Balloon Release

There was an article in the newspaper about a local funeral home releasing hundreds of balloons into the air to remember those who have died, seemingly a great idea. However, I cannot believe they thought this ceremony through very carefully. I'm sure they didn't think of the environmental consequences of what will happen when all those balloons come back down to earth. They have to land somewhere, and a lot of them will fall into Lake Erie.

The fish and birds that depend on Lake Erie will come across these balloons and could either get tangled in the strings attached or try to eat them. Either way, the consequences will be deadly. I'm not sure how far out we could extrapolate this outcome, but I sit here wondering if the kingfishers we enjoy watching will be effected, or even the eagle that appears to have made its home along the south shore of the lake.

I do believe that there are fewer of these balloon releases as more people realize what damage they can do in the long run. Can bubbles released into the air be a substitute? I don't know if there are any long term dangerous or harmful results from this practice, but I'm sure someone out there could tell me.

Health Care

The big issue today is health care. Should we have universal health care? If so, how do we do that? How do we pay for it? Do we want a system that is like Canada, Great Britain, or any of the other nations that have a socialized medical care system? How do we know what is best? Perhaps most important of all, who will pay for it, and how?

I, for one, would like to see a side-by-side comparison of the way different health systems work. Maybe compare our system with Finland's, Canada's and Switzerland's, or pick any three modern nations. All we hear is that we will not get the same quality of care if we change, that we will have to wait a long time for the care we do get, and that someone other than ourselves will be in charge of the care we receive. We are already putting up with these things -- when was the last time you had to visit an emergency room?

These claims leave me feeling pretty skeptical, especially when most of them are coming from insurance companies who are making obscene amounts of money off the system as it now exists. I don't believe we have a monopoly on good doctors, or researchers, or medicines. I do think that our infant mortality rate is too high (higher than several other western nations), and we do not live as long, on average, as citizens of some other countries. Maybe health care should be the responsibility of localities, like education once was. I don't claim to know how to fix the system that we now have, or even if we should fix it. Maybe we should discard it and start all over. I do know that too many people don't have health care, and that too many people are paying too much for the health care they do receive. In a country as great as ours, this is intolerable.

Scarlett and Rhett

Rhett and Scarlett are at it again. These are two mourning doves who have made themselves at home in our back yard. Only an hour or so after Den moved our Norfolk Island Pine tree from the house to right outside the back door ( and I mean right outside -- hardly a foot away), two mourning doves were busy making a nest. This was back in May. Within a few weeks we had two baby mourning doves trying to get up enough courage to fly from that nest. For two or three days, our back yard was their world and we would have to watch when we let the dog outside so he wouldn't catch any little birds. We also didn't want him to be dive bombed by Rhett or Scarlett if they thought their babies were in jeopardy.

Within two days of the time the first set of babies went out on their own, Scarlett was again sitting on the nest. To give him his due, Rhett did change places with her every morning, so she could exercise her wings. By the end of June, this second set of babies had flown the nest, and our back yard. After doing some research, we thought that would be the end of Rhett and Scarlett as such close neighbors. But no, Scarlett is back on the nest, quietly waiting for Rhett to relieve her every once in a while. I am sure there are two more eggs in that nest, although I haven't actually seen them yet.

These birds don't seem at all afraid of us as we come and go through the back door. The nest is so close to the door, I could reach up and touch it as I come outside. I do hope this is the last family Scarlett and Rhett have this year. I would like to get my back yard-- fence, chairs, bench, fire pit -- cleaned up so that it stays clean for a while. In the meantime it has been interesting to have such different and well-mannered (mostly) neighbors.

American Wind Symphony Orchestra

Yesterday evening Den and I went to listen to the American Wind Symphony Orchestra in Fairport Harbor, and what a treat it was. The orchestra played from a barge moored in the Grand River, at the stone docks at the end of Second Street, just down from the lighthouse. The side of the barge opened into what looked like a very sophisticated sound stage, with enough room for the 40 or so professional musicians. I would have liked to have seen what the inside of the barge was like.

Most of the music that was played, had been written specifically for this orchestra, by composers all over the world. The Music Director, Robert Austin Boudreau, gave a brief history of each piece and of the orchestra itself.

The American Wind Symphony Orchestra has been in existence for over 50 years, and has played in many parts of the world. It is based on the barge Point Counterpoint II, out of Pittsburgh; and most of the musicians are new every year, either music majors in college or having just graduated. Many of the AWSO musicians have gone on to play with major orchestras all over the world. The Fairport Harding High band members got to meet with and learn from the musicians on a one to one basis, and were invited to join in on the next to the last number played by the AWSO. Who knows how this opportunity will affect these young musicians, but I'm sure they will never forget it.

So how did this wonderful orchestra come to play in Fairport Harbor? I'm not exactly sure who started the ball rolling, but Pat Spivak and the Finnish Heritage Museum were involved from the beginning. They got a grant from the Lake County Visitor's Bureau to bring the barge here, Lake Metroparks volunteers helped with the traffic and tickets, and the Village administration (especially Tom Hilston and Jim Cardina) assisted in bringing the whole thing together. In recognition of the Finnish Heritage Museum, the AWSO even played "Finlandia" by Sibelius. If you ever get a chance to hear and see this unique orchestra, please take it.

The Importance of Libraries

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has proposed to cut library funding in Ohio by 50% as of July 1, 2009.  What a tragedy that would be!  If this proposal is enacted, our public libraries will be devastated.  For an infinite number of reasons, I believe that there should be NO cut in the libraries' funding. 

Ohio libraries today are operating on the same amount of funding from the state that they received in 1996.  That means there has been no increase in help from the state for 13 years.   Historically, in difficult economic times, the library's use and importance to the community has increased.  This is true today.  

People turn to the library especially for education and entertainment, socializing and networking.  Libraries provide computer classes, free use of computers, and internet searches to help find a job.  They provide free entertainment for the whole family.  For kids there is the legendary storytime, craft sessions, fun ways to learn about anything (the community, the space program, our country's history and much more).  One of the best programs provided is the Paws to Read program, where children who may be too shy or embarrassed, or may not have the best reading skills, read to dogs who come in to the library and are happy to listen without criticizing.  I know this program works -- I was taught to read by our Airedale Terry too many years ago to remember.

For teens, libraries provide reading clubs, writing clubs, and a place for tutoring for those who need help in school, in addition to crafts and other activities.  A librarian can recommend a good read for the beach, or a movie the whole family can enjoy.  And then there are all the programs for adults -- computer classes, book clubs, knitting classes, informative lectures, even meet the author nights.  You can even check out a book or two or borrow a movie for free.  And libraries provide meeting rooms for scouts, blood drives, senior citizens and many other groups who need  a place to assemble.

In view of all of these services of the libraries, it would seem to me that the funding for these institutions should be at least maintained at present levels, not cut in half.  Maybe the Governor thinks he can propose this 50% cut now, get everyone all upset about it, then say he is bending to the will of the people and only making a 20% cut in library funding.  He wouldn't do that, would he?

The following quote is from the State of Ohio's internet page called "Ohio's Future":

 

"Free libraries maintained by the people are cradles of democracy, and their spread can never fail to extend and 

strengthen the democratic idea, the equality of the citizen and the royalty of man. They are emphatically fruits of 

the true American ideal.”  -Andrew Carnegie at the 1903 dedication of the Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C. 

Summer Solstice

Yesterday was the summer solstice -- the longest day of the year, the first day of summer.  It was also Father's Day.  What a wonderful day -- so many excuses to celebrate.  I know that a lot of people look at Father's Day as just another gimmick promoted by the card industry.  And I also know that summer in northeast Ohio is unpredictable, as are spring, winter and fall.  But it is still a time to celebrate.  Daylight hung around until 9:30 PM or so, affording us the opportunity to have dinner in the back yard, then to roast marshmallows in the fire pit.  We would have had evening coffee by the lake except the wind was out of the northeast and it was a bit too cool to be comfortable.  In fact, it was downright cold by the lake, so the backyard it was.

But there is a sad feeling to the summer solstice, too.  It is the longest day of the year.  From here until December 21st or so, each day will get shorter and shorter.  We will lose a small fraction of the daylight that is so precious; and the sun, if it shines, will be lower and lower in the sky.  However, I intend to make the most of the daylight we do have every day (well OK, maybe not the early morning hours) even if it's only to sit on the swing by the lake and read a book.  I don't want to waste a minute (see previous parenthesis); because there are only so many minutes alloted in a day.  Once they're gone, they can never be recaptured.  It is up to each of us to enjoy them.  

Wildlife in the City

The deer have won!  Earlier in the spring, we had been able to keep the deer from eating the tulips,  but I never dreamed that they like roses so much.  Every single rose bush in the front yard  had all the new buds neatly chomped off right where the bud meets the stem.   I just hope we get more buds on the plants this year so I can enjoy the roses, too.

Although we live in the city, we have a lot of wildlife in our neighborhood.  Just this morning, right outside the kitchen window, there was a doe and her two tiny fawns, grazing in the neighbor's yard.  (Maybe she was the one that ate my roses; if so, that's OK.  She has to take care of her babies.)  There are at least two bucks in the immediate neighborhood, one of which is a really big boy with a very large rack, maybe 10 points.   Last fall, I was walking through the back yard and he was out by the lake bank with several does.  He turned, looked at me, put his head down and pawed at the ground.  Guess who went the other way.  

On the day in May that we moved the Norfolk Island pine from inside the house to  outside in the back yard, two mourning doves (Scarlet and Rhett) set up housekeeping in the next to the top branch of this tree.  So far this spring, they have had two sets of twins; the latest of which has just hatched.  There is also a robin's nest on the house next door sheltering a growing family.

Last  fall, while walking the dog, I saw a fox on the other end of the block.  He was there for well over an hour and didn't seem at all intimidated by people.  Of course, there are the skunks,  raccoons, squirrels, ground hogs, opossums and rabbits in addition to all the different birds.  It is exciting to see a bald eagle fly along the lake bank, and even more so to spot an osprey.  But I also like the blue herons and the flittery kingfisher.  

And did I mention the coyote?