Happy Saturday morning all:

“In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.” Mark Twain

“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!'” Robin Williams

The heat has been turned off, that makes the warmth of the coffee mug and the smell of my fresh coffee all the more perfect.

I suppose it’s quite alright to go a little ‘nutty’ on the Spring thing the first time of the year that the temperature plans to cross the 70-degree mark.

Last evening’s dinner was a first for 2013 – on the deck! Actually, I’d already spent some time there ready, having tea, and enjoying a mid-afternoon snack.

Spring Activities – Marcia has purchased a small trailer load of mulch The result being that many black patches have appeared on what was previously barren earth – especially so around various bushes.

I took “The Duck” out of the garage for more than a furtive dive around the block. It was also a perfect time to drag out some tools and work on performing a series of little tasks on the little Deux Chevaux.

Part of the more extensive “tooling about” was a drive to St. Bernard where we met up with Adrianne, Vai, and Vili (Tevita was still out of town). Once there we all walked to the local Dairy Queen for some ice cream.

There was a reason we opted for the DQ experience besides great weather. Earlier in the week Adrianne and the kids drove by the ice cream joint and Vai – aged four – popped out with; “I have so many fun memories of Dairy Queen”. Tell me now, how could anyone not add to that bank of fun memories?

April, is Autism Month – It’s also an opportunity to relay a little true tale shared by Kirstin.

Actually, Kirstin’s tale was in response to a call she received from Derek’s teacher. It appears that in Derek’s class (fourth grade) is a kid diagnosed with Autism. Over a period of time he’d developed a tick whenever he spoke. As the tick became more noticeable his fellow students began to make fun and make comments. Very soon the teacher had had enough. She had an assistant leave the room with the student receiving the brunt of the comments and launched into a discussion.

It was pointed out how hurtful, how damaging, etc, etc, all their behavior was to their fellow student, themselves, and the whole class.

About this time our Derek raised his hand and upon a “yes Derek?” he simply stated; “I have Autism.”

That statement began an intense question and answer time. Student to Derek; “are you stupid?” Derek; “no I am not, my brain just works different.”

For some period of time Derek and the teacher fielded a series of questions regarding Autism. As Derek’s teacher related to Kirstin; it was a teaching/learning moment she could not have orchestrated.

I could not be prouder of the little guy!

And as an aside, his last report card was all ‘As’ and one ‘B’. And yes, over Easter weekend he had two major meltdowns. He’s smart, he’s all boy, and he has one of the forms of Autism.

April, a perfect month for us all to reflect on those “whose brain just works differently”.

Animal planet – Yesterday, while on the deck Marcia and I spotted our neighborhood’s Red Shouldered hawk fly over, heading back towards its nest. Dangling underneath was a small snake.

I just received my e-copy of Bird Studies Canada. The lead article was titled; “Common Loon Reproductive Success in Canada.” Loon reproduction success was tabulated between 1992 and 2010. (see attached summary).

In a nutshell, the survey is a great indicator of the health of Canada’s waterways, especially regarding Mercury, acid rain, and other detrimental run-off in the waterways. Western Canada saw more young produced than Eastern Canada. Larger lakes too did better than smaller lakes.

If nothing else, it demonstrates the importance of citizen science and the total interaction of everything when it comes to ecosystem health.

Fini –Make it a great week everyone.

Cheers,

Dirk

From the Archives
Saturday, April 21, 2007

Morning all:
Quote Of The Week:
“Life is like an onion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.” — Carl Sandburg

Hello from Orlando, for the first time since I checked in I have my little in-room coffeepot perking away; the Starbuck’s in the lobby won’t open till six. In the background the television newscasts are still blathering away about the shooter in Virginia—they only know how to play at the periphery and grab the sensational. Possibly what is needed is a bit of a focus on how severely mentally ill folk are coated in a legal blanket of ‘Teflon’ so that no service agency can provide necessary and real services to these individuals. The youngest son of our old neighbors is a senior at Virginia Tech. He is safe and sound. Let the healing for all those affected start quickly.

The meetings I have been attending have been tremendous, contacts made valuable, and the days long. Still, there has been opportunity to spend a bit of time with Kirstin and the grandkids—and are they ever delightful.

In a bit I have a morning breakfast meeting to finish up my week and then I’ll spend the day with Vince, Kirstin, and the kids. I am told that a ride on Thomas the Train is in the offing.

What has thrilled me is how excited both Derek and Kellen were to see me. How loving both little guys are, and how incredibly quick they were to warm up to me being in their lives again. Even Kellen at only nine months played with me for about 15 minutes while big brother and mom were not even in sight, I just didn’t expect that degree of acceptance.

By the way, did I tell you just how much fun they are?

In the morning I am heading for meetings in Atlanta and on Tuesday it is off to France, We’ll talk next week.

In the meantime, make it a great week everyone: since by now the Starbuck’s is open I know mine is starting off right. Now first spend a bit of time cleaning up yesterday’s email.

Cheers,
Dirk