August 22, 2020

It has been cooler this week (in the high 80’s!) so I thought the fish might be more active.  I went to a lake that has always seemed perfect but has never yielded many fish.  I fished for over an hour using both worms and stink bait and never got a single bite.  This is the same place I had fished last year without any luck.  As we were getting ready to leave, we saw a snake swim across our path about ten feet from the bank.  It had a good sized catfish in its mouth.  I thought, “Perfect! Even the snakes are better fishers than me.”

While several private schools have already started back, the public schools in our state are set to open next week.  The Governor also opened the public playgrounds this week after being closed all summer.  The park where I fished has a playground and I saw the tape that had encompassed the gyms and swings had been removed.  There was a family of small children happily climbing the gyms and sliding down the slides.  There were also three young girls playing on the swings.  They had arrived in a car.  It reminded me of when I was in High school and still enjoyed swinging at the playground.  This was something they all lost during the summer of covid-19.

Melissa texted me as I was preparing to leave.  I was in the midst of responding when I got a massive bite, taking my bobber completely under and keeping it there for several seconds.  I fumbled to put my phone away so I could retrieve my fish.  The bobber surfaced and then went under again so I was sure the fish was on.  When I pulled in the line, the fish was gone.  I got no more bites so I changed lakes.  Melissa again sent a text and as I was responding I got a bite on my cat pole which I again missed.  I almost texted Melissa to say to keep texting as it seemed to be acting as a fish call.  Or maybe fisherpeople are just superstitious.

THOUGHTS:  The pandemic has forced many changes on our country this summer.  It began without Proms and graduations and moved into closed parks and playgrounds.  Even while elderly and high-risk persons have stayed behind windows and locked doors, there are others who refuse to distance and wear their masks.  Large groups of unmasked persons have been seen at beaches, pools, bars, and parties.  Now that schools are reopening covid-19 cases are again on the rise.  Other countries heeded the advice of experts, locked down or wore masks, and are now reopening safely.  We decided to ignore the experts and are now reopening despite the rise in numbers.  We are told it will magically go away.  I wonder if we are being superstitious.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 21, 2020

I have mentioned how Melissa and I compete to see who can catch the smallest fish.  Several days ago, I pulled in the lunker pictured today.  The fish that previously held the record was a minnow.  It was slender and about two inches long.  The current record holder is a bluegill.  While it might have weighed more, it was only an inch and a quarter.  I caught both records in the same lake.  This lake also stocks trout during the winter months, although the stocked fish do not seem to stay around long.

When I went out to the one of the state stocking sites, I learned why they are soon depleted.  Most trout do not survive past one week of being stocked.  Soon after stocking they are being caught.  Trout do not seem to move far from their stocking location, but since the lake itself is small, they do migrate around the water.  Another reason is the high numbers of anglers who fish when they hear of a stock.  The longer a fish can survive and adapt to its new surroundings, the more likely they can evade the influx of anglers.  Most do not have enough time to find out.

It is interesting that I caught my two “record” fish in different ways.  The minnow was landed on a #16 elk hair fly.  I had just returned my catch back to the water and tossed my line in preparing to cast.  I stopped for a moment and said something to Melissa, and when I raised the line, there was the minnow.  The bluegill was caught on a #10 hook baited with a worm.  Baited may be an exaggeration.  A bite had stripped all but the tiniest amount of worm and I dropped my line to get another worm to bait.  When I picked up the pole my fish was on.  At least I did not have to fight either fish for long.

THOUGHTS:  One of the largest trout I ever caught was on the Dream Stream in Colorado.  I caught it the same way I caught both of my “tiny” records.  My son Alex had been working a hole he knew held a big fish but finally gave up.  Then I cast my fly and stopped to readjust my line.  That is when the fish struck.  It makes me ponder if I am a better fisherperson when I am not trying to fish?  Sometimes we try so hard to get it “right” that we become immobilized with inaction.  This seems to be what could happen with both our current emergencies.  Rather than waiting to get it right, we need to act to correct the wrong.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 20, 2020

Technological advances have transformed how we watch and how we elect our presidential candidates.  The first Presidential election spanned across two years, from December 15, 1788 to January 10, 1789.  George Washington was unanimously elected, and John Adams became Vice President by securing the next highest total of electoral votes.  The process changed in 1804 with ratification of the 12th Amendment, which allowed the electors to vote for both President and Vice President.

The process changed dramatically with the 1960 presidential election.  This was the first election in which fifty states participated and the last where the District of Columbia did not.  It was the first election where an incumbent was ineligible for a third term because of the term limits established by the 22nd Amendment.  Kennedy defeated Nixon in a 303 to 219 Electoral College victory and is considered to have won the national popular vote by 112,827, a margin of 0.17 percent.  Kennedy’s campaign skills decisively outmatched Nixon’s, who campaigned in all fifty states while Kennedy focused on the populous swing states and relied on Johnson to hold the South.  The campaign featured the first televised debates, and many believe the persona projected on this new medium resulted in the close victory.

I have been intrigued by the presentation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) this year.   The pandemic forced the DNC to hold a virtual convention.  The DNC bought out a mixture of A-List celebrities, everyday Americans, and party activists, including disgruntled Republicans, saying they were voting for Biden.  One of the most interesting times during these two-hour nightly events was what has been in the past the most boring.  The Roll Call vote on Tuesday featured innovative comments and backdrops by the states electors while submitting votes for the two candidates (if you did not catch it, Biden won).  I read an article from the RNC saying they watched the process intently while plotting their own strategy.  It will be interesting to see what they learned.

THOUGHTS:  Many past conventions by both parties have been long drawn out affairs centering around boring speeches from presidential want-a-bes.  The pre-taped comments by a mixture of people presented the issues in a fresh new way (and kept them in time limits).   Most of the rhetoric centered around the response to the pandemic and Black Lives Matter.  Kamala Harris addressed both with an insightful quip, “There is no vaccine for racism.  You have got to do the work.”  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 19, 2020

I realize I am far from cutting edge when it comes to what is cool (or should I say “tight” or “sick”?) in this day.  When I went to the grocery this week, I came across an entire cold case that was filled with vegetarian substitutes for other forms of food.  Most of this was made from cauliflower processed to take the form of other food.  Of course, they had several kinds of veggie burgers or garden burgers, but they also had veggie cheese, veggie swirl pasta, veggie chicken, and veggie bacon.  I must admit, the one that really took me back was the veggie hash browns and veggie tots.  Funny, I always thought potatoes were a vegetable.

Plant based brands have come a long way since Tofurky launched 25 years ago.  The challenge they face is twofold.  First, as at my grocery they are relegated to their own case and separated from mainstream food.  That means unless you are looking for plant-based substitutes, you will glance and move on.  Second is the confusion about vegan/vegetarian/lacto-vegiterian/ovo-vegitarian/ovo-lacto-vegitarian/pesce-vegitarian, and so on (btw: it means milk, eggs, and fish).  Everyone seems to have their own spin on what to call these substitutes and how to brand them for the public.

Melissa and I have tried several different plant-based substitutes now that we try to eat better.  We have purchased riced cauliflower (rice substitute), broccoli swirls (pasta substitute), and a few others I cannot remember.  I guess that is the problem I have with most of these substitutes, they are forgettable (sorry if they are your forte).  It is not that I do not like the substitute, but it is quite a different texture and taste, no matter what it says on the box.  I will also say this.  The veggie case was the only well stocked case in the store.

THOUGHTS:  When I was in High School my mom thought I was eating too much salt and asked me on several occasions not to use so much.  Although I tried to cut down, it seemed never enough.  Without saying anything to me, she mixed a salt substitute half and half with the salt, hoping to cut down my intake secretly.  The very first meal together I salted my food and took a bite.  I immediately looked up and asked, “What is wrong with the salt.”  Changing diets is like changing habits.  You need to be aware of what you are doing and why.  Unless we make a conscious effort to change and commit to working toward change daily, it will not happen.  Now is the time to commit.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 18, 2020

I decided to try something new for this week’s meeting.  We went into lock down just as I started work.  I believe it was several weeks later I started our weekly Zoom call.  This worked very well with several out of state and others logging on over the noon hour.  I was initially wary when we reopened but had been asked to also hold the meeting in person.  I checked around and while some said the hybrid meetings were difficult, Melissa assured me they did them all the time at her last job, and that was before the pandemic.  I checked the equipment last week and let people know were holding Monday’s meeting in both formats.

On the way home yesterday, we saw a trail of furniture strewn along the Interstate.  First, we came across a chair cushion lying in the median.  About a mile later we came across the chair itself, again in the median.  Then about another mile and we came across an end table laying along the side of the road.  It had not faired as well as the other items and was smashed to pieces.  I noticed all three items were still there today, so the owner had not returned to see if they were salvageable.  I am sure when they arrived at their destination they realized “somewhere” along the route it had fallen off.  That is what I call having a bad day.

Even though all the equipment was working for our meeting, the sound was not.  We tried several different scenarios, and nothing worked.  That meant I ended up repeating what was said to allow both formats to follow the conversation.  When I left today, I got to thinking about why the sound was off.  Then I realized I was using an HDMI cable to connect to a flat screen TV.  This was not a monitor like I used at home.  TV’s have their own sound system and the HDMI cable sent my laptop sound to the TV.  I went back and reset the system, turned it on, and turned up the volume on the TV.  Sure enough, it worked.  I hope it still does next week.

THOUGHTS:  Having a bad day can be relative.  I remember working for a furniture store in college as a delivery boy.  We were taking a King Size mattress a short distance and did not tie it down.  We got about two blocks and the wind hit it.  I watched my rear-view mirror with horror as a $700 mattress swirled into the air and slid down Main Street.  I learned from that bad day, just as I did from today’s meeting mishap.  The “day” we are now living is considerably longer and is having more devastating effect.   We can choose to learn from our bad day, or we can pretend it is not happening.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 17, 2020

I have found it amazing (and been humbled) that both Melissa and I have been hired to new jobs since the pandemic began.  What has been even more amazing is that both of our jobs seem tailor made for what we are good at and like to do.  To top it off, while both jobs are traditionally office oriented, during this time of turmoil they have become work from home opportunities.  Melissa still goes into the office three times a week and I try to get there at least twice a week.  Even when Melissa goes to the office, the meetings she attends are Zoom calls, even when the participants are seated in a cubicle eight feet away.

Both of us have found there are good and bad sides to this new office environment.  Working from home means there are less of the normal distractions that come with interaction in an office setting.  Starting a new job during the pandemic does make it harder to connect to your co-workers.  While the zoom calls Melissa frequents identify the names of the participants, it does not say what they do or their position in the company.  This has caused her to create flow charts outlining who reports to whom and what their job is.  I only had a couple of visits with my people before the lockdown.  Even though we have reopened, it is with masks and distancing.  That makes it hard to connect a name to a face when the face is generally covered.  It also limits my face time which has been an important way I used to connect in the past.

Another change has come in the way we use technology to accomplish what we do.  I had used extended screens before but never really found them useful.  Now that I commandeered Melissa’s home office, I have the luxury of a 30” monitor sitting next to my laptop.  This initially provided a cool way to play my game but has since become an essential way for me to write.  I pull up different documents or websites and cut and paste between the screens and rewrite.  It is now hard for me to sit down with just my laptop.  Melissa has it harder.  At work she uses three monitors to transfer thoughts and images about her various databases.  Once you get used to enhanced access, it is hard to go back.

THOUGHTS:  Melissa was bemoaning how she only had two screens when she worked at home.  I mentioned we had an additional flat screen monitor in the bedroom that was not being used.  This was an older version that had a VGA connection, but it was larger and available.  We went to the store and bought the right converter and she was set.  Her work on Friday was back to the new normal.  This new normal is forcing us to reevaluate not only what is essential work, but how the work we do is being done.  More work is being done from home and may never go back to the office.  Robots are being employed to accomplish repetitious jobs faster and with greater accuracy.  Just as the information age phased out old jobs and created new ones, so has the pandemic.  What has remained is the human element of a desire to connect with others.  Connecting while distancing sounds like the next wave of self-help books.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 15, 2020

I joined a weekly webinar on Friday that continues weekly over the next month.  The purpose is to explore what it means to be anti-racist.  When I received my preliminary confirmation, I was informed 452 people had registered for the webinar.  There were 315 who initially logged on, and if I understood the stats the site provided, there were 167 who actively made responses to the poll questions.  When it started, the chatroom lit up wondering why you could not see any of the participants.  The answer given was this was a webinar, not a zoom call or chat.  I am still learning this technology.

The event was led by Warren Chalklen, PhD.  He had grown up in South Africa during Apartheid as a white boy with a Black sister (during strict segregation).  This drove him to explore anti-racism for his degree and he now teaches on racial equality.  One of his opening statements was that anti-racism is my life.  I often get it wrong and I often do not do enough, but I am trying.   He challenged us to live in the Zone of Proximal Development, or that uncomfortable and painful space between what you know and what you do not know.

I heard a consistent refrain.  To practice anti-racism, you need to learn a new language.  We might tell someone my Black (or Mexican or Asian) friend is coming over tonight but rarely will we say my white friend.  For most of us, whiteness is assumed unless specified.  Chalklen reconfirmed three other definitions I have heard elsewhere concerning racism.  To merely declare that I am not a racist is to be apathetic toward the effect of racism.  I then define the beliefs and behaviors that frame the world as “race-neutral.”  To be non-racist suggests I have done the work to understand about racism.  It also implies there is an endpoint to doing this work.  To be anti-racist is to ask conscientiously, frequently, and consistently how you can make equitable choices daily.  This requires action to dismantle racism.

THOUGHTS:  One of the difficulties Melissa and I have faced as we explore anti-racism is the action steps.  We are both problem solvers and while our search has raised many questions, it has not offered solutions.  I found it interesting that two different people, one Black and the other white, have addressed this with a simple answer, “anything.”  Like Chalklen, I will get it wrong and I will not do enough, but I will be starting the necessary work.  The work seems different to me this time.  This is not “Black work” or “white cooperation,” this is work acknowledging the damaging effect of systemic racism on our country.  It is time to roll up our sleeves.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 14, 2020

After I posted my Blog on moles, I received several responses offering remedies.  Two of these concurred the reason the moles were in my yard in the first place, was to feast on the grubs and worms.  When I checked this online (my new World Book Encyclopedia) it said while you probably do not want to get rid of the beneficial effects of the worms (aeration), the pill bugs, grubs, and cut worms can be treated.  I went to the big hardware store hoping to also find a Hosta to replace the one which vanished.  They were sold out.

I have found it interesting how people differ on what is and is not acceptable to kill.  I was reluctant to kill the moles but have no problem killing the insects they feed on.  I have watched several YouTube posts dealing with fishing and came across one where the videographer explained why he does not keep the Flathead cats he loves to fish for.  He said he used to catch and keep four or five of these huge fish every time he went out, then they began to dwindle.  He eventually realized he and others like him who kept these the fish were the reason they were disappearing.  This is the main reason I practice catch and release when I go fishing.  That and I do not like to clean fish.

After a morning shower I decided this afternoon it was time to attack my mole problem.  When I put the batteries in the stakes they immediately began to buzz.  This was an intermittent loud and somewhat shrill sound.  Melissa’s comment was, “I hope the neighbors do not complain.”  I buried them as per instructions.  I put one in the empty Hosta bed and the other in the rose bush island.  This will give maximum coverage to the succulents we are concerned about.  When I dug the holes, it was obvious why we had moles.  Every shovel came up with five or six large worms.  I spread the insecticide on the north side and front of the house.  It is supposed to rain again this evening and that will set it in.  Now to wait 7-14 days to see if they go away.

THOUGHTS:  After not finding the Hosta at the big hardware garden center I checked the local garden center attached to the grocery store.  They not only did not have Hosta’s, they did not have any plants.  They had shut the center down except for the ceramics and a few plastic items.  Just like I treat certain species differently, the stores seem to take different approaches to staying open.  While some put large placards out front and directional signs to govern movement within the store, others have small government mandated signs on the entrance.  We accept the control over how to drive, drink, smoke, vape, and get on a plane.  Then we demand our freedom when it comes to dealing with the worst pandemic in 100 years.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 13, 2020

Melissa has begun to work from home two days a week.  This saves the 175 miles a day on her car and the nearly three hours she sits behind the wheel.  Since I have commandeered her office for my musings, she has taken a place in front of the bay window in our breakfast nook.  Just as I did, she has become fascinated by the coming and going of the birds in our backyard.  She had mentioned how her mom always had the hummingbird feeder in a different spot than where I had it.  This week I switched the location of the hummingbird and finch feeders to see if it would attract more birds.  Sure enough, she has seen three hummers this morning and it is not yet nine o’clock.

A saying regarding restate is a quote popularly attributed to the real estate tycoon Lord Harold Samuel, of England, “There are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.”  William Safire was asked by a college on the New Your Times Magazine to see if this really came from Samuel.  While he did use the phrase, it appears he was not the first to coin the phrase.  A real estate classified ad in the Chicago Tribune in 1926 reads, “Attention salesmen, sales managers: location, location, location.”  Although Safire did not find the origin, the phrase was in common use in 1926 Chicago when Lord Samuel was only 14 years old.

When I finally got up (even from home Melissa clocks in by 6:30 am), Melissa commented how birds seem to be creatures of habit.  While some of the hummingbirds found the new location of the feeder, more recalled where the location had been in the past.  Hummingbirds only live 3-5 years and Melissa’s mom died three years ago.  Could this be a collective memory passed on by hummingbird mothers to their young?  I do not know about birds, but this is the case with other animal species.  Nature continues to amaze and confound me.

THOUGHTS:  Even when the Cardinal feeder was empty, I would have birds sit on the fence and look forlornly into the empty dish.  The windstorm we had several nights ago blew the feeder off the fence and I have not been able to find it.  I put some of the Cardinal seed in the other feeder this morning, but I think I really need to get a feeder for the old location.  People are animals and just like others we are creatures of habit.  I have mentioned that studies have found that by 2-3 years of age children have absorbed the ethos of their culture (and not necessarily of their parents).  Like the hummingbird mothers, we need to pass on the important information to our young.  If anti-racism is not taught, it will never be learned.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 12, 2020

The western wildfires have received a lot of attention over the last decade.  The dry conditions and high winds have resulted in extremely hot fast-moving fires that are hard to contain.  When a fire burns through the forest it leaves charred earth and blackened trees in its wake.  This is seen as an eyesore by many.  The fires also threaten to burn the housing in the sparsely populated areas.  Ironically, suppression of naturally occurring fires is another reason the fires burn so hot.  Fires clear out the undergrowth, dead wood, and pine needles that fuel today’s devastating burns.

During the lockdown Melissa has been building her store of succulents.  While this started out as a hobby, it has quickly blossomed (pun intended?) into a potential business opportunity.  After potting and acclimating some of her cacti, she arranged them on a table on our front stoop.  This area is covered so it gets sun but not the full heat of the day.  It is also sheltered from much of the rain which we have received.  It seems the worst thing for cacti is overwatering, not drought.  They are flourishing amid our heat and intermittent cooling rains.  This last week some have flowered, and nearly all have sprouted “babies.”

Over the last decades biologist have found fire is necessary for growth and rebirth of many plant species.  Trees in fire-prone areas develop thicker bark to resist the fire and drop their low hanging limbs to keep the fire from getting to the green needles.  Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) is a good example. This fire-survival strategy allows for clearing of undergrowth without damage to the trees.  In environments where hot, fast moving fires are frequent, species like the Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana) have developed very thick, hard cones that are literally glued shut with a strong resin. These “serotinous” cones can hang on the tree for years.  When a fire sweeps through it melts the resin, releasing the seeds.  The clear land and nutrients released provide excellent conditions for the new “babies” to grow.

THOUGHTS:  The natural role of fire in reproduction of trees and undergrowth illustrate how little we understand about how our world is intertwined.  While setting controlled fires is beginning to help, too often it is the uncontrolled fire that rages through the forest burning everything in its path.  While we fight the pandemic, it illustrates how globalization is forcing us to cooperate (or die).  Early globalization occurred as Europeans branched out and colonized the world.  They brought disease to the Indigenous people they encountered.  It is estimated anywhere from a low of 12 Million to a high of 112 million people lived in the Americas prior to 1492.  The native population declined to less than 6 million by 1650.  Native populations are again being devastated by this new disease.  For many, Columbus Day is not something to celebrate.  Change is coming and it starts with you.