the cicadas took over

The cicadas were abundant in the garden this summer, from late July to the middle of September. A few photos of adult "Dog Day" cicadas.

(photos from mid-September 2009)

dog-day cicada emerges

This summer I watched an annual or "Dog-day" cicada transform from a nymph to an adult. The entire process took about an hour and a half.

Folklore says that, "When you hear the first song of the dog-day cicadas, the first frost is just six weeks away."

Emerging from its nymphal skin

Stretching out its wings.

Resting on its nymphal skeleton. Stretching out its wings a little more.

Its wings are almost all the way extended.

Its wings are almost dry and ready to go. Soon after this cicada flew off.

A description of the "Dog-day" cicada from the University of Kentucky.

"Cicada nymphs develop underground, feeding on root sap of various trees and shrubs. The nymphs are generally pale brown, rather hunch-backed, and have stout forelegs they use to dig through soil. The life history of species found in Colorado is poorly understood. Development likely takes between two to five years to complete.

Cicadas go through a simple metamorphosis with egg, nymph, and adult stages. After emerging from the ground during summer months, cicadas quickly mate and the females insert eggs into small twigs on living trees using a knife-like ovipositor (egg laying structure). When nymphs hatch from the eggs, they burrow into the soil where they feed underground on the juices of plant roots. During growth and development, the nymphs shed their skins several times as they get larger. After several years (1-3 years for most annual cicada species and 13 or 17 years for many of the periodical cicada species) the nymphs emerge from the soil, climb onto tree trunks, then shed their skins a final time to become winged adults. Adult cicadas produce hitch-pitched, droning noises. These courtship songs help male and female cicadas find one another, and each species has its own distinct song."

long vacation

It's been a long vacation from blogging. I've been busy gardening, bird watching, and just being alive. Best of all, I got married to my love.

watch out squirrels

Beware squirrels there's a new sheriff in town, the Red-tailed Hawk. Last week a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk stopped in an elm tree in the backyard for a gray squirrel meal. This was the first time we saw a Red-tailed Hawk in the yard and we had a front row seat to the carnage. The hawk vigorously pulled apart the squirrel and ate. After a while, crows swarmed in and mobbed it. Eventually the hawk had enough of being harassed and flew off with the squirrel in its talons.

A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk with its prey.

Crows harassing the hawk

i'm a bad consumer

I haven't written anything for a while because I've been sucked into posting on Facebook and spending a lot of time watching videos online at Films for action. My favorite film so far is "The Good Consumer" because I'm a bad consumer. This video pretty much sums up how I feel about shopping.

happy birthday dr. seuss!

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues." - The Lorax

university of rochester students in solidarity with people of gaza

Indymedia Rochester, NY, reported, "UR-SDS Occupies University of Rochester in Solidarity with People of Gaza"

"Students from the University of Rochester and members of the local Rochester community will be occupying the atrium of Goergen Hall on the River Campus of the University of Rochester (275 Hutchinson Road) today for peace and in solidarity with the people Gaza and in opposition to U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the recent atrocities in Gaza. The action, organized by U of R Students for a Democratic Society (UR-SDS), will begin on the afternoon of Friday, February 6 and will last until the University of Rochester administration meets the demands.

The student occupation will feature a number of informational and peaceful consciousness raising events such as public talks, teach-ins, and sit-ins. The action was inspired by a wave of student occupations that occurred in 16 universities in England (1, 2) following the Israeli assault on Gaza."

no groundhog, just an opossum

Happy Groundhog day! The all powerful Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, which means winter continues for six more weeks. In Minnesota that could mean a lot longer, groundhog or not.

Punxsutawney Phil, February 2, 2009
Photo from groundhog.org.

I feel sorry for Punxsutawney Phil, who was awakened from hibernation. It's like when your alarm clock goes off early and you realize that you have a half hour of sleep left. Poor Phil is thinking screw you, "let me sleep. I see my shadow now let me go the f--k back to bed." I empathize, I like hibernating in winter too.

In the northland, groundhogs (or woodchucks) are still hibernating. Or they should be. It's still bleeping cold here. Last weekend there were no groundhog appearances, but there was a Virginia Opossum foraging in the backyard. It's North America's only marsupial. Kind of cute.

Virgina Opossum, in backyard

relive protesting the rnc without the pepper-spray

Two new films document the protests at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota, "Ground Noise & Static and Terrorizing Dissent." Both are available online. You can relive protesting at the RNC without getting pepper-sprayed.

Terrorizing Dissent - Election Cut is an exposé of events at the RNC. "Featuring first-person accounts and footage from more than forty cameras on the streets, 'Terrorizing Dissent' focuses on the story of dissent suppressed. People charged with "conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism" speak out against the government's campaign to manipulate media coverage and label civil disobedience and community organizing as terrorism."

Ground Noise & Static is a video report on the protests that occurred in connection with the 2008 Democrat and Republican National Conventions. From the filmmakers, "Ground Noise & Static is a manifesto. We went to Denver and St. Paul to take the pulse of the movement. Corporate media would cover the platitudes and posturing of the politicians, we were interested in something else, a story hidden in plain sight, captured in the now-classic street chant, 'This is what democracy looks like.' Ground Noise & Static is a joint effort of Franklin López of subMedia and PepperSpray Productions. It is the direct result of a wonderful collaboration with many indymedia-style activists and journalists who all pitched in for the common good and success of their various efforts to tell their 'Unconventional' stories."

Terrorizing Dissent RNC08 Election Cut Trailer

economic craptastic crisis

AlterNet has posted a special "Economy in Crisis" section to its website. It's official, we're all in the shitter together. We are all knee-deep in an economic craptastic crisis. Oh crap.

Anyone have a shovel? Any ideas on a sustainable economic plan?

my voice for choice, blog for choice day

I believe that all women have the right to control their fertility. They have the right to safe contraceptives and access to a safe and legal abortion. The reasons for having an abortion are many and complex. Abortion is a complicated issue. The religious right has added to that by demonizing reproductive rights. Abortion has been polarized as "pro-choice or pro-Life." I prefer the term anti-choice to pro-life, and they have described the pro-choice side as "pro-abortion," which is absurd.

I feel that the "pro life" movement is hoax. It is a blatant attempt to control women. After all, a patriarchy that can't control women isn't a patriarchy. If you don't want women to have abortions, then make the world a better place to raise children. Support health care for all (or at least for children). Support pre-school education, K-12, and post-secondary education. Ensure that all children are properly housed and fed.

Women are not subservient to men. We have control over our bodies. We can choose when to have sex and when to have children, period. Being pregnant does not mean forced motherhood. It's a fetus, not a baby. Abortion has always been and will always be. For thousands of years, women have worked to control their fertility. Before the 19th century abortion wasn't considered a sin. "Until the early part of the century, there were no laws against abortions done in the first few months of pregnancy. Prior to the 19th century, Protestants and Catholics held abortion permissible until the 'quickening' the moment the fetus was believed to gain life." (From "The History of Birth Control" by Kathleen London) So why the change now? Did things change during the Women's Rights Movement? Do women have "too much freedom" and does their sexuality need to be "reigned in?"

I believe that women around the world will never be equal without reproductive freedom. The patriarchal religious right has an overzealous cult-like worship of the fetus. With this belief, they have attacked abortion and birth control. They have tried to mandate abstinence-only sex education. It doesn't work, just ask Sarah Palin. Real equality, gender equality, means reproductive freedom. Women are the ones who have to "bear the burden of carrying a child," we are in control of our own fertility, not men.

Today is the 36th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Today and everyday, support the freedom of choice. Thank you to all the bloggers that blogged for choice today.

Some choice links
The History of Birth Control
Could this be a "new era for reproductive rights?"
History of abortion
Wikipedia history of abortion
Catholics for Choice Statement on the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

SUPPORT CHOICE and reproductive freedom
1. Donate to pro-choice organizations
2. Voice your support for choice by blogging, writing letters to the editor, writing your local and congressional legislators, and talk to your friends
3. Support women around the world in their fight for gender equality and reproductive rights
4. Stay informed about reproductive freedom issues

can't america hear Gaza's cries? more than 400 children have died

Al Jezeera reported, "Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, has announced a unilateral truce in the Gaza Strip." This will stop a 22-day offensive on the people of Gaza. More than 1,200 Palestinians are dead, more than 400 of them children. Lets repeat that again, 400 CHILDREN have died because of Israel's war on Gaza. Olmert said, "We have reached all the goals of the war, and beyond." How can killing more than 400 children be a goal?

Before the ceasefire a Palestinian doctor, from Gaza, working in Israel learned that three of his daughters were killed in an Israeli attack. Al Jazeera's Roza Ibragimova reported on the doctor's tragedy caught on Israeli TV. "Palestinian doctor Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish was giving Israel's Channel 10 his daily account from inside the war zone in Gaza when three of his daughters were killed in an Israeli attack. In his report, he called for help as his house was attacked." (Caution, this video is really difficult to watch, but necessary to understand.)



I can't begin to understand the pain this man has endured. And for what? So Israel can feel "safe" by having bombed Gaza into submission? So the people in Gaza are completely without hope? I hope the world will investigate Israel's actions for war crimes. I believe they have committed a great atrocity by killing so many innocent people and children.

Olmert announces Gaza ceasefire

could we have a "do-over" on the mn senate election?

I'm disappointed with Democratic Senatorial candidate Al Franken. He and Senator Norm Coleman spoke at a pro-Israel rally at the Sabes Jewish Community Center in St. Louis Park on Jan. 11. They both endorsed Israel's war on Gaza. Congressional Representative Michele Bachmann also spoke at the event. Remember her? She went on Hardball with Chris Matthews and said that the media should investigate Congress for anti-American views. Other speakers included, U.S. Representative John Kline, megachurch preacher Rev. Mac Hammond, and former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton.

I regret voting for Franken. Before the primary I supported Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, and I wish he would have won the DFL primary and the general election. We need congressional leadership that understands the world, someone with a deeper cultural understanding. We need more leaders like U.S. Representative Keith Ellison, who is my representative. Representative Ellison understands the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He gets it.

Watch the video of an interview with Representative Ellison on Al Jazeera.

top 10 humanitarian crises of 2008

"Health Crisis Sweeps Zimbabwe as Violence and Economic Collapse Spread," Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Boarders released their "Top 10 Humanitarian Crises of 2008."

no safe place in gaza

"At Least 697 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel began its assault on December 27, and that number continues to climb. About 3,085 people have been wounded."
- Al Jazerra, January 7, 2009

Photo from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. "Photos from the Gaza Stip, Dec. 2008- Jan. 2009", January 7, 2009.

I am no expert on the Palestine-Israel conflict, but I do know that the U.S. media is not accurately or adequately covering the story. Israel's war on Gaza is disproportionately and collectively punishing Gaza.

I received the following article from a friend in the peace movement. I am posting this in its entirety because it's an account of the crisis from Gaza and it's a view that people in the U.S. probably won't hear about.

Gaza Massacres; The Time is Now by Anna Balzer. Jan. 3, 2009
Please, everyone, stop what you're doing. This is not just any report from Palestine, but the worst in my lifetime, the worst in 40 years. At this moment, Israel is raining bombs down on Gaza, an enclosed tiny area that is home to 1.5 million men, women, and children, most of them innocent civilians. This space is tightly sealed by Israel, which constantly denies Gazans electricity, food, medicine, and the ability to leave. Gaza is one big prison being bombed from above. The death toll is up to 428 in the past 7 days. That's more than the number of Israelis killed in the last 7 years. This is what I would call a massacre.

Yes, more Palestinians killed in 7 days than Israelis in 7 years, and yet no comments from President Bush or President-elect Obama. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice places blame solely on Hamas for holding Gazans "hostage," as if Israel's actions were beyond judgment. Would Rice ever respond to a Palestinian attack on Israelis by blaming the Israeli government for holding its citizens hostage with their army's violence?

I am writing you from Jordan. I arrived the day after the attacks began. The day before they began, my friend and colleague Hannah had asked me to deliver a book of poetry to her friend Summer in Gaza, hoping I'd manage to make it on a Free Gaza boat. Since then, these boats bringing unarmed witnesses to Gaza (www.freegaza.org) have been attacked in international waters, and Summer's house has been blown to pieces, her brother almost died under the rubble, and her father desperately needs an operation but the hospitals are overflowing. In every home or shop I enter in Jordan, people are huddled watching the stories unfold: a family killed in their home, a university destroyed, a pharmacy blown to pieces, countless bloody babies screaming or worse, silent.

I wonder if people in the US are also seeing the bodies and faces or, as I fear, only some rubble and angry Gazans. The day after attacks began, Israel's largest newspaper Yediot Aharonot covered almost the entire front page with the words, "500,000 Israelis Under Attack!" In smaller font, one could learn that in addition to 1 Israeli, 225 Palestinians had also been killed. It was surreal. Consider where you are getting your news, and what is not being told to you.

For example, the stated purpose of the attack is to drive out Hamas, i.e. to kill anyone in Hamas and scare the rest into turning against Hamas. Not only does this tactic not work (brutality fosters violence), but it clearly fits the definition of terrorism: unlawful violence intended to frighten or coerce a people or government in order to achieve a political or ideological agenda. Israel is operating as a terrorist state in the true sense of the word.

Hamas is also a terrorist organization by this definition, so it would be easy to simplify the conflict as "an endless cycle of violence" were there no historical context. But there is a context, and there are alternatives: Let us remember that Hamas was elected after an intentional shift away from violence towards a mainstream political agenda. Hamas stopped its attacks and began offering the Palestinian people an alternative to the corruption of Fatah. Hamas was democratically elected and immediately strangled by a US-led boycott, preventing the government from functioning. Hamas continued to hold to its one-sided ceasefire (totaling almost 2 years), meanwhile the US and Israel began to train and arm the opposition government, Fatah, which they preferred. In response to plans for a coup in Gaza (anti-democratic takeover by the US-supported opposition government), Hamas secured its control (again, democratically-elected whether or not we like them) over Gaza, and continues to offer Israel an indefinite ceasefire - no more violent attacks, period - if Israel simply complies with international law. The Arab League (comprised of 22 Arab nation members) has offered the same. These offers are dismissed by Israel and silenced in the US media. Israel says it has tried everything else, but it has not tried the most obvious: complying with international law and accepting repeated offers for a peaceful resolution.

As events unfold in Gaza neither the media nor the people are silent here in Jordan, where people refuse to go on as if nothing were happening to their brothers and sisters (sometimes literally - more than 60% of Jordan's population is Palestinian refugees). Just one day after attacks began, the king of Jordan gave blood to send to Gaza and inspired hundreds of others to do the same (meanwhile President Bush was on vacation in Texas). Spontaneous demonstrations have erupted at least twice here in the capitol today, and thousands are protesting in various major cities around the Middle East and around the world.

Please, wherever you are, do something. Write a letter to the editor. Get a large group to inundate your congressperson at once. Protest! There are demonstrations being organized around the US. If there isn't one happening near you, then do what I would do: buy a poster-board and large marker and write something on it ("Gazans Are People Too," "Massacre in Gaza: Silence is Complicity," "Our Weapons Are Killing Palestinian Children," or anything you can think of). Go outside and stand on a busy corner with it.

Force others to confront the reality. Talk to people, invite them to join you. People around the world are empowered enough to take to the streets; we have no excuse not to. The time is now."

What you can do to help Gaza:
* Sign the Council on Islamic Relations (CAIR)'s Gaza Peace and Justice Petition (click here)
* Send an e-mail to President-elect Obama. Go to change.gov. Make "Gaza" the subject. (click here)
* Make a donation to Islamic Relief USA. (click here) or the American Near East Refugee Aid (click here)

Learn about the ongoing siege in Gaza:
Free GazaGaza Siege
American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee

Read these articles:
Beyond The Hurricane of Propaganda
Israel is Immune From Criticism
In the U.S. Gaza is a Different War

News:
Al-Jazeera's Gaza Twitter page
Palestine Monitor
Free Gaza news
Ma'an News Agency
guardian.co.uk gaza

Blogs about Gaza:
Tabula Gaza
A Mother From Gaza
annie's letters
The Angry Arab News Service
Jews San Frontieres

Links on Palestine:
http://www.stopthewall.org/
If America Only Knew
Beyond The Hurricane of Propaganda
Peace in the Promised Land (video)
Origins of the Palestine-Israel conflict
Palestine maps
The Tragedy of Palestine
Coalition for Palestinian rights

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Palestine Think Tank