Goats That Sound Like Humans

Third Frog and Toad Survey

On Friday night we went on the third and final frog and toad survey of 2013.  Starting about 9:10 pm and finishing 2 hours later we heard only two species; gray tree frogs and American toads.  We heard the gray tree frogs at every stop and the toads at half of the 10 stops.  The frogs and toads were not very loud tonight.  Or maybe the drizzling rain and the persistent whine of mosquitoes in our ears drowned out some of the croaking. The highlight of our evening was not mosquitoes, rain, frogs nor toads. The fire flies were out of this world.  Standing on a gravel road in the dark looking out over a sedge pond for five minutes at a time, hundreds of fire flies lit up the sky.  Some fire flies blinked on and off while appearing to hover in the same spot.  Other fire flies kept their lights on longer while arching up higher forming a Nike swoosh above our heads.  The fire flies were dazzling.  What was this natural splendor in the mosquito ridden swamps?  A natural rave party?  If a rave is a boisterous party involving amplified music and a light show, the gray tree frogs, American toads and pesky mosquitoes were the amplified music and the fire flies were the light show.  Some fireflies in tropical regions coordinate their light displays.  Here, in the marshes of Kennebec County, the fireflies light displays appear random yet splendid.   

Annoyed Myself Again

Today at work I got to my office late.  After a meeting in Anoka I made it to my office in Blaine just in time for a 9 o'clock meeting.  By 10:15 I had time to sit down at my desk and start working.  I kept hearing this annoying sound repeating and repeating itself.  My work neighbor has a radio playing but this sound was not his radio.  I put up with it for a half hour but then it started driving me buggy.  I stood up to investigate.  Was someone sitting outside my window playing a video game?  No.  The sound was not as loud outside my office.  Finally I figured it out.  Sometime on my commute this morning I accidentally hit a button that turned on a "Checkered Flag" game and the theme song was playing.  Zipped snugly inside my green vest the phone wasn't playing very loudly.  I know it played for at least an hour and 45 minutes; possibly longer.  I hate it when I annoy myself.

Uncle John

When I was a kid, it was  a big treat if our family went to Uncle John's Pancake House for a meal.   Uncle John's was just a few miles from our house.  Our hostess gave all the kids a mustache to wear.  I'd put my mustache on immediately.  Made out of black cardboard and pinching the cartilage between my nostrils, I'd wear it until the cardboard softened and wouldn't hang on to me anymore.  I think the servings were smaller than what you'd get at IHOP or Perkins today.  I can't remember what I ate then or if I even had a choice in the matter.  But if I was to go there now I think I would order either the whole wheat pancakes for 75 cents or the potato pancakes for 65 cents.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island is the smallest state and not actually an island.  The town of Newport, however, is on an island and it is called Rhode Island.  To reach Newport you need to cross the water.  The bay bridge - as shown here in this sunset photo - has a $4 toll.  Another bridge has a $6 toll.  Or you can go the back way and not pay any toll at all but it will take you a long time driving through the small towns at 25 mph speed limits.  Newport is a crowded tourist town like Stillwater or Duluth but more hoity toity.  Parking for dinner costs $10.  Using a beach costs $10.  Using the binocular scope on the jetty costs 50 cents.  Newport is for the rich and the famous.  You can spend days touring the mansions on the cliff walk.  We saw lots of yachts.  Most yachts have an inflatable little boat to get to and from the shore.  One yacht we saw had a helicopter on it.  I saw a couple working boats loaded with lobster traps but most were pleasure boats.  I saw lots of nautical clothing.  I was glad I brought my navy blue and white striped top.  I fit right in wearing it.  Most of the yards we saw showed evidence of manual labor.  The hedges were trimmed neatly.  Annual flowers spilled over the tops of tubs.  The tiny grass yard were neatly mowed.  The streets are narrow and complicated.  Parking usually costs money unless you are a resident.  We didn't see many chain restaurants.  We saw chain stores such as Coldwater Creek and Talbots but no Walmarts. Newport - it's a town to see but I wouldn't want to live there.

Graduation Day Office Supply School

Graduation day in Newport was sunny and bright.  All these clean white uniforms are blinding.

Pretty cool, huh?

Offspring #1 graduated from officer supply school.  As a mom, today was another awesome day for me.  It really doesn't get any better than this.

The Smallest State

Rhode Island is the smallest state and that is where I am now for Offspring #1's graduation from officer supply school.  This the the harbor in downtown Newport.

The cliff walk is a popular tourist attraction - a path along the cliff past many mansions.

These are big mansions.

Newport is very scenic.  If the waves hit the rocks at the bottom of the cliff just right they make a whooshing sound.

The Girl With No Shadow

I am in the process of reading a trilogy backwards.  I started out with Peaches For Father Francis.  Now that I have finished The Girl With No Shadow I will next read Chocolat, all written by Joanne Harris.  I love these books.  In this book the story is told by three people; Yanne (aka Vianne), Annie (aka Anouk), and Zosie. Zosie is the villain in the book although she is not totally villainous and we don't really know what she wants until the end of the story.  She helps Yanne and she tries to hurt Yanne.  Zosie is manipulative and magical.  At the top of each chapter is a little drawing of a sun, a moon and a cat.  Not until the end of the book did I realize that the drawing indicated which character was telling the story.  Slow learner I guess. I just don't pay attention to little things like that but I think it would have been helpful to catch on to that more quickly.  Sometimes I had to read a paragraph or two to know who was talking. Each book in this series is a stand alone book.  You don't have to read them in order to appreciate the characters.  I like the description of Paris, of the chocolate shop, and the Christmas party where all the conflict comes to a head.  This was a great story and I can't wait to start the next one.   

Relationships

Last weekend I went to a family get together. We were saying goodbye and good luck to a young man on his way to army boot camp.  We sat outside enjoying a good meal, the company, the sunshine and the fresh air.  We heard the arrival of another aunt, uncle and cousin.  I happened to be looking at the young man's face as we heard them arrive.  Across his face a look of pure, unadulterated, supreme joy shined so bright I was taken aback.  It's an honor to have loved ones attend your boot camp going away party.  He felt honored.  I felt lucky to be present for that momentary feeling.  And if it's true that your life flashes before your eyes when you die, I hope the happy look on his face is one of the moments I review before I go.

 

"Treasure your relationships, not your possessions."  Anthony J. D'Angelo

My Amazing Friend Barrel Racing!

Frog and Toad Survey #2

On Friday night a sibling and I along with her husband went on the second frog and toad survey.  We started about sunset or 9 p.m. and finished at 10:41 p.m.  Rain feel lightly at a couple spots. We saw lightning and much later heard thunder but none of the storms were close.  The air was warm and humid. We heard six species of frogs; spring peepers (photo), chorus frogs, gray tree frogs, American toads, wood frog and green frog.  The water levels were high and at one stop water lapped at both sides of the road.  The lightening bugs were out.  At one stop we found a larva with it's rear end glowing in the dark.  Thank god for small favors, I may have problems but at least my a$$ doesn't glow in the dark.  At the stop where we smelled a skunk and heard a crazy loon chorus on the first survey, this time we heard a hissing in the reeds not too far away from the road.  What kind of animal would hiss at us after we were standing there for four minutes?  A skunk?  A goose?  Everything gets a little spooky when you're standing on a deserted road in the dark listening for sounds.  I keep telling myself swamp monsters aren't real. Swamp monsters aren't real.  Swamp monsters aren't real.  And swamp monsters probably would not hiss.  If anything, a swamp monster would moan.  If I ever hear a moan out there on a frog and toad survey, I'm getting in the car and locking the doors.

Flower Tour of Yard

Iris from paternal grandfather.

Bridal Veil Bush

The flowers smell good too.

Fresh growth on the white pine.

This evergreen looks healthy.

If it didn't look funny I would tape a lily of the valley to my upper lip and wear it all day.  Love their smell.

Healthy crop of sensitive fern.

I don't know the name of this flower.

Wild columbine.

Plenty of milkweed plants in my yard this year!

Little Red Stroller

My sibling sent me a photo of a snapping turtle this week and that triggered a memory for me. When Offspring #1 was small, we purchased a red umbrella stroller to push him around.  Unlike this google image of a red stroller, our stroller was red plaid.  It had a very simple in design.  The red stroller folded up easily with a kick at the bar in the back  and I kept it in the trunk of my car.  We went everywhere with this red stroller; through fields, across small creeks, into the woods, and across busy intersections.  One sunny day I took Offspring #1 on a walk down a mowed path from a farm house down to a lake near Underwood, Minnesota.  This was a mile walk to the lake. He was about 5 months old.  About halfway to the lake he got a little fussy.  I took him out of the stroller and held him on my shoulder while I continued to push the stroller with my other hand.  As soon as I started to proceed with him on my shoulder a HUGE snapping turtle came out of the tall grasses on to the mowed section and snapped at the front wheels of the stroller.  I got so scared.  If Offspring #1 had been in the stroller I don't think the turtle could have reached his feet because his little legs weren't long enough to bend or hang down over the seat of the stroller.  But still, having a snapper attack my child's stroller totally freaked me out.  A couple months later I had Offspring #1 in the stroller again only this time it was at the county fair in Wadena, Minnesota.  I was getting frustrated by the piles of sand.   When the front wheels ran into sand piles, they turned sideways and I couldn't proceed.  A man was walking a bull around the fairgrounds selling tickets to guess the weight of the bull.  I saw him walking the bull.  Sometimes he was walking the bull and sometimes the bull was walking him.  The man with the bull made me nervous because he wasn't in control of his animal.  And the bull made me nervous because he was huge and I had a vulnerable baby with me.  When people stopped to give him money and fill out a piece of paper guessing the weight, they would often have to walk along with him and bull because the bull wouldn't stop to wait.  With my precious child in the red stroller, I thought it best to put some distance between the bull and us.  I turned down a side street.  The bull followed.  I turned again.  The bull followed again.  This was getting personal. I wasn't enjoying the fair at all. The friend I was with wasn't concerned about the bull. She wanted to look at stuff.  I couldn't do that with a bull following us. I had to keep walking so fast that I couldn't look at the things we were passing. The wheels of the stroller kept getting stuck in the sand piles slowing us down.  I knew I could go faster if I pulled the stroller behind me instead of trying to push it but I wanted to keep my body between my baby and the bull.  Despite the fact that the streets were crowded with people and we could have been lost in the crowd, the bull followed us around yet another corner.  I had to watch where I was going but glancing back I thought the bull might be picking up speed.  His handler seemed to be more flustered.  Was it time to panic?  I saw a building we could enter up ahead.  I went in there.  If the bull followed us into the building, then I knew it was time to panic.  We went into the building and stayed inside for at least 15 minutes.  The bull didn't come in but I was still nervous about it.  We didn't stay long at the fair in Wadena and I never saw the bull again.  In subsequent years I was asked if I wanted to go to the county fair in Wadena and I always declined.  As Offspring #1 grew older we took that red stroller down the trails of many state parks. We'd walk to parks in our neighborhood.  I used it in stores.  Sometimes I pushed it through snow and sometimes through mud. It was impossible to push it down paths strewn with wood chips like those at Springbrook Nature Center but it rolled along just fine on the floating wooden walkways. By the time Offspring #2 arrived the red fabric was faded and worn at the edges but it still worked.  We put a lot of miles on that red stroller; gravel roads, tarred roads, sidewalks, and plowed fields. I had a tendency to go on walks that were too long for Offspring #1 so sometimes he sat in the stroller with Offspring #2 on his lap. One fall day, when Offspring #1 was  7 years old and Offspring #2 was 3, we walked to the Dairy Queen and a local store.  On the way back Offspring #1 sat in the stroller with his sister on his lap.  A bag of merchandise dangled from one handle bar.  I pushed the red stroller with both kids in it  The wind was cold and our cheeks were red.  By the time we got home the fabric on the seat had split where it covered the frame.  It was time to face the facts.  The red stroller, conveyor of many happy memories, travel appliance of numerous country and city miles, and protector of small children from snapping turtles and bulls, was worn out.  I was sad to throw it away.  The retirement of the red stroller marked the end of an era.  My children were growing up.

5:15 and 5:39

At 5:15 a.m. and 5:39 a.m. a red fox came by and tried to get into the chicken coop.  I don't have to get up until 6 a.m. and the coop is right outside my bedroom window so I wasn't too happy about this.  I yelled out the window and saw the fox ignore me as it stood on TOP of the chicken run.  If a fox tried long enough I think it could break the chicken run or dig under it and get in.   So I put some clothes on and went outside to chase it away.  And then I was really UNHAPPY when I had to do that a second time.   I understand the fox is hungry. I wish it would go find a bunny.

Prairie Silence

My book club read Prairie Silence this month.  We invited the author, Melanie Hoffert, to attend our meeting.  My first impression was favorable. We wore the same sandals (hers-red, mine-black).  Her book, a memoir, was a good read although she is pretty young to be writing a memoir.  One person can write one, maybe two memoirs in a lifetime.  Her story is about silence. Growing up in a small town in North Dakota, she heard a lot of silence.  Farming is like that.  You work, you eat, you work, you sleep and you work some more.  Farmers do not have the time nor the energy to talk about feelings.  Feelings are stifled because nature will eventually take care of things like the crops and your life.  It has taken Melanie a long time to be comfortable in her own skin.  She kept silent about many things.  Given the recent decision by the North Dakota legislature to reject a measure that would have made sexual orientation discrimination illegal, we can see why she kept silent.  She admitted she was nervous coming to our book club.  At first taken aback, I thought about it.  Here she is, an openly gay author, coming to a home in Ham Lake (deep in the heart of Michelle Bachman territory) with about 30 older people in the room.  Yes, that would be intimidating. Several people shared stories about their children being gay and eventually the room relaxed.  She could relax because we weren't silent.  We shared our feelings.  In her book she shares her doubts about her faith and her religion.  I really enjoyed our book club meeting this month.  Meeting the author was really an inspiring evening.  She was very gracious and the discussion went really well.

A Good Friend

A great friend of mine said last week, "Why don't I come over on Monday afternoon?  We can visit.  I'll bring a spinach pie for supper."  I readily agreed to this wonderful plan.  All weekend, whenever a tough moment came up, I remembered - I'm having spinach pie on Monday.  She came.  She brought a homemade spinach pie (see photo).  She cut a smiling face into the top pie crust.  We talked for five hours; heart to heart.  We laughed.  We ate delicious spinach pie.  She left me three big pieces of pie for lunches this week.  I feel like a rich woman.  I may not have the nicest house or an expensive car.  I buy my clothes off the clearance rack and the store brand frozen vegetables.  But I have friends who have my back and that makes me enviable.

Why Not Wear a Hoodie and Jeans?

I couldn't sleep last night so I watched part of an old movie.  Television often puts me into a semi-sleep state.  This movie about Sinbad and the slave girl with an eye tattooed on her hand did not put me to sleep.  Look at this girl. They're going on a dangerous voyage to a dangerous island.  They are fearful of dangerous creatures.  They walk slowly and are hyper vigilant.  And that is the outfit she wears?  Are you kidding me?  Why not wear a hoodie and a pair of jeans?  Protect yourself!  This slave girl is not a resilient person.  In fact, she is more like a possum than a woman.  When the centaur grabs her, what does she do?  She faints dead away and stays in the fainted state while the centaur picks her up and carries her away.  Even a possum would have woken up when laid down on some rocks for a few minutes while the centaur was busy.  But not her, she stays in the faint.  Ridiculous.  I've seen the same thing on other movies.  A woman is alone in the house in bed asleep. She hears a noise and goes to investigate?  And what does she wear to investigate a home invasion?  She wears a short, sheer nightie with spaghetti straps.  I mean, what the heck?  Put some clothes on for mercy's sake.

A Very Productive Day In The Coop

Egg collection today?  Six.  Six brown eggs.  I have six chickens.  One lays green eggs.  So she didn't lay any and one of the other chickens laid two.  I think so anyway.  I guess there are many mathematical possibilities here.  Maybe three hens laid two eggs and three hens didn't lay any.  I'm guessing not.  I think only one hen laid two eggs.  In any case, today has been a very productive day in the coop.

Anybody need any eggs?

I Got Lucky

I've seen red eyed vireos before but just a glimpse. I never really got a good look at one until this week.  I've heard them with their incessant call.  The red eyed vireo sounds like it is asking and answering a million questions because each call ends with an upswing or a downswing.  To me it sounds like, "One thousand one?  One thousand two.  One thousand one?  One thousand two."  Over and over and over the vireo asks and answers the same thing.  This week I heard one in the white oak by my front door.  The oak leaves aren't completely formed yet so I could see the red eyed vireo as it talked on and on while flitting from one branch to another.  I watched it for a good 3 minutes before it flew away.  They're not much to look at, these red eyed vireos, just a drab brown little bird. I like them because their call is easy to learn and I hear it so often in the summer I don't forget it.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I listened to a collection of old radio shows called The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  The sponsor of these shows was Clipper Craft, a manufacturer of men's fine suits.  I enjoyed listening to the mystery stories performed before a live New York City audience.  Organ music was played to introduce and end each show.  They also used organ music to switch from a narrative style story to live action story.  Each story starts out with portly Dr. Watson talking to the Clipper Craft salesperson.  Dr. Watson admires his friend, Sherlock Holmes, but he also gets annoyed with his pomposity and his lack of social skills.  Sherlock thinks he is the greatest detective ever and he sneers at Watson and often tells him to be quiet.  Smart as Sherlock is, he can be easily manipulated with flattery and he does not take care of his own basic needs like food or sleep.  In general I am not a fan of mysteries but I do like a good Sherlock Holmes story.

Made Me Cry

Owl Memories

I had an old, vague memory of a pet owl next door when I was a kid.  As an adult thinking back that sounded crazy.  Who has a pet owl?  But where would I get the idea of a pet owl unless someone actually had one?  These photos prove the owl memory, stuck way back amidst the cobwebs of my old brain, was true.  There was a pet owl; a great horned pet owl.  In the lower photo I can also see part of the garage, the pump house and the bottom structure of the wind mill.  Just the sight of these old buildings warms my heart.  The top photo is my Uncle who lived next door.  He looks like an amputee in the photo but he isn't.  Maybe he had a sore foot or something at the time.  He might be leaning on a crutch, I can't really tell.  I think I see a tether to the owl's leg. The entire background is unrecognizable from what it looks like now.  I guess that is progress.  Not being allowed to catch or trap owls and keep them tethered in your yard is also progress.  The poor old owl, I wonder what are the details to this owl story.  I'll let you know if I find out. 

Stubborn Disbelief

Yesterday I moved the chicken coop and run away from the south side of the house and into the prairie area on the east side of the house.  Its not easy dragging the run across the lawn.  One chicken stayed in the run the entire time I moved it; it just kept up by walking with me.  But when dusk fell, the chickens were confused.  They huddled where the coop used to be.  "Where's the coop?"  All the chickens saw the new location of the coop.  All the chickens were in and out of the new coop location numerous times in the afternoon.  But when the sun set, they refused to believe it had moved.  So rigid, these chickens.  I tried to herd them to the new location.  Meredith went in and stayed there but the Buff Orpington's would not be herded.  I brought the food out, let them eat some, and then tried to lure them back with the food bucket.  They followed for a while and then went back to where the coop used to be.  "Where is the coop?"  I grabbed one chicken and carried her back to the coop and put her in.  She stayed.  I tried to herd them again with no success.  "Where is the coop?"  One by one, I had to catch and carry all five chickens and put them to bed in the new coop.  Lets hope tonight they retain the coop location and I won't have to go through that again.

Kayaking On Round Lake

I took the kayak out on Round Lake hoping to spot a yellow headed blackbird.  Bingo!  They're so pretty!

Round lake is shallow and has islands of bullrushes I can paddle in between.  Lilypads are mixed in there too.  Saw lots of pads but no lilies yet.

And what did I spot on this bullrush island?  A goose nest with two eggs.  I'm guessing it's a goose nest because the eggs were larger than chicken eggs.

Beautiful day to be out on the water.

Flash Conversations

Usually when I swim I have my face in the water the entire time and don't really notice other people coming and going.  Because I've been nursing a sore shoulder I've had to adapt my workout.  Swimming a mile is too much for my bursitis or whatever it is I have going on.  So I exercise differently now and that includes running up and down the pool lanes with my head out of the water some of the time making it possible for other club members to talk to me.  Last night I had a conversation in the swimming pool that went like this,

Him: Excuse me ma'am.  I have a strange request.  Can you think of a number between one and half of your age?

Me:  Three.

Him:  Three?  Well, that will be a short work out for me tonight.  Random is the best way for me to plan my workouts. Thanks.

That was the end of that conversation.  Inside that conversation was another flash conversation that silently took place in my head.

Him:  Excuse me ma'am.  Who are you calling ma'am?  I have a strange request.  That request had better not include you coming into my lane here because that is definitely out of the question.  Can you think of a number between one and half your age?  Half my age?  Why you gotta put it that way?   I don't want you to know my age and I don't want you guessing it either.  My age is none of your business.  What is half my age?  Crap, that is a high number.  I'm not giving him a number that high.  Think fast!  Give him a low number just so he won't know my age.

Me:  Three.

Him:  Three?  Well, that will be a short work out for me tonight. Random is the best way for me to plan my workouts.  Thanks.

I don't think random IS the best way to plan your workouts.  Next time just ask for a number between 1 and 20 and leave age out of it.

Middlesex

I loved this Pulitzer prize winning book, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.  This tale about Cal/Calliope, a kid growing up in the 1960's in Detroit was fascinating.  Cal is a hermaphrodite raised as a girl and changes into a man as a teenager.  The tale of how that change goes over with his Greek family is both sad and funny.  Cal tells the story and in this book, he has unusual insight into the thoughts of his parents, brother, grandparents, aunts and uncles.  I suppose that makes it easier for the author to write the book while avoiding any he or she pronouns.  The story is more than gender identity though because it is also a story about Greek immigrants, family, the city of Detroit, the 1967 riots in Detroit and the prejudices endured by all of us.  I will definitely be reading more by Jeffrey Eugenidies who, by the way, is Greek and from Detroit but not a hermaphrodite.