Happy New Year!

I know this evening at midnight is just an insignificant spot on the time continuum but as a calendar aficionado (or freak) I want to wish you a Happy New Year.  I have many calendars.  I don't wear a watch but time is important to me.  I have one calendar on my kitchen wall, a small one on the dashboard of my car, one hanging in my office, a fake leather bound one which I carry everywhere at work, an electronic one connected to my email at work, and a teeny tiny one attached to my computer monitor.  I might splurge on one of those page a day calendars next week when the prices go down.  Anyway, it's time to take down the old calendar and put up the new one; start a clean slate.  I wish you a happy and prosperous new year.  2011 has been a good year for me.  If I, like the newspapers, put in my personal highlights, I would include the following:  that moment when I was ziplining in the cloud forest in Ecuador when I thought I was going to slam into a tree and die, that moment when a 5 foot Galapagos shark swam underneath me and I screamed into my snorkel, that moment I saw a waved albatross, that moment when I knelt behind a HUGE Galapagos tortoise for a photo and hoped this ET looking fellow would not notice me, that moment when I saw sap had collected into the jug below the maple tree, that moment our bird class watched a night hawk sitting in a tree, that moment when I saw and heard my red-shouldered hawk had returned in the spring, that moment I saw a Blackburnian warbler splashing in a puddle in my driveway, that moment when I saw my beans and pumpkins and potatoes had sprouted and were pushing their green stems out of the ground, that moment I rode neck and neck with a horse while I was on my motorcycle, that moment a fish jumped into my lap as I kayaked under a bridge in St. Paul, that moment when I saved Meredith from being eaten by a gray fox, the moment I ate the first ripe tomato out of the garden, that moment we canoed across a lake in the Boundary waters and the wind took us really fast, that moment when I had two black admiral butterflies sitting on my hand, that moment I fell backward while trying to land a canoe and landed safely on a rock shaped like a chair, that moment I held a loved one's hand as she died, that moment on Thanksgiving when my house was full of people and noise and smells and merriment, that moment we watched thousands of sand hill cranes take off at sunrise, that moment we saw a road runner, that evening we spent in a hotel room in Taos with a fire burning in a fireplace, that moment a car struck me from behind during a blizzard on a Colorado mountain pass, and this moment where I realize I am so incredibly lucky to have so many friends and family who love me.  Happy New Year!

Pantyhose Struggle

Tonight I will be struggling with the panty hose.  Getting them on is an aerobic exercise for me.  But it will be worth it.  I am so happy to be going to a wedding of two amazing people who have been through thickest and thinnest.  They deserve every happiness.  I am glad they have something to celebrate.

The Land of Enchantment

State Flag

The license plates in New Mexico proclaim "The Land of Enchantment."  Enchantment can be delightful and attractive or to cast a spell over.  I think both definitions apply to my experience there.  The nature and the beauty of the landscape was delightful and attractive but I also felt it was a spiritual place.  When we toured the museum of pueblo Indian art, much of the spirituality of the art was explained for us.  We toured one room with paintings and sculptures of only one gruesome topic - the crucifixion.  Each  of the 17 tribes of pueblo Indians had a different painting and/or sculpture of the crucifixion.  I found it really strange that every piece of art in that room had the same difference from other depictions I have ever seen before - bloody knees.  In every painting and every sculpture done by the pueblo Indians, Jesus had the skin torn off his knees.  Why would every tribe show the same difference?  I understand that the pueblo Indians were exposed to Christianity by the Spanish in the 1700's.  They incorporated the Christian beliefs into their own spiritual practices. Maybe the Spanish people in the 1700's showed the tribes art that included bloody knees on the crucifixion?  I don't know much about religious art but I couldn't get over the difference.  The crucifixion is gruesome even without the knee damage and after seeing that many pieces of art of the same subject, I had to get out of that room. 

Project Feederwatch Update

Downy woodpeckers-4, Hairy woodpeckers-2, Black capped chickadee-6, Junco-2, Goldfinch-6, Northern Cardinals-2

Things I Liked About New Mexico

I liked the land.  Without an abundance of foliage and plants, you can see the land.  In the span of one viewing, you can see the rocks and dirt vary in 5 or more colors.  The colors varied anywhere from off white, gray, tan, brown, pink, red, peach, and black.  In one spot I saw dirt on the side of the road that was actually an olive green.

I liked the mountains.  Hills and gullies are exciting.  Viewing the landscape that is so different from home restores my soul. I think I'll make it through the winter now.

I liked the colors. I saw a lot of reds, oranges, and yellows in the landscape.  Even the license plates on the automobiles were attractive.  Some were a blend of red, yellow and orange.  Others were an intense yellow or turquoise.  I asked a store clerk why the license plates were a different color.  She said the auto owner gets to choose.  With my blue car, if I lived in New Mexico, I'd choose the yellow plates.

I liked the yards.  No one has to mow their lawns.  No lawn mowers in New Mexico.  I did see some snow blowers but no lawn mowers.  And most yards are fenced in.

I liked the houses.  In the desert, the houses are pueblo style.  I think they're attractive. In the forested hills, the houses were wood framed and looked more like the ones in Minnesota.

I liked the permeable surfaces.  Aside from the roads (which I thought were all in good shape), the parking lots and driveways were sand or gravel.  Rain, when there is rain, can soak right in.  Sometimes this lack of asphalt made it hard to tell if a business was actually open but I think that is something I could get used to.

I liked the people.  On our trip, we didn't speak to many people outside the tourist industry.  But the people we did meet were kind.  Several people we met were originally from Minnesota.  New Mexico has a lot of dollar stores.  Even small towns will have two dollar stores and they have quite a few customers.  We stopped at one store to pick up some dollar gifts I needed for a party.  Their dollar stores carry items that cost more than a dollar.  The clerk commented on out items and asked us questions about how we planned to use them.  People are very friendly at the dollar store.

I liked the plants.  The species varied quite a bit as we drove from the southern end of the state to the northern end.  In the Chihauhuan desert, I was happy to see yucca plants.  We also saw creosote and mesquite.  Along the Rio Grande river we saw cottonwood trees and maple trees.  In the northern end of the state we came upon juniper forests.

I liked the animals.  We saw a lot of birds. The highlight of the birds was the road runner, the burrowing owls, the flocks of sand hill cranes, the black billed magpies, the flocks of pin tail ducks and the wood ducks.  We saw a couple rodents around a bird feeder.  And we saw mule deer several times.  I didn't see a single reptile or a any bugs. 

I liked the way the drive sober warnings were worded.  Instead of saying, "Don't drink and drive-it's the law,"  in New Mexico the signs read, "Don't drink and drive-it's our law."  The difference is subtle but I liked it.  The sign implies that if you are a good citizen of this state or "one of us", you won't be drinking and driving. 

I liked the sky.  Gone were the gray blankets of Minnesota winter clouds.  In New Mexico the clouds had interesting shapes and made for colorful sunrises and sunsets. 

This was my first vacation where I just picked a state and decided to explore it.  I think I'll do that again. 

Picture of That Ford Expedition on My Harrowing Ride

A Christmas Gift

Meredith laid an egg today.  This is her first egg since the fox attack in July.  What a nice Christmas gift!  I told my chicken sitters they did a really good job taking care of her while I was gone on my trip.  They confessed to giving her some Romaine lettuce while I was gone.

Harrowing Ride

Driving conditions on our trip to New Mexico were generally really good.  We had dry roads 98% of the time.  We saw sunshine and puffy clouds.  The scenery was awesome.  But on the way back, we ran into a storm and for two hours on Thursday morning, I didn't want to be there.  As we left our cozy accommodations in Taos, which included an outdoor hot tub with fireworks to enjoy AND a fireplace in our room, we headed north out of New Mexico and into southern Colorado.  The air smelled so good up here.  Ravens croaked at us as we loaded the car.  We saw some black billed magpies on the sides of the roads.  Our first sign of trouble was snow blowing across the road which was really nothing to worry about unless you took it as a sign of trouble to come.  The trouble came when we turned right onto Colorado Highway 160 headed east near Fort Garland.  As I stopped at the stop sign to turn right, four white vehicles passed by traveling pretty close together.  I remember saying, I wonder if it is good luck or bad luck that I am behind these four vehicles?  The vehicle I got behind was a white Ford Expedition.  Snow started falling.  Ten minutes later snow was really coming down hard.  The wind blew the snow at our windshield.  I kept up with the white Ford Expedition.  These hilly and curvy roads are usually my favorite kind but not today.  A lighted highway sign announced that semi's had to put chains on before proceeding.  Several trucks were pulled over on the side of the road applying their chains.  I had heard about weather conditions being a problem and that is why we left early to try and outrun the storm.  That plan didn't work so well.  As we drove this mountainous road, the speed limit was 65 mpg.  No one was going that fast.  We started out about 50 miles per hour.  As the snow accumulated on the road, we slowed down to 40 mph.  No one was passing anyone.  Even if there was a passing lane where the road went up a large hill, no one passed.  It wasn't safe to pass.  We couldn't see the lanes anymore anyway. A gold Saturn sedan came up behind me.  I could see a couple young guys in the car.  I looked at them because he was tailgating me.  I don't like being tailgated so closely when the road is slippery.  Then the weather got really bad.  We were traveling 20 miles per hour.  The wind was blowing so hard I lost sight of my Ford Expedition.  Why are all the trucks out here white?  A colorful truck would have been much easier to follow.  Sometimes the black mirrors on my Expedition was all I had.  And sometimes I didn't even have that.  I could not see the sides of the road.  What can a person do?  I had to keep going.  Once in a while I could glimpse a rock wall to my right or left.  I knew if we could see, we would enjoy some beautiful mountains here.  There was no place to stop and no towns.  I saw a sign that said 9 miles to the summit.  Wolf Creek pass is at 10,850 feet.  That was not encouraging.  Sometimes I could make out a curve sign with a speed limit of 50 mph.  Well, we were going 20 mph for at least an hour.  I felt connected to my Ford Expedition.  And I felt angry at the Saturn for tailgating so close.  What was the point?  Was he afraid of loosing sight of me that he stayed so gosh darned close?  I didn't want to loose my Ford Expedition but I kept a respectful distance.  I wondered what would happen if someone in this line of cars stopped.  How many cars would touch?  My Ford Expedition driver tended to brake quite frequently without really slowing down which, for me, just made him easier to see.  I don't brake as often but I did tap on my brakes to get the Saturn off my tail a couple times.  He didn't respond by backing off though.  We came to the top of the pass and headed downhill.  My eyes were getting tired from trying to see ahead.  I hoped the weather would improve at lower altitudes.  Eventually the line of cars in front of me did suddenly slow way down.  I braked.  I knew it!  The Saturn was too close.  He turned his steering wheel to the left and his right front bumper touched my left rear bumper.  That son of a gun!  I was furious with him and I gestured with my arms up at the Saturn passenger as he looked at me over his right shoulder.  He had slid into the oncoming lane and was trying to stay on the road.  He hit me, the jerk!  What could I do?  I couldn't get out of the car to look for damage because it was to dangerous to stand on a snowy mountain road in a blizzard with cars coming at me.  I had to continue. He didn't hit me hard but he did hit me.  I felt my car move forward when he hit me so that probably lessened the blow.  I planned to pull over and talk to this guy the first safe place to stop.  I rehearsed my first words to him and the lines went from "Tailgate much?" to "What have we learned today, son?"  The lines of cars continued down the mountain and into a valley. By now over a foot of snow had fallen.  We noticed the Saturn did not have a front license plate.  As the minutes ticked by, I wondered what were the chances that this tailgating fool would stop when I pulled over.  I figured 50%.  He might just blow me off.  We started to see signs of civilization.  We passed a house.  The snow in the driveway was too deep for me to turn into.  We came to the town of Walsenburg.  Even the side streets had too much snow for me to use.  I saw a 7-11 ahead with a clearer driveway.  I gestured to my tailgating Saturn to turn off here.  I turned in.  He didn't.  That son of a gun hit and ran.  His rear license plate was completely covered in snow.  I couldn't even tell what state he was from.  Karma is going to get him.  Even if he doesn't feel guilt and remorse, what goes around comes around.  I pulled up to a gas pump and got out of my car to look for damage.  The back end of my car was completely covered in snow.  I couldn't read my own license plate. I took a paper towel and wiped off the snow and the mud.  I really couldn't see any damage but I wouldn't know for sure until I got a car wash.  We got gas and continued on to Interstate 25.  I had talked to a man in a roofing truck at the store and decided to follow him. He seemed friendly and responsible.  The snow slowed down a little.  The road conditions improved. If my roofing truck passed someone, I did too.  We could use both lanes on this divided freeway.  By the time we got to the outskirts of Denver, we could see actual pavement.  The road was wet and a little icy but at least we could see it. We ran into a couple snow squalls but they didn't last long and snow did not accumulate on the road.  The rest of the way home was just fine.  But dang, Colorado Highway 160 was a difficult road to take.  A little danger always adds to the enjoyment of a trip.  And a car accident with minimal or no damage is the best kind to have.  A hit and run accident adds to the drama.  Or maybe I should say a hit and follow for an hour and then drive off like nothing ever happened accident adds to the drama. 

Top Ten Road Signs That Cause Me Anxiety

I've put on over 3000 miles in the past week and I'm getting tired of driving,  Today was a harrowing ride; so harrowing I need another day to process before I write about it.  Instead here is a list of the signs that cause me anxiety on the road:
1o. Horse crossing
9.  Deer crossing
8. Elk crossing (especially with the big racks)
7. Cow crossing
6.  Watch for ice on bridges
5.  Watch For Water On Roads (What should I do if I see some?)
4.  Icy Roads CHP (Colorado Highway Patrol) has slowed traffic to 50 mph
3. Gusty Winds Possible
2. Chain Station Open (where semi's have to add chains to their tires)
1. Zero Visibility Possible

Seriously, zero visibility possible?  Dude!  I can handle animals on the road.  To see a pack of wild horses cross would be thrilling.  I can handle ice and snow.  But zero visibility?  I have no plan for that except prayer.

Rio Grande

Walking to the Rio Grande through the Cottonwood bosque.

The Rio Grand to the north.

The Rio Grand to the south.

Straight across the Rio Grande.

Straight down at the river's edge.  The water was muddy.

Yesterday we had an educational afternoon.  We drove to Albuquerque.  The first thing we did was tour the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.  We learned a lot there.  Later we walked around Old Towne square.  Native people had jewelry and pottery for sale.  They were set up on the sidewalks.  Later we toured the New Mexico Art History museum.  I was impressed by the Andy Warhol originals.  We skipped the rattle snake museum.  I can't appreciate more than one or two museums in a day.  This morning we toured the Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque.  There we saw white crowned sparrows, robins, goldfinches, house finches, sandhill cranes, juncos, pigeons, downy woodpecker, roufus sided towhee, wood ducks, mallards, Mexican mallards, scaup, hooded mergansers and Canadian geese.  It's strange to see so many wood ducks in the same place.  The nature center had a feeder and the ducks clustered around the food.  The wood ducks here are not wary.  They are fed and don't have to worry about being hunted here.  Such long looks at the elusive wood ducks was very luxurious.  We walked through the cottonwood bosque (forest) down to the river.  After lunch we took the scenic route to Santa Fe.  The road is called the Turquoise Trail and was supposed to have some ghost towns on it.  We didn't see any ghosts or ghost towns but the scenery was beautiful.  We stopped for lunch and toured the Georgia O'Keefe museum.  We walked around the town square looking at the arts and crafts offered on the sidewalks by the native artisans.  They looked cold sitting outside all day.  We drove the scenic route to Taos.  The road is called the King's Road and it follows the Rio Grande up through the mountains.  The scenery was breathtaking.  The mountains came right down to the edge of the road. The road curved and squiggled through the valley and was so steep I had to downshift a few times.  I love driving on roads like the King's Road.  We saw where the river turned off.  I said, "Bye!  Its been real grand."

Mission Accomplished! (Meep Meep)

Today we had an absolutely awesome morning at Bosque Del Apache wildlife area just south of Soccorro, New Mexico.  We got there just after sunrise.  On the road to the preserve, we saw sandhill cranes flying overhead.  We saw a group of ten cranes, another group of fifteen cranes, a group of twelve, a group of thirty and suddenly a group of fifty cranes flew low right over my car.  One of the cranes left a deposit on my windshield.  I said, "Oh, goodness, a crane crapped on my car!  Do it again!"  Hundreds of cranes filled the sky above the road.  We saw a parking area on the right next to a shallow pond. We stopped there and watched cranes walk by and fly off for at least 20 minutes.  It looks hard for a crane to take off.  Some cranes lift right up but others have to hop and flap for a time.  As they leave the ground, their legs hang down.  With each flap of the winds the legs ratchet up one notch until by the tenth flap of the wings, the legs are straight back.  We visited the nature center. At the bird feeder there we saw white crowned sparrows, red winged blackbirds, rofous towhee, pine siskins, crows, and a couple rodents.  As we drove on the wildlife drive, we saw a Cooper's Hawk, Northern shoveler ducks, and coots.  Offspring #2 spotted something white on the side of the road.  I thought it was a piece of paper.  With binoculars we could tell we spotted a burrowing owl.  Offspring #2 is an awesome bird spotter!  The owl was just sitting on top of a lump on the ground, watching us watch him.  We also saw American wigeons, pintail ducks, bufflehead ducks, red tailed hawks, a flicker, and three Wilson's snipe.  The snipe were in a field with many sandhill cranes and a group of crows.  Suddenly another black bird started chasing the crows away.  It was large and black but flew differently than the crows.  It turned out to be a grove billed ani.  The road was wet from the rain overnight.  Mud splashed so high I even had mud on the roof.  Sometimes I had to concentrate on getting through the mud and could not stop to look for birds.  As I took one muddy corner, Offspring #2, the awesome bird spotter, screamed into my right ear.  I laid on the brakes.  She yells, "It was running on the road."  On my left, I spotted a road runner run behind a bush.  We backed up the car a few times and got a couple good looks at the state bird of New Mexico.  We also saw a Northern Harrier hawk, snow geese. Ross' geese and a western meadowlark.  As we left the park, the nature finale, the icing on the cake, was a pair of kestrels (Mr. and Mrs.) flying up and landing in the same tree.  The Bosque Del Apache is an awesome place to watch birds.

Carlsbad Caverns

A lion;s tale formation

This looked like an owl to me.

This morning the weather station predicted a blizzard in New Mexico but they also said the high would be 39 degrees.  We decided the definition of a blizzard must vary state to state and that we would continue with our plans.  Today we toured Carlsbad Caverns near Carlsbad, New Mexico.  We spent almost 2 hours in the caves.  We walked about two miles underground after taking an elevator down almost 700 feet.  Here are some of the photos I took.  We had a great time underground.  After that we drove the 9 mile wilderness road.  Then we drove to Roswell and toured the International UFO Museum (yawn - I'm a skeptic).  We ran into some snow in the mountains between Roswell and the Rio Grande Valley but none of it stuck to the roads.  So far I've seen great tailed grackles and a white tailed kite.

Long Road

I have thought how fun it would be to follow one road from beginning to end.  Highway 61 or Highway 52 seem like good roads to follow.  Never once did I think about following Highway 35 but in the past two days, I've covered most of it.  We left Saturday morning and got on Highway 35 about 8 a.m.  We drove 11 hours on Saturday.  Today we continued on Highway 35 from 7 until about 10 am when we got off around Oklahoma City.  It's a good road.   It's fast and smooth and mostly straight except for those redtail swerves (that is when I peer up at a redtailed hawk a little too long). This highway has lots of gas stations with clean bathrooms.  Highway 35 continues through Texas all the way to the Mexican border.  But we were headed southwest.  As we drove we saw things change.  We saw donkeys mixed in with the horses and cows.  The lakes were wet instead of frozen.  In Missouri the fields had a greenish tinge.  Mourning doves started showing up on the roadsides.  Oil derricks dotted the fields in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.  Some of the rivers were dry.  On some dry spots sand lined the fence posts and the trees were so uncommon that some of them had 4 birds nests in the same tree.  And we saw cotton fields.  I wanted to stop and take a picture of the field of cotton but we went by so fast and all the others we saw had already been harvested.  Now the two days of hard driving are finished.  Tomorrow we plan on seeing Carlsbad Caverns and the Roswell/Area 51 part of the state.

Bird Watching

The coyote's after you.

Offspring #2 and I are headed off for a little winter road trip.  I hope to see some birds on our travels.  Specifically, I am hoping to see (Meep!  Meep!) a road runner, flocks of sandhill cranes, and maybe a Mexican Jay.  I think we're going to have fun.

Trade Mark

Last week I went to a local beauty school for some maintainence work.  It took forever (go ahead, make a crack).  I had a long time to sit in a chair and look around.  Two of the beauty students had images of shears permanently inked on their skin.  One woman had scissors on her neck and another had scissors on her arm.  Similar to wearing your heart on your sleeve, these women wore their jobs on (or is it in?) their skin.  So that got me to thinking, if I chose to wear my job on my skin, what would that look like?  My job is primarily paperwork, meetings, and computers.  So lets see, I could get a tattoo of a pen, a stack of papers, a telephone, a conference room table surrounded by people sitting in chairs, a key board, or a mouse.   Or maybe a calendar.  I schedule a lot of meetings so a calendar would be appropriate.  No, I don't think so.  I am not defined by my job.  I am enhanced by my job and supported by my job.  I love my job.  But I'm not inking my job into my skin.

Driftless

This was my month to review a book in my book club.  Two months ago I proposed a list of books and Driftless by David Rhodes is the one they chose.  The consensus was unanimous - all thumbs up.  They liked the character development, the setting (southwestern Wisconsin), the writing, and the way the plot threaded through the many characters, one person per chapter.  "How," asked one book club member, "Did you find this incredible book?"  I answered truthfully.  I judged the book by the cover.  The cover was orange (my favorite color) and featured a hilly road in farm country - one of my favorite landscapes.  What is not to like about this cover?  The book is published by Milkweed Press - a local publishing company.  Some parts of the book went on too long.  One spot that took forever is a conversation between a local pastor and the manager of a casino.  The pastor asks for a refund when a vulnerable parishioner mortgages her house and looses all that plus all her savings one evening.  Of course the general manager of the casino says no but the pastor doesn't give up for about 5 pages.  I think a bigger publishing house might have cut that encounter down in size.  But overall they loved the book and so did I.

Flowers Blooming In The House

Christmas Cactus has 25+ buds.  I can sense my Grandmother when I see these blooms.

Narcissus in bloom.

Fondness for Fog

Today was foggy.  I love it. I like sunshine too but I love fog in the fall.  The smell of decomposing damp leaves in the air, the wetness of the atmosphere against my face, the blurry images made worse with more light, and the faint hint of intrigue and mystery make me feel safe and young again.  As a child I loved to walk up our dead end street in the fog. One side of the road was a prairie.  The other side of the road was my grandparent's farm.  At the end of the dead end was the "dump."  The "dump" was another one of my favorite places.  It wasn't used as a dump anymore but there were things down in that ravine that were put there many years ago.  I would find treasures like old tin cans, glass bottles, car parts, and oven doors.  A badger lived in the dump and it scared the living day lights out of me once.  When I walked toward the dump in the fog, unable to see very far, relying on my memory of the road and where things should be, I felt like I had entered another dimension.  I felt adventurous and brave.  Anything could happen in the fog because you couldn't see it coming. Nothing ever did happen in the fog but it could have.  The possibility of danger and excitement lurked close by.   The faint light from my grandparent's kitchen window was a beacon of safety and reality. Fog is damp but as long as the air is humid, I don't feel as cold.  Sometimes an old song or an old smell can bring you back in time.  Fog does the same thing for me.  Today I was 7 years old again.

Project Feederwatch Update

Goldfinches are less colorful in winter.  Photo from Allaboutbirds

Goldfinches-12, Red bellied woodpecker-1, Downy woodpecker-2, Hairy woodpecker=-2, Black capped chickadee-5, White breasted nuthatch-2, Blue Jay-1, Cardinal-2, Junco-2, House finch-2

A dozen goldfinches were eating the crabapples.  I've never seen a goldfinch eat fruit before.  Usually they're picking the seeds out of the seed heads of the black eyes susan or the prairie flowers.

Venison Dream

The other night I dreamed I ate venison stew.  I  haven't had venison for, I don't know, maybe thirty years?  I have eaten any meat for almost twenty years.  Yet in this dream, I took a fork and speared a chunk of venison and put it in my mouth.  I could feel the chewy texture.  I could taste the gravy.  As I chewed, the meat tasted gamy and I decided I never did like venison and I spit it out.  Why did I dream about eating venison?  I don't miss meat.  I certainly don't miss eating venison.  I harbor ill feelings toward the deer that ravage my vegetable garden but that is only during the summer.  Earlier that day we did discuss a newspaper article featuring young deer hunters.  Some of the hunters were as young as nine years old.  I would not feel comfortable with a nine year old holding a gun but that is just me.  The most important question is, if I am going to experience the taste and texture of foods when I dream, why can't I dream about french silk pie?

PS I saw a raven today on Bunker Lake Boulevard in Bunker Hills Park.

A Secret Kept

I read A Secret Kept which was written by Tatiana de Rosnay.  This author also wrote Sarah's Key, another good book.  In this story a road is featured.  As a child, Antoine and his sister, Melanie, cross this road every summer while on vacation with their mother, father, grandparents and aunt.  The book is set in France.  For his sister's 40th birthday, he takes her on the same road to the same resort for old time's sake.  And at the end of the story, he rides the road again but this time on the back of his girlfriend's Harley as the tide is coming in.  (It's not often you see or read about a guy on the back of a motorcycle driven by a woman). The road is called "passage du gois."  The road is 4 kilometers long and connects an island on the north of France to the continent, but only when the tide is low.  When the tide is high, the road disappears into the sea.  Along the road are high posts that travelers can climb for safety if they happen to be caught on the road when the tide pulls in.  It's dangerous to be on the road when the tide comes in because the water will sweep you away.  People have lost their lives on this road.  Now I really want to see this road.  Traveling on the "passage du gois"  on a motorcycle would be ideal but I will settle for a car, bus, van or even a bicycle.  Antoine and his sister, Melanie, grow up in a family that doesn't talk very much.  Many things are left unsaid and unexplained.  As Antoine comes to understand his past, his present day relationships with his children and friends improves.  I liked this book a lot.  I could imagine what it is like to be a divorced father of three children working in Paris and trying to make a living.  A good book takes me away (from the frozen tundra) and brings me to a better place.  This was a good book.

Eagles on Ten

Earlier this fall I noticed a bald eagle nest off of Highway 10.  The nest is located in a huge wetland that surrounds Coon Creek as it flows under the highway between Hanson Blvd. and Main Street in Coon Rapids.  If you are heading west on Highway 10, you can see the eagle nest  about .2 of a mile off the road on your right and about .5 miles before you get to Main Street.  Years ago eagles nested in a grove of trees off that same wetland but closer to Hanson Boulevard.  When the city of Coon Rapids decided to develop parts of this wetland (and I don't know how they get away with this because I thought wetlands were protected), they cut down the trees that held the nest.  So the eagles moved to the trees on the other side of the creek.  I have never seen any eagles on the nest.  On days not suitable for riding a motorcycle (which are many) I go by this spot at least twice a day.  Many times the traffic is backed up and I have to keep my eyes on the road.  I can't be focusing on eagle nests or I'd have an accident.  This week a friend of mine saw two eagles in the nest.  She has a teenage daughter practicing her driving skills so she had the time to focus on the nest. 

Pearl Harbor-70 Years Ago

The Signal

Ron Carlson wrote The Signal, a story about Mac and Vonnie. Mac and Vonnie were married but have been separated for a year.  Mac is a ranch hand in Wyoming.  He just got out of jail several weeks ago and is trying to straighten up and fly right.  He stopped drinking and partying and ferrying meth from town to town in Wyoming.  Vonnie, his ex, is with another, more responsible guy now and why she decides to go camping with Mac is beyond my comprehension.  They've gone backpacking in the mountains before.  They like to fish in the glacial lakes.  As they start out camping, it's obvious they are both seriously angry with each other.  Their trip is supposed to be four days long.  Each chapter of the book is another day on the trip and there are a total of six chapters.  I thought this was going to be a novel about relationships but it turned out to be a backward murder mystery.  By  backwards, I mean the murder happens at the end.  The book ends really violently and I was surprised and disappointed.  I really don't like to read about that much violence.  Carlson's descriptions of the mountains, the scenery, the wildlife, and the feelings between an estranged man and woman were good though.  I just didn't like the ending.

100th Concert

Offspring #2 and I went to the 100th annual Christmas concert at St. Olaf College in Northfield.  It wasn't the 100th concert for us; only the 4th or 5th time we've been there.  We started out with lunch at a really good Indian restaurant in town.  Later we headed to the Buntrock Hall.  Lutefisk was served in the dining hall and P.H.E W., did that stink.  It's no wonder there were free breath mints in the lady's room.  That was nasty.  The concert was great.  This one was taped and will be broadcast all over the states for alumni and also on PBS during the Christmas season.  If the concert is taped, you can't clap or talk or cough.  To restrain your hands from clapping after a great song can be really difficult but as the concert goes on, it gets easier and easier.   The audience was encouraged to stand and sing along to several songs.  This gave us a chance to stretch.  I could hear the voices of people singing behind me and holy cow, they were good.  The singers on stage were good.  The orchestra was good.  I sat on the side closest to the tuba player and I paid attention to when he played.  Handbells were used for one song.  Steel drums were used for another.  One song featured a harp.  How often do you get to hear a harp?  Not that often for me.  All those healthy young people singing their hearts out - I had a great time.

A Little Something To Kick Start Your Holiday Spirit

Hallelujah Chorus -Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat 5th Grade - Quinhagak, Alaska

Project Feederwatch Update

Hairy Woodpecker

Hairy woodpecker-2, Downy woodpecker-2, American Crow-2, Northern Cardinal-2, Black Capped Chickadee-6, Junco-3, White Breasted Nuthatch-2

Third Time I Went to The MOU Paper Session

Bell Museum of Natural History

Beaver sitting on tail in diorama

Today a sibling and I went (for the third time) to the Minnesota Ornithological Union's paper session.  For the low price of only $4 ($5 at the door) we got 7 hours of education at the Bell Museum of Natural History on the University of Minnesota campus.  We're right across the street from the armory.  Each talk lasts anywhere from twenty to sixty minutes.  Caroll Henderson organizes this and he keeps us to a tight schedule; limiting the questions and guiding the discussions.  Many of the talks highlighted how much more we know about birds now that we can put little computers on them that register the sunrise and sunset.  The data on the sun rise and sun sets can pinpoint where the bird is as it migrates back and forth.  Telemetry can tell you where birds rest or nest.  Gold winged warblers, for example, were thought to nest only on forest fringes.  Probably bird watchers can find the figety warblers better on forest fringes because we thought wrong.  They also nest inside forests. Common loons dive 60 meters in the Gulf of Mexico and often rest 6 miles off shore in Lake Michigan.  The day was full of fun facts and knowledge about birds.  We brought our own lunch and sat on the wooden benches outside the beaver diorama.  Inside that diorama is a beaver sitting on it's tail.  I guess I figures beavers would lay their tail the other way when they sat down but I have to admit I haven't seen that many beaver sitting.  Most of my observations of beaver are of them swimming.  Late in the afternoon the speaker was from the DNR and he spoke about sandhill crane hunting.  When Minnesota decided to allow sandhill crane hunting last year, many MOU members were not happy.  We really didn't have a clear picture of how many sandhill cranes we have in the state.  Only the most northwestern corner of the state is open to crane hunting. 900 birds were harvested in that small section of the state.  Minnesota is one of the top five states as far as the number of birds harvested.  The speaker said we usually don't know how many of a species we have when they are hunted and there is no law that says we have to know the number.  Only mallards and Canadian geese have population numbers yet we hunt many other species of ducks.  He said the federal government said Minnesota could hunt cranes so the state allowed it to happen but only in the northwest.  The northwestern cranes travel to Texas.  And Texas has plenty of cranes.  The other state cranes travel to Georgia and Florida.  The cranes that fly to the southeast are not hunted.  I had to admire the speaker because he maintained his poise in a unfriendly crowd. He handled the very pointed and sometimes hostile questions well.  We had a good day.  It was fun to see some people I know and catch up again.  I definitely want to go again next year. 

See Their Worried Faces?

My Newest Tree

A few years ago, maybe 5 or more, I was shopping in the garden section of Home Depot.  I looked at the trees on clearance and there I found a river birch clump for $15.  FIFTEEN DOLLARS!  This was an incredible sale. I've always liked birch trees because of their peeling bark.  As a kid I used to stand next to our paper birches.  I was so tempted to peel the bark.  If my Mom saw me even standing close to the tree she'd yell, "Keep your cotton picking hands off the birch tree!"  She knew I was tempted.  I like river birch even more because they are more disease resistant and the bark is orange (my favorite color).  So I grabbed my river bark birch tree clump and put it in my cart.  When I got to my car, I realized it wasn't going to fit so well into a Honda civic.  I wasn't sure it was going to fit at all.  I stood in the parking lot, scratching my head and thinking about it when a car pulled up.  A woman got out of the car with two men.  She said, "That woman needs help getting her tree into her car."  The two men obediently helped me get the tree into the car.  I planted it right away and I must have picked a good spot because it is thriving and growing taller every year. I think it looks so pretty!  I don't know if this photo does it justice but the bark is a earthy, warm and comforting shade of orange.  I think it will look even prettier against the snow.

Remember Alice

Who remembers this childhood song?

"Alice, where are you going?

Upstairs, to take a bath

Alice, with legs like toothpicks

Her neck, like a giraffe

Alice got in the bathtub

Alice pulled out the plug


OH MY GRACIOUS, OH MY SOUL! THERE GOES ALICE DOWN THE HOLE!"

Stream Monitoring

I volunteer for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency by monitoring two streams during the warmer months, mostly May through early October.  One of my spots is on the Rum River at the Pleasant Avenue bridge in Anoka.  You'd be surprised how many people have spotted me there throwing a bucket over the bridge.  My other spot is on Coon Creek in Coon Hollow - a pedestrian bridge just west of East River Road in Coon Rapids.  We supposed to monitor regularly - at least a couple times a year.  I try to get to both spots at least 3 times a month.  I enjoy it.  Taking five or ten minutes to look over a stream, I judge it's appearance, and measure the temperature of the water.  I pull up some water in my trusty metal bucket on a rope and pour it in a 60 centimeter Secchi tube to measure the clarity of the water.  The Rum River is always clearer than Coon Creek.  I estimate whether the stream depth is high, normal or low.  This last measure is a little hard.  On Coon Creek, a homeowner has a hose sticking out of the bank.  I use that hose to measure the depth of the water.  On the Rum River I can see water marks on the cement buttresses of the Highway 10 bridge.  A homeowner has wooden planks on the shore and I use those too.  I always document when I see ducks or geese or swallows or dragonflies.  You can really appreciate a spot when you go back to check on it regularly and notice the changes. I have had people ask me what I am doing.  Kids feel free to ask.  Police officers feel free to ask.  I had one boater (who I didn't notice at first) attempt to pull on my bucket in order to scare me.  Mr. Funny Man.  There are more streams that need monitoring.  You may want to adopt a stream for yourself.  Be a citizen scientist.  The Pollution Control agency will show their appreciation by giving you a t-shirt or cap after you complete and turn in a year of results.  You can see the results of all my work (and all the other stream monitors) by visiting this website: http://cf.pca.state.mn.us/water/cmp/index.cfm

Not Sure How To Handle This

Meredith enjoying a warm, clean coop.

Last Friday I moved Meredith's coop to the winter headquarters.  She is snug against the house and protected from the north winter winds.  I installed the heat lamp and reflective shield so she'll stay warm.  I cleaned out the coop really well and put in lots of fresh wood chips so she will be comfortable in there.  The screws to the coop door were coming loose so I replaced them. I filled up her container of food and noticed she has been eating a lot for just a single chicken.  She's been eating as much as two chickens.  Meredith has always been the biggest chick but even accounting for that, too much chicken feed was being consumed.  Later in the day, when I opened the door to take her picture, I found out why the chicken feed has been going so fast.  She wasn't alone in there.  When I opened the door, a chipmunk burst out of the coop and entered the run.  His cheeks were so full that they bulged out on both sides of his face and almost obscured his eyes.  He was trapped in the run.  This explains why I've been seeing this chipmunk around the house so much this fall.  I know how he gets in.  The coop door stays open so Meredith can get fresh air whenever she wants.  The chipmunk is small enough to get under the house and into the run and from there he can go in and out of the coop at will.  I would think, being a small mammal like a chipmunk with thin skin, I would not dare go into a chicken coop for fear the big bird would peck at me.  Meredith has a good 12 inches on him.  She could take him, who ever he is, Chip or Dale or Alvin.  She didn't seem bothered by him.  So is having a chipmunk helping himself to the chicken feed inside the coop a problem?  Could the chipmunk hurt her or give her a disease?  Will he invite his other chipmunk punks over to party?  Will mice or squirrels follow his example?  Or is this not a problem?  Maybe it's a cool story like the lion laying down with the lamb.  Maybe the chipmunk will ease Meredith's loneliness at spending her first winter alone.  Maybe Meredith and the chipmunk are friends like Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider.  How am I to interfere with friendship between species?  I am just not sure how to handle this.  Suggestions are welcome.

Project Feederwatch Update

Cedar Waxwing

Today was about my best day ever for the project feederwatch.  I had seen cedar waxwings on Friday and I hoped they would come back on the weekend when I could count them.  This morning, a red bellied woodpecker drew my attention.  I stopped my house cleaning chores (no resistance to that) and looked out the window.  The redbellied woodpecker was eating seeds from the feeder.  Up in the branches of the crabapple trees I saw a dozen cedar waxwings.  Bingo!  One flew to the white  oak next to the deck. I tilted my head to look up there and holy smoke, there was a flock!  I counted 27.  I counted again and got 48.  I counted a third time and got 62 cedar waxwings.  It was amazing to see all this life and business in a yard that would typically be dying and sterile at this time of year.  Watching these birds is so cool I don't think I can live without a bird feeder for the rest of my life.  I looked in the pond and saw a dozen waxwings riding the ice floes and drinking water.  Soon I hairy woodpecker came to the suet on the deck.  From the east a downy woodpecker came hopping closer.  The difference in size between the two woodpeckers is easy to see when they are right next to each other.  Before I could finish that thought, a pileated woodpecker clumsily flew in and scattered the woodpeckers and all the other birds away.  The male pileated woodpecker looked over the situation.  Tilting his head from all angles, he eyes the mesh bag of suet.  He looked at how it was attached.  I suspect he wanted to untie the bag and carry it away.  He flew to the post and looked some more.  Eventually he took a peck.  He used too much force and the hanging mesh bag of suet flew around like a tether ball.  It was hilarious.  He looked over the situation for a few minutes and took another peck using much less force this time.  He adjusted his position four times and just couldn't seem to get comfortable.  After about five minutes he flew to my bird feeding post and sampled the suet cake.  He flew into the woods giving that woody woodpecker call as he left.  Results for this weekend:  Pileated woodpecker-1, Hairy woodpecker-2, Downy woodpecker-2, Red bellied woodpecker-1, Black capped chickadee-6, House finch-2, white breasted nuthatch-3, American Crow-3, Blue jay-1,  Cardinal-2, Cedar Waxwing-62, Dark eyed Junco-3

Thanksgiving 2011

Say Cheese!

Now make a funny face.  I think Calvin and Catey win the award on the photo.

Ed King

I read Ed King by David Guterson.  I was expecting something emotional and dramatic and understated like his other books, Snow Falling on Cedars and East of the Mountains.  Instead I got a comedy based on a 5th century BC myth.  I don't want to say which myth this book is based on because when I figured it out, it was a real "Aha!  Holy Crap" moment for me.  So now I know, Guterson is more than a dramatic novelist.  He can be as funny about Washington State as Carl Hiassen is funny about Florida.  Although not what I expected, this was a good book with many interesting characters.

What We Are Thankful For

We had 21 people at our Thanksgiving table.  I set the table for 20.  I guess I forgot to count myself.  Before we eat, we read an alphabetical list of what we are thankful for. Everybody takes a turn reading a letter.  Here is the list:  Armed forces not at home, Being home, Chocolate, Days off (school or work I guess), Everybody/education/evil smurfs, Family/food, Grandma/Grandpa, Health, Insulin, J_____ not being here, Kazoos/kryptonite, Life lessons, Minnesota/Muppets/Mashed potatoes, Nacho cheese, Overstuffed/Oreos, Power of choice/pancreas/propane, Quitting time, Recycling, Sue for dinner  :), Turkey/tryptophan, Uranus, Venus, Watermelon/wellness/water, Xerox machines, Year good (?), and Zebras/zoo/zooboomafoe.  We had a delicious dinner.  Everyone brought something. One the menu was turkey, tofurky, mashed potatoes (blue and white), gravy, 3 kinds of stuffing, coleslaw, french bread, crescent rolls, a fruit basket shaped like a turkey, broccolli rice casserole, cranberries, sweet potatoes, crudites, cheese and crackers, spinach artichoke dip with crackers, hummus, peppermint pretzels, chocolates, apple pie, pumpkin pie, apple/raspberry/rhubarb/strawberry pie, turtle cheesecake, rice krispie bars, brownies, burnt peanuts and honey roasted peanuts.  We forgot to bake the jalapeno cream cheese poppers wrapped in bacon.  I doubt anyone could have fit more food.  I keep a scale in the kitchen.  Several people weighed themselves before and after.  Average weight gain after the meal was between 1 and 2 pounds.  Thanks to everyone who came.  Thanks to all who pitched in getting dinner on the table.  Thanks to everyone who helped clean up too.  We couldn't have done it without you.

Somebody Had a Moment

I have a cramp! I am sad

Someone had a moment during the Thanksgiving celebration and poured out their anguish and torment with the classic chalk/cement sidewalk medium.  I found this artistic endeavor at 11 p.m. when the last of my guests left.  The artwork was situated so people leaving the front door could appreciate it.  I believe most folks left via the garage so they missed it.  I hope the artist found relief.  And by the way, is that an asymmetrical ponytail or a deluge of tears from the right eye only?

Happy Thanksgiving!

(It's my favorite holiday).