Mean Humans

Humans can be mean. It seems recently increasingly so. I have been seeing people get particularly bent out of shape driving. I came to a stop at a stop sign down a hill recently and my purse fell off the seat next to me and spilled on the floor. I reached over to just turn it upright and drove on and took a glance at the person in the car behind me. He was motioning with his hands up, clearly distressed that my stop at the sign took more than the requisite 3 seconds, it was likely a whopping 6 second stop. He then passed me on the main road and gave me the "you just ran over my dog look" and sped on. I recognized him too, a doctor in Corning, I won't be going to him for sure. What is UP with people? I had a man and his family recently give me that same look and slam their minivan trunk and peel out in the parking lot at work, hurling stones because I politely (and apologetically) told him we don't allow dogs on our trails at this property. (Not my choice, but I have to enforce it). He and his wife were definitely not setting a good example for their cute little boys. Speaking of parents and kids, I have seen people getting mad during kids sporting events, yelling at the refs and coaches and the kids because things weren't going their way. I have seen more than my fair share of coaches being the yellers.

There is a man that calls work for one of our other employees, when she isn't in (and she isn't a lot because her work requires her to be out of the office a fair amount), he sighs loudly and gets mildly irate, which is totally unnecessary because it isn' t anyone's fault that she isn't here. I have other examples, but I don't want to get too down here. Maybe I am just noticing more or am having a streak of bad luck encounters or maybe it is because the economic climate is so bad that makes everyone on edge. All I know is, people need to step back a bit. Mean doesn't get you anywhere except maybe on a track to heart disease. Mean makes you look like a jerk. And humans are the only animals capable of being mean and therefore looking like jerks; not something to celebrate or aspire to.

I want to write a book

I keep thinking about writing a book. I'm not sure what about though, which makes me probably like many other people with aspirations about something they have no idea how to reach. My life has been chock full of aspirations.

When I was in 5th grade I wanted to either discover the cure for cancer or be a Thoracic Surgeon. What the heck...? How did I even know what a Thoracic Surgeon was in 5th grade? I have been a science geek as long as I can remember. I wrote my 6th grade "hero" report on Anton van Leeuwenhoek, a guy from Holland. Why would some guy from Holland be my hero? Why not my Mom or Dad or Betsy Ross? Simple, van Leeuwenhoek invented the microscope. I love microscopes and all the little things that come alive under them. I have my own pretty decent microscope and I have been known to whip it out on occasion and throw together a slide of something interesting. Cheek cells are always a hit if you have some Bromothymol blue to stain them. Pond water is pretty darn interesting too and doesn't require any real preparation on a slide, all you need is an eye dropper and luck. But I can't write a book about my love of microscopic things, no one would read it.

As I have grown and had kids, I have also had aspirations of writing a children's book. I think I could get the word part right; make it kid-friendly and interesting. But I don't have that much artistic talent. I can draw and paint pretty decently from looking at a picture, but I am hideous at free-hand (just ask any of the kids that have seen my frog when I am teaching about metamorphosis...) And what would I write about? I have thought that the adventures of the animals at Tanglewood might be good. A series perhaps. But there are SO many children's books out there and so why would mine be any different?

So lately I have had aspirations of writing something DIFFERENT. Something NEEDED. I have often needed help figuring out how to navigate the world of divorce and re-marriage and "Crockpot Families" (a more realistic name for the old "Blended Family") and how to come out with everybody (well everybody that matters) healthy and happy and sane. But I haven't quite figured out how to approach it. I once had an idea to compile a book of letters from divorced Moms to their children. We (and divorced Dads), have a lot to say and a lot we'd like them to know, especially when they are older and more able to understand the intricacy of relationships and personalities and morals (and lack of in some cases), how we came to our difficult decision to leave their other parent. But that would involve likely more work than I have time for since it would involve relying on bunches of other people to meet deadlines, not to mention the legal ramifications of publishing people's stories.

SO, I am still working on the subject of my book. I am hoping that something just "comes" to me, I've heard that happens, but I am still waiting...In the meantime, I blog.

Garter Snakes

Hiking with a friend today (thanks for the hike Q, it was fun!), after talking about boys, we got to talking about snakes. She mentioned she had seen a pretty little snake with vivid red and yellow with sort of a checkerboard look to it. She wondered if I knew what it was and if it was venomous. I could tell her for sure it wasn't venomous since the Timber Rattlers are the only venomous snakes we have in this area and they never have red and yellow on them. I am pretty sure it was a garter snake. Garters are diverse in coloration; with browns, greens, grays, yellows and reds. They can be striped or have the checkerboard pattern my friend saw. They don't reach much more than three feet long and are fairly narrow. Garter snakes are very common in our area as they are found in many habitats and seek varied prey. They eat aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, young birds, amphibians and mammals.

Garters have a few interesting life history traits; they give off a musk when disturbed (and it STINKS) and they bear live young, which is somewhat less common in the reptile world. We had a pair of garters on display at Tanglewood that apparently were male and female as one day 10 little garters appeared in the tank with the parents. This is the time of year for baby Garters; they usually bear their young in August or September, sometimes into October. I know lots of kids have handled Garter snakes, but I try and avoid them because of their musk but also because they tend to bite. Small, non-venomous snake bites don't hurt all that much, but I try to avoid them if I can. Enjoy these common inhabitants of New York and let them live and help control our pest insect and rodent populations.