Do the laws stop criminals?

A year and a half after the infamous raids in Blanding, are the artifact laws reducing theft? In a great article that covers a wider view of the facts than most, The Salt Lake Tribune takes a look at Blanding and the artifact trade 18 months after BLM agents descended on the town and arrested many of the upstanding citizens. Decide for yourself, and leave a comment to let others know what your view is on this. Although I do my best to leave things as I find them, I will admit to having stuck an arrowhead in my pocket while hiking, and once while fishing on the banks of the Tennessee River. Does that make me a federal felon?

“It’s like drug laws,” Spangler said ( Jerry Spangler is executive director of the Colorado Plateau Archaeological Alliance). “The minimum mandatory [drug sentences] are on the books, but it sure hasn’t stopped people from selling drugs.”

Check out the view of my European friends on "Pigeons as Pets"--a blog that always has something I find of interest...and I tend to be able answer some of the questions they put out to the public with my knowledge of 30 years around pigeons. The subject today was an interesting one on pigeon's feet and the feet of other birds. BTW, did you know pigeons and doves are the only birds that can drink with their head down?

Birds: I'm excited for the few eggs I have in the nest to hatch...experimental pairings that should be great racers...but, who can tell. My friend and fellow flyer, Tom Barnhart, in Ohio, is dealing with freezing high temperatures, reminding me why I added a heater (40 degrees) to my breeder loft. Of course, my breeder loft has no free flying birds, only individual breeding pens. I'll post pictures as soon as I have baby birds in the nest.

Honey: My favorite mead drinker broke her ankle over the holidays...official story is she was attacked by a Himalayan Yeti who heard I would pay out in mead as a ransom. Wishing a speedy recovery to her. I have the must in the bucket for the next batch, I added a quart of Blackberry concentrate from the backyard to this one.

Day of the Tortoise

Must have been meant to be: I  had two tortoise issues yesterday. I have a nephew with a pet tortoise that developed a respiratory infection, and the issue of desert tortoises and solar energy fields in California came back up.

A few years ago, I was dating a woman that is the lead logistician for one of the solar fields, and got involved in the issue of desert tortoise habitat vs. solar energy.

I was reminded of this because a friend "liked" a Facebook page on the Desert Tortoise, and saving it. After I read the page I concluded they are more interested in saving the habitat and keeping it pristine.

When I looked at this several years ago, I drew my own conclusions and what I found and decided upon may cloud certain people's view of me when it comes to my environment stance (you know who you are).

After looking at all the information that was available at the time, I came to the personal conclusion that the solar fields are a great way of protecting the desert tortoise, with just a few precautions.... Those seem to have been put in place according to recent readings. The habitat for the tortoise is destined to be developed. It is the nature of man--change and adapt the environment to suit his needs regardless of the current inhabitants or eco-system. If caution is taken in the construction and development of these solar fields, the tortoise will go almost completely unmolested for many years. The cost of the equipment used in the solar fields is so great and it is so vunerable to vandals, that high fences are put up and guards are constantly on duty. Other than a few semi-annual inspections and necassary repairs, there is almost no contact with humans in the perimeter of the field. In other words, this is the perfect place for a desert tortoise to repopulate and a great chance to use a renewable energy resource.

The staunch environmentalists cannot have it both ways. We have to develop alternative energy to escape the hold of fossil fuels...we will have to make compromise in that development. Solar fields being developed under the watchful eye of tortoise biologists, and staffed with further research biologists once operational, appears to me to be a very good example of compromise.

Birds: I have put the first six pair of birds together this weekend. They are primarily my white birds that will be used for wedding and funeral releases. I am starting with breeding into some of my solid racing families with the hope of developing a race-winning family of whites...this may take a few years to accomplish, but allows me to keep a few extra pair to work with in this genetic experiment.

Honey: My wife has developed the label for my Backyard Blonde. Any input??

Marriage...and there are those still fighting to stop it.

A friend brought my attention to an interesting editorial article this morning, about the end of marriage. The direction this article takes is that the ones who need marriage are kids. The article is in rebuttal to Time magazine's statement that marriage is on the verge of extinction. The article is well-written and explores the issue of unwed mothers in depth. The article does not touch upon several points directly, but alludes to them.

Is welfare a cause of this epidemic?
Are minorities at a greater risk for being unwed parents?

What about those who are fighting to get married? The article speaks only to the traditional idea of marriage, of a man and a woman, not those that are fighting to be able to marry their same-sex partner. This issue for me comes close to home because of the activities of the predominant religion in this area and its financial support and condemnation of same sex-marriage and gays in the recent past. I have already posted a blog on that topic.

This is not just an issue in this country. If you are in Kenya, the Prime Minister thinks you should be arrested for same-sex attraction. His spokesperson was quick to say that his speech was at a rally and it was taken out of context. The spokesperson said that he was only referring to the nation's constitution that forbids same-sex marriage.

I think when we read between the lines of these articles, it would seem that the issue reverts back to marriage not being a state-sanctioned contract so much as a religious ideal. That once again there is a shift in the beliefs concerning organized religion worldwide.

And just a reminder, be careful what you post on facebook...some have a hard time determining what is personal and what is acceptable behavior. There should be contractual separation of work and private life.

Birds: It's that time! If you want to have babies ready to band on the first of the year, you need to have your pairs together now. As previously mentioned, if you haven't taken the time to prep your breeders with 4 in 1 or 5 in 1 solutions...wait and take the time. Your young birds will come out the better for it, and your fertility rates will be up. Also consider a teaspoon of iodine per gallon of water to increase fertility in your older birds. Calcium is a key factor in making your hens produce good eggs, so increase the amount of grit with oyster shell this month.

Honey: We had a delightful night of wine drinking the other night--a bottle of mead, a late harvest reisling and of course a dip into the private stock of Backyard Blonde. Even my oldest daughter enjoyed the homemade wine.

Ozone as pollution and the breeding season

L.A. Smog

Ozone: the word was coined back in 1840.  It is actually a triatomic molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms.  Ozone serves a particular purpose where it belongs in the upper atmosphere, protecting us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet light. But in the lower atmoshere, it is a pollutant that can cause respiratory problems in animals, including humans. In the lower atmoshere, we often call this heavy oxygen "smog." The link above provides some really interesting history on Wikipedia about ozone.

We have always been told, "move to the country to escape these types of emissions." An article today in the Salt Lake Tribune refutes that idea. The Uinta basin of northeastern Utah is about as rural as you can currently find. Vernal is the gateway to Dinosaur National Monument, but due to the oil and gas fields surrounding the basin, the air held unhealthy levels of ozone for 40 days last winter.

That puts it on a level with Los Angeles and the San Bernadino Valley. Hard to believe rural Utah, was ranked right up there with the highest pollution-ridden areas of the world.  And at a time of year when ozone is not normally a consideration as a pollutant. 

Bottom line, we have to reduce emissions, or we have to find another planet to live on...this one will kill us off if we keep causing her harm.

Birds: The most important part of the race season is starting all over the country in major competitive lofts.  They are preparing for the breeding season. Many will start around Thanksgiving, hoping for birds that can be banded on the first day of the new year.  Many breeders will be standing on the club secretary's porch, waiting for bands on January 1, 2011.

Now is the time to prepare for that. Healthy parents create healthy youngsters, creating a better possibility for a winning season.  Breeding lofts should be sanitized. A simple water and bleach solution will work when sprayed on to scraped surfaces and allowed to sit and air dry.  Many pigeon breeders will paint the lofts at this time too.

The birds themselves should be getting a 4 in 1 or 5 in 1 treatment.  My primarily concerns are paratyphoid; canker; coccidiosis; e. coli; and worms.  I treat the birds for 5 consecutive days, then use a probiotic for 5 days then repeat the whole process. So now is the time to start if you want the breeders ready by the end of November.  I also do this treatment on the Old Bird race team while I am at it. A reminder, it is show season, and you never know what the bird in the next pen might be sharing with your birds, so this is a good practice to prevent an outbreak in your loft.

 

Honey: Does anyone know of wineries on the Hawaiian Islands? We will be taking our honeymoon there next month, and a wine tour would be a fantastic way to find a good local wine or two for the beach, along with some cheese and crackers or fresh local bread.