Paddle for Pine Tree Camp!

Click on pictures to enlarge.





Paddle for Pine Tree Camp is an adventure that we have participated in the last two years. It is an effort to raise funds for an extraordinary summer camp for children and adults with disabilities. This 280-acre facility in Rome, Maine is fully adapted so that all campers regardless of their ability level, can fully participate in traditional summer camp activities like fishing, archery, hiking, drama, swimming, and of course paddling.

Pine Tree Camp began in 1945 with the philosophy that all who could benefit from the programming would attend, regardless of their family's ability to pay tuition. Over the years that policy has remained firmly in place because of generous support of people like you and me. All of the proceeds from the paddle will go to the Pine Tree Campership fund which will benefit those attending this summer. Click to see a video http://www.pinetreesociety.org/camp.asp.

Last year there were 75 paddlers on the Friday evening paddle and over 250 on Saturday. It is one of the best organized events of this kind that I have ever participated in. Safety is a priority, then good clean fun and good food. This year's paddle is June 6 and 7. Carol and I already have our reservation to camp at Evergreens Campground in Solon, ME. That is the put in for the second day and they prepare a great breakfast buffet. http://evergreenscampground.com/

We are extending an invitation to you to get in on the fun. But if you cannot be there we will accept your donations. Make the Check to Pine Tree Camp and send it along to Carol or Clay.This is only and excuse for us to go paddling but your support means a life changing experience for some special kid.
Please email us for a mailing address.

Winter's Over

Signs of the season were apparent today. Temperatures climbed to 97, but with a dry balmy breeze, it felt pretty good in the shade. Cloudy skies earlier this week kind of camouflaged the emerging pear blossoms. Against the azure blue skies today, their beautiful white blossoms swayed majestically in the breeze.

A black swallowtail (look at the lower left corner to find it)
paused to sip the nectar from the fragrant blossoms.


Other blooms of note in the garden this week were the papyrus
and a cactus.







Nearby the neat geometry of another cactus caught the camera's eye.

Nocturnal? Not!

This afternoon as we were working in the back yard, Virginia decided to come out for a stroll. I think we probably disturbed her daily nap somewhere under the brush pile and she had to find a different place to rest. I didn't see her climb the wall - that is still a mystery - but, there she was atop it waddling along toward our house. If you look closely you can see her marsupial bulge between the hind legs. Down the fence line she came and sniffed the red berries at the corner as she turned.

Did you know that opossums have an opposable thumb like us on their rear feet? You can see how she uses it to climb along the wall. I was only about 4 feet away when she worked herself down the wooden fence to the deck holding herself securely with her prehensile tail as she finds a rail to shimmy down. I read that babies can hang by their tails, but the adults just use them for balance and support. Once down on the deck she finally sensed my presence and made for the safety of the under deck. I am not surprised that she didn't see me - nocturnal animals rely much more on their other senses. Wonder how long it will be till we see those "rag curls" again.

Virginia Returns

Haven’t seen Virginia since the end of March a year ago when late one night she peered through the lower panes of the family room French door. I was surprised to see her done up in white rag curls all along her back. Took me a few seconds to realize that opossums don’t do rag curls and that those tidy little white projections along her back were her brood hanging on during her nocturnal meanderings.

Thanks to her lack of speed I was able to snap a few photos of her as she made her escape. A later photo analysis of the “rag curls” suggested at least 10 little Didelphis virginianans accompanied their mother that evening. Virginia appeared once or twice more in the next week and then no more. About a month later two rather adorable smaller versions claimed our woodpile as home.

Here is one we spied in early May. We were happy to have them as we saw the evidence of their food gathering in our flowerbeds taking care of all sorts of small insects and cleaning up the fallen fruit from the loquat trees.

Now I don’t know if this mother with swollen marsupium traversing our deck and yard this spring is Virginia or one of her babes, but I wonder how soon she will be sporting those rag curls.

Click here for more information about the stylish opossums.

On the Trail

We took the VIA bus downtown on Friday afternoon to participate in history. It was a beautiful day and warm. After a leisurely early supper at Fuddruckers we walked over to Hemisfair plaza to watch the setup for the Hillary Clinton rally.
Just two hours to go until the rally found a hubbub of activity. The Houston band La Mafia was knee deep in wires, cables, lights and sound boxes. Many men and a few women in dark neat suits and polished shoes were everywhere turning their heads in all directions. The top of the Fairmount Hotel had silhouettes with binoculars watching the area below. The Secret Service scanner squad was setting up and testing their equipment as barriers were being set in place around the rally area. A nervous group of white shirted TSA employees waited nearby to search the attendees .
The gates would not open until 7 and we found a place at the beginning of the line about 6. No one was admitted early. Not even Henry Cisneros' mother who tried to convince the SS crew near us that as a ticket holder she should be able to enter early. No dice. When the appointed time arrived, we had to jostle our way to the scanner, but managed to enter quickly and found a place on the barrier very near the stage.
Music that was much too loud was provided by a band from Houston until about 8. Nearby I overheard a SS man in a dark suit tell someone in the crowd that HC would not arrive until after 9:30. Not long after that the pep rally began led by Henry Cisneros. He certainly had command of his audience and of his mission that night as he praised Clinton and brought forth an array of backers to appeal to the tejano/Hispanic voters of San Antonio. He explained that a delay in the rally had occurred because of the funeral that morning in Dallas for the police escort who died last week leading Clinton motorcade and that HC would not arrive until 9:30 " or so"!(Well, our plans to take the VIA back home evaporated at that as the last bus on our route would not be waiting for us. It took only 50 cents for us with our senior passes to get to the rally, but the taxi drive back home was much much more.)
The crowd was largely hispanic and largely female. There were people of all ages and some children. I was surprised how many older women who didn't appear to be able to stand in a crowd for a long time actually did.
The supporters who spoke were eloquent in their desires to elect this woman who they believe will deliver their hopes into reality. Cheers followed their endorsements until on the barrier line whistles and screams announced the approaching motorcade. Not long after Clinton found the stage and spoke to the crowd. It is difficult to imagine how she or any campaigner maintains the stamina this grueling activity requires. She did it without any show of fatigue and with great enthusiasm not even diminished when the lights failed for several minutes. A large crowd crushed in when she finished to shake her hand, beg an autograph, and just be close. It was an enticing idea, but we chose to work our way toward the perimeter and head on home.
The campaign rhetoric often wrestles with the idea of change. For me this election has nothing to do with the idea of change in racial mindsets. That battle is old hat. Obama is a man with brown skin. There is no change in electing another man. Real change would be in allowing a woman to lead our great country for the first time in its history.