At the Scene of the Crime

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Philip Magallanes

We had just returned from the grocery store and noticed a murder (large group) of crows in the cottonwoods alongside the pond. They were really making quite a racket. I suspected there was something up. Lyn looked out the deck and saw something just off the path on the other side of the pond. I took out my binoculars and saw a very large and mature Cooper’s Hawk on the ground next to what appeared to be a dead male Ring-necked Duck. The Cooper’s Hawk, with striking russet-colored bars on her breast and bluish- gray wings, was disturbed by all the commotion. She decided to fly up into the nearby bushes and then out of sight. I wanted to verify that the duck was a male Ring-necked Duck so I approached within about 30 feet to get a better look with my binoculars. There was no doubt. The bill and plumage was unmistakable. So what really happened?

My nephew suggested that the Cooper’s Hawk was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He thought it unlikely that a Cooper’s Hawk would take down a duck. He thought it more likely that the duck was taken by an Eagle and dropped or simply died for some other reason and the hawk was simply picking up some carrion. If an Eagle had taken the duck it is possible that he simply dropped the duck when confronted with the large murder of crows (about 20 birds). But it was a very large Cooper’s Hawk! I think the hawk did it. Later that afternoon I returned to the spot where I saw the dead drake. The duck had been dragged about 6 feet. It appeared that the Cooper’s Hawk had returned to the scene of the crime for her lunch. It was an ugly sight. There was little left but head and feathers.

In my youth, I went fishing a few times, but I never went hunting. I couldn’t kill an animal without feeling like I did something wrong. But the hawk did what it was supposed to do. In the hawk’s view there was no crime. The next morning there was double the number of Ring-necked Ducks in the pond. Were they trying to make a statement of protest or did they already forget what happened? I haven’t. We humans are often not able to forget. It can be a blessing, but sometimes it’s a curse.

After two weeks, I returned to the “Scene of the Crime.” Feathers were still scattered on the ground.

Ring-necked Duck Male

Ring-necked Duck female

My Cousin Sylvia

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Philip Magallanes

Major Quake hits Japan followed by a tsunami that hits just north and east of Tokyo. My brother Ron is at home in Tokyo at the time. The building shakes for a long time. Then it shakes again and again. He’s still shaking but sends me and other family members an email saying that he is OK. The next day he writes more emails telling us that Tokyo is recovering rapidly. The next morning my cousin Sylvia calls me asking how Ron is doing. Sylvia lives in Southern California. I live in Western Washington. She wanted to know because Ron is family.

I grew up with some unusual grandparents. Both were devout Catholics and both were forced to leave Mexico because of political unrest in the early 1920s. My maternal grandfather was a famous Mexican Muralist who continued as a muralist, portrait artist, and religious painter in California. My paternal grandfather was a politician and landowner/businessman who put his skills in business to good use in the Los Angeles area. He had to. He had 13 children.

Back Row from Left: Adela, Ralph, Frank, Angie. Middle Row: Joe, Lupe, Grandfather, Grandmother, Teresa, Gabriel. Bottom Row: Mike, Katherine, Laura, Rosemary, and Nick.

There’s Dad on the top right. Only Laura, Rosemary and Nick are still living. When my grandfather died in 1965 he had 50 grandchildren. Growing up we became acquainted with all the cousins. Many still live in the Los Angeles area. Rosemary moved with her family to Albuquerque, New Mexico so we didn’t see her children too often. But there are many happy memories to explore. My cousin Sylvia is Uncle Ralph’s daughter. So what brought her to call me about my brother Ron? I don’t believe the answer is easy, but I think it has something to do with the powerful bond that family has on us. I remember that Sylvia came to visit my mom when she was very ill and near death. I remember my brothers were all there when both parents were in their last hours. I remember Joe’s family bringing water to share with the family at my father’s funeral. I remember playing baseball with Joe’s kids and Rosemary’s kids. I remember playing chess with Frank’s kids. I remember growing up with Nick’s children. I suppose it was these occasions and occasions like them where the family bond grew stronger. I really appreciate the call from Sylvia. It was a pleasant reminder that I will always have my family. It’s a good feeling to have.

A Mystic, an Osprey and a Little Problem of Snow

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Philip Magallanes

“The only job where you are always wrong and get paid for it.”

It’s tough to forecast the weather here in Western Washington, especially when something out of the ordinary is happening. The trouble is, the Puget Sound, the terrain, the mountains and the ocean mix things up. This image is a good metaphor for life, at least my life. I have plans, but “stuff” mixes things up.

I was looking forward to dance practice this morning, but the snow got in the way. Our meditation group was meeting this afternoon. The possibility of icy roads got in the way. I planned to shovel the drive way, but it is about to snow again. Or is it?

Adults are supposed to solve problems. As children, if we are lucky to come from a happy family, our parents took care of all the major problems. But now, it is up to us. Some of us learn to depend on others. Some of us would prefer to do it ourselves. “Life is complicated.” That is, unless nature keeps us indoors for a day or two.

My cousin told me the story of these people who got up early in the morning and got out on the lake to go fishing. After an hour or two they still had not caught any fish. Just then an Osprey swooped down, picked up a good-sized fish with its talons and flew off. The Osprey knew how to solve the problem.

To a great extent, our lives and relationships are defined by the problems that we solve. I like to solve technical problems. Others are handy around the house and like to solve problems related to plumbing, garage doors, and gardens. Others like to play games, play sports, or solve puzzles. Some like to solve people problems. Some like to figure out what character will be dumped first from a novel, TV series, or movie. Sometimes we are driven to solve our problems. But occasionally, when we can’t solve them, we would just like our problems to go away.

The mystics, on the other hand, are able to drop out of the never ending swirl of problem solving for a little while. They understand that communication with the “greater power” or “grace giver” is more important than simply solving life’s problems. Mystics have been doing this for millennia. I believe that I can become a mystic with practice and hard work. But that, in itself, is a problem. Do I really want to solve it?

Super Powers

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Philip Magallanes

If you could have any super power, which would you choose? For the purposes of this discussion, the following powers are allowed: super-strength, super-speed, mind reading, super-intelligence, flight, and time travel with a space transporter. Sorry, no ice generation or flame throwing. So which would you choose? Super-strength and super-speed would be nice if you wanted to be a super hero. Mind reading would be interesting, but really scary. What if I could tell what people were really thinking? I suspect I would lose all my friends in a hurry. What if other people could read my mind? Now that would be downright embarrassing. People would probably throw me out of their house on a regular basis. Some would not let me in their house. Super intelligence would be helpful. But I really can’t imagine what it would be like because, right now, I have average intelligence. I believe I would choose time travel with a space transporter. My apologies to Dr. Einstein, but I would have to set some rules. The time and place where I visited would have no knowledge of my presence. I could not talk to anyone and no one would be able to see or hear me. But it would still be a super experience.

So where would I go? In this case, of course, we are talking about time and space. I can think of many places. First, I would like to play baseball with my Dad again. He would take his sons with him to Lynwood Park, or one day, he took us to Chavez Ravine before Dodger Stadium was built. He was a great pitcher, or so it seemed to a six year old. Sometimes he would hit us fly balls. There was nothing in the world that was more fun than catching one of his deep flies to the outfield.

Next, I would like to be in front of our house when I was five years old. I was flying a kite and all the string was out, the kite was flying almost straight up. “Look Mommy.” Look at my kite!” My mom peered out the window and looked up. She seemed very happy with her little boy.

And then I would like to be two years old on the rug rolling the ball back and forth to my grandfather. I remember the smell of the linseed oil from his paints and the faint outlines of the room, but I would love to be there again. It seemed like the happiest place on earth.

Where would you go?

Ducks and Stories

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Philip Magallanes

Ducks feeding at McDuck Lake

Yesterday, there were hundreds of ducks in McDuck Lake just behind our house. I led a group of about 20 Trilogy Birders into the wetlands to view this incredible site. We saw hundreds of Mallards, American Wigeons, and Northern Pintails. We also saw a few Hooded Mergansers, Ring-necked Ducks and Buffleheads. Why were there so many ducks? Last week the farmlands of the Snoqualmie Valley were flooded. Thousands of ducks came to feed and generally hang out. As the flood waters receded, the ducks needed new real estate before their Spring migration northward. Many of them decided to come to McDuck Lake. And as always, ducks, I mean birds of a feather flock together.

In the evening, the feature presentation for the Trilogy Birders meeting was a book reading by Connie Sidles. I had never been to a book reading before. I thought they were designed for old ladies that were enthralled by romantic fiction. But I really enjoyed Connie’s presentation. Connie is a small unassuming woman that knows the birds of the Montlake Fill as if they are part of her family. Her stories are not just about birds, but rather about how bird stories relate to and differ from our own stories. Before she began reading, she told us it was OK to slouch. Those instructions were all that I needed to transport out of the march of time and into a timeless place where children wander and only the story matters. I felt like a child listening to a parent or teacher read from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

I was enthralled by her stories. I bought her book In My Nature and had her sign the front cover.

Turn! Turn! Turn!

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Philip Magallanes

We had a sunny day, the first in a long time. There was no snow on the ground. So we decided to take a walk. This is where we walked:

It was 39F and mostly sunny but felt warmer because there was no wind. We walked up 232nd Street to just beyond the Tolt Pipeline. Turning East on NE 14oth Street we walked towards the Snoqualmie River Valley. Passing 235 Ct NE we saw a Pileated Woodpecker flying west. The white under her wings sparkled in the bright sunshine. Lyn noted the beautiful houses with large play areas along the way. One house had a two story tree house for the children. I noted the singing Song Sparrows. At the end of 140th Street we stopped to take photos of the Snoqualmie River Valley. We could see a small portion of the river and a lot of flooded farmland as we looked to the northeast. Continuing south on 242nd Ave NE we walked among tall Douglas Firs. As we approached the Pipeline again we noticed the “bathtub” on the right, a famous landmark. Knowing that the view would be spectacular at the bottom of the hill, but not wanting to walk back again, I decided to walk down anyway. Lyn went part way. The view was spectacular. I could see hundreds if not thousands of ducks in the huge puddles created by the flooded river. But then I had to walk up again. No problem. I’m only 63.
Returning along the Pipeline we passed a man who was playing ball with two black poodles. Their ears would flop up and down as they chased the ball. It was funny to watch. Returning to our neighborhood we saw men laying concrete on the curbs and sidewalks. A week earlier, another crew had come to tear up the less than perfect work of their predecessors. “To every thing … there is a season…”

In the Blink of an Eye

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Philip Magallanes

As one gets older, one wonders why time goes by so fast. I was talking to one of our friends at a gathering last night. Neither one of us could remember very much about raising our children. I remember the high points and the low points, but without photos; I would forget a lot more. It all seemed to go by so fast. Our two daughters were born and before I knew it, they were out of the nest. I remember holding my oldest daughter in my arms when she was about three days old. I held her with just my right hand. Today she has two boys of her own. Where did the time go?

I remember the day that I met my wife to be as if it was only yesterday. After 42 years of being married, it still seems like it was only yesterday.

I remember starting work at Hughes Aircraft Company fresh out of the Air Force. Before I knew it, I was signing retirement papers. Did I really work that many years?

My dad used to enjoy dancing before he met my mom. After that he never danced again until my oldest daughter got married. Certainly it was the most photographed dance in history. He never missed a beat. Even though it had been over 50 years, to my dad it probably didn’t seem like that long ago.

I remember going to church with my dad when I was young. They called him “Mr. Magallanes.” Before I knew it, I was at his funeral and they were calling me Mr. Magallanes. How could that be? I thought I was just one of his boys.

When my youngest daughter was three, she took piano lessons from my mother. At four, her mother found her playing something different by herself. Her mother asked her what she was doing. She said “I’m composing.” Today she writes music as part of her business. I bet she can still feel the piano keys on grandma’s piano. My daughter never missed a beat.

Time plays tricks on us as we get older. When we are young, Christmas seems like it will never come. But as we get older, time passes in the blink of an eye.

Busted

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Philip Magallanes

“Busted window panes. Candles dripping onto soggy candy canes, on a tree.” These words, originally written by my daughters to parody a Christmas song, bring together the weather forecasts and weather of this last week.

About 5 days ago, the word was Snow-mageddon. There was 1 to 2 inches of water available and it was all to fall in the form of snow on Western Washington. Translation: 1 to 2 inches of snow would amount to 10 to 20 inches of snow — a historic event. The major forecasting models were calling for the Low pressure center to form south and a little west of the state and move north. This would allow the warm air from the south to overrun the cold air that was already in place. And that would mean lots and lots of snow. But then one of the models suggested that the low would form up around British Columbia. That would mean that the cold air would be forced north out of the way before the warm moist air arrived. A day later, two of the models suggested that the Low would form to the north leaving us with mostly rain. But one model, the “best” one still said that the Low would approach from the south — bad news. Then about three days ago, the very same model showed the low creeping northward. The day before yesterday, the models came into agreement: the Low would approach from the north. There would be little snow, perhaps 6 hours before everything turned into rain. Last night, 2 or 3 hours before the event, the models were saying that there would be little snow on the east side because the flow would be straight out of the east and easterly flow dries out the atmosphere. It didn’t happen. We received 3 inches of snow and the flow was still out of the east. The gap between our house and the neighbors house runs east to west. I opened the side door and the wind blew into the porch and into the house. Eddies were forming in the porch, like little snowflake tornadoes. But I must admit, the snow did taper off more quickly on the east side than it did in other areas, but that was after our 3 inches of snow.

So what happened? The long range forecast was a bust. Details of the short range forecast were a bust. The three day forecast was somewhat helpful. The 5-day forecast was misleading. Snow-mageddon never happened. Yes, forecasting the weather is a tough job. In the northwest, because of the topography, it is a very tough job. “Busted window panes, candles dripping onto…”

The Geek, PHP and MySql

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Philip Magallanes

MySql is a database that usually sits on a server. It allows you to store information from forms and then retrieve it when you want it. In WordPress, when someone fills out one of the comments, the information is saved in the database and then retrieved when you go to your control panel. You can also retrieve it directly if you want but you need to know a little about PHP. The trouble with PHP is that you have to run the programs on a server. It is really inconvenient to write a program, upload it to your server and then see if it works. With HTML you can simply send the program to your browser and get immediate feedback. Web developers will generally setup a local server so they can test their programs immediately. I have been avoiding doing that because I didn’t know how a local server would affect my Windows 7 environment. But now I have a solution. I took my old computer, took out the boot drive which left me with a very functional 111 GB hard drive that I completely converted to Linux (Ubuntu 10.10). Linux comes with a local server (Apache), PHP and MySql. I am in the process of setting up that environment. So far, everything works! I have all the software that I need to update and write my normal web pages. Soon I hope to be writing PHP applications (that talk to MySql). At this point, I have to disconnect the keyboard from my regular computer and plug it into my Ubuntu computer. Since I got the wireless connection to work, I don’t need to bother with the Ethernet connection. I hope to get a switch to take care of the keyboard issue soon.

Here We Go Again

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Philip Magallanes

It just started to melt. Big plops of snow fell from the Douglas Firs along the highway on my way to Bothell. It was as high as 38 in some areas. But tonight it will rain with maybe a flash of snow before sunrise. We were just getting used to the slippery, icy spots in the parking lots. The lawns have been white for almost a week now. But that will all turn into a slushy mess within 24 hours. By the weekend, the snow is back, and the cold temperatures.
We took a few walks through the winter wonderland surrounding our house. Here are a few photos.