eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

Well, filled in the Great Backyard Bird Count, (GBBC) online form. All told, it was easy and took a total of about 20 minutes, soup to nuts. In 15 minutes we were graced by just 3 chickadees, a crow, and a gull - not exactly representative of an avian menagerie, but the job is done, and the form submitted. In general though, the poor showing at the feeders was just a sort of a reflection of the day. It just seemed to be one of those days. (Do birds have those days too?) Anyway, the shot of our cat Toby below says a lot... (Lie down, stick out your tongue at the world, and then take a nap.)

This post wouldn't be appropriate if we didn't mention the tragedy at Northern Illinois University... Obviously, our thoughts and prayers go out to all affected.

Onward...

Here's the deal concerning the shootings from my perspective... I've been thinking about writing concerning this subject matter for quite a while... While I'm no expert on the subject of young adults under pressure, I do have a degree in psychology, and have spent well over 1,000 hours tutoring/teaching/counseling young individuals under sometimes intense, real-world scholastic, social, and work stress. (Ok, so I am an expert of sorts...)

Next post, we'll mull over what many (myself included) would claim are three unimaginably under-rated factors involved in horrors like NIU, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Jonesboro. (Yes, we all understand chemical imbalances in the brain... But there is simply more to it than that. There are undeniably much larger social factors involved.) Reflecting those factors are three problems I observed over 30 years and thousands of students:

• The "You're the most important person in the whole wide world" world view our children learn at a very young age.
• Selfishly question all things respected regardless of how hurtful or illogical...
• The rabid willingness of huge multimedia conglomerates to pander anything to the young (no matter how vile) that will turn a buck...

Tune in next time by the feeders for Part 2...

CapeCodAlan