Bird Sightings

Hello, here is a partial list of the bird species I positively identified in Florida using the Peterson Field Guide for Eastern Birds and local State Park aids.

Wood thrush:



Chipping sparrow:



Red shouldered hawk:



Osprey:



Black scoter:



Common gallinule:



Broad shouldered hawk:



Black vulture:



Pine warbler:



Red cockaded woodpecker:



Northern mockingbird:



White eyed vireo:



Carolina wren:



Rufus sided towhee:



Brown pelican:



Little blue heron:



Great blue heron:



Great white egret:



White pelican:



Sandhill crane:



Gray catbird:

2014 March for Life

Each year I participate in the National March for Life on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.  The 17th annual event, organized by Campaign Life Coalition took place May 8 this year under sunny skies.

My impressions were

1) I thought the overall crowd was a little larger this year, perhaps due to the weather.  Apart from the two women who stripped their tops off and rushed the speakers podium yelling "liar" when Cardinal Thomas Collins was speaking, it was a quieter affair than last year.

2) There was very little singing and chanting by the young people that I experienced and enjoyed in other years.  A group of Filipinos were singing hymns and we joined in with them.  There were many families with kids, particularly moms with strollers.  I enjoyed the Pro-Life Mass at St. Theresa's given by Bishop Mulhall of Pembroke.

3) There seemed to be more clergy and fewer politicians than last year but I could be mistaken.  I guess there were no Liberals there after Justin Trudeau's rant that pro-lifers are not welcome in the Liberal party and will be screened out.  There were 8 or more archbishops and bishops and 2 cardinals.  I met several Anglican lay people there and saw at least one group of muslims walking with a sign.

4) All in all it was a good feeling.  Everyone felt that they had made their point.  Both CJOH and CBOT showed excerpts during their 6 pm news with the caption "is anyone listening?"  My congrats to the organizers and appreciation to the sponsors and all the pro-lifers who turned out.  Thanks too to the KofC 3rd and 4th degree groups in Arnprior and Renfrew for sponsoring the free bus.

Here are a few pics.

Off the Grid

When you are camping, at least in our case, you are off the grid a lot.  We relied on wifi (weefee as we call it) service at McDonald's.  Occasionally some SPs would have weefee but it was hit and miss.  Some days there was no phone, weefee nor TV of any kind.  It was great.

Being off the grid, there is a lot of time freed up to reflect.  I would stare at the campfire for hours, listen and watch the birds all around or Marie and I would discuss things and go for long walks on the beach and trails.  Knowing we could connect at McDonald's the next day to check in with family and friends was reassuring.  (At McDonald's usually you do not have to get out of your vehicle to connect, their signal is so strong.)

Here are some Inner Journey lessons I (re)learned as a result of this trip (I have to get them down before they vanish...):

1. Hot sauce is not for me any more.  I gave it up for Lent as an experiment and my life is much calmer now.  It was a long walk some nights to the bath house when I was 'using'.

2. Wine is not for me much any more.  Wine is much cheaper in the U.S. - 3 litres of very drinkable merlot for $9.97 at Walmart.  I drank a lot of wine on this trip.  The last night at Henderson SP in Destin I over did it.  In Mass the next day I was quite quesy and wondered why I was 'punishing' myself so to speak.  I decided then and there that I was sick of wine - I don't want anymore.  Since then I have had a glass or two but that was to be sociable. I am wine free.

3. I like (chatting with) people.  God, it's great to be in America where everyone not only says hi but will strike up a conversation with you.  Where are you from, how long you been down here, I've been to Canada, Do you know..,the weather, the weather, the weather...But also more substantive conversations about the warmth of family relations, appreciation of beauty and nature, to find the best in others, to give of one's self and leave the world better.

4. I like religion.  In the U.S., religion is in general more visible. There are so many large churches everywhere, parking lot's are full on Sunday and there are billboards exhorting people to go to church and honour life.  We rarely missed a Sunday mass and went a few times in the week and always came away with renewed reverence for God and Faith in Jesus.  The televised EWTN mass at 08h00 every day was a habit when we were in the condo.

5. Our marriage is a blessing.  We survived the close proximity of camping together in the RV without killing each other as Marie says.  It was trying at times ( I take up a lot of space.) We compromised of course and I had to learn to be more patient.  The occasional blow up was inevitable but we each have short memories and we would say sorry and move on.  I felt really blessed to have such a great partner.  Marie was galley girl and I was BBQ boy.  The closeness and increased patience has carried over so far.

6. We like travelling.  It's a pilgrim lifestyle that is hard but appealing.  Always pushing on, not sure where the road will take us but alert to new possibilities and God's greatness get's us through, day after day.  Curiosity drives me to want to see everywhere, touch the ground and smell the smell's of places all over the map.

7. The Sunday NY Times is a great read.  Suffering now from Sunday NY Times withdrawal.

Best,