Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Sax Zim Festival, Part 1

After being sick for the majority of the week, I was starting to have doubts about whether I would be up for a whole weekend of birding. I was never officially diagnosed, but I think I had the flu which was trying to morph into pneumonia, until I found the magic pills on Thursday.

I was glad Lynne was driving for the weekend. The flu just kind of knocks you out, so even when you feel better it ain't all that great. She picked me up around 1 on Friday, and I got to give her a tour of our new living quarters, which she saw last year in a much more primitive state, when we were not living there. I suggested the scenic route to Duluth, and we had a good drive. Really, I get nervous around people but Lynne is definitely someone I can relax with and enjoy some good conversation.

We got to our motel across from the Miller Hill Mall in Duluth, checked in, then proceeded to Meadowlands some forty minutes away. We got there with plenty of time to check in, buy sweatshirts (I'm wearing mine right now; they are so comfortable!) and find good seats for the evening presentation. The speaker for the night was Larry Weber, a retired science teacher who does a weekly radio program for the morning show on KUMD, my favorite radio station.

Little did I know, with a strange twist of fate we got to sit with Larry during dinner! He is a fascinating person. One of the things I like about his radio show is, the colder it gets, the more enthusiastic he gets about nature. It is all genuine. He really does get up and go for a walk at 5 AM every day...and here in Minnesota, that's quite an accomplishment. His program was accompanied by old fashioned slides... no PowerPoint here!

The program was over about 8:30, and given the 45 minute drive to our motel, and the 6:30 bus boarding time the next day, we had no time to relax. We were about to go look for some serious birds in the morning.

5 comments:

Jayne said...

So glad it was such a great time Deb! Can't wait to hear about all you saw. :c)

RuthieJ said...

Hi Deb,
I'm glad you were feeling better in time for the festival. It sounds like you and Lynne had a great time and I look forward to seeing and hearing more about it on your blog.

Deb said...

Jayne and Ruth- Thanks. I'm trying to put together an informative post, that tells about the bog habitat and why certain birds hang out there, but also incorporating my personal impressions. This could take weeks! ;)

greentangle said...

I'm taking a class Larry's teaching on nature writers, and he mentioned the weekend. I love his love of winter.

Deb said...

Greentangle- He mentioned he was teaching that class, and was asking about our favorite contemporary nature writers. I think I would enjoy that class. I found out he lives about halfway between my place and Duluth.