My friends. I know I haven’t been writing very much about what is happening to our country. The reality for me right now is despair and worry and anger – about the state of our country and the clearly treasonous actions behind #TrumpRussia. And as I see more and more actions taken by that man that destroy all of the protections for our environment, our plant life, animal life, and human life, I feel sick at heart in a way that I just can’t put into words, don’t want to even try to put into words. More innocent civilian lives lost by indiscriminate bombings. It’s now perfectly okay to shoot a hibernating bear cub. The systematic dismantling of anything to do with Climate Change. And on and on and on and on until I sometimes can’t even move, I feel so angry and disillusioned.
As our civil rights and the rights of all beings are under attack, as the petty members of this administration try to undo everything that Obama has done, just for the sake of doing it, as the clumsy and inept administration tries to cover up its crimes, and as a certain segment of our population seems to have no trouble with any of this, I trust and know that a much larger segment of patriotic Americans DOES have trouble with it. And I know the truth will come out. It’s already coming out. Drip, drip, drip. More lies unmasked.
Or tick-tock, as I’ve seen on Twitter.
Treason. Treason, plain and simple.
I look forward to the day when indictments come down – and they will – and I’m still dreaming of that perp walk. They are grifters. Con Men/Women. Classless. Without compassion. Money and power are the only things that matter to them. Oh, I forgot – Putin clearly matters to them, as well.
They have staged a coup, but it’s temporary. I just pray that we don’t lose too much in the time being.
That’s all I’m going to say for now. I could write reams, but it’s too hard for me right now. Just know that I am not trying to be Pollyanna here on this blog or in life. Far from it. I am fighting. I am making calls. I am doing everything I can to stop this man and his cabinet. Keep fighting. #Resist.
In the midst of all of this, I am sometimes blessed with a lovely gift. This morning, it was this Pileated Woodpecker, swooping down on the dead shag hickory down by the road. I took these photos through the kitchen window with my new lens.
Pileated woodpeckers are the largest woodpeckers in North America.
That new lens is coming in handy! I get shots that I would never get otherwise.
Happy Thursday.
I find myself tuning in to CNN for a few minutes each day, literally hoping to see a headline proclaiming impeachment …. for someone who avoided CNN and other news channels, it speaks volumes for the terror I feel in my heart. And I don’t even live in the U.S. I wonder if the powers that be are just waiting for the right moment, the right slip up, the right evidence and it will soon be over. Thinking of you and Don and all Americans as each day goes by.
Great shots! We have a woodpecker too and marvel and his intensity in his work. Doesn’t all that pecking hurt??
X Chy
“at his intensity” not “and”!!
xo
Thank you for your supportive words, Chy.
Claudia, as my life has been so busy and stressful lately I’ve found that I can handle less and less of the ‘news’. I am trying to find a balance between knowledge and fighting for good and the overwhelming despair I often feel at the news of another horrible act by this man and his friends. I just can’t at times. I will continue to fight for our country. We must stand up to this horrible administration. Courage!
I have to pull back at times – for my sanity. I understand! Courage, my friend.
Oh, Claudia, I am beside myself as well as I watch my beloved country, indeed world, sold to the highest bidders. A soulless lot. Where has decency gone? Humanity is being threatened. Our planet is being raped and pillaged and I feel powerless.
Decency is still here, but I don’t see much of it in the Republican Party (a few exceptions, of course.)
It is heart-breaking to be sure. His actions are devastating for our environment. I am saddened beyond words…but not action. We know in our heart of hearts there will be something that will trip him up…he’s already stumbling…the fall can’t be far behind. Be patient Claudia…it’s coming! We have lots of wood peckers around here (we feed them), but have yet to see a Pileated! Great capture! ;)
It is coming and though it’s hard, we have to be patient.
I admire you for putting your thoughts & feelings into words, I feel such overwhelming despair that I have trouble doing that. There are so many outrageous issues from health care, to the environment, international relations, education, making profit more important than people, and the list goes on and on. I feel tired, unfocused, & powerless. Well, we must go on & keep speaking up for what is right.
I love your shots of that magnificent woodpecker!
Tired, unfocused and powerless is a perfect way to describe our feelings, Debbie. But we aren’t powerless in the end. We need to protest and speak out.
I feel exactly the same, Claudia. For the first time in my life I have become as political activist and started a group with some amazing people. We will be working hard to fight the injustices. I encourage everyone to do their part no matter how small that may be. Even one phone call, fax, postcard, or email matters. We saw how our grassroots efforts gave us a first small victory over healthcare. Thank you for doing your part. We must all stays step strong to save our country and our democracy. SO Laura
Sorry. Working on my kindle and some of wording was changed.
xo
Every thing we can do, no matter how little it seems, is a powerful statement.
Hi again from Milwaukee letting you know I so know what you mean and empathize. I’ve felt sick to my stomach and depressed since election day. My husband and I have spent entire weekends reading aloud headlines off our various devices with increasingly incredulous voices. He left for a week in China and said when he comes back we’re not doing that anymore. In addition to lots of international travel, his job requires frequent trips to DC, where we used to live. Right now he’s solely working with our fabulous senator, Tammy Baldwin, where he used to be regularly visiting the State Department, EPA, etc. I keep hoping this nightmare will end before our childrens’ futures are totally shot to heck. Love your woodpecker pictures! We have numerous feeders around the house and I spend lots of time aiming my camera out the window too. Came home from work yesterday and was quite excited to find several red-wing blackbirds at the feeders. I just love listening to them during their yearly brief stop in our backyard on their way to the nearest wetlands. Oh, and going back to the first subject, I just read the ASPCA says pet adoptions are way up. People are looking for comfort wherever they can find it.
Don and I do the same thing. In fact, one of the things I miss about him not being here is the opportunity to share some quote or other with him.
Love Tammy Baldwin. Love that your husband is working with her.
You’ve put into words some of my feelings as well. I simply cannot believe that man is the leader of our country. It’s a disgrace. What confuses me even more is that I know lovely people who somehow agree with this direction. I can’t reconcile that in my mind and so I’m numb and trying to block much of this for my own sanity. It cannot end soon enough. On an up note – lovely shots of the beautiful bird – natures works of art sustain me during this dark chapter in American history.
I don’t understand how anyone can go along with this? Have we lost all sense of compassion and human decency?
Nature is soothing me, it always does.
Keep up the good fight, Claudia! I’m sorry that the anxiety and stress continues especially with Don so far away. Hoping you experience daily wonders, like the woodpecker.
That woodpecker was a huge blessing today.
There are so many of us feeling the same way. In Mo. we not only fear our president but we have much to fear with our new governor. He has already made several trips to spend time with our new president. They’ve never determined who put up huge sums of money to elect this man but by all signs it was planned by many of the same who backed Trump. It is all so frightening. One of my big escapes has been feeding my birds and photographing them. I put a feeder right outside my kitchen window and keep the tripod and camera ready. Love your woodpecker against the blue sky . Hummingbirds have been spotted so think I’ll put the feeder out today. Have a good Thursday!
I’m sorry to hear about your new governor, Jan. Yet another worry for you.
Keep taking photos of your birds and I will do the same!
I agree with you completely but let us not forget that many things being discarded are not just Obama regulations. The NEA was founded in 1965 by former President L. Johnson, the first national park was Yellowstone in 1872 founded by former President Theodore Roosevelt and many EPA rulings came about in the 1970’s, as well as women’s rights laws.
The reason I feel such a sense of unease is because it seems as though this Republican majority party is taking away all that was good in our country. Is it a smokescreen so we won’t notice Russian ties and blatant nepotism? I believe this president would get rid of the constitution because it is fake.
I’d like to say spring is coming but it’s going to snow tomorrow. :(
Oh, I know. So many long established accomplishments are being dismantled. It’s appalling.
Beautiful pictures! We had a Pileated woodpeckers in one of our trees last Easter. Haven’t seen it since. They are absolutely magnificent!
Some days I feel paralyzed. Seriously. It all seems incredulous. I truly believe in karma, and I am anxiously waiting for that huge boomerang to knock all of them into one huge pile of garbage. This idiot Nunes is typical of the posse he collects. And everyone of his children getting “titles” in this “administration” (ha!)…. I still don’t even know how it is legal when they still actively work in his business. He actually believes he is the king. Of course I also don’t understand how we pay for trip after trip to his fairy tale house/ business in Florida….. where he ALSO makes money for himself by charging us for his room, his food and his security (along with all those who stumble after him). And Spicer………. well, there aren’t even words. We are a joke to all in the world.
One day at a time….. but I have to continue to believe the DAY will finally come. Patience is so hard……. karma is so good.
I’ve seen a Pileated woodpecker before, but it’s been a few years!
Completely understand the feeling of paralysis. I feel the same. I don’t think it is legal for his children to be in positions in the oval office. But, of course, he doesn’t care. In every way, this is a corrupt administration – on so, so many levels. It’s mind boggling.
I so agree with every thing you said. It is indeed a coup. I hope, and before too much more damage is done, that these dispicable people get every thing they deserve.
I want them to be indicted, shamed, and thrown in jail. I know that won’t happen to everyone, but I there are several I visualize in prison garb.
Oh, I love your shots of the illusive (at least in my neck of the woods) woodpecker!…But that buffoon and his clown-car administration just leaves me speechless. I’ll admit to sticking my head in the sand, to keep it from blowing up with rage! I just don’t see how anyone with a brain in their head and an active conscience could have helped a travesty like him to gain a chokehold on America.
I don’t understand it. Though with all the information that came out in yesterday’s Senate hearing about Bots and stealing voter rolls and the constant drip drip of misinformation directed to those who were Trump fans, it makes a bit more sense. Never defensible, of course, but this is so much more complex than I had previously thought.
You well know I am in total agreement with you. We cannot despair we have to be vigilant and persevere. Every defeat of this administration will help the American people and show him for what he is. Strangely a democrat for most of his life at least until 2010 when he contributed to Chuck Schumer. I am looking forward to what the Sen committee can find out…follow the money and favors between trump and the Russians. I have given up on the House committee… #resist
Yes – he was a Democrat, but in the end, he’s an opportunist. He’ll change his allegiances in an instant if it will bring him money and power.
I also check the news first thing to see if the downfall of the Cheeto is imminent. I feel it’s taking too long.
Literally listening to a woodpecker on the back window as I write this…he’s not my favorite bird right now.
Love your post.
I wish it would move more quickly. But I know that the Intelligence people have to get everything in order before charges can be made.
I actually feel moments of despair for all of us and our wonderful country. This whole situation needs to end soon, or we will have Trump crowning himself our king, and that is no joke. I am extremely upset with the Republican Party – what a bunch of yahoos!! Thanks for letting me vent, Claudia :-)
I am, too. This will bring the Republican party down and they have only themselves to blame for it.
Claudia, you have taken my thoughts a put them on paper, how’d you do that when they are such a jumble in my head. 😇 We had several pileated woodpeckers when we lived in our log cabin in the woods. They were such a treat to watch and photograph. I never see one now that I’m in town. But I have a gorgeous weeping cherry all bloomed out in fiery pink this week just beside my porch 😍. Stand strong.
They’re really stunning aren’t they, Hedy?
I envy you that weeping cherry! Enjoy!
You’ve expressed perfectly our worries and concerns. The destruction is across the board; nothing is left untouched. It boggles the mind to know the momentum behind the destruction . Paraphrasing a quote from an old radio program: “who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” Sadly we are finding out.
We had a pileated woodpecker who would come yearly to a huge loblolly pine in the backyard of the home we lived in for 30 years . It always amazed because of it’s huge size and striking beauty. Very special gift from nature for you to enjoy.
It is helpful during these exceptionally worrisome days to remember a person can lie all they want, but they can’t change truth and truth will stand. Taking care of ourselves, mentally, emotionally, and physically is necessary to survive this insanity. So hard to do when our sleep is interrupted by endless worry.
Wishing each day brings some good times for you and Don . Dianne
Truth WILL stand, Dianne. Thank you.
I agree with you. And it’s exhausting.
However, thank you for sharing the woodpecker photos with us – that’s the best thing that has happened all day. xo
You are so welcome. They sure helped me!
What ignorance and fear and hatred of the ‘other’ are doing to our country is beyond appalling. Yesterday I ran into two likeminded friends and we huddled in the corner of a shop – we live in blood red Texas – talking. Ted, who has dedicated his entire life to working with the poor and powerless , was eloquent in describing what he has seen and experienced in the last two months, all of it enough to make one fighting mad.
On a happier note, thanks for today’s picture. I’ve seen only one pileated woodpecker in my life; it was more than forty years ago, but I’ll never forget it.
I can’t even imagine what your friend is seeing. Heartbreaking, of that I am sure.
You’re welcome. I was so lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
My goodness, I feel ya! This malaise and the ensuing anger and frustration penetrate every level of each day , and there is some point every day where I feel a kind of strange despondency that is unfamiliar to me. So, I make my calls and send my emails, and make contributions and organize locally, and it keeps it somewhat at bay. I fear the toll it is taking on our country—beyond the daily losses we experience as the gains of the 20th century are replaced by unusually cruel and bizarre new regulations and programs—the insidious toll of disbelief turning to resignation within individuals. The drive to strip everything that our beloved former president put in place is especially crazy-making.
Robert Reich had a very insightful piece today about the ‘fog’ which Trump, the practiced conman, is creating, saying that it has been so successfully done that when things finally do come to light and there is some resolution to this Russia business, there will be a fog of ‘claims and counterclaims, plots and subplots, unproven allegations and lies’ that the murk will seem too partisan and complicated for America to deal with and we will be too fatigued to care.
It is difficult enough for me ( a child of post-Nixon skepticism about elected officials) to stomach. But I watch my mother (who always maintained a healthy respect for public office) feeling her foundations crumble beneath her, and it makes me angrier still. Her anger at this man-child in office is the anger of a person who has had her long-held beliefs shattered, and the accompanying sadness is heartbreaking.
Finally, as I affirm each Sunday to my congregation, the arc of justice does bend, and it bends towards mercy. And no smear of orange can circumvent that.
I well remember Watergate and Nixon. I was a young adult at the time. That seems like child’s play compared to this, doesn’t it? My father, who despised Trump, would be heartsick at what is transpiring. Though I miss him terribly, I am grateful he doesn’t have to see it.
I’ll have to read that Reich piece. You know that when they all come tumbling down – and they will – there will be a segment of the population that simply doesn’t believe it. Mind boggling.
Newer follower here and fellow Connecticutian here. Thank you for writing this post! I have spoken up very little on my blog regarding the current administration but have made it more than clear how I feel. It’s hard for me to watch the news currently because I am beyond disbelief and anger! How is this administration still intact and getting away with all this? How is all this actually happening in America? This is so much more than normal political lines….this is one hundred percent about what’s right and what’s wrong. I keep hoping for the day he is impeached and (somehow) all his crooked little inept pals are thrown out too. If I am going to hope, I am going to hope big! LOL Take care!
Hi Tracy! I don’t live in CT, I live in NY – though I sure spend a lot of time in CT when I work at Hartford Stage.
I agree. I want them all thrown out including Pence. Let’s hope big!
Claudia,
Thank you for writing so eloquently what is on my mind as well…I have fear and frankly
that makes me even more upset that this “boy/sorta man type person” has put fear in so many hearts. He is dangerous .
I know he has some conduct that speaks of disordered thinking and this is what is scary and what I got upset with the media about….he can’t change and no one should have ever said
“when is he going to act presidential?” that made me fume..He can’t; he won’t; because here we are in a circle HE Can’t! His brain will not allow for that, not even with every therapy I Know of. And his “value system” is so #@%$# up, so there you go..his values and mine, and most of ours… are not the same .
And when I need gallows’ humor, I watch Dana Carvy’s latest special “White, Male, 60″…and for a very few minutes; the comic relief hides from me the fact that this dude is a president of our Nation. My late, dear dedicated father fought for this country, and with his company of Timberwolves in 1944, liberated a concentration camp. He never was able to get over the horror. None of them were able to fully shake those memories of the people who survived or the many many who were killed….that generation who saved us from such atrocities surely would have expected much better than this! WE have been taken over and as you have shared ..we will “right” ourselves again for a more perfect union. I do not want to even get started with what he has done to science and logic..the whole lot of the people…awful.
I could go on but it is your blog and I have a hard time putting into words > his danger. You did this so well and I know we must hold tight to those who THINK and Love.
Sign me sad and frustrated. K
Katheryn
Your father was a hero, Katheryn. I can’t imagine the horrors he witnessed. My father also fought in WWII and was never the same. At heart a gentle soul, he wouldn’t speak of the War. I DO know that he and I spoke about Trump often in the months before he died and he was onto him from the start. I’m glad he doesn’t have to see this being played out.
I heard Chris Matthews, just the other night, saying “Mr. President, start acting presidential” and I screamed at the television. He’s not going to change. He is deeply flawed and most likely mentally ill and he is seventy years old!
I know that many holocausts have occurred on this earth and in my lifetime, but I grew up knowing about only one: THE Holocaust. I always wondered how good people could let it happen. Did they just stand by? Were they too frightened to do what was right? Now I know that perhaps they were doing what so many of us are doing right now: protesting by mail, visits to officials, calls, and in the streets. Today, I’ve made four calls, researched two local candidates for the school district and have my by-mail ballot ready to mail along with two protests postcards, and made a small contribution to the Democratic party. It sounds as if I’ve spent a lot of time, but I have those numbers on speed dial now, I have my stack of post cards beside my monitors, and I spend less time than I used to spend hopelessly reading articles. Does it make any difference? It took me most of the morning to get through to my senators, so I know others were calling, too. The votes of my state senators (Cruz and Cornyn) are not going to be changed by my call or the calls of hundreds or even thousands of like-minded people, but we hundreds or thousands will be changed by becoming engaged in the process. If it weren’t during the time of my husband’s 70th birthday party this weekend, I’d be going to a meet-and-greet for a 2018 candidate to replace Senator Cruz, and doing that a year before an election would never have been something I would have done in the past. I’ve made $5.00 contributions to two candidates in other states, including Ossoff in Georgia who would be taking Tom Price’s place if he’s elected, because I believe it’s time we pay attention to the ground game, too, and I also never would have considered that in the past. Our new engagement in the process will make a difference over time. I hope it’s just not too much time, with the word “hope” the most important word. Doing this keeps my hope alive.
We have to stay engaged and take action. Some days, it feels hopeless and certainly, despite what we’re all doing, there is an underlying feeling of powerlessness. But it does make a difference: the town halls and defense of the ACA helped to defeat that ridiculous sham of ‘new’ healthcare bill. So, we’ll keep doing it. Seeing so many people engaged in this fight is inspiring.
Claudia,
Thanks for all you say. I will NEVER EVER call that organism President. He was NOT elected president. Somehow he “became” president or whatever it is he thinks he is. Not a day goes by when I ask my husband how did this happen and what are we going to do. I guess I don’t know what I expect him to say back to me but he has always known what to say to console me so I keep turning to him. As it is, he’s at a loss of words.
I received a sale flyer from Lord & Taylor the other day and the dress on the cover was an Ivanka Trump. I opened it up and there were several more of her items inside. I said NO WAY!! I went online to the L&T website and wrote them a simple email stating that I will buy NOTHING more from them until they discontinue selling her merchandise. Well, I received a reply within 2 minutes (!) stating that their business philosophy is to sell what customers buy. But they did say that they “listen” customers (whatever that means…) and will change their business model accordingly when enough speak out about something. We’ll see. But they have seen the last of my $$$ until they totally discontinue carrying any of her stuff. Retailers have to be forced into realizing that there are consequences to their actions. I boycott all retailers that have anything going to do with “those people” (cannot say the name….).
We must stay strong growth and keep the faith! Again, thank you for your wonderful post today.
Organism! I love it, Luanne!
Good for you for standing up to Lord & Taylor and saying you won’t shop there if they’re going to keep selling Ivanka Trump’s made-in-another-country clothing line. You go, Luanne!
I’m feeling a bit like you Claudia…You may not hear me talking about these horrible things but they are always right there…in my mind…waiting to leap forward at any necessary time…Don’t ask for my opinion unless you really want it!..lol…Now for happy thoughts…that Woodpecker…they are so beautiful and maybe a little comical with their bright red Mohawk…For two days now I have heard them pecking but have not seen one yet…It is so good to hear them hard at work again…Just a while ago I was feeling a little down…I guess because it is so much colder than it has been lately and drizzly…I looked out the kitchen window and was elated to see a pretty Bluebird sitting on the edge of the burn barrel…he would flit around a bit and come right back for me to watch him…I said “Little Bluebird..you have made my day thank you very much”…and he has! I love Springtime!!!
Oh, bluebirds are so lovely! For some reason, I only see them around here in the winter! But when I do see them, my heart is very happy.
I am putting out a couple more bluebird houses this year…maybe if you put a couple up on your property they will stick around for Spring/Summer…also they really like dried meal worms to eat so it helps to put some out or mix some in your bird seed…
I sure love bluebirds. Maybe not this year without Don here to help me, but I’ll think of it in the future!
Well, you and everyone here has voiced exactly how I am feeling about this whole fiasco. Every single time something comes on the news about The Donald, every time I hear Spicer speak, I am just incredulous that this is actually happening. It truly is an alternate universe where idiocy prevails. The fact that, no matter what this Administration does, people are still backing him up is beyond disbelief. When people blindly follow in a fog such lies and deceit, no good can come.
I’ve been using my Canon a lot lately to take bird close-ups. :) Happy Friday!
Spicer has to lie constantly. Not only that, he talks down to and berates the press. Truly despicable.
Sometimes we need a dose of Pollyanna. I appreciate your honesty tho. The disregard the administration shows for compassion of any kind is a horror. Many will suffer, animals and environment are often on the bottom of the list but their welfare is vital for our world. I get a little too eager to see the mighty fall, which is not something I’m proud of in myself. But behind it is, I think, I hope, a feeling of wanting the “right” things to be protected. Compassion and sanity should be political games. Thank you for the sanity and compassion I find with you. The woodpecker is beautiful and your new lens was so worth it! We need bread and roses and you remind us of both.
No compassion. Not an ounce of it from anyone. Headline in the NY Times today: Trump Eases Rules in Somalia Protecting Civilians in Air Strikes.
Stunned.
Thanks for this inspiring post! As the man said, all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing, so decent people need to speak out against the abomination called Trump. I saw him called Agent Orange recently, and that’s a good description because he’s so toxic. I want to write a letter to the editor of my paper, but I can’t decide on a subject! There are too many godawful things to choose from!
I know there are many demonstrations planned for Earth Day to protest the new policies. Trump won’t care, but members of Congress might notice.
Especially if constituents keep calling and writing them!
Thank you so much for commenting, Marty! It’s all so terrible, that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Keep fighting!
You are pretty brave commenting on this subject and I hope you don’t lose readers. I feel the same way you do and spend most of my days signing petitions, calling Congress and sharing information. That is why I am just getting around to reading this post on Easter Sunday. It is hard to do the other stuff and read my blogs too. I feel that I have to do something. I can march and protest. I’m disabled But I can sure type and talk. Let’s hope they all get kicked out of the White House soon. I think that we need to quit voting for rich people! They are never going to have our best interests in mind. They don’t have a clue what it is like to live on a budget or to not have enough money. We need to start voting for middle class if we are to have a chance to have our country meet our needs. In the meantime, I am praying for this to end soon!
I’ve commented on Trump since the beginning of the primary season. There are several posts about him and I did lose some readers, who were very angry with me. But I have no regrets. For me, this was and is too important of a subject not to speak out. Our democracy is at stake.
I have always wondered why so many people who are struggling would have ever thought someone like him had their best interests at heart. I think of them almost like cult members, no matter what he does, they seem to approve.
Thanks for commenting, Sheryl.