Prairie Fire

Tonight the Winona Bird Club had a talk with a prairie fire expert. This is the same guy who gave the timber rattlesnake talk a few weeks back. The meeting was very informative. I was surprised to learn how many prairies around this area get burned.

 

The Things They Carried

The author Tim O'Brien was born in Austin, MN. At the age of ten the family moved to Worthington. After graduating from Macalester College he was drafted into the Army. He served in the Vietnam war. From his experiences in Vietnam he wrote the book The Things They Carried. After college and before Vietnam he drives up to Rainy Lake thinking he might skip the war and move to Canada. He meets an older man who is closing up his resort for the winter. Tim helps the man painting and fixing doors and chopping wood. One day the old man takes him fishing but they don't fish. The old man takes the boat to the Canadian side thinking Tim will escape. Tim decides he would embarrass his family if he went to Canada so he stays. He feels he is a coward for going to Vietnam. In the beginning of the book he describes his platoon mates by talking about what they carried. One guy has a photo of a girl named Martha. One Native American guy carries a Bible. Another guy carries the pantyhose of a girl. Some of his platoon were killed by bullets or mines. In the book he never describes their location. Although the war was over in the 1970's he didn't publish the book until 1990 which was probably a smart idea. I  wonder if high school kids even know about the Vietnam war anymore. We had a good discussion about this book today at the Winona Public Library. I feel this is a book that is difficult to read but it is the responsibility of all U.S. citizens to read it.

 

 

 

 

Scrappy Little Nobody

 I have never heard of the actress Anna Kendrick before I read her autobiography called Scrappy Little Nobody. In this book we learn her parents supported her dream to become a singer and an actress. They would drive her from Maine to New York for auditions. Her father moved with her to New York for a summer show. Anna said she was small for her age and a late bloomer. She tells some hilarious tales about herself growing up and becoming successful.

 

 

Happy Halloween

I celebrated Halloween today in an unusual way. I drove 60 miles to Dodge City, Minnesota for a wedding that started at 1 p.m. A light rain was falling as we sat outside. All the men on the bride's side of the aisle wore green and all the men on the groom's side of the aisle wore blue. I have known this bride since her birth as I was the birthing coach. She wore a beautiful white dress. This was a pagan wedding. The officiant was her younger cousin and he did a great job. They did a hand binding. As the bride and groom held hands a strip of cloth was looped around both of their forearms. I had not seen that before. I believe it is a Celtic custom. The wedding was held at a former farm. There was a building for a photo booth. There was a building for the bathrooms. The dinner was held in the first floor of a barn and the dance was held upstairs. We had tacos for dinner. I didn't do any dancing but I watched the others dance. The bride danced almost every single dance and she was good at dancing. What a wonderful way to celebrate Halloween.

Something To Look Forward To

 I am a big fan of Fannie Flagg's writing so I was happy to find Something To Look Forward To at my library. This is a collection of short stories from all over the country. The writing is charming and hilarious.

 

 

In The Lake Of The Woods

Tim O'Brien served in the Vietnam war and that is the topic in many of his books including In The Lake Of the Woods. There are stories in here regarding the May Lai massacre that are hard to read. The soldier at the massacre goes on to run for a U.S. Senate seat. When the story is published that he was part of the massacre he and his wife go up to the Lake of the Woods to relax and avoid scrutiny. Later, when it turns out his wife is missing, he acts suspiciously. This was a difficult yet important book to read.

 

 

Timber Rattlesnakes

Last night I went to the historical center for a lecture on timber rattlesnakes which are present in the southeastern corner of the states including here in Winona. The talk was given by Stephen Winter who works for the U.S. Fish And Wildlife (when the government isn't shut down). He is not allowed to work or talk about volunteering at work but since he volunteers when he is off work he can talk about his work with timber rattlesnakes. When off work and he gets a call, he will go to a home owner's house and safely remove the timber rattlesnake and take it to a safe place. The safe place has to be within a half mile other wise the snake won't get back to it's winter den. The snakes come in two phases; the yellow phase and the black phase. The snakes don't change color. If they're born yellow they stay yellow. If born black they stay black. He collects up to 20 snakes some summers. Most of the calls come in July. The earliest is May and the latest calls are in October. Timber rattle snakes are not aggressive. The number of rattles indicate how many times the snake has shed it's skin. Sometimes the rattles can be broken off. He does not get paid for this work. His reward is seeing a timber rattlesnake. If bitten by a timber rattlesnake the pain is horrendous. Medical advice includes laying down, calling 911 for help and keep the bite lower than the rest of your body. Try to remain calm and keep your heart rate low. All of the snakes he has collected here in Winona have been up on the goat prairie on the right side of Garven Heights road. Up until 1989 there was a bounty on timber rattlesnakes. Rattlesnake hunters could go to a den in the spring or the fall and kill they as they left or returned to the den. That is why there are so few left.