Chickens in Congress

I've been so busy that the blog has suffered.  But this morning, I couldn't put off expressing my outrage.  What in the hell is going on in this country?  The Washington Post editorial board published this opinion entitled:  An amendment that hurts chickens and Americans.  It seems that Rep. Steve King from Iowa is sponsoring a bill that will allow farmers to treat animals in whatever way makes the most money regardless of the cruelty to the animal.  Now I freely admit I am not a vegetarian so maybe I have no room to speak, but how can we in this country allow any living thing to live in a space that is too small for the creature to even sit down or turn around.  Yet this is just what the bill will allow.  This bill is in response to animal rights activists who have gotten in to these farms and animal processing plants, taped what they saw and published it.  Now the congressman is proposing a bill that "Not only would laws regarding animal cruelty be upended, but so would laws protecting the environment, workers’ rights and public health, because Mr. King’s amendment bars any state-imposed condition on agricultural products."   "The California law that Mr. King objects to calls for cages that allow chickens to spread their wings, turn around and lie down. It is one of nine state laws protecting farm animals, including pigs, cows and chickens, from spending their whole lives in containers only slightly larger than their bodies. Mr. King’s amendment would likely eliminate these safeguards in one fell swoop."

There is not much more I care to say on this topic.  It is such a downer.  I hope the chickens in congress speak up against this bill.  Or perhaps they need to be put into spaces where they cannot sit or turn around.  They certainly don't spread their wings as it is.

Taking a bite out of the big apple

We are New York City bound tomorrow morning.  I am so excited.  My little sister is visiting me by herself for the first time since she was a little girl.  Neither of us are little girls any more, but I am still her big sister.  She is soon to be an empty nester (both boys will be in college) and I've decided it is time for her to do things for herself.  
So, this is TRIP #1 - New York City.

I've been planning this for months.  The first issue was getting her on a plane---afraid of flying.  She just needs to get on that plane this afternoon and if we can overcome this obstacle, I've got bigger and better ideas for the coming years.  

But for now, it will be the Bolt Bus to Penn Station, an apartment in the East Village, and a Broadway play.  Of course, we must go to Little Italy, take the Staten Island Ferry, and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  She nixed the Empire State Building (fear of heights), but I've been there before so that's okay.  I've got reservations for a night time double decker bus around the city to see the lights, and we will definitely do Central Park.  We have tickets for the 9/11 memorial.  Most of the time, we are just walking the neighborhoods because she said she just wants to get the feel of the city.

It is interesting how as you become adults the age differences melt away.  When I was 23 and she visited me in graduate school, she was 9.  Such a cute little girl and so independent.  Now that she is almost 50 we are best friends and the age doesn't seem important at all.

I am the big sister, but she is my rock.  She is the one of us (six kids) that all of us turn to for so many things.  Our lives took such different directions but we've never grown apart.  Trip Number 1 is the beginning of a new tradition.

New York, New York, what a wonderful town...watch out because here we come.  

Life's sadness

I found a dead bird behind my neighbor's house.  It really saddened me. ... even more than it would have in my old work days.  It saddened me because I spend every morning with house finches, chickadees, titmouse(s), and a male and female cardinal.  I attached a  bird feeder to my kitchen window and fill it every morning with black sunflower seeds.  It took about ten days for the birds to find it, but now they are there every morning and every evening.  The little ones hop up onto the window sill and peer into the kitchen.  They look like little nosy neighbors.  I'm not sure they've seen anything worth seeing, but they still do it.  The male Cardinal is pretty bossy and opens his beak in a threatening manner to anyone who approaches the feeder while he is eating.  Yesterday a small bird (I'm not sure what kind) was sitting in the bird feeder and sort of menacing anyone who came near.

Do squirrels kill birds?  I need to Google that.  Otherwise, it is the neighbor's cat.  I like cats (not as much as dogs), but I wish they stayed in their homes and were not out hunting.  They don't even kill the birds to eat (which I could sort of understand), but just for fun, I guess.  [This is my neighbor's cat.  He looks menacing, don't you think?]

I'm having an on-going battle with the squirrels, too.  I hope they don't kill birds, but I also wish they would stay away from my bird feeder.  I don't begrudge them the food, and would be willing to give them some, but they are too heavy for the feeder.  This afternoon, two of them were hanging around the window downstairs, making noise, and threatening to scale the walls to my bird feeder.  The cute thing is that when they come to the window to start their climb, they come face to face with me.  I am mad at them, but they are so cute, I can't stay that way.




Then I've got my gold finches.  Unbelievable, but it took all those other birds ten days to find my bird feeder.  It took these little beauties about one hour to find the gold finch food.

I don't know how they communicate with each other, but they must have a system.  Look at them.  They look like little parakeets and they are at the feeder ALL DAY.  Sometimes when they fly off, they fly so close to my head that I think I could touch them.

I hope I never find a dead gold finch....or a dead squirrel, for that matter.

Still retired and loving it.

Go to the movies this week, but hurry.  This indie film won't be around long.  Why is it that the good ones come and go in a blink, the stinkos remain?   Anyway, that's another blog.

It's so great being retired and having retired friends who love the movies like I do.  Yesterday after volunteering at Martha's Table (and by the way being interviewed by NPR!), I met Lee at the Tenley Town metro, we had a civilized lunch at 1:00 and then saw this marvelous film at the Avalon.  Talk about a great retiree day!

Still Mine is based on a true story about an elderly couple in Canada.  The wife played by Genevieve Bujold is in the mid stages of Alzheimers and the husband, James Cromwell, begins building a one level home on his property so that she can remain in the home.  He runs into problems with the building commission, but carries on.  You will sit there seeing your own family in some of the scenes...they had seven children and various ones become the emissaries for them all.  You will be amazed by James Cromwell and hope that you look so good as Bujold when you age.  There is even a sex scene that will make you smile.  I won't reveal the ending, but will just assure you that you will leave the theater a bit wistful, very thankful for a day like that, and wishing for more movies of this caliber.  GO SEE IT!!

Civil War Adventures

I'll admit it.  I'm trying to be Auntie Mame to my 15 year old nephew.  Of course, he has visited me before, but always with his parents and his sister.  But in a couple of months, he will visit me by himself.  That means that I have a few weeks to become immersed in the Civil War, identify some battlefields, and come up with a week of activities that will knock his socks off.  It's not going to be easy.

We will visit Harper's Ferry, WV for sure and besides being the location of some major historical stuff (I'm still working out what all of that "stuff" is), it is also a place for outdoor "recreation" like ziplining, white water rafting, and something called an aerial adventure tour.  This last one sounds like the most dangerous of all.  From what I can tell, you pay $79 per person to scare yourself silly by climbing rock walls, ziplining above the trees and walking across VERY small bridges and by that I mean VERY SMALL [SEE PHOTO].  As one who has trouble keeping the tree pose in my yoga class, I am not so sure that I'll garner his favor by screaming and falling into the gorge below.  The website assures me that this tour "is suitable for most guests ages seven and up of average physical ability who do not have an extreme fear of heights and weigh less than 265 pounds."  I'm not so sure.

The Harper's Ferry Ghost Tour sounds a bit more for me.  Or, maybe he will think it is cool if we bike along the C&O Canal.

Next we will visit Antietam Battleground, the site of the famous battle between the armies of General Robert E Lee and General George "Little Mac" McClellan.  The battle actually ended in a draw, but was a pivotal moment in the war and in Lincoln's ability to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.   Now don't get the idea that I'm just learning about this to impress Andrew.  I've become interested in the Civil War since my friend The Judge took me on a tour following the path of John Wilkes Booth after he shot Lincoln.  This led me to read the book Rise To Greatness Lincoln and the Civil War in 1862.  And this then led me to the idea of a Civil War-themed trip. 

Next will be Gettysburg.  The Judge told me we could take a horseback tour of the battlefield, but unfortunately for Andrew (fortunately for me) they are not offered on the day we will be there.

Anyway, if any of you have ideas for me, please send them in the comments.  I'll update this story as the trip unfolds in October.