was asking if we were going to clear dead trees, and cut living trees to make room for more beautiful landscaping. He and his wife have a home that could be featured in one of the Home and Garden mags. They work HARD to make it lovely. But, he totally missed the idea of the land being left as habitat.
We live within the city limits, and it's possible a neighbor could make a complaint about our lot, but I hope that we could forestall any changes. We provide cover for the wildlife to get from the government lands north of us to the forest preserve south of us. They need the naturalized grove for habitat. Like you, we feed the birds and animals, especially if the winter is hard.
I can't imagine how our economy would work with us spread across the land, but it's interesting to think about! I rather think we'll all be clumped together. At least...that's the direction we're going.
Posted by Buffy | September 22, 2004 2:30 PM
Posted on September 22, 2004 14:30
Woodchucks! I forgot to mention them, but as I don't know what I could do to help them, they didn't come to mind. We do keep a salt block out for the deer that I forgot to mention (last one was carried off by a flood a few weeks ago and I need to get another one!)
I'll have to visit Adele's site.
Posted by Cop Car | September 23, 2004 5:40 AM
Posted on September 23, 2004 05:40
Yes....we've kept salt blocks now and then. I think I'll put one out this year.
Um....I'll have to get Adele to blog, I guess.
Posted by Buffy | September 23, 2004 12:30 PM
Posted on September 23, 2004 12:30
So that's why I couldn't correlate Adele to a site on your blogroll. Good one on me--LOL!
Posted by Cop Car | September 23, 2004 1:44 PM
Posted on September 23, 2004 13:44
Heck.....it wasn't you who goofed. It never occured to me that I might have a problem putting the two of you together.
Posted by Buffy | September 23, 2004 3:25 PM
Posted on September 23, 2004 15:25
We have hummingbirds here that are unique to Jamiaca. They are protected here Buffy. Come to think of it, I haven't seen one in a while.
Posted by Dr. D. | September 23, 2004 10:09 PM
Posted on September 23, 2004 22:09
No doubt Ivan has really messed up their habitat, Doc.
Posted by Buffy | September 23, 2004 10:16 PM
Posted on September 23, 2004 22:16
Umm, which is Cop Car's site. started to look through your list of blog links until my brain fused. You can guess what came up when I tried Googling that name....
Posted by Adele | September 27, 2004 12:48 PM
Posted on September 27, 2004 12:48
Heck! Adele, Cop Car doesn't have a blog. She DOES have a website. If you go to my blog and scroll down past the links, you'll see a box that says "Other Links" and "Cop Car's Beat." Click on that to see her website. There must be SOME way to get the two of you talking. Maybe you need to share e-mail addresses, or we can arrange for a three-way discussion on Yahoo Messenger or something.
I tried Googling "Cop Car" and saw all the stuff about cop cars and cop programs. The funny thing is....she's named after a family cat. *G*
Posted by Buffy | September 27, 2004 1:48 PM
Posted on September 27, 2004 13:48