Where have all the whales gone?

Southern Right Whales are dying off at a record rate off Argentina’s Patagonia region. 

“In 2012 there were 116 whale deaths reported, including 113 whale calves”, the Buenos Aires based Whale Conservation Institute ICB said, adding that it was nearly double the 61 whale deaths it recorded in 2011.

You can go to http://www.newsdaily.com/environment to read more about this. The Patagonia region is at the extreme southern tip of South America. Every year hundred of the South Atlantic Right Whales take cover in the bays of the Valdes peninsula to birth their calves. 

The article states that the whales have been dying for reasons the scientists don’t understand. They list possible causes of malnutrition due to less krill and gulls “eating chunks of skin off living whales”, which is kind of hard to believe. 

Anyone think about all the plastic pollution that is floating in continent sized masses, or the navy ships and submarines shooting high energy sonar through the oceans, or the irradiated everything in the worlds oceans, from Fukushima, and other dumped nuclear waste? Look it up, there are articles recently about Russian nuclear subs that have sunk, as well as tanks of nuclear waste that have been dumped “by somebody” in the oceans off European nations. 

We will no doubt be next, after the bees, the frogs and the whales.

Childhood sucked and so do peas.

What smell reminds me of childhood? Cooked peas. I hate cooked peas. Childhood sucked. People who look back on their childhood like it was a great, magical time are highly annoying. Stop it.

Is there any hope for us?

http://enenews.com/manatees-dying-record-numbers-florida-deaths-pelicans-turtles-dolphins-spiking-scientists-fear-beginning-devastating-ecosystem-collapse-videos

Manatees, pelicans and other sea life dependant species are dying off both coasts of Florida. How much death of the natural world will it take before the wealthy owners of polluting corporations stop polluting? When will we as the next species to have a die-off say “Enough!”?

I don’t know what else to say.

Hamster

Are the oceans dying?

Record numbers of baby sea lions washing up on California’s shores, malnourished and sick. NBC news, CBS Los Angeles, KPCC, NBC 7 San Diego and more news outlets are reporting the sickened and malnourished sea lions. 

http://enenews.com/tv-historic-number-of-sea-lions-washing-ashore-in-s-california-center-declares-state-of-emergency-feds-we-dont-know-why-the-pups-are-dying-theres-something-going-on-oceano.  

If the link doesn’t work, go the enenews.com.

What have we done?

hamster out

Does anyone else take care of an elderly mom?

Whew! Last weekend seemed long. Mom needs me to pay her rent now, as she keeps forgetting how to write a check. This Saturday I made the plunge and told her I would take over paying the rent. I’m not a pushy, or assertive type person, so this type of thing seems fraught with stress to me. Well, actually it went off ok.

I was sick a lot this last January and February, so I got behind in things like getting tax papers together for the CPA. On Sunday I thought I could finish up and drop them off, but I realized at the last-minute, that I did not have the Social Security tax thingy – 1099 I think it is called. So I called mom, not knowing if she would make any sense of what I was asking her to look for. I noticed on last years form that it was mailed to mom’s address, so I figured she probably got it and didn’t know what to do with it. Either that or she gave it to me and I lost it . . .

So, she didn’t find it and so I had to go over there and look for it, stressing out all the time (I know, I don’t HAVE to stress about things, but have you ever tried to call the Social Security office for someone else – ie, not yourself?) As it turned out, I was really tired when I went, as my small car died a month or so ago, and I have made the decision to get another used little car, and have an appointment to pick it up Monday after work, so I had to clean up the garage so it would fit in there.

I have been working on wiring a light for the front porch, so I could plug-in a light out there so mom could see the steps in the dark, and so the garage was a mess. So I had to drill some holes and screw in some hooks for a 25 foot ladder I keep for accessing the roof (which, by the way, is growing a nice thick crop of moss, which I have to get rid of soon, or lose my nice less-than-10 year old roof). I had to hang up some other stuff that was scattered on the garage floor from some other work I’d been doing in there.

By the time I’d finished sweeping and re-hanging things, I was pretty tired, and then I realized I didn’t have the Social Security form and yes, I was stressing. The good news is, I went to mom’s, went through all of her papers (she seems to have a lot, for someone who only has 3 bills per month, but anyway, I went through everything and hallelujah! I found it! I am still surprised, and very pleased.

So, tonight I pick up the new, used little car and give it an overnight test drive, and hopefully everything will be OK. Then I get to do MY income tax crap. Oh, my god. I swear, I’m taking off and going hiking before the end of the month, or I will explode myself all over somewhere!

This is what I mean . . .

So, where have I been, and what have I been doing?

So, anyway, I never get a flu shot, and never plan to, but this winter I guess I got the flu. I would call it a bad cold and when I looked up on the internet how to tell the difference between a cold and the flu, I had some symptoms from both categories, so I still don’t know. However, I know I got what seemed like a bad cold, and for two weeks simply dragged myself everywhere I had to go, including work, sorry guys. If we could get some sick-leave, I would be happy to stay home, but if I don’t come to work, I don’t get paid, so . . . everyone at work got sick.

But, before you blame me, I was not the first person to get sick. My boss, who did get a flu shot, was the first to get sick. So much for the flu shot.

Well, then after two weeks, I felt like my regular self, so I started going back to the gym. After a week, I was sick again! So another two weeks dragging myself here and there, and now I’m fine again, and back at the gym.

You know what really pisses me off? My 88 year old mom, who still wanted me to pick her up for the day, never got my cold/flu. I guess I’m glad for that, but at the same time, I kind of resent it, if you know what I mean.

Hamster report out!

PS: I’m planning my summer and fall hikes and backpacks, can hardly wait to get out on the trails again.

Fourth of July Pass

What the heck!!!???!!

Mount Shuksan, snowshoeing

Snowshoeing around Mount Baker

Snowshoeing around Mount Baker & Shuksan

Well, they wouldn’t let me into my wordpress account for awhile, so I thought it was dead. But I just thought I’d check and whoa! Vellly interrressstinggg . . . I may post something now and then. 

What gives me an enegy boost

Being outside – running in the woods, hiking in the mountains.

Adulthood, or ???

Vonnie

I felt like an adult at a very early age. Too early. Now my plan is to become an irresponsible, annoying teenager, since I never got to go through that phase. It will be OK, I'm sure, as with my ever increasing white hair, people will just assume I'm another old person who has lost her mind. I'm OK with that, ha, ha, ha!

Favorite Teacher

Book collection

No offense to those who have had great teachers, but I never had one of those. The best teacher I can recall was in 5th grade. She could teach, as well as get a hyperactive kid to behave, without shouting or hitting. (When I went to school teachers could hit the students.) But other than her, the rest were only what I would call adequate, at best. Sorry to all those who seem to think teachers are godlike.

Teachers could be important persons in our lives, but for most of us, they were not. And I am sorry about that. I for one could have used an exceptional teacher. However, I managed to educate myself after I got out of school, thank you very much!