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Friday, April 19, 2013

Too Big...

I have been sent a couple messages and asked about why I haven't commented on the events that have been unfolding in Boston over the last few days. This morning as I keep hearing more and more about the situation over there and it's ever increasing complexity I have decided to go ahead and try to explain my thoughts on this and why I have not been making much comment regarding it.

The first reason is the ambiguity over the events as they occur. I was at work when the first explosions ripped through the crowds. By the time I had left I had heard of the second explosion and then the "library explosion". By the time I went back to work for the evening I had heard that the library had not in fact been a bomb. This change in the fact illustrates perfectly why I don't think me rushing to blog about it is going to help the true facts to be distributed the public since they weren't known nor passed to me at that time.  This morning's constantly changing story lines and information again confirms that I don't know what is really occurring on the ground in Boston and until then I don't need to spout off about it. And yes, I use the term spout off because that's exactly what blogging is. I am not a reporter, I am not a social editorialist. I am a private citizen with a blog that I use to communicate personal news, local events, and my opinions so in that light I am spouting off.

Secondly, and to be quite frank, I am somewhat wordless regarding events like these. I don't have the ability to often communicate the way I feel when something like this occurs, because I am often feeling so much that I don't know from one second to the next how I truly am feeling. I am someone that even in day to day life often feels the need to take a minute here and there to decide how I feel about something or someone otherwise I fear being to compulsive and just reacting rather than deciding on the better road to take. Day to day this is fine other than I tend to be a bit solitary frequently, but in big news headlines and events, this can stop me dead in my tracks, and this is how I feel regarding these events. I at once am disgusted by the attack on any people no matter who does the attacking and who's the attacked or how the attack comes. An act of terror is despicable to me in my core and I simply cannot wrap my head around how anyone can think that it's morally acceptable for themselves to take the lives of others in an act of hatred.

Quickly behind my disgust follows sympathy, prayer, and hope for the survivors and their family and loved ones. And mixed all throughout these emotions is the deep and dark outrage for the innocent and the fear that this could have been myself or those I love. And all together that equals something that is too big for me to express. At this point I choose to show the one emotion I think is the safest and most appropriate and that is the sympathy for those affected either directly or indirectly. So, before anyone assumes that I am unaware of the situation, or that I'm to self centered to make note of it, please take into account that I am aware, I am sensitive to it, but I know not how to approach it without letting my outrage lead the way and causing more harm than any good that may come of it. Through times like these the calmer people with level heads should prevail to act, not those like me for in these situations moral indignation and fear only breed more hatred and do not foster love, acceptance, and the sense of community that should come in these dark times.

With that said, on one of my many dog walks that I use as a calming agent for a fairly tumultuous personality I got some pictures of the latest snow storm.
It started with the morning reminding me to go get a camera as I cleaned off the car.

And continued with a good bout of playing in the snow.
And Shiela may be seventeen but my four pawed all terrain pup still likes to get her cold snow romps in.
And let's not forget Emmitt the Squirrel Hunter.
On the hunt.
Target Acquired! As you can see, Sullivan is sometimes confused as to what the target is... He think's Emmitt is here and is more interested in getting him to play a good game of wrestle tag than chasing a squirrel which hey, if it keeps them from actually catching a squirrel, have at it boys.

I often use dog walks to hammer out plans or thoughts on upcoming events, ideas I've had or just a calm down period from things that have irked me. It works for us, and the kids appreciate it. The morning of this walk as I walked into the wind worrying over something I glanced across the river and something in the back of my head said, "hey, that doesn't fit in" and forced a closer inspection.
Can you see it?
A little closer. Sorry, I only had the little point and shoot Canon ELPH with me due to cold fingers.
Here I fiddled with the pics a bit on the computer to get a couple better images.
That's right, a Great Blue Heron. I think the camera did a decent job since I was on the far shore. I was unable to blow up the image anymore with out pixelation. I'm just gal I had a camera with me this time. A few weeks ago I think I found some very large mountain lion tracks (they dwarfed Sullivan's paws and were rounder and showed no claw marks) and of course, I didn't even have the phone on me to snap a picture.

This guy caught my eye because his outline was to smooth a shape. His color and size actually blended well with the far shores occasional rocks and what not. It's migration time for a lot of birds. I was surprised to see a turkey vulture flying in the snow the other day and when leaving the restaurant a few days ago there were what were either swans, pelicans, or storks flying. They were big and white with black wing tips but to high for me to see much else. If I had to guess they were swans passing through or one of our batches of pelicans a bit early for the season. I know, I'm still amazed that someplace as land locked as Wyoming has pelicans and cormorants on the river.
We also have the ever present geese, just like back home. There may not be as many, but I swear they are just as loud.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.


1 comment:

  1. love heron's...always a great sighting. the bombings are terrible as is this stand off. (haven't checked the news) have often worried the terrorists would change over to smaller bombs more frequently and more widespread. they could be sitting in many cities already just waiting.

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