Owl Survey

Last fall I went to a presentation up at Hawk Ridge in Duluth. A volunteer there talked about opportunities to get involved in citizen science projects. One project was the annual owl survey. That sounded interesting to me. I thought it would be a good way to learn owl sounds. So a sibling and I signed up. We both passed the on-line quiz of the ten Minnesotan owl calls. Our survey had to be completed between April 1 and April 15. On Monday night we completed our route. A third sibling joined us. Three sisters on a road trip/owl survey. After dropping Offspring #2 off in Northfield, we proceeded east to Lake City. We wanted to scout our route in daylight so we would know where we were going. We wrote down the longitude and latitude of each of the ten stops along with a description such as "fields on both sides" or "deciduous forest on left, field on right" or "just past a huge mud puddle in the road" or "twenty plastic calf huts on right." By the looks of the ravines and wooded ridges, we figured we were in prime owl territory. We went out to eat in Lake City at a restaurant right on Lake Pepin. The view was beautiful. Nerdy or not, we looked at water birds with binoculars during the meal. Yeah, nerdy. Definitely. The view was better than the food. At 8:15 we started the route. It was dark and windy at the first stop. We stood in the road next to the car in the pitch dark listening for owls for five minutes. We heard sounds but not owls. This turned out to be the theme of the evening - sounds but no owls. At the third stop I thought I heard something walking in the woods. I turned around to look but couldn't see anything. Five minutes can seem like forever sometimes. At the stop by the mud puddle, the sounds of frogs was deafening. One of the croaking frogs was a gray chorus frog and they sound like someone rubbing the teeth on a comb. Once a car stopped and asked if we needed help. I imagine we looked like we needed help - two people holding clipboards standing outside a car in the dark on a dirt road. The sixth or seventh stop was on the edge of a mowed section by someone's house. We stopped the car and got out. Two dogs barked and barked and barked at us. I thought if that dog comes running up to me, forget the owls, I am getting back in the car. We heard the homeowners calling the dogs into the house. When the five minutes were up we got back into the car and drove past the house. We could see two people standing in the doorway looking at us. I hope we didn't scare them too much. We finished the tenth stop about 10 p.m. We didn't hear any owls. But the fact we didn't hear any owls in important too. Owls don't talk all the time. I imagine at least one owl watched us listening for them. We had a good adventure. We are considering doing the frog and toad survey for the DNR next. At least we have a better chance of hearing frogs than owls.

Belated Happy Hatchday

The chickens are a year and 6 days old today. I almost forgot their hatchday. They were hatched and mailed on April 1, 2009. The top photo of of Pamela. In the middle photo the chickens are following me around the yard as they like to do with Meredith in the lead, then Pamela, Kelly next and Phyllis bringing up the rear. The last photo shows Pamela (rear to camera) next to Meredith (the runaway) with Kelly and Phyllis (victim of a dog attack) in the background. Since I have adopted the chickens, they have laid about 3 eggs a day since September. That gives me approximately 630 eggs. I've paid for six bags of feed at $10.95 each equalling $65.70. That comes out to a little over a penny per egg. Sounds cheep but it's not accurate. I've also spent $10 on bedding, $25 on food and water containers and $400 on the coop plus the run. That figures out to 8 cents per egg. I've also gained. The chicken manure and pine bedding will really help the garden this year. Plus we have had countless hours of enjoyment watching the chickens behave. Sometimes one chicken will start walking so fast across the yead you'd think they suddenly remembered they were late for a meeting. Sometimes one chicken will peck at something worthless in the yard like an old piece of caulk and the other chickens will come running and try to steal it from her resulting in a chicken behavior sequence of steal and run, steal and run. Many hours I could have spent as a couch potato have been spent out in the fresh air, watching chickens. The chickens add drama to my life. They've brought the neighborhood closer together.

The Help

I read (listened to) this book last week and it was excellent. The writing was crisp and inviting. The story is told by a white woman and two black maids in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960's. Each voice tells a different story. After so many hours of listening to the southern drawls, my own speech began to slow down and sound southern. I can totally see why this book is on the best seller list for so many weeks. It is excellent.

Summer Plans

This summer I want to spend some time on the water. Here are some pictures from a trip I took back in 2004 to the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin. That is me in the back row wearing a Navy hat. The leaders of the group paired us together. I was paired with an accountant from Michigan (see shirtless). He and I made a good pair because we both loved to go as deep into the sea caves as we possibly could. When our oars got too wide for the space, we would unscrew them in the middle or lay them sideways against the kayak. Sometimes the ceiling got so low we had to bend forward or backward to slide through. We propelled ourselves by pushing against the rock with our hands. The views inside the sea caves were awesome. One day we kayaked three miles out to an island. On the way back we saw a group of 40 loons riding the swells together out at sea. I'd never seen so many loons together in a group before. That sure was a good trip.

Pet Peeve #41

My pet peeve is telephone voice recognition systems-the kind that make you say your answers aloud. If forced to deal with a machine instead of an actual person, I prefer to press buttons. I don't like talking outloud to a machine. I was recently at an extended dental appointment with Offspring #2. I had to verify insurance on the phone in the waiting room. It's one thing to say "yes" or "no" on the phone but this insurance company wanted my birthday. I had to tell everyone in the waiting room my birthdate. And what happens? The machine tells me all lines are busy and to call back in a few minutes. Great. If they didn't hear my age the first time, they will the second time.

Remember Me

Three out of the four people in my group cried seeing this movie. Not me. My eyes were dry. And I'm a crier. I cry at some commercials. Don't get me wrong. I loved the movie. I loved the character development. But near the end, when the heavy drama hit and my friends were crying (bring tissue next time, FGS! Don't be using the sleeve my MY new motorcycle jacket), I was angry. I felt the film makers were too abrupt. In my head I think, "You can't make this movie this way. Find a gentler way to bring it to the audience." Besides that one part, it was a good movie. A young man is confused and lost in his life. He loves his family though. When his little sister gets bullied, he escorts her back to school. When her bully torments the sister in front of him, he tears a fire extinguisher off the wall and throws it though a window into the hallway. That was not a wise decision but he did stand up for his little sister by making it clear that bullying is not right. He means well. I got to like him for that. I recommend you see it. Bring tissue.

E-Mail Excerpt I Got Today From the Center From Biological Diversity

In response to a UN report on the fatal toll of polluted water across the globe, this week the bottled-water industry published a study containing welcome news: Bottled water can reverse the water crisis and dramatically improve global welfare, but only if more third-world citizens will embrace the pure, refreshing mountain-spring water of Fiji/Dasani/Arrowhead/Aquafina.
According to the study, bottled-water drinkers are statistically far less likely to fall prey to such life-threatening illnesses as malaria, legionellosis, schistosomiasis, and guineaworm; suffer less from such psychological afflictions as post-traumatic stress disorder; have far lower infant-mortality rates; and are also more likely to own a house, cars, and/or swimming pool.
"This proves that bottled water is much better for you than dehydration," said water-industry spokesman Howard Williams. "Pardon my pun, but the data are crystal clear."

In a surprise move on the FOX News Morning Show, former Alaska governor and current 2012 pre-candidate Sarah Palin broke down and offered an apology for not only her crypto-redneck politics, but her entire media-crafted persona. "I'm actually not down-home at all," wept the former John McCain running mate, as she removed her designer eyewear and dabbed at smeared mascara with a square-cut manicured fingertip.
Palin explained to the shocked hosts that her publicly stated disbelief in evolution and global warming, hatred of wolves, "ignorance" of basic geopolitics, and folksy twang were crafted by the New York advertising agency Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe. The agency, whose board of directors includes Karl Rove®, carefully tested the persona on focus groups to ensure approval among her core constituents, Americans who are opposed to education, health, and the "environment."
In actual fact, Palin revealed, she holds an advanced degree in conservation biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she wrote a dissertation on the theoretical implications of endogenously changing carrying capacity.
"I'm so glad to be free of that God-awful twang," said Palin. "And you know what? I just love polar bears. Love 'em to pieces."
In the wake of the revelation, the Discovery Channel announced it will not air its planned 2010 reality TV show Sarah Palin's Alaska.