November 30, 2008

           Here’s a mosaic of the flowers in the yard today. Except for the morning glory a.k.a. “Star of Yeltsa” I have no idea what the others are. The sizes vary, so don’t go by the photo alone. For example the first reddish orange flower is six inches across, while the orange flower that looks like a lily is just over an inch long. I preened the undergrowth in the yard earlier today after a brief morning rain. At any given time, at least six species of flowers are in bloom in the forest.

           The resident birds must be carnivores. They don’t touch the seed bell and their presence keeps other birds from doing so. I had to show Wallace to only fill the birdbath an inch deep. “Birds got knees?” Yes, they just bend the other way. Like a horse. In another interesting contrast, when I enter the house, I will naturally go to a far corner like the utility room, reading room or music room, and close the door. On the other hand, Wallace will naturally position himself so that he can watch everything. He is either sleeping or keeping an eye on everything. I have no idea why this is, but he did survive marriage and kids.

           I finished reading “Five Against The Sea”, the story of the five-month survival of a fishing boat crew in the Pacific. Went from Costa Rica to 550 miles south of Hawaii. I like reading such tales because of the ingenuity and emergence of true leadership. Really, I like to hear about how captains and GM executives lose all authority when their leadership doesn’t stem from artificial criteria (meaning basically a bigger paycheck). How rapidly they lose their “leadership qualities” when there is no policy to enforce and they have to actually lead or get out of the way.
           The book was a disappointment. Other than taking the non-structural wood and burning it to cook turtles, they just drifted a lot. The book does go on, and on, about their prayers. Continually harping on how they “lost faith” and found it again when it rained, chapter after chapter of this kind of [repetitious] hoo-ey. Psst, guys, we get it, you're Catholics.
           Several times I put the book down and it almost became the third such book I quit on in my life. (The other two being items by Ernest Hemmingway and Danielle Steele.) Then I discovered the reason on the last page, where there was a stamp “St. David Catholic School Library”.

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