Bird and Birds: Writers' Workshop

One of the reasons I began this blog was to practice the craft of writing. As part of this undertaking, I discovered a lovely community over at Pictures, Poetry, and Prose, aka PP&P. Laura Jane daily posts a picture and a prompt. Sometimes I dive into the pool of creativity and make a splash.

Since not all of my readers follow that blog, I've decided to post a copies of most of my contributions to PP&P on this site. I'm also posting a link to the photographer sites and the original PP&P site. For the adventurous, you can see more photos and read more entries on the picture of the day. Perhaps you'll be prompted to wade in too!

Today, I've pulled two stories that loosely share a common topic: birds.



Photo by Jim Pankey "WildSpirit"
Jim's Photography can be found at Picasa and fotonothing

(Here's where the picture and prompt appear on PP&P with the contributions of others.)

My poem:

A Complementary Hummingbird


What marvelous evolutionary adaptations!

What improbable aerodynamics!

What lovely shades of green, yellow, and lavender!

What? A non-bug-eating bird?

What? No more overly brittle eggs?

Pretty bird!

Lured by the sumptuous scent of the lavender-hued blossom, the hummingbird suspended its flight mid-air and hovered miraculously in an apparent defiance of gravity.


Scientist, engineer, artist, entomologist, environmentalist, child, and poet:
complementary paradigms converging for a moment in time.

The second "bird" post is based on the following photo and my past:




Photograph by Tammy Vitale
Visit her website - http://www.tammyvitale.com/
~


Here is my post and the originals at PP&P:

Closing Time

The college Job Finding Center had been helpful, and I had a job: groundskeeper at a large private residence. I'd been working for a month or two when it first happened: they came.

My school schedule allowed me to work late afternoons, and as the days were shortening, I soon found myself working until early dusk. The combination of working late and the change of seasons brought about my encounter with the birds.

Each day, about 45 minutes before dusk they would arrive in the avocado trees of the estate. It was as if they were waiting, waiting to go home before the sun finally set.

I was working in the avocado grove doing weed control when the first bird arrived, a fore-runner of the coming flock. They gathered in the trees until the sun began to fade, and then they moved up the hill to higher ground.

I'd like to think they were enjoying the sunset over and over again, but I think the sun was escorting them to their roosts. The day was ending for them, and it was almost time for me to go home too. It was closing time.

Oh Happy Day: The Fence is Up!

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained" is a saying I heard a lot in my home growing up. Perhaps that attitude fostered in me a bit of the risk taker. It certainly didn't hurt.



I ventured a fence building project. Ninety-five percent of the results are in... and once again... I am thoroughly adequate!

My dad used to say, "Son, just try to be above average."

I used to think that was aiming rather low, but above average sometimes means "good enough." Everything doesn't have to be your best, but if you can do above average, or at least adequate, then you've accomplished something.



The biggest hurdle in this project was moving the 6' by 8' panels from the back yard to the side yard. Each of the panels weigh about 150 pounds. Besides transporting them to the side, each panel had to be lifted over some plants and into place.

The biggest hero in this project is my nephew, John. He came over and helped me. "Two are better than one" is what Solomon said, and I totally agree. John not only helped me move the panels, he helped me attach them to the poles. Plus, he had a cordless power drill that could drive screws.



Some parts of some projects require help. I got help today, because I asked for it. It wasn't a huge deal for John. He's on vacation this week, but his wife's not. He has the time. It wasn't a huge deal for John, but it meant a lot to me. I couldn't have done it by myself.



Sometimes we have the opportunity to do a favor for someone. It may not be a big deal to us, but it is to them. Sometimes, we are the needy ones, and the help is deeply appreciated.

That's what friends are for. That's what family is for. But there is no guarantee that friends and family will come through. But when they do... how sweet it is!

A Garden Enclosed...

"Lovely outdoor spaces that invite relaxation, reflection, and friendship."

That's what I'm aiming for as I enclose a small patio along side my house. Sometimes to create such a space requires other things to be masked from view. A garden is a bit of an illusion: as if the world where well tended and picturesque everywhere.

It is just a mask, just an illusion, but I enjoy "sweet lies:" even my island of sanity in a sea of madness -- my garden enclosed.

Here's the work in progress:

One eight foot section of fence waiting to be transported and mounted:









The second section, waiting to be assembled:









The tools of assembly:















The tubular supports: eight foot tubes -- six feet above ground, two under...













How I "drilled" the holes in the ground for the tubular supports -- I used to work for an oil drilling company...















The ladder and sledge hammer for pounding the supports into the drilled holes:













A place in the shade for breaks:



A replacement stool I modeled after the one from my youth which rotted out. (Yes, I'm that old.)













Other tools:













What's missing is the sweaty shirts. The blister. And the inner smile: I think this is going to work.

It's also fun using tools, most of which I've accumulated over four decades from the men I looked up to. Men who passed on their tools to a "younger" generation. They passed on a useful legacy, and I'm building on it.

Something there is that doesn't love a wall...

American poet Robert Frost is one of my favorites, and I often agree with him. But I'm going with his neighbor on the topic of fences. The neighbor in the poem said, "Good fences make good neighbors."



I'm extending a fence to close in a garden and close out a view of my neighbor's unkempt trash can area. Five years or so ago I put up some trellises, and they have been mostly adequate. Which also means, they've grown somewhat inadequate.



"Something there is that doesn't love a wall," but I'm looking forward to putting this one up. I'm a bit nervous, because this is the first fence I'm putting up on my own. It's kind of like taking a driving test. You do your homework. You practice, but you're not quite sure what will happen when you hit the real road.

I've created a plan, measured twice, and invested in the materials. They're in the back of the car, awaiting the hammer, the angle iron, and the light of day.



All I have today are the "before" pictures. I've removed the old lattices. I've mostly cleared out the construction site. I'm just waiting... for maybe... tomorrow. Or later today when it gets cooler.



Anyway, I just wanted to share what I've got done so far: a mental fence. (And I like it already!)



Happy Fourth of July!

When work isn't work...

Today I trimmed a tree and a hedge. Guess who made me do it?

Nobody made me do it. I'm a grown-up!



I often tell my students that I read, I write, I research, and I do chores. Then I ask them, "Guess who made me do it?"

It amazes them that I do stuff because I want to.

Getting stuff done feels good. It looks good. It makes me happy.

I inherited a hedge when I bought my house 20 some years ago. I had to learn how to trim a hedge. I'm now own electric hedge clippers. I can use them and not cut off my fingers! (Or cut the cord, though I have done that before.)



I also inherited a holly tree. My former brother-in-law is a professional tree-trimmer. I've learned stuff from him. I can do an adequate job of tree trimming. (I can safely use a ladder, a pruning saw, and other pruning tools.)



Someone once said, "Show me someone who is bored, and I'll show you someone who lacks meaningful challenges."

I'm rarely bored, because I'm always on the lookout for meaningful challenges. No one makes me do this. I'm just happier if I do.

This is one reason why I don't have a desire to retire early: I enjoy what I do. It provides me with a host of meaningful challenges. Teaching keeps me from being bored. Teaching keeps me learning. (Owning stuff provides me with meaningful challenges, and so does family!)

I recently read a comparison between the old and the young. The writer noted that the old are always living in the past, the young are always looking to the future. The writer, obviously older, concluded that the old have it right, since the future soon turns into the past. I disagree.



Why not do both? (And add a third?) Remember the past, savor it and learn from it, but be young at heart: yearn for what's to come. The wise know that both the past and the future are partial illusions. All we really have is now.

Today, I used my past to enjoy my present: I trimmed some big plants with some cool tools! I had been looking forward to this day. I knew things would look better when I was done: and they do. (Plus I burned some extra calories!)

Work isn't work when it's purposefully chosen, planned for, enjoyed in the moment, and reflected on with satisfaction.



Tomorrow... or soon... I'm going to buy and install some new lattices for the star jasmine vines I bought recently. (Sounds like more work... or not...)

The war on technology

Have you ever noticed how quickly friends can become adversaries? It happens.

My favorite technology is my computer. I use it to access local weather, the time, my personal calendar, my blog, my e-mail, the news, music, and games. I spend more of my free time with my beloved computer than with the TV, my car, or my phone. (I still appreciate other forms of electronic technology, but my computer is my ally in the voyage of life.



But yesterday, it was war!

Over the past six months I've had two DVD/CD roms die and a video card go obsolete. After doing some research, I journeyed to my local (10 miles) electronics store and bought the components for performing necessary repairs. (I hoped I had the right stuff. I depended on the expertise of the Fry's Electronic's guys. They recommended this cool looking box containing an up-to-date video graphics card: $60)

Although this doesn't seem like a war, it's the only analogy that comes close. It's more than a dance, more than a contest, it's me against them! (Okay, it may not be the life or death of real war, but I live a sheltered life.)

Armed with no more than some experience, a screw driver, and a can of dust remover I began the operation. I did my own computer first attempting to replace the DVD player. It didn't work. The computer couldn't find the new hardware.



I called for technical support via the phone. I called my nephew. He's my son's replacement as my technical guru. My son is living in Canada, and he's harder to get a hold of than my nephew who lives close by. John game me a tip, "Try uninstalling the drive from where you have it, to where the old one was."

This is a little like, "Try it again Uncle. You can do it!" But I'm easy going, and I took his advice. Or at least I started to. As I was uninstalling the new drive, I noticed a loose wire. "Oh. There were three connectors, not two, like the diagram showed."

Abandoning my nephew's advice, I reinstalled the DVD player with all three connectors in place. Victory was achieved! (In fact, another drive that wasn't working before, joined in and recovered itself.)

My own computer was somewhat of a preliminary to the key objective: my wife's computer. She's a bit of a gamer and over the last six months not only had her DVD drive died, but two of her games quit working. Two new ones wouldn't play at all.

I had exchanged e-mails with tech support and as near as I could guess, my video card was obsolete. It couldn't handle the latest graphics in the new games.



*sigh* I've never done a graphics card before. I've done memory upgrades, but usually with my son's moral support.

I began with her DVD drive. It worked. (It was identical to the one I'd just installed on my own computer, so I hoped it would be easier the second time around. It was.)

Next, I began my assault on her computer's graphics card. But it was elusive. It hid. In fact, I had to search my manuals (on and offline) before I figured out, I don't have a graphics card. It's built-in to the motherboard. Hmmm...

I thought to myself, "Oh, well. Let's give this a try. I'll use this slot... Opps... not that one, but this one... C'mon, c'mon, dammit... c'mon slide in... oh, yeah!"

That's how I think when I'm working. Very complex stuff.

I plugged the monitor into the new graphics card, fired up the computer, loaded some drivers, and the computer surrendered to its superior. Our friendship was restored.

I'm happy. My wife's happy. Technology has been subjugated in the Evans household. Victory is mine. Ahhh...

(As you can see, I'm very self-satisfied. Some things are just esteem boosting. Being able to fix your own computer is one of them. I am delighted!)

Do you recall...

Several years ago a concerned mother and I talked for almost two hours about the learning difficulties of her daughter. We concluded that her daughter knew much more than she could recall for tests. Her learning problems stemmed from a memory recall problem.



I checked the psychologist's report, and sure enough, the girl had memory deficits.

I told the mom, "I know your daughter can remember things in tough situations. I've seen her memorize and perform two lengthy dramatic dance pieces in front of the whole school. She has good recall of physical movement. But if I understand you correctly, what you want me to do is to improve your daughter's ability to recall language-based information under pressure?"

She smiled as if I finally got it, "Yes. That's what I want."

I was glad that we had at least narrowed down the problem, even if it took two hours. I now understood what the mom wanted for her daughter. (And the mom now knew what her daughter needed.) "Well, I'm not sure if that is even possible, but I'll look into it."

Memory is one of the two key components of traditional intelligence tests: processing speed being the other. What this mom was asking me to do was to make her daughter "smarter." She was asking for a miracle.

Lucky for that mom that I have a tendency to be delusionally optimistic. I think I can do things that others can't. As I result, I sometimes do.

I began a personal research project on memory improvement. I began to read what the experts have written. I found web-sites that aim to improve memory and processing speed, such as Luminosity.com (Brain Training Games). (They also have games for attention!)

I found awesome web-sites such as neuroMod: Memory psychology for a general audience.

What I learned, I passed on to my students, and they improved. The got "smarter."
(And so did I.) You teach best what you know best, so I began my own quest to improve my memory.

I memorized the United States (and their capitals) from west to east with no visual aides. I memorized the countries of central and south America. I used a combination of mnemonics, visualization, and practice.

I developed a process called "SOS squared." It's an acronym for 1) Sift and Sift, 2) Organize and Orchestrate, and 3) Study and Showcase.

I used the methods I learned on neuroMod including memory tag systems to memorize the US Presidents and their number: Chester A. Arthur... #21.

These are more advanced techniques. (I also found simpler techniques such as on-line puzzles for world geography at Owl & Mouse Educational Software.)

I've had fun and I've learned a lot. I've gotten smarter!

So what am I doing on my summer vacation? I'm learning names. Faces and names have always been a challenge for me. (If I can overcome my memory shortcomings, I can teach my students to overcome theirs!)

Last year I found some simple on-line flash card generators such as FlashCardDB When I created these on-line flash cards, my students logged on at home, for no credit, just for the fun of it. (They did the same with the map puzzles.) They learned stuff! Wow.

This summer I've found a free flash card program called the Mnemosyne Project that enables me to create flash cards with visual and audio. I've created "decks" of flash cards containing pictures of people with their names!

Plus, the system uses an advanced algorithm called the Leitner System, which helps me study only the cards I don't know, as often as I need to, in order to keep them in my memory.

This program alone may change a hard working "C" student into a hard working "A" student. Work smart and become smarter!

I'm better at recalling things. I've learned that I can find things and information that I put away carefully.

How smart are you? Who wants to get "smarter"? Perhaps this post will provide a trail head from which you can explore the world of memory improvement. (You may want to bookmark this post so you can find it later!)

Those of you who are involved in working with struggling students, may find some tools to address core deficits such as memory, that will enable your students to overcome obstacles, blossom academically, and take charge of their own learning and life.

Do you recall one of my personal tendencies?