found via rm:

Known for gliding along local waterways with statuesque grace, the mute swan is rarely thought of as an environmental hazard. Wildlife experts in Connecticut say that mute swans, like these at Holly Pond in Stamford, devour shoreline vegetation, displace waterfowl and other creatures, and can even attack people. But wildlife experts say that the swan’s elegant facade conceals an ecological menace that devours shoreline vegetation, scares away other waterfowl and can even attack humans. The bird is now a target of a campaign to reduce its numbers in the state’s delicate coastline habitats. The leaders of the effort are conservationists, including the Connecticut Audubon Society, which in the coming months will intensify a campaign to urge state officials to control the swans’ population, which stands at about 1,100. ... Kathryn Burton, president of SaveOurSwans U.S.A., a nonprofit organization in East Lyme, Conn., said the group would actively oppose the Audubon campaign as well. “I’m not going to let it go,” Ms. Burton said. “They really don’t care about the birds. It’s just unjust.” Connecticut’s swan population has more than doubled in the last three decades. Mr. Bull said that one idea for reducing the number of swans was to disrupt the nesting birds’ eggs to limit reproduction, a tactic known as addling. He said the Audubon Society was not suggesting that any of the 1,100 swans in Connecticut be killed — though other states have taken that step. full story

Humans are far more of a threat to the environment than swans. There are only 1,100 mute swans in Connecticut, if the human population of the state were only 1,100 the humans would still have more of an environmental impact, especially if those humans were typical modern Americans.

Environmentalists wanted to kill of the cherry-headed conures in San Francisco, the monk parakeets are always under attack even though they are essentially a replacement species for the extinct Carolina parakeet. Even here in Arlington, the Friends of Spy Pond still hate the geese.

The Audubon society wants to get rid of swans, well in this world nothing should surprise me anymore. Sometimes things still do, but they shouldn't.

My birding camera is still giving me a lot of grief. I'll get it working only to lose power again in less than a minute. I'm more and more convinced the problem is internal, and the prospects of getting it fixed anytime soon are dim. Even so, I was able to get a few shots with it at the Arlington Reservoir today.


( +3 )

I took purpleglitter's camera along with me on my walk this morning. This is what I saw:


( +28 )

I had a very nice walk today. I started off at the house_of_clocks. I wasn't intending to walk, I was just sitting on the porch killing time waiting for purpleglitter to pick me up in about 45 minutes. I lit up one of the Romeo y Julietas that Christian gave me, and took off.

I went down to Spy Pond, walking past the sundrenched flower gardens by the sidewalk. I turned onto the park path, which I haven't actually done since the park was reopened. I have to admit the park improvements look nice and there were plenty of geese pecking at the grass on either side the path - as there should be.

Sitting alone on a rock by the path there was a grey-haired woman singing. Her song was in perfect harmony with the shining pond and trees. I stood there and listened and looked out over the pond. I gave her a wish pod before I continued on in my journey.

I walked under the bridge, and back to Mass Ave, then back home. The walk put me in one of the best moods I've had in some time. purpleglitter soon picked me up for travels to Home Depot and the Chai Café and here I am still glowing from a perfect walk.

I went down to Spy Pond to do my meditations, but couldn't really get in the mindplace. I don't think I'm going to end up doing anything on Project Schedule today. It has been suggested to me that I cut back on Project Schedule as it really doesn't seem to be happening.

----

Much of the park on the shore of Spy Pond has been blocked off for over a year, and still is. Why? Because the "Friends of Spy Pond" succeeded in getting the city of Arlington to finance their anti-goose renovations. The two cornerstones of this plan have been the building of an fence between the pond and the park to keep the geese out of the park and the planting of species of grass that the geese supposedly won't eat.

The main reason the majority of the park has been blocked off for so long is that the anti-goose grass takes much longer to grow than standard species do. However, the geese don't seem to be waiting to chow down on it. They love it and seem to think of the "grass the geese won't eat" is the best grass they've ever tasted. I've never seen them packing the grass down at such a rate before.

The anti-goose fence doesn't seem to be doing a very good job keeping the geese away from the anti-goose grass. I can see two obvious reasons that fence does not work: 1) The geese can walk through the gap in the fence that allows boats to get to the water. 2) It's a fence and geese can fly.

What the "Friends of Spy Pond" have really accomplished is wasting a bunch of tax payer money and blocking off access to the park for over a year. The improvements that were included with the anti-geese measures have been minor and on their own would not have required blocking off access to the park for so long, if at all.

I imagine they'll be back to addling eggs and griping about people feeding the geese. Yet, they themselves have provided the best evidence that the geese are not attracted to Spy Pond by the people feeding them, as they are still flocking to the fenced off section even though no one is allowed in, much less people "illegally" feeding the geese. Furthermore their years of egg addling have only served to keep Spy Pond free of goslings. The number of adult geese around the pond has actually increased slightly over the years. The "Friends of Spy Pond" would be much happier if they'd just relax and watch the beautiful birds.

I haven't fallen down once since the rapture I experience a little over a week ago. Not once. Something was awakening. The unwinding of the Kundalini. I have noted much symbolic significance in what I have called my cane. It is more than a cane, it is my staff. I realize now that I did not need my staff because I had trouble walking, but that I had trouble walking because I needed my staff. Now I have found it and seen what it is, I do not need it to walk around, but I do need it for my journey. It was meant for me.

I have come to see my staff in the form of a serpent, the handle being the serpent head. The serpent is not an animal I would have picked out to associate myself with. The squirrel, the skunk, the Canadian goose, and the raccoon. Those have been the animals I have felt kinship with. But now I walk a new path. Not really new a new path, as I've always walked my path, it's just I realized before that I was walking.

----

Today is the first day I have been able to take my staff outside since I sealed it with polyurethane 6 days ago. I put the coating on it so that I would not have to worry about taking it outside in the elements. I was worried that snow and rain would take their toll on it, and it would not be long before it crumbled of rot.

Putting the polyurethane on proved to be more adventure than I had anticipated. More accurately: putting the polyurethane on the staff was easy, getting it off myself was difficult. I don't have any paint thinner, and not much else works as a solvent for polyurethane. I tried water and soap. I tried rum. My hands were sticky and the stick was spreading. The brushes I placed in a plastic bowl of soapy water and I hope that they are still able to be fully cleaned when I do get paint thinner. However, my hands and my arms were my more immediate concern and I lacked the correct solvent.

It then occurred to me that there was another approach to solve the problem. I needed the polyurethane would take hold of rather than something that would take hold of the polyurethane: flour. I worked the flour over my hands and arms and between my fingers letting it form a thick paste with the polyurethane. That paste I could then simply scrape off my skin. It worked, and I am now free of the stick of the polyurethane. I will, however, make sure I have paint thinner on hand if I try this again, so that I can do the clean-up the proper way.

The is no boundary between the "human world" and the "natural world", they are one and the same. Humans are natural, are part of nature, therefore anything we do is a natural occurrence. A car is no less natural than a tree. A city is built from nothing that did not come from the Earth. All we build and do is in nature, is of nature, is part of nature.

Look at the city. It is alive. It is a breathing thing and it is not just a human place. A host of animals make it their home. As I walk around Boston, I see the geese and the squirrels and the raccoons and the skunks. They are all part of the living city.

Look at the pigeon. Pigeons are type of dove and they are things of beauty. We are blessed by the Universe to have our cities filled with doves. How could that wonderment not make one smile?

How can one look upon a city and think it is solely the work of humans? Where has the ore come from for the steel? Humans could not create anything, we do not have the power of creation, we can only use, modify, and adapt that what is provided for us. The Universe is the only thing that has the power to provide for us.

It is in its glory enough for us to look on and give thanks to simply have been allowed to glimpse upon it. Look upon the vastness a sunset, the complexity of a simple grain of corn, the towering skyline of a great city. They are all the All. To truly look upon such greatness, one is humbled. Not humbled because of fear of some token God, some vengeful idol. Humbled because at the site of the All there can be no other response.

The immenseness and greatness and wonderment of the Universe is so grand that it is a blessing just to be a very small part of it. It is a blessing to look upon any piece and know that that piece was meant for you to see. That that glory was meant for you, in your own small part, to be witness to.

God is not some thing watching from the sky. God is the sky and the dust and the road and the grain. God is All and All is God.

Yesterday evening purpleglitter bought me a used computer to use beside her when I'm at her house. FrankenOz has always had a great deal of problems since it was created by combining parts from purpleglitter's dead computer and the then dead Oz. I have yet to give this one a name, but it is just withing the parameters I need to run PhotoShop and ImageReady, so I am happy.

I received an image of me with the geese by Spy Pond from invalid_userid that she took during her last visit in November. In my opinion it looks very serene and peaceful, things that seem to be lacking from my life these days. I want to capture more of that feeling again, as it would do me a world of good even if I was able to find it for only a few minutes a day. Maybe going back to a meditation regime would be a good idea.

Christmas was great. Spent the day with purpleglitter and merryperseis. We sat around our foundling tree in the morning and opened presents while drinking tea and cocoa. I got a bunch of purses purpleglitter made by hand for me. purpleglitter also got me a subscription to Scientific American, soap, and made me a recipe database. merryperseis gave candy and a pre-registration to Anime Boston and candles. From merryperseis's mom I got a small stuffed Canadian goose, which completely my collection of totem animals (my other totem animals are the raccoon, squirrel, and skunk).

For Christmas dinner, merryperseis took purpleglitter and I out to the Chai Café for Indian food. Not traditional, I know, but Indian food is fabulous for any occasion. After dinner we headed over to purpleglitter's apartment to watch Rudolph, during which I fell asleep.

All in all I had a wonderful Christmas.

therapy didn't go so well
i got really disoreantated
ended up on the floor
left early
things got better from there
met kaiaroo at tealux in harvard square
mellowed out at her house
after i got back to arlington, purpleglitter and we had red bulls at spy pond
i fed the geese
they all came running out of the water
been here at purpleglitter's most of the evening
i may bring mazzycat over for a visit with madeleinecat in a couple days
all in all
apart from therapy i had a pretty good day

The new goose fliers are up.