Ecuador Day Three

Today we met for breakfast before heading to the airport.  We took a 45 minute flight to Guayaquil and another 2 hour flight to San Cristobal.  This island is the home of the provincial capital, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.  When we got off the plane, the sun was like an assault.  It was hot and sunny.  I could feel the moisture returning to my Minnesota winter withered skin.  We took a bus to a restaurant. Everything here was so different.  The restaurant, like all the shops here, have no windows or doors.  We had a roof but were really outside.  As soon as I sat down I saw a woman get on a motorized scooter at the curb.  A man got on the back of the scooter and she gave him a ride down the street.  You never see a man on the back of a woman's bike in the USA.  Five minutes later she returned her scooter to the same spot without him.  On this island, scooters and motorcycles outnumber cars 50 to 1.  I was very jealous of these two wheeled drivers.  Frigate birds, large black birds with long forked tails, circled the harbor like some beasts out of Jurassic Park.  This island has more sea lions than any other.  They lounged on and under park benches.  After lunch we had a few minutes to go to our hotel rooms and change clothes.  We were going to ride bicycles downhill from the town of La Soledad through the lush highland cloud forest.  We went to the top and looked at a chapel (see picture).  We looked over the coast and saw Kicker Rock which is also known as Las Lobos. It is a huge rock protuding from the ocean and we'll be snorkeling there tomorrow.  Then we rode the bikes downhill.  We stopped several times to look at plants or to hear a story about the place.  We biked about 8 miles to La Loberia beach where the sea lions colonize and raise their young.  We saw yellow warblers, Darwin finches, ruddy turnstones and marine iguanas.  This is mating season for the iguanas so the males are very colorful.  The air at the beach was very refreshing. We were hot after biking all that way.  We stayed at the beach enjoying the scene.  Some sea lions were nursing.  Others were fighting. In the distance, behind the sea lions, we could see surfers riding the waves.  We biked two miles back to town to drop off the bicycles.  Now we had to go to the Galakiwi office to try on wet suits and flippers.  First they get us all hot and sweaty and then they want us to try on rubber suits. My flippers were pink.  On our five snorkeling sessions, I'm sure I got the right flippers.  I never knew if I had the right wet suit or snorkel set but I always got the only pink flippers.  After than we had an hour to walk back to our hotel, change, and meet for dinner.  We met at 7:30 at the Deep Blue restaurant.  On this trip, we usually met at 7:30 and started eating around 8 p.m.  I am used to eating around 6.  And I get hungry around 6.  I never got used to going to bed so soon after eating. This is only the second day and I already feel challenged with all the biking and the walking.  I hope I can keep up with this very active group.

Project Feederwatch

Black Capped Chickadee-4, White Breasted Nuthatch - 3, Junco - 2, American Crow-3

Ecuador Trip Day Two

My friend and I got up and checked with the front desk about canopy tours (zip lining).  The staff at the hotel was not that helpful but a tour guide named Luis was.  He overheard our question and said he would make some calls for us.  He told us to have breakfast and he would be right back with some news.  He came to our table and said that his tour was cancelled so he was free to take us on the canopy tour.  He had another tour guide in Mindo to work with.  He offered us 10 zip lines, lunch, a butterfly garden tour, and an orchid garden tour for $100 each.  He said the place was a hour and a half north of Quito.  He seemed very nice.  He reminded me very much of my twin nephews and was about the same age.  We decided to take his offer.  We hopped into his rented car and headed out of town. Rush hour in Quito is terrible.  Luis said on Mondays, cars with licence plates that end in 0 or 1 are not allowed on the street during rush hour.  On Tuesdays cars with license plates that end in 2 or 3 are not allowed during rush hour, etc.  He also told us that in Ecuador, companies must hire people with disabilities.  4% or more of the employees must have disabilities.  I thought this was an interesting concept.  Luis said the Vice President recently made this a rule.  I can only imagine how that would go over in the USA.  After driving 90 minutes, he said our destination was an hour and a half away.  I think he didn't tell us the real time it took to get there because we wouldn't go.  Aside from that, he was a good guide and did not lead us wrong. We finally arrived in Mindo and met Patricia, the Mindo tour guide.  She took us zip lining.  Luis had never been ziplining before even though he has a degree in tourism.  They hooked us into these harnesses that went around our legs, shoulders and arms.  We had helmets and leather gloves with thick leather sewn across the palm.  Then we had to walk to the first zip line.  I felt strange walking with all this equipment - sorta like wearing a huge diaper.  My friend went first.  I wasn't going first.  I wasn't sure I was going at all.  I told the helpers I was scared.  But I wanted to go before Luis because if he went across and I was the only one left, I probably wouldn't go.  So they hooked me up to the cable and told me to lean back.  I asked about a brake. There are no brakes.  I was really hoping for a brake.  They asked if I was ready.  I said no.  I knew waiting was counterproductive.  So I told them I was ready but I wanted to go slow.  They gave me a slight shove. I SCREAMED the whole way across until I ran out of air.  I was so scared. I was zipping 60 feet above the ground, way above the tree tops.  I came closer and closer to the end platform.  I could see my friend and the other helpers waiting there.  It was coming up fast and I had no brake.  I was going to slam into a tree.  I didn't know they had a side cable attached to the main cable and were prepared to bring me to a gentle stop.  Once my feet were on solid ground I could breathe again.  It was hard but I faced my fear and did it. For the rest of the trip, whenever something scary came up I would think to myself, "It's got to be easier than ziplining."  Anything easier than ziplining can't be hard.  We hiked up to a higher platform in between each zip line.  Hiking up the hill was hard.  My chest was heaving and my heart was pounding. I was really struggling to hike up this hill.  What about all those hours on the elliptical I spent getting ready for this trip?  Why weren't they helping me?  My problem was more about the altitude and the lack of oxygen than physical fitness but I didn't know that until later.  I saw vultures flying across the valley.  I joked about the vultures feasting on a zip line failure but they didn't think I was funny.  Each zipline got easier.  By the tenth one, I was enjoying it.  We had lunch in the town in Mindo after that at the Cafe Chef.  I had a salad of fresh tomatoes, cheese, and fresh oregano.  It was delicious.  After lunch we went to a butterfly garden.  I saw four species of hummingbirds drinking from a feeder.  Inside we saw many species of butterflies.  The photo shows an "Owl Eyed Butterfly" eating mashed banana from my finger.  Can you see the snake face in the right corner of the wing?  We also toured an orchid collection of over 500 species. Some orchids were so small we had to view them with magnifying lenses.  We dropped Patricia off and headed back to town.  We needed to be back by 6 to meet the rest of the tour group going to the Galapagos.  The drive back was shorter than the drive up but we ran into a landslide.  Only one lane could get through the landslide area so we ended up being a half hour late.  Being late was fine because we weren't the last ones to arrive.  We had a lecture on what to expect in the Galapagos.  Because the ecosystems are fragile and the resources are scarce, we needed to be "green" while there.  We were told to use electricity only when necessary.  For example, don't turn on the air conditioning and then go out to eat.  Wait until you are in the room and then turn on the air.  Also all toilet tissue must be placed in a basket beside the toilet, not flushed.  Use bottled water to brush your teeth and for drinking. Leave any warm clothes at the hotel in Quito because there would be no need for warm clothes. Our tour would be working with Galakiwi because in the Galapagos, all tour agencies have to have an island component. After orientation, the group walked to a restaurant 5 minutes away.  I had baked eggplant with mushroom, cheese, tomatoes, onion and squash, cheese empanadas, salad and chocolate cake.  It was delicious.  We walked back to our hotel to pack and rest.  Tomorrow we will be in the islands.

Ecuador Trip Day One

Day One of our trip was spent traveling.  I saw my first bird of the trip inside the airport while waiting to be x-rayed and go through security - an American Tree sparrow.  I had trouble using the check-in kiosk which turned out to be really lucky. The Delta employee who helped me told us our flight would be delayed over 2 hours which would make us miss our connection in Atlanta. She put us on stand-by for an earlier flight.  When we got to the gate, there was a long line of people hoping to get a stand-by ticket but since we got put on the list already, we got on and they didn't.  This was huge because there is only one Delta flight to Quito per day.  We would have missed a whole day in Ecuador if I had been able to use that kiosk by myself.  We talked to some other travelers who were going to the Galapagos.  One woman was a physician going on a National Geographic tour.  We talked about altitude sickness. Quito is over 9,000 feet.   Since I know I get altitude sickness at that height, I had a prescription for Diamox.  The physician said she often prescribes that too but now she prescribes Viagra for altitude sickness.  She said if I felt ill in Quito and happened to see her in town, I should ask for some Viagra.  I don't know if Viagra affects women the same as men, but I'm not interested in trying it while in a foreign country.  Who knows what could happen?  Night fell as we flew south.  I kept track with the traveling map. In my window seat I could see the lights of Tampa, Key West, Havana, and Panama City.  We landed in Quito.  Our driver was there holding a sign with our names on it.  He took us to the Sierra Madre Hotel which was about 20 minutes from the airport.  We went right to bed.  My friend wants to go ziplining tomorrow-crossing the land while harnessed to a steel cable.  I'm not so sure about this.  I have a little fear of heights.  But she really wants to go.  At the very least I can watch her do it.

Amazing!

I have returned from an amazing trip to the Galapagos Islands.  As you can see I really got into the giant tortoises.  I am a physically worse for the wear (sun poisoning, bumped and bruised) but I feel refreshed, rejuvenated, educated, inspired, appreciated, challenged, grateful and downright lucky.  I learned that over a million people visit the Hawaiian Islands every year and less than 100 thousand visit the Galapagos Islands.  I hiked, snorkeled,  biked, and kayaked.  The name of the travel agency was Active South America; not easy going South America.  They kept us busy from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.  We had almost no down time for the 10 days we were there.  The twelve people on the trip came from various backgrounds and age groups.  Of them all, I think I was the one who had traveled the least.  We got to know each other very well.  Helping each other into wet suits on a rocking boat allowed us to get to know each other quickly.  Many trip members agreed that the group dynamic was the favorite part of the trip.  I know I will miss them all.  My favorite part was our guide, Pablo.  He was a biologist and environmental educator.  He had a passion for nature.  He knew every bird I pointed out.  He knew geology, taxonomy, fish, mammals, and environmental science.  If we stumped him with a question it was only a couple of times and he looked up the answer.  He had incredible patience and energy and people skills.  I will blog each day of the trip separately.  For today, I am still catching up my rest.  After 10 days of being on a tour, I am finding it hard to make decisions for myself.  I guess I got used to being told what to do.

A Little Hiatus

I'll be taking a little break from this blog.  Click on this link to view my itinerary: 

http://www.activesouthamerica.com/itineraries-tortuga.php

I'm heading out to the other side of the earth. I am chasing summer. Adios!

Project Feederwatch Update

Red bellied woodpecker- 2, Downy Woodpecker-2, Crow-3, Blue Jay-1, White breasted nuthatch-2, Black capped chickadee-4

Absconded

I always do my Project Feederwatch on weekends.  Weekends are the only days I am home during daylight hours to watch for birds. It's dark when I leave and dark when I get home.  Darkness is the reason why I don't know which day my bird feeder system failed again.  If you remember, I strung a cord from a tree across my yard to a pole on my deck.  I suspended a platform feeder from the cord.  I had a peanut feeder but the delinquent squirrels took it apart. They actually peeled the wire off the side of the feeder.  I jury-rigged that with some floral wire and put it back on.  On either side of the feeder I had squirrel deterrents such as lengths of PVC pipe, aluminum pie plates, and empty soda bottles.  When the squirrels tried to traverse the cord, the bottles and pipe would spin around.  Last weekend the system was up and working. Some of the more acrobatically talented squirrels got on the feeder but not all.  When I went to investigate why the cord was down, I saw the squirrels had bitten through the cord.  Dastardly beasts.  I restrung the feeder and added more deterrents.  This time I added a larger soda bottle and even a half-gallon milk bottle.  I would just like to see a squirrel hang onto the sides of a milk jug when it spins.  I tied a knot in the cord and just in front of the knot I added a square 18 inch piece of Plexiglas.  When the rope broke, some of the equipment scattered.  I knelt in the snow searching for my bird feeding equipment.  My peanut feeder is missing.  The squirrels absconded with it.  They probably thought, "Why fill our cheeks with nuts and make many trips when we have this handy dandy container to carry peanuts to our hidey-hole?"  I cannot believe the nerve of these squirrels.  Next year I'm changing plans.  I'll put a platform feeder on a pole instead.  I might use a wide piece of PVC pipe for the pole or a thinner pole with an upside-down metal bucket or piece of stove pipe on it. 

Evolution

I was speaking with a lady a couple weeks ago about the Galapagos Islands.  She had never heard of them.  I explained about the Galapagos tortoises, Charles Darwin, and the theory of evolution.  She had heard about the tortoises but not Charles Darwin.  She said, "I don't really believe in evolution, do you?"  I said I did.  She asked me why and I was temporarily taken aback.  I stuttered, "It's a pretty well established theory." I told her about the tortoises and how the shells were different on each island. If the vegetation was low, the shell was rounded behind the head.  If the vegetation was at a higher level, the shell had a notch behind the head so the tortoise could stretch it's head up to reach the food.  She answered, "Well, if humans came from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?"  She had a good question even though I wanted to slap her.  I changed the subject but the question has been nagging me.  Darwin says that species change gradually.  Some species thrive because they can adapt to their environment.  If they adapt enough, they have more offspring than the ones who don't adapt.  The favorable traits are passed on.  In the case of monkeys, some monkeys adapted and passed on traits that lead to human development.  Other monkeys did not adapt.  Just because some monkeys adapted does not mean all the other species of monkeys went extinct.  Monkeys exist because they had no enemies and did not need to adapt.  I am sure to learn more about Darwin and evolution and ecology on this trip. 

Hotel Sierre Madre

Here is a picture of the hotel we will stay for the first two nights in Quito.  The Hotel Sierre Madre.  It's going to be warm there and the air will smell alive.  Unlike here where the air freezes the hairs inside your nose. All week long I've put off shoveling the snow thinking I could just drive over it.  An inch here. An inch there.  Tonight all the inches added up and the driveway needed to be shoveled.  The Honda just wasn't going to be able to plow through it anymore.  95 minutes later I was done.  I tried to pretend the snow was sand and the air was warm but it didn't work. Who would shovel all that sand?  Most of my neighbors plow their driveways and push the snow across the road into the lawn of the person across the street.  for some odd reason, I decided I wanted to do this too.  I took my deluxe 21 inch snow pusher and pushed snow across the street three times.  That way I didn't have to lift it.  Plus once I got onto the street, it was real easy to push because the street was already plowed.  This winter has been a Winter; a back to the 60's winter; a winter to remember; and a winter to forget.  Can't wait to escape.  It will still be January when I return but there won't be much of it left.

Courage - Do I Have Enough?

This week I've seen examples of courage.  One of my former girl scouts has a facebook page of herself riding a camel in Turkey.  She is on a BIG camel and you can see ancient buildings in the background.  I think it takes courage to study in Turkey and to ride camels.  Offspring #2 blogged about her experience riding elephants in Thailand. Studying in Thailand takes courage.  Traveling to the golden triangle (where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet) takes courage.  But what really took courage is crossing the river on a swing bridge made of rope and slats of wood.  She has a fear of bridges. Walking over any bridge is hard for her.  She held onto the side ropes which were swarming with ants.  She had the courage it took to cross that bridge.  A week from today my traveling companion wants to go zip lining in Quito, Ecuador.  We have a day in Quito to do things before our tour starts.  I've never zip lined before.  I've seen kids at a playground at Elm Creek Park zip across dangling from a bar and that looked very dangerous. Those kids zipped by at a high speed into a bar.  Many of them ended up falling into the sand.  I don't want to do that.  They were going way too fast.  And they had only their arm strength to keep them on.  I've heard canopy zip lining is different.  You wear a harness.  You have safety equipment.  You go at a safer speed.  Can I do it?  I don't like all heights.  I don't like unsafe heights.  Many times I got on my roof by putting the step ladder on top of the picnic table.  I hated that.  But once I'm on the roof, I'm okay.  I won't climb a forest tower that is swaying back and forth in the wind but I have climbed other towers.  I can climb trees.  I can stand on the edge of a cliff.  Do I have enough courage to zip line?  By this time next week, I'll know.

Resolved to Pay Attention

I'm counting down to my trip to the Galapagos (six).  I'm packing and mentally rehearsing how things are going to happen.  And I had to chuckle when I thought about one of my plane trips last year. I was flying from Denver to Minneapolis.  Or maybe it was San Diego to Denver; I don't remember.  I do remember being seated next to a pilot.  He was fully dressed in his pilot uniform.  The flight attendant took extra care of him.  He went to sleep on the flight.  We shared the armrest on my right and he had the window seat.  I had a cold and wasn't at my best. It's no excuse for what I did though.  When I went to bring my seat to a forward position, I used the wrong button and brought HIS seat to a forward position.  Snap!  He went from asleep to sitting straight up with his eyes open and confused.  "Oh," I said, "Did I do that?"  He blinked a couple times, reclined his seat, and went back to sleep without saying a word.  I, however, felt terrible for waking a pilot and inexplicitly got a bad case of the giggles.  My shoulders were shaking.  My eyes were watering.  He looked so surprised when he woke up. I tried not to laugh but the more I tried to suppress it, the faster the giggles came rolling out.  I did not want him to know I was giggling over my mistake.  I thought he might feel the seat shaking.  "Quick," I thought to myself, "Think about your Grandma. She's dead.  Your other Grandma is dead too."  Thinking sad thoughts was not working so I stood up and went to the restroom.  In that tiny metal room, I composed myself and got rid of all the giggles.  On this trip, I will PAY ATTENTION to which buttons are mine. I think I asked for all window seats so it should be easier.

The Winter of Our Discontent

My book club read The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck this month.  The book takes place from Easter to the 4th of July in 1960 so it really isn't about winter but it definitely is about discontent.  When reading the book you'd think it was about twenty years prior because the main character, Ethan, and his family, do not have a television or a car. The book is about integrity (or lack of) and the moral decline in the USA.  Ethan's wife and kids complain that they don't have the things other families have.  Ethan, a grocery clerk who graduated from Harvard and who's ancestors were wealthy, feels the sting of their complaints; their discontent.  He makes choices that achieve his goals but he feels regret.  It's a sad story.  I finished the book about 9:30 p.m. and then went to bed. That was not a good idea.  If you read the book, finish it earlier so you have time for some comedy before you retire for the day.  I loved the relationship between Ethan and his wife.  Their love probably reflects Steinbeck's happiness in his third marriage.  Ethan has new sweet names for his wife almost every day.  Ethan's teenage son is a brat; plain and simple.  His youngest child, the daughter, is wise and insightful beyond her years.  Margy, the town slut, is another interesting character.  Even though she is a friend of Ethan's wife, she tries to lure him into her bed. Unlike Steinbeck's other great novels that I've read, this one is not set in California.  This story takes place in a harbor town on the East Coast.  If you are in the mood for a sad story, read The Winter of Our Discontent.  Find out if Ethan falls into Margy's spell and why he has so many regrets.  It's a good story.

Hilarious British Animal Voiceovers

Corn Is Keeping Me Warm

I know I've complained before on this blog about my cold office.  Today I got a new solution.  A friend of mine at work gave me a bag of corn.  Her Mom made her several hand-sewn bags of dried corn.  The fabric looks like wool to me.  She advised me to put it in the microwave for 3 to 5 minutes.  I put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and set it on the floor.  I took off my shoes and wrapped my geriatric lap blanket around my legs and put my stockinged feet on the bag of hot corn.  Awwwww!  Toasty, blessed warmth.  The bag had a slight odor of corn but it wasn't too bad.  I stayed warm with my bag of corn for a full hour. My desk is in a "U" shape.  When I had to move to another side of the desk I just pinched my bag of corn with my feet and took it along with me.  If my feet are warm, the rest of me can stay warmer too.  On Sunday I ordered an electric throw on-line.  I didn't know I was going to get a bag of corn.  So soon I will have two ways to stay warm at work.  I wonder which one (electric throw or bag of corn) will use less electricity?  Will running the microwave on high for three minutes equal an hour of electric throw use?  I had to use something.  I can't be productive at work when I am shivering.  I already wear three long sleeved shirts.  If I wear any more, I won't be able to bend my arms to type.

Project Feeder Watch

Black capped Chickadee-5, White breasted Nuthatch-2, Downy Woodpecker-2, Red bellied woodpecker-1, Pileated woodpecker-1, Northern Cardinal-2, Crow-2

Cold Birding Trip

Every year for the past dozen or so years a friend have I have a winter tradition.  When it's my birthday, I get to choose an activity and when it's her birthday (February) she gets to choose an activity. This year I chose a bird trip down by her house.  We had lunch at Panera and then met a group of birders at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife refuge in Shakopee near the intersection of Hwy. 169 and County Road 18.  I think it's called the Wilkie Unit.  Unlike other bird trips I've been on, we went a long time before we saw any birds, we walked a long distance, and the footing was treacherous.  A national ranger was our guide.  He hoped we would see three things - a shrike, a long-eared owl, and a harlequin duck.  We saw a lot but we didn't see any of the three he mentioned.  He took us through some woods near the parking lot where the owls and shrike hang out.  We hiked through the woods down to a lake.  Sometimes the snow was shallow and the walking was easy. Sometimes the snow had a hard crust on it and we could walk on top.  Other times the crust was strong enough and we would step, step, sink.  Step, step, sink.  That is exhausting!  I stayed in the footprints of the person ahead of me.  I had to really concentrate on where I was walking because you never knew which direction your ankle would roll.  Sometimes I am sure I looked like I had been drinking too much as I tried to keep my balance.  I never looked up when I was walking until the entire group stopped.  At one point another birder chided the three of us at the end for not keeping up.  I had no idea we were behind.  I had my eyes on the feet of the woman ahead of me.  I'm glad it was her fault and not mine.  We hiked to a lake that was partially kept open by the warm water coming out of the Blue Lake water treatment facility.  We saw a trumpeter swan who seemed to be struggling.  The swan had blood on it's back. Was it attacked by a fox?  We saw a couple bald eagles across the huge valley sitting in a tree.  Many mallards flew overhead.  We saw one rock pigeon.  Our guide led us up a hill to a fenced in pond.  The Blue Lake water treatment plant was fenced in.  Inside the pond were a dozen or more small fountains of water bubbling inside the acre sized body of water.  We saw many mallards, gold eyed ducks, ring necked duck, canvasback ducks, gadwall (see photo), common merganser, hooded merganser, and some lesser scaup.  Gadwalls are pretty ducks; neutral yet attractive in shades of brown and gray.  We stood at the fence for a long time.  The ranger and another birder had scopes so we could see the ducks close up.  They looked happy out there. We were cold watching but they looked comfortable.  They had plenty of food to eat and were safe from hunters.  I thought it was ironic that we had this huge wildlife refuge to look at and most of the bird action was inside the fence of the water treatment facility.

Sa-Nap!

My office is very cold at work and I have to wear a lap blanket to keep warm.  The lap blanket is probably why every time I left my office today I got a shock when I touched the door handle. You can actually hear the snap when I get the shock. If I remember, I shut the door by firmly grasping my papers and using them to touch the door.  Usually I don't remember.  If this day was six months prior or in the future, I wouldn't be riding to and from work with my headlights on. I wouldn't be getting shocked when I touch door handles.  I wouldn't be spending time putting on my winter overcoat, boots, gloves and scarf.  I might  spend time putting on my motorcycle jacket, boots, gloves and helmet.  I might be able to let the chickens roam around the yard when I got home.  I might be able to spend a few minutes after dinner pulling weeds in the garden or sitting on the swing and watching the birds fly by.  The harsh weather doesn't matter that much because in eleven days I'll be leaving for the southern hemisphere where I'll be snorkeling with sea lions and visiting the Charles Darwin center in the Galapagos Islands.  I was thinking about my vacation today and I felt like skipping instead of walking.  Arthritis kept me from skipping but I think I did strut just a little. 

The Reader

Bernhard Schlink wrote The Reader and it was translated by Carol Brown Jakeway.  Bernhard is a German law professor and judge. He wrote the book in 1995.  The book was made into a movie by the same name starring Kate Winslet.  The story is told by the character Michael Berg.  He starts out as a 15 year old who is recovering from a long illness.  He meets a street car conductor named Hanna.  Although twenty years his senior, she becomes the woman in his life that he cannot get over.   The story deals with the Holocaust.  New for me was Germans writing about their parents who were adults during the Holocaust and judging their parents on what they did or did not do.  I'm curious to read more about the Holocaust now.

End of Moratorium on Yarn Buying

Finally.  After two years, the sweater I have been working on is finished.  Does it look ok?  I think it's wearable at least.  It doesn't look like the directions.  On the directions the left front was the same length as the right front.  On the directions the top button came together at the neck instead of three inches lower.  On the directions the sleeves came to the wrist instead of past the fingers.  I have the sleeves rolled up for the photo. I wore it one day.  Many people said, "Nice sweater."  It really makes you wonder what people mean when they say "Nice sweater."  But it's done and I'm wearing it because it's very warm.  As a self-discipline method, I have not allowed myself to buy any yarn until this project was finished.  Now the moratorium on yarn buying is off.  (Rubs palms together)  What will be my next knitting project?  Definitely not a sweater!

Resolutions for 2011

For your viewing pleasure - a photo of some lilies Offspring #1 bought for me.  He knows orange is my favorite color.

Like most everybody, I've made New Year resolutions before.  In past years I have resolved to go deeper into debt, gain 10 pounds, and date fewer underwear models. This year my resolution is different.  And I am willing to make it public. This year I resolve to make a list of every bird I see.  So far this year I've seen nine.  If I keep up at this pace, I'll end up with over 700 birds by the end of the year.  No, I'm kidding.  I don't expect to see over 200 in Minnesota and maybe another fifty in the Galapagos Islands.  If I get to 250 by December, 2011, I will be very pleased.  I have a little notebook I am keeping with me to write down the birds I see.  And I am not going to include canary or chickens. 

Sunday Road Trip to View Trumpeter Swans in Monticello

On Sunday afternoon, offspring #2 and I took a road trip to see the trumpeter swans in Monticello.  If you have never been there, you really should go.  I like to take the back roads through Elk River and Otsego and then follow the river up to Monticello.  Just before you get to town, when the speed limit goes down to 40 mph, the woods open up on the right and you can see the river clearly.  Stop and park there for a few minutes.  Take out your binoculars. You might think you are looking at white clumps of ice floating down river but they might be huge trumpeter swans.  This is a good spot too see a few trumpeters in a natural looking setting.  Their seven foot wingspan is pretty impressive when you see them come in for a landing.  When you are done looking there proceed up to the first road on the right.  Travel down that road for about a mile until you come to Trumpeter Swan Park on the right.  Now they have a few parking spaces available in this riverside park that is the size of a small city lot.  Be prepared to be amazed by the sounds when you open your car door. Trumpeters are loud birds.  And there is about 100 trumpeters trumpeting. They trumpet and the Canadian geese and mallards chime in.  It's very loud.  Besides the ducks, geese and Trumpeters, we saw a few tundra swans as well.  The tundra swans have a yellow spot above their eyes.  If you want, you can contribute to feeding the swans by putting a few dollars in the collection box.

Project Feederwatch Update

White Breasted nuthatch-3, Black capped chickadee-6, Red bellied woodpecker-1, Downy woodpecker-3, American Crow-2

Soak-a-Squirrel, It's Like Whack-a-Mole

See the expression of joyful satisfaction on this kid's face as he (or is it a she?) holds the super soaker?  I had that exact same look on my face yesterday.  A squirrel had climbed onto the tightrope that holds my bird feeder. He had just gotten over the pie plate deterrent when I opened the door and cocked my super soaker.  He landed on the pop bottle that I threaded over the rope and spun around quickly three times before changing plans and heading back toward the deck.  Since he was coming away from the bird feeder I didn't soak him even though he was coming closer to me.  I held my fire, I mean water, and allowed him back on the deck.  He hid behind a big flower pot.  I aimed my super soaker at where the spot I thought he was and waited. I was a sniper; a super soaker sniper.  After a few seconds, he popped his little head around the corner of the flower pot to look at me and BLAMMO!  I squirted him in his little squirrel face.  At that moment I saw, out of the corner of my eye, another squirrel land on the deck railing to my left.  A good super soaker sniper is not troubled by tunnel vision in the heat of battle.  With the same stream of water, I wetted the squirrel to my left.  Two!  Two gray squirrels were dampened with the same shot.  I am a super super-soaker sniper.

Abomindable Snowman?

Does this look like an abominable snowman to you?  It's HUGE. It's not as high as a two story house as it looks like in the picture but it is higher than the first story.  Those arms are made out of lawn rakes, the eyes are pie plates, the nose is a funnel and I think the mouth is a black frisbee. The snowman is located directly across from my parent's house.  If they look out their picture window, this is what is looking back at them. I understand two girls made this with the help of a ladder.  I think it looks a little menacing; cool, but menacing. 

Christmas Angel

This is a photo taken by my sibling of the angel my mother received when she was three years old for reciting the "Hail Mary" prayer correctly.