Musings

Goof Plugs

I learned a new product over the weekend: the Goof Plug. What a great idea . . . something simple to “fix” life’s little goofs.  At least one of them anyway. Now guys are probably saying, “oh, those have been around a long time.” I don’t doubt they have. They’re just new to me.

 

A participant talks with Dean Robison and QVGC Outreach Chair Sharon Wright

In this case this was from the Micro-irrigation workshop Dean Robison put on for anyone who wanted to attend and sponsored by the Quail Valley Garden Club. Gosh, it’s nice when a neighbor is willing to share his knowledge learned the hard way—by doing.

Dean knows how to teach. First he walked us through his beautiful garden to show his many applications of micro irrigation; then he showed us how all the parts worked and some of the tools. And yes, the Goof Plug was one of parts.

 

As one gentleman at the workshop said, “I’ve wanted to do this in our garden; but there were so many parts and pieces, I didn’t know where to start.” Made me feel better a guy felt this way because it was exactly how I felt . . . before this workshop anyway. I’ve gone from conscious incompetence to “I’d like to try a small application of this to learn to really do it.”

And isn’t it generous that Dean shared his time free? He could have made a business out of his talent right there with people asking him to do it for them, but he’d rather just help them learn. Refreshing in our “everything is for sale age.”

 

The Robison's Garden is full of beauty.

Dean is quite the tinkerer. He’s now making beautiful glass wind chimes from re-purposed glass. The many colors filtering through the chimes were just beautiful. Yes, something is getting done with that re-cycled glass after all.

 

So I not only learned about Goof Plugs this week end, but spent it goofing around. John and I went to Galveston on Sunday. Tilman Fertitta is much further on his Amusement Pier than I had expected. There’s a wonderful old-fashioned carrousel upfront at the Seawall so it is already very inviting . . . and the rides seem to get more “thrilling” the further out the pier you go. Of course, with construction, it’s only look from the Seawall.

With new multi-story motels as well as many businesses that survived, all seemed to benefit physically from Hurricane Ike’s “urban renewal project.”  Next was the Strand. We had walked around the Strand after Ike, when, for example, the entire side of Yaga Restaurant was a debris pile in the plaza next door. You know the one—it has the giant chess game. The plaza is prettier and more inviting, and the adjacent patio at Yaga is much sleeker. But Yaga kept its wonderful, funky turquoise front.

The building exteriors are freshly cleaned. Some spaces are still undergoing renovation, but with a medium and a mega cruise ship in port, more is happening on the Strand.  I was glad to see the thriving outdoor café, art and music venues in the Post Office Street area are recovering.

Even the 50+ years old McDonald’s on Broadway has taken on a new fresh look –it’s McCafe now. Go goofing, so much new and refreshed old to see.

Speaking of goofing.  Saturday, March 10 (9 to 1) the Master Gardeners have a plant sale at the Fort Bend Fairgrounds, Barn H.  Ask janicescanlan@clear.net  for more info or tell me where you go goofing.

 Illustrated from the 3-7-2012 Fort Bend Independent

Leadership

What’s the difference between leadership that looks at the big picture and impact to the larger community and leadership that only considers special interests and agendas? I had a telling experience about how minor issues can become tempests in a teapot, if we let them.

 I had written to City Council stating my opinion on a minor subject because I thought some larger issues might be overlooked in the discussion. I received some personal replies from various Councilmen acknowledging my concerns.  .  . routine, appreciated responses.

Then, I received an email from a stranger—all copied to Council. It seems that my communication with Council had been forwarded by one Councilman to this individual. He disagreed, which was fine. However, he also questioned whether I had any right to write to Council, and then ended with name calling. Probably not winning tactics if you want to influence Council. Rather than have a mud wrestling contest, I acknowledged his opinion and said I was sure Council appreciated receiving his remarks as well.

How did he get this communication? It seems one Councilman thought it important to forward my email to an individual constituent. They appear to be in close communication on the subject. Not that I write anything to Council I would care whether it was on a billboard, and I certainly am not naïve that a Councilman might let friends know there is “opposition.”

 But is sending out one constituent’s email to another individual really pitting two constituents against one another? Is that leadership that brings the community together to consider issues in a larger light or is it leadership that seeks to be divisive? Or idle amusement to see if you can start a mud wrestling contest?

Now where was the contrast of leadership? Another Councilman politely took issue by stating he appreciated all opinions from Missouri City residents, but he also discussed some of the practical issues around the point in question and offered to sit down with the individual to discuss it. He brought the discussion to a higher level.

What happened next was extraordinary. The taxpayer actually spurned the invitation and an opportunity to discuss his case with someone who would vote on it. And not once, but twice dug a deeper hole. Frankly, it was an up close and personal look at uncompromising special interest.  Yes, technically it was legal to forward my communication. Was it good judgment or the kind of action that brings people together? Not in my opinion.

Has our need to “win” superseded our judgment? It has certainly trampled all over our value of fair play much less respect for other people as well as respect for elected office.  We are dealing with a very dangerous world as well as dismantling all kinds of infrastructure and doing it in the name of various ideologies. I worry all sides have lost the ability to work through issues with practicality, common sense and courtesy. Do we want to lower ourselves to what is business as usual at our national and, more and more, state levels?

Yes, we all feel passion about subjects and have bad hair days. But do you want to win every battle or move your cause forward? Is looking at outcomes are we trying to achieve a better way to start? Can we be adults and take issues to a higher level especially on the local level? We are neighbors.

Send your opinion to janicescanlan@clear.net

Re-printed from the 2-29-2012 Fort Bend Independent

 

Passion for learning

 Consider a work night and a school night. After a hard day, most families like to stay in, rest, watch TV, read, surf the net or social media. Just relax.

The Drew Kayes family visit with Judy Belt during QV Elementary Math & Science Night.

 So the idea of another thing to do or obligation “on a school (work) night” is not usually on the high priority list. So there’s nothing like seeing proud mamas and papas at their kids’ school involved in their kids’ learning.  And that’s what five of us from the Quail Valley Garden Club got to see last Wednesday night at Math and Science at Quail Valley Elementary.

There were no parking places, and it was standing room only in classrooms, and where the experiments and displays were set up. A regular beehive of activity; but like bees, it was organized and purposeful.

 

Parents are actively involved in kids' learning. A regular beehive of activity;
but like a beehive, it was organized and purposeful.

We had Parent Teacher nights and show off kids’ work when I was in school. Everyone attended, but I don’t remember the interaction. I certainly don’t remember actually doing something!

 

The kids were doing all kinds of things in the classrooms as well. And where I visited, parents and kids were engaged and having fun. Yes, fun with math and science because they are doing stuff they can feel or touch . . . or in math’s case, apply to the real world or experience the concepts of time and space.

 

I don't remember the interaction or doing experiments from my parent teacher night experiences.

And there was passion about making sure kids were learning—and parents were asking questions about what their kids were learning as well as how could they help. And it seemed more men were involved than many times you see. I don’t have a comparison and many kids had both parents as well as siblings attending. However, I wondered, after the fact, if more men came because it was math and science night.

 

What started this thought was in mentioning Math and Science Night to many women, the first response often was, “that’s not my thing.” That’s why I was so excited that a total stranger, kindergarten girl came up to me in the hall no less. She was so proud of her experiment and wanting to show it off.  We need little girls and little boys in this country learning math and science as well as how to read, write and communicate if we are to stay competitive. And she was doing it loud and clear—before she’s taught,” that’s not for girls” or in general, “it’s boring.”

 

Penny Johnson President of QVGC and parent Lomil Truitt.

What I noticed from attending Math and Science Night, as well as a PTO meeting a couple of weeks before, was parents (and yes, these are involved parents) were concerned about several things regarding a Community Garden Quail Valley Elementary is developing at the school. Parents, first of all, wanted their kids to have learning and outdoor activities that weren’t just taking tests. They wanted to ensure that all children, not just gifted and talented, got to participate. They wanted the activities to be “real world,” with kids working together, being outside. And yes, they wanted it tied to age appropriate learning objectives.

 

 

The involvement of parents and teachers has QV Garden Club "on the bus" for partnering with QV Elementary.

Folks, these things are easy to say. Doing them is hard. I attended a meeting of math and science teachers on the community garden (after school) with teachers from all grades present. These professionals (and Principal Ramirez) were all involved in making the garden work and talking about the things it would help them teach.

It’s time we start recognizing and rewarding these kind of professionals who are ensuring that learning is engaging; mastering a challenge is exciting; finding a way is fun. 

That’s what has made this country great . . .

 Illustrated from the 2-22-2012 Fort Bend Independent

 

Please click on pictures to enlarge them.

Hope and dignity

 

Tri-Cities Re-sale Shop in Stafford offers a wide variety of affordable merchandise. Proceeds from the shop fund, 37% of its mission.

Has poverty moved into the middle class in Fort Bend County—and how does it happen? I call it the “tumble-down effect.”  An example, the state cuts the education budget, the school district lays off 400+ teachers, their spouses in professional services have less work. Income tumbles. Savings dwindle. Resources from friends and families are “tapped out.”  Substitute teaching is available, but your income is cut in half. Or you’re a school bus driver, but don’t get paid in the summer and savings run dry because you had an unexpected car or home repair. Where do people go?

 Increasingly East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry is seeing not only first time clients, but has new programs in unexpected places. FBISD through its school nurses has identified 1/3 of its students (no, that’s not a typo) qualify for a nutrition program where each Friday, students take home food in their backpacks. These are your neighbors. This program is supplied and prepackaged by the Houston Food Bank and administered by East Fort Bend Ministries that for the past two years has seen its food warehouse empty by October.  Another hard hit group is the elderly living on fixed incomes. Then, there’s layoffs and ones looming such as Texas Instruments. Returning veterans. Yes, there is more demand in Fort Bend County, and not just from the working poor.

 

Connie Esposito and Vickie Coates

I interviewed Vickie Coates and Connie Esposito of East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministries (EFBHNM).  They have been serving our community since 1990 with help for food, clothing, electricity, and mortgages.  I came away so impressed that our county does pull together and help. And do it with heart. At the heart and conscience of our County is the George Foundation. Add the Executive Directors and the Fort Bend Alliance as well as many community and business organizations. Then, there’s you. I feel proud of the people in Fort Bend.

 Are there people trying to “work the system?” Connie related one client, a woman living on $584 per month. She was having trouble paying her electric bill. When they showed her they could help her more with her mortgage, she didn’t want to take the extra money because “other people need help too.” Yes, these are your neighbors who need a little help and hope to stay on their feet.

So what can you do? There’s lots. 37% of EFBHNM’s income comes from its re-sale shop in Stafford. And it’s an amazing store. I hope you’ll visit my website to see what a nice store it has become (and is getting nicer with a boutique of “special clothing.”) It looks and feels like a retail store. Furniture. Glassware. Maternity and kids clothes. But don’t think you can only send your gently worn clothing or other items. They also have grab bags of torn or stained clothing that particularly outdoor laborers like for work that’s dirty. If you have a garage or estate sale and have leftovers, EFBHNM will also pick up your leftovers or pick up heavy items. 

 

Press here to learn the many
ways you can participate.

Fort Bend Empty Bowls is an upcoming event March 23. In its third year, it has grown to need a larger room at Safari Texas. This event is meaningful, but fun. From 6:30 to 9:30 on Friday night, there’s both a silent and live auction—and some fun surprises. In keeping with their mission, area restaurants will supply soup and bread for dinner. You can also volunteer to help paint soup bowls or in many other places.

Help give hope and dignity.

Tickets for Empty Bowls are $25.

Illustrated from the
2-15-2012 Fort Bend Independent

More photos of Tri-Cities Churches Re-sale Shop at 425 Stafford Run , Stafford. East Fort Bend Ministeries is next door at 435 Stafford Run.

   Vickie Coates shows some of the new items in the special boutique so you don't have to look through all the racks if you need an outfit for a special event. Whether in the boutique or not, all items on the racks in Tri-Cities Resale have been inspected for stains, tears, missing buttons and mended. Grab bag items are available for clothing needed for "dirty work." Please click on images to enlarge them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there are a myriad of volunteer opportunities from clerical work and reception, interviewing clients, pick up and delivery, work at the retail store, or help fill orders at the food pantry.Yes, you can help. Volunteer, paint a soup bowl, donate, or shop.

 

Food pantry warehouse operation is full now thanks to Thanksgiving and Christmas donations . . . and the Souper Bowl of Caring. However, for the last two years the warehouse has been near empty in October. You can give hope and dignity to your neighbors who need a helping hand to stay in their homes or make ends meet during an emergency . . . or help kids better learn in school because they aren't malnourished.

 

 

 

Magic Moment

Because this is a complicated issue I have amplified some of my comments in red italics.

The lyrics, “This magic moment . . . so different and so new” keep running through my head.  What made me think of the song was the first meeting a true cross-section of Missouri City residents participated when the National Golf Association presented the feasibility report on buying the golf course. It fit those lines.

First I admired that the consultant ensured that we understood buying the course was no cake walk. The golf business is hard and golf as a sport was declining at that time. These guys were good. They re-made Houston’s Memorial Park Golf course that is often touted as a municipal golf success story. And municipal golf is different from Country Club Golf. He underscored several points that have never left me.

First, we would never be able to pay back the start up or land costs. So the taxpayers were on the line for whatever was put into the course.  Moreover, no matter how well managed, golf is prisoner to the elements. It is also a prisoner to oil and other commodity prices. Averaging break even on operations was about the best we could expect. Third, and likely very important, municipal courses aren’t country clubs and are distracted by trying to manage fancy amenities around them. 

The rub is that unless you are a Memorial Park and blessed by large work populations near the facility that bring in potential golfers, the community must support the idea of the golf course and in some way feel either connected or benefitted by it—or as in the case of Memorial Park have such support for other forms of recreation within the park, people support the park period.

Enter the magic moment. Residents from all over the city were wildly excited about getting the courses and everyone was seeing green. Problem was to the small number of committed golfers, green meant golf greens. To the rest of the community (or about 84%) green meant open space, access to trails, and a hub for recreation of all sorts. It meant starting to give Missouri City an identity and making it green. The problem we see today is that this dynamic still exists and taxpayers look at the numbers and proportions spent on various aspects of not only the golfing operation but also how it impacts the city budget. The issue raised about golf is that with 54,000 rounds of golf played, the course lost over $100K. If you add in the telephone and utilities, it's close to $450K. Other citizens have asked if we should review our fees structure to see how we might better optimize fees for golf play as a minimum.

Beyond that, we have an extremely complicated governance. The golf course is not under the Parks and Recreation Department. It is under a limited private corporation of which the City Council is the Board of Directors. Which hat does the Council wear in this arrangement? Of course, Council should oversee this aspect as they do other city operations, but a golf course that is competing in the private world of business needs agility to adjust fees and pricing, not just day-to-day operations making the course run. The amount of rounds of golf is likely doing a good job bringing people in, but this is supposed to be very close to break even. If we are still losing money, what will happen in rainy years?

To take politics out of the Parks Operations in Houston, both Memorial and Hermann Parks are run by foundations that have contracts with the City of Houston for clear roles and responsibilities of who does what--and who pays for what. John Walsh, who is one of the key board members of the Hermann Park Conservancy and former CEO of Friendswood Development, told Bob Gowens and I that the Hermann Park Conservancy outsourced their golf operations because despite having a stellar group of business professionals on the board Mr. Walsh said, "We were lousy at running a golf course."

How might we move forward? How might we re-capture the magic moment where many groups saw a way to make our city better? First, the new Recreation and Fitness Center on Cypress Point has much community promise, and we have the horsepower in Parks and Rec to manage it. Running this center and MacNaughton Park is our City's Parks and Recreation people, who have experience running these types of centers and developing programs for them. The Community or Civic Center will appeal more to business organizations and special events. So we need to involve our former cross-section again?  By this, can we agree on some measures of success as a community. Are there other ways to make the community feel more invested in this golf course--particularly those who live outside Quail Valley who do not play golf?  What might those be? What do other communities do?

This is not an involvement or marketing problem alone. It is a Strategic Problem that we do not have a systematic plan showing how this amenity will live up to some of its magic promise, the phases  that it will take to get there, strong and measurable goals of optimizing golfing operations as we go, and use figures of the facilities by various groups. Moreover, there need to be clear contracts with Missouri City of what her obligations are to the limited golf operation corporation and for continued maintenance of land and buildings. We initially intended to outsource the golfing operation to keep it professional and for the agility of private business. Perhaps that idea needs to be revisited now that barriers of ownership are resolved? When the City decided that it was feasible to purchase (or go to Emminent Domain as she was forced to do), the Finance Committee had suggested we outsource the operation of the Golf Course. Because the ownership was not settled, traditional outsourcing was not an option. So we brought in a consultant, Dave Elmendorf who worked on the strategic and project management issues while current director Tyson Stittleberg ran day-to-day. I personally think both people did and in Tyson's case are doing a good job. I cannot imagine an outsourcer would not want to keep a team in place that is bringing in 54,000 rounds. They would, however, have time and a bigger picture to look at some of these fee or any other issues. No one can do more than they have time to do--no matter how good. Many of the strategic and optimization issues are analytical and strategic that require constantly gauge what the competition and market is doing. The reason for a private umbrella is for agility of operation. Getting decisions and educating Council to the why may consume a lot of time  and totally undo any speed advantage.

I suggest our new City Manager Edward Broussard lead this effort. He has not been party to the decisions and his resume touts strength in strategic planning, community involvement and mixed use development. Let’s build on that past magic to make our city greater.

I hate the throw this to the new guy, but frankly, I foresee this as being a constant political issue if we do not find a way to remove politics from the operation of this golf course. And we have elections every year. That's a constant whipsaw. I'd rather see us debate the future of the city, not continue to re-hash the past.

Amplified from Musings column in the 2/9/2012 Fort Bend Independent.

More novel events

A couple of weeks ago my column was about novel events happening during this Fort Bend winter bird season. This has really been a fun couple of weeks hearing about your novel events and learning how serious birders approach them. Texas is constantly competing with California for the most species of birds so birds not only draw local attention, but also have become a tourist opportunity—kind of like seeing the wildflowers in the spring Hill Country.

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird photo by Margaret Sloan

We’re blessed in Fort Bend to be beneficiary of winter visitors as well as spring and fall migrants. This year we’ve been getting more new winter visitors and are having more species of hummingbirds actually winter here. Cornell’s Project Feeder Watch confirms this . . . more and more hummingbirds are becoming “winter Texans” and actually winter all along the southeast US. Those that once chose New Mexico, Arizona and West Texas may have come this way due to severe drought.

 Many of the hummingbird winter vagrants look like one another . . . so it’s easy to mistakenly indentify them. So Birder Margaret Sloan called the Hummingbird bander. She actually had five species of Hummingbirds at one feeder. She’s always has some Rufous and Ruby-throated winter in her garden. This year in addition to them, she had Allen’s, Broad-tailed and Black-chinned Hummingbirds at the same feeder.

Now I could get into all the differences and that male Allen’s resemble male Rufous or female Ruby throated resemble female Allen’s and Rufous. Then, male Broad-tailed resemble male Ruby-throats. If you’re confused, so are my notes. I now understand what keeps the Hummingbird bander busy! To see pictures of many of these Hummingbirds press the following link to Margaret's photo album and scroll down to Hummingbirds. Birds of Quail Valley by pressing this link.

The big story was the sighting a Flamingo at the number-four tee box on the El Dorado course in Quail Valley in late December.  Tony Estus thought his wife had mistakenly identified a Roseate Spoonbill for a Flamingo, but then the Flamingo flew over him at a closer distance than his wife’s sighting. While their coloring is the same, the bills are very different, the Rosette fly with their necks straight while the longer-legged Flamingos fly with a curved neck like herons and egrets. Correction: Falmingos also fly with a straight neck like a crane. It is much longer and colored, unlike the shorter (and white) Roseate Spoonbill's.

 

The Flamingoes shown above are likely Greater Flamingoes that are more orange to coral. The American Flamingoes are more pink. However, the bills, necks and legs and size are about the same. Contrast with the Roseate Spoonbill below.

 

Roseate Spoonbill photo by Margaret Sloan

I thought I saw a Flamingo in MacNaughton Park near Thunderbird Lake in late December, but it flew toward the El Dorado Golf Course before I could get a closer look and was flying with its back to me so I could not confirm the neck curved or straight in flight. I’m having a cataract removed in February, so my distance vision isn’t too good so I didn’t bother Margaret with it.

Seems she would have liked me to bother her.  The whole story of the serious birding community and Flamingoes is quite a saga of tracking two birds that are making their way along the Gulf Coast. One is an escapee from a zoo in Wichita, Kansas—a Greater Flamingo. The other is an American Flamingo that was banded as a young bird in Honduras. All Flamingoes in the US are considered escapees and even banded are very hard to track as they leave an area quickly. Late December is old news the third week of January. Press here to see more pictures and learn more about the Roseate Spoonbill.

As our tale shows, when they are seen by novice birders, we don’t think about what to do.  Well, write to me at janicescanlan@clear.net or Google Birds of Fort Bend to contact our website. If Margaret is in town, she’ll do her best to photograph the bird, especially a Flamingo.

Illustrated from Musings column in the 2/2/2012 Fort Bend Independent.

Approach

I believe very strongly that we don’t put American interests first when it comes to politics nationally and both sides are guilty. Is Texas becoming part of the same mess? 

Let’s get down to what should be the most simple function of state government: elections. Right now we don’t even know when we’ll have elections for the primaries. Will our process be subject to law suits and counter claims post election? And practically, what length of time will we have to prepare for elections—that means arranging locations, having adequate tools and workers for each site? When do candidates legally file much less develop supporters and a campaign in changed districts?

Put in a nutshell, re-districting comes about because of changed demographics in a political area. The notion of one person, one vote is that if I am in a place where 200,000 voters have equal representation to areas with 400,000 voters, my vote counts more than the other district. We do this every ten years based on census data and voting patterns supposedly to keep it fair. That’s the theory.

Having served on the Fort Bend County re-districting panel, I’ve been very interested in state re-districting and the contrasts between approach by our county leaders and our state leaders.

Fort Bend is one of the most changed places in Texas—both from a population standpoint and from an ethnic standpoint. While we still roughly have the same proportion of white and black residents, the rise in Hispanic and Asian residents has outpaced the influx of Caucasian and African American residents.

So why did Fort Bend County re-districting raise little more than a ho-hum? And State Redistricting went to the Supreme Court? Approach. One was done with practical considerations paramount; the other was done with political issues paramount.

Do both come into play? Of course.  In my mind, our county redistricting overarching goal was to come up with a plan that did not bring our elections into question. To do that our process needed to respect that not only other political viewpoints existed, but also needed to be represented. Where the arguments came was which “community of interest” was more germane than the other. Who won those debates mostly came down to politics and voting strength. But Fort Bend’s approach was respect that other viewpoints legitimately existed.

It seems the approach at the state level was that the Republican Party of Texas was more important that the Republic of Texas.  Instead of taking an approach Democrats could “live with” they took the approach it was better to blame the Democrats for complaining and take the issue to Federal Court. The Supremes have thrown it back for the San Antonio Federal Court to re-draw where the state legislature’s plan does not respect population, voting and ethnic demographics. They slapped the court’s hand for re-drawing the entire plan, but sent the plan back to be re-drawn. Multiple courts as well as the Justice Department are now involved.

So we are practically seeing what Al Gore chose not to do—that was keep the Presidential elections in limbo while we fought out things in the courts—and for the first time since the beginning of the United States of America be unable to inaugurate our new President.  Rule of law and a democratic process of elections have supposedly separated us from other countries. Now we’re seeing what sounds good on the talk shows, may not work too well in the real world. 

From Musings column in the 1/25/2012 Fort Bend Independent.

More . . . .

A prime example of "real world" occured on the Channel 8 program Red, White and Blue on January 27, two days after this column appeared in print. Jared Woodfill, chair of the Harris County Republican party was bemoaning what this did to elections. He was especially concerned with what it might do to political conventions . . . and I paraphrase, "We have contracts to pay for them to occur on a specific date." Folks, that's practical and real world.

The San Antonio Federal Court threw it back to both parties to come up with something they could agree on by tomorrow, February 6, or the April 3 primary elections will need to be postponed. It will be interesting to see the posturing and blame game if these politicians pull a Congressional level "we can't work it out."

02/15/2012  Looks like that the Texas Republican party will have no opportunity for primaries to be part of Super Tuesday . . . and may have trouble holding their conventions if something doesn't give.

Novel Events

Many individuals love novel events happening in their lives, and birders and nature enthusiasts who pay attention to their gardens or seek out areas to stalk birds and watch nature love to talk about unusual visitors. We’ve all had our share this year due to the drought of unusual visitors to our gardens. Some more wanted than others.

I wish I had been swift enough to photograph one very unusual scene in my back garden this year. I would have called it either Professional Courtesy or Predator Courtesy. A black and white cat enjoys sitting and sleeping on our fence in the cover of some fig leaves. Having the bird feeders to watch is like kitty TV. However, this year he was sharing the fence with a medium Hawk, likely an immature Cooper’s Hawk.  They stayed about ten feet apart—again professional courtesy. What's missing in the photo above is the Black & white cat at the corner of the fence and about 10 feet to the right the Cooper's Hawk.

While I’ve never seen the cat catch a bird (really never stalk, mostly sleep then lazily watch), I can’t say the same for the Hawk. The Cornell All About Birds website says this behavior is fairly common in Cooper’s Hawks, which are year round birds here. They suggest, “if you put out seed for birds in your backyard, there’s a chance you’ll also attract the attention of a Cooper’s Hawk. While catching smaller birds is just doing what comes naturally for a Cooper’s Hawk, many of us would prefer not to share the responsibility for the deaths. If a Cooper’s Hawk takes up residence in your yard, you can take your feeders down for a few days and the hawk will move on.”  Actually I only had to shoo the Hawk, but I did not fill the feeders for a few days as well.

Since my back yard is not in an open space on Oyster Creek as is Birder and photographer Margaret Sloan’s, her variety of birds is much wider than mine. We both have had unusual visitors or just more than normal as well. Margaret has a less shady garden so is able to grow more food sources and has placed fruit trees like loquats along Oyster Creek as well. However, just the drought has brought Black-bellied Whistling Ducks to our garden for seeds and the Red-Bellied Woodpeckers are feeding from the feeders more than in the trees, just to name a couple. Margaret Sloa n's view of Oyster Creek fro m her back garden photo on right.

Sharon and Mark Wright have a paradise for nectar feeders in their back garden, especially in the summer with all their Plumerias as well as a Rangoon Creeper.  Last year Sharon said they had a Calliope Hummingbird visit (way off course to Western Mexico for the winter), but this year may even be more usual.  A female Anna Hummingbird. She and Margaret have Rufus Hummingbirds for much of the winter—and keep feeders filled for them.

Picture above on left is a Rangoon Creeper. The picture below is with some of Sharon and Mark Wright's beautiful Plumerias. Really an attraction for nectar loving birds and butterflies.

Margaret and I have both noticed more parakeets and escaped caged birds as well as have both had more calls about them. And more inquiries of “what’s this bird I just saw.” So everyone is having their share of novel events. The Harris's Sparrow is one novel event that is our featured bird this month. http://traction.typepad.com/birds

So tell us about your novel events . . .janicescanlan@clear.net

And speaking of novel events, the Texans did very well in the playoffs despite their challenges and inexperience in the play-off pressure cooker. They didn’t quit on us and comported themselves as you would hope professional players would.  Keep it up during the off-season! Thanks for the fun, Houston Texans. 

Illustrated from Musings column in the 1/18/2012 Fort Bend Independent.

Please click on photos to enlarge them.

More . . . . . . . .Hummingbirds and Flamingoes.

Margaret Sloan writes that since we talked, she's had the "hummingbird bander" come out. She actually had 5 different species coming to one feeder including: one she thought was Rufous as an Allen's female.  She had a Rufous, an Allen's, a Ruby-throated (also banded), a Black-chinned, and a probably a Broad-tailed.  The Allen's and the Broad-tailed were new birds for the yard.  

She thought she might have too many feeders, or possibly the hummingbirds aren't as needy.  The bander mentioned that when the weather is warm, hummingbirds spend a lot of time feeding on insects and not as much on feeders.

Flamingoes . . .

Tony Estus writes that in late December his wife thought she saw a Flamingo and basically he told her it must have been a Roseate Spoonbill. A few days later, Tony saw a bird take off from the pond on the left side of the Eldorado #4 tee boxes. He got a good look and then had to agree with his wife, that she was right and not crazy like he told her she was. Seeing is believing! Ironically I (Janice Scanlan) saw what I thought was a Flamingo at quite a distance in MacNaughton Park in late December, but I'm having eye surgery in February and my far vision is not very dependable . . . but the height and bill shape were just too like a Flamingo even at a distance. All About Birds does not include the Flamingo (American, Caribbean, or Greater). Where they exist (and there used to be a group on Red Fish Island in the Houston Ship Channel ten or fifteen years ago) they are considered to be escapees of the Greater Flamingoes. They seem to be fairly regular wading birds in the Florida Everglades, but still escapees. Since they need a brackish or salt water diet, they likely escaped from a zoo or a private collector. Moody Gardens has a fairly large collection as does the Houston Zoo.

Getting Fit

New Year’s Resolutions often include losing weight. Besides eating sensibly and eating more whole foods, exercise is a must for physical and mental fitness.

We have a new opportunity for fitness with the completion of the second phase of the Missouri City Oyster Creek Trail from the Fort Bend YMCA on Cartwright. It is mostly complete. Lots of bikers and hikers already on this 1.1 mile leg of Oyster Creek. Missouri City has done a terrific job laying out the trail to wind and capture the views. With many birds and large water fowl plus some heritage Pecan trees as well as several large drainage projects that create waterfalls into Oyster Creek, the trail is interesting. 

Now what’s really special about the trail is it connects Missouri City’s Mosley Park, the Edible Arbor Trees on the Oyster Creek Trail south of the YMCA with Sugar Land’s Oyster Creek and Lost Creek Parks across Dulles Avenue on the trail head at Oyster Creek and Dulles. I guesstimate that round trip you have about 15 miles of trail opportunities on safe trails packed with nature watching.

The connection under the bridge at the YMCA will eventually be completed, but John and I walked under the bridge safely with no problems. However, the drainage and configuration of the bridge at Dulles Ave does not lend itself to an under-the-bridge solution. I hope both cities provide directional signage and consider painting a cross walk across Dulles.

Getting fit does not just involve a physical regiment, but an eating and mental fitness regimen. To both of those ends, landscape designer Renee Brown and I had the pleasure of working with Quail Valley Elementary School over the holiday break and with 4^th grade Math and Science Specialist Judy Harper and Counselor Lisa Jones on a grant from Whole Foods Market’s Whole Kids Foundation to build a community garden. Don’t let anyone tell you we don’t have dedicated faculty in FBISD. On December 23^rd, we were doing our second run-through of the garden plan in the rain.  We completed the grant application after Christmas and filed it for the Dec 31 deadline.  Renee and I are part of an outreach program developed by Quail Valley Garden Club chair, Sharon Wright. Quail Valley Garden Club will be providing practical gardening expertise to QVE.

What is special about this grant is schools are encouraged to develop school cafeteria salad bars and use the food from the garden to acquaint children with healthier eating. We have an obesity problem at the elementary school level. Moreover, research shows how kids relate better to fruits and vegetables they’ve grown.

Now the mental fitness is all the science and math kids use figuring out seed count, using sun and shade and combinations for various plants, and dozens of other learning by doing applications. Mrs. Harper took coursework last summer for the Junior Master Gardener program and plans to utilize Urban Harvest resources. She is full of curriculum plans and enthusiasm for this garden. Mrs. Jones will be scheduling QVE students in age appropriate experiences. Quail Valley Proud has also pledged $500 to the garden program. In the summer, the Girl and Boy Scouts have promised time.

Think of what these community programs can do to improve the fitness of all of us. Get involved yourself!

Illustrated from Musings column in the 1/11/2012 Fort Bend Independent.

Please click on photos to enlarge them.

Resolution time

Were you glad for 2011 to be over? On an unscientific CNN poll, 85% of respondents said “Good riddance to 2011.” Of course, 2012 is an election year so those 125,000+ people may want to think twice about that. After all, is there anything else that can be written, polled or shown about the Iowa caucus? I thought the best one was how those wily Iowans have learned to fleece the rest of the country—the news media and the political campaigns anyway to pour millions into their economy. Talk about jingle bells.

Looking back on the year there are several trends that are quite interesting. What they mean may depend on your viewpoint . . . but they’re interesting to consider.

The weather. This past year we had weather records that matched the 1936 Dust Bowl, doubled the 1974 record number of tornadoes, and exceeded the 1927 Mississippi River record flood heights. One year. Many climatologists believe that these extremes are like baseball players on steroids. The extra oomph from the heat in the atmosphere fuels the intensity of the weather patterns so you get records.

Most concerning is that drought, which was also great in Russia, increases food prices. That’s not good news to people living on fixed incomes or those living close to or on the edge.

So our next trend: suburban poverty and the stress on food pantries. I know Fort Bend pantries have had increased needs, but are those needs coming from the middle class? In Chicago the affluent suburbs of DuPage County west of Chicago, a Pew Research survey shows that poverty and numbers in poverty increased 50%. I plan to call the Fort Bend food pantries to see if more middle class in need is a trend they are seeing.  

Even with unemployment dropping somewhat, some say new jobs are not paying as well. Others say it depends which employment ladder you’re on. Does it matter? If someone has used up savings or is in the hole, digging out will take a lot longer or may not be possible if your job pays less. 

And 40 and 50 year olds, who have never saved, are starting to recognize what that means . . . and what they’ve missed in compound interest.  Some say, why didn’t “they” teach us about this? Having practical programs in schools does have an impact . . . making these lessons relevant is happening in some schools today. And that’s something that will have positive impact years from now.  

And it takes knowledgeable teachers and good curriculum to produce relevant school programs for life lessons. In Texas we are geared to raising property taxes to pay for buildings. I’ve never seen a building that could teach a student. And we still live under the assumption that we can pay less than the private sector and still attract high quality teachers.  We drastically need to beef up programs in science and math if America is to have those better job ladders. Lots of talk in Fort Bend in 2011 about science and math buildings versus teachers. Californians who brought us Proposition 13 are now saying, raise my taxes if it goes to the public schools.

How do these reported trends impact us in Fort Bend?  Some interesting musings for the 2012. The good news is we have a can do spirit in Fort Bend. Resolution time, folks.

Illustrated from Musings column in the 01/04/2012 Fort Bend Independent.