Generally speaking, I have often been accused of being a wise guy. Not the movie type- real story Mob guy but just a person who should probably think before I let some words leave my mouth….

I used to marvel at my cleverness. But as time passed, I gained something called “experience” that led to some wisdom. Experience has told me that I am not always the “smartest guy” in the room, nor was I ever, despite my tendency to think so.

Because I consider my healing from this ailment a work in progress, I have realized that people generally don’t need to hear every cleaver (or so I think) reportee that pops into my head. I have realized that these non-sequiturs tend to interfere with good communication. They tend to break others’ train of thought and, more importantly, can be annoying. And in the line of work that I spent my professional career in, local government, this interference was a detriment to problem-solving. Not always, but I am confident now it was frequently so.

So, what is the point of my confession? Partially I hope for forgiveness from anyone who may read this that felt insulted, irritated, annoyed, or angry at my behavior. The other part is to get this off my chest so I can move on to the more critical points of this letter.

I want to discuss the phrase “history repeats itself.” After decades of local government service, during which I attended more committees, groups, and organizations' meetings than I can count, I began to believe that “history does repeat itself.” I think the reality is that history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. (This quote is often misattributed to Mark Twain but appears to have surfaced in use during the 1970s. 1)

Why did I think this? Well, there are specific patterns in local government work. The most obvious is the budgetary cycle. The process would begin months before the start of the new fiscal year, with department heads formulating their needs and wants list and assigning costs. It is a much more complicated process than this, but we will keep it simple for my purpose. The next step is to match these initial cost estimates with the “predicted” revenues for the upcoming fiscal year. In all my career, this initial step never had numbers that either matched or provided a surplus of predicted revenues over costs.

You say it does sound like “history (of some sort) did repeat itself,” correct? I suppose that is a strong argument. However, the more important point is the systematic nature of the processes—the connectedness of what we were doing. Yes, some processes were the same year in and year out, but to think of it in those terms is too simple.

A better way to view it is that the process or the historical mechanism exists within a system. A system with some predictable influences, such as the - in the part of Illinois where I worked- you could only levy a certain amount of property tax each year as the State of Illinois had passed the Tax Cap Law that provided limitations. However, the organic system in which this process resides is layered by local, regional, national, and international economic forces. For example, one such force, inflation, is unpredictable and impacts the cost side of the budging equation.

So, what is the point I am trying to make? Am I suggesting that studying the history - of anything is a waste of time? Certainly not! I think history studies can be crucial elements that help inform many situations.

But I suggest that problems need to be viewed in a broader, organic, and systematic nature and can not and should not be ignored. Sometimes, that requires work to perform due diligence properly. This work involves thinking, analysis, and effort to gather information.

Human beings look for a quick fix, solution, or explanation. I have many times fallen victim to this fault myself. None of us are immune to this.

Time is linear and is often the constraint on systems that push us to make decisions and commit ourselves to things before we adequately identify the hidden, oblique, and unknown risks and systematic influences.

But real wisdom comes from resisting our human nature and the forces like time that sometimes push us to rush to judgment. When we achieve this kind of wisdom, we lay our heads down on our pillows at night, at least knowing that we have done our best to serve ourselves and others.

Kindly,

RRS

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Anyway, today’s subject is the Red-tailed Hawk.  A bird of prey that I have be fascinated with- ok- borderline obsessed- as a photo subject.  As obsessions go I am hoping this kind is one that is a bit more on the “ok” side.  To persuade you of my “obsession” I have included in the gallery below but a “few” of the shots that I have collected over the last four years or so.  I need to emphasize the word “few“- sadly.

Let me be clear.  When I started on my photography journey I did not make a conscious decision to pursue Red-tailed Hawks.  In fact the obsession developed from opportunity and my fascination with all the large “birds” I was seeing along our rural highways.  I felt like something had changed.  It seemed that it was a change from when I was a kid growing up in the 60’s and 70’s in Plano, Illinois.  Of course, there is the possibility exists that the change was just my awareness.  Again, sadly, my observational powers are sometimes lacking in shall we say “power”.

At the time that my big bird awareness started to grow I did not make a connection that I was seeing mostly the same species.  In the beginning my bird of prey knowledge was pretty basic.  I knew they were hawks but did not realize the many different color variations that I was seeing could be the same hawk type.  But over time as my photo collection grew and I did my research I came to that revelation.

Now I know that Red-tailed Hawks are one of the most prevalent hawks in North America.  Their range literally extends throughout most of North America.  If you have traveled the U.S., like I have had the privilege of doing, let alone visited Canada and Mexico, you will know that the habits that the Red-tail has apparently adapted to is quite varied and testament to the bird’s adaptive skills.

If you want to read more about the Red-tail here are some resources:

• Good Natured in St. Charles: Red-tail hawk squawks about independence

  1.  Red-tailed Hawk (Wikipedia)

  2. GOOD NATURED: ‘KEEE-EER!’ RED-TAILED HAWK SCREAMS ITS FRUSTRATION

  3. Red-tailed Hawk (All-About Birds)

  4. Red-tailed Hawk (e-Bird.org)

  5. Red-tailed Hawk (BirdWeb)

  6. Red-tailed Hawk (Audubon)

If you like my photos please check me out on Intagram: @rrsearl.photosSo “If I were a Red-tailed Hawk… I would want to smile and say cheese!” 

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This memory recently struck me as I finished almost four (4) months of intentional weight loss using the NutriSystem program.  I have lost just a bit over 40 lbs.  

My journey started on February 13 when I made the decision that I wanted to improve my health through weight loss.  After years of effort via, exercise and attempts to limit my food intake, I decided I needed to get serious.  Emphasis on the word “attempts”.  

I have always had to watch my weight which goes back to when I was a child.  At age 7 I was diagnosed with Legg-Calve Perthes (LCP) Disease.  That diagnosis began years of restricted physical activity while my hip joint developed.   My physical activity restrictions caused weight gain that I learned early in life would increase my leg pain.  So weight has always been a “sore” subject (literally) with me as tried to keep it down to limit my discomfort.  

So back to my original story.   In February I made the decision to lose weight. This was a time just before the COVID-19 Pandemic caused my State (Illinois) to implement a shelter in place Order by our Governor.  So my original plan was to combine my regular exercise routine with a new dietary regiment.  Of course that did not happen.  But dispute this unexpected COVID “stay–at–home–cation” I was not deterred.  

After about a month and half I had lost nearly 20 lbs.  That was my original goal.  But I changed my mind as I decided to reset my goal to reduce my weight to a Body Mass Index (BMI) at or below 25%.  This is the upper threshold for normal weight.  So that became my new aim.

I don’t want to make this post an advertisement for any specific weight loss program.  But personally, I found that NutriSystem foods good to eat and its methodology gave me the discipline and routine I needed at a time where most of our routines were tuned on their heads.  Actually as I write this that is still the case for many of us.  But there are many other dietary programs that others might find effective.

So let me end by saying that whatever small routine you can either establish or follow during this weird time in our Country my be more beneficial than you realize.  

What did you do your COVID “stay-at-home-cation”?

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[NOTE: With this post I am starting a new and different routine.  I am going to post an original, probably unrelated and random nature, landscape, or outdoors picture that I have taken.  Sometimes there maybe, at least in my mind, a tangential connection, but most likely not.  If you like what you see please visit photo site at rrsearl.photos. If you buy ANYTHING from my site the profit will be donated to Without Warning: Supporting Those With Younger Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. (www.without-warning.net) This is a local (Chicago-land) Not-For-Profit support group through the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

My wife, Susan Frick, has worked at Rush for 23 years and is the Director of Without Warning.  

This nationally recognized program provides support to the whole family living with younger onset Alzheimer’s and has worked to reach others through their website and through the documentary, Too Soon to Forget, which is currently on PBS and Amazon. (www.TooSoonToForget.net).   

If you purchase from my site (RRSearl Photography)- thank you!  If you don’t that is OK too.  If you are so inclined feel free to drop me a note at rrsearl.photos@gmail.com.  Feedback, both constructive criticism and/or positive comments are always welcome.]

Warning: Digression Near! As a young child growing up in Plano, Illinois I loved the outdoors and I loved science. Biology and Environmental sciences in particular were my passion. The fact that my dad was middle school science teacher did not harm the encouragement and support I got at home.

I collected everything I could find as I wondered the fields, creeks and woods of my childhood. My mom, an elementary teacher, was very supportive of my collecting cravings. She did have one rule. I could not bring anything “alive” inside. It had to stay in the garage.

So I collected insects, reptiles, snakes, and other “creepy crawlers” to my hearts desire and delight. Not only did I collect these things I ravenously read as much as I could find at my local public library on every thing I brought home.

So now, as an adult, and a wiser individual, I collect things – digitally. It is environmentally friendlier and a lot of fun!

[OK now back to the purpose of this Post] People seem to like what I do so I was urged to start this site. But I still don’t have a desire nor need to make money from photography. I just enjoy sharing my passion and nature experiences with others.

I am very pleased to announce that I have worked with my wife to use money I make from the sale of anything on this site to help others. This money will go to a particular group of people who can always use some extra support.

So the profits from all purchases from this site will be donated to Without Warning: Supporting Those With Younger Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. (www.without-warning.net) This is a local (Chicagoland) Not-For-Profit support group through the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center. I can’t be more thrilled with this initiative.

My wife, Susan Frick, has worked at Rush for 23 years and is the Director of Without Warning.

This nationally recognized program provides support to the whole family living with younger onset Alzheimer’s and has worked to reach others through their website and through the documentary, Too Soon to Forget, which is currently on PBS and Amazon. (www.TooSoonToForget.net)

I have seen firsthand the good work of Without Warning.

Below is an example gallery (American Goldfinch) of the some of the picture you can find on my site at http://rrsearl.photos/. Please check back often as I will always be adding new content.

Despite our national differences that – unfortunately, some of our ‘leaders” seem to want to draw more attention to…not less, I am reminded that I was raised in a household and a community where I was taught that one of America’s greatest attributes is our diversity of opinion, race, religion, etc. From our differences, we draw strength, develop new ideas and creatively solve problems that many others can not overcome.

Our freedom, our liberty is a blessing albeit, I am afraid, a somewhat fragile one. We should use this blessing to build each other up and not tear each other down.

Maybe naively – this is how I was raised to think and view our world. I am an optimist. I hope others can and will join me in optimism. We must persevere in this as well as the relentless pursuit of equality of liberty. RRS.
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• The art and beauty of dancing Cedar Waxwings.

Introduction

The Cedar Waxwing is a common bird found in the Midwest. Certainly common in Illinois. Sometimes things that are often around us are overlooked.

Our powers of observation are dulled. We should know they are there but because we see them often we don’t see their uniqueness. We miss their beauty. They become part of the environmental background- noise. Like elevator music. Like the humdrum of conversation at a busy restaurant. The Cedar Waxwing can be that victim. Clouded in commonest.

So for the moments you may spend reading my humble post -I hope the collection of photos presented here, convince you of the beauty of what I like to call the “dancing waxwing“. Please enjoy.

But first a little about the Cedar Waxwing.

The Cedar Waxwing is a social bird that is commonly found hanging in groups. The Waxwings stay in Illinois year-round. For those of you who are “backyard feeders” than you should know that Waxwings are fruit lovers. It is suggested you should try to plant trees and shrubs that bear small fruits, such as dogwood, serviceberry, cedar, juniper, hawthorn, and winterberry.

During their breeding season, the Waxwing prefers insects.

Sources:

• Cedar Waxwing. All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/id

• Wikipedia contributors. (2019, December 26). Cedar waxwing. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:32, January 1, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cedar_waxwing&oldid=932544915

More Information:

• Witmer, M. C., et al. (1997). Cedar waxwing : Bombycilla cedrorum. Washington, D.C. Philadelphia, PA, American Ornithologists’ Union ; The Academy of Natural Sciences.

• Crouch, J. E. (1931). A study of the cedar waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum Vieillot. Ithaca, N. Y.

• Avery, M. L., et al. Cedar waxwings.

• Yow, J. (2009). The armchair birder : discovering the secret lives of familiar birds. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press.

• Rosen, M. J. and S. Fellows (2009). The cuckoo’s haiku and other birding poems. Somerville, Mass., Candlewick Press.

• Lemmon, R. S. (1952). Our amazing birds; the little-known facts about their private lives. Garden City, N.Y.,, American Garden Guild and Doubleday.

• Mahnken, J. (1996). The backyard bird-lover’s guide. Pownal, VT, Storey Communications.

• Eastman, J. Birds nearby : getting to know 45 common species of Eastern North America.

• Norden, R. L. (1966). The cedar waxwing in Maryland. College Park, MD, Natural Resources Institute.

• Adams, J. L. (2014). Ten thousand birds. folio one : from the forest to the plains. [Fairbanks, Alaska], Taiga Press.

• Gardner, D. and N. Overcott (2006). Fifty common birds of the upper Midwest. A Bur oak book. Iowa City, University of Iowa Press,: 1 online resource (125 p.).

• Erickson, L. and M. Read (2015). Into the nest : intimate views of the courting, parenting, and family lives of familiar birds. North Adams, MA, Storey Publishing.

• Sorenson, S. (2013). Birds in the yard month by month. Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books.

• Walter Foster Jr. (Firm) (2019). Forest birds : field guide & drawing book : learn how to identify and draw birds from the great outdoors! Mission Viejo, CA, Walter Foster Jr., an imprint of The Quarto Group.

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the donegal dog,

is determined to find his,

way to his home

During the summer of 2019, my wife and I had great pleasure, joy and opportunity to visit the Republics of Ireland and Northern Ireland. As our tour guide, Dermot commented – the 10-day bus tour throughout the Emerald Isles- “is a Tapas of Irish culture and communities. ” He was correct. But we saw so much! We did so much! We experienced so much! We met so many wonderful people!

One experience near the Northern Ireland border was of the canine variety. While on our tour bus and driving through Donegal- the town- I observed the “Donegal dog” or “Don” as I like to refer to him.

As I looked out the bus I watched this incredibly confident little dog casually walking down the street. “Don” walked by people who paid him no attention. He seemed focused. He seemed on a mission. Yet he seemed like he had not a care in the world.

As our bus made its way down the street “Don” rambled parallel to our path without hardly ever a stop to sniff and certainly no time taken to “mark” his way like so many of his canine counterparts.

Odd. Or at least it struck me as odd.

Every once in a while I think about “Don”. I wonder where is he? I wonder if he really was what he appeared to be…a confident and carefree canine.

Since we have two rescue dogs I am reminded of Don. I sometimes wonder if “Don” had a home. I hope he did and does. And I hope his owners are caring, loving and appreciative of “Don”.

So wherever “Don” the Donegal dog is today…I wish him well.

Carry on my friend...my wayward friend……..

I watch you today
in the past you saw me here
we may again soon

waiting, wondering, worrying

on the wing, safety

Recently I got the chance to witness, up close, how a group of crows (the weak) through numbers, perseverance, and sheer annoyance were able to chase off a much stronger foe- a Red-Tailed Hawk. For some strange reason, the prize was a light pole. A sort of animal kingdom of the hill…..

• The Crows of the “Hill”

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Defined: Graffiti- “usually unauthorized writing or drawing on a public surface.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, s.v. “graffiti,” accessed August 13, 2019, http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com. Defined: Graffiti- ” usually unauthorized writing or drawing on a public surface.”

In most communities graffiti is seen as a problem, but in Seattle, it is apparently part of the accepted landscape. At least that was my impression.

My first visit to Seattle, about five years ago, I did not notice it. But on all the subsequent visits I have, I admit, with odd interest. Where I am from in the midwest graffiti is generally frowned upon and communities (most) work hard to have it removed as quickly as possible. But in Seattle, I began to see it so frequently I began to wonder who really cared….anyone?

Granted, it is not everywhere, but it is not hard to find. So a quick internet inquiry yielded some context and caution in my judgment. Apparently, graffiti is “ok”, for some folks, in what can only be described as a modern cosmopolitan and growing urban center. Not all mind you. But there is a certain tolerance that seems to exist.

However, the city government does not seem to condone it. In fact, the Mayor’s office has a web page devoted to tips and advice related to prevention. It is found at https://tinyurl.com/y3za3rbh.

I suppose different “paint” strokes for different folks.

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