By Edward C. Fritz
May 8, 2006
About five percent of Americans live to age 96 or longer. Many of those feel good. I have lived three months past age 90, and I usually feel good, although I no longer can be much help to the world, as I used to be.
At old age, most people spend time enjoying life. As my memory weakens, I no longer perform much, but I deeply enjoy life. My wife, Genie, and my three daughters help me a lot, with food, walks, talks, and gifts. I usually feel good. Many other people say and do nice things for me.
My wife still takes me to beautiful places, like wild areas, musical events, monthly and annual meetings. My wife also fills my outside bird feeders. So I can enjoy seeing many species, like red-bellied woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, tufted titmice, goldfinches, and even house sparrows. Nearby are many more species, including cardinals, mourning doves, white-winged doves, and white-throated sparrows.
We have over twenty kinds of wild trees, including Green ash, Gum bumelia, Eastern red cedar, Black cherry, Eastern Cottonwood, Box Elder, American Elm, Cedar Elm, Common Fig, Pyracantha, Sweet gum, Common Hackberry, American holly, Honey Locust, Mesquite, Southern Red Oak, Bur Oak, Live Oak, Osage Orange, Pecan, Mexican Plum, Texas redbud, Flame-leaf sumac, Common Sycamore, and Texas Hercules Club. Occasionally a red-tailed hawk from our deep back yard comes looking for a bird to eat, but I never see it catch one.
At old age, most people like me, cannot lead a battle to maintain human population and peace. Most old people can merely support younger officials who lead a big movement to stop over-population and war. The trouble is that few people in positions of power actually lead a powerful effort to end the growth of population or to prevent the beginning of another war. Therefore, we old people can mainly be nice to others and enjoy the remaining days or years of life.
Life began as cells 3 ½ billion years ago and gradually spread out from one species to another. There is no evidence of any species living after death. Therefore, each human should enjoy life, itself. Long before our Earth formed, our Universe spread out 14 billion years ago, long after material existed, which may have been forever. On that basis, I think human lives are a result of amazing development. We can enjoy life deeply into old age and on almost to death. No human should weaken true enjoyment by physically attacking another human. A human may argue with another human with the purpose of keeping both lives enjoyable.
When approaching death, a person should overcome huge pain by mental concentration or medicine and enjoy the remainder of life. This can be done by listening to music, relatives, friends, reading, and other actions. Life can be pleasant to the end, or about to the end. Enjoy yourself. Be nice to others.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Good Birds Do Well at Feeder
From 9:15 to 10:45 a.m. on the 15th of January, various birds made 153 trips to our bird feeder. A few of them stayed there several minutes, but most of them merely came and went rapidly.
The sun was behind clouds except times for a moment when the sky was blue between the clouds.
The birds at the feeder mostly came for less than a minute, but some birds mainly house finches, house sparrows, tufted titmice, chickadees, downy woodpeckers, and red-bellied woodpeckers, ate on the feeder about four minutes.
Shortly after the hour and a half of feeding, some birds came back to the feeder. They no longer included everything before. A bird in the first round was red at the top of the head and red under the chin. A look at a bird book identified it as a Yellow-bellied sapsucker.
Two different kinds of doves stay near but not on the feeder. They eat the seeds that are dropped to the ground by the birds at the feeder.
In 2 hours on the 18th day of January, 2007, the various birds fed on the feeder at a total of 2,94 times. This was more of them than usually come to our feeder, although the day was cold.
The red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, house finch and house sparrows stayed on the feeder several times, up to 4 minutes. The chickadees, tufted titmice, and others came and went immediately. All birds stayed in my feeder several times in 2 hours.
From 9:30 to 10:30 birds came 406 times to my feeder. Only a few downy woodpeckers stayed there four or five minutes. The others came and went rapidly.
After 10:30, many more birds came to the feeder. It was cold outside—mostly at 40 or 50 degrees.
Birds that came to the feeder from 9:30 to 10:30 on January 20th included Tufted titmice, Chicadees, House finch, House sparrows, Downy woodpeckers, and Red-bellied woodpeckers.
On the 26th of January, 2007, I saw 84 birds on our feeder. At 9:30 to 10:30, and 54 birds on the feeder from 10:30 to 11:30. They included Red-bellied woodpeckers, Downy woodpeckers, Chickadees, Tufted titmice, House Sparrow, House Finch, and no rain this day.
At 4:00 o’clock to 4:20, on January 27, birds ate at the feeder by my house, and start eating. A Downy woodpecker ate from 4:21 to 4:26.
No one ate more until the next day.
On the 27th day of January, in 2007, it turned colder by thirty-five and forty third day. In that period, the number of birds who came to the feeder was 180.
When we got back from church on the 28th of January, 2007, 32 birds ate at the feeder in 20 minutes, until Genie filled the feeder from the bottom. Immediately , 84 birds ate at the feeder in 20 minutes.
The sun was behind clouds except times for a moment when the sky was blue between the clouds.
The birds at the feeder mostly came for less than a minute, but some birds mainly house finches, house sparrows, tufted titmice, chickadees, downy woodpeckers, and red-bellied woodpeckers, ate on the feeder about four minutes.
Shortly after the hour and a half of feeding, some birds came back to the feeder. They no longer included everything before. A bird in the first round was red at the top of the head and red under the chin. A look at a bird book identified it as a Yellow-bellied sapsucker.
Two different kinds of doves stay near but not on the feeder. They eat the seeds that are dropped to the ground by the birds at the feeder.
In 2 hours on the 18th day of January, 2007, the various birds fed on the feeder at a total of 2,94 times. This was more of them than usually come to our feeder, although the day was cold.
The red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, house finch and house sparrows stayed on the feeder several times, up to 4 minutes. The chickadees, tufted titmice, and others came and went immediately. All birds stayed in my feeder several times in 2 hours.
From 9:30 to 10:30 birds came 406 times to my feeder. Only a few downy woodpeckers stayed there four or five minutes. The others came and went rapidly.
After 10:30, many more birds came to the feeder. It was cold outside—mostly at 40 or 50 degrees.
Birds that came to the feeder from 9:30 to 10:30 on January 20th included Tufted titmice, Chicadees, House finch, House sparrows, Downy woodpeckers, and Red-bellied woodpeckers.
On the 26th of January, 2007, I saw 84 birds on our feeder. At 9:30 to 10:30, and 54 birds on the feeder from 10:30 to 11:30. They included Red-bellied woodpeckers, Downy woodpeckers, Chickadees, Tufted titmice, House Sparrow, House Finch, and no rain this day.
At 4:00 o’clock to 4:20, on January 27, birds ate at the feeder by my house, and start eating. A Downy woodpecker ate from 4:21 to 4:26.
No one ate more until the next day.
On the 27th day of January, in 2007, it turned colder by thirty-five and forty third day. In that period, the number of birds who came to the feeder was 180.
When we got back from church on the 28th of January, 2007, 32 birds ate at the feeder in 20 minutes, until Genie filled the feeder from the bottom. Immediately , 84 birds ate at the feeder in 20 minutes.
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