Katy Dickinson

Loon Lake, Wisconsin

We were on vacation with John's family at the cottage on Loon Lake in Wisconsin last week. The 75-year-old cottage still has more boats than bedrooms even after it was expanded last year. As always, we spent the week in and on the water: fishing, paddle boating, canoeing, sailing, and being pulled in an inner tube behind the speedboat ("tubing"). Mornings at the cottage are for cleanup and chores but afternoons are mostly spent wet.

This year was notable for the great number and variety of large birds. Loon Lake currently has two loon families, including a new baby, and three nesting osprey pairs in addition to the resident bald eagles, herons, hummingbirds, pheasants, wild turkeys, and songbirds. The half-drowned island in the middle of Loon Lake is called Osprey Island. We even went to dinner at a restaurant which had a family of peafowl.

Six of us spent an afternoon white water rafting down the Wolf River where it runs through the Menominee Indian Tribe reservation (between Otter Slide and Smokey Falls). My camera survived the trip in a zip bag that almost got washed out several times.

One of the delights of Loon Lake is going pontooning at sunset. After 5 p.m., all boats must go slow enough to create no wake so the lake gets quiet. After dinner, my Mother-in-Law Naomi makes coffee. We take our cups and dessert out to the pontoon boat and make a trip around the island as the sun goes down. The loons are often out making their strange moaning or laughing sounds over the evening waters.

2006 Loon Lake Voecks Cottage:

2007 Loon Lake Voecks Cottage with Addition:

Loon Sign Voecks Cottage:

Loon Sign Voecks Cottage:

Loon Sign Voecks Cottage:

Loon Sign Voecks Cottage:

Voecks Cottage Boat Dock:

Wisconsin Pheasant:

White Peacock display:

Wolf River WI Rafting:

Wolf River WI Rafting:

Wolf River WI Rafting:

Wolf River WI Rafting:

Wolf River WI Rafting:

Wolf River WI Rafting:

Wolf River WI Rafting:

Wolf River WI at Smokey Falls:

Shotgun Eddy's Rafting Map:

Loon Lake, Osprey Island at Sunset:

Loon Lake Pontooning:

Loon Lake Pontooning:

Images Copyright 2006-2007 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 11:55AM Jun 27, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  |  Comments[1]

It's a Girl! (Bishop)

I am delighted that The Venerable Mary Gray-Reeves won today's election for 3rd Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real (ECR)! Hooray!

If you check out ECR's Ballot Results, you will see we almost elected her on the first ballot: we were just three votes shy of the required majority. There had been so much discussion back and forth these last two weeks about whom to prefer between The Venerable Mary and The Reverend David, I was surprised that the first ballot was so lopsided. The Venerable Mary Gray-Reeves will start her episcopacy with a strong mandate.

Because the "Rules of Order in the Convention" were so strict, there was no discussion during the convention except quietly between people in the rows of chairs. We opened with a communion service by our beloved and funny Bishop Romero (The Rt. Rev. Sylvestre Romero-Palma, who has been acting as ECR's Assisting Bishop). As usual, the singing was excellent. Being in a room of over 300 people who can sing harmony without practice from printed music is entirely charming.

After instructions on how to complete the ballots followed by prayer, we used paper forms for the first ballot (laity light blue, clergy darker blue), when complete these were deposited in open boxes. We then waited 45 minutes for the results. Those who were not delegates had to wait in a nearby room but they could join us outside between ballots.

It felt so odd to have to wait so long for a simple count. I am too used to computers. However, it was fun to talk and visit with the rest of the convention delegates. I had briefly glanced at this morning's Mercury News article about the election: "Episcopalians seeking bishop to help mend fractured diocese", By Kim Vo. During the counting time I talked with someone who had been interviewed for that news story.

The mood of the convention was much brighter after the first ballot results were announced. We had been worried that the election might even take more than one meeting to complete. After instructions on how to complete the ballots followed by prayer, we used paper forms for the second ballot (laity yellow, clergy goldenrod). After another long wait outside, we returned to the convention floor to hear the tally - with guidance from the Holy Spirit, we had elected a new Bishop! There was an immediate standing ovation. The convention delegates signed the testamonials and then heard the acceptance speech in English and Spanish from our very excited Bishop-Elect by phone. We also heard some gracious and funny words from The Reverend David Breuer (who also got a standing ovation) and a closing statement from Bishop Romero (who also got a standing ovation). It seemed like everyone was smiling; there was much hugging and happy excitement.

Instead of lunch being between ballots, the election was done at just about noon so the food was distributed in bags after the close of convention and everyone got to go home early! This has been a delightful and inspiring day.

Posted at 08:35PM Jun 16, 2007 by katysblog in Church  | 

Bishop Election Tomorrow

The election for the 3rd Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real (ECR) is tomorrow, Saturday, 16 June. Email evaluations of the 5 candidates have been passing between the congregation members and the lay delegates and clergy of my home parish, All Saints' (Palo Alto) all week. I feel blessed to receive so much prayerful and wise advice.

I have been reading The Book of Common Prayer on the Ordination of a Bishop. It is the people of the diocese who present the bishop-elect to the Presiding Bishop for ordination saying: "...the clergy and people of the Diocese of name, trusting in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, have chosen name to be a bishop and chief pastor. We therefore ask you to lay your hands upon him and in the power of the Holy Spirit to consecrate him a bishop in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church."

Tomorrow, we choose. There is an Ballot Results ECR web page to check since electronic communication from the convention floor is forbidden by the "Rules of Order in the Convention".

Posted at 10:07PM Jun 15, 2007 by katysblog in Church  | 

69 New SEEDs Selected

On Wednesday, the SEED Engineering mentoring program Selection Committees picked 69 new participants:

• 25 September 2007-September 2008 Recent Hires (12 month term)
• 44 September 2007-March 2008 Established Staff (6 month term)

The participants are putting together their Mentor Wish Lists now; those are due on 9 July. This group was unusual in several ways: fewer applicants, lower percentage of managers and women, broader geographic spread. SEED has its first participants working in Chile, Brazil, and Turkey this term. We are looking into why there are these differences. Here is some information about our new folks:

19% of those selected had previously applied to the program.

About the 25 new Recent Hire Participants:

	 59 Recent Hire Applications	
	 43 Completed Applications (73%)
	 25 Selected (58% of completed, 42% of total)
	
	Location of Participants
             1 Canada, 4%
	     3 China, 12%
	     2 Czech Republic, 8%
	     5 India, 20%
	     1 Russia, 4%
	    13 USA, 52%
		3 Central USA, 12%
		1 Eastern USA,  4%
	        9 Western USA, 36%

	Division of Participants
	     1 CTO/Sun Labs, 4%
	     3 Microelectronics, 12%
             1 Sales, 4%
	    11 Software Group, 44%
	     3 Storage Group, 12%
	     5 Systems Group, 20%
	     1 Worldwide Operations, 4%

	Gender of Participants
	     5 Female, 20%
	    20 Male, 80%

	1 Manager, 4%

About the 44 new Established Staff Participants:

		
	    109 Applications
	     88 Completed (81%)
	     44 Selected (50% of completed, 40% of total)
	
	Location of Participants
            1 Brazil, 2%
	    2 China, 5%
            1 Chile, 2%
	    1 Czech Republic, 2%
	    2 Germany, 5%
	    2 India, 5%
            2 Ireland, 5%
            1 Russia, 2%
            1 Turkey, 2%
	   31 USA, 70%
	    	6 Central USA, 14%
	    	6 Eastern USA, 14%
	       19 Western USA, 43%
	
	Division of Participants
	     1 CTO/Sun Labs, 2%
	     2 Microelectronics, 5%
             3 Sales, 7%
             5 Services, 11%
	    21 Software Group, 48%
	     2 Storage Group, 5%
	     9 Systems Group, 20%
	     1 Worldwide Operations, 2%

	Gender of Participants
	     6 Female, 14%
	    38 Male, 86%

        4 Managers, 9%

Tanya and I think we exchanged about 1,500 emails during the last week with program applicants and their managers. Good to be on to the next phase...

Posted at 07:46AM Jun 15, 2007 by katysblog in Mentoring & Other Business  | 

Lumber Dimensions Have Changed Since 1916

Between church events last weekend, John finished filling in the hole a prior owner cut into our 91-year-old caboose's wall. WP668 was made from first growth fir in 1916. Except for the hole, the walls and ceiling are in good condition, as is 1/2 of the floor. The other 1/2 of the floor needs replacing.

One of the problems in restoration is that standard lumber dimensions have changed since 1916. The original exterior boards are 2" x 6" and the interior boards are 1" x 6". Boards now for sale are called "two by six" but actually measure 1-1/2" x 5-1/2". Similarly, "one by six" boards now measure 3/4" x 5-1/2". This little difference means that John had to add slim filler boards to make the new tongue and groove slot firmly into the old.

WP668's original boards were also thicker than standard boards now sold. Fir in the size we wanted for the interior boards was not readily available, so John ended up buying unsanded redwood boards and having them milled into tongue and groove since those were closest to the 1916 thickness. First growth fir has almost no knots because the trees they were cut from were bigger. That is, there was more interior wood so fewer boards had scars from branches (knots). The redwood John bought is good lumber but each board has at least one knot. All of these differences will eventually be hidden under the paint.

WP668 looks like its interior was sandblasted at least once. Some of the soft parts of the wood boards have been scoured away. Also, we have found sand between the walls. We are discussing whether to paint over the boards as they are or try to sand them more level. My preference is to leave the dark honey colored ceiling as it is (stains and all), paint the walls white and refinish the boards on the floor once the damages there have been repaired. The problem is that about 10' (1/3) of the ceiling was painted white after it was sandblasted. (I keep wondering what the story is behind the white paint since WP668's original interior paint color was light green.) I am going to experiment with sanding away the ceiling paint to see how the wood looks under it. I am concerned that the sanding will change the color and surface texture. We will see.

Here are some photos of WP668's ceiling from last year before we put on the new roof:

WP668 caboose ceiling wood and paint:

WP668 caboose ceiling long view:

Images Copyright 2006 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 03:24PM Jun 11, 2007 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Final Bishop Candidate Meeting

The final 5 hour long Bishop Candidate presentation was this afternoon. The election for the 3rd Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real (ECR) is on Saturday, 16 June. I think this week's discernment process has been moving and fascinating for all involved. Two of the candidates mentioned this in their final statements. One said that ours was the 25th meeting she had this week but that the time had gone so quickly, it was a wonderful experience, a gift for which she was grateful. Another said that the process had been a moment of grace in her life, exciting, challenging and a wonderful experience.

At each of the four meetings I have attended (16 hours in all), I learned something new about the 5 candidates. There was great variety in their level of inspiration and energy from session to session. The All Saints' (Palo Alto) lay delegates and clergy attended at least one meeting each and most went to several. Eight of us had dinner tonight after the final presentation to discuss our thoughts and evaluations.

I already wrote some of my impressions in my 9 June blog. What I have heard and seen in addition today:

1. The Reverend Paige Blair "Effervescent Paige"
   Ministry themes include reaching the unreached, and listening
   
   God doesn't want us to waste any of our gifts
   
   Mind, body, spirit
   
   Spoke of holding a "U2charist" (communion service with U2 music) expecting 400 attendees and getting 800 instead (raised $4100)
   
   MDGs and Matthew 25: "'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' '...whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"
   
   Sees the ECR diocese as ready to live into its potential
   
   I am older than I look. I am tougher than I look
   
2. The Reverend David Breuer "Hometown David"
   Technological eptitude
   
   Being intentional, authentic
   
   Church is at the center of life, not its circumference
   
   Reciprocal authority of the Bishop comes from the community of the baptized
   
   Fixing deferred maintenance
   
   Moses as a model for leadership: look ahead to a place of new self-definition and knowledge of God's purpose for us
   
   Transparent church walls
   
   MDGs, SMUM - Make a society where it is easier to be good
   
   ECR is in a place of balance, of health as a result of the work of its clergy and people
   
3. The Venerable Mary Gray-Reeves "Venerable Mary"
   A priest's sacramental goal is to bless and feed
   
   Experiencing God's grace, loving the unloveable
   
   The reconciling presence of Christ is bigger than our conflict, hold on to our faith in that, not onto our rightness or wrongness
   
   Enters the text of the Bible through the Gospels and through Jesus, her savior and saving grace
   
4. The Reverend Gale Davis Morris "Grandma Gale"
   No final decision alone, out of community context, reach a decision we can all live with
   
   Sad that Bishops are becoming only good administrators, not pastors
   
   Trust, authenticity, mutual respect in diocescan relationships
   
   Come for the food, stay for the company
   
   MDGs are a worthy and faithful endeavour
   
   Believes in the resurrection of the diocese of ECR
   
5. The Reverend John Palarine "Quiet John"
   In the diverse center of the church, committed to bringing everyone into the conversation
   
   Reconciler
   
   People feel heard, values are not compromised
   
   Deal with difficult issues with clergy, not just "Kumbaya" and cupcakes
   
   Build churches through spirituality, sharing each other's journeys
   
   3 phases for a youth program: create vision, raise up adult leaders, youth-lead youth ministry
   

Posted at 10:09PM Jun 10, 2007 by katysblog in Church  |  Comments[2]

Worship Gathering Went Well

Last night, All Saints' Episcopal Church held its first Saturday evening Worship Gathering. I was in the group that designed the event (see my 5 June 2007 blog for more). I think it went very well. 20 people came to read the Bible, discuss, sing, and pray together. Susan lead the service. My daughter Jessica lead the singing. Laura and John prepared a simple meal of two soups (fresh pea, and tomato), french bread, salad, and brownies. Laura sold the brownies to raise money for this month's Youth Mission Trip. She wanted fifty cents each for them and hoped for $8 total but we had a little auction instead and raised $46.

Over dinner, we discussed the Bishop Candidates since three of us had already been to several of the walkabout meetings this week. The last Bishop candidate presentation is tonight and many of those present at the Worship Gathering plan to attend. The Bishop election is on 16 June. Our next Worship Gathering will be on 30 June and I am the leader for it. I hope it goes as well as the first did.

Posted at 07:57AM Jun 10, 2007 by katysblog in Church  |  Comments[1]

131 SEED Applicants Qualify

The final deadline for SEED Engineering mentoring applicants to submit their backup materials (resumes, letters of recommendation) was last night at midnight. Tanya Jankot has disabled the application web pages except for the Check Status page. 131 of the 167 applicants completed their applications and are eligible for consideration by the Recent Hire or Established Staff Selection Committees.

The Recent Hire Selection Committee includes 4 Directors (two of whom are also Chief Technologists), two Distinguished Engineers, plus an Engineering Manager who is also a current SEED program participant. The Established Staff Selection Committee includes the SEED program staff and our HR Manager. Because the Established Staff applicants have a Sun annual performance rating history, their selection is managed differently from that of the Recent Hires. Of the remaining applicants who are not eligible for consideration, 17 were disqualified for content, mostly for applying for the Established Staff program while being too junior in grade to qualify. 24 were also disqualified because their submission was incomplete (resume or manager's letter missing, too few or no required executive letters). I gave the Selection Committee passworded access to the 2007-2008 Recent Hire applications this morning. Both Selection Committees meet on 13 June and the acceptance announcements will also come out that day. The Recent Hire term runs September 2007-September 2008. The Established Staff term runs September 2007-March 2008. We plan to select about 80 participants, divided roughly evenly between Recent Hires and Established Staff.

More information on SEED is available at http://research.sun.com/SEED/

Posted at 10:01PM Jun 09, 2007 by katysblog in Mentoring & Other Business  | 

Meeting Bishop Candidates

This week, my husband and I have joined hundreds of other lay and clergy members of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real (ECR) attending presentations and coffee hours with the five candidates for ECR's 3rd Bishop. I started writing about this in my 6 June 2007 blog.

I have so far been to a coffee hour and two 5-hour presentations with the candidates. All of them are very impressive priests and, as the Search Committee told us, all are capable of being a good Bishop. Our task is to understand through listening, discussion, and prayer which of the five is the Bishop called by the Holy Spirit to lead our diocese. The diocesan convention to elect our Bishop is a week from today, on 16 June.

It is not my intention to influence other convention delegates in their considerations or decisions. Each of us needs to reach our own decision on how to vote. Nor do I need to reproduce the excellent material about the candidates already available on ECR's Episcopal Search and Transition web pages. However, the experience of listening to five extraordinary and different spiritual leaders answering very hard questions at length is unique to my experience. This blog entry is to share some of my thoughts and understanding so far in this process.

Some of the questions which have been asked are personal (whether the candidate tithes, what their spouse thinks about being married to a Bishop), others are church-political (gay marriage and clergy, giving communion to the unbaptized), and others are exploratory (what is your passion? how would you and the diocese have to change? why is Bishop the best job for you and why are you the best person to be Bishop?).

Some of what I have heard and seen so far:

1. The Reverend Paige Blair
   quick big grin of joy, 3 ear rings, sits but rarely holds still
   
   Passionate about sharing the Good News
   
   What is essential and where can we play?
   
   All are welcome at God's table
   
   Begin by listening and learning
   
   World mission - living into the truth of our Baptism
   
2. The Reverend David Breuer
   paces, figits, gleeful grin, never sits
   
   Templates and lists, administration and finance
   
   Evangelical moment
   
   Living in ambiguity, living as an Episcopalian, generous orthodoxy
   
   Collaborative, mutually accountable servant-ministry
   
   Pursuit of excellence, revitalization
   
   Ministry of money
   
3. The Venerable Mary Gray-Reeves
   sideways smile of sharing, elegant, rarely sits
   
   Passionate about great leadership
   
   Sharing power
   
   The Gospel commands the spiritual discipline to love people we don't like
   
   Transformation: affirmation and correction
   
   Speaks Spanish well and fluently
   
   The stewardship of compassion
   
4. The Reverend Gale Davis Morris
   looks into each person's eyes, artistic clothes, centered
   
   Passionate about the Episcopal Church
   
   Always includes babysitting and food
   
   The altar is God's table, not an Episcopal table, all are welcome there
   
   We learn best from stories
   
   The stewardship of creation
   
   God created everyone and said "It is good". God loves us and each of us is worth loving.
   
5. The Reverend John Palarine
   small shy smile, sits quietly
   
   Never base your self esteem on the whim of a 14 year old
   
   "And I give thanks to God for that" ends most statements
   
   Celtic hospitality, hospitality of the heart
   
   Youth-lead youth ministry
   
   Unity does not mean agreement
   

Posted at 03:48PM Jun 09, 2007 by katysblog in Church  |  Comments[1]

Electing a Bishop

My family and I attend All Saints' Episcopal Church in downtown Palo Alto, part of the Diocese of El Camino Real (ECR), now in the process of electing its 3rd Bishop. There are at least 8 meetings with all of the 5 candidates for ECR Bishop this week, with the electing convention to be held on 16 June. The walkabout meetings will be held in five cities, with over 200 miles between the southernmost and northernmost locations. I am a convention delegate from All Saints' and my husband is an alternate so John and I are are attending four of the meetings.

ECR includes the counties of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey and San Luis Obispo. The youngest diocese in California, it was formed in 1980 by the separation from the Diocese of California ("DioCal" is based in San Francisco at Grace Cathedral). ECR's Trinity Cathedral was built in 1863 and is the oldest church building in San Jose. ECR comprises approximately the middle third of the California coast, an area about 50 miles wide and 250 miles long. El Camino Real is named, not for a city or state, but after the Spanish colonial road from Mexico City to Oregon: The King's Highway. See the Diocesan Profile for more (23 pages, PDF format).

ECR has spent three years of diocese-wide meetings and reorganization and prayer preparing for its 3rd Bishop (since the first two ECR Bishops were not great successes). To see all of the materials about the 5 candidates presented for our consideration by the Search Committee, check out ECR's Episcopal Search and Transition web pages. The "Rules of Order in the Convention" for 16 June specify: "All electronic communication devices and equipment, other than those used by the Convention Committee for purposes of managing the Convention, shall be prohibited on the floor, and access to the floor shall be limited to voting members of the Convention and certified Convention staff." I will not be able to blog from the convention (as I did in October 2006); however, I can write before and after.

Posted at 10:36AM Jun 06, 2007 by katysblog in Church  | 

167 Apply to SEED 2007-2008 Terms

We are in the second part of the application period for the 2007-2008 SEED Engineering mentoring program Recent Hire and Established Staff terms. Sun's Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development, Greg Papadopoulos sent email to Sun Engineering worldwide on 21 May opening the application period. We received 167 impressive applications by the 1 June first deadline. Between the two application deadlines, HR reviews the application forms to verify basic information (hire date, grade level, annual performance ratings, etc.). Here is what we know so far:

• Applicants: 167
• Completed Applications: 16
• By Organization:
• CTO/Sun Labs: 1 [ 1% ]
• Microelectronics: 16 [ 10% ]
• Sales (GSS): 8 [ 5% ]
• Services (GSS): 12 [ 7% ]
• Software Group: 96 [ 57% ]
• Storage Group: 10 [ 6% ]
• Systems Group: 20 [ 12% ]
• Worldwide Operations: 4 [ 2% ]
• By Work Location:
  • APAC (Asia Pacific): 1 [ 1% ]
  • Americas (outside USA): 2 [ 1% ]
  • China: 23 [ 14% ]
  • Czech Republic: 9 [ 5% ]
  • EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa): 2 [ 1% ]
  • France: 2 [ 1% ]
  • Germany: 3 [ 2% ]
  • India: 21 [ 13% ]
  • Ireland: 3 [ 2% ]
  • Russia: 6 [ 4% ]
  • USA
    • Central USA: 15 [ 9% ]
    • Eastern USA: 15 [ 9% ]
    • Western USA: 64 [ 54% ]

All additional application materails are due 8 June (recommendation letters, resumes, etc.), by midnight, Pacific time. The Selection Committees meet 13 June. The Recent Hire term runs September 2007-September 2008. The Established Staff term runs September 2007-March 2008. We plan to select about 80 participants, divided roughly evenly between Recent Hires and Established Staff.

More information on SEED is available at http://research.sun.com/SEED/

Posted at 11:55AM Jun 05, 2007 by katysblog in Mentoring & Other Business  | 

Worship Gathering & Fellowship Meal , 9 June

I am part of a group at All Saints' Episcopal Church in downtown Palo Alto (555 Waverley St., Palo Alto, CA) which is exploring additional ways to worship. We are using a book called Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations by Dan Kimball (Publisher: Zondervan/Youth Specialties, 2004, ISBN-10: 0310256445, ISBN-13: 978-0310256441). Please join us! Our first experimental gatherings will be:

• Saturday, June 9
  5pm Gathering
  
  5:45pm Fellowship Meal
  
  Join us for the first of two informal worship and fellowship gatherings. June 9th will be a quiet, meditative, Taize style gathering in the Fireplace Room - about 30-40 minutes, followed by a simple dinner in the Parish Hall. (Dinner is free!)
  
• Saturday, June 30
  5pm Gathering
  
  5:45pm Fellowship Meal
  
  Join us for the second of two informal worship and fellowship June 30th will be an energetic and joyful gathering - about 30-40 minutes, followed by a simple dinner. (Dinner is free!) We begin worship in the chapel.
  

Here is more information on this month's church events (Movie Night, Yoga, Garden Gala, Organ Concert, Worship Gatherings, Youth Mission Trip, Pew Players Satire): June Events Flyer (1 page, PDF format)

Posted at 11:38AM Jun 05, 2007 by katysblog in Church  | 

WP6668 Caboose Restoration Photos

Here are some photos of our early projects restoring WP668, the 91-year-old Western Pacific caboose in our backyard. The yellow car stops will keep her from rolling. A prior owner of WP668 cut through one inside and outside wall to install a big window. (He just made the hole - the window was never added.) John has now filled in the exterior boards and bolted the new wood in place. He was able to insert cut-to-fit rigid foam insulation into the irregular cavity spaces between the interior and exterior tongue and groove walls on either side of the new wall patch. So, already both the ceiling and 1/4 of the caboose walls have modern insulation instead of an air gap. John took a sample of WP668's original wood to a local lumber company and they confirmed it was first growth fir.

WP668 caboose car stop 1:

WP668 caboose car stop 2:

WP668 caboose inside new wall:

WP668 caboose new wall outside (and John):

WP668 caboose John and wall:

WP668 caboose old wall meets new wall:

WP668 caboose exterior wall filled:

Images Copyright 2007 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 07:04PM Jun 04, 2007 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Biff goes into Rehab

I was able to talk with the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley (WCSV) today about Biff, the wild baby bird we found by our back door on Friday. After looking at the photos I posted in my 3 June 2007 blog entry, WCSV said they thought Biff was a House Finch, not a European Starling. European Starlings are not federally protected in the U.S. (some states require a special permit to keep one). House Finches are protected by U.S. law and cannot be kept as pets.

Biff's eyes were not opening properly so John and I just drove him to WCSV. They will care for him and give him antibiotics for what they diagnosed as a contagious eye infection. If Biff survives, he will be raised with other House Finches who will teach him his proper behavior and songs. (WCSV calls this rehabilitation.) Eventually, if he grows up and can care for himself, Biff will be released to the wild. WCSV gave us a tracking number so that we can check up on Biff and see what happens. Biff was ugly and demanding but I miss him already.

Posted at 05:59PM Jun 04, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  | 

Biff, the baby starling

Friday afternoon, we were adopted by a baby bird. My son Paul saw a ball of grey brown fuzz on the bricks outside of our backdoor and realized it was a half fledged baby bird. Because we live on the Guadalupe River, there are a great many cats in our area so I put the little guy in a box and we went to look up wild bird care on the web. I think he is a European starling and I found an excellent website: Starling Talk on how to care for them. We have not been able to contact the wildlife rescue person for birds in our area so we have been taking care of the baby as best we could. For now, we are calling him Biff.

Biff probably fell from the big ash tree over where we found him but we haven't been able to locate any nest. His feathers were only starting to come out of the sheath and he was very red and unresponsive when we first found him. The website said first to get him warm and rehydrate him. We followed the instructions and put drops of Karo corn syrup and water with a little salt on top of his beak until he sucked it in. He eventually started begging for food. He is eating smashed up cat food, eggs, and applesauce (with a drop of bird vitamins once a day). Biff eats every hour for half of the day but sleeps at night. He looks like a drab ball of fuzz except when he opens his yellow beak so that you can see down into his big red mouth. He feet look like delicate pink threads.

Biff is doing fine for now. We took him to church with us this morning (since he needs to be fed regularly no matter what our schedule is) and Biff got blessed by our priest. He was 0.4 ounces the first day, 0.5 oz. the second day, and 0.6 oz. today. Biff now weighs as much as 3 U.S. quarter coins. He sleeps on a half sheet of crumpled paper towel in a plastic bowl on a heating pad in a small cardboard box. Biff poops regularly and tries to back up each time so that the poop goes outside of his nest. His white baby fuzz is mostly gone and his new feathers are almost out of their sheaths. He cheeps when he is hungry, even when he is asleep.

Our 12-year-old grey cockatiel, Princess Birdie, does not seem to mind Biff. She observes him from her big cage above my desk. Biff's box is on the file top next to the window so he can get some sun and listen to birds outside. My daughter Jessica has the first day of her summer job tomorrow but if she gets permission, she is going to take Biff in to work. Biff is going to work with me tomorrow.

Here are some early Biff pictures:

Biff the starling on hand:

Biff the starling eating:

Biff the starling wanting more food:

Images Copyright 2007 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 11:39PM Jun 03, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  |  Comments[2]