Pole Vaulting

 

Once we finished touring the west coast of Florida, the Everglades, and Key Largo, we headed up the Atlantic side. We stayed in KOA's, state parks, regional parks, national parks, and a couple hip camps. I was unfamiliar with hip camps. Hip camps are usually on farms and have only the basics. This hip camp had electricity and an outhouse. This hip camp also had chickens and a turkey. I slept without a watch nor a phone so I didn't realize that the roosters started crowing at 1 in the morning. I think if I had known I would have been more bothered by the noise. Next to this hobby farm was, according to the hip camp owner, the third largest bee farm in the country. They mail bees all over the United States.

The hip camp owner is a 3rd generation pole vaulter. She and her husband met in college where they were both pole vaulters. Now they run a pole vaulting school on their property. When we arrived there were six students practicing pole vaulting in the Florida sun. We didn't get much sleep because of the roosters but it was an interesting place to stay.

Birding At The Sewage Ponds Again.

This morning I dropped off my recycling at the recycling center and then headed to the Austin sewage ponds which is reportedly the best birding location in the city. I agree but it is a tad smelly. I saw 70 Northern Shovelers, rafts of cute American coots, dozens of Kill Deer, and a partridge in a pear tree. Just kidding about the partridge and the pear tree. What are they eating in this pond? Shrimp? I will have to investigate further. I drove a figure 8 around two of the three ponds.  I remember once a sister and I visited our father after bird watching at the sewage ponds in Savage. We told him what we were doing and he said, "That sounds just terrible!!!" Well, maybe he was right.

I took a walk down to the river. The time was 11 a.m.

Woodpecker pecking in the old gum tree. Merry merry king of the bush is she. Peck, woodpecker, peck woodpecker, but please don't peck at me. That is the Colorado River! A great blue heron took off before I could get my phone out. Planes from the nearby airport are going by overhead.

Yes, I fell on my rear going down the hill but it's a good think because I had my wind pants on plus my winter water-proof boots. Is that a racoon print I see there?

I peeled the outer layer of this seed pod that was about 2 inches in diameter. Now I need to identify this seedpod.

Kill Deer!

This is an experimental research administration building with lots of gourds hanging for the purple martins. This is after I left the sewage ponds.

I had a picnic lunch after my hike at the sewage ponds. I decided to stop at this farm store because the outside looked interesting. I figures with my muddy boots, my muddy wind pants, and my sunhat I maybe looked like a farmer. Look at that sailfish!

Racoon!

That turkey is DUSTY1

They have a little leak in the ceiling.

Very interesting!

I don't need any keys, thanks. As I was making my purchase the Nancy Sinatra song about boots was on the radio. As I approached the counter the Beach Boys were singing about good vibrations. I was dancing a little. The young man at the counter said people d
o love the Beach Boys. I told him that as I walked out of divorce court I was singing with Nancy Sinatra. He though that was funny.

Wow!

Nice rack!

A bunny!

Baby chicks! Awwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhh.

You are so cute!

I love baby chicks.

After the feed store I saw this Ghost Buster's car. Who are you gonna call?

While at the dollar store the bank called to check on fraudulent use of my card. I had 3 stores to call back. Now my credit card was cut off. I hung my sack of groceries on a peg and went outside to make the three calls. All the purchases were mine. I forgot to call the bank back and tell them. I went back in and found my sack. A guy was standing there looking at stuff. I said something about finding my bag. He asked me why. I told him about the bank problem. He told me about his bank problems. We ended up talking for twenty minutes. He invited me to his ranch to visit and look at birds. He doesn't own the ranch. He just lives at the ranch. He drives part time for Amazon. He is paid $22/hour and he has to buy his own gas but the Government gives him that money back. But he doesn't have to run. He has a bad back. He can ride around in his truck all day with his dog. I told him what I thought of Jeff Bezos (only I was more polite). He laughed and told me everyone tells him the same thing. He likes to ski at Lutsen. He once borrowed a snowmobile in Duluth. He drove that snowmobile for almost 24 hours. He brought it back. The guy at the snowmobile rental place said most people put on 30 miles, not 375!  He put his address on my phone. I went out to his Jeep to meet his dog Riley. I went back in the store thinking I would not go to this guy's ranch. After buying my stuff I did go to the ranch. Another bearded man in a pick up saw me come in. He asked if I was lost. I said no, I was here to visit Daniel. He smiles and gave me a thumb's up. Why is there a knight in shining armor here? I never saw Daniel nor Riley nor his Jeep but I took a nice 3 minute drive around the ranch. By now it was 5:30. I needed to find an Italian restaurant before I get hangry.

This food truck had better spinach and cheese arancini than the Arancini I had in Sicily when grand daughter #2 was born! I ate two of them in the car. I saved the roasted vegetables for another day. Yum Yum! Other trucks have falafel and organic soups. I have to come back to this place.

 

Am I Important?

The weatherwoman said this weekend would be peak colors in Duluth. Perhaps she is right but it is hard to know with the foggy drizzle. I went for a walk near a stream I monitor hoping not to get shot by hunters and wishing I had worn my favorite color instead of my navy blue raincoat. Entire families on 4x4 off road vehicles went by. The people on the noisy vehicles appeared to be having fun in the mud but they sure tear up the roads around here. White throated sparrows call out. Woodpeckers are drumming on the trees. Crows and ravens are chatting. A rooster crows. I noticed a trail going through the woods on my left. Last time I was here I figured out it was a beaver trail. I saw the ferns and tansy stems near the stream on the right side of the road were all flattened toward the water. I saw a big deep rut in the road and I figured the beaver carried a heavy log.

This is where I suspected the beaver carried that log. A river otter would be cool but I think otters would have a narrower trail.

Lo and behold! A brand new dam built by busy beavers. Already the water is a good six inches higher above the dam. Beavers are an important part of our ecosystem. I don't know what impact this beaver dam will have on the plants and animals and birds and fish and reptiles around here but I suspect it will be helpful. Beavers are herbivores. I eat herbs too. In fact, as I walk along and snap off the yellow tansy heads I gather rosehips in my pocket. Like a beaver, I am preparing for winter. Are these beavers a young couple or have they been together for a few years? I hope the giant beaver is selected to be the state fossil this year. The milk from the mother beaver is 19 percent fat. Does this couple have baby beavers and if so, how many? A beaver can hold it's breath for 15 minutes. I am lucky to hold my breath longer than 1 minute.

If beavers are an important part of our ecosystem, am I an important part of my ecosystem?

 

Day At The Fair

Today I monitored my streams. Look at that orange banded bee on the Joe Pye weed. I thought, just for kicks, I would attend the 100th anniversary Southern Saint Louis County fair in Proctor on my way home. I heard about it on the news because the truck delivering the carnival rides tipped over on the way to Proctor. The organizers had to scramble and ended up renting a boat load of bouncy houses.

I got there around 11 a.m. and things were pretty quiet. The children's farmland was just opening up. I like their apple tree because it has real apples on it.

This fair is much calmer than the state fair. I liked the relaxed atmosphere. Plus the Canadian smoke that has been plaguing us for the past 3 weeks cleared today.

Here are the blue ribbon jam and jelly winners.

See that washcloth in the right with the scalloped edges that won first prize? I have made dozens and dozens of them. I could have won first prize too if only I entered the contest.

Woah, some interesting skulls are in the art contest. The gold cow skull on the right won a blue ribbon. The upside down horse skull with gold teeth won a red ribbon.

I like this windmill painting.

Kids enjoyed petting the baby chicks.

The pupils in the eyes of goats tend to creep me out. Is it just me or do these two goats appear to have sinister intentions?

This handsome (and loud) rooster won a blue ribbon. I can tell it's an Americauna because he has green legs.

This prize bunny has a prominent double chin.

This goat had an attractive coat. I bought some cheese curds and sat down to wait for the talent contest to start when I got a call from Offspring #1 who was at the Newport Kite Festival with his family. I told them about the fair and they told me about the kite festival. Today was a fun day at the fair.

 

Xylophones

 Today I visited my new favorite garden center which is not near my house but on my way back from my stream monitoring assignments. I think the people who named it didn't have much imagination because the name of the place is A + Garden Center. What this place lacks as far as a cute name is more than made up for in the beautiful displays and luscious plants they have for sale. Walking into one of their two greenhouses is like walking into paradise. They have trees and shrubs and annuals and perennials and house plants and herbs and succulents. They have garden ornaments and fairy garden supplies and mulch and soil and rocks and garden tools and grow lights. Even though this place is in Saginaw and not actually in Duluth, the drive is worth it. The service is also excellent. Today I was walking out and I saw peacocks. I have been here twice and never noticed the peacocks before. How is that possible? This is molting time for peacocks. I am so tempted to reach in and grab a few of those lovely tail feathers.

These peacocks and fancy chickens enjoy luxury accommodations which include xylophones!

No More Chicken Coop

As a closing ceremony to the era of the chickens I decided to get rid of the coop last night. The wood on some parts of the coop was soft and rotten. The fox had chewed some of the wooden shingles off the egg door. I just so happened to have half a bag of charcoal, an old candle and a lighter at hand. I put the candle in the bag of charcoal, slid it under the coop, and waited for the magic to happen. Actually burning down the coop took a lot longer than I thought. Once the fire pierced a hole in the floor of the coop the flames slowly crept up the walls. Once the roof caught fire the process speeded up. The coop collapsed onto itself and the wood burned peacefully surrounded by trampled down snow. The whole process took a couple of hours out of my evening.

I had contemplated burning down this coop for years. I thought the smell would be terrible but it actually wasn't so bad. I need to go out there today and pick up the nails and screws. I am sure the inches of snow that fell completely extinguished the flames. Burning down the coop was actually a fun experience. I am lucky to have lived for so long in this neighborhood where I can get away with things like lighting chicken coops on fire.

End Of An Era

In 2009 I decided to get some chickens. Today the last chicken left the property. My plan was both of the final chickens would leave on Saturday but this cuckoo maran, pictured here, saw her sister get put in a cardboard box and decided to fly the coop. She spent Saturday wandering around the yard. At 4 in the afternoon she decided she would like to go back to the coop so I put her in. Today she was put in the same box and taken to live with her sister is Zimmerman. Over the years I have had many chickens and many chicken adventures. I have enjoyed raising chickens and collecting eggs but now I want to simplify my life. I want to be free to travel. Chickens don't take much work but they do need daily attention. I am glad I decided to get the chickens. The chickens have kept me busy and entertained. There is a certain status you have when you raise chickens. People think of you differently once they know you take care of chickens. All that is gone now. Today marks the end of a decade long, chicken raising, era.

Feathered Friends Pay A Call

Today is a blustery day. I have to keep looking out the window to make sure the chicken coop door doesn't blow shut again. This time I saw my two chicken had feathered friends come to pay a call. I saw five turkeys out there but of course they run and hide when they see me with a camera. I did manage to get a parting glimpse of these three turkeys. I am glad they come and visit my two chickens. I wonder if this happens daily.

Cucumber

Last Friday a person at work set down a big bag of gigantic cucumbers on the break room table. I took one home. For some reason I decided to cut it in thirds, drill a piece of purple yard through it lengthwise, and suspend the cucumber from the top of the chicken run. Chickenson Caruso was on it immediately. She pecked at that cucumber and got a good piece out of the cut end. She moved her head back and forth as it swung. That cucumber kept those chickens entertained like a tetherball on a playground for at least one hour. Now I am glad I did that. Chickenson had some entertainment with a tasty treat before she passed on.

A Broody Hen

Chickenson Caruso was hatched on May 17, 2012 in Webster City, Iowa. At the age of one day she traveled to Princeton. She was picked up at the post office and then traveled to Zimmerman, Minnesota. At three days of age she moved to Ramsey, Minnesota where she resided in a coop with four of her sisters and her foster mother, Meredith. She is preceded in death by her foster mother, Meredith, her five sisters, her four Polish step-brothers, and step-sisters Half-Pint, Pollyanna, and Heidi. Chickenson had a successful career as an egg layer. Many people admired her attractive buff pantaloons and her proud way of walking. She was a broody hen who was loved by all who met her. She died of natural causes.

Tree?

    

Last night I went out to check on my chickens at their new location. They had spilled the water dish again!    

On my way back to the house through the back yard I saw these pods on the mulch to the right of my pond.

So what kind of tree is this? A locust? Those leaves in the right lower corner are basswood.

I always thought this was a black walnut tree. When I cut the tree down I thought it was a black walnut. As the shoots came up I tried to braid them to make them look interesting, OMG. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed. I don't even know the tree in my back yard that I have been looking at all these years.