OK, show of hands now. Does anybody know who Gary Doer is? (Carm, keep your hand down!)
But first, I'm sure you want an update on the robin family.
The little robins are still in the nest, but that could change at any time. They are big little birds now. This evening my wife and I watched as one of them was exercising his/her wings. Flapped them pretty hard about a half dozen times. That once seems nearly ready to exit the nest permanently, and I'm sure his/her brother/sister will be right behind him/her.
Anyway, on to the pictures. Here is the last one you saw,
Here is the May 22 version ...
And this is the photo from today (May 24) ...
While I was home for lunch today, it also was lunchtime at the nest ...
Like all moms, she had to decide who gets fed first. Usually the one with the biggest mouth ...
And as she keeps feeding them, the nest gets smaller. Or else the little birds are getting bigger. Ow! Watch your elbow!
My next nest picture is scheduled for Saturday, May 26. But there may not be any little birds left by then.
***
Still got you stumped about Gary Doer and how he figured into my life this week, right?
Gary Doer (pronounced DEW-er) is the premier of Manitoba, and he called a provincial election that was held on Tuesday. (Carmdown knows that--she's from Winnipeg.) The CBC station carried on our cable system is also from Winnipeg, and at 8 p.m. the polls closed and CBC started its election coverage.
At that same moment, about 2,000 miles away, the Detroit Red Wings were hitting the ice for Game 6 of their Western Conference finals against the Anaheim Ducks, knowing they must win to stay alive in the series--they were trailing 3-2. CBC was carrying the game. Except in Manitoba, where CBC focused on the election and whether the NDP would stay in power and Doer would get his third term in office.
The Winnipeg station said that the game was being streamed on CBC's website. But, apparently, it was only available to Canadian web surfers--I hit the link and nothing happened. So I went to the NHL website and listed to the radio broadcast for the first period ... and the second period ... and the first half of the third period. Anaheim was leading 4-1.
By then, Gary Doer had been re-elected and had given his victory speech. The NDP had held on to the Manitoba legislature, all the seats had been decided, and the political analysts had run out of things to say. Suddenly, it was hockey time--halfway through the third period.
At this precise point, the Red Wings started rallying. They scored one goal. Then they scored another. And the big 4-1 lead was down to 4-3. The Red Wings were attacking the Anaheim net. It would go down to the wire. But in the end, Anaheim held on to its 4-3 win, and Detroit's season was over.
So now it's Ottawa vs. Anaheim for the Stanley Cup, starting Monday night. But what would have happened (who would have won) if the election coverage had ended just a little bit earlier?
***
Early deadline this week because Monday is the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S. I'm taking Saturday off to visit my mom--it's the day before her 85th birthday, and I plan to take her for a ride. She has been talking lately about how long it has been since she has been at a Red Lobster restaurant. There is one in Marquette, about 80 miles away. In U.P. terms, that's a fairly short trip.
I can't get away on Sunday because I will be covering high school graduation at both our county's high schools that afternoon. The woman who usually covers one of them broke her leg recently and isn't going to be hopping around to cover events for a month or two. So I'll be picking up some of the photo-type work she does. That's how it usually works. But, you know, I enjoy getting pictures.
On Memorial Day morning, I'll be getting up at about 7 a.m. to cover the Memorial Day ceremonies in a nearby town in the woods--about 15 miles away. I've been there before, and they have a nice little ceremony in a picturesque cemetery. Lots of green trees all around. We have a lot of trees up here, and they've been doing much better since we've finally been getting some rain in recent weeks. Very welcome.
***
A short note about the bear. He was seen near our office on Tuesday this week. The same young bear, with the injured paw. (I didn't see him, but someone else in our office did.) No word on him since then.
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