Happy Halloween

I'm handing out peanut butter cups this year.  I hope I don't run out but I don't want to give them ALL away.  It's a fine balance.

Nice Day To Work Outside

Wasn't today a beautiful day for working outside?  I mowed and bagged the lawn.  Then I set to work on my mini-prairie.  I have an area on the east side of the house that I consider to be a little prairie.  I planted prairie seeds years ago and have several clumps of prairie grass.  I know some of it is Indian grass but I don't know what the rest of it is.  Every three years I mow the prairie down.  One year I tried to burn it.  I waited until snow covered the ground.  I lit the patches of prairie grass and let it burn under the snow.  But this year I mowed it.  Then I planted the bergamot, big blue stem and Indian grass seeds I had in my pocket from visiting another prairie.  Now both of my compost piles are brimming with leaves and grass.  I moved the chicken coop to a fresh spot of grass.  I moved my black sunflower seed bird feeder to a new spot so disease doesn't spread from dropped seeds on the ground.  I wondered how long it would take the chickadees to find the new location.  They found it within 30 seconds.  They must have been watching me move it.  After that I did some preparation work for my new bird feeder that I will install.  I am hoping this will be a squirrel proof feeder.  I climbed the crabapple tree next to the pond and tied some coated electric wire way up high in the tree.  I put it as high as I could reach without falling.  I strung the wire across the yard and secured the other end to the top of a post on my deck.  The wire on the deck post is slightly higher than the wire on the crabapple tree.  I slid a couple pieces of pvc pipe down the wire.  When I get my new birdfeeder (covered platform feeder with room for cakes of suet on the sides) I will slide it down the wire followed by two more sections of pvc pipe.  A plastic bottle would work as well as pvc pipe.  The birdfeeder will be too high for the squirrels to jump onto.  I hope it will be far enough from the deck and the tree for the squirrels to leap onto it.  If they try to cross the wire to the feeder, the pvc pipe will spin when they step on it and throw them to the ground.  When that was done I still had energy and sun light so I disposed of my frozen annuals in the larger pots and replaced them with cuttings of red twigged dogwood and other decorative fronds. When that was done I went buckthorn hunting.  I found plenty.  All around the largest tree in my yard (a red oak) was a buckthorn colony.  I can only imagine some hungry bird ate some buckthorn berries.  Usually birds don't eat buckthorn berries because they have little nutrition and make the birds sick.  The buckthorn eating bird must have had a tummy ache so it sat in the biggest red oak tree around and had the trots spreading buckthorn seeds all over the ground.  I cut a big pile of young buckthorn trees.  None of these trees were large enough to have berries.  After I cut each tree, I sprayed the stump with "Brush B Gone" so the stump wouldn't grow suckers.  I kept at it until the sun started to go down.  When I accidently cut the tube of my stump poison container with the nippers, I knew it was time to go in.  If I keep after this buckthorn every fall, I know I can win the battle in my yard.  Fall is the best time to kill buckthorn.  It's easy to find because it has the only green leaves left this time of year. Buckthorn is more susceptible to poison because it draws the fluids back to the center in the fall.   

Costume Confusion

Can you feel the excitement of Halloween in the air?  Some people in my circle are dressing up already.  One guy I work with went to a costume party.  I asked him what costume he used.  He said, “I dressed as Triple H.”  I made a comment that identified me as not only old but also a Democrat.  “Hubert Humphrey?” I asked.  Turns out Triple H is a famous wrestler.  Who knew?  The conversation got me to thinking, if someone wanted to be the illustrious HHH of Minnesota and nationwide politics, how would they dress?  I picture a brown single-breasted suit and a waving hand.  Hubert Horatio Humphrey would be a difficult one to portray on Halloween.  LBJ on the other hand would be much easier.  For him you would wear a suit, hold a long eared stuffed dog by the ears, and be prepared to show off an appendix scar.  Nixon would be easy too because you can buy a mask of his face and make peace signs with your fingers and shake your head in his distinctive way.  For Gerald Ford you could wear a gray suit, a bald cap, carry a golf club and chew gum.  Ford is difficult but not as difficult as Triple H.  If I get invited to a costume party, maybe I’ll buy a huge round hat at a second hand store and go as Bella Abzug.

RIP Jack

Today I learned that a fellow master naturalist classmate of mine died last week.  I was not happy to hear this news but also happy to have learned this news.  I am sorry he died but glad I was notified.  He was buried on Monday and only 75 years old.  Just a year ago he was taking a class on nature and going on field trips.  He was learning and vibrant and interested.  I hope I can be like him - curious about life until the very end. 

Two More Days

For only two more days do I need to take the school bus shuttle to work.  For all these years I took for granted the freedom to walk out of my office and get in my car or on my motorcycle to go home.  Only two more days will I be parking under the Blaine water tower.  On Monday I will be parking on a sm0000th lot which may or may not have stripes painted on it.  One benefit to riding the school bus is that I found a strange and intriguing, um, do I call it art?  I found a strange and intriguing sculpture in some one's back yard.  There is a brown house just 3 doors southeast of the intersection of Polk and 91st.  In the backyard is a 25 foot tall tree trunk.  All the limbs are cut off.  The tree has evidently died.  This was a big tree and I think it would take more than one person to wrap arms completely around it.  On the tree trunk are between 50 and 75 dishes.  These dishes look like satellite dishes.  The dishes are hung on the tree like the upright satellite dishes you see on houses and decks for television reception.  Each dish is painted.  One is white, one is yellow, one is red, one is blue.  The dishes are all sorts of colors.  Some are painted in solid colors and others have designs on them.  I can't really see because the school bus lumbers by so quickly and I can only get a glimpse of it between the two houses.  This sculpture wasn't made for motorists.  Given it's location, I think it is designed for someone in the brown house to enjoy.  Or it is possible that someone is trying to anger their neighbor.  I'd like to take a picture of the art sculpture but there is no parking on Polk and I don't feel comfortable walking up to a house with a camera.  Someone put a lot of work into this satellite sculpture.  Every day when I go by on the bus I try to get a better look at it.  I know there is a story behind this sculpture and I am intrigued.  I've driven by this house for years and years and never noticed until someone on the school bus pointed it out.

Favorite Day of the Year

I know I am lucky to have a job that I enjoy. It's challenging and important.  I learn new things every day.  Once a year we have a ceremony to honor the work that is done.  I get to be the emcee of a short little ceremony.  And I have a blast doing it.  Today's event was a little wild but it still went well.  I had a great day. : )

Last Night In Twisted River

I just finished John Irving's book, "Last Night In Twisted River."  I liked it.  I've read several of his other books including "World According To Garp" and "The Cider House Rules" and "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and "Until I Find You."  John Irving has some recurring themes in his books.  Missing body parts is one thing that keeps coming up.  In the Owen Meany book it was a finger.  In Twisted River one important character (I don't want to say which one because you might want to read the story for yourself) ends up missing the entire end of one limb.  Other ideas that keep popping up in his books are New England (makes sense, that is where he is from), missing or absent parents, bears, wrestling, the war in Vietnam, and writers. This story covers the span of about 50 years.  Danny Baciagalupo is 12 in the beginning and about 60 at the end.  Danny is a writer who uses the pen name Danny Angel.  John Irving's real name is John Wallace Blunt.  In the story John Irving describes how Danny works on his novels giving us an idea how John writes his books.  Irving is a gifted story teller.  If you read this book, some characters might stay in your mind for days. 

Maplewood Nature Center

Here is part of the prairie section at the Maplewood Nature Center.  The fuzzy topped plants are Canada goldenrod.

Here is that awesome cotton wood tree.  I think it would take 4 or 5 people touching hands to surround this big old tree.

The bark is shaggy and rugged.

There is a hole in the center of one of the three trunks - a perfect spot for a critter to reside.   Would you dare put your hand in there?

A Sign Of Winter

Last weekend my yard was full of thrushes.  A dozen robins flew back and forth between the bird bath and the crab apple trees.  A group of five bluebirds were hanging out on the deck as well.  This weekend they're gone.  The bluebirds have been replaced by the dark eyed juncos.  I think the juncos are as cute as a button.  They have a roly-poly little body that reminds me of an Easter egg because most of their body is gray and their little round tummies are white - like they weren't completely submerged in the Easter egg dye.  I am glad to see the juncos return from their Arctic summer grounds but I will miss the flashy color and beautiful songs of the thrushes.  I am discouraged to know that although Minnesota has over 400 bird species in the summer, we have less than 30 in the winter.

Winter Botany

Today a sibling and I took a botany class at the Maplewood Nature Center. This center is located just north of the intersection of Minnehaha and Century in Maplewood.   Our speaker was a botanist.  He said there aren't many of him around.  It's more difficult to get a degree in botany now because the nature sciences aren't as profitable as the technical sciences.  His job involves searching for rare species in the Chippewa and Superior National Forests.  He took us on a hike around a small wetland. He was well versed in the Latin names of many plants.  He wasn't as familiar with the common names.  He pointed to different plants and rattled off the Latin names.  After a while, it didn't sound like he was speaking English anymore.  I think it got to another woman in the group too because towards the end she pointed into the field and said, "Look!  It's an orangemus flagimus."  She was pointing at an orange flag.  I think I might have retained .1% of all he said.  I remember taking a botany class in college.  I'd like to do that again because I've forgotten almost all of it.  We went through a small section of prairie.  He pointed out bergamot. I like that so I stuck some seed pods in my pocket.  He pointed out big bluestem and Indian grass so I put more seeds in my pocket.  I didn't have enough pockets to keep things separate so I started combining.  I gathered some seed pods of another plant but I can't remember the name of it.  Please don't tell on me.  I don't think I was supposed to do that.  We talked about the white oaks and the red oaks, the silver maples and the red maples.  Maplewood Nature Center has the state champion red oak next to their parking lot.  This champion isn't listed in literature yet because it was newly crowned.  We saw a humongous cottonwood tree with at least four trunks.  I'll try to post a picture of it later.  There was a big hole in the center.  He said oak trees gather the nutrients from the leaves before they let them go.  Maples don't do that so maple leaves make better compost.  We saw raspberries, grape vines, high bush cranberry, current, elderberry, wild ginger, several wild violets, lady ferns, maidenhair ferns, ostrich ferns, interrupted ferns, and wood ferns, red dogwood, gray dogwood, pagoda dogwood, plantain, white snake root, buckthorn, bittersweet, spurge, pincherry, chokecherry, wild cherry, duckweed, arrowhead, zigzag goldenrod, Canada goldenrod, giant goldenrod, and many more.  Like I said, I didn't retain much.  I could have photographed and written down every thing we saw but I had more fun absorbing some of it and enjoying the 3 hour hike through the woods.  I was dressed for a much colder day and I had to take off some layers.  I could tell we had a light rain by seeing the drops fall in the wetland but I didn't really feel like we got rained on very much.  We had a fun day there.  After our hike, we went to the Savoy Inn on East Seventh Street.  I had the best pizza ever.  If you decide to go, bring a flashlight.  Even in the middle of the day, it's so darn dark in there you can't read the menu.  It's darker than a theater but the food is delicious and reasonably priced.

32 Miles to the Gas Station

I saw the full moon this morning in the north west sky as I went to work.  I admired the beauty.  Every month I forget how much havoc a full moon can have.  Today was a crazy day as all full moon days are.  Some people were unusually agitated, others regrettably too passive.  Some people took things.  Others had high blood pressure, confusion, and denial.  It was just nuts at work. Even my printer, which has a 15 year history of printing crisp documents, went all smeary on me today.  It was all a little frustrating.  But the weather was nice so I decided to skip the after work exercise session and go for a ride on my bike.  I peeked into the gas tank and saw gas so I thought I'd head west and see where I ended up.  I turned on Nowthen Boulevard and turned east on 185th - by the Mork well digging sign.  If you haven't taken this road before it is a beauty.  The road is straight and with plenty of visibility at first.  Once you get past the Berry Hill Farm, the road dips down, curves, and trees grow close the road and close the gap over your head.  As you come out of a right hand curve, you'll see Tommy's Zoo on the right.  You will do a double take and wonder, "Is that what I think it is?"  Yes, it is what you think it is.  There is a camel in the field in Ramsey.  As the road turns into 187th, I took a left onto Cleary Road.  I took another left on County Road 22 and went through Nowthen.  My motor chugged just a little.  I couldn't be out of gas because I saw gas when I started out, right?  I took a right on County Road 13 and a left on County Road 33.  I love the curvy hills on 33.  Just as I passed over 169, the motor chugged again.  I have felt this hesitation before - when I ran out of gas.  I pulled over and looked in the tank.  I could see a little gas in the bottom, very little.  The bike wouldn't start.  I set the gas lever to the reserve position and then it ran fine.  I tuned south on County Road 1 into the town of Elk River so I could fill up the tank.  When I left the house I slipped a bottle of Stabil fuel stabilizer into the waist band of my jeans.  I added the Stabil at the gas station and then added gas.  I ended up adding over 2 and a half gallons of gas.  So the tank was on empty even though I could still see gas at the bottom.  Seeing isn't always believing.  I wish I had a fuel indicator.  Because there was a full moon, the sun was getting low, and this was a crazy day, I thought it would be best for me to get home.  I took the back roads from Elk River to my house with no problems.  My bike has a full tank of stabilized gas.  Today may have been my last bike ride of 2010.

I Knew He Looked Familiar

Last night I went to a lecture on nature photography.  The speaker was Dave Zosel.  I saw the name and thought it sounded familiar.  I couldn't think of where I heard it before.  I saw the speaker and he looked familiar.  He spoke about cameras and lenses.  He gave us tips on how to save money on photography equipment.  He stressed the importance of using a tripod or beanbag to stabilize the camera.  He talked about lighting and aperture and shutter speed.  He talked about composition, the beauty of diagonal lines, and how you want birds flying into a photo instead of flying out.  He said it was important to catch the glint or the light in the eye of a bird or any creature you photograph.  He talked about using the histogram on your camera so the whites and blacks show detail. He showed us photos he had taken of geese, ducks, herons, flowers, warblers, a black bear, a red fox, trumpeter swans, a waterfall, and woodland scenes. His photos were beautiful.  He explained how to set up a photo blind in your back yard next to your bird feeder.  If you sprinkle bird seed and snow covers the seed, the birds know the seed is there and your photo will look more natural.  He talked about the Minnesota Nature Photography Club.  If you are interested, you can look at their website at www.minnesotanature.org.   They have a "salon" at each meeting where photos are critiqued.  Finally he talked about education.  He taught science.  Finally I remembered where I knew him.  He taught both of my offspring at the local middle school.  That was a relief to finally pin that down.  He said education hanged in the 1990's.  In the 1980's the classroom was full of nature items and the school sponsored outdoor camping events for the entire grade.  In the 1990's the nature items were removed from the classroom because of potential allergies.  Kids were spending more time on computers and weren't bringing science items into school.  Camping trips were cancelled because of lack of interest.  Some teachers were worried about being sued.  Right now Mr. Zosel is working with the DNR on a photography and nature project. Kids are given digital cameras to use outdoors.  Hopefully this will inspire the children to enjoy and study nature.  The time flew by and I really enjoyed listening to such an engaging speaker.

Live and Let Live

Offspring #2 and I were watching an old episode of the Office last night.  Someone on the show asked, "Live and let live - where does that phrase come from?"  Another character answered, "James Bond."   I know that isn't true but it got me thinking.  I had no idea where the phrase live and let live comes from yet I use it a lot.  When things get stressful and I start getting up in some one else's business, I use that phrase on myself.  I want to run my life so I try to give others the same freedom.  I want to be tolerant of differences because our differences makes life beautiful.  So I googled the phrase and learned that it's been around for almost 400 years.  The phrase was first published in 1622 and is Dutch in origin.  Before nations had evolved, the merchants made the laws that governed Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor.  Sadly, this phrase hasn't ended the human act of war.  Maybe the pen isn't mightier than the sword.

Photos from Hawk Ridge

Here are people standing around waiting for hawks to come to the ridge.  A couple women on horseback joined the crowd.

The sharp shinned hawk had burning red eyes that could give  you nightmares.

Taking The School Bus To Work

For the past couple of weeks, I've been taking a school bus to work.  During parking lot construction at work, employees who don't have to leave during the day are asked to park at another location and ride the school bus shuttle to work.  We end up parking about a mile and a half away under the "Condom On A Stick" better known as the Blaine water tower.  This is an inconvenience to be sure but it's just for 3 weeks.  I haven't ridden a school bus for a long time.  Even my short legs have trouble fitting in the seats.  I never thought my red lunch bag was big until I tried to pull it between the aisles on a school bus.  I was hoping that this bus riding experience would allow me to get to know some of the other workers in our building.  I have started a few conversations but the bus riders most stay in their own cliques just like in school.  On our morning bus, the first 6 rows have assigned seats.  There are names posted above the windows.  I usually sit in Ismael's seat. All the names that are posted are boy's names.  I wonder if these are the trouble makers on the bus.  Also posted are the bus rules.  When I rode a bus in Morris, MN the one rule posted on the bus was "No Sunflower Seeds."  This bus in Blaine has six rules.  1.  Listen to your driver.  2. At railroad crossings, be quiet. (Oddly worded, don't you think?)  3.  Stay in your seat.  4.  Do not throw anything.  5.  At your stop, wake up any sleeping children and tell the driver.  6.  Tell the driver if you are being bullied.  I like the fact that it is a rule to tell if you are being bullied.  That is pretty cool.  I look forward to the day the parking lot is expanded, resurfaced and painted but for now, I take the school bus to work.

Hawk Ridge

Fox Sparrow

Today I traveled to Duluth to visit Hawk Ridge with a friend.  My friend had never been there before so it was nice to explain the situation.  I had my binoculars. The city overlooking the big lake was beautiful, as always.  The wind was blowing hard toward the lake.  Hawks had a hard time handling themselves in the strong wind.  But it worked out for us bird watchers because the hawks came over the ridge at very low altitudes - right over our heads.  I saw sharp shinned hawks and red tailed hawks and a goshawk at a close distance.  The few eagles and lone turkey vulture we saw were way up high which is how I usually see all the raptors at Hawk Ridge.  We saw fewer birds but we saw them at closer range so it all works out.  Birds are banded at Hawk Ridge.  We saw an adult male sharp shinned hawk get released.  He looked at the audience with his burning red eyes and fearsome attitude.  A fox sparrow was also banded and released.  I got a good if ungraceful look at that sparrow.  How can you look graceful when you are held upside down in someones hand and your leg extended?  We went to a class of beginning hawk identification.  I've heard all this information before but this time more of it made sense to me.  Hawks are easier to identify if you put them into groups first.  Accipiters are one group of short and rounded winged, long tailed birds.  Their flying is flap, flap, flap, glide.  These birds fly in forests so they need shorter wings.  Buteos have short tails, long and broad wings and fly with more soaring and gliding.  Red tailed hawks are buteos.  I think I know these groups a little better now.  The naturalist also gave us a quick lesson on focusing binoculars and holy cow, I can see a lot better now.  I wish I had heard this lesson before.  After our stay at Hawk Ridge, we stopped at the Cedar Creek Cafe for lunch.  I heard about this cafe in a book, "Travels With Buddha."  The book gave a very good description of the cafe's pressed tin ceiling, atmosphere, and delicious food.  I had an egg and one slice of french toast with wild rice/cranberry bread.  They gave me two kinds of syrup; maple syrup and some kind of stout syrup which I think was made out of beer.  I liked the maple better.  My friend had a ham and Gouda sandwich.  We had a good trip to Hawk Ridge today.

Compost Bin

My compost bin lined with a double layer of tarp to prevent apple tree roots from invading.

I lined my compost bin with a green tarp.   This is how it looked before I added any fall leaves.  What do you think?  Will this keep the apple tree from sending it's roots into my compost?  Will I have an easier time emptying the compost in September, 2011 than I did last month?  I hope this works.  This apple tree has gotten the better of me before.  Right now the compost bin is half full of leaves.  I mow and bag the clippings every weekend.  I empty the bag of grass clippings and mulched leaves into the bin.  I top it with vegetable trimmings from the kitchen, egg shells, chicken manure, and soil.  I think the compost will be more difficult to turn.  Normally I use a garden fork.  I want to be careful not to rip the tarp so I might have to use a garden shovel when I get down to the lowest layer.

Things People Say

In my work, I go to a lot of meetings.  I listen to people talk.  The meetings are mostly productive and there isn't always time for small talk.  If someone says something strange that I know I will want to process later, I will write down what they said.  Later I will look at their words and ponder the meaning.  This week a woman said her son "Had a smile like a skunk eating cabbage."  I thought it was strange when I heard it so I wrote it down.  Reading it later and asking a few people what it means has not helped me understand her meaning.  Do you have any idea what a smile like a skunk eating cabbage means?  I could use a little help here.

We Are All Chileans Today

Have you been watching the rescue of the men trapped in the mine in Chile today?  The rescue efforts are so moving.  I can't watch without tears streaming down my face.  Even reading about the rescue efforts make me cry.  I've been paying close attention ever since it happened.  I read about the one man who was trapped who got in trouble because his wife and his girlfriend were waiting and praying for his safety.  The two women didn't know about each other before he was trapped in the mine.  I read about the other man who got engaged while he was trapped.  Truth is stranger than fiction sometimes.  The truth is so moving.  Someone is going to write a book about this story and I, for one, am going to read it. The story is being watched and followed all over the world. Watching the rescue live binds together as people from the same species.  Back in 1987, I felt some of the same feelings when I watched poor Jessica on television. Remember Jessica?  The baby in the well?  I remember watching that on television with tears streaming down my face.  I wondered if I didn't go a little overboard on that one because for months afterward, three year old Offspring #1 would suddenly drop to his knees, put his face on the carpet with his hands around his mouth and yell, "Jessica?  Jessica!" 

Ely II

My favorite tree on this trip were the tamarcks (see first photo). These evergreen shaped trees with their beautiful butterscotch gold foliage really stand out in the forest. You can spot them a mile away because they're so distinct and so beautiful. I took a zig zag (or should I say zim zag) path on the way home. This set of tamarack were on Owl Road in the Sax Zim bog near Eveleth. The Sax Zim bog is a famous birding spot especially in the winter because of the owls that hunt there during the day. I might go back to this bog in the winter.

Despite all my tramping in the woods, I didn't see any grouse.  I think it is strange how the black birds morph from crows into ravens and the jays change from blue to gray.  I saw a bluebird with a reddish breast and at first glance I thought it was a bluebird.  But the bird wasn't acting like a bluebird.  It was climbing headfirst down a tree trunk.  The bird turned out to be a red breasted nuthatch. 

I saw an old barn on the way out of the bog.

I stopped in Grand Rapids on the shore of the Mississippi. Guess what? No rapids, grand or otherwise. The rapids have been covered up for over one hundred years with the building of a dam. I did see three ducks - I think they're female common mergansers.

Also in Grand Rapids.

I can't remember exactly where this picture was shot but I think it was near Mille Lacs Lake.  I think the beauty of this shot symbolizes my whole trip. 

Ely Photos

I stopped by Lake Vermillion on the way to Ely.The water was very cold and clear.  I watched a loon diving.  I tried to predict it's path under water and where it would come up.  I am not very good at predicting loon behavior.

I wanted to see a moose and a grouse.  I spent dawn and dusk in the Superior National Forest searching.  Sometimes I got up too early and had to wait in my car for enough daylight to walk safely.  I would park on the lumber roads and walk.

Sometimes I drove around looking for moose and other times I picked a good swampy area I thought a moose would like and just waited there.  I love how the twilight is reflected in the water in this shot.

Some areas had a lot of birch trees.

I am pretty sure a bear did something in the woods here.  Seeing a bear would have been cool.  I don't think a bear would attack me but I probably would have wet myself.  I didn't see any bear so I don't know.

No luck at this prime moose spot either.  This was located on the Moose creek so I thought for sure I would have some luck.

I drove on the logging roads until the driving got a little dangerous and then I would walk.  I never saw a moose or a grouse but I had fun trying.  I guess I'll just have to go back until I meet my goals.

A Promised World

Lisa Tucker wrote "A Promised World."  This intriguing novel explores the ties between twin brother and sister.  Twins have always fascinated me.  I've had twins in my close circle nearly all of my life so I tend to be interested in them.  In this set of twins, Lisa Cole is a college English professor and her brother, Billy, is underemployed, brilliant, and definitely marches to a different drummer.  Life unravels for Lisa when Billy commits "suicide by police."  Yeah, I know, this is one of those Oprah selections, dysfunctional family books.  But the writing is very good. Patrick, Lisa's understanding husband, is a very interesting and believable character.  Up until the last chapter, I was really enjoying it.  The ending is way over the top.  It's like the author was writing a good movie and ended it up a daytime soap opera ending.

PS The Ely pictures are still coming.  Uploading is taking more time than I thought.

Private Lives

I read Jane Smiley's "Private Lives."  Margaret is the main character.  The first three chapters were confusing and irritating because so many characters were introduced.  Margaret's family and upbringing had to be explained.  After that, the story focused on Margaret and was easier to understand.  Margaret marries a Navy captain.  My first impression of her husband was that he was on the autism spectrum - possibly Asperger's.  Over time we come to realize that he is a boring, egotistical, arrogant, laughable, insufferable, confident boor.  He thinks he is so smart.   He thinks he is always right.  He is constantly doing research in physics, math, and politics.  Like Margaret says, "He is constantly adding two plus two and once in a great while he comes up with four."  Someone says to her, "Even a stopped watch is right twice a day."  Margaret replies, "Not in the Navy."  His eccentric scientific curiosity evolves into a kind of madness.  The book begins in the 1880's and ends during world war two.  Most of the action takes place near a Navy base in California.  Jane Smiley's description of the love of a mother (Margaret's love of her son) is truly a work of art.

Ely, MN

I went on a road trip to Ely, MN.  I wanted to visit the International Wolf Center and the Bear Center. I also wanted to see a moose and a grouse.  I accomplished two of those four goals.  I guess I'll have to go back to Ely and try again for the last two.  The trip added 715 miles to my car.  The best 100 of those miles were on gravel roads.  I have mud on my tires up the the lettering - a sign of a good road trip.  Pictures and photos coming soon. 

Burdock

Now that I've let some acreage of my yard go natural, plants are filling in.  Some plants I am happy to see filling in. Sumac is an example of a plant that is spreading across the yard and I'm happy to see it.  Sumac brings me back to my childhood when I used to pretend the area under the sumac bushes was my castle.  I like the big bluestem grass.  I like the goldenrod and dandelion.  I like the asters, the wild violets, milkweed plants and mullen.  I don't like the poison ivy and the buckthorn.  Last year I had a nice plant of burdock.  I used to call burdock wild rhubarb because the first year it grows, it does look like rhubarb.  I even used some of the extra large leaves in a craft project.  I used a cement mix to cast the leaves and form bird baths.  This year, however, I am not so happy with the burdock.  Look at it!  It's a huge plant plumb full of those velcro like sticky, hitch-hiking seeds.  I have spent hours over the years pulling these seeds out of knit fabric.  You walk through the woods only to find your socks or your pants or even your jacket is covered with these velcro seeds.  And if you've got children with you, they are shorter so more of their clothes carry the seeds.  And you have to pull them out one by freaking one.  They won't come out two at a time, oh, no, not these seeds.  More than once I have contemplated the time it would take me to remove all these seeds versus throwing the piece of clothing in the trash and buying a new one.  And now I have a five foot tall, five foot diameter specimen growing in my yard trying to propagate itself.  I want to cut it down and haul it away but how do I even get near this thing without getting covered with hitch-hikers?  I can't go out there naked.  The plant is in the front yard.  Maybe I'll wear my plastic rain coat and plastic pants and crocs.  I don't want to put it in the compost or leave it lay in the yard.  I might throw it on the burn pile.  I can't get over how much this plant can change in appearance from one year to the next.

Fall

I took some photos of the leaves in my yard on Saturday.  The trees know by the amount of sunlight that it is time to hang it up for the season.  They quit making food to store for winter.   The yellows and orange color we see in the leaves were there all along but covered up by the green chlorophyll.  The red color we see in maples is from glucose left in the leaves.  The brown color is from tannin - a bitter waste product.  My oaks and hackberry trees must have a lot of tannin. I like the brown of the oaks better than the brown of the hackberry trees.  The hackberry leaves turn brown and wither or shrivel and then they fall to the ground which is not a pretty thing to view.  The apple tree leaves turn yellow before they fall.  I like to see the red or orange crabapples against the blue sky.  The basswood trees turn brown but they don't loose their leaves uniformly.  Basswood trees loose their top leaves first and then the bottom leaves.  Just like me, they take off their shirt first and then the pants. 

Carrot Harvest

I heard frost was predicted Saturday night so I took precautions.  I harvested the garden.  Carrots were the biggest crop. My red bucket overflowed with carrots.  I washed them off with water from the rain barrel and cut off the leafy tops.  I still had an almost full bucket of carrots.  let me know if you need any.  I also grabbed the last tomatoes, onions, garlic, bell pepper and jalapeno peppers.  My hamstrings are feeling the strain from all that bending over.  Saturday was a beautiful day.  The crisp autumn air smelled and felt really good.  I picked a great day to work outside.  More photos of autumn in the yard will follow.

The Big Year

I heard about a movie in production right now starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin.  All the birders are talking about it.  The movie is called "The Big Year," and is about a contest.  Anyone can enter this contest.  All you have to do is start on January first and write down each and every  bird you see.  The person with the highest number wins the satisfaction of having the highest number.  I really want to see this movie when it comes out.  To prepare myself, I read the book on which the movie is based.  The book, "The Big Year - A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession," is written by Mark Obmascik.  The book is very funny and I was surprised at the end to read that Mark is a news reporter and the characters were real birders from 1998.  That makes it even funnier.    Most people might think bird watching is boring much less reading a book about bird watching.  I found it to be highly entertaining but then I enjoy watching birds.  Who knows, I have a little notebook.  Maybe I should start a list myself on January first.

Master Butchers Singing Club

A friend and I went to the Guthrie Theatre to see "Master Butchers Singing Club" - a play based on the novel by Louise Erdrich.  This was my first trip to the new and blue Guthrie Theater. We got there early. We had time to walk the "Bridge to Forever" which is a walkway that extends over the river bank.  We enjoyed the views of the stone arch bridge and marveled at the high water level.  I'm sure any canoer would be on a faster journey down the river compared to a trip in July.  The Guthrie has comfortable leather arms chairs where you can sit, enjoy watching the sun set over Minneapolis, and pretend you live in a fancy high rise condo.  The play is set in North Dakota and features people of German and Native American backgrounds.  Among the many characters are a hard working butcher who likes to sing, a stalker, a gymast pretending to be a husband who is also a homosexual, a jealous spinster sister, a mysterious and secretive junk collector, an alcoholic father, a feminist mortician, and two really good friends named Eva and Delphine.  There is singing but this is not a musical.  There is quite a bit of humor but this is not a comedy.  I'd say it's a drama.  The book had a lot of events and characters.  Not too many details were left out thanks to the narration by Step-And-A-Half who plays the mysterious and secretive junk collector. I enjoyed going to the Guthrie. We were in the Wuertle Thrust Stage.  The stage had audience on three sides just as I remember in the original Guthrie theatre.  I definitely plan to go to the Guthrie again.  I am thinking of volunteering to usher there because the ticket takers have these totally awesome computerized ticket readers that make a sound just like a phaser in the original Star Trek.  "Peeeeuuuuu.  Peeeeuuuuu."  Wouldn't that be fun?

Never Let Me Go

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching a move and watching a play based on books I have read in the past.  What fun!  "Never Let Me Go" is a haunting science fiction movie just like it was a haunting book.  The movie is about people who are cloned and raised to be organ donors for other people.  The cloned people grow up and are educated in private boarding schools to be healthy and obedient.  At age 18, they are told their purpose in life and allowed to leave the school to live in some cottages for about three years before they are asked to give their donations.  The movie focuses on Kathy, Tommy and Ruth (who is played by a plain looking Kiera Knightley).  Ruth gets in the way of Kathy and Tommy's relationship.  The movie scenes were just as I pictured when I read the book.  I wish this caliber of movie was available at the local theater.  We had to go downtown to the Lagoon to see it.  It's worth the trip!