Class Field Trip

As part of my second master naturalist class, I attended anther field trip today. We had a busy outdoor day planned from 9 until almost 5:30. I loaded fresh batteries in my camera before I left and then forgot it on the kitchen counter. I'll be getting photos from my classmates and when I do, I'll post some of them. We looked at wolves. I saw 55+ wolves today. We studied them. We ate lunch by them. We saw them fed. We made plaster casts of their paw prints. We saw them sleeping and eating and playing and pacing and rubbing their sides against the chain link fence. We saw some charge after a fresh deer heart while others stood back and let the more aggressive animals have it. I've never seen a wolf in the wild and hope I do get that chance someday. We saw cougar, lynx, bobcat, coyote, gray and red fox, porcupines, raccoons, and 8 black bear. We saw red foxes that were red but others were orange, gold, black and even white. Did you know the word for a group of porcupine? A group of porcupine is called a prickle. Porcupine are the second largest rodents in our state and generally don't hang out in prickles. They're more solitary. Babies are born with quills but the quills don't harden until an hour after birth. Otherwise, ouch! Baby porcupines are called porcupets and are ready to climb a tree an hour after birth. We fed the bears. The bears had a lucky day as we fed them carbs. A bakery donated excess product. We threw bread, cinnamon rolls, bread sticks, chocolate covered doughnuts and powdered sugar doughnuts over the fence. The bear inhaled the powdered sugar doughnuts first and left the bread for last. I first came to admire bears when I was pregnant. I was jealous of their ability to give birth while sleeping through the winter. I found out today that the average female bear, weighing 200-300 pounds, gives birth to a cub a half pound in weight. The small size of the newborn cubs really surprised me. Not only do they get to give birth while hibernating, but their babies are so much smaller than ours. That is totally not fair. We watched a deer necropsy. At first we couldn't tell what had killed the deer but once it was opened to the area above the diaphragm, we could see a lot of blood pooled around the heart and lungs. It had been hit by a car in the chest area. We also got a close look at some raptors including a red tailed hawk, screech owl, long-eared owl, peregrine falcon, and rough legged hawk. We got to hold some of the birds. I held a red tailed hawk and a long-eared owl-what a tremendous thrill. I had to pay $200 to take this class but today was totally worth the cost.

Artsy Fartsy

A friend and I went to visit the Northrup King Building in old "nordeast" last night. This old building used to be a seed factory. The Northrup King building has four "L" shaped stories and is about a block long. As we walked up the stairs, the door had automatic closers on them consisting of a chain, a counter weight and a pulley. The automatic door closers still worked and I think it's cool that they kept them. Pictures on the wall showed workers filling bags of seed corn (not genetically modified, I'm sure) and rows of typists seated at desks in an open room. Now the building houses art studios. My friend and I focused on textile arts. We looked at looms and rugs and wall hangings. Some rugs were made from rags, old jeans, sparkly threads, organic hand dyed yarns, and cord. We looked over the rugs and tried to figure out how they were made. Some of those looms were very complicated. A couple looms had computers on them to help with complicated patterns. On most rugs, the pattern comes from what is woven back and forth. In one studio, that pattern was in the warp- the vertical threads that run the length of the rug. The look of the rugs was very different but it took us non-weavers a long time to figure out why they looked so different. One room had rugs made in Peru. The colors were bright tangerine, red, turquoise, yellow, purple, green and blue - that was my favorite room. Some of the images had depth and were tapestry more than rugs. They also made pillow covers, table runners, place mats and purses. I looked at all their rugs. The prices on the clearance table were too high for me. Besides, the rugs were too beautiful to put on the floor. I don't think I could walk on something so pretty. We saw some woven clothing that was very attractive. We saw some unusual children's hats made to look like knights from the round table, queens complete with crowns and long braids, a fish, and a hen sitting on a nest. Beside the textiles, we were drawn into some other rooms. One room had kinetic sculptures that moved back and forth in a comforting motion and made sounds. These sculptures were huge - the size of a SUV. One had pipes that moved up and down and reminded me of my grandparent's well house on the farm. Another room had mosaics that were fantastic to look at. Some mosaics were made of glass but most were made of hand-made ceramic tile that incorporated sliced agates, pieces of quartz, river rocks, and even some fossils. By 9 p.m. we were overwhelmed by all we had seen and had to go home to relax.

My Squirrels Have A Granite Countertop

I have a landscape pink granite boulder in my yard. The red squirrel uses it to peel the black walnuts.

I wish they'd clean up after themselves.

Sarah's Key

I chose this book off the shelf at the library knowing nothing about it. I just didn't see any other books on CD that looked interesting. I didn't think it would be as good as it turned out to be. This novel, written by Tatiana de Rosnay, is based in France during world war two. The story talks about the French police rounding up Jewish families, bringing them to a large sports facility where bicycle races were held, keeping them there for days without enough food or water, and sending them to death camps using public buses and trains. The description of the stay in the bicycle stadium reminded me of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina. The round-up was known as the Vel d'Hiv. As I listened to the story I got curious. I googled Vel d'Hiv and learned that this really happened. The French government was asked by the Nazi's to round up Jewish adults. France was occupied by the Germans at the time. The Nazi's, not wanting to publicize the fact that they were exterminating people, asked only for adults knowing it would look suspicious to be taking children. But the French police took the children anyway. Sarah, the girl in the story with the key, was one of the children rounded up that day. This story was moving. It's true there were some sad parts but it is a very good book.

No Cavities!!

I've been shopping for a new dentist for about 2 years and I think I finally found a clinic that I am willing to stay with. A couple years ago I was at a really big clinic that rhymes with Bark. This mega clinic kept ordering things or procedures that cost me out of pocket. They were sly about how they told me the costs. When I questioned them on it, they said I had signed a statement saying I knew what the costs would be. When I said I didn't want these extra, expensive procedures, they said my insurance company insisted on it. I called my insurance company to find out of that was true. It wasn't. I wasted no time in getting copies of my x-rays and finding anther clinic. I asked around. This time I tried a smaller practice. One dentist ran this clinic and she must have had input on the decor because it was a VERY feminine clinic. Everything was powder blue with baskets of flowers sitting on tables and hanging off the walls. This dentist was a talker. My first appointment was 2 hours long and I didn't even get a cleaning. She asked where I worked. She had other patients who worked at the same place and she told me all about them. She told me that my supervisor was in this very chair yesterday for two hours. Ewwww! I did not want to know that. My biggest beef with her was her gossiping. I knew if I stayed that she would talk about me just as much as I heard about others. She was breaking privacy laws right and left. Again, I asked for copies of my x-rays and left. On I went to the third clinic. This time I was satisfied. My first appointment went well. I had a cleaning and was out of there in about an hour. No gossiping. No breaking privacy laws. No trying to talk me into extra procedures. I met someone in the lobby that I knew from Girl Scouts. She told me that a couple of other people I know have been coming here for years. It's all good at the new dentist. It pays to shop around.

Who Is Hobson and What Were His Choices?

I got an email today that said in part, ". . . or leave well enough alone and pray you are not faced with a Hobson's choice." Have you heard of a Hobson's choice? I had to look it up. Hobson was in the horse business. He rented horses in England in the turn of the 16th century. He wanted to rotate the 40 horses in his livery so he told his customers they could rent the horse nearest the door or rent no horse at all.

Birds Vs Window Glass

Last weekend I had 3 birds crash into the windows on the south side of my house. This weekend I had another two birds fly into the glass. What is up with these bird accidents? Is it because the woods are bare of trees and the sunlight can pierce the woods and reflect off the glass? Are the birds getting drunk from eating fermented berries or apples? Here is a picture of a little black capped chickadee on my deck. It's hanging onto a maple leaf. I didn't think the picture was very dignified. I hope no one takes my picture unconscious, on my back, with legs splayed apart.

I picked up the maple leaf so I could get a better picture. That bird had a death grip on that leaf with it's left foot. I picked up the leaf. The chickadee is so light he or she came up with the leaf without me noticing. I dropped the leaf and the poor bird flumped on the deck. Poor thing had it's bell rung twice. Ten minutes later the chickadee sat up, shook it's head, and flew off.

A Starry Halloween

A Starry Halloween

If Halloween's a starry night

You'll see the gobelins in flight

Perched on their black bat aeroplanes

They flit about the weather vanes!

Woman Saves Four Hens From Fox

This morning I was awake at 6:30 and enjoying the fact I didn't have to get up yet. I heard my hens squawking. I rolled over on my side. The hens were really upset and squawking louder now. So I got up and looked out my bedroom window. I saw a red fox beside the coop. I knocked on the window pane. The fox looked up at me like, "Yeah, what?" The fox went back to terrorizing the hens. I opened the window and yelled at the fox, "Get outta here! Now!" I used my authoritative voice. My neighbor once told me she saw a fox with one of her hens in it's mouth. She opened her deck door and in her third grade teacher voice said, "Put that chicken down." That fox complied. Her hen limped for a week and then was fine. I must not have the same authority in my voice because this fox looked up at me and I swear it rolled it's eyes. The hens were screaming in terror. I threw on my robe and went on my deck. The fox was still at it, chasing the hens back and forth in the run. I yelled again. The fox looked at me like, "Whatever." I have a swing on my deck and I rocked it back and forth which makes a big metal noise. The fox paid a little more attention this time. It ran to the crest of the hill and sat there looking at me. I could see it's ears and the tip of it's tail. So I came back in the house and went out the front door, barelegged in the falling snow holding a camera. When the fox saw me come around the corner, it turned and ran down the hill and across the street. That is when I snapped this photo of the coop. My hens, Phyllis, Meredith, Pamela and Kelly were still very upset and squawking like the fox was still there. I talked to them and they would quiet down when I was talking but go back to hysterics as soon as I stopped. Those girls were upset. There was nothing I could do to smooth their feathers. I noticed quite a few loose feathers in the run. I wonder if the fox thrust it's paw into the run somehow. I was freezing out there in my robe so I went back in the house. The hens calmed down after 10 minutes or so. Lets hope that fox was so disappointed by the failure to have a chicken for breakfast that it won't come back again. Or, if the fox returns, it dines on rabbits and not poultry.

Nature Makes Me Nicer

Today I read an article on the Internet that says nature changes the personality for the better. Click on this link to read the article: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/33243959/ns/health. the article says that without Central Park, Manhattan would be an island of murderers. I'm not sure if that is true but I do believe my spirituality is refreshed by spending time outdoors studying our world and the creatures who live on it. I could spend my time rehashing a snide comment but I'd rather not. My problems seem so small in the forest and in the river. I prefer to keep my problems small. Lets hope tomorrow is dryer so we can spend some time outside and become nicer people.

Gratin Dauphinois

Ever since I saw the movie, "Julia and Julie" I've been studying French cooking. I rented a DVD of Julia Child's television cooking shows from the library. I borrowed her book, "The Art of French Cooking" and read all the recipes. Here is one recipe that I tried and it was magnifique!

Gratin Dauphinois (Au Gratin Potatoes)

Ingredients: 2 pounds of potatoes-peeled and sliced to 1/8 inch thick, 1/2 clove garlic-unpeeled, 5 tablespoons of butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 4 ounces grated Swiss cheese, 1 cup milk

Peel the potatoes and slice them 1/8 inch thick. Place in cold water. Preheat over to 425 degrees. Use an unbreakable baking dish that is 2 inches deep and 10 inches in diameter. Rub the dish with the cut garlic. Smear 1 tablespoon of butter on the bottom and sides of the dish. Start to heat the milk to boiling. Drain the water off of the potatoes. Dry the potatoes on a towel. Arrange half of the potatoes in the buttered dish. Arrange half of the other ingredients in the baking dish. Throw on the rest of the potatoes. Top with the second half of the ingredients. When the milk comes to a boil, pour over the ingredients. Set dish on stove over heat until simmering. Move the dish into the oven and bake 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender, the milk is absorbed, and the top is nicely brown.

Bon Apetit!

Watch Where You Are Drilling!

Here is a photo of a little bird house I secured to the top of a garden fence post. Some bucket headed wood pecker was drilling a hole on the northeast side of the house. If that bird had just taken the time to go around the post, it would have noticed a round smooth hole an inch in diameter.