Saturday, May 22, 2010

A great deal of activity on The Lake

Last year the Carp spawning happened on June 8th. This year it happened today - May 22nd. Now does this mean something? Like Global Warming? Or maybe their spawning is tied to the moons phase?

Whatever, The Lake was boiling today with the sexual antics of hundreds of Carp. I kid you not, hundreds, There was considerable thrashing and churning of the waters as the Carp flailed about in the shallow waters at the edge of The Lake. Sometimes it appeared to be just two fish, but at other times there were three or even four or more whipping around in a frenzy. The splashing wasn't happening all the time, as I said there were literally hundreds of fish out there but most of them were just swimming around - looking for a mate? I could stand on our bulkhead and looking down, see them swimming by. Most were around 2 feet long but there were quite a few of 3 feet and a couple of times I saw fish that were at least 4 feet long!!

I wonder if they are in The Lake all the time, but we only see them during the spawning season, or do they come into The Lake at this time of the year to mate?

There is a lot more activity, mostly from the birds. The saga of the Cananda Geese and their Goslings continues as does the attacks on the Geese by the pair of Swans. Last year the attacks were all by the male Swan while the female was sitting on their nest. In vain, I would add, as the eggs had ben oiled by the Dept of the Environment to prevent their hatching. As the female Swan is now patroling The Lake with the male I assume that the Dept must have broken the eggs or removed them this year.

I have seen at various times lately the Buzzards, the Great Blue Herons, a Great White Heron, Egrets, Osprey, Cormorants and the mysterious little white bird that dives into the water from on high.

Three G's.

What are the three G's I hear you saying? God, Guns and Gays. Is it just me or are the Extremist Conservatives of the USA overly occupied with the three G's? It appears to me that their entire psyche is concerned with these things about which the rest of the world says, ho hum.

I say Grow Up America. The new British Prime minister - a Conservative, no less! - was asked how he felt about God, his reply, "I don't have a direct line." amused the British public as much as it amused me.

Guns, a dozen or so Brits are killed each year by guns, (As opposed to 50,000 or so in the US) The feeling there about guns? We are better off without them.

Gays - Yes, we have them.

That's it.

The recent election in the UK - six weeks of electioneering! Does that sound like heaven or not?

Compare that to here, where we have to suffer AT LEAST two years of political ads 24/7. I say at least, but in actual fact it is more like a permanent state of political advertising from the moment the election is over, every politician is concerned with one thing and one thing only - getting elected next time. Why? Most of them could make as much as their pitiful 200K to 300K a year or whatever they make as a Congressman or Senator, as a banker or lawyer or whatever it was they did on Main Street before they decided to annoy and rob us. I can only assume it is because they can make a lot more in other ways in their new capacity. A LOT more. As in millions more.

The longer I live here the more I am in favor of a fixed term for Congressmen and Senators. A one time term of six years sounds about right to me. Even the President is limited to two 4 year terms. Why should we allow these scoundrels to harrass and steal from us for an unlimited time?