WISDOM

Today I would like to talk to you about Wisdom

I scanned the internet for a definition and after much reading I realized that it is not a simple thing to define, many interpretations exist depending on philosophy, religion, political view or simply on ones preference of a meaning of the word. 

So I dug up my old tattered and very dusty Webster dictionary and looked it up. 

“ Wisdom, The quality of being wise; the faculty to discern right and truth and to judge or act accordingly; sound judgment; sagacity; discretion; common sense; extensive knowledge. ”

The reading I have done on the subject so far is amazingly interesting and it has once again awaken my interest in philosophy, an interest that was strong in my youth but slowly faded away with the passage of the years. I would like to share with you what I have learned in my little bit of reading, but it is a lot of complex ramblings of long dead philosophers ( Socrates, Confucius, Buddha, etc...)  and I will most certainly loose most of you way before the end of it, if I have not done so already. But it is a worthy topic and I will one day come back to it !!

My two cents on the subject is that we live in a world lacking wisdom, we do no strive for it, we do not recognize it when in it’s presence, we do not chose it’s path when presented with the opportunity and therefore a vast number of the human specie can more attune themselves to its antonyms unfortunately. 

But, I have to start over as I have digressed and become long-winded as my friends often accuse me of being, so here we go :

Today I would like to talk about “Wisdom” 

 "Wisdom is a 60+ year old female Laysan Albatross" 

She first came to my attention about a month ago as I was browsing the BBC news online. She made the news because this year she was spotted raising a chick and they were amazed that she was doing so at her age. They knew her age as she was first banded way back in 1956 ( before I was born !!! ) while incubating an egg ( not necessarily her first one !! ) . It was an interesting article and made me feel good to know that some albatrosses manage to live long lives despite all that we do to prevent that from happening. If you want to read the story it can be found here ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9419000/9419812.stm ) 

The next time I came across “Wisdom”  was again on the BBC site after the Japan earthquake, the story was about how the tsunami waves created by the earthquake had traveled all the way to the wildlife sanctuary on the Midway atoll north-west of Hawaii where “Wisdom” was nesting and devastated the sanctuary killing thousand of nesting albatrosses and petrels , the only bright spot in the story was that fortunately Wisdom and her chic had survived. You can read more on this very sad story here: ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/12756033 ) 

A few days later while browsing the CNN news site I once again came upon “Wisdom” , this time the news was bleak , it was much the same story as the BBC one about the devastation to the wildlife sanctuary and the lose of so many birds, but this article said that that the biologists had not seen any sign of “Wisdom” or her chic after the waves hit. If you want to read the story it can be found here: ( http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/18/tsunami.birds.deaths/index.html?iref=allsearch ) 

The comforting feeling I had from the knowledge that “Wisdom” had survived the disaster was now gone and with it a need to know more, which story was right ??? 

So I wrote to both BBC and CNN and pointed out the conflicting stories and asked who was right ? , this was just a couple of days ago and I have not received an answer from neither and I really don’t expect one. This natural disaster is immense, the earthquake and tsunami brought untold misery and suffering to Japan , add to that the nuclear plant calamity and a story about an albatross can seem very insignificant to many. 

My interest in the discrepant stories is twofold,

1. I really want to know what happened to Wisdom and her chic. 
2. If you are a news organization and you bother to report on something, would you not want that information to be accurate ?? ( would the readers not want it to be accurate ??? ). And if you got it wrong ( which easily can happen as we are only human ) would you not want to correct it ???.

As I finish writing all of this I decided to go to the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge site ( http://www.fws.gov/midway/tsunami.html ) , where there are some heart wrenching pictures and an update published stating that “Wisdom” and her chic have been found, HURRAH !!!!!!

Pictures can also be found at:   ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/collections/72157626288933504/ ) 

So as you can see, my friends are right, I am long-winded !!! , but at least now you know  that albatrosses live long lives, but that there lives are at the mercy of mother nature as much as at the mercy of the human race, lets hope that they can overcome both and continue to grace this earth with there magnificent presence. 

The last ride of the winter

With the March thaws cycling was once again possible , most of the snow has melted , Geese and Robins can be spotted everywhere , and my horses come back from their paddocks covered in mud, all signs to hit the road again !!!!. 
I have managed to get out a few times but nowhere as much as last year and I don't think it's because of any drastic climate issues , no , this year there is just not that huge motivational factor of getting ready to cross the country by bicycle . Instead I have been looking at doing a week long trip in Newfoundland , a mix of cycling, hiking and sightseeing . It is my first choice as I really regret not spending a bit more time there last year , I have looked at europe also but maybe next year. And now that my friend Ed has signed up for yet another crossing of the country ( his third in a row !!!! ) I probably will meet up with him in Tobermory and ride a couple of days with him just to get a taste of touring again. 
But neither trip needs an immense base of training so I can afford to be wimpy for now !! and pick my spots , last Sunday after a couple of missed opportunities I threw caution to the wind and headed out for a invigorating 44 km ride over the hills of King City in +5 degrees , last year I would have considered it a warm day but this year it was chilly ! 

Here I am post ride warming up in my kitchen with a hot cup of coffee that Evelyn made me when she saw me come in , not frozen but definitely chilled !!!

But I should not complain , because as I wright this from in front of the comfy warm fireplace I am watching the snow come down and blanket the farm in white , dam !!!


Today is the pups birthday they are three year old !!!! , I still call them pups as Jack Russell's don't mature till they are about five , now having said that I must also say that oppose to humans where the female of the species matures way before the male , in Jack Russell's it is exactly the opposite !!!!,  Brinx is more tempered , better behaved and less of a risk taker , Montana is an explosive suicide waiting to happen !

The day they arrived home , so cute and manageable then !

Mother Nature plays with us !

Slowly but surely spring is creeping near, this week brought the first Canada Geese in the skies above with their most welcome and enchanted honks, at the same time, today together with warmer weather came a late season snow storm carpeting us once again in white, the gloom of winter lingering . 

Mother nature plays with us, bringing hope for the much desired arrival of spring blossoms, green pastures and dry roads ! but demanding patience and respect of her might, and so we wait knowing that soon, very soon she will release us from her wintery hold so that once again we may play in the sunshine. 

Closure

Today my broken legged horse left, making the long trip down to Kentucky were she will start her new career as a broodmare. With that comes closure to the hardest six months of my working life, not because she was a difficult patient, on the contrary she was one of the best lay-up horse I have ever worked with, but her condition required a lot of extra attention over an extended period of time, this extra workload she brought to the farm was just a little more then what I could handle by myself, that together with being drawn and quartered by the weaning in December which left me with a nagging injury to my ribs and the return of my allergies made for a very long challenging six months. 

Now hopefully thing can return to a more manageable state and I can start enjoying work again. Spring is just around the corner, green grass and warmth and biking!!! My ribs will finally get a rest as my Cuban vacation is back on, sitting in the sun drinking piña coladas should help heal them. And I can forget the last six months ! .

Oliver if well and growing quickly , I have him for one more week and then together with his Mom we will be off to Kentucky , in the meantime here is another picture :

Oliver, Montana and Brinx

Mary Anne , nice hearing from you !!!