City or Rural?

Living in the City or outskirts has it's advantages in so many ways. Everything is just a stones throw away, it seems. Most of us haven't a clue what it would be like not having the ability to hop in the car and go to the corner store (within walking distance) for that loaf of bread. Or what would today's kids do without the ability to use those Playstations or Nintendo WI's? Not only the kids, adults how about no WiFi connections without having to go miles to find it? Doctors and hospitals close by, especially for an emergency!

We have a place in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. Our escape from the hustle of the city. A place to 'commune' with nature. Nothing extravagant, just plain 'ole country like ♥ We are lucky to have a well for water, and don't have to use an "outhouse"...that is total luxury in itself! When you're young none of these things really matter...'a tent' would suffice! As we got older we realized a 'phone' was mandatory (cell phones won't work). So a land line was added - but not always working. It seems somewhere down the road, on one of the main terminals the mice get in and chew the wires! All that aside, if you just want to blend with nature, it's the perfect place to be.

By now you are probably wondering why I am bringing this up. What does it have to do with the "owls"? If I may continue...Last month I posted about "Rural Life" (you can read it in the archives). Nicasio School is in a rural area. A good internet connection is not available at this time. :( Which brings me back to 'my' dilemma in Pa. Since I would be in the mountains at time of hatching's (if they laid eggs),  I so didn't want to miss it, thought no problem, I'll check into getting an internet connection for that time. Oh dear, I sure found out one disadvantage of living rural. The only thing available for me would be, dial-up!!! All those who have or have had dial-up know it is not good, especially for live streaming video. Almost ready to scrap that idea! This is close to what Nicasio School is going through. I am hoping my little talk helps to understand.

I haven't posted since April 1st. First of all the outside cam view had shifted and we couldn't see the front branch. Of course when the owls came around that's exactly where they sat.Then the biggest problem was that the cam kept messing up (I gather we were not getting a good connection). The owls could be heard, but not seen. Last night Mark set up the cameras for a perfect view, both inside and out! I was so excited, I kind of jumped the gun and posted a picture of the outside camera view. Meanwhile, I noticed the little running circles in the center of the video (buffering), I took it for granted it was my computer. Suddenly lost all, it went to black screen. Then came back again, happened a few times. Okay it's up again, I went ahead and set up recording (after 1am for me). When I woke this morning, no video and none all night...sigh. It seems I went to bed just a little to early, I received mail from Mark. Now I don't usually do this, but I think 'straight from the source' would be the best course. Here is what he said:

"Looks like Nicasio's network is down..again. It has been happening quite often since increased broadcast..especially with both outside and inside cam. It is also affecting connectivity as a whole for the school. I may have to reduce broadcast until we find a resolution.
PS. Network bandwidth upgrade is currently being explored."

So that is what is happening at Nicasio right now! Please bear with us, and thank you for understanding. ♥