hawk

For Tawodi, my dear friend. You are in my thoughts.

May your broken heart heal to beat stronger than ever before.

got some things to talk about

Whoa, oh, what i want to know
will you come with me?

www.longestwalk.org

trying to get anybody excited about helping out the Longest Walk is the most discouraging endeavor I have ever undertaken. (undertaken? does that make me an undertaker? haha)

seriously, some people have offered to bring some food, and there's one person, Tammera Hicks, who has been a HUGE help. She found the campsite, after I kept running into brick wall after brick wall, she got it taken care of, and I couldn't thank her enough for all the help she's been. I honestly thought this was such a big deal that there'd be hundreds of local volunteers signed up to help out, and I was the only one here in town who did. I never intended to do more than help prepare food. Nobody else stepped up to the plate, but there's plenty who have problems with the things I have done. well...??? uh...

anybody reading this? well, we need volunteers to help out with food when the Longest Walk comes through Chattanooga. All I'm trying to accomplish is getting together enough food to feed about 200 people. that's all. I figured a pot-luck would be the cheapest, easiest way for people to contribute. Anybody can cook a pot of beans, you would think.

Sunday Morning Ramblings

The doves have built their nest taller as their babies have gotten bigger. I often see a little head poking up, looking out at the world, and I sometimes even get to watch as the parents feed their little ones. They will stop and look at me watching them, then just go about their business.

My pink roses in the front yard are almost ready to start blooming. Almost. The red roses are in full swing, though recent rains have left the branches drooping under the weight of all those wet blooms. Irises are done, cleaned up the mess this morning, some of it anyway. Time to mow down the daffodil leaves, they look raggedy. Something that looks like trumpet vine is coming up EVERYWHERE, even in the driveway. Birds must have brought it somehow, I sure didn't plant the stuff. When I go outside, everything smells of rain and roses and honeysuckle (try as I may, I will never defeat that Japanese Honeysuckle. I will not give up the fight!!). And, best of all, there are a bajillion (yes, a bajillion) flower buds on my gardenia bushes. :-)

Little Cedar Mountain

for the "official" TVA government line of bullshit, click either of these links:

http://www.tva.gov/environment/reports/littlecedar2/index.htm
http://www.tva.gov/environment/reports/littlecedar/


From local Channel 9 website:

http://www.newschannel9.com/news/tva_968032___article.html/cedar_mountain.html


TVA Discusses Management of Controversial Little Cedar Mtn. Land

April 18, 2008 - 10:21AM

Richard Simms

TVA officials will be holding a public tour of a new interpretive trail at Little Cedar Mountain Small Wild Area and TVA's resource management plan for the Lower Nickajack Properties.

The area has been the subject of much controversy in recent years as developers sought more than than 600 acres of public land for an exclusive golf course and housing development. (link - s)

The TVA Board finally voted to sell the land to developer John Thornton in a trade-off deal after Thornton purchased several other tracts of lakefront property to offer in a barter deal for the Little Cedar Tract.

However TVA retained ownership of the area known as Little Cedar Mountain just South of I-24 at the Nickajack Dam Exit where the public interpretive trail will be located.

In addition, TVA is making plans for the future management of other tracts obtained in the deal known as Burns Island, the Boyd Farm and Big Cedar Mountain.

DETAILS

WHAT:
Discussion and tour of new interpretive trail at Little Cedar Mountain Small Wild Area and TVA's resource management plan for the Lower Nickajack Properties.

WHO:
TVA Endangered Species Biologist Hill Henry and TVA Watershed Team Representative Andy Lawson

WHEN:
10 a.m., Tuesday, April 22 (please note the date this story was aired - s)

WHERE:
Meet at Nickajack Dam

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
TVA has received inquiries from several organizations and the public regarding the strategy for using property acquired during TVA's Supplemental Environmental Assessment at Little Cedar Mountain in Marion County, Tenn. TVA is developing a comprehensive resource management plan on four parcels in the vicinity of Nickajack Dam -- collectively referred to as the Lower Nickajack Properties. They include Boyd's Farm, Burn's Island, Cedar Mountain tracts and TVA's Little Cedar Mountain Small Wild Area. The plan being developed defines proposed management goals, objectives, and activities designed to protect cultural and natural resources and improve public access on each tract.

Hill Henry and Andy Lawson will conduct a guided tour of the new interpretive trail at Little Cedar Mountain Small Wild Area, discuss stabilization of Burn's Island and plans for the use and access of the Boyd's Farm property.

The activities will occur rain or shine.


(also please note the lack of any mention of Native American artifacts, including bones and human remains, that have been found in the area. Also the lack of mention of any concerns regarding such artifacts. - s)

I believe that eggshell came from the doves' nest in the eaves of our house, but I am not certain of that. Yesterday I watched as the baby robins learned to fly. They still have fuzzy feathers poking up in all directions, and can't fly more than about ten feet before having to stop for a rest. This morning, it was a baby mockingbird came to visit me. So sweet. Doesn't have the white stripes in his tail feathers yet but he was flipping that tail just like any grown-up mockingbird.

Big Mama Bunny Rabbit must have had her new babies. The bigger babies have been kicked out of the nest, and are hopping around in the ditch behind our house as I type this. We'll just think of them as hawk food, and hope they leave me a few veggies from my garden this year.

yesterday, in the garden...

ignorance

REALITY

is like a jar of marbles, infinite in scope and magnitude
all different possible colors and sizes of marbles
some of them move very fast, some move slow
some are sticky, and like to congregate with other sticky marbles
forming clumps and clusters and groups.
some are unstickable.
each marble has it's own awareness,
and it's own unique perspective on what the "jar" consists of.
but from any one given standpoint, none of them can possibly see this jar,
or really ever know if it exists or not.
and pragmatically (in Jamesian terms, not the new definition of that word)
what difference does it make, anyway?