Friday, April 6, 2018

Pelicans and Gulls Galore


 Late Sunday April1,2018,  April Fool's Day it wasn't a joke when we found huge Pods of migrating Pelicans scattered across Lake Red Rock in Central Iowa, accompanied by a flock of  Ring-billed Gulls. As we watched the Gulls they would snatch up little fish close to the sitting Pelicans, which would in turn rile them up and put them in the chase mode.

The channel closest to the Dam was full of Pelicans vying for position. As they sat bobbing up and down the water pushed them backwards...Eventually they would lift up a few feet off the surface and move closer as they rested to continue to their breeding grounds.

We did spot individuals who felt it less necessary to be in a clustered group setting over other sections of the Lake, but it was more enjoyable of course to be able to get closer to watch for awhile.

You might be able to see in the pictures the feather tufts or otherwise known as plumage starting midpart of the head and the bumps or horns on the anterior part of the upper jaw. Those two features I've read indicate the seasonal preparation for breeding in the American White Pelican.


So much Spring migration activity is already underway! Looking forward to the next month and a half for the stragglers to pass through...

Have a Great Day!


Thursday, April 5, 2018

Facebook a Problem for You

My title today is of a great concern to me... Has it become a problem in your personal life?

I went to Facebook from Blogging in January of 2009 to be with a group of people that I'd made connections with in the Blogosphere beginning in late 2006. My understanding of both worlds, Blogging and Social Media have grown expotentially within that time period. Keeping up with the trends,twists and turns constantly being placed in my path...along with responsibilities of home,family and yes,at times helping others. I can't say I know everything about Facebook, but what I do know, I will share from my point of view.

Even after years of sporadically writing my Blog I still don't know the total outreach of whom it has touched.

Sometimes, I run into situations where I know people are using my words from Facebook,my Blog here at Timber Life and they are voicing it openly to identify if they were spoken/written by me,Dianna Butcher. My written voice is different than my vocalizations on a person to person basis most of the time. When I feel strongly about an issue - that's when I start talking. I would be narrow minded to believe what I've said publicly won't have become an issue for some.

Admittedly, I did state on Facebook to my Son-in-Law(probably two years ago at least)who has become a Pastor that if I should say something that could be used to further the Kingdom of God in a Sermon, I would be glad to be apart of it.

Now, I'd like to discuss some difficulties I've experienced over the years of exposure on the Internet/ Social Media. For the longest time I only wrote under my psuedonym CDGardens a compilation of my husband Corey's and my first initials plus Gardens since I was trying to decide what I wanted to be called in the Market Garden realm,  wanting to keep my location and identity under wraps.

I left Twitter many years ago because I kept having problems with Russian Hackers taking over my account.  I really didn't want to have to concentrate so hard on keeping that segment of my Social interaction going.Unless you remain actively engaged,monitoring your account, it's easy for impersonators to steal your identity.

  
 In 2008 the power for anonymity was removed totally from me or so I felt. My husband wanted to document his flight from our home grass strip with his WWI French Voisin 3/5 concept design to the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture at Oshkosh which was placed on Youtube. Our information was placed on many websites, including his own www.voisin35.com . Corey, with his excellent editing and artistic ability has been able to create some outstanding publications for the Replica Fighters Association  and the local Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 675 . So, I didn't feel it a problem when I started writing about us in this Blog and speaking of our relationship on Facebook.

Getting back to Facebook - It can be a tool to help build a business, a charity, or personal relationships . With so many layers of communication it can become a problem for people as well. We all assume that if we are friends we'll all know what is happening in each others circle of friends, but with time it becomes evident you may or may not know what even your friends are saying. Our transparency can become guarded when we find just one thing that we can't agree upon.

Please let me explain...Speaking in terms of Corey and myself.

1.We started out as individual profiles on Facebook - Corey became a co-administrator of EAA 675 under the name of eebutcher in December 2012, my profile was established in 2009 as Dianna Butcher. 

2.We then decided to do a joint account for a time,shared accounts can give some people a misunderstanding of who might actually be posting. So, to make a clarification we added our own name at the end of the post or choose to stand individually in support of one another. I changed  my profile name to Dianna Koenig Butcher to reach some family members that otherwise may not know who I am.

3. In an effort to put the Voisin 3/5 plans up for sale and reconstruction progress in front of the public, we started talking about it on Facebook. So, that was one more reason for Corey to have an individual profile to promote his concept plane.

I do have co-administrative rights of my own for Voisin 3/5 now but  posted under Corey's name during July 2016. If you look at his profile posts or timeline you may not see anything other than what I post. Speaking in jest it gives me the impression that he wants others to know He's nothing without me. 😇

There are times when someone may make a comment on a post on Faceboook that isn't seen by the individual because of operating system incongruitites. Please speak to the individual on a one to one basis to know if they've received your intended message - that is if you don't happen to see a response to your's.

In this Facebook oriented Society it is a problem when we gauge our full knowledge about who someone is by what's posted. They may not be clear in where they're coming from in their statements.

If Facebook has a place in your daily existence - please don't allow it to consume all your time or your energy...


Have a Great Day!