Do the Little Things

I am a conservationist. I am an animal advocate. I am an environmentalist.

I will not apologize for the way I feel, the way I believe, or the way I act. I will continue to write about and post about these issues. I will continue to pick up trash in my neighborhood, trash tossed from car windows by people too lazy to properly dispose of their cans and bottles. I will continue to use reusable grocery bags, eschewing the single-use grocery bags handed out by the billions in this country every year. I will continue to take short showers. I will not own a gas-guzzling car. I will recycle everything I can. I will reuse plastic bread bags and other plastic bags that cannot be recycled. Those bags can be used to pick up dog poop from my yard, or to line small trash cans. 

I will continue to minimize my consumption of animal products. I switched from cow's milk to almond or cashew milk a few years ago. I haven't eaten pork for many years, and I won't eat lamb, veal, wild game or any endangered kind of fish. I enjoy vegetarian sausage and plant-based burgers. Yes, I do still eat cheese (which I love) and yogurt. I am a work in progress.

I will continue to support organizations working to preserve wild areas, and to protect animals such as wolves, bears, lions and elephants. I will continue to oppose trophy hunting or any form of animal killing for fun. I will continue to oppose coyote killing contests, and I will support all efforts to make such spectacles illegal. I will continue to oppose the wearing of fur, whether the fur comes from wild or 'farmed' animals. I try to avoid buying food that contains palm oil, although that blood-tainted oil seems to be everywhere.

I will continue to boycott businesses and states that engage in or encourage animal cruelty. I recently canceled plans to visit Namibia next year after that country sold the rights to murder a well-known bull elephant to a trophy hunter. I stopped visiting Yellowstone National Park, my favorite place in the US to visit, until the states of Montana and Wyoming stop the slaughter of wolves to placate the cattle industry. Do my boycotts change anything? Do they have an impact? On their own, probably not. But if enough people join the boycott, we may have an impact.

All these things I do are easily accomplished. It takes no effort to pick up and dispose of a can or bottle thrown from a car window. It takes no effort to throw paper into a paper bag for recycling. It takes no time to have my groceries packed into reusable bags. If enough people do little things, the impact can be huge. 

There are many people who do so much more than I do. Some have given up their cars, while others follow a vegan lifestyle. I do what I can. As I get older, I find it easier to give up some of the things I used to love, for the greater good. As I move farther into the sunset of my life, I worry more about my impact on this planet and the beings -- plant and animal -- that share the world with me.

Please join me and help save the only planet at this point able to sustain life. If we all do the little things, we can make a big impact.

Why I Love to Write

What is it about writing that I so enjoy?

I have known I have talent as a writer since middle school, when a teacher invited me to join the school newspaper. I later worked as a public affairs and communications specialist for a large humane society and for a well-known federal agency. I'm not creative enough to be a fiction writer, but I do like to write about things I know, things I feel, and things I have experienced. 

• I love the emotional release (venting) I get from writing about things that upset me (such as the current state of politics in the United States). 
• I write to express my opinion about something, or to educate people about the ongoing slaughter of elephants and wolves. 
• I also enjoy the craftsmanship of writing. I like to revisit a sentence or paragraph or an entire piece of work and search until I find just the right word, or rearrange paragraphs until they make more sense. 
• As an introvert, writing allows me to express myself while remaining mostly anonymous and avoiding the uncomfortable feeling of interacting with a lot of people I don't know. 
• I get a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when I finish writing something. And if I'm not happy with it, I can always let it sit for a while and then revisit it with fresh eyes. 
• Writing can help me articulate and organize my thoughts. 
• Writing can help me process grief. 
• Sometimes I write just to release emotions, never intending to publish or share what I wrote. 
• Writing allows me to share with others some of my wonderful travel experiences.
• Writing helps me challenge myself to improve my skill as a writer. After all, the best way to become a better writer is to ... write!
• My reward for writing comes from inside me. I don't get paid to write. I have had a few articles published in a local newspaper and in the newsletters of a few non-profit organizations. I have won awards from the Dog Writers Association of America. But my biggest reward comes from knowing that I have produced a well-written article or blog post.
• Writing produces, for me, the joy of creating something.  The subject matter may not be -- and often isn't -- unique. But my perspective, my story, is uniquely mine.
• Writing lets me indulge my creative side, just as photography does. I enjoy photography more, but for me, the two creative processes go hand in hand.
• Sometimes, I just feel a need to write something.
• I am a writer. I don't get paid for my work, and not a lot of people read what I write. But I am a writer. I startled myself a few years ago when somebody asked me what I do, and I replied "I am a writer." I am a writer because I write, and because I consider myself a writer.

So this is why I write. If you enjoy reading my blog, please let me know what you like, and don't like, about it. And I would love to have you sign up as a follower. You won't be bombarded with e-mails, but you will be notified whenever a new blog post is available. Your e-mail address won't be shared or sold to anybody.

Thanks for reading!

Loving the Sunshine

I live in the high desert, at an elevation of about 5,300 feet, in America's southwest.

I love the low humidity, the clean air and the amazing blue sky. I love the views of the mountains, and the stunning sunrises. And I really love the 300 days of sunshine we get every year.

But I wouldn't want to live here without the convenience of air conditioning, and I can't imagine how difficult life must have been for those who inhabited this area way back when. It's hot. It's dry. It's beautiful. It's a high elevation desert.

I so appreciate living in a cool house. But there is something wonderful about walking out of the cool and into the heat and sunshine. The sun on my bare arms and legs fills me with a feeling of not just warmth, but with a sense of well-being. 

There is an actual physiological reason for this feeling of well-being. Exposure to sunlight is believed to increase the brain’s release of the  hormone serotonin, which is associated with boosting mood and creating a sense of calm. Light therapy, or exposure to artificial sunlight, is sometimes used to combat depression in people who live in areas with shorter periods of sunshine (such as in the far north).

I remember many years ago, when I was a college student, lying outside on a beach towel, soaking up the sun. I used baby oil and dark tanning lotion to give myself a "dark, tropical tan." And I do get quite tan, despite my (formerly) blonde hair and blue eyes. I got burned a few times, but not as often as I would have expected. These days, if I will be outside for more than a few minutes, I put on sunscreen. I wear a wide-brimmed hat. I am not without sunglasses when I'm outdoors. I had one small pre-cancerous spot removed from my right hand. As wonderful as the sunshine is, it also carries serious dangers.

In addition to the feeling of warmth from the sun, I also must have sunlight in order to be happy. One of the reasons I love my current house is all the light it allows inside. There are lots of large windows, and five skylights. Every car I buy must have a sun roof. If it doesn't already have one, I pay to have one installed.

Grey, cloudy days make me depressed. The occasional rainy day provides a nice break from the brilliant sunshine, and I do enjoy that change in the weather. Rain is always welcome. But there is no way I could live in Seattle, Portland or Chicago (where I grew up) with their long stretches of dreary weather.

Sometime the best antidepressants aren't medications, but Mother Nature, being outdoors, and lots of sunshine.

Independence Day 2019

I love my country. I am patriotic. I stand for the national anthem. I believe that all people should be treated fairly. I served my country for more than a quarter century as a federal employee. I vote. I stand for the national anthem.

I am not afraid of people from other countries, or with different religious beliefs. I do not fear immigrants, After all, those who founded America were immigrants. They were dissenters. Some, if not all, were considered troublemakers and traitors. Sometimes people have to be troublemakers to effect real change. Where would be be if our forefathers hadn't had the courage to rock the boat, to put their lives and their fortunes on the line for the greater good?

But I'm not a zealot. I don't own a gun. I don't tell people who have concerns about the direction this country has taken to "move to Russia" or "get the hell out." I believe that people can love their country, but still disagree with the decisions its elected officials make. People can love their country and still become activists to try and change things they believe need to be changed. Indeed, working to make a great country even better through peaceful activism is as it should be.

I believe the current situation on this country's southern border is a disaster. We cannot and we should not be expected to allow hundreds of thousands of immigrants to enter the country every month without some sort of screening. There have to be controls in place. There must be a mechanism for screening people. But keeping people, particularly children who have been taken from their parents, locked in cages is morally wrong. Making them sleep on a concrete floor, depriving them of showers and toothbrushes and other basic hygiene supplies, is morally wrong. The entire immigration system is woefully broken.

While Congress and the president squabble over funding to help provide basic care (claiming the US can't afford to provide such things as soap and toothpaste), people are suffering. Some have died while in US custody. All the while, a country that allegedly can't afford to care for its immigrants apparently can afford to spend hundreds of millions of dollars so the president can play golf at one of his resorts every weekend. It can afford to send his daughter to a meeting of heads of state in Japan so she can pretend to be the secretary of state. It can afford to put on a massive parade to honor the narcissistic president as he campaigns for reelection, under the guise of honoring America's Independence Day.

This isn't patriotism. This is ripping off the American taxpayers who foot the bill for this homage to a president who will do anything for attention. This is politicizing our military. This is stealing money from the woefully underfunded National Park Service to help pay for this salute to a five-time draft dodger, a salute instigated by the draft dodger himself.

This year, more than ever, let us celebrate our country. Let us not forget the principles upon which it was founded: Justice for all. Equality. Equal rights. The pursuit of happiness. The poor should have the same rights as the wealthy. Women should have the same rights as men. Those who practice a religion different from Christianity should have the same rights to worship as do Christians. Gays should have the same rights as do straight people. Those with dark skin or from another country should have the same basic rights as do those with 'white' skin.

Regardless of our financial status, regardless of of our political leanings, regardless of our country of original, regardless of the color of our skin, we all are entitled to the same basic human rights. Giving rights to one group of people doesn't take rights away from others. But now, it seems, the wealthy, the political conservatives and the evangelicals are trying to take rights away from those who are different. This is not America. This is the result of a narcissistic, corrupt, morally bankrupt president and his followers.

As we celebrate the founding of the mightiest nation on earth, let us not forget the principles upon which this country was founded. We are better than this, America. Let us not forget.

Botswana Safari: Part II

Recently I got to revisit the southeast African country of Botswana, and it is not at all as it was when I was there 5 years ago. 

Many of the areas where we drove should have been under water. We got stuck in the sand once, and twice had to go off road to get around the deeply rutted sandy road. Whereas during my previous visit we climbed into our mokoros (dugout canoes) to explore the delta by boat from the back of our lodge, this year's outings required a 15 to 20 minute drive to the water.

This wasn't the best African safari I have experienced, but it was wonderful nonetheless. I got to spend time with three friends from the United Kingdom. And I experienced some amazing things. 

• Getting to see not one, but two, aardwolves was a special treat. This was my 7th safari in southern Africa, and the only time I have seen an aardwolf. This photo shows an aardwolf pup peering out of its den.
  
  
• On our final game drive the morning of our departure, we saw a newborn giraffe with its mother. This giraffe was so young that its umbilicus was still attached. 
• A male lion was just a few feet from our vehicle when it started to roar. What an experience that was!
• For the first time, I saw sable antelope. Our first sighting was of a single antelope, but later in the trip, we saw numerous members of this rare species.
• Our last camp, known as Kwando Lagoon, was situated on the Kwando river, which was full of hippos. They grunted, groaned and snorted all night. Some nights I could hear a hippo just outside our tent pulling up vegetation to munch on.
• We had stopped along a river to watch a group of elephants drinking and spraying themselves with mud, when one of them, a bull, started walking toward our vehicle with great determination. It never charged us, but it gave every impression that it wasn't happy with our presence. Unhappy elephants have a particular gait that shows their agitation. Our guide quickly started the engine and we made a quick escape.
• We watched a brief fight, complete with lots of roaring, involving two adult lion brothers. One had been mating with a lioness the day before, and apparently the brother wanted in on the action. Both lions sustained minor injuries on the face, but eventually the younger brother gave up his attempts. The female, for her part, lay in the shade watching her two suitors fight over her.
• After lunch each day, we were given a break of a couple of hours during the hottest part of the day, when most animals are not active. I was sitting on the small porch attached to my tent, reading. A small herd of animals browsed nearby. One of the  elephants appeared at the corner of the tent, pulling branches from some shrubs. It wasn't long before this young elephant was standing right next to the porch, pulling up vegetation growing underneath the tent, which was on an elevated platform. It was so close it could have reached out and touched me with its trunk. I remained motionless until it moved on.
• Another special moment was seeing an adult male lion babysitting his four little cubs while mama lion got some rest.
• We spent time watching two cheetah brothers chowing down on a freshly killed warthog one evening.
• As we left our second camp early one morning, we were treated to the sight of a pack of five African wild dogs. These long-legged members of the canine family are endangered, so it was quite a treat to not only see them, but be able to safely follow them until they found a sunny spot and settled down for a nap. The alpha female of the pack had
  
  
  sustained a serious neck injury in a fight with a member of another pack. She moved slowly and kept to herself. We also watched as the alpha male paid close attention to his 'girlfriend' in the pack, who also suffered a neck injury inflicted by a jealous alpha female.
• We had stopped on a sandy road to watched a couple of bull elephants sparring and pushing each other around. The incident didn't take more than a minute. One of the elephants then backed down and walked away. The other bull then turned its sights on our vehicle and actually started charging us, running down the road behind us as we sped away as quickly as sandy road would allow. Our guide believed the aggression was the result of he bull coming into musth, a time when bull elephants are in a heightened state of aggression due to very high testosterone levels.
• We got to see sitatunga (I love that name!), a marsh antelope that is very shy. Other antelope included the tsessebe, red lechwe and the common impala.
• My friends and I spent time with a couple of groups of meerkats. These cute little animals stay in their burrows until the air outside warms up. When they first crawl out of the dens, they turn their bellies to the sun to soak up the warmth. Then they begin looking for breakfast. Favorite foods include grubs and larvae, and we spotted one lucky meerkat eating a frog it had caught underground.
• Being up high is an advantage for meerkats, as it provides a better viewpoint for spotting potential predators. So these cute little members of the mongoose family could frequently be found sitting atop the shoulder or head of anyone sitting nearby. I had two of them sitting on my outstretched legs, until they began to squabble and darted away.

As we flew to the landing strip nearest our lodge in the Kalahari Desert, we could see large areas of blackened earth below. Some areas were still burning, with flames visible from the air. Once on the ground, we could see and smell the smoke. In a couple of places flames were visible, and smoke filled the air. The lodge where we stayed for four nights had been evacuated just a couple of weeks previously, and another lodge had been lost to the fire. I developed a nagging cough and sneezing from the smoke. I felt sorry for the lodge staff and for the animals that were subjected to the poor air for more than a few days.

In addition to hearing a lion roar from just a few feet away, I heard the trumpeting of an irritated elephant from very close as well. We were driving back to the lodge one evening. Apparently an elephant, unseen in the dark, wasn't happy with how close we were. Let's just say that the trumpeting of an angry elephant is very loud!

Despite some close encounters with wild animals, I have never felt afraid during my several trips to Africa on safari. Most of the time, animals intend no harm. The lion's roars aren't directed at humans, but at other male lions in the area. Elephants trumpet and bluff charge to remind us humans how big and powerful they are. (Of course, elephants have killed people, but such occasions are rare). Cheetahs aren't a threat to humans, Leopards, which are rarely seen in Africa, have killed people in India. I trust our guides to get us out of harm's way, and I have a pretty good idea of when a wild animal is feeling a need to attack.

We have started talking about next year's African safari, but no decisions have been made. Wherever it is, I'm sure it will be amazing.