I recently went through a bit of an unhealthy siege. In part due to a virus combined with a negative reaction from an antibiotic and the other part stress. I am feeling great now, but it renewed my interest in a healthy lifestyle.
According to the Cleveland Clinic--Go Green. Whole grains, green vegetables and removing sugar from your diet reduces inflammation in your body and decreases the triggers for disease. Get rid of the "white" in your diet, for example, white rice, bread, and cut down on dairy products. I reviewed numerous diabetic recipes and Mediterranean diet recipes and you do not have to give up flavor to enjoy a healthy diet. The idea is an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cures.
As Fall turns into blustery winter-like days there is nothing more energizing that squash dishes. The Pioneer Woman has a host of delicious recipes for cold overcast days. With a few modifications you can swap out the sugar for Agave syrup and enjoy Spaghetti Squash with Shallots and Maple Syrup.
Here are some links to interesting and delicious healthy recipes:
Around our earthly home;five year old Sophia Cruz epitomizes the plight of immigrant families. She turns to the one person she trusts, Pope Francis. Sophia does not understand the complexities of immigration laws, but she fully comprehends the sanctity of her family.
Pope Francis's landmark United States visit will be remembered as a humble servant of God pleading for humanity and compassion for all people around the globe. Pope Francis will be quoted and referenced for connecting the dots among the numerous concerns of our day. The internet is a gift from God and dialogue between people of varying cultures is his message.
Earth is our home with each living being, animal, plant, organism and particle essential for our collective good. Gracias, Pope Francis@Pontifex.
I must say, Miss Harper Lee, you really had me wondering where you were taking me until I reached page 116 of your Watchman. For some, the novel is a reflection of the 1950s in the rural South and our favorite tomboy Scout of To Kill A Mockingbird. She returns home to Alabama for a couple week vacation from her residence in New York City. Scout is Jean Louise, age 26, employed and has her baccalaureate degree. During the first 116 pages, I didn't like Jean Louise--she appeared to be a sophomoric rebel without a cause.
As the novel progresses, some readers may view Scout's awakening or reckoning as that time in life where one sees their childhood images and ideals shattered by the "stark reality" of coming of age. The South is changing and in turn her familial security blanket is tattered.
For me the novel reminded me of the first time I witnessed de facto discrimination in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was about seven years old in the mid-1950s. On our summer vacation to my Dad's home state Maine, he took a wrong turn and we ended up hot and tired in Little Rock. We stopped for lunch and my brother saw a swimming pool next to the diner. Yippee, we thought. My Mom grabbed our swim suits and we were off for a quick swim before getting back on the road to our motel destination.
Along the chain link fence surrounding the public pool stood a number of black children. Inside the pool were white children playing Marco Polo and screaming at the top of their lungs. I noted a sign that distinguished hours where black and white children could swim. In seconds flat, we were back in the car hot and sweaty with a valuable lesson. Actions speak louder than words. Parents prevent bigotry and racism. In our home along Seal Way we met people of many races, beliefs and color.
It was the era of "Separate-but equal" of the 1950s. This is the crux of Go Set A Watchman. In 1954 the United States Supreme Court in Brown vs The Board of Education said, separate-but-equal in education was racial discrimination. The old ways of the South and every where had to change. The question then became how to remedy the disparate treatment of Black Americans.
Harper Lee lays out the turning point in full living color, benevolent racism and bigotry. She throws in the State's Rights--Tenth Amendment in a way that lays bare the intrinsic evil of discrimination based on color. Separate can never be equal because there is an intrinsic evil in treating people differently. Toni Morrison and Alice Walker works showed the devastating humiliation of "the old ways".
Make no mistake, Harper Lee intentionally jarred us a little with Go Set A Watchman. The story is as relevant today as it was in the 1950s. I hope you read it and leave a comment about its relevance to a current event.
A good way to improve your writing skills is to enter writing competitions. Another advantage to entering writing contests is to gain interest from a literary agent. Many contests require an entry fee which ranges from a token $25 to $100. The following competitions for the remainder of 2015 do not require a fee. The key to success is to follow the submission guidelines carefully or the first readers will reject your hard work outright.
The competition is open to anyone over the age of eighteen
Submissions are due: December 14, 2015 at 11:59pm EST
One manuscript submission per person. A minimum of 65,000 words
Note: This is a highly respected publisher. Minotaur is a division of St. Martin's Press
2. REAL SIMPLE--What Single Decision Changed Your Life
Prize: 1st prize $3,000 and 2nd and 3rd place winners
Essay content with 1500 maximum word count.
Submissions are due: September 21, 2015 (postmarked) or submitted online
Open only to USA residents and District of Columbia
Note: This is a credible essay contest with a good history of awarding good work
3. Self-e Library Journal--Genre Romance, Fantasy, Mystery and Science Fiction
Prize: $1,000 for best self published ebook
Digital ebooks only
Submissions are due: August 31, 2015 at one minute before midnight
Author must own copy write and distribution rights to their submissions
Note: The winner and two runner ups get a full Library Journal review and a full ad in the Library Journal publication. An awards dinner in Boston, but it looks like authors pay for their own travel.
The New Horizons Spacecraft has traveled more than three billion miles for a fly-by with Pluto that is scheduled for July 14, 2015. The nine and a half year long trek is an engineering masterpiece demonstrating the best our Earthlings have to offer regardless of national origin.
The piano size New Horizons Spacecraft weighs a little over one thousand pounds and so far is capturing and sending home remarkable images of its very long summer vacation.
Back home, the United States and member nations of the United Nations Security Council are trying to hammer out a deal that promises to curb Iran's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile capabilities. The negotiations are an attempt to stave off a conflict which in effect could blow our curious little planet Earth into oblivion. A graphic depiction by the New York Times explains the end game of the current negotiations that may end on Monday, July 13, unless a deal is made.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry & Iran Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
The irony of the similarity of terms: Pluto--Plutonium signifying the best and worst Earth has to offer the cosmos is noteworthy. I sure hope nothing gets lost in translation or in transmission of the differences.
In closing, I recommend a film currently on Netflix which demonstrates how apparently small nuances in culture and language can trigger catastrophic results. There are no small, insignificant or trivial mistakes in international relations. The heart and trust collide in The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
These are the best of times for the richest 1% and the worst of times for the lower 40%. Across the mid-section of America we go about our daily chores and at the end of the week, (TGIF), we pick up a a six-pack of beer or Pepsi and some deli food at the local Safeway or Albertsons.
Sure, we are vaguely aware of the mega-rich,The Koch Brothers, Donald Trump and Warren Buffet, but they are for the most part remote to our trip to the grocery store. However as of 2015, you probably have heard that Safeway and Albertsons are now, Albertsons-Safeway funded by Cerebus Capital Management.
As noted above, Cerebus is the three headed dog that guards the gates of Hades, (underworld). It keeps the dead from escaping and the undead from entering. This mythological creature will probably not be pictured on your favorite brand of dog food.
On the other hand, Cerebus Capital Management is a capital management firm worth some $25 billion that buys distressed assets and property and makes money for its investors. If you have ever wondered what happened to former Vice President Dan Quayle and Treasury Secretary, John Snow, they take turns walking a three-headed dog--Cerebus.
Does it matter? If your local Safeway or Albertsons gets sold and your neighbors lose their job, it may make a difference. On the flip side, if you as a consumer get lower prices at the check out stand--maybe not. The end game in this intriguing story of big fish eat little fish in the 21st Century is that the pond world-wide has become an exclusive hot tub. This is a game of multi-billionaires versus mega-billionaires.
In short, Safeway-Albertsons is suiting up to compete against Cosco and Walmart for buying power and survival at the checkout stand. The three-headed dog, Cerebus creeps me out, but a brand is a brand, is a brand.
A juvenile chimpanzee in Gombe Stream National Park in July 2014. (Photo: Michael Christopher Brown/Magnum Photos)
Deforestation around the world has wreaked havoc to humans, wildlife and contributed to climate change. Across rural Africa, trees are harvested to use for cooking and sold in bundles. The result of open burning and harvesting trees by villagers is pollution and profound damage to the ecosystem.
It's one thing to point out the environmental impact from afar, but real change comes from within a culture. The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) recognizing the economic realities of the impoverished people of Africa offers scholarships, medical care and sustenance to villagers in exchange for adopting conservation strategies at the village level.
In 2006, JGI embarked on a 30-year regional conservation plan utilizing satellite imagery which produces maps and photos to villages enabling them to see the devastation and its impact. Thus, enabling them to create their own land-use plan. The key is that stakeholders or those affected by the land-use plan at the local level are the decision makers and policy makers for enforcement. The village is in charge of its destiny.
According to Paul Tullis,Take Part feature editor, Google has developed an online tool that will allow anyone with a handheld device to monitor forests and receive alerts if deforestation is taking place.
TakePart.com is an informative resource for people interested in the environment. The website has an action center for readers to express their views to policy makers.
By now, most everyone has heard about Jeb Bush's 1995 revival of societal shaming for unwed parents and their off springs. His clarification reported by Politico says he has evolved and now shifts the blame shame to fathers. He doesn't retract the statement. In all fairness his clarification may be more harmful to him politically because babies don't vote.
Unfortunately for all, most politicians don't understand or don't want to hear what the Congressional Budget Office and other number crunchers have been telling them since the 1990s. Pre-natal care, well baby and routine vaccinations and care for mother and child is a drop in the bucket compared to chronic disease and genetic disorders on each end of the age spectrum.
We have a looming, torrential storm of aging Boomers whose health care needs will surpass all previous records for utilization. To date, no one has put forth a plan that contains costs. The Affordable Health Care Act and its exchanges, if left in tact by the Supreme Court and Congress will see significant rate increases to keep up with the costs of care. The chronically ill cannot be denied coverage for preexisting conditions and the sky is the limit for coverage.
I recommend USA Today's article, written by Meghan Hoyer on the harsh and heartbreaking realities of the sick caring for the sicker. This is the real takeaway for the blame game being tossed around since the 1990s and it's hitting home now.
Afterthought:
In all fairness to all the politicians running for local, state and federal offices, the above subject is a political hot potato. According to USA Today, "More than 4 million (seniors)— about 15% — have at least six long-term ailments.
Those sickest seniors account for more than 41% of the $324 billion
spent on traditional Medicare."
Editorial
One government fund (Medicaid) or another will and does pick up the tab after the chronically ill senior exhaustshis/her personal resources. At the rate of $100 thousand per year to care for Alzheimer, Parkinson, end-stage renal failure, some cancer and the complications of diabetes and heart disease, most personal funds are depleted very quickly. Medicare does not cover extended long term care in a nursing home. In a nutshell, 15 to 27% of the population will always account for the lion's share of health care spending. This is an immutable factor that no private sector insurance can deal with. So, unless policy makers want to revisit the "Death Panel" shock headlines by trying to parse out medical care--the government will have to deal with it.
Melissa McCarthy is back in a big way in SPY If you liked her in Bridesmaid--you will love her in Spy. The common thread between both films is writer/director Paul Feig. He crafts comedy films like a symphony composer. This genre of film is the toughest to write as McCarthy learned in last year's Tammy. You can assemble brilliant stars, offer an interesting storyline, get some laughs, but 120 minutes is a long time to keep the attention of movie goers. Bridesmaids did it and so does SPY.
Melissa McCarthy plays an unglamorous CIA mission control agent hidden in a dilapidated basement whose job it is to remotely act as the eyes and ears for the Bond-like character played by Jude Law. The tables turn and McCarthy and her gal pal played by Miranda Hart show the funny side of beauty is only skin deep and smart girls finish first.
As I watched the film, I kept thinking who is that femme fatale playing Rayna Boyanov, keeper of the somewhat portable nuke. Alas, I came home and checked IMBD list of characters and other fun facts and it's Ellen Parsons from "Damages" played by Rose Byrne.
SPY is filled with actors and actresses you will recognize and best of all they have dialogue and a story to match their talent. Spy will keep you laughing from beginning to end. My only criticism for Paul Feig is his overuse of the F-word. A professor once told me; use the f-word sparingly for the utmost impact. The gratuitous overuse of fuck this, fucking that, fuck you, becomes a distraction of an otherwise brilliant script. I'd say cut about 30%.
I am not going to give away any spoilers because you deserve a fun and relaxing couple of hours away from it all. Check out the trailer below. You will love it.
Cern's Large Hadron Collider had a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious June 3, 2015. The physics geek world is in a twitter after the successful re-launch of the experiments made famous in the documentary Particle Fever.
The Cern live blog feed in Switzerland began a little after midnight in my time zone. A few hiccups along the way and presto the Hadron Collider was back in business at record speed and a solid beam. On my end the transmission feed leveled out and was solid around 7:30 this morning. What a nice day. This is a huge day with more to come in the theoretical and experimental world of Physics and for all of us.
Sometimes, you wonder who decides what is "news". Call me crazy, but this is the biggest news story of the millennium. Blatter comes--Blatter goes. Jenner goes--Caitlyn comes and a new reality show is on its way. Last night when I picked up my allergy Rx at Walmart I ran into a guy with this T-Shirt on.
The #WearOrange movement was started by the friends and family of Hadiya Pendleton, an honor student who would have celebrated her 18th birthday on June 2, 2015, but for the senseless discharge of a firearm that cut her brilliant future short. Today, Everytown for Gun Safety is organized as a non-profit and has grown to 2.5 million people in all walks of life.
#Wear Orange Motto: NOT ONE MORE
To state the obvious, the right to own a gun in the United States, the most heavily armed population in the world is a political powder keg laced with ambiguity. The NRA slogan, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." as Dr. Johnson points out contains obvious over simplification and fallacious reasoning or as Bart Simpson might say, "Doh".
The reality is that both the solution and the problem is political in all levels of government. Competing interests such as the right of privacy, right to bear arms, free speech, inadequate mental health funds; tools and screening, privileged communications, federal enforcement and local law enforcement collide in treacherous whitewater rapids for lack of a pilot at the helm. In many states and locales there is no discussion because it is deemed political suicide. If you would like to know more about legal solutions to prevent gun violence check out Smart Gun Laws.
A Duty to Protect--Who
Many moons ago, a therapist was deemed to have a duty to warn potential victims of viable threats by their patients in a California case Tarasoff vs The Regents of The University of California. I became aware of this case while studying at the University of California, Irvine and performing field work involving high risk teens under the supervision of licensed professionals. Over the years, some states have adopted a Tarasoff Duty to Warn or Protect, but at the same time courts across the nation have qualified the duty to protect third parties citing patient confidentiality and foreseeability issues.
Some courts have gone so far as to relieve treating professionals of any duty to the public regardless of the threat by their patients. In part because the science is inexact in determining what is insanity at any given point and what to do about it. Additionally, therapists who are the only professionals with the expertise to determine if a person in their care is insane are not required to predict whether a patient's rants and raves may result in a Sandy Hook Elementary massacre, Aurora Colorado Movie Massacre or the Safeway Massacre in Tuscon, Arizona involving Representative Gabby Gifford.
The Duty to Decide--Sorting Out Ambiguities
As recent as today, The United States Supreme Court in Elonis vs The United States of America, June 1, 2015 decided that Facebook posts and violations of protective orders in the form of Rap lyrics by Mr. Elonis did not violate a federal criminal law 18 U.S.C. section 875 (c) which prohibits the transmission in interstate commerce "any communication containing any threat to injure the person of another. In Mr. Elonis's own words:
Federal
“Hi, I’m Tone Elonis.
Did you know that it’s illegal for me to say I want to
kill my wife? . . .
It’s one of the only sentences that I’m not allowed to
say. . . .
Now it was okay for me to say it right then because I
was just telling you that it’s illegal for me to say I
want to kill my wife. . . .
Um, but what’s interesting is that it’s very illegal to
say I really, really think someone out there should kill
my wife. . . .
But not illegal to say with a mortar launcher...
The statements over time escalated involving schools within a ten mile radius, FBI agents, police, and park employees.
"That’s it, I’ve had about enough
I’m checking out and making a name for myself
Enough elementary schools in a ten mile radius
to initiate the most heinous school shooting ever imagined
And hell hath no fury like a crazy man in a Kindergarten class
The only question is . . . which one?”
The court found that the jury instruction in the lower court specifying the objective fear of persons receiving the threats was not the issue. Instead, in order to be convicted of the crime the government must prove Mr. Elonis intended to convey a "threat" by his words and statements. It sure seems like a lot of work to end up blowing it on a jury instruction.
“We are a nation of laws and not of men.”
I will be #wearingorange on June 2nd because to do nothing is to say current gun violence is OK and it isn't okay.
We bid a fond farewell to "Mad Men" and a host of people and things from our past that collectively make up our "Right Now." Where are we re-hee-ly? Alphonse Karr, (1808-1890) the French critic is credited with the philosophical observation:
The more things change the more they stay the same.
Actually, Karr wrote,plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, in his literary journal "The Wasp" in 1849. Literally translated it states, the more it changes, the more it's the same thing. There is no difference in meaning.
By now you may be wondering what's your point. It all comes down to "Welcome to Me" in a Kristen Wiig sort of way. We are all a little self-possessed. The above caption of me in 1966 as compared to the recent mini skirt fashion show at Saks pictured below are a distinction without much of a difference.
2015 While the packaging and methods may change over the years, the fundamentals of human existence remain the same. What's next? More of "ME"
Today is #RedNoseDay a celebration of access for all children to the fundamentals of life with an emphasis on "fun". Providing all children worldwide with the essential tools they need for success in life and school including; healthy food, school safety and education.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Deputy Director of Early Childhood, Ellen Frede is spearheading a movement to expand effective and affordable preschool for all children.
"We now know that high quality preschool, often called pre-K, can be
provided at large scale and still be effective at improving children’s
school success. Because pre-K is so important to creating
lifelong benefits, we are passionate about expanding opportunities for
young children to access high-quality, effective and affordable
preschool education." Dr. Ellen Frede, May 20, 2015 Impatient Optimist Blog.
Today is a very special day indeed! My granddaughter Harlow Marie graduated from Pre-K and her school held a beautiful celebration of the event. Her teachers emphasized the importance of family, education and developing social skills. Hip Hip Hooray for the graduating class of 2015.
According to The National Post, the diet of the Giant Panda consisting mostly of bamboo is leading the endangered specie to extinction. A study conducted at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding concludes the gut bacteria of the modern panda is ill-suited to digest bamboo. The Giant Panda is a carnivore.
According to China Highlights, a census conducted in 2014 find that only 1864 Pandas exist in the wild. The Giant Pandas diet is 99-percent bamboo and the life expectancy in the wild is 15 to 20-years. In captivity the Panda may live up to 30 years.
Apparently, the Pandas exclusive bamboo diet with only about one-percent consisting of other plants and meat began nearly two million years ago. Unlike other herbivore species the Pandas digestive bacteria never evolved. The Panda is only able to digest 17-percent of the bamboo and spends approximately 14-hours a day munching away at the tough fibrous plant.
The study has far reaching implications for staving off the ultimate extinction of the glorious Giant Panda.
Parents of children with disabilities challenge toy makers to include their child in play time. Parents; Rebecca Atkinson, Karen Newell and Melissa Motsyn decided to start an awareness campaign aptly named, #toylikeme. Their facebook page, toylikeme community has gone viral. Parents around the world are contributing their opinions and challenges to Lego, Disney, Mattel and small toy manufacturers.
Thanks to this era of 3D reproductions going main stream, accessories such as tiny canes, mobility chairs, hearing aids and the like can be produced. Makies a UK doll maker company answered the challenge by creating a range of accessories and modified dolls that may be ordered.
Play time is essential for childhood development. According to parents of children with special needs their children have been ignored and left out of play time. Creating play time dolls, super heroes, and action figures with various forms of disabilities provides a positive self image for special needs children and acceptance by others.
The future looks very bright for advances in medical technology and robotics. Playtime may be tomorrows medical technology engineering advances. After all, in order to make advances you have to spend time experimenting (playing) and understanding the challenges.
Thoroughbred racing fans have gone a long stretch without a Triple Crown winner--Affirmed in 1978 to be exact. I was lucky enough to be at the rail to see Affirmed win the Kentucky Derby with hometown boy Stevie Cauthen on board. Sure there have been some two jewel victors, but for a creepy jinx they have fallen flat. There are reasons: Belmont is a tough track, but the Triple Crown schedule is daunting for even the toughest horse and jockey. Sometimes, a horse just runs out of gas or has a bad day.
In 1998, Real Quiet was a perfectly great horse, good temperment, handily won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. It was a beautiful day at Belmont, the train ride from D.C. to New York was filled with fun loving racing fans. With a blink of the eye, Victory Gallop won the race by inches. You have never seen a more depressing party train for the ride home.
Can American Pharoah beat the jinx? Should he continue to wear cotton ear plugs because he hates loud noises? American Pharoah has proven he can run in slop, sunny days and has tremendous endurance and strength.Whatever he has been doing he should continue with some rest time sprinkled in until the June 6th Belmont Stakes.
The interesting component is that Tale of Verve in the current Preakness and Victory Gallop in 1998 had one thing in common. They hung loose in the back of the pack and closed with a sprint that was formidable.
Go American Pharoah--You Can Do It!
Update--June 6
We have a Triple Crown Winner. American Pharoah handily won the Belmont Stakes 2015.
American Pharoah--Led All the Way-The American Way
A passionate gripe of mine is the so-called "conservatives" mangling of the term conservative. Regardless of which political party has been in power over the last 75-years until recent decades, the true mark of a conservative was the adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cures."
Healthy diets prevent catastrophic disease, public transportation reduces pollution, and our highways and railways transport healthy perishable food stuffs to you before it spoils.
As a nation, the USA has tilted in favor of Jerry-rigging. a blind eye or dismissing necessary upgrades and maintenance with an offhanded comment, make-do and be grateful for what you have.
The recent passenger train wreck on the outskirts of Philadelphia with hundreds of injuries and to date eight deaths points out the fallacious reasoning of Congress. Notwithstanding, the horrible train wreck, Congress turned down funding requests by Amtrak and instead chose to decrease funding for the entire rail industry.
Funding for rail lines, upgrades for railroad cars, technology upgrades and maintenance have been steadily declined since the 1990s. Regardless of use and regardless of the utility of rail travel for food and people.
Coincidentally, the same penny-wise attitude that cuts the transportation of healthy foodstuffs to the young and old has additionally opted for boxed and canned cheap food loaded with starches, carbohydrates, sugar and salt.
The long health cost is astronomical; obesity, diabetes and coronary artery disease aren't cheap to treat. These costs cannot be measured entirely in penny and pounds. An unhealthy diet is a loss of brain power and optimum quality of life.
Instead of looking for temporary quick fix sugar rushes. Wouldn't it be nice to change the conversation to a solid no-frills plan of action.
Mushrooms pack a huge health benefit. Many foodies classify the not so glamorous mushroom as a plant. In fact, the mushroom's family is the fungi. The common mushroom found in most supermarkets and farmer's market contain; fiber, Vitamin B, D, thiamine, potassium, selenium, iron, copper and an array of anti-oxidants which support the immune system. Best of all, the mushroom is low in calories and contains zero fat, according to Medical News Today.
Dr. Andrew Weill MD an authority on the mushroom finds that certain Asian mushroom possess cancer-fighting properties. Specifically the Shiitake, Enoki, Maitake and Oyster mushrooms provide support for the immune system, may reduce tumors and lower bad cholesterol, according to WebMD.
The humble mushroom is recommended for people with Type 1 and II diabetes. The hard outer skin of the mushroom may make it hard to digest for people with digestive disorders. Cooking the mushroom releases the nutrient value and diminishes the anti-digestive property. Grilling, baking and sauteing the mushroom makes it more palatable and tastier.
I recommend, remove the stem, place mushrooms on a cookie sheet, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sprinkles of cheese and grated fresh garlic. Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees and within minutes you have an appetizer, salad ingredient or nice addition to any entree.
The visitor is transported back in time to a day of
discovery on the Gates of the Mountain river tour located a short drive from
Helena, Montana. The days of operations
run from May 24 to September 20. You
will have a choice of various river boats for a one and a half hour tour of the
pristine waterway with cliffs jetting some 1200 feet and the bluest skies in
the west. Awestruck, Meriwether Lewis
named this area "Gates of the Rocky Mountain."
If you are interested in the natural inhabitants of this majestic spot you
may be lucky to view the Longhorn Sheep making their way above the rocky
cliffs. The bird life is abundant. You may see a hawk, an osprey or a variety
of blue birds as well as ducks, loons, tanagers and meadowlarks.
The boat tour makes one stop along the way at Meriwether Campground where
passengers can disembark and enjoy the scenery. If you travel early enough you
can stay, have a picnic and catch the next boat for a ride back to the marina
dock.
The Hilger Family is owed a great debt of gratitude. They were one of the
more vigilant stewards of the land and water. Each and all of them loved the
place and protected the area as if it was a special duty. The son of the original
owner Brian Hilger was the embodiment of the western gentleman. "
n
