Wren vs. Chickdee: Who's Mo' Badass?

The housing shortage in Corvallis has apparently extended to the bird kingdom. A wren and a pair of chickadees have been engaged in loud, continuous squabbles over a nesting hole in the fence behind building two. Wren makes the most noise, so you could say the wren is in the catbird seat. The chickadee does the most bullying, chasing the wren around the area. The early morning air is filled with “chickadee-dee-dee-dee,” followed by various wren warbles and buzzes – on repeat. Over and over. (Of note, the more dee-dee-dees at the end of the chickadee call, the greater the threat.) By the end of the day, wren is still singing, and chickadee appears worn out. He sits on the wire fence under the nest hole, feathers all plumped out – looking bigger, badder, and appearing to scowl through that low-slung black cap. Chickadee has a partner who sometimes goes into the nest hole during the chases, and sits looking out – making it clear who inhabits this hole. Wren then sits on the wire fence beneath the hole, body flicking furiously. Today I thought I saw a little brown bird go into the hole during a chase and disappear. So, wren might just have a partner, this still needs verification. Last year, he sang for almost 3 weeks, and just when it seemed that all was lost, a partner appeared and cleaned up the awkward nest he had built for her. They had a successful fledge.

To hear wren songs and scoldings: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Wren/sounds

To hear black capped chickadee sounds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/sounds

Who has claim to this nest hole? It was started several years ago by a downy woodpecker, who never completed it. It was finished by a couple of chickadees, who busily deposited sawdust all over the nearby planting beds, but they never nested in it. Last year a wren came and set up house in the hole. So, while the architecture is distinctly chickadee, wrens do have a precedent for living in this hole.

So, who's mo' badass? Wrens are aggressive and destroy the eggs and young of nest box competition. While it is a little late this spring, perhaps it's time to do something about the bird housing shortage at Coho.

Why you want to be my neighbor

Why You Want To Be My Neighbor
at CoHo Ecovillage, Corvallis, Oregon
There are so many reasons…
1. CoHo is all about community. It’s filled with
caring, intelligent, articulate neighbors ready
to share experiences and ideas with you.
2. CoHo is rich in expertise. You can learn and
share information and skills on everything
from bike repair to communication, from
plumbing to gardening.
3. CoHo cares about sustainability. You’ll find
inspiration and ready resources for living a
sustainable lifestyle.
4. We are dedicated to developing effective
communication skills and ensuring that
everyone’s needs are heard and taken into
consideration.
5. Several optional community meals per week.
You help cook, prep, or clean up a couple of
times a month, depending on your
participation.
6. Numerous special-interest groups meet
regularly at our Common House (music,
board games, puzzles, crafts, community
affairs, educational events, etc.)
7. CoHo is on a good financial footing, with
realistic contingency and maintenance-
reserve funds in place. Our Finance Team is
on top of things.
8. It’s quiet here. Some kid noise during the day
(which we don’t mind), and the neighborhood
is quiet at night.
9. Kids! We’ve got ’em — for your kids to play
with or for you to talk to, play with, and
befriend. Organized activities currently
include a babysitting co-op, on-site daycare,
and Kids Club.
10. The buildings are well-built — solid, tight,
well insulated. Also they’re built green — no
toxic materials.
11. Units have radiant, in-floor heat (inexpensive
and cozy!).
12. Units have high ceilings and big windows not
found in many run-of-the-mill modern homes.
13. Buildings are arranged around a central foot
path to encourage interaction.
14. Plenty of room and incentive to garden.
People are always trading and giving away
seedlings, produce, and knowledge.
15. CoHo has large open spaces, dedicated
woodland and meadow.
16. CoHo has a grand Common House with a big
kitchen, large meeting room, cozy living
room, laundry room & game room, kids’
playroom, and guest room.
17. CoHo has a big bike barn for your use —
secure and dry.
18. CoHo is close to downtown (less than 1.5
miles). It’s an easy bike ride or walk for tea,
bookstore, whatever you like downtown. Less
driving around town! Get out of the car!
19. Corvallis has a major university (OSU),
providing many cultural opportunities. We
celebrate being geeks!
http://www.davincidays.org/
20. Corvallis is one of the most bicycle-friendly
towns in the U.S.
21. Great farmers’ market (twice weekly in
summer)!
22. Corvallis hosts a wide range of resources for
nourishment of mind, body, and spirit.
23. We live close to nature, with amazing birds
and other wildlife nearby. CoHo borders a
large city-county park. It’s a 10-minute walk
to the river where there are miles of
meandering pathways through open and
wooded areas.
24. Yes, it rains in Oregon, that’s why the trees
are so big. We have great forests! And rainy
season is a good time to work on art and
indoor projects.
25. The rain ceases in summer, and every day is
beautiful.
26. Old-growth forest is just a 20-minute drive
and a 15 minute walk away.
27. Mild winters and summers — seldom
extremely cold or hot.
28. Fun Oregon Country Fair near Eugene:
www.oregoncountryfair.org/
29. Close to Breitenbush (a great hot spring).
30. We’re not far from Portland (for your big-city
fix).
31. We’re close to many places of great beauty;
ocean and mountains are just an hour away.
32. Amazing waterfalls abound throughout
Oregon.
33. Berries! August is a free, all-you-can-eat
blackberry buffet. Grow your own or u-pick
blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries.
For more information, visit cohoecovillage.org
List compiled by Leela Devi and Austin Hallock, April 2011.

Laundry Day at Coho

A couple of days ago, several kids came to the door and asked if I had any laundry they could hand-wash. I had just done the laundry, and to be honest, wondered about the wisdom of handing over delicates to the kids (ranging in age from 4 to 7 years old) to wash. So, I said I did not have anything. They looked so dejected that I felt terrible. (And, as I recently read in Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, I had violated the first rule of improvisation: never say no.) After they left, I went to the laundry basket and found one sport top/bra that was not too precious and asked Jessica (four years old, and wringing the devil out of an article of clothing) if they were still accepting laundry, she said yes, and came upstairs to retrieve the top. The other kids were going door to door looking for more laundry. They had a laundry station set up across the path from our building: a soapy tub, a rinse tub, and a drying rack. Jessica, the mom, said that doing laundry was their latest thing. (In the past, Katie (5) and Shoshanna (7) have come around dressed in identical plastic aprons, as the cleaning ladies, with a broom and dustpan, asking if we have anything they could clean. That's an easy one, we can always find something to clean.)

Later in the afternoon, when I returned from a class, I found the laundry rack full of wadded up laundry. I figured they probably needed the lesson about how to hang laundry to dry best, so I only flattened my piece (which was heavier than the others). Later in the day when they were delivering laundry, I received a really cute raspberry-colored linen camisole top, the same color as my sports top. I located the owner of the cami, and I am still hoping my top turns up.

Moral of the story: to have more fun, look for a way to say yes.

Yummy Path!

It is a gorgeous day. Lots of clouds and sun. Took a walk to the river, then began cleaning up some of the slimy, messy vegetation that had frozen in my garden a week ago. As I was walking up the path, getting ready to go inside, I ran into Skya and Jessica (both 4-5 years old) picking leaves off the rosemary and lavender plants in Jude's yard. (They had been doing this in the dark the evening before.) When I asked what they were doing, they said "yummy-path!" Then I could see that they were scattering the herbs on the path. They are trying to create a fragrant path. It is winter, the herbs are not releasing a lot of smell, they will turn to mush on the path - it is true.

When I was four years old, a friend and I gathered lots of cattails and shredded them all over the back yard to make it look like it was covered in snow. We gleefully giggled, danced and sang our way through the yard, trying to cover every bit of earth with the soft, white fluff. Mr. Ganzhaur, the next-door neighbor, quietly looked on with a scowl on his face. When my dad got home I got a big spanking. This was the most unjust spanking I had ever had. I could not understand what I had done wrong - I had made the yard beautiful. It was my first (and only) installation.

Yummy Path - the newest coho installation. I brought in a sprig of the lavender that was dropped on the path, as a souvenir.

Voting in your underwear...

Mary from Austin reminded me that we get to vote in a state where our vote can actually make a difference, while she gets to cast her vote "into the McCain/Palen abyss". Yeah! for a vote that counts! Now if we can just get the college kids to turn in their ballots...

One of the odd things about life in Orygun is voting by mail. We receive a ballot by mail, and then we can return it by mail or in person to boxes in a number of places. So, one could easily vote in ones birthday suit. That would be a good slogan: VOTE NAKED!

However, voting in private makes me long for the South Austin voting experience. We always ran into friends and neighbors (often, friends and neighbors were the same people!) and chatted while coming, going, and waiting in line. The Democratic poll worker was often a neighbor and got to chat up lots of familiar people, while the Republican poll worker appeared to rival the Maytag repairman in popularity. The Republican table was a solemn affair, while the Democrats partied at the polls (even though we usually lost the big races in a red state). One recent election, I guess it was the last presidential election, the line was almost a block long, and I got to chat with people I didn't know. People of varying political persuasions: an older Republican lady who was friends with LadyBird, and a more libertarian leaning young man in law enforcement who worked at the state capital. Everyone was nice and polite while we discussed issues that the politicians tend to skirt, and we trod carefully around each others differences.

Coho Halloween party

We had an afternoon Halloween party for the kids here yesterday. I had hoped to do a more organized dance activity with the kids, but it didn't feel quite right in the space, so we had a parade around the circle in front of the common house. I got to dance with a few of the hard core dancers near the end of the party. I haven't quite figured out the ins and outs of dancing with 3 year olds. Mostly we just dance and twirl (they are heavily into Duncan Dance), sometimes they pile on me (kid contact improv?). My fairy/butterfly wings were such a big hit that a couple of cute kitties (see photo) asked me to go trick or treating with them. I felt honored. I have not been trick or treating in years. The kitty in front, Smudge, is fashioned after a kitten of the same name who was part of a litter that was fostered by one of our neighbors. Susan likes to take in foster kitties for the Humane Society. The kittens were a big hit, they got a LOT of kid and adult visitors over the 7 or eight weeks they were here, so Susan could truthfully claim that the kittens were well socialized. They all found homes. Mama is still awaiting adoption.

Enjoying autumn... missing Texas folks

Autumn has been doing its jazz dance with blazing colors set against blue-blue skies in the afternoons, and softly smoldering in dense foggy mornings. October is a beautiful month here in the Willamette Valley. In town, the colors run from burgundy to bright red, orange, yellow, and glow-in-the-dark variations of all of the above. When we drove through the costal range last week, the colors were mostly yellows, golds, and greens. We went looking for a salmon run, and did not find any salmon, but did see some whales. You can see the view from my office in the photo to the left. Yes, it looks out on the parking lot, with the cemetery in the distance, but I'm usually looking at the sky and trees. The Right photo is the view of a play area from our kitchen window and front porch.

It’s been a while since I posted. In truth, I fell into a hole. When school started, the numbers for my daytime class dropped as teachers returned to work, and I started hearing that if the numbers did not improve (they want an average of 10 per class, and my classes are at non-prime hours) then they would cancel the day class. I was hoping my Zensation workshop would spark some interest from new students, but it didn’t. (Zensation is a newer Nia routine that dives more deeply into the nine movement forms that make up the Nia Technique – and I had fun playing with the material.) At the same time, I was working hard on a project for the landscaping team here at Coho. I like hard work, but at one point, it became clear that, while my work was appreciated, my creative energy was not, really. I had a big meltdown a couple of weeks ago and spent the next week coming to the realization that my heart was broken. This is a common theme for me. Other times in my life I have come to the realization that the needs of the group do not always meet my needs, and it sparks a period of withdrawal and reassessment of where I am and where I want to go. (The periodic Scorpio crash and burn. It is my birthday today.) Those periods have always felt nurturing, and alone; it’s a space to nurture myself into the next stage.

I have spent a lot of time in the past seven months getting moved in, and integrating as much as possible into this community. It is a small village. It takes a long time to integrate into any small community. So my challenge right now is to integrate on my own terms. For now I am in a period of withdrawal, and that will probably change soon, when I find a fit that meets my needs. (And maybe not, we’ll see.)

I so miss the connections I felt with Austin folks. People are nice here. They are very intelligent, politically savvy, and caring (this community is so concerned about providing for the food needs of the larger community that they are holding meetings with our neighbors about it). There is just a good bunch of people at Coho, and in Corvallis in general. I guess I miss the special warmth of being around those who have seen me go through all my crap and love me anyway. I miss the physical warmth and sensuality of people from warm climates. I love the physicality of people who dance and express from the heart and soul without words. I do get that in my classes, I just want more of it outside of class. I so appreciate the beauty, courage, and grace of those who do Nia, I want an even bigger group to share that experience with.

While my daytime class is ending, and perhaps, the connections with many of the special women I have met there (though I hope not), the evening class is doing better than it ever has, in spite of many people telling me that they can’t come because it is too late for them. I’m missing some beautiful students because 7:00 to 8:00pm is so late, and others are coming and discovering that this is what has been missing. I am seeing men other than Austin, in class. This is new for Corvallis – men in Nia.

I also decided that now is the time to reach out to people outside of Coho to get more of that sense of connection that I miss from so many of you in Austin. (And I am following through and learning more about life in Corvallis.) Of course, I would love it if you Austin folks would move here. It is unbelievably gorgeous. You can drive for an hour and be at the Pacific Ocean. Drive for an hour in the other direction and you are in the Cascades. Drive for 10 miles and see the most amazing wildlife sanctuary full of party-down Canada geese right now. Drive 10 miles in the other direction and hike in old growth forest. Drive an hour and a half and be in Portland. And, this is a big bicycle town, so no need to drive everywhere. It is heaven, but it would be even more so with friends and family from Texas. I miss you and your warmth. You can always come visit… You’ll see that I’m not exaggerating the beauty of this place.