Bits and Pieces

I can think of several things to write but not much about any one thing. Let's see if I can make this work.

Tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and various other catastrophes have taken over the spring of 2011. Not to mention wild fires and various other tragedies. In so many ways the flooding is the worst!!! It destroys everything a person owns and then leaves snakes, spiders and other vermin to threaten during clean-up. High water line has past Memphis but there a lot of folks downstream who still face the horror.

Tornado clean-up is progressing. FEMA started out strong but fizzled out after a couple of days. Local groups have come together to help neighbors dig out of the destruction. Our communities will heal, rebuild, and move forward.

In early spring we watched a robin trying to build a nest in our cherry tree. It must have been his/her first because there were construction related problems. He brought a long (at least 4 feet) piece of grass and tried to weave it through the other material. It was a partial success. There is a long strand of the grass hanging below the nest. The couple was a little later hatching their brood than some. (Another robin couple has already raised their babies.) The Cherry Tree couple has hatchlings that seem to be growing and doing well. I wonder if they will raise a second family during the summer.

James and Jesse are having a fun spring. There is a free running creek behind their house that attracts wildlife and gives them a place to fish. Currently they are watching an owl family. There are three young owls that are learning to fly. They fly in the late evening. A beaver has taken up residence (which may mean trouble down the road) and the boys are fascinated. Youngsters have a wonderful view of the world.

Harry is building a controller for the reef system. It will monitor the water conditions, temp, etc. Harry can monitor tank conditions from his computer from anywhere he happens to be. He started with what looked like about a thousand little electronics and a lot of knowledge about programming. He is testing the temperature and calcium readings now and will add other applications when he is satisfied with the current configuration. This is all well beyond my abilities to even explain.

That's all I have for now. All-in-all I have written a lot. Hope it isn't too much information at one time. Anyway, we are all doing well and beginning to settle in for the upcoming summer. Thanks for remembering me and stopping by.