Women's March NYC

Saturday's Women's March in New York City was inspiring, creative and exciting to be a part of. We went first to Fifth Avenue and 57th Street to see what was going on, then walked down to 47th Street and Third Avenue to be a part of the thousands of marchers as they merged into the main crowd.

Signs at the Women's March NYC, Jan. 21, 2017

I took video and photographs, which you can see below. I am still thinking about what form of activism to join. The election was so very disturbing not only because someone totally unqualified to be a leader, who treats women as objects and who lies out of every side of his mouth was ensconced in the Oval Office, but also because the House and Senate fell into the hands of people determined to destroy the ideals and progress so many of us have worked for our entire lives. 

Right now I am thinking about the most effective ways to change the composition of the House and Senate at the next midterm elections. And I have decided that wherever I can withhold money from those who voted to take the country back to the Stone Age, I will. Therefore I won't be spending any of my money in a red state, nor will I buy from companies that supported the politicians who want to take away my rights and freedoms.

I believe in a woman's right to make moral decisions for herself, in working to halt global warming and to protect our fragile environment and endangered animals, in fighting for equal rights for all our citizens, and in the insistence that our educational system provide equal opportunity for all children, and be grounded in science and facts, not in myths and fiction. And I believe in art and the importance of culture to help us transcend the worst parts of our nature. These are the goals I will continue to fight for and create for. "Liberal" is not a dirty word — it is a badge I wear proudly.

Hawks in the Snow

Hawky New Year! Part 3

The third video in the Hawky New Year! series covers the hawks seen in Central Park on Jan. 13 and 14. The 14th was a snow day, and I especially enjoyed watching the youngsters try to figure out what all the white stuff is.

First-year red-tailed hawk, Central Park, Jan. 14, 2017

Here's the third video in the series:

Hawky New Year! Part 2!

On this most horrible of days, I offer an alternative to watching the beginning of the end of our country: More hawks! Hawks do what they were created to do, and thus are Nature at her purest. Unfortunately, humans choose to do destructive things, and often the hawks and other animals pay the price. So while we await with trepidation the further destruction of our environment, I offer more photos of the young hawks in Central Park, taken Jan. 11 and Jan. 12.

Young red-tailed hawk in the Ramble, Jan. 12, 2017

I've called the video series Hawky New Year! This is Part 2, Jan. 11-12. Warning: there is some graphic hawk dining (a rat) in this video. Hawk chasers have learned that the raptors' dining habits make them who and what they are, and if you want to learn about red-tailed hawks, you will at some point watch them eat.

Lots of photos below, from both days.