Unfortunate Encounter

It was just after Christmas we were called again to Michigan, and we went as always. It seemed to go well as we went through Canada this time, which takes a few hours off the journey. Before we know it, we are in Ohio and turn northward to get to Michigan. 

The interstates and turnpikes in this area are 70mph. We don't like it at all, and I have commented on this subject of higher speeds on major roads before. We drive 65 on these higher speed roads, and it seems each time we are in Ohio or Michigan, we see even more off-road signs marking yet another accident scene investigation site. I am always commenting that when the top speed permitted is 70, nobody goes 70 but at a higher speed. There are always those news reports of a massive accident scene with many cars involved.

Of course!! Who can stop quickly and safely when you are speeding down the road at such a high speed? When you are trying to keep up with everyone else, and they are all going 80mph or even higher, YOU tell me who will stop in time to avoid an accident if the car ahead of them stops suddenly?

Well, on the day after Christmas 2019 somewhere on the Ohio turnpike, we were rear-ended by a huge GMC pickup hauling two propellers in the cargo bed. It was a heavy-duty pickup traveling at a higher speed than posted. Fortunately we nor the other driver were not injured, but it could have been worse. Luckily Sheila was driving, and after the initial shock of the noise and the minivan being struck from behind, she had and maintained good control of the van and got us safely to the side of the road. Except for the pickup that struck us, not one vehicle when we were rear-ended, stopped to see if there were any injured or if anyone needed assistance.

It took over four hours for the state trooper to arrive to take all the personal and vehicle information from us. All that time we were on the side of the road, trucks, rigs, RVs of every size, and cars zipped by us at the speed of hurry-up. 

Our broken Mazda5 minivan somewhere on the Ohio turnpike!

Initially the other driver stated he didn't see us. I had already snapped pixs of the damage to our car, which was substantial. The whole back window of our beloved Mazda5 was shattered with glass fragments all over the interior of the minivan, all the way up to the front seats! Where his pickup front bumper had impacted on the driver's side of our van rear showed he had hit us while in a turn. Hours later I asked if he was turning when he hit us. He simply replied YES, and explained as he started to pass us, he said he looked in his side mirrors to check for oncoming traffic, and in that second of looking away from the front view, his pickup had impacted with our minivan. I maintain throughout that time and still do, that he was going faster than 80mph, though the state trooper wrote in the crash report that the pickup driver was driving only at an estimated speed of 71mph!

His front bumper wasn't even dented much by the impact

We were okayed by the trooper for our continuing on our way since the car looked to be without any serious structural damage, and the rear brake and backup lights still functioned. During the first hour driving, it seemed the front alignment had been affected as the steering wheel was vibrating heavily, but the further we drove, the vibration seemed to fade slowly, until finally it disappeared completely. 

This dented impact point hides even more damage!

We stayed three days in Michigan, and during that time, our hosts were kind and lucky enough to find some frosted plastic wide enough to cover the hole left by the shattered back window, and I spent an hour or so cleaning the back of the minivan, then taping the plastic to the back of the van. The only difference while driving was the perception of a window - many windows - being wide open with all the noises we were hearing! Other than that and being a bit colder, it was okay. The plastic was pulled tight so it didn't vibrate while on the road, and the ride home was quick returning through Canada again, and uneventful. Even when stopped for the border crossing, nobody at the borders even noticed nor commented on our missing back window!

Back in WNY our minivan waits for a doctor and estimate

I had wanted to write this earlier but never was in the mood, or had the time since Sheila thought the insurance company would total the minivan, and indeed as we discovered later, they did deem the van as not worthy of being repaired. We weren't happy of course, with their decision since we have gone a lot of places in our Mazda5 minivan, enjoying the smooth ride and creature comforts very much! That was only later after Michigan Frankenmuth insurance company wanted to see if the chassis of the minivan was further damaged by the driver's side rear impact, and indeed it was, boosting the repair costs over initial estimates to over a thousand dollars more!

Just sitting on the Ohio turnpike. What if there were injuries?

We sadly began our search for a new vehicle. A week later, we found ourselves a very nice looking 2011 (one year younger than our beloved 2010 minivan) Ford Escape XLT.

Looking back, I wonder...  WE wonder, if that guy who rear-ended us that day, knows how much he ruined our lives by going too fast and hitting us. Granted, none of us were injured, but it could've ended much worst than it actually did. For over two weeks, we had to drop everything so that we could figure out what our actions would take us once we heard from his insurance company. Once we were given the ultimatum by Frankenmuth, we went into serious search mode and quickly decided on a vehicle that would meet our needs into the future. 

This is what happens when you drive fast and hit a deer!

This all goes in hand with what I have been discussing for many years online before I quit social media in mid-2015: in general, people drive too fast, and having a speed limit on highways and interstates of 70mph or faster, encourages yet higher speeds than the posted speed limits. If you are an experienced racetrack driver, perhaps then you might be able to drive safely, but when you see on national and international news of how people are involved in multi-vehicle crashes, I'll bet you someone was driving too fast, and was unable to stop in time to avoid the crash scene. 

If you value your life, the life of your children and friends, you will write or call your states' highway division and senator/congressman and TELL them to fight for LOWER and not for a faster speed limit, so people will quit dying on the roads, and slow the rate in which people's lives will be changed forever by being hit but not killed. Can you or anyone else on your block or in your neighborhood, afford to go out to buy a new car? Not only does that take time and money, but if you are still working, who is going to get off enough time necessary to look for a new vehicle? Imagine the time you will require if you were injured in a car accident and need time to recuperate?

Please SLOW down. Look around and be aware of your surroundings. Drive slower on city streets and watch out for other people and vehicles. If you feel sleepy or tired while driving, pull over, take a walk, get something to eat, and drink some water. Splash some water on your face, just do something so you will not drive feeling LESS than your normal 100%! 

What should be in your mind is looking down at your speedometer when necessary, being aware of your present speed, and thinking: if a kid, a car, or a dog suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of me and my car, will my speed and road conditions permit me to stop in time?

Please stay safe and stay alive out there!!

It's Snowing Again

We knew the snow was coming for days. It's been quite the Winter in less snow, but the intense chill was not absent at all! We have been out into the snow and/or cold, and it felt like Winter but sure as heck did not look like a normal western New York winter at all!

After an absence of about a week the snow has returned. Sheila has just cooked a fabulous breakfast of broccoli, fried potatoes and sloppy eggs. After eating, I give her a break from the washing and she sits at the piano and starts playing. 

The moment is priceless! Seeing the heavy snowfall outside the windows, hearing her fingers dance over the piano keys, and the sound of the piano is sooooo calming.....

There is ni visual illustration to this scene I paint, but am hoping you can see it in your mind!

A dear longtime friend has lost her husband and friend of over forty years, and I hope these few words will comfort her.

I wish everyone in the world could hear this, and be here for this small treasured moment. It is indeed a moment I will remember for the rest of my life!

A New Year, A New Toy

After many months of complaining about my old s5 that gives me so errors in a minute that I feel often it's more useful as a frisbee than a dumbphone, I've finally updated to a new phone.
I confess: it's a samsung again  :( 

Good news though, it's sleek and functional, unlike my s5 which has been sent to standby mode should anything happen to my newer phone. What made me go for yet another phone by samsung after so many bad news from me about this company? In the last few days of my s5, already knowing that my new phone would (hopefully) arrive soon (long story you don't want to hear), I began to take an active role in troubleshooting the s5, still in android OS 5.0 but as stated many times previously, popping up with error messages, having apps refuse to open, or open but not functioning, or giving a blank white app page, then closing within a few minutes. In some cases, it would go on for so many minutes I lost count, like when opening gallery to see images, and having to reopen and open yet again about ten times within a minute (sadly true), and still not being able to see any gallery images simply because it doesn't open correctly, and closes all by itself. A restart and/or a cache cleaning doesn't always work as advertised, even when both are done at least 20 times in a single hour!!
So, I began researching the error messages that would pop up in a single minute, and working on clearing that error. Not always would it function correctly right away. Other times it would give me a great samsung experience again, then after a few minutes, it'd just return to errors and malfunctioning......  it wasn't a great experience. So I decided to begin searching for others who would have the same troubles, who took the time and trouble to write online about their experience, and how they solved their problems (if that happened at all).

In the process, I ran across a forum where samsung owners, in particular, owners of a s5 like myself, who solved their errors by deleting the Android Webview app. It seeme many were unhappy with their samsung experience since it self-installed itself during an update, and had fewer problems after it was removed. So, I took a chance and removed it.

That was the best thing I could've done to resolve the majority of my samsung problems!

After two days of error-free use, it seemed my s5 was back to normal. Sure, after three days the s5 started to show a bit of its former self in some errors, but nothing as it really was before! Still, I was happy to see it was working as it should have been. I only wish I could have started an in-depth search of WHY my s5 was so impossible to use earlier...  MUCH earlier, as to avoid the nightmare experience I suffered through for so many months.

So, does anyone want to know what I replaced my s5 with?  :D

Thoughts on an Icy Chilling Day

Weeks ago we were hit with yet another wind storm that lasted days. Though this time we didn't see any downed trees in our immediate area, it wasn't the same for most of western New York (WNY). To give you an idea of how strong these winds were, there is a favorite spot we like hiking in the summer. This riverwalk goes under the Buffalo Peace Bridge leading to Canada and I have posted pictures previously somewhere of the fabulous views from this walkway, which consists of cement blocks placed together to form the foundation and walking surface of this riverwalk. Well, portions of this trail has been closed for some months due to a very strong wind storm that blew through the area last year during the winter, blowing and pushing huge blocks of ice over the walkway, and that action displacing many of the cement blocks, making the trail unusable. Well, it's happened again and now those blocks of cement that make up the riverwalk has been literally torn apart by Nature and the forces of the wind even before the repair work could be completed! 

No pixs of the riverwalk BUT here's wind-pushed snowballs!!

Nature may be beautiful, but it is also powerful, and all that which is taken from Nature, will surely be taken back by Nature eventually!

A walkway near Dunkirk, located hours away from us, and with a waterfront walkway also constructed of huge heavy blocks of cement was also blown apart. No one can ever doubt the force of winds in this area! 

The forementioned snows have already melted away, but not to worry: there's more snow coming our way early next week and will fill the streets and more for three days. Because of traffic, snows and freezing rains, we didn't venture out and do not have any pictures of the wrecked walkways described here, but were able to get snaps of other scenes closer to home!

So little but these icicles are pointy and frozen hard!

Last year this tiny creek was top and bottom frozen!

Flash-forward to today and gorgeous clouds, and NO snow! 

In many locations along the Niagara River, we have seen trunks, branches and more of downed trees, pushed many feet up and away off the Niagara due to high winds weeks ago!

In some cases, the debris has been pushed up to past 40feet away and over the waterline!

Frosted trees are a favorite for any camera!!

Leaves mix with green grasses in the melting snow and ice

We saw blue skies today, and a nice cloudy sunset!

Never doubt Nature or her powerful force!!!

7 Simple Actions to Save Birds

By accident I came across this article. Not only is it pushing us to help save and documenting the declining bird population, it also just makes sense for US as humans also. We don't need plastics in our lives, and what we have thrown onto the streets, and into rivers and oceans of the world is a problem we can work on now, and not wait for the next generations to face and solve. 

BUT WE can hopefully see the general and highly used plastic disappear (maybe in a few centuries from now). 

The article contains many informational links, many of which are NOT included here. The link is at the bottom, should you wish to read the original article.
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7 Simple Actions To Help Birds
Many window collisions happen when birds see reflections of trees and fly toward them. Photo by Damian Pollet via Creative Commons.
 
1. Make Windows Safer, Day and Night
The challenge: Up to 1 billion birds are estimated to die each year after hitting windows in the United States and Canada. (source).

The cause: By day, birds perceive reflections in glass as habitat they can fly into. By night, migratory birds drawn in by city lights are at high risk of colliding with buildings.

These simple steps save birds: On the outside of the window, install screens or break up reflections—using film, paint, or Acopian Bird Savers or other string spaced no more than two inches high or two inches wide. 

Take it further: Work with businesses or public buildings to offer a contest for creative “window mural” designs that make windows safer for birds. Support legislation for bird-friendly building designs. Start a lights-out campaign in your city.

Get started today:
Quick, affordable ways to keep birds from hitting your windows

Follow bird migration forecasts to know when birds are on their way to you

Help pass the Bird-Safe Buildings Act

Keep your cat indoors and save cats and birds.
2. Keep Cats Indoors
The challenge: Cats are estimated to kill more than 2.6 billion birds annually in the U.S. and Canada (source). This is the #1 human-caused reason for the loss of birds, aside from habitat loss.

The cause: Cats can make great pets, but more than 110 million feral and pet cats now roam in the United States and Canada. These non-native predators instinctively hunt and kill birds even when well fed.

Solutions that are good for cats and birds: Save birds and keep cats healthy by keeping cats indoors or creating an outdoor “catio.” You can also train your cat to walk on a leash.

Take it further: Speak out about the impacts of feral cat colonies in your neighborhood and on public lands. Unowned cats’ lives may be as short as two years because of disease and hardship, and they are responsible for more than two-thirds of birds killed by cats in North America. 

3. Reduce Lawn, Plant Natives
The challenge: Birds have fewer places to safely rest during migration and to raise their young: More than 10 million acres of land in the United States were converted to developed land from 1982 to 1997.

The cause: Lawns and pavement don’t offer enough food or shelter for many birds and other wildlife. With more than 40 million acres of lawn in the U.S. alone, there’s huge potential to support wildlife by replacing lawns with native plantings.

Take it further: Add native plants and watch birds come in. Native plants add interest and beauty to your yard and neighborhood, and provide shelter and nesting areas for birds. The nectar, seeds, berries, and insects will sustain birds and diverse wildlife.

Get started today:
Find out which native plants are best for your area
4. Avoid Pesticides
The challenge: More than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied in the United States each year. The continent’s most widely used insecticides, called neonicotinoids or “neonics,” are lethal to birds and to the insects that birds consume. Common weed killers used around homes, such as 2, 4-D and glyphosate (used in Roundup), can be toxic to wildlife, and glyphosate has been declared a probable human carcinogen.

The cause: Pesticides that are toxic to birds can harm them directly through contact, or if they eat contaminated seeds or prey. Pesticides can also harm birds indirectly by reducing the number of insects that birds need to survive.

A healthy choice for you, your family, and birds: Consider purchasing organic food. Nearly 70% of produce sold in the U.S. contains pesticides. Reduce pesticides around your home and garden.

Take it further: Urge U.S. Representatives to cosponsor the Saving America’s Pollinators Act. The bill, H.R. 1337, requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend registration of neonics.

Get started today:
5. Drink Coffee that’s good for birds

The challenge: Three-quarters of the world’s coffee farms grow their plants in the sun, destroying forests that birds and other wildlife need for food and shelter. Sun-grown coffee also often requires using environmentally harmful pesticides and fertilizers. On the other hand, shade-grown coffee preserves a forest canopy that helps migratory birds survive the winter.

The cause: Too few consumers are aware of the problems of sun coffee. Those who are aware may be reluctant to pay more for environmentally sustainable coffee.

Insist on shade-grown coffee that’s good for birds: It’s a win-win-win: it’s delicious, economically beneficial to coffee farmers, and helps more than 42 species of North American migratory songbirds that winter in coffee plantations, including orioles, warblers, and thrushes.

Take it further: Look for Bird Friendly coffee, a certification from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center that also includes organic standards. Educate coffee shops and grocery stores about shade-grown coffee.

Get started today:
Find out where to buy Bird-Friendly coffee in the U.S. and Canada
 
6. Protect Our Planet from Plastics

The challenge: It’s estimated that 4,900 million metric tons of plastic have accumulated in landfills and in our environment worldwide, polluting our oceans and harming wildlife such as seabirds, whales, and turtles that mistakenly eat plastic, or become entangled in it.

The cause: Plastic takes more than 400 years to degrade, and 91% of plastics created are not recycled. Studies show that at least 80 seabird species ingest plastic, mistaking it for food. Cigarette lighters, toothbrushes, and other trash have been found in the stomachs of dead albatrosses.

Reduce your use of plastics: Avoid single-use plastics including bags, bottles, wraps, and disposable utensils. It’s far better to choose reusable items, but if you do have disposable plastic, be sure to recycle it.

Take it further: Advocate for bans of plastic bags, styrofoam, and straws. Encourage stores to offer incentives for reusable bags, and ask restaurants and other businesses to phase out single-use plastics.

Get started today:
Eight easy ways to reduce your plastic waste

The challenge: The world’s most abundant bird, the Passenger Pigeon, went extinct, and people didn’t realize how quickly it was vanishing until it was too late. Monitoring birds is essential to help protect them, but tracking the health of the world’s 10,000 bird species is an immense challenge.

The cause: To understand how birds are faring, scientists need hundreds of thousands of people to report what they’re seeing in backyards, neighborhoods, and wild places around the world. Without this information, scientists will not have enough timely data to show where and when birds are declining around the world.

Enjoy birds while helping science and conservation: Join a project such as eBird, Project FeederWatch, a Christmas Bird Count, or a Breeding Bird Survey to record your bird observations. Your contributions will provide valuable information to show where birds are thriving—and where they need our help. 
Note: If you don't yet know how to use eBird, there’s a free course to help you get the most out of the project and its tools.

Take it further: Mobilize others in your community by organizing school groups or leading bird walks and submitting your counts to eBird. Support organizations that coordinate monitoring projects.
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