Chapter 23 - Life Goes On...

If you're ever in a bind for a title you can always depend on The Beatles. They just deliver. Like this one "Life Goes On..." from their great song, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da." 

Fun Facts: This song is from their 1968 album The Beatles (often called "the White Album"). Although it is credited to Lennon-McCartney, the song was written solely by Paul McCartney. It was released as a single that same year around the world but not in their native United Kingdom, nor in the United States until 1976.

The formal recording of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" involved several days of work, during which The Beatles experimented with different tempos and styles. At McCartney's insistence, the band remade the song twice in an effort to capture the version he was aiming for. 

According to studio engineer, Geoff Emetic, John Lennon "openly and vocally detested" the song, calling it "Paul's Granny music shit". Having left the studio during one of the sessions, Lennon then returned, went immediately to the piano and played the opening chords louder and faster than before. He claimed that was how the song should be played and that is the version The Beatles ended up using.

Life goes on, Brah...

Since this is a mash-up of the past week I'm gonna start with these tulips I grabbed on a walk. We were going to the Blackfish Cafe for the photography show put on by Jack Doyle and Nagi Aboulenein called "Capturing Birds in Flight". The artists are donating all the proceeds to the Audubon Society of Lincoln City. And, since the Blackfish Cafe is just a half-mile away, we walked. It was a nice day.

And I got to see these tulips...and shot same.

It's been a busy week. First, on Monday, was The Bird Man of Oregon show at the Senior Assisted Living Center over near the Samaritan Hospital.

The Oregon Bird Man!!

Here he is, Karl Anderson, The Bird Man of Oregon.

He and his trusty assistant were setting up the show. They had 15  parrots there for the show hidden on the floor behind the covered table. And they were loud.

Fun Fact: Apropos of nothing at all except my curiosity (possibly sparked by the Hawaiian shirt), I was wondering what ingredients were used in making a Daiquiri; I learned this...The Daiquiri became popular in the 40s. Wartime rationing had made whiskey and vodka hard to come by for the average American. Because of President Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy, rum was easily obtainable in substantial quantities.  The policy had opened up trade and travel relations with Latin America, Cuba and the Caribbean. 

The Good Neighbor Policy, also known as the Pan-American Program, helped make Latin America fashionable. Consequently, rum-based drinks (once frowned upon as being the choice of sailors and down-and-outs), also became fashionable, and the daiquiri saw a tremendous rise in popularity in the U.S.

And these rum-based drinks are a good story in and of themselves. The interesting part is that the British Navy had long issued rum to their sailors. It didn't spoil on long trips and, hey, the Tars of His Royal Majesty's ships enjoyed drinking it.  They also knew that scurvy was a horrible problem for the Royal Navy. For example, the Royal Navy enlisted 184,899 sailors during the Seven Years' War and 133,708 of these were 'missing' or died by disease, and scurvy was the leading cause.

When the Royal Navy Doctors finally learned how to prevent scurvy with Vitamin C, they found the easiest way to get the sailors to consume this essential vitamin was in their rum.  The ship's doctor simply began adding lemon juice (and sugar to help it along) to their daily issue of grog!!

BAM!! 

They got their two birds, so to speak, with one stone. The men got their 'grog' plus they got their Vitamin C.

And then the kids came in from the nearby child-care center. They were well-behaved kids and they totally enjoyed the show. 

Almost as much as I did!!

Karl introduced each bird one at a time. This allowed him to educate us about each parrot as he introduced it.

The first one was named Nacho. He is Sun Conyer and obviously a favorite of the Oregon Bird Man.

He rode on top of his hat for the entire show.

Here an African Gray is being shown to the audience.

This guy, a Blue-Front Amazon, would say Bye-Bye and then wave.

The one on the right, in the back there, is a Mustache Parakeet. He's the trouble maker and the one who caused the Umbrella Cockatoo to bite The Oregon Bird Man in the face when he spooked and flew by them during the show.

This one is named the Major Mitchell's Cockatoo.

This fine looking fellow is a Military Macaw. He got his name because he's OD, and because the man who discovered him and named him was a retired soldier.

After he introduced each one Karl put them on a separate perch.

Karl told us this guy, on his left shoulder, had arrived at his home only a week ago. It was, literally, his first show and he was a hit. He bobbled his head all around and spread his wings and splayed his comb...the kids loved this guy.

He's a Moluccan Cockatoo.

He had a lot of personality...like cockatoos do.

You could tell how much longer the show would last by counting the birds. There were only a couple left. 

And we also learned that, contrary to what popular media says, crackers should be a rare treat for these parrots. Crackers are not good for parrots and definitely shouldn't be part of their regular diet.

This one is a Green-Winged Macaw. Notice the feathering on his leathery white face? This is how you can distinguish a Green-Winged from a Scarlet Macaw. This parrot is one of the biggest Macaws.

Here's a Galah Cockatoo, or Rose-Breasted Cockatoo. They like, oddly enough, to sit in mud puddles. I guess you can understand if you know they're from Australia. You know those guys...G'Day, Mate.

The little kids sat in the front on the floor and the bigger kids took up the chairs.

Karl saved the largest birds for last.

This is a, despite what you see in front of you, a Blue and Gold Macaw. 

Don't ask. I don't know.

Then he had a race between the kids and this guy, the largest of the parrots, a Hyacinth Macaw, to crack open a macadamia nut. It wasn't much of a contest as this Macaw easily beat them.

Spring is coming...Hoozah!!

And with the coming Spring the grass is growing again. That means it has to be mowed. 

ARGH!!

I had this bright idea to buy a push mower for what I felt were several reasons. First, I thought it would be good exercise. I was right. It is. But, boys and girls, it's tough because this lawn is not even nor regular. Hahaha, it is a bit more difficult to mow than I originally thought.

Second, was size and ease of use. I hate gas mowers and dislike electric mowers and so a push mower seemed a good choice. I know it will always start and I'll never run over the cord. 

Something to consider.

Finally, size was a consideration. I have limited storage area and this one fits in quite nicely. In that regard, I chose the 16" mower rather than the 18" one. I should have gone for the extra two inches. It makes a big difference when you're pushing a mower. Ah, well, live and learn.

After the lawn was mowed and the sweat wiped from my brow, I headed to the recliner to assume my customary position of ease. I was lounging there, enjoying my rest when I saw this character hopping across the top of the hedge across the stream.

He was hunting something inside the hedge.

We got to watch him for around 15 minutes as he dove into the hedge, went up and down, and continued his pursuit of....something.

He came out on the ground and then jumped back up on top and then dove inside the hedge.

I'd hate to have that eye seeking me out. He is intent.

Unfortunately, he didn't catch his prey. After about 15 or so minutes he gave up the chase and flew across the street to the top of a house to brood about it for a while.

He's a young fellow. He stayed up on the roof for a couple of minutes and then turned and flew off into the trees in the distance behind him. This isn't the first time we've seen him hunt around the stream. He's visited before.

This was, however, the first time we had such a great view. And it was a real treat to be able to watch him for so long.

Some views from around the neighborhood. I'm trying to walk at least every other day and when I do, I always make sure to bring along a camera.

We walked up to the Wells Fargo bank the other day. Got to stop and smell the flowers along the way, well, the few that are out. And then pop into our never too busy, always friendly Small-Town America bank.

Which is, conveniently, right next to the local Small-Town America Dairy Queen. And, I sadly note, the price of a cone has gone up.

Ratz.

The Scouts kicked off their Candy Sales fundraiser. Here Rachelle, the good person that agreed to handle the candy sales, is explaining the rules to the Scouts.

And the Scouts are all thinking of what they can get IF they sell this much or that much.

The Troop is going camping this weekend and so they're prepping their tents to make sure everything is there plus they need to know they'll actually go up.

Hahaha, last time camping, they had some trouble getting them up.

It was organized chaos.

But they eventually got them up and, more importantly, no one was injured.

Although it was touch and go there for a while.

Want some candy?

The next day it was over to the Kiwanis Club Luncheon to give a short pitch to them about becoming Merit Badge Counselors. 

This was the second time we've been to their luncheon and they always have a good time.

Leslie goes around and collects fines from the members. They get fined if they're sitting at the same table with their spouse or if they failed to put on their name tag. In other words, they get fined for just about any and everything. It's a fun way to make money for their charitable causes.

They're always a fun group to mix with. After my talk, I had several of their members express an interest in becoming Merit Badge Counselors and so the day was a great success.

Yesterday, we decided to take a walk on over near Road's End. That's the northern-most neighborhood in LCO. We wanted to drop off a gift to Mike and Bron and get out and see a different neighborhood.

Mission accomplished.

I wasn't expecting to see as much as I did. Like this hummingbird. Yeah, I know. It's a terrible shot but here's the deal. I'll never, ever grab a picture of one of these guys in flight. Never. And they are pretty shy around people so that means the only real shots I'll probably ever get are gonna be from far away and at a ridiculous angle. Like this one.

But I'll happily take it because I rarely see any kind of hummingbird. And they're cool.

As we were walking back from Mike and Bron's, we spotted this lady having an early dinner in one of the yards. Hahaha, I love this about LCO, the deer that live here in the city.

It was getting late in the afternoon and I got the setting sun, sorta, over the Pacific. This was taken at Road's End State Park. 

As was this one of a family getting a selfie with their name in the sand. I just missed the decisive moment when she had the camera up in front of her and they were smiling for the picture.

Then I caught this interesting tableau of a family at play at the beach...in February. Note the jackets the kids are wearing.

Then, at Road's End Park, we took off across the street and up between the marshes. I was hoping to see a couple of Redwing Blackbirds.

And I did. But I didn't get any pictures of them...they were hidden behind the branches. However, I did get to see this fine fellow ignoring us on the other side of the pond.

And a couple shots of cobwebs....sans spiders.

And this one, leading the way down the road searching for another overload. (sing it, it sounds better!)

And even in winter the spiders are busy. 

And this guy flew by. Me? I think he's a juvenile bald eagle. Carol thinks he is some kind of hawk. Neither of us is sure.

But, he seem larger than a hawk to me. The coloring throws Carol.

Anyone else? Bueller? Bueller?

I know this is not a good picture. It was getting a bit dark and he was waaaaay off in the distance. I had to push the lens all the way out and it was a slow exposure.

But, hey!! I got my Belted Kingfisher. 

Hahaha, I like this little birdie. She's just really difficult to get a picture of.

Looking back to where we came from. If we stayed on this road it would lead us to the jump-off point for the trek up the Dreaded Knoll. If we kept on going it would take us to The Villages Open Space.

And on our way back Henry the Heron was still hanging around. 

Strutting his stuff like a Playah!!

OK, so he was the most interesting bird that we saw today I was able to get a picture of.

Reflections. Shouldn't be a surprise. I do likes me some reflections.

And we were back at the park at Road's End. And beyond this is the great vastness of the Pacific.

And there you have it. Such an ordinary life. No great deadly drama; no agonizing angst; no malodorous malaise;  and certainly no exhausting ennui. No, just the mundane, enjoyable, interesting life lived one day at a time.

And, who knows what the next ordinary day will bring. But it'll be fun I bet.

Life is good.

          Hooah!!