When I Finally Got To Work And Parked My Car I Said

Wow, what a commute I had today.  Although I went the same distance, I took twice as much time and used twice as much gas.  Highway 47 was snow covered and traffic was slow.  Highway 10 was covered with an inch of ice and very slippery.  I followed a driver in a big white truck who kept tapping  the brakes and fishtailing.  Everyone went slow because we were all sliding around.  Once I got to Hanson Boulevard, the road was in much better condition and I finally made it out of second gear.  I consoled myself by thinking of my tropical vacation in January and riding my motorcycle again next June. 

The Age of Grief

The Age of Grief was written by Jane Smiley.  I've read other books she has written such as A Thousand Acres, Moo, and Ten Days In the Hills.  This book was a collection of short stories and one novella.  The novella was made into a movie in 2002 names "The Secret Lives of Dentists."  I think I'll have to put that on my netflix queue.   This was a good book to read during my week off work.  I could pick it up, read a story, and easily put it down again to start my next project.  Jane Smiley writes about the private thoughts of people.  In one story, a woman is fascinated by her new neighbors.  She becomes friends with the couple and spends all her free time with them.  She's pretty sure they like her a lot too.  Later she learns they appreciated her interest because she kept their minds off the fact that they were in the process of splitting up and going separate ways.  If I had to say there was a theme in the book, the theme would be misunderstanding.  What people thought wasn't how things really were.  The Age of Grief was a good book.

Project Feeder Watch

Black capped chickadee- 4, Junco - 5, White breasted nuthatch - 4, Red bellied woodpecker - 1, Downy Woodpecker - 1, Cardinal - 3, Blue Jay - 2, Crow - 1,  Ring necked pheasant - 3.  This is the first time I've ever seen pheasant in the yard.  I only noticed them skulking near the woods because I was busy watching a squirrel trying to get on my bird feeder.  It galls me to be thankful to a squirrel for this sighting.
photo by Eric Huish

Me versus Squirrels

Here is my new anti-squirrel birdfeeder set up as seen from the living room window.  On the yellow cord, from the house or from the left is a tin pie plate, 6 inch pvc pipe with a diameter of one half inch, empty iced tea bottle with hole in bottom, another six inch piece of pvc pipe, the feeder, an ice tea bottle, more pvc pipe, an ice tea bottle and another tin pie plate.  I put it up on Friday.  On Friday we enjoyed watching squirrels run down the cord, stop at the pie plate, and turn around to come back.  They did this repeatedly.  On Saturday, however, I found a squirrel on the birdfeeder.  Curses!  How the squirrel got past the pie plate and past three spinning items is beyond me.  I am really disappointed that this doesn't work.  Plus it looks like I have suspended garbage over my lawn.  I watched for  quite a while today.  I never saw a squirrel get on the bird feeder even though I chased them off three times.  They are smart enough to get on when I am not looking.  Here is my next idea.  I'll buy two six feet pieces of pvc pipe that has a diameter of two inches and put one on each side of the feeder.  Or do you think I should make that 8 feet long?

Unusual Hostess Gift

I got two hostess gifts this week.  One was a softball sized mum with pipecleaner turkey tail and a pom pom turkey face on it; very cute. The other was a bag with five blue plastic bags.  I asked what this was.  I was told if I could figure it out I could not keep the gift.  Below the plasic bags were five metal minature torpedos.  I had to think a minute before I figured out they were maple taps.  I have been considering tapping my maple trees.  I even looked for taps last year but the stores were sold out before I could get there.  Now I am ready for the 2012 maple tapping season.  I think it's awesome when I am encouraged to be the tree-hugging/nature geek/do-it-yourselfer that I already am.  I once helped make maple syrup one spring in Lutsen almost 30 years ago.  We spent the weekend emptying milk jugs and boiling sap.  When it was time for lunch, we stuck hot dogs on sticks and boiled them in the sap (I was still a carnivore at that time).   I remember having a lot of fun in the maple forest that day.  Lets hope that this March was warm days and cold nights so I can collect enough sap for at least a couple meals of pancakes.

What A Holiday!

What a great holiday!  I'm feeling much better about it today because I burned 270 calories off this morning on the elliptical.  Turn out was great.  Every year I count the guests, the chairs and the plates and I never seem to get it right.  This year we were one plate and two chair short.  The situation was easily resolved.  The food was excellent.  We had turkey, tofurky, mashed potatoes, two kinds of gravy, two kinds of stuffing, fruit salad with craisins and walnuts, glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, home made dinner rolls with home made butter. Turns out butter is really easy to make.  I made butter in under ten minutes.  I took two pints of heavy cream.  I tried to find cream without carrageenan (a thickening additive).  I looked at several grocery stores before finding some at the Grass Roots Coop in Anoka.  I set the heavy cream on the counter for an hour before using it.  I set the cream into the mixing bowl and covered the top with a clean plastic bag.  Drops of cream fly all over so it is important to cover the mixing bowl.  I set the mixer on high.  After two minutes, the sound of the mixer changed so I checked and found whipped cream. I kept mixing.  At 7 minutes, the sound changed again.  I looked and saw the cream was starting to separate into butter and whey.  I mixed a minute longer.  I scooped out the butter and disposed of the whey.  I rinsed the butter with cold water several times.  I sprinkled a half teaspoon of salt and mixed the salt into the butter.  I ended up with almost a pound of butter.  The color was the same as butter you buy at the store.  My opinion is the taste of homemade butter was better than what you buy at the store.  I will definitely make butter again.  For dessert we had apple pie, pumpkin pie, almond pretzel rods, brownies, peanut blossom cookies, shortbread cookies, chips and cheese dip.  The guests brought most of the food. Talking and teasing go hand in hand in my family.  We played charades, "Sorry" and "Taboo."  This year we tried a new game called "Would You Rather?"  We answered questions like "Would you rather have a vain spouse or a spouse with self-esteem issues?"  Or "Would you rather be unable to speak for a year or unable to walk for a year?" I prefer the kind of games that an entire group can enjoy; even the younger ones.  The kids brought sleds and warm clothes but dang, it was cold out there.  I went out for a short time to help one girl hold a chicken and to untangle the swing that was stuck high in the oak tree. I know it was a good day because my face was sore from laughing so much. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blue Jays Have Chin Curtains

This morning I was admiring the birds at the bird feeder. A blue jay came to take a drink at my heated water bowl.  Steam was rising out of the bowl into the cold air. A rim of thick frost built up on one side of the bowl.  Blue jays are huge birds compared to the other juncos, chickadees, and nuthatches.  Blue jays are not only big but they are bold.  Their blue color is bold.  The head shape is bold.  The beak is bold.  The black eye stripe makes them look bold and criminal.  Their long tails are bold.  And look at that black chin curtain; very bold.  For as bold as blue jays appear, their behavior is strikingly timid.  As soon as the blue jay saw me looking through the deck door, it took off flying through the woods, screaming, "Awwk!  She was looking at me through the glass? Awwk!"

Trees To Admire

This year I had paid notice and admired three kinds of trees.  One is the tamarack because of their beautiful butterscotch gold color.  Another is the weeping willow.  Their gaudy orange-yellow leaves really stand out these days.  The third kind of tree isn't a specific species. I've been looking closely and found some are cottonwood and some are silver maple and some are aspen.  I'm talking about the kind of tree often seen on roadsides.  I tried to get a good picture but I guess I didn't try hard enough.  Shooting photos while driving is dangerous.  The one above was taken at a long red light.  What I like about this kind of tree is the way it holds onto those last leaves. It's as if the tree is being dragged into winter kicking and screaming.  The branches all reach upward to the sky.  The tips of each branch hold onto the last few green leaves with all their might.

Project Feederwatch

Northern Cardinals - 5, Black capped Chickadee - 7, Junco - 3, White breasted nuthatch - 2, Downy woodpecker - 2, American Crow - 1, Red bellied woodpecker - 2, Robin - 1, Blue jay - 2, Goldfinch - 2   

I think my new bird feeder set up is working. I am seeing more birds.  I've never had more than two cardinals before.  Three of the cardinals were female.  And I've never had more than one red bellied woodpecker at a time either.  I think they were two males because they were fighting and chasing each other off the suet feeders.  The yellow cord suspending the bird feeder was slippery this morning.  I think the freezing rain stuck to the cord because I saw several birds try to land on it and loose their balance.  Unfortunately, one of the gray squirrels got onto my new bird feeder.  He sat on the roof of the suspended feeder and threw handfuls of black sunflower seeds down to his cohorts waiting below.  He didn't cross over on the line.  I watched him to figure out what he was doing.  He threw himself through the air like a freaking trapeze artist from the deck railing.  I guess I'll have to more the feeder a little further away from the deck to foil him.                                                

The Fourth Hand

I was pretty excited to get my hands on another John Irving book so quickly.  (Love my library).  Once I started reading it, disappointment set in.  This book, unlike Irving's other books, wasn't as good.  He was using more sensational language and he wasn't getting into the meat of the story.  He's a good story teller but this book was skimming the surface.  And I didn't like the main character, Patrick Wallingford.  Several times I stopped to ponder on what a jerk he was.  Patrick Wallingford was a handsome television newscaster who was sexually compliant with  every woman who hit on him.  He worked for a cable news network that specialized in sensational stories about death.  He had no journalistic ethics at all.  Once in a while Patrick would think a thought that was semi-kind so I would try to give him the benefit of the doubt.  Like nearly all Irving's books, there is a missing limb.  Patrick becomes knows as "The Lion Guy" when filming a story at a zoo in India and lions tear off his left hand and eat it - live on television.  Later he gets a donor hand from a guy in Wisconsin.  He becomes involved with the wife of his donor.  By the end of the story, Patrick Wallingford is a nicer man.  I think the author wrote this story in such a flippant style to illustrate how television news focuses on the sensational sound bites and misses the meat of the story.

Recovery of the Gray Wolf

I brought a friend with me to the north metro chapter meeting of the Master naturalists.  She thought the meeting was educational and inspiring.  She said she felt more motivated to do more volunteer work.  I hadn't noticed before but those meetings inspire me too.  This month the talk was about the "Recovery of the Gray Wolf."  Peggy Callahan, director of the Wildlife Science Center spoke.  She brought along one of her rescue dogs - a big, stinky black German Shepard that weighed 130 pounds.  His head was massive.  His ears were so big I could hide my fists behind each one.  Peggy says it is important to involve all the senses when you are teaching about nature.  You can't let students touch a wolf but they can touch a big German Shepard.  She talked for a while about hunting.  She told about her first hunting experience hunting grouse.  At first she shot a lot of popple.  When she got the grouse she felt a rush of emotions like sadness, elation, and humility.  In the future she hopes to see the wolf population improve to the point where wolf hunts are allowed.  Our first question was, why would somebody hunt a wolf?  To eat?  Peggy says we should hold on judging others on the reason for the hunt.  Some people hunt for food but others hunt for non-food reasons. As long as the hunt is legal, judgement should be withheld.  She also advises us to buy a hunting license.  Even if you don't hunt, buy a license.  The money from those licenses are used to purchase and improve wildlife habitat.  She told us to "Buy a hunting license" over and over and over again.  I would not mind improving the habitat for ducks or moose or bear but I think the DNR has done WAY too much improving the habitat for deer and geese.  I'll have to consider buying a hunting license.  I've bought fishing licences before but never a hunting license. She also talked about the Department of Natural Resources being a political entity.  The DNR has to listen to their boss.  She said the last time a scientist was appointed to run the DNR was during Arne Carlson's administration.  Peggy was a passionate and engaging speaker.  I enjoyed being around these tree huggers.  Someone brought in a bone she found in a tree.  We all gather around and admire the teeth marks left by some animal gnawing on the bone.  Another lady brought in a hairless rat.  Some said the hairless rat was cut.  Yeah, I don't think so.  We admire fox pictures where it looks like the fox is actually hamming it up for the camera.  These meetings are a lot of fun for me.                    

The Help

This month it was my turn to lead the book club discussion.  We chose "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.  This book has been on the best seller list for almost a year for a very good reason; it's a good book, a really good book.  This is Stockett's first novel and she started writing it the day after the 9/11 attacks in New York City, where she lived.  She wrote in the voice that comforted her as a child; the voice of her maid and nanny in Mississippi where she group up in the 1960's.  The book chapters come in three voices. Abilene is a patient and comforting maid.  Minny is a emotional and impulsive maid.  Skeeter (nickname for Eugenia) is a recent graduate of the University who can't seem to fit in at home on her parent's plantation or in town with her young, married friends or with the others in the Junior League.  Skeeter wants to be a journalist.  She gets the idea of writing from the perspective of the black maids talking about raising white children from one of the maids.  She talks Abilene into helping her with the project.  Minny and other maids help with the book.  The town of Jackson, Mississippi is on the cusp of civil rights.  The maids, more than Skeeter, risk a great deal to have their story told.  Minny risks the most of all in order to protect the rest of the group.  We had a great discussion about this book. I told them I would bring a caramel cake to the next meeting.  Caramel cake, along with other great food, is mentioned in the book.  I promised I would NOT BRING a chocolate creme pie. If you read the book, you'll know why it is not a good idea to bring a chocolate creme pie.

Black Spruce Damage

The heavy snow on Saturday broke two branches off one of my  black spruce.  The smaller branch had little pine cones on the top.  I trimmed the bottom and stuck it in a pot for winter decoration.



I trimmed the larger branch and put it in a holiday tree holder and tied it to a bluebird house.



This is the black spruce. Wind has broken the top off twice.  It has a disease called dwarf mistletoe that creates all these bundles of branches.  The mistletoe almost looks like huge nests inside the branches of the tree.



This is the base of the black spruce.  See the green lichen, pruning scars, and the muscular looking roots?  I think this tree trunk is buff.

Moving to Winter Headquarters

Here is Meredith on the left, Pam (who is moulting) in the middle for warmth, and Phyllis on the right.



From the left: Meredith, Pamela, Kelly and Phyllis



From the left:  Phyllis, Meredith and Kelly.  Pamela is hidden.



Winter HQ before the run was attached.

I had to move the chickens to their winter headquarters on Sunday.  All summer they've moved to a fresh spot of grass every week.  All that moving ended with the snow on Saturday.  I want them close to the house so I can plug in their heat lamp and heated water dish.  I have a two wheeled dolly to move the house.  I didn't want to move the coop with the chickens inside.  They, being the dainty ladies that they are, refuse to step foot in the snow.  They would not move for nothing. I looked around and found a snow free fallen limb/temporary chicken perch.  I moved each chicken, one by one, out of the house and onto their perch. Pamela was obviously moulting.  She looked pathetic and tiny with so many missing feathers.  I put her in the middle between the other chickens so she would stay warmer.  Just a few days ago the chickens were running around the yard, flying over the canoe, and full of aerobic movements.  On Sunday they perched on that branch without even turning around.  They watched me as I hauled the coop over the snow toward the garage.  I cleaned it out and added fresh wood shavings.  I had to lay on my back with my upper torso inside the chicken coop to put up the heat lamp.  Man, it was dusty in there.  I brought the chickens back to their coop one by one.  Although all three coop doors were open, they didn't even try to leave.  I thought for a minute they wouldn't need the run attached but then I remembered that the run is there to keep chickens in AND predators out. This will be their home for the next four dark months.  Egg production has really slowed down this fall.  I think only Pamela has been laying eggs for the past two months.  Now that the others have moulted and she is starting to moult, she'll won't be laying eggs for a while.  With the heat lamp on I think egg production will pick up again.

Project Feederwatch Update

Red bellied woodpecker-1, Crow-2, Blue Jay-1, Cardinal-2, Goldfinch-3, Black capped chickadee-6, Junco-3

Drive Safely

Today I took a driving class. It was one of those AARP 55 Alive driving classes.  In Minnesota, car insurance companies have to give you 10% off your car, truck, or motorcycle insurance costs if you show proof of taking the class.  I didn't have much going in November and I could use some extra money in my pocket so I thought I'd get the 8 hour class in now.  The closest one on a Saturday was at Hamline Auto Body in Lauderdale.  Although we were cramped into a tiny room I have to say Hamline Auto Body was VERY gracious and accommodating.  They offered us all kinds of refreshments and a lunch.  I imagine the entire auto repair industry was happy about the weather today.  I had to be there at 8 a.m. so I left at 7.  My road was terrible!  At least 3 inches of wet, slushy snow covered the surface.  I thought the highway would be better and it was but it was still slow going.  When I saw the third vehicle in the ditch, a white SUV with tires pointing at the sky, I thought, "How ironic would it be if I got into a car accident on my way to my safe driving class?"  Our instructor was very good.  He was engaging and informative and he didn't let some people in the class talk as much as they wanted to.  For each segment of the curriculum, he had a newspaper article illustrating the point.  He talked about car accidents or roads in Minnesota.  He really had a thing about Highway 8. He asked, "Who has taken Highway 8?"  I raised my hand.  "Why?" he asked.  I answered, "Uh, to get to Taylors Falls."  He wants us to avoid Highway 8 because there are too many accidents on that road.  He talked about the three second rule.  You should stay at least 3 seconds behind the car ahead of you.  Pick a landmark on the road like a sign or the shadow of a pole.  Start counting when the car ahead of you passes the landmark and then count, "one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand."  If you get to the landmark before three one thousand, you are driving too close.  The three second rule if for ideal conditions.   On a day like today, we should be 4 or 5 seconds behind the vehicle ahead of you.  Our instructor talked a long time the blind spots on our cars and the blind spots of the cars and trucks near us.  He says left turns are more dangerous than right turns.  If we can, he suggests we take 3 right turns to avoid taking a left.  He says the highway patrol has two main driving mistakes that they especially want to ticket.  One of those if not pulling over a lane when an emergency vehicle is on the shoulder and the other one is backing up on the freeway because you missed your exit.  That happened to me once.  I was in college and the professor was taking a group of us to a school in Clear Lake. She missed the exit on Highway 94 so she backed up on the freeway.  Our instructor talked about how age affects driving ability.  Right now some states have rules for teenage drivers that say they can't drive after dark or they can have a limited number of passengers.  I wonder if there will be rules for older folks someday such as those over 90 can't drive after dark.  I thought it was a good class. 

Theory Better Than Implementation

How the feeder looked before it smashed into pieces.

Tomorrow begins the 2010-2011 Project Feederwatch season.  I wanted to be all ready to go.  Yesterday I filled up my small birdfeeder and my larger birdfeeder (see above).  I have the larger birdfeeder strung on a wire high above the yard so the squirrels don't get at it. Last year I battled the squirrels with a super soaker.  While it was satisfying to dampen squirrels this only worked on weekends.  During the week they ate as much as they wanted.  This year I'm using scientific know how.  It's working too.   I haven't seen a single squirrel on this birdfeeder.  When I went to fill the larger birdfeeder yesterday, the wire broke.  The feeder, full of 5 pounds of black sunflower seeds, went crashing to the ground and broke into pieces spilling sunflower seeds all over the grass.  This is the second time I've spilled this thing.  Overall, the squirrels are getting more  black sunflower seeds than they usually get. I'm spreading the seed conveniently on the grass for them so they don't have to climb for their food.  But I'm still winning because the squirrels are staying off the birdfeeder.  So I am still winning.  I went to the hardware store and bought some neon colored nylon cord that can hold 50 pounds.  And I bought another covered platform feeder. The important thing is that I am still winning.

Good Grief

Today I went to a funeral. My best friend's mother died. I haven't seen any of these people for 22 years. It was nice to be greeted from across the room with a smile and a wave. I guess 22 years don't change us that much. I talked to my best friend. I told her, "Oh, my God. You are a grandmother! You are a grandmother to not one, not two, not three, not even four but five grandchildren! And look, that one there is over 6 feet tall! Both your kids look like they're doing well." The funeral was very strange for me. One of her brothers had the bald pate, the fringe of dark brown hair around the sides of his head and the thick mustache - he looked exactly like my best friend's father did in 1970. And her daughter had the dark hair and exact face of my best friend. The daughter is about the same age as my friend was the last time I saw her. My best friend's twin brother and little sister had the same perceptive eyes and gentle kindness as they did when we were in high school. My best friend's family has this manner of speaking. They raise their eyebrows when they talk. When they come to the end of a sentence, their eyes widen and their chins jut out just a little bit. I can miraculously see my best friend when they talk and that warmed my heart. I haven't spoken directly to my best friend for 22 years because in February of 1989 she died. Her illness was depression. Today we gathered to grieve for her Mom but I was grieving the loss of my best friend as well. I miss her very much. Some photos of my best friend were displayed in the back of the room. There she was as a baby with her twin laying on a blanket. There she was in a family photo surrounded by her brothers. There she was as a teenager sitting on a motorcycle, grinning. She doesn't know I have a motorcycle now. There is a photo of her children standing by her gravestone. After the service I went to the club to work out. I don't think I've ran that fast on the elliptical ever before. I lifted more weight and completed more repetitions than usual. Every press on the handlebars of the weight machines dispersed more of the anger and grief that I hold.  I shed more than a few tears today in a good and healing grief.

Happy Veterans Day

MacGyver Mouse

Last night, when I got home from book club, I heard noises downstairs.  Earlier I had set a glue trap in the laundry room.  I sensed mice in the house.  I usually get at least a couple mice in the house this time of year.  I heard something rattling around in the laundry room and I suspected it was a mouse on a glue trap.  It was late and I was tired.  I hate dealing with mice.  I hate seeing the results of my cruelty in setting out the glue traps.  I decided I would deal with it in the morning.  So this morning I went into the laundry room on tiptoe, dreading the scene.  One of the glue traps had moved.  In fact, the trap was missing.  Sometimes a mouse will get it's back legs stuck on the glue trap and use the front legs to propel itself around.  I looked around.  I found the glue trap at the bottom of the laundry tub. The trap had mouse hair over more than half of the surface.  One edge of the plastic glue trap was completely bitten off. But the mouse was gone.  How did that happen?  How can a mouse remove itself from a glue trap?  I can only conclude that it MacGyvered itself out of danger.  I actually did not watch the old television series MacGyver.  I've only seen it parodied on the Simpsons.  Patty and Selma (Marge's sisters) love MacGyver.  Anyway MacGyver is the kind of guy who takes nearby items and applies his scientific mind to rescue himself.  The way I see it, the mouse chewed off a sliver of the plastic tray of the blue trap and used it's teeth to cut it's fur from the trap or, and here is another possibility, it used the sharp piece of plastic to shave itself which would also detach it from the trap.  There is no hope of getting rid of this Mac Gyver Mouse now.  It's a genius.

Successful Trial

On Sunday I did a trial run for Thanksgiving.  I made some dinner rolls just to see how they turned out.  I brought the dinner rolls to work on Monday and they were gone in no time so I guess that means they were a success.  Here is the recipe in case you want to try it.
Dinner Rolls (adapted from allrecipes.com)  Serves 16
Ingredients:  1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees), 1/2 cup warm milk, 1 egg, 1/3 cup butter-softened, 1/3 cup white sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 .25 ounce package active dry yeast, 1/4 cup butter softened
Directions: Place water, milk, egg, 1/3 cup butter, sugar, salt, flour and yeast in the pan of the bread machine.  Select dough/knead and rise first cycle, press start.  When the cycle finishes, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Divide the dough in half.  Roll each half into a 12 inch circle.  Spread the 1/4 cup butter over entire round.  Cut each circle into 8 wedges.  Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly.  Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet.  Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place, let rise 1 hour.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes until golden.
Note:  the original recipe did not call for whole wheat flour.  I used it because I ran out of regular unbleached flour.  If I had to do it again I would use the same combination of whole wheat and regular flour.

The Butcher Bird

OK, I've learned more about that bird in the picture yesterday.  It is a Northern Shrike.  These birds breed in Alaska and northern Canada and come down to Minnesota because it's warmer here.  Like the juncos, this is down south for them.  The bird was photographed about a mile from here as the crow flies, or maybe I should say as the shrike flies-just off Ramsey Boulevard near a large wetland.  The shrike gets it's name from combining it's attack style to what the prey say at the last minute (strike and shriek). Actually, I just made that up.  The Latin name is Lanius Excubitor which means butcher sentinel.  Rodents make up half of their diet.  Food is stashed in the fork of two branches or on a thorn or barb.  The shrike's feet are not useful in holding down the prey to tear off the meat and that is why they use thorns or barbed wire.  A friend of mine said he has seen bird legs stuck on a thorn before.  Oh, such an treacherous bird!  Just look at that black mask and evil eye.  Someone ought to write a book.  Here's a title for you - Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Blue Shrike.

What Bird Is This?

A friend of mine sent me this photo of a bird and asked what I thought it was.  He said it was larger than a kingbird and very blue with dark markings and a distinct mask.  I thought it looked like a shrike because of the lighter chin and neck, the dark wings with white spots and the dark mask.  And shrikes are known to perch on fence posts.  Shrikes have a thick bill with a hook on the end. My friend is familiar with shrikes and he didn't think it was one because the color was so blue.  I got a few opinions on facebook and both opinions were shrike.  Personally I would love to see a shrike.  I have never seen one.  They are known to prey on larger insects and other birds.  I really don't  understand why they're not in the raptor family.  One distinct thing that shrikes do is impale their victims on thorns or the barb of a barb wire fence to snack on later.  Such treacherous masked birds!  I want to see one.

Organic?

Twice last week I heard people use the word "organic" and I didn't know what they meant.  One was a man describing his rock music band.  He was asked how the group got together and he said they came together organically.  I had no idea what he meant by that. The other time I was watching a television show about an artist on the North Shore.  He made huge wall hangings out of glass.  He made his own glass to go on these pieces of art.  He said the ideas for his art pieces were organic.  I was confused so I looked up what organic meant.  I knew it was more than food grown without pesticides.  I knew organic could mean related or an organ or an organism. Those definitions did not seem to make sense when applied to music or art.  It turns out there are a couple more definitions or organic.  Organic can be "forming an integral part of a whole or fundamental; having system organization of parts; or having the characteristics of an organism."  This definition might explain the members of a rock band.  Maybe all the members joined at the same time instead of one after another.  Maybe the glass artist pictured the entire piece of art organized by the smaller sections.   Another definition of organic is "relating to or constituting the law by which a government or organization exists."  If you want to know what I think, I think organic is a new and popular buzzword that people throw around similar to how "proactive" was used in the 1980's. 

Anaranjado Mi Favorito Color

In preparation for my trip to Ecuador, I’ve been listening to a book on CD in my car,  “Spanish for Dummies.”  Each chapter reviews words in English followed by the Spanish version, a pause for you to practice, another Spanish version, and a final pause for you to practice.  I’ve been trying to speak Spanish driving to work and back. I sound pretty good to myself.  I doubt I sound as good to Spanish speaking people.  Some words make sense to me.  Write is enscribir.  Comprehend in comprehende.  Shopping mall is un centralo commercial. I need is necissito.   Some Spanish I knew from watching cartoons, Sesame Street, and old westerns. Arriba is up, agua is water, beso is kiss, and hombre is man.    Some Spanish words I knew just because they are part of our culture.  Mucho is a lot, gracias is thanks, milk is leche, happy is feliz, tomorrow is mańana, and house is casa.  Some Spanish words are very similar but the emphasis is on a different syllable.  Department is departmento, music is una musica, pharmacy is la farmacia, and telephone is un telefano.  I think some Spanish words are really cute.  Bonito is pretty, car is un coche, and Sunday is Domingo.  Some Spanish words are just too hard.  Que es la fecha? That means what is the date? I won’t bother to memorize that.  I’ll be on vacation.  I won’t need the date. Puedo pedirles indicaciones?  That means may I ask you for directions?  I won’t spend my time learning that because I am pretty sure I won’t understand the directions anyway.  I’ll just concentrate on the important ones like “Donde esta cuarto de bano?”  (Where is the bathroom)?   And “Soy un vegetariano.” (I am a vegetarian).  I am making some flash cards to keep up my skills.  Wish me luck, por favor.

My Fourth Continent

Oh, boy.  Oh, boy.  Oh, boy!  I just signed up for another trip - this time to South America.  I am traveling with another Master Naturalist.  We'll fly into Quito, Ecuador and then take a guided tour of the Galapagos Islands in January, 2011.  As I child I remember the Galapagos tortoises at Como Zoo.  Kids would line up to take a ride on the back of a tortoise.  I did it too.  I remember the strange feeling of slow progression and the sound of the claws on the cement.  I'll get to see the Galapagos tortoise again.  We're not allowed to ride them though.  I am super excited to take this trip.  I feel blessed to have the circumstances come together to make this possible.  This will be my fourth continent.  Besides North America (of course) I've been to Europe and Africa.  This will be my second trip across the equator.  Here is a brief description of the trip: 

Tortuga Galapagos Adventure Trip: Quito to Quito
Wed: Arrive Quito
Thu: Cycle San Cristobal highlands
Fri: Snorkel or dive with seals and manta rays at Kicker Rock
Sat: Snorkel Floreana Island, visit pink flamingos 
Sun: Hike Sierra Negra Volcano
Mon: Giant tortoise breeding centre, coastal hike, visit sea life
Tue: Hike Santa Cruz highlands and Tortuga Bay, visit giant tortoises
Wed: Visit Charles Darwin Research Station, snorkel Santa Fe Island
Thu: Optional hike and return to Quito
Fri: Quito, depart for home

You can go to this website if you want to see more details on the itinerary:   http://www.activesouthamerica.com/itineraries-tortuga.php

New Bird Feeder

The bird feeder is strung on a wire with pvc pipe on both sides.  When the squirrels try to cross the wire, the pvc pipe will spin when they step on it and throw them to the ground. Bwa ha ha ha ha!

No squirrel can jump this high!

I am getting all set for another season of Project Feederwatch - a citizen science project for Cornell Department of Ornithology.  This is a project where it becomes important and useful to watch birds out of my window during winter weekends.  I'm trying to attract as many birds as possible.  I now have two black sunflower seed feeders, a thistle feeder, a suet feeder, a heated bird bath, and left over canary food on the deck railing for the ground feeders like juncos.  I have crabapple, red oak, white oak, black spruce, blue spruce, white pine, hackberry, basswood, birch, elm, apple, and maple trees to provide cover.  I leave the seed heads of the black eyed susans, milkweed and goldenrod available. What else could a bird possibly desire?

My Favorite

I'm glad it is election day.  I am tired of the political ads in the mailbox, the messages on my answering machine, and the commercials on television.  The television ads are the worst with each party accusing each other of lying.  It's as bad as going to a dinner party where the host couple is on the verge of divorce.  But there is one commercial I do like.  The commercial has a baby in a baby walker who travels down a road, down a farm lane, through a field with some sheep, and across the country at top speed.  That speeding baby in a walker is having so much fun that I want to be that baby.  Melanie Safka sings the catchy song that runs through my head during the day - "I've Got A Brand New Pair of Rollerskates; You Have a Brand New Key."  I don't care about the sexual innuendo.  I just want to be the traveling baby and listen to the cute song.

Scarecrows Exposed!

I saw a pair of scarecrows this morning on my way to work.  I didn't think too much of it.  The scarecrows are located on Ferry Street across from the fairgrounds.  But on my way home the same scarecrows raised both my eyebrows.  These scarecrows are designed for the entertainment of traffic headed north.  As you come around the curve on Ferry Street, the scarecrows will be on your left.  One of them will be mooning you with two pumpkin butt cheeks poking out the top of the pants.  The other scarecrow is seated in a lawn chair and she has a pair of melons that are ready to pop her shirt buttons.  I'll bring my camera tomorrow and try to get a picture without causing a car accident.  I hope they are still there.