The world is a mask that hides the real world.
Thatâs what everybody suspects, though the world we see wonât let us dwell on it long.
The world has ways - more masks - of getting our attention.
The suspicion sneaks in now and again, between the cracks of everyday existenceâ¦the bird song dips, rises, dips, trails off into blue sky silence before the note that would reveal the shape of a melody that, somehow, would tie everything together, on the verge of unmasking the hidden armature that frames this sky, this tree, this bird, this quivering green leaf, jewels in a crown.â¦
As the song dies, the secret withdraws.
The tree is a mask.
The sky is a mask.
The quivering green leaf is a mask.
The song is a mask.
The singing bird is a mask.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Aurora & Snowdrop
Winners chosen for 'name the chick' contest
Green Bay News-Chronicle, 12 May 2005
Green Bay News-Chronicle, 12 May 2005
Two winners will share the honor of naming the latest peregrine falcon chick to hatch in the nesting box at the Pulliam Power Plant near the mouth of the Fox River, Wisconsin Public Service announced Wednesday.
Only one chick hatched this year, and the two winners will provide a first and last name for that bird. The winning names are:
"Aurora," submitted by Kim Irion, 8th grader at Notre Dame of De Pere. Kim chose her name because Aurora Borealis (scientific name for the Northern Lights) is "beautiful sights" in the sky, just like birds in flight.
"Snow Drop," submitted by Taylor Kaderabek, 1st grader at Monroe Elementary School in Manitowoc. Taylor chose the name because the peregrine falcon in flight reminds her of snowdrops.
The contest, open to grades kindergarten through eight, was sponsored by WPS and the Neville Public Museum. More than 800 contest entries were received from individuals and classrooms throughout northeast Wisconsin.
The power plant nesting spot has produced more than 30 Peregrine chicks since the nest box was built on the roof in 1995. The birds had previously nested on the Leo Frigo Bridge nearby.
Aurora Snow Drop and her mother can be viewed by visiting www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/news/falcons.asp via a Web cam that was installed last year.
Winners of the naming contest and their families will be invited to attend and participate in the banding of the chick tentatively scheduled for May 25. They will have their photograph taken with the falcon chick and receive a class field trip to the Neville Public Museum.
