Tuesday, August 03, 2021 —(In 19 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

In my neighborhood, this summer’s superb Raven parents raised these pictured kids. For generations, local Ravens have been teaching their babies to drink from my horses’ troughs. These youngsters patiently are waiting until I move away before they drop to drink. Actually, they’re not particularly worried that I’m only several feet from them, also pointing a camera.

Ravens are very intelligent. The infants while learning to drink from my tanks become accustomed to seeing me around. I make sure to appear very non-aggressive, and gradually distances between us shorten. Sometimes the birds even seem to be playing with me.

They’re incredibly noisy. Scientists have captured Raven vocalizations, the sounds and contexts, into something like thirty-three distinct categories. Ravens constantly are announcing that they’re flying, landing, or waiting in a treetop and watching. To untrained human ears, all their sounds are similar loud and raspy mutterings. But each family has unique sounds, communicating an individual’s activities and whereabouts to other members, holding everybody together.

Parents often park babies at my water troughs before taking off to hunt and leaving them. The kids obediently understand and stay put, although parents might not return for quite awhile. Gradually the waiting babies become familiar with my presence. Once they’re reasonably comfortable being fairly near me, I’ll think about pointing a camera at them.

These birds are fun and funny. Some images of them are wonderful.

Dear Friends: Many of these kids often reappear, and eventually as parents themselves. Diana

Monday, August 02, 2021 —(In 20 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

We go for a walk, Peaches and I, on a hot summer afternoon. He watches everything, says “Hello” and “Goodbye” to others we meet out walking.

Peaches is a distinctive character, alert and carefree. Best, he’s finally showing signs of maturing. He’s lived with me four years, is turning sixteen, becoming easier to live with. He seems now a more relaxed bird, although still very noisy.

He’s a Citron Cockatoo, the smallest of the breed, considered perhaps the least talkative. Nonetheless, he has screaming sessions that produce hugely annoying racket. Especially when I’m trying to focus on something particularly interesting in a book or on television. It’s impossible to ignore the bird’s demanding outbursts.

I know that Peaches has a superb vocabulary, even if Citron’s do talk less than the larger Cockatoos. Peaches uses his vocabulary at his choice, not necessarily when someone’s encouraging him to talk.

On a signal that I might leave the house, like opening a drawer that holds my wallet or rattling a car key, Peaches always announces, “Bye, bye!” I nod and answer, as if to a human, and who wouldn’t? Whenever I return, he’s offering a cheery, “Hello, hello!”

His condominium cage is beside large windows. On seeing an approaching stranger, a delivery person or visiting friend, Peaches screams out alarms. My dogs rush to the windows, add their noises to his, and I’m duly alerted to possible danger.

There’s always clamor around here. If the dogs are outside, if they notice activity that makes them bark, Peaches joins in with his own effective barking sounds.

I’m certain of his giant vocabulary, because sometimes Peaches launches into loud talking. He spills a string of words revealing an amazing variety of stored sounds. Previously, he has lived with women and with men, and so, changes his voice to mimic the gender he’s copying.

It’s great fun when Peaches suddenly breaks into loud laughter. He sounds exactly like a human in the middle of belly laughing. Always, it’s impossible to resist responding. I laugh along loudly.

I love this bird.

Dear Friends: By definition, a bird’s a reptile. Amazing creatures, those. Diana

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Sunday, August 01, 2021 —(In 21 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

These are my equines, enjoying the rare event of being allowed on a summer pasture. They’re happy as fat cats.

Summer grass grows loaded with sugar and almost instantly makes my animals balloon in weight. It’s different these days, because for a change, they’re all working hard enough to utilize nutrients. That prevents sugar energy from sitting and becoming stored as fat, perhaps also damaging their hooves.

Like people, horses love sugar and most will accept anything people might eat. For example, mine love offerings of fruits and unsalted nuts. After a horse grabbed from my hand and consumed it, I recognized they’ll go for ham sandwiches. One enjoys watching as a horse chews, slurps, and relishes an unpeeled orange.

Having a horse means keeping it busy. I used to ride horseback all the time. Both are willing, trusty, sure-footed, and kind. They’ve carried me up mountains, across busy streams, and down into canyons. My two are full sisters from Eastern Oregon, where they had been packed to haul equipment for creating or improving forest trails, participated in a rodeo drill team, and carried riders into mountains, canyons, and forests.

One that had been trained as a driving horse inspired me to learn to drive, and eventually have my other horse trained for driving. Over time, I began to ride less and drive more, because it’s a wonderful exercise for getting a horse into terrific muscular condition.

My donkey, too, has begun exercising. Daily, Miss Pimmy is hitched to “the Gater”, a ranch vehicle, and must trot to keep up with it. This is helping Pimmy work off excess weight and achieve muscling.

Thus, my equines are enjoying time on summer grass. Their workouts are earning them daily one hour on a pasture belonging to my neighbor, John. He lives just across the road and loves animals.

Dear Friends: Animals aren’t ornaments, they’re to be fed, used, conditioned, and enjoyed. Diana

Saturday, July 31, 2021 —(In 22 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

Here’s a final photo of the donkey belly that’s about to disappear. I’ve found a way to exercise and strength-build this lazy girl.

She dislikes my idea, and too bad. Sweet Pimmy, you’ve needed a consistent job or effective exercise.

For years, a job and slimming exercises for Pimmy have been on my mind. I’d love havng her as a driving donkey, but haven’t found harness tack that fits her. Pimmy is a standard-size donk, and there’s tack available for minis but not for standards.

Another question has been how to effectively exercise a lazy fat donkey? Pimmy routinely follows my horses over forest trails. She’s totally bonded and dependably follows. Here’s what I see when Pimmy follows: she’s sauntering, eating, rolling, scratching against tree trunks, and often making us wait while slowly she catches up.

For years, my other consideration had been about the safety of hitching her to my Gater and making her trot behind it. That seemed not a good idea, unsafe. But this week we experimented. I tied her lead rope to the Gater, made her follow, and it worked!

We circle the dry lot several times very slowly, and let her loosen-up by walking. Then we pick up enough speed to force her into a trot. At first, I want her to trot the equivalent of one mile. Once she’s stronger and does a mile easily, she’d start trotting for longer distances.

What’s it like, circling this way with her? Well, Pimmy isn’t a happy trotter, but I’m pleased.

This is proving to re-energize me. I’ll again start searching for harnessing that fits this donkey. Her future may include driving lessons after all.

Pimmy is smarter than any horse, and also cuter. She deserves more than being a mere ornament.

Dear Friends: If I were limited to one large animal, it’d be a donkey, wonderful pet! Diana

Friday, July 30, 2021 —(In 23 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

For the first time I’ve written to an individual active on twitter. Hawon Jung is a South Korean writer who posted an editorial in today’s NYT which speaks to the changing role of women in that nation’s culture. She explains that Korean men are grappling with a wave of feminism, which still is young but achieving hard-won gains against a national and deeply entrenched patriarchy.

I wrote to let her know how much I appreciated the article, that I look forward to her new book about Korea’s culture.

I’ve known little about South Korea’s culture, but have begun learning because some superb videos are coming from that country. These modern works are tops artistically, and with scripts that force unaware viewers, who wish to understand better their situations and flows, to learn about Korea’s political history and entrenched caste culture.

The South Korean video offered currently on Netflix, “Mr. Sunshine”, is excellent, which is recognizable on first viewing. But for uninformed viewers it’s not easy to understand story, flow, and culture. I wanted a better grasp on the story so did a little research, and also watched the video several more times. A bit of knowledge helped, because each viewing made story and script more clear, made the production meaningful and powerful.

For we who are aware of active politics between South and North Korea, but know little about the nation’s history and culture, the modern offerings by Korean artists can enlighten and excite.

I highly recommend “Mr. Sunshine”. Also, Hawon Jung’s editorial in today’s NYT. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/opinion/international-world/korea-emoji-feminism-misogyny.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

Dear Friends: The world getting smaller influences South Korean’s historically silent women. Diana

Thursday, July 29, 2021 —(In 24 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

I’m running outside and back in, rotating hoses and allowing each section of my garden twenty minutes of water. Today will be blisteringly hot, yet again in the nineties. Daily, I’ve pushed around more and more routines, doing them much earlier or later.

It isn’t as if “very early” and “very late” are the same as a few weeks ago. Here in the PNW, mornings have begun turning light later, and darkness overcomes lightness earlier, around nine o’clock. Only weeks ago, daylights lingered until around nine-thirty. That I know as a “daylight tracker” who must feed horses several times through daytime hours. As daylights increase or wane I’m adjusting feeding schedules, and all else routine, too.

Time adjusting is ongoing, but this year we’ve different weather. PNW was freezing into mid-May, and then sweltering through a stretch of intense one-hundred-plus degrees heat. Typical PNW summers, pleasant although somewhat hot, no longer are predictable.

The worst part of intense heat, wildfires, mostly are spontaneous. They’re now heating up the West Coast. We’ve learned that a vehicle parked on dry grass could ignite fire. We’ve learned that old wildfires might not completely burn out, but can reignite.

Watering lawns and gardens assists against spreading wildfires, but another problem emerges these days. Water has become very scarce. Winters are bringing too little new snow, and summers are over-melting old snow. Ancient glaciers are collapsing. We need more water.

Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan steps in the right direction, for America desperately needs repairs. More is needed, too, and globally. Among nations must be a climate plan, agreed to and implemented soon. Nations holding joint climate discussions must cut their mumbling and adopt meaningful goals.

Our Earth needs worldwide agreed-on plans with clear key goals that can be met, in other words, a carefully planned structure that’s workable. Meaningful planning must include effective leadership toward achieving goals and communications designed to keep us all apprised.

Dear Friends: Our world grows ever smaller, making rains, fires, earthquakes, all very personal. Diana

Wednesday, July 28, 2021 —(In 25 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

I grew up during the the post World War II years in a dysfunctional family. My childhood lessons relative to achieving success in adulthood were, (1) find a husband and (2) learn typing and become a secretary.

I failed to achieve the first goal but easily mastered the art of typing, rapidly and accurately which did land clerical and secretarial jobs. Eventually, social changes occurred with higher education becoming available in night programs. Quick typing facilitated my long years of effort toward a Ph.D., while also a self-supporting, full-time clerical worker.

In my history, family understanding and support barely existed, and social attitudes severely limited women’s opportunities to attain rewarding roles outside the home. After the Vietnam War, this began changing through years of social unrest and opposition to traditional roles of men and women.

Today and remembering that history, I became introduced to Joclyn Bell. She was Irish-born in post WWII years, and despite social limits, managed to fight her way to education and career.

This morning’s key newspapers carry stories about Bell. The NYT offers a superb video history. She had family support and a drive to became formally educated. She became the astronomer who in 1967 discovered the existence of solar pulsars. At that time, Bell, a graduate student at Cambridge, was assisting a male astronomer. He and his supervisor ultimately claimed credit for discovering pulsars and won the Nobel Prize.

Bell explains charmingly and wisely her career, how eventually she became recognized as the individual responsible for discovering pulsars. Last Thursday, she formally was recognized for the discovery, will receive a $3 million Breakthrough Prize. It’s a special award granted only three times in history.

This video is attractive, its powerful subject matter sends me back in time. It’s superbly produced, has an excellent flow that includes historical footage. It’s very worth viewing and knowing Jocelyn Bell.

Dear Friends: Constant social shiftings, as societies keep trying to adjust human opportunities. Diana

Tuesday, July 26, 2021 —(In 26 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

Life teaches us to anticipate that plans may change. Any interference may occur suddenly. Like my planned team-driving event, with Joan, scheduled for this morning and off as of yesterday.

Joan and her husband, Dennis, now are on the last leg of their 18-hour drive to Tucson. They learned yesterday morning that their AZ home is completely flooded by an active monsoon. Joan facing an emergency needed a care plan for her four horses.

Our mutual friend, Julie, and I, volunteered to help. She and I are taking morning and evening shifts to feed and clean-up after Joan’s horses, until Joan and Dennis return to Bend.

This reinforces my experience with “horse people”. We’re easily recognized as being a little crazy and for complicated reasons. Our common bottom line in assessing a possible friendship might be how well an individual cares for a horse or horses, physically and emotionally. We learn that horse people are likely to pitch in to help one another when a key goal is keeping a horse, or horses, well and safe.

Most of us city folks who have horses lack adequate pasture areas on which to leave them able to eat and safely be contained. Our beasts become accustomed to living in dry lot spaces and periodically receiving feedings. We can’t leave our horses over several hours without providing alternate and dependable care for them.

Fortunately, Joan, Julie, and I had arranged for a play day, and so, there were horsey buddies willing to pitch in and enable Joan to rush to that flood emergency. She’s sharing with Dennis the many hours of driving to reach their damaged home.

Julie and I are long time friends (including her husband, Dave). We’re horse-lovers, book-readers, and often ride our horses together. We can collaborate effectively, especially in Joan’s well-organized setup, and her horses all nice animals.

If later we again plan to drive our horses together (but separately) east of town in Joan’s quiet area, that’ll be good. Meanwhile as usual when sudden needs overcome plans, we’re all totally “in the moment”.

Dear Friends: My two horses continue to hitch, drive, and shape up, each making me proud. Diana

Monday, July 25, 2021 —(In 27 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

To satisfy curiosity about the cart which I load into a horse trailer, and with a horse, here it is. The cart has two-wheels, is very heavy, and from its pole tip to the wheel rear is sixteen feet.

Its shafts are removable at joints which in the photo look taped. Removing its shafts shortens the rig four feet, just enough to carry in the horse trailer separated poles upright beside the cart. The cart is heavy and the trailer has a winch that pulls it up ramps into the cargo area. Tolerances are tight, and a swinging gate sequesters the cart and leaves safe space for a driving horse.

There always are ways to accomplish goals.

The cargo area is sixteen feet long. The whole cart can fit in it, but doesn’t leave room for a horse. Added space was created by cutting into the trailer’s tack room wall. That has enabled loading the cart, storing shafts upright, and having space for a horse.

It’s wonderful being able to load the cart and a driving horse, and to head to public trails. A horse can pull nicely through soft trail and road dirt. I watch for intruding tree roots and rocks. A horse and cart can continue over most obstacles, but a cart tips. A driver (and passenger) slides toward the downward side while trying to counterbalance the tipping.

Very little matches the greatness of being in the natural, rugged outdoors. Always memorable, on foot, on horseback, or in a non-motorized vehicle.

Dear Friends: Tomorrow’s team driving adventure offers a fun kick into this driving summer. Diana

Sunday, July 25, 2021 —(In 28 days, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

There are days when my internet doesn’t work well enough to move photos from their sources to my laptop. This is one of those days. Fortunately, there are alternate ways to accomplish things. Instead of new images from my iPhone, “the Cloud” will provide a stored relevant visual.

Right now, my biggest interests have to do with driving my horses. First, because that activity will exercise and condition them. Second, because a fellow driver and I are arranging a play date. She lives east of town, and on a little-traveled street. It almost perfectly will accommodate horses and vehicles. We want to drive together but in separate vehicles.

I didn’t anticipate so soon being confronted with a need to transport my two-wheeled cart. (Today’s header photo shows Sunni pulling a different vehicle.) My horse trailer has been modified to carry the 2-wheel cart and a single horse, a combo last loaded a couple of years ago. To accomplish loading, unloading, and reassembling of the cart, the sequential steps require accuracy.

The fellow who modified my trailer, a clever and creative engineer, accounted too little for differences between his physical strengths and mine. He had great ideas but left me in need of strength assistance. In time, by doing some after-creating, I could accomplish loading and unloading without assistance.

Next week, and wanting to collaborate with a fellow driver, I must step up to the plate and work to recall how to haul a cart and horse. It’ll require remembering each all the process steps, recalling all their bits and pieces, and hands-on, real-time practicing.

Fortunately, Sunni always collaborates willingly and patiently.

Dear Friends: Sometimes we need a “thinking partner”, to ease the recalling and doing. Diana