WatershedEvents

MIGRANT DELIGHTS

In the scheme of things life goes on. The cycles of nature have about them a certain kind of inevitability that is both disturbing and reassuring. For example, the gold crowned and white crowned sparrows have headed north, up into British Columbia and the tundra. I have felt a pang or two of real sorrow since they left these parts; but I am comforted by the almost certain knowledge that they will return next February.

The goldfinches have taken their places, along with several other quite visually striking birds: the evening grossbeaks and their smaller kin the black-headed grossbeaks, for example. We have even seen a Western Tanager hanging around lately, a rather elusive visitor, but one we have previously seen about this same time of year. That brings the variety of birds we have been able to observe here in our own backyard to about 30 different species.

The birds on our property have always been a delight, but more than ever this year. Watching them from our breakfast area upstairs has become our favorite morning pastime. They and the new pathway through the backyard have made enjoying the spring especially delightful. It is not yet summer, so who knows what we have in store for us? We will be on the lookout, that’s for sure.

VOICE RECOGNITION SOFTWARE - THE DRAGON

I’d like to spend a little time talking about blog production, and a software product called Dragon. It is made by Nuance, which in turn is owned by Microsoft. It Is a very robust program, one that teaches itself and also teaches the user as it goes along.

I’ve been using it for quite some time now. It has made my life considerably easier and has had a significant impact on my daily activities. It’s not really hard to use, but it can take a while to get comfortable with it. It also takes a while for it to get used to your voice and its inflections. I am actually using it right now to write this blog. I’ve made it this far in the post without more than a couple of glitches, and have only used the mouse and keyboard a half dozen times.

The biggest problem it has is recognizing odd or mispronounced words. For example it had a very difficult time recognizing the word “glitches” in the sentence above. It was very simple to make that correction, and in the process I was able to teach it about the word so that it will probably get it right in the future.

It also has difficulty differentiating between certain words that are pronounced similarly, especially names, e.g. Aaron versus Erin. But it has quickly caught on, at least in this one instance, and gets it right – Aaron – this time!

I decided to start with this particular product review because of the difference it has made in my attitude about writing. It is an absolute joy to be able to use this kind of software in my post-stroke situation. As a stroke survivor I deal with many nagging health issues. One of them is hemiplegia – a partial paralysis in the muscles of my right side, including the muscles in my jaw. Besides being unable to walk without assistance from the walker, or sometimes a cane, I frequently have difficulty with speech. Not being able to use my right hand to work on the keyboard, or even my voice naturally and clearly most of the time, made it impossible to produce much writing or other forms of communication. That is until Dragon came along. It has made an incredible impact on my daily activities, from letter writing to research.

There are some drawbacks to the product, of course. For one thing it’s fairly expensive for a person on the fixed budget – it runs about $700 a copy right now, and that is just for the software. The microphone that is sold with the product is also costly – about $300. It is also time consuming to teach and learn from, mostly due to its robust nature. But time (which I have in excess) and a less expensive standing mic is all I need, since I lack the physical dexterity needed to use either of the options they sell.

I use Dragon Professional, 16^th Edition, which is designed for Windows 11. Mac people can forget about using this software by the way, at least for the time being, as there is no Macintosh version. But it might be worth getting an inexpensive Windows style laptop just to run it, depending on your needs and wants.

To sum up, it has been a godsend to me, and I fully recommend it to anyone who is as challenged as I.

Note: I wrote this entry using the Dragon, and proofed it a couple of times; but I’m afraid that one of the casualties from the stroke was my ability to concentrate on such matters. Accordingly there may be one or two typos in this piece for which Dragon is not responsible. I should point out, by the way, that my comments have not been solicited, nor have I received any remuneration. I just like the product and hope it can be useful for other people in my predicament.

THE WAY BACK

I wonder if the uninitiated realizes how much effort a sustained kind of approach to blogging really takes? The fact is that under certain circumstances it can be a weighty kind of experience, the kind that leads to neglect, and ultimately to abandonment. I had more or less reached that point – considerations of permanent abandonment – when physical circumstances in the form of major health issues removed the chore from my hands.

I had a stroke, the third and most catastrophic in just over a year. For a short time it left me paralyzed on my right side and partially paralyzed on my left. I made a partial recovery in relatively short order, but that pace of recovery did not continue. As a result I am hemiplegic now – my left side has healed completely, but on the right I am still mostly paralyzed. I make my way around mostly by wheelchair, but am able to use a cane for short distances.

It’s been two years since the stroke (and the heart attack which followed a year later) and I’ve regained a lot of strength. I feel inordinately lucky to have survived it all, and am beginning to approach the future with a fair amount of optimism – tempered of course by the reality of who I am and what I have endured. All that being the case, I’ve decided to put a little bit of my remaining energy into the maintenance of WatershedEvents, the blog I started in 2007.

I began writing the blog primarily to support a book that I was writing at the time. Titled Up Fanno Creek, the book was an exploration of creek’s natural history and my emergence as the biggest fan and advocate. When I was finished with that project I continued working from time to time on the blog, partially to support some writing and research projects, but mostly just to keep my hand in. Blogging had become a part of my life, more or less, and I was using it mainly to stay in touch with a few close friends.

I’ll probably work the blog the same way this time around, using it as an informal sort of communication/introspection kind of outlet for my natural tendency towards gregariousness. One thing is certain, however – I’ll try to keep politics (other than local) at bay. I’ll also try to focus as much as possible on the natural history of things around me, and will do my best to keep it light. Goodness knows the world on our phones and pads is heavy enough!

I think the main reason why I have decided to return to the task is self-care related. Recovering from a major setback of any kind – physical, professional, or psychological – requires a great deal of commitment and self-affirmation. It’s hard work, and you need all the help you can get, especially from yourself. Writing in the blog is, in many ways, just another form of the inner conversation that people tend to engage in everyday. Or maybe it’s just a way of thinking out loud. Whatever the case, I have always found it to be quite satisfying.