Just in case anyone wants to know….I moved my blog and have a facebook.
Would love to hear from anyone who I use to know.
http://thewhimsicalcrow.blogspot.com/
Just in case anyone wants to know….I moved my blog and have a facebook.
Would love to hear from anyone who I use to know.
http://thewhimsicalcrow.blogspot.com/
I thought this was an encouraging story.
Swans are one of my favorite birds.
A chance meeting at hospital leads to companionship
by Julie Hauserman
Most swans mate for life, so the roadside scene in Plymouth, Mass., was especially heartbreaking: An injured female mute swan lay immobile and hurt while her mate frantically flapped his large wings to “defend” her against passing cars.
Thanks to caring citizens, the pair was rushed by local animal control on Dec. 11 to Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable, Mass, a Humane Society of the United States facility that provides emergency care and wildlife rehabilitation 365 days a year.
Sadly, the female was gravely injured and did not survive a deep perforating wound. The male had a severe joint infection from before he arrived at the hospital that would have left him unable to walk or swim over time.
He was started on a course of antibiotics, and physically, he began to recover, but the death of his mate left him depressed. He stopped eating, and staffers had to carefully force feed him for a few weeks to ensure his survival.
As it turns out, the key to his healing turned out to be close by, right there at the wildlife center: A female mute swan who had been hit by a car in late November and was now on the mend.
In high hopes of boosting the male’s spirits, wildlife center staffers put the two swans together. Thankfully, they took to one another right away, and that’s when the real healing began.
“They both recovered and gained weight,” said Dr. Roberto Aguilar, Cape Wildlife Center’s staff veterinarian. “After introducing the two swans, the staff noted the female following the male around. Eventually, when one was removed for treatment, the other one would call out for the other. We can’t be certain, but we think they have bonded.”
The pair was released Jan. 16 into Barnstable Harbor, a site where other swans have been seen in the past and that remains open all year. With the weight they gained during rehab, Aguilar wasn’t entirely sure they’d be able to fly quite yet. But it turns out he had nothing to worry about.
After skimming the water, the female took to the air and landed in the water away from the quiet crowd of 60 people on hand to watch. The male vigorously flapped his wings until he finally lifted off and flew over to his partner where they swam for a few minutes before they both flew off.
“The fact that other swans have been on the Barnstable marsh before is encouraging, and such a large open area with good plant cover seems ideal, Dr. Aguilar said. “The fact that part of the area is in the wildlife sanctuary is even better. Folks will want to bird watch for days, I’m sure.”
“We’re hoping they are bonded and that they’re able to find a nice pond and establish their territory before spring,” he continued. “But where they go from there, and even if they stay together, will be up to them.”
The birds were released after a joint program about swans, hosted by the Cape Wildlife Center and Massachusetts Audubon Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary. The experts explained the birds’ biology and ecology on the Cape, their role as introduced wildlife and some of the issues associated with their presence.
Mute swans are an introduced species, but very successful, as most invasive species tend to be. They are hardy and aggressive defenders of their territory. Rehabilitation is allowed only if the birds legitimately can be reintroduced to the environment successfully and in a relatively short time.
At last aerial count, more than 1,000 swans were spotted in Massachusetts, many of those on the Cape. Swans tend to run into trouble more often in winter when they are moving about or searching for food, Aguilar noted. The swans rehabilitated at Cape Wildlife Center have wound up there as a direct or indirect result of conflict with humans.
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007.
The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities. The questions raised: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…. How many other things are we missing?
I checked this out on SNOPES and it is a true story….
Thanksgiving: A Traditional American Holiday
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor . . . .1
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the twenty-sixth day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these United States . . . that we then may all unite unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are now blessed. . . .
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discretely and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord, to promote the knowledge and practice for the true religion and virtue, and the increase of science2 among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows best.
Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3rd of October, A.D. 1789.
—George Washington.3
Footnotes
- For those readers around the world, today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. It was a holiday established by the first president of the United Stated to give thanks to God for all that He has done. This is from his declaration of the holiday in 1789.
- To understand more properly what Mr. Washington meant by science, it is good to understand the definition of the day, which is not the same as the modern definition. See Webster’s 1828 dictionary entry for science here: http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=science&use1828=on
- As quoted in William J. Federer, America’s God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations (Coppell, Texas: Fame Publishing, Inc., 1994), p. 654.
FYI…
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