turtle tracks

The gravel roads are full of turtle tracks lately, as the female painted and snapping turtles emerge from their watery habitats to lay eggs on land.

This female was busy in the driveway this morning, depositing her eggs in the sandy gravel. She was so focused on her task, she was not distracted by my presence. I'll have to mark this spot and keep track of it; If I come back at the right time, I just may see baby snapping turtles emerging from the ground.

I've been making some tracks of my own lately, and this encounter was one of the rewards for doing so. For the last five mornings, I've been going for a run. Yes, you read that right. At 41, after not having run seriously for almost twenty years, I've decided it's time to make a serious effort to get back in shape. I enjoyed running when I was in college; it was a good way to get away from the stress of classes and dorm life. In retrospect, I didn't know what stress was then!

At my peak, I was running maybe five or six miles every other day. This week, I have a course that's maybe half to three quarters of a mile, and I run a little and walk a little. The mosquitoes give me an incentive to keep running, at least until my body screams "ENOUGH!" Then I come back to the new house and do some stretching and yoga. I've been meaning to get into a yoga routine for months, but oddly enough I seem to need to rev up my metabolism a bit before I can get into the relaxed state yoga requires. So far, running and yoga have been a good match and a routine I look forward to in the morning.

guess what...

We have chicks. I told The Hermit we had so much going on this summer, I didn't think we had time for them, but...oh well. I like eggs. They're all girls. Buff Orpingtons, Black Australorps (assalopes :) and Araucaunas. For blue eggs.

Today I broke two strings on my bouzouki while attempting to tune it. They were old strings, I understand, and I had replacements, but...before today I had never broken a string, on any instrument! I know... that tells me I have been seriously neglecting this instrument, which I have. And, that generally, I don't play enough. Which I plead guilty to. I will try to remedy that situation. I did have a kickass session on it, after strings were changed. I'm almost ready to make a video and post it. It was that fun! For those left utterly confused, bouzouki= a mandolin family instrument in a lower tuning, generally an octave lower than your regular mando but there are lots of variations. I mostly do GDGD tuning.

clouds and pines

This photo was taken just after 9 PM, just before sunset. That's what I love about living just above 46 degrees north latitude; I wake up just after sunrise, and when I go to bed there's a little bit of light lingering in the Western sky.

We had a few scattered showers moving through here tonight, hence the clouds. The rain didn't amount to more than a few drops, but the clouds and rainbows were spectacular.

Today I had to work, but it was actually a good experience. I went to a lake association meeting to talk about fish stuff, and a new long term monitoring project we have, which includes one of the lakes of interest. Here in Minnesota, lakeshore property owners have gotten together to form associations, which do everything from organize Fourth of July boat parades to doing some serious fundraising for watershed improvement projects. I really enjoyed the perspective of this lake association, although the gap between talk and action still remains huge. At least their hearts are in the right place.

On the way home, I stopped in the city park in the town where I lived until nine years ago. I got out my cell phone and called an old friend I hadn't talked with in years, who used to live in this town with me and now lives in the country a few miles north. I don't know why I felt so compelled to call her today, but I am so glad I did. We talked like the neighbors we used to be, as if time and distance had never separated us. We met her and her husband because we admired her garden as we went on walks through our semi-rural subdivision next to the freeway. Gardening was an instant bond between us, and as our friendship developed we found out we shared some common musical interests; she played fiddle and her husband played guitar and banjo. The Hermit was learning guitar then, and I had just discovered mandolin. We spent many hours playing together on banjo and fiddle, mandolin and guitar. Today I would give anything for a neighbor down the road who could share a tune or two.

We went on to share many wonderful times, including becoming pregnant and giving birth within a month of each other. Our friends had all but given up hope of having a child of their own, and were on the verge of adoption when it happened. They adopted, and had a child. And went on to have another child. So now we each have three wonderful children.

Then life changed, we moved away, and for a long time I just thought something was missing. I think I finally know the answer to what was missing. And I am glad that we will probably be getting together soon!

I guess I had forgotten how much this friendship meant to me, and I regret that. I like where we live now, but the bonds of friendship have been somehow more difficult to forge. But tonight we went to the grocery store for a few things (spending over $80 in the end), and met up with a couple we knew from church, and chatted in the aisle for a long time. And we also ran into the band director/kindergarten music teacher/piano teacher. So maybe community can still happen.

too much work!

today's lupinicity

It's crazy, I tell ya. My job is somewhat seasonal in nature, although I work full time year round, and this happens to be the busiest season. When the lakes are open and aquatic vegetation is growing, I'm there. This week I finished up a project mapping curlyleaf pondweed on a lake, spent a day on another lake inspecting individual applications for Eurasian watermilfoil control, spent a day and a half decoding my notes from the inspections, and now I'm at home preparing a talk I'm giving to a lake association tomorrow. As in, Saturday. As in, I almost NEVER work on Saturday. And I never take work home. I suppose I could have told my boss no, but then he's been giving similar presentations just about every Saturday for the last month, and performance reviews are coming up... Unfortunately, I don't get extra weekend pay. I've already taken the time off I earned from doing this.

Did I mention I don't like public speaking, although I can do a tolerable job of it when I have to?

I'll be happy when this is over. Wish me luck.

lupine of the day

As I was going to T ball with Mr. Attitude, I noticed lupines blooming along the school's access road, and on the banks of a couple ponds they have on the grounds. I guess it's been more popular lately to have wildflower seeds included in the usual ground cover mix. I think it looks lovely. Above is the progress of my lupine at home.

It being T ball and kids Bible study night, we ate a late dinner and I am tired. Starflower has strep throat, which is strange because apart from her huge swollen tonsils and sore throat, she has no symptoms. She had the sore throat yesterday, when I took the day off, but I made the judgment call to not take her to the doctor because she did not have a raging fever. Oh well. Diagnostics are one of the more difficult arts of being a parent.

now we've gone guitar hero

This is Calvin, in the new house where we had cake and ice cream, after he realized his big birthday present was...Guitar Hero III for Wii.

He wanted to sleep out in the new house with his friends...now we're thinking they will be playing all night, The Hermit and I just might claim the new inflatable mattress for ourselves...

lupine time again

If you're a long time reader, this may look familiar. From the stage of flower development, we're about thirteen days behind last year.

And, if you remembered last year's lupine, you may also remember I made an offer that I never followed through on, and I'm really sorry about that. I had offered seeds from this lupine to anyone who wanted them. Unfortunately, I lost the seeds. BUT, I will collect seeds again this year and I promise, I'll keep better track of them this time!

The lupine is blooming just in time for Calvin's eleventh birthday. He's having a few friends over, and they're going to sleep on a king size air mattress in the new house! The mattress is more comfy than my own bed; I've tried it out. :) The Hermit is picking up a super secret present as I type this. I'm sure there will be an update on that later.

The Turtle Hunters

The following post is evidence in my ongoing argument that video games are not a direct cause of Nature Deficit Disorder. My kids had video games readily available, and yet today they chose...to hunt turtles.

Calvin had already caught three small painted turtles by hand, but he decided he needed a net of some sort to increase his success. I told him I had some mesh bags left over from planting seed potatoes, and he remembered we had this old, warped tennis racket. I mean, I was Calvin's age when I took a few tennis lessons and used it. So it's old, and it sat outside over winter. Calvin cut the strings off and, armed with staple gun (yikes!), turned warped tennis racket and potato bag into useful turtle net.
Then the Turtle Brigade set out. If you're worried about life jackets, like I know my grandma would be, our pond is mostly shallow, especially where the kids were stalking turtles, and I was supervising the whole adventure. And these kids know what they're doing in that kayak.

I especially liked watching how these brothers worked together, considering how much of their time they spend arguing about this or that. Nature provides a common purpose.

The kids caught a total of five turtles today, and decided to release the turtle we had held in the aquarium all winter. We noticed its shell was not as hard as the wild turtles' shells, and we thought it would be better off in the wild. I wish it all the best.

Of course, we had to have some turtle fun, on my new tablecloth.


We now have an aquarium with five turtles, four two year olds and one last year's hatchling.

My kids keep reminding me how sweet life can be.

All planted, almost

This is the view of my garden from Mr. Attitude's soon-to-be bedroom. I envy him.

Today I planted the leftover potatoes, pole beans and winter squash, pumpkins, watermelon, Diva cucumber, kohlrabi, broccoli, cauliflower, turnip, and golden beet. And I weeded the rock garden in the bottom center of the photo, which included hand pulling a huge stand of stinging nettle. I managed to not get stung. Then I planted rhubarb, and encircled it with stones, as can be seen in the left center of the photo. Then there was the blueberry bed, mid right side in the photo. It had been overgrown with a grass that formed an amazing, impenetrable root layer. I managed to get most of it out, but it was a long, sweaty process. After most of the biomass was removed from the blueberry bed, I gave each of the five plants a good dose of fertilizer. The plants, having been nipped down to the ground by rabbits and/or deer every winter, are smaller than when I planted them.

I still have a few things to plant tomorrow. Of course, there are always things to plant.

I'm working on my blogroll, incorporating the new blog list feature that has site feeds so you can tell when the blog was last updated. I have the Minnesota blogs done, but the process takes a while so I won't get it all done for a while. But this may save me some time, since I can tell when blogs have been updated. I know, I could use some kind of software to accomplish the same thing, but hey, I'm not that sophisticated. Yet.

garden cheating

Now tell me, is this fair?

my tomato

his tomato

I have been growing tomato plants from seed since March, and the seedling in the top photo was one of the healthier ones. Maybe three inches tall. I didn't have the space to transplant them from their cells, but you'd think they could have grown a little bigger! I planted a bunch of them out in the garden on Sunday, and of course not all of them survived.

So into the picture is The Hermit with the monster tomato he didn't grow, he bought it from the garden center. That sucker already has green tomatoes on it! I don't know why I even bother growing from seed sometimes. Oh well, next year will be better, in the new house.

And, as long as I was posting, I had to get this photo in. Aren't "gray" treefrogs the cutest? And you may ask yourself, how does that tattered cook shed screen keep the mosquitoes out?

Actually, it doesn't.

Electrified! And strange bird sightings...

In my last post I mentioned that as we were leaving for the wedding, we met the electrician on the way in to work on the new house.

We now have a circuit box, and power to two outlets in the house near the box. He is coming to wire three rooms tomorrow. The new house is that much closer to being livable!

As The Hermit and I were driving out to get a very last minute wedding present of locally made pottery Saturday morning, I noticed a white bird in our neighbors' cow pasture, about the size of a chicken but more slender, and acting like a heron. Ohmigod, it was a Cattle Egret, a rare sighting in Minnesota! And me without binoculars or camera! I'm absolutely, positively sure it was a Cattle Egret, but I was never able to get enough documentation to list it as a state record. I think the strong easterly winds Friday may have brought it in from somewhere, and now it has left for somewhere else.

And today when I was out on a lake, I saw a strange looking loon. It was a loon all right, by appearance and behavior, but it didn't have the markings of our state bird, the Common Loon. It was brownish gray on the back and had a white throat. I think it may have been a common loon in juvenile plumage, but why would there be a juvenile here this time of year?

I'm a (step) mother-in-law!

And does that ever make me feel old. They better wait to have kids until I'm good and ready.

Yesterday my stepson Tom (whom if I recall right was about Mr. Attitude's age at my wedding), married his high school sweetheart, Abbi. They have known each other over ten years and been together much of that time. I hope they keep finding happiness, love, and strength through each other for many years ahead. They certainly make a nice looking couple.
The kids were all decked out for the occasion. Mr. Attitude caught a little rest on the way to the festivities so he could be at his best at the reception, flirting with the bridesmaids and impressing everyone with his break dancing talent. (Where did THAT come from???) Calvin, as usual, was a bit more thoughtful and introspective about the whole affair. Starflower enjoyed the party. I, of course, was out of my element in a crowd that consisted mostly of the bride's family. But we stayed, danced a few dances, and had fun. One of Tom's friends wrote an original song for the couple that he performed at the reception, between dinner and the dance. It was amazing. I think it has hit song potential. Seriously, it was that good. It made me cry, anyway.

It was good to see all of my stepkids and their significant others, and to be reminded that I am not in my twenties anymore, and to be thankful for that, I guess.

I am a bit tired today, after all we didn't get home until after eleven, so I've been taking it easy, although I did manage to get tomatoes planted.

Oh, and as we were leaving for the wedding, we met the electrician coming up the driveway. He decided to take advantage of the good weather Saturday to do some work. Which is a post in itself. Stay tuned.

Lyme rant

Why do medical practitioners rely on notoriously unreliable tests to diagnose Lyme disease, instead of considering clinical presentation?

And why will they give out statin drugs like candy to "treat" high cholesterol, which is not even a disease, but yet someone like me with obvious symptoms of Lyme, a disease with potential for continued degradation of quality of life, among other things, who does not pass the unreliable tests, is refused any kind of treatment?

I am 41 years old. My joint pain came on suddenly a month ago, and was exactly like when I was diagnosed the first time. My left knee has been throbbing all week. You can't tell me it's just osteoarthritis, my joints "wearing out". But that's what my PA seems to think. Or is told what to think, what to diagnose. Of course, we wouldn't want to give out antibiotics willy nilly to someone who might need them, because it might cause resistant strains, meantime we're treating nearly our whole damn animal food supply with them, prophylactically. It's not an insurance cost issue either. I know a course of Doxycycline doesn't even meet my drug copay, so it's all out of pocket.

Why don't they want Lyme patients to be acknowledged, and to be treated?

I think I may have a battle ahead of me.

the stars are out

Trientalis borealis

I first noticed the starflowers Wednesday evening, but it was too dark after I returned from Mr. Attitude's first T ball game to get a good photo. Or so I thought; I took this one at about 1/8 second. Not too shaky! But then my USB cable went missing so I could not upload the photos until this morning when I found it with Starflower's MP3 player.

first pond day

I haven't checked the Sand Creek archives, but I think June 1st may be the latest ever First Pond Day for our family. I know there have been first swims as early as April, with ice still visible.

It was just me and Sally, Mr. Attitude, and Starflower (by the way, starflowers are not blooming yet, although they are in Vermont.) The Hermit is away on business, and Calvin should be coming home from a friend's house any minute now. Starflower and I managed to carry the kayak about 200 yards from its winter parking place to the pond. Starflower is one strong girl; I had to stop and rest several times, but she was always ready to keep going!

We kayaked and swam for about half an hour; it would have been longer, had it not been for the mosquitoes. I'm hoping this first hatch will die off soon. It didn't help that we had all kinds of standing water here and there in the woods all spring. The pond water was not yet out of the preferred temperature range for brook trout, meaning, it was COLD! I went in for one quick dip, and that was enough for me.

Not that I spent my whole day in such leisure. By 9 AM I was hauling loads of black dirt from the (former) horse pasture to the gardens, by hand in the garden cart, a distance of about 150 yards over uneven terrain. The garden beds had to be filled, and I wanted to get it done before the sun got too high. I hauled six loads from the pasture, two more than my goal of four. Then I transported three loads from a pile that The Hermit had dumped last fall near the garden. All of the garden beds that needed supplemental dirt got it. I figure each cart load was about three bags of topsoil that you'd buy at the big box garden center, for about $3 apiece. So each cart load was worth $9, x9= $81 plus gas money to drive there and back (40 miles each way). Not to mention the gym membership I don't have to buy because I got a great workout in the process! And, it's really nice dirt. Complete with several earthworms in every shovelful.

Then, mind you, I cleaned and Shop Vac'd the whole house. Well, three tiny rooms, but there was enough hair in the bag to make a new dog or cat.

So I earned the pond dip, and this tall icy drink I am now sipping.

the garden beds are ready...almost

Before

After

I think this may have been the worst year ever for getting the garden beds ready. Due to the cold, wet weather, I wasn't able to get into most of the beds as early as I would have liked. And due to an early frost last summer, and my neglect afterwards, some grasses crept in underneath the boards and established themselves. So it wasn't just seedling weeding, it was like turning over sod in some places. I had to edge the beds with a shovel and carry out huge clumps of grasses, and unfortunately, soil. I also carried out boulders the size of a cat from some beds.

I did manage to get the last seven beds weeded today, which means I'm almost ready to plant. Almost, that is, because some of these beds need a bit more soil, which I can get from the horse pasture once I pump up the tire on the wheelbarrow.

This last bed was done in a hurry, and the picture taken rather hastily, because I was being attacked by the most vicious, bloodthirsty mosquitoes I have ever seen here. I tried to escape them by bringing Sally and a tall cool drink to the beach, but there they were. Finally I went to the new house and had a little shade, peace, and quiet. Except for the occasional shouts from the kids and their three friends who were here for a while this afternoon.

In the morning I was serenaded by an elusive bird with a high, buzzing call. I think it may have been a savannah sparrow, which would be a lifer although I'm sure they've been here with me all this time.

bird antics

I dug deep in my pockets (checkbook) today and paid $22 for a 50 pound bag of black oil sunflower seeds. Ouch. I know full well the birds don't need my charity this time of year, and my feeder is in constant danger of being torn apart by a hungry black bear, BUT...I have a pair of rose breasted grosbeaks who may be nesting nearby, and who greatly appreciate the fast food. And I'm still getting chickadees, red breasted nuthatches, goldfinches, and purple finches, so of course I can't let them down now! And if a bear tears down the feeder, well, it's showing its age and not going to be in service that much longer anyways, and maybe that will be a big hint to my brother-in-law, who built the first one, that it's time for a new one.

Last night I was watching the male rose breasted grosbeak at the feeder. He was apparently very defensive of his space while at the feeder, and would not let even the tiniest red breasted nuthatch land near him. But then I witnessed a moment of bird brilliance. A black capped chickadee was watching the action from a dead spruce branch near the feeder. The male grosbeak was there, chasing other birds away. He briefly went to the other side of the feeder; apparently the whole feeder was off limits. But while he was doing this, the brave chickadee swooped down to the unguarded side of the feeder, grabbed a seed, and flew back into the dead spruce. Hooray for chickadee ingenuity!

The phoebes decided to move their nest. I guess they were getting nervous about their entry ways to the new house being closed up one by one. Anyway, the new nest is...a few feet from where I'm writing this, under the eaves of the cabin porch. This is the site of an old nest that had been abandoned for years. Some kind of phoebe memory going on there?

I have also discovered a blue jay nest, about thirty feet from the cabin, hidden in a young spruce about ten feet off the ground. It's amazing how they nest so close, given the number of cats around here. I guess they can sense that the cats, for the most part, are lazy beings who know there are easier ways to get a meal than to climb a tree and be pecked nearly to death by parent blue jays. When I was little, I had a Siamese cat, Mittens, who learned the hard way not to mess with blue jays. She survived, but used up at least one of her nine lives in the process.

And then there's our "other" State Bird. The mosquito. They are thicker than I've seen in years! We're using an herbal repellent made of catnip, lemongrass, and a couple other essential oils. It seems to work, but then the cats follow me around acting all goofy. :)

time for music

I had a very good banjo practice session today, in a very acoustically friendly place: the new house. After I planted sugar snap peas and weeded two beds, I decided to call it quits if I wanted to be able to move a muscle tomorrow morning. I just get incredibly fatigued and sore these days, to the point it cuts into what I can do. Not good.

Back to banjo, I was trying to explain to The Hermit today how different it is from any instrument I've played before. It's non-linear. To play a simple scale requires bouncing back and forth between strings in ways that don't make sense to a pianist or flutist. But in a strange way I kind of get it, I keep practicing these leaps of faith and they have become part of me, and I'm very happy with the sounds I have been making. I just enjoyed listening to the sound ringing off the cathedral ( or at least, small Minnesota Lutheran church) ceiling. I have to get out there every day.

New yard birds!

What a way to start out a long holiday weekend: Not one but two new yard birds, one a lifer!

I was out by the new house with The Hermit, listening to him think out loud, when a brief flash of blue caught my eye. I saw it light in a dead birch tree. Without thinking, I exclaimed "There's an indigo bunting!" Of course I did not have my binoculars with me, but who could mistake that lovely blue? I think it matches my new roof.

Then, while we were eating breakfast, I looked out at the dead spruce and saw a warbler with a yellow breast streaked with black. It was a bird I had never seen in real life, but I had seen an excellent photo of one recently, on Lynne's blog, Hasty Brook. Magnolia warbler! Thanks Lynne, I didn't even need to get out my field guide for that one!

The great thing is, it's only 9 AM!

kindergarten graduation

The East Central Class of 2022 graduated from kindergarten today. They still have 5 1/2 days left of school, but I think they'll all pass. In celebration, they put on a fun Western themed show. Above is Mr. Attitude, of course, who delivered his lines with a finesse that makes me think he'll be starring in drama productions in high school. Afterwards, he pronounced to me that he had stage fright up there because he could not see me. I reassured him that if he felt any panic up there, I could not tell.

I gotta hand it to the teachers, they really went above and beyond to make this a great show, and to make all the kids feel special.

My stairs

I found out a valuable lesson today: whine a little, come up with a creative solution, and you will get your way. Well, maybe not all the time, but it sure worked this time!

The problem was the space we had left for a stairway. It was small enough that, to build a conventional, boxy stairway, we would have had to construct a landing and do a 180 degree U turn that would have taken up a lot of space. The other option was to move our bedroom doorway over a foot or so. I disapproved. I whined a little. And I put something else on the table.

I had started thinking, a while back, about a stairway based on this one I found at the blog Lichenology. I liked its conservation of space, and just the aesthetic pleasure of working a curve into a square corner. When we got into the hard realities of rise vs. run, I pointed out that the corner space could be used to create vertical drop instead of just a level turning point. I didn't know if our carpenter would approve.

He did, and I most definitely approve!

This really ties the room together. (yeah, another Big Lebowski quote.)

In exchange, I only had to agree to The Hermit's choice of exterior stain color. Actually, I think he made the best choice.

it's finally, officially, spring

The mosquitoes are out. I'm sure they will be more plentiful than in years past, with all the wet weather and standing water we have around.

But for now I have a wood tick bite on my neck, and it itches more than any mosquito bite I've had lately. I think I might be more or less immune to mosquitoes now. But I'll pick up some herbal bug spray tomorrow.

A couple of minor triumphs in an otherwise trying work day: I launched a huge boat (18 foot, and wider than our normal work boats) by myself at a very busy public landing, and I backed said boat into a very limited space in our boat storage garage, ON THE FIRST TRY! All by myself, I might add, everyone else had already left for the day, not that I would have gone to the office begging for help. I just need to reinforce in myself the idea that "I can do this!", once in a while.

untitled

A vision of the life I want. While real life just keeps getting strangled in the details. Nothing bad happening here, just the nagging thought that I'm spinning my wheels lately. My job is better than most, but I just hate the idea of a job right now. Especially when it's planting time.

over the weekend

So the potatoes are not in yet. Neither are the peas. But, we are still getting below-freezing temperatures at night and we've been getting rain off and on, so the garden beds must wait.

I had other stuff to do today. As of June 7th, I will become a step-mother-in-law. I still think I'm way too young to be an in-law if any type! But today was my future step daughter-in-law's bridal shower, so I was obligated to go with Starflower. Beforehand, I had to shop with Starflower for a dress she will wear to both her piano recital this week and the wedding. Luckily she found something quickly at JC Penney. I did not have the same luck. I think it has to do with how I view the situation. If I'm buying a dress, I want it to be something I'll use. For at least ten years. Which makes it virtually impossible for me to buy myself a dress. Now I'm thinking I'll just save the money and wear a dress I already have. That way, I can splurge on accessories. :)

The shower was fine, but I could not help but thinking, "I could be home planting potatoes." I guess I'll be doing that some evening this week. Next weekend looks to be extremely busy, gardenwise.

Hummingbirds...it must be spring

Today, at long last, we had a sunny day with temperatures that reached 75 on my car thermometer. Sweet, if only all of summer could be like today! The Hermit emailed me this morning, saying he had seen a hummingbird checking out the empty feeder I had left up last fall. I emailed back, promising to activate the feeder when I got home. The Hermit had to leave on work related stuff. Sigh.

For lunch, I picked up a sandwich at the grocery store and headed to the muskie ponds to hopefully see some bird action. The warblers were a bit slow, I only saw a small flock of palm warblers and one yellow, but I was treated to one steamy erotic reptilian scene...yes, I saw a pair of snapping turtles in the act of mating! Okay, it wasn't that exciting, but it was kind of cool if you're a wildlife nerd like me.

When I reluctantly arrived back at the office after my slightly extended lunch (hey, you don't see snapping turtles mating every day!) my boss was trying to find me. The school nurse had called, Starflower was feeling ill. :( I felt bad for her, but at the same time...who wants to stay at work until 4:30 on the first decent warm day of spring! So I picked her up and arrived home early, although I still had to drive back to school to pick up the boys because Calvin had a music concert in the afternoon and I had promised I would drive them home afterwards. And I had planned on stopping at the grocery store, which I could not do when I picked Starflower up.

She's feeling a bit better now, but there is definitely something wrong there. I'm wondering if it's Lyme disease, since she has had about four episodes like this in the past school year. And I'm feeling a bit achy myself.

I did get the hummingbird feeder cleaned, nectar made (with organic sugar!), and feeder put into place, and at dinnertime I was rewarded with the sight of my first male ruby throated hummingbird of the year.

Pictures? My camera is not getting along with my computer tonight. Hopefully I'll get that fixed soon.

shorebirds and warblers

I was getting envious. Some folks on the Minnesota Ornithologist's Union listserv were going out and seeing fourteen species of warblers in their backyard and reporting shorebirds I've never even heard of from sewage ponds somewhere. It was time for action.

So this morning as I was pulling out of the driveway I noticed some activity across the road. Our neighbors have a wetland in their cow pasture which is really nothing more than a mudhole. In that mudhole, however, I saw two shorebirds. I was running late as usual, but I stopped, pulled out the binoculars, and identified two Lesser Yellowlegs, pretty much by their yellow legs and process of elimination from the bird guide. Tonight as I was waiting for the kids to be dropped off from their ride from church, I was ready. I had the binoculars, and I counted eight Lesser Yellowlegs actively foraging in that tiny mudhole of a pond. I guess this is a lifer for me, since I don't think I have positively ID'd Lesser Yellowlegs before, although I'm sure they have been here every year.

It was finally warm and sunny at noon, and I was in the office, not out pulling nets on a lake, so I decided to go for a walk around our fish rearing ponds. This is usually a pretty good bird walk; part of it is on a berm between one pond and the Grindstone River, and I have seen a Scarlet Tanager there. Sometimes there are even shorebirds. Today I saw what I think was a Northern waterthrush, although I don't remember enough for positive ID. Anyway, when I rounded the corner and came into a grove of pines and mature aspens, I was suddenly in warbler heaven. I saw lots of little birds flitting in the top branches of the trees, and they all looked different from each other. I'm pretty sure I saw a pair of Northern Parula warblers, and I definitely saw a Golden winged warbler. Both lifers for me.

These experiences remind me that it's all out there; you just gotta pay attention!

proud mama moments

#1- Calvin informed us, quite nonchalantly, that he got the best score on the standardized math test for the entire elementary school!

#2- Starflower is, at this moment, engrossed in reading Edward Abbey's A Voice Crying In The Wilderness, which is a collection of short quotes from his longer works. She picked it up herself from our abbreviated library we keep here in the cabin. Dang, I didn't get a proper introduction to Abbey until I was 19! And, I have not seen her look so involved in her reading for a long time. I hope we can have some great discussions about this!

Starflower and I saw a bobolink today as we were driving home from work and volleyball. First of year for me, and still very unexpected every time I see one around here. When I was driving Mr. Attitude to school this morning we saw a bittern "freezing" by the side of the road. So much life around here.

My Mother's Day

I spent my special day at Menard's, looking at paint colors and countertop options and electric ranges. For those of you outside the Upper Midwest, Menard's is the first big box retail lumber building supply store here, like Lowe's or Home Depot. But much better, in my opinion.

I am happy to be finally looking at finishing house details! I am leaning towards an electric ceramic cook top and oven, because the price of propane is going up faster than the price of electricity, and we are getting more of our electricity from wind and other sustainable sources these days. If the power goes out, I can always fall back on cooking on top of the wood stove.

My presents were: marigold seedlings, from Starflower and Mr. Attitude; a sun-proof, breathable LL Bean shirt, and a tank top emblazoned with the logo of my favorite local band, The Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank. They even sent a couple demo CD's and a DVD as a bonus. And the package was postmarked Bruno, MN. Can't get any more local than that.

After Menard's, we went to Grandma's Sports Garden on the waterfront in Duluth for pizza and video games (and Leinenkugels for Mom), then a quick drive out on Park Point to look for birds. I saw a few flocks of bluebills, but I was too sleepy to really get out of the car and look for anything.

By the way, if you've been looking for a great recipe for black bean soup, please visit my other blog, The Deliberate Homemaker, link to the right. I don't post there as often as I'd like, so this is an event.

The house is occupied...

If you've been following this blog for a while, you may recall that Eastern phoebes have been nesting in the new house each spring. This year is no exception, even with all the roofing activity. There are still openings under the eaves for them to fly in and out, and this year they decided to nest right under the peak of the roof.

Don't worry, even if the eaves get closed in, which should happen within a week or so, I will take the screen off an upper window and leave it open for the birds. But once those little nestlings fledge, it will hopefully be the end of bird occupation and the beginning of human occupation in the house. I have tried to explain to the phoebes that we did not build this fabulous structure just so they could have a wonderfully protected nesting area. So far they are not listening.

New blue

This is the finished product. The roof I have been waiting for. I better not change my mind about the color, I'm stuck with it for life! But if you know me, I like any color, as long as it's blue.

The electrician will be here next week to run the main line in from the electric box out front, about 250 feet. From there we'll have it wired room by room, paying as we go. No more heavy duty extension cord, no more going outside on a rainy or snowy night trying to find where something flooded and shorted out the power!

I was granted a much-needed reprieve from net lifting duty today at work. My boss told me there were a couple of permits for exotic aquatic plant control that needed to be inspected ASAP, so of course I jumped on that project right away! I saw my first spring oriole in the process, and a robin sitting on a nest. And my weekend is free; no need to work! Maybe those potatoes will finally get planted.

I forgot to add...when I was inspecting one lakeshore property, when I returned from the dock the family dog, a black lab, ran up to me and dropped a tennis ball at my feet. Play ball with me! I obliged and threw the ball a few times, the dog eagerly retrieving it and returning it to me each time. I was a complete stranger, yet this dog trusted me. Dogs are funny and sweet that way.

sights and sounds

in bloom: marsh marigold, spring beauty, bloodroot, maple

leaves appearing: aspen

bird arrivals: house wren, sedge wren, ovenbird (and probably a few warblers)

frog chorus: spring peepers, Western chorus frogs, wood frogs, toads (well, not here, but 30 miles south of here)

I wish I had more time to write poetically about all these happenings, but lately I feel like George Jetson caught on that treadmill during the closing credits. Life is too busy.

biggest tadpole ever

Calvin made me go all the way out to the pond this afternoon to see this. A monster size tadpole! It had hind frog legs already, but no front legs yet. I think it's a green frog, but he was wondering if we had bullfrogs around here. Not that I know of.

I don't know what made me more happy, the tadpole, or the thought that my son still enjoys going out and catching tadpoles.

today's at-home birding

I am once again playing with the idea of opening my cabin as a birds 'n bloggers bed 'n breakfast once we're moved into the new house. Because what city dwelling birder wouldn't relish waking up to the sounds of sandhill cranes, snipe, woodcock, ruffed grouse, spring peepers, ravens, purple finches, etc. AND, to walk out before breakfast, hearing a woodpecker tapping in the woods, and having it turn out to be a female black backed woodpecker! I should have had my camera, I was within twenty feet of her.

I was feeling a bit under the weather this morning with a cold bug, which was no doubt exacerbated by my going out on a lake Friday and Saturday in less than tolerable weather conditions to sample The Muskellunge. My butt hurts from being bounced over waves and hitting the steel platform bow of the boat, my arms hurt from bracing myself so my butt would not hit the bow of the boat so hard. I am now seriously considering a career change, possibly to a bed and breakfast keeper or market farmer, because I honestly cannot see myself doing this same job ten years from now. Not to mention, I just cannot tolerate working with men who make jokes about incidentally killing a horned grebe in a net, or nearly killing a common loon in a net. All to "assess the population" of a species that is only in that particular lake through stocking, and probably should not be there to begin with. Next time I pull a 50 inch muskie out of a net, I just may drop it on its head. Intentionally. And then step on its head. But no, answering violence with violence never solves anything.

Of course, these are my personal opinions and do not reflect the official opinion of the agency I work for. :)

So after a long overdue recycling run with The Hermit, long overdue because we were waiting for our driveway to dry out a little, we took a noontime nap, and then I tried to straighten out the bedroom a little. It was a huge effort to do anything. It was warm (if you call 55 warm, I'll take it) and sunny, and CALM (the wind has picked up as I type this, of course), so I decided to take Sally out for a little frolic in the pond.

When we arrived on the path over the outlet culvert, a large brown bird suddenly flew up from the vegetation in front of the culvert. My first bittern of the year! It settled just across the pond, and tried hard to camouflage itself. I knew better.

Ha ha, you can't see me! I'll just keep my bill in the air, and I'll look like a cattail...

Finally, when it thought the coast was clear and we weren't much of a threat, it flew.

As usual, Sally enjoyed her pond frolic.

roofing progress

Finally I am seeing blue! The "back" half of the roof is mostly covered with steel roofing, and the "front" half will be done Monday. This is a big step, one we've been waiting for for a long time.

Under that pretty blue steel are two layers of foam board insulation, which should add up to an R value of 30 or so, important here in Minnesotarctica. Over the foam insulation are horizontal rows of 2 x 4's screwed through the insulation and roof boards to the rafters with 8 or 10 inch screws. The roofing is screwed to the 2 x 4's .

I stayed home to help out whenever possible, which meant I moved piles of boards and foam insulation here and there and helped carry the long sheets of steel roofing and lift them up to the crew. No, my feet never once touched a ladder. The combination of height and steep pitched roof
is not for me.

It was nice in the morning, partly cloudy and breezy, but as the day wore on it grew more breezy and cloudy. By late afternoon I was chilly and tired and ready for a hot shower. But we are a big step closer to moving in!

My fifteen minutes of birding fame are over

I have not seen the Western tanager since Tuesday evening. Tuesday night was clear and calm, so I'm suspecting the bird may have resumed his journey to wherever it was he was headed. I hope he makes it there.

That's what bird watching is like. There is always the possibility that something rare and unique might show up, but then again the "ordinary" birds could provide a lifetime of learning by observation. Birds bring great joy and excitement to life, and if you pay enough attention there is a reward at every encounter.

Then there is the joy of sharing birding experiences. After carefully considering the ramifications, I decided to post my sighting to the Minnesota Ornithologist's Union listserv, with a link to this blog for pictures. I had a record 178 visits to Sand Creek Almanac the day I posted to MOU, and a few emails from birders around the state. There were a few requests from people who wanted to come and see the tanager, and I had to debate whether I wanted strangers coming and seeing the mess that is my yard...anyway, that question was decided by the bird's absence on Wednesday. It would have been fun to meet some more bird folks though.

I'm off to go help with the roofing job- from the ground of course, I'm not getting up there! Photos tonight.

Western tanager update 4/29

It was back bright and early this morning, in the 15 degree frosty weather, and even came out to eat a few sunflower seeds on the ground! I was able to observe the size (much closer to a White throated sparrow than a goldfinch) and markings up close. He is beautiful!

MAJOR bird excitement here!

I just may have sighted a very unusual species for Minnesota! We were eating dinner, and I noticed a yellow bird sitting in a spruce tree about 50 feet away. Goldfinch, I thought, and continued eating. I looked up again about 5 minutes later, and the bird was still there. I noticed then that its face looked a bit red. Blushing goldfinch? Finally my curiosity got the better of me and I got up to get the binoculars. As soon as I got a close look, I knew this was no ordinary goldfinch, if it was even a goldfinch. No black on the forehead, instead the whole face was a scarlet red. The bird just did not look goldfinch-like either. For some reason, perhaps my early years of perusing and memorizing bird books, I thought, "tanager?" I flipped to the tanagers in Sibley's, and there it was--Western tanager!

I ran for The Hermit's 12x zoom camera, but when I got back the bird was gone. I paced around for a few minutes, then it came back! I hurriedly snapped a few photos, knowing they would be blurry because it was already after 7:00 and we didn't have any direct sunlight in the woods. But, anything would be better than nothing.


So, bird experts: Do these blurry photos say "Western tanager"? I'm thinking goldfinches don't have the black extending over the back, this bird is not as canary yellow as a goldfinch, and the male goldfinches around here are maybe 80-90% molted. There's also that yellow wingbar somewhat visible in the first photo, although I got a better look at it, that would distinguish this from a goldfinch.

This is so cool! According to the Minnesota Ornithologist's Union, there have only been two other confirmed sightings of Western tanagers in this county. Sightings are rare all across Minnesota, although there are more sightings in spring than in any other season. This also reminds me how incredibly serendipitous birding really is. Of course, it helps if you're paying attention.

spring will come again

I got lucky this morning. I was walking out with my camera to get a picture of the flooded creek, and I heard the raucous call of sandhill cranes. They sounded like they were coming my way, so I whipped the camera out of my pocket, turned it on, and zoomed the lens to 4x. I had no time to think as the birds came in to view, I just hit the shutter button and hoped for the best. This is a crop from a bigger photo. The branch got in the way, but I actually like it.

Today I also saw/heard my first-of-year cowbird (big deal, huh? Really, they have a unique call.) and yellow rumped warblers! The spring peepers, chorus frogs and wood frogs have resumed singing, and the woodcock and snipe are displaying at twilight. Even though today's high temperature only hovered around 40, the sun was out and took away all of the snow in sunny areas.

I've been having new house thoughts lately. By this time next week, the roof may be done! I am now choosing exterior stain colors and tile for the floor where the wood stove will be. We had settled on a dark gray-blue ceramic tile a couple of years ago, but Menard's no longer carries it. Instead, The Hermit found something even better: slate tiles. They are roughly the same color we had chosen before, with some beautiful natural variation among them; no two are the same. And cut stone is a bit more environmentally friendly than ceramic tile, which takes a lot of processing. I have done tile before, for the floor underneath our wood stove in this house, so I'm in charge of this project. No hurry with it, but then again I want that in place before we move in. Which may be around the time school is out. Which isn't that far off!

happy spring, v2

I don't even want to talk about it.

My seed potatoes and onion sets, which arrived this week, will have to wait to be planted.

Sigh.

haircuts, Danish invasion, blogger rendezvous, and Emmylou Harris

Now how, you are wondering, will she fit these seemingly incongruous topics into one post? I don't know either, but I'll try!
Do you recognize these boys? If you do, let me know. And, if you see two boys with big brown eyes, but you wouldn't see the eyes because they are covered with hair, let me know. I'm missing them, and meanwhile these two intruders have invaded my house. I can't believe they consented to such extreme ear exposure. But, they are excited because now they look like (Minnesota Twin) Joe Mauer. Or have the same haircut anyway. and Madcap, if you happen to see this, that's your pillow on Starflower's bed. She has claimed it!

Askov, the second nearest town, has a very Danish heritage. The street signs still even have an excess of letters, with names like Jernbanegade. Apparently a songwriter/storyteller from Denmark heard about the town and was so fascinated with the idea of Danish immigrants settling in Minnesota that he wanted to write about it. But first he wanted to visit the town, so tonight we were treated to a free concert by Esben Langkniv. I was amazed as I pulled into the parking lot of the community center; it was full. Starflower and I (girls' night out) got to see and hear a wonderful evening of music and storytelling. Sometimes I think storytelling is a lost art, what with TV and the Internet and all that, and how could someone pull off a show with stories in English interspersed with songs in Danish? Esben Langkniv did it perfectly, engaging the audience with his true life humor.

The audience was predominantly elder Askovites, maybe even some who had grown up in a Danish speaking household. But as I entered the community center, I scanned the audience, looking for a particular woman and her family. In the back row I saw some children who looked vaguely familiar, and as the mother and I made eye contact she said "I know you!" It was Heidi, my blogging neighbor, and this was our first real life meeting. It was a pleasure! Although, meeting a blogger is kind of an awkward thing. I mean, you practically know each other already, what is there to converse about? :) For us introverts that poses a problem. But we had fun and enjoyed the show, and it was nice to meet Heidi and her beautiful family. Hope to meet up again soon!

So how, you may be asking yourself, does Emmylou fit in with all of this? She doesn't. But I had to drive Starflower home from piano lessons today, and I happened to be listening to a Steve Earle CD in the car. He did a duet with Emmylou Harris on one number, and towards the end of the song Starflower turned to me and asked, in all honesty and innocence, "Mom, is that you singing?" I, suddenly grinning from ear to ear, said no. "But she sure sounds like you!"

Am I dreaming? Do I really have a singing voice so angelic, like Emmylou's, that a recording of her could fool my own daughter? I could only hope as much. But I'll take this for all it's worth. Starflower, you have given me the biggest ego boost in a long time! :)

Happy Spring!

May I present to you...my ice free pond! The combination of heavy rain last night and steadily above-freezing temperatures finally took their toll on the thin ice. I seem to remember Starflower taking her first swim when there was still ice on the pond a year or so ago. Maybe this weekend...

The pond is full, with a good flow through the outlet culvert. A big change from last summer, although other local ponds and lakes are still a bit low.

I had a good close bird encounter today. I was with a couple coworkers, checking trap nets we set on a local lake for northern pike. We had a good day for northerns, with a total of 80 caught, but our catch of the day was....a live horned grebe. And it was mad! We got it out of the net, but it was pecking at us with its amazingly sharp bill. We let it go over the shallow water, and it scooted far away from our nets. A definite first of year for me, and maybe a lifer...I'll have to check. But definitely a lifetime experience.

And I think I identified one of the unidentified bird sounds I heard last night. I had heard something that was definitely thrush like, and after listening to the call of the Wood Thrush I can almost positively say that's what it was! A new yard bird for here.

finally...more progress on the house!

Our carpenter called yesterday and said he would be coming by to start work on the roof...today. We had known he would be by sometime in a week or so. The snow is finally gone from around the house, except for a small pile on the north side, so they can set up scaffolding.

Here's a nice looking detail that wasn't in the original plans. See the roof overhang, and the brackets? I think it's lovely! It just accents the roofline perfectly. And the brackets look like perfect phoebe nesting habitat as well. :)

I am enjoying the sounds of spring peepers and wood frogs, as well as our first spring thunderstorm tonight. Also, earlier as I was admiring the house I heard two bird sounds I haven't identified yet. My car thermometer read 80 degrees as I left the office this afternoon! Of course, I park next to a south facing wall that probably amplifies the heat, but it still read 74 at home.

What I really love

I don't want to go to work tomorrow. I probably will, but the thought of entering the daily grind for another week just makes me cringe. Even though I will most likely be going out in the field for the first time since last fall.

My work doesn't matter. Counting fish, stocking fish, measuring fish....it's a great job, but I only do it for the compensation and ultimately it takes me away from what I love.

So what do I love?

I love my kitchen. Even though it's only an 8 x 12 shed, I have what I need out there and I love creating meals and food for my family. If I had my way, I would give up my full time job and just cook.

I love my garden. The feel of the soil between my fingers today was just...euphoric. When I am out there, I am happy. I listen to the birds, smell the soil, and think of the harvests to come. I think maybe this world does have a future. I think of the future, an 80 year old woman coming out to tend the soil, maybe her daughter or son or grandchild with her, helping out and absorbing the knowledge the grandmother has about the garden and what can grow there. After all, she has tended this garden for over forty years now. :)

I went outside after all

Even though it was cloudy and gray outside in the morning, the temperature was a lot milder than yesterday and I could almost hear my garden calling to me. So I headed out there and by the time I was done I had weeded and prepared three beds and planted one. I would have done even more, but the soil in most of the beds was a bit too moist from yesterday's rain, and still pretty cold.
I planted some kale and spinach I had started indoors, as well as seeds of lettuce, Swiss chard, and an Asian stir fry mix. I seem to have lost my arugula seeds, otherwise that would have been planted as well. The rake and livestock panel are placed there deliberately to keep cats and other critters out of my newly planted bed. Once things sprout, I will have to devise a plan to keep cottontails and snowshoe hares out.

After my Sunday morning church in the garden, I walked around a little since I could finally do that without dodging snow piles. We still have a little bit of snow on the north sides of buildings, but most of the land is finally snow free. I came across this casualty of last weekend's winds, the top of a fairly big white pine (approximately 24" diameter trunk). The tree is still alive, and I would not be surprised if one of the top limbs started growing up instead of out and became the new crown of the tree.
When I saw the size of the limbs, I started thinking to myself...these would make some nice looking stairway and balcony railings! Then I looked at the fallen section of trunk and thought...I love half log stairs. Maybe for the new house we could...
While I was musing on natural on site building materials, someone opened the door and Sally came bursting out of the house. I thought she might like a visit to the pond, so we went out that way. Does she look happy or what in this photo? It's been way too long since she went for a swim. The pond still has a bit of ice that won't go away today, but maybe tomorrow.

new yard wildlife

This morning I looked out under the bird feeder and saw a rabbit sitting there. At least I thought it was a rabbit at first, but I noticed its fur was much lighter and more grayish than the usual Eastern cottontail rabbits. It was also a bit larger. Snowshoe hare!

I had seen snowshoe hare tracks in the snow years ago, and may have even seen one once in its full white winter coat, but this is the first one I have seen since we have been living here.

It was too dark for a photo. It's looking to be another gray, cloudy day here at Sand Creek, but the high temperature may reach 60.

The weather sucks...

A high of 38 in April, and gusty winds? I am holing up inside, and I refuse to come out until Nature offers me a sunny, calm 60 degree day.

I did have one happy for the day. I got a cluster of statements from our health insurance provider, and among them were two claims that had been reprocessed and OUR DEDUCTIBLE REMOVED. They tried to overcharge us on our deductible last year. I have been fighting with the insurance company for a couple of months on this, so I am happy this has been resolved and we will either get a credit or a check from our clinic.

I saw and heard my first of year song sparrow today. I didn't get out beyond the end of the driveway to see anything else. It was a "jammie pants" kind of day. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warm, so I may be found out in the garden.

First frogs!

Tonight I went out to the step to listen for woodcock. Fortunately I heard two distinct males peenting and twittering as they spiraled skyward. The winter storm apparently didn't affect them too badly. But then, another sound nearly drowned out the woodcock....frogs. Wood frogs. It is spring.

Also, turkey vultures and Eastern phoebes have made their appearance recently. And Wilson's snipe.

time prevails

Life happens. On many different time scales. Sometimes, like this tree engulfing a "No Trespassing" sign, it happens so slowly we cannot perceive it with our immediate senses. Yet it happens.

revelations

Have you noticed that I have not been posting as much lately?

Probably, if my Site Meter is any indicator. I've been posting less, but you've been visiting less.

But it's not a blow to my ego, really. I've been focused on other things. Like our planetary crisis. I am sick of reading doomsday stuff about it, so lately I've been reading Bill McKibben's Deep Economy and Paul Hawken's Blessed Unrest. They both kind of give the idea that yeah, we're in a crisis, but people are doing something about it! All I know is, I have to live the earth friendly life that works for me here, teach my children how to love the land, and that is the best I can do in my corner of the world.

That, and play music. Feel the music as it comes from many generations ago, the spirit of laughing and singing. I try to do fifteen minutes of practice a day on the banjo, my most challenging instrument. Sunday I even found a musical lick I called my own on guitar, and played a few chunes on flute.

Everyone engaged in playing music on their own, creating, is part of the rebellion.

There is so much more I have been thinking and feeling compelled to DO lately. It's all good, I believe it, and blogging about it may just be part of my mission here on Earth.

No, I'm not going freaky or something. I just think I may have found my sense of purpose.

The wind in the pines

My apologies to those of you on dialup. A still photo just doesn't capture the power of the wind today.

We are in the middle of a whopper of an April blizzard here. The wind is howling and the snow keeps falling. I can't tell how much we've had, because it's blowing around so much, but I shoveled a good 8 inches off the steps this morning. Of course, I stayed home. It just wasn't worth it to drive nearly 30 miles to work in these conditions, and school was canceled for the day. I found that out about 2 AM when I woke up and decided to check the school web site. I quietly told The Hermit, but as I was getting into bed I heard a delighted giggle from Calvin, who apparently had heard me.

I spent my morning in the cook shed, as I usually do during snow days. I washed dishes while the bread machine worked on a whole wheat dough for the meatball calzones we had for lunch. There is corned beef in the slow cooker; I will add cabbage later for our dinner. Right now I am trying to decide which musical instrument to pick up first in my precious free time.

winter storm warning

6-10 inches of snow possible tonight. Blizzard warnings in the county to the north and gale warnings on Lake Superior.

When will it end?

The Hermit emailed me yesterday to tell me we were down to 25% in the large propane tank so he ordered 275 gallons, the minimum order. I emailed him back saying "I hope that lasts until spring comes!"

My ears tell me it's spring. I step out in the dim morning light to the sound of woodcocks and sandhill cranes and robins and Canada geese. The birding listservs are full of reports of new migrants arriving daily. But, once again, Spring is on hold.

Actually, the thought of blizzards and gale warnings on Lake Superior is strangely appealing to me. I wouldn't mind being holed up in a cozy cabin on the shore, with a warm wood stove and no reason to go outdoors, listening to the wind howl and the waves crash.

Spring looks like...

My garden, at long last revealed. I am entertaining ideas of starting to move some of that good horse pasture dirt tomorrow and start some greens in one bed. If it's dry enough.

The pond, with ice melting away from the edges.

What happened here? Hint: My shoes were very wet.

Pussy willows in all their fuzziness.

Today's new sightings include a meadowlark, probably Eastern just because I haven't heard Westerns sing around here. I heard a woodcock peenting at the break of dawn; I forgot to go outside at twilight to hear it again, but I know it was there. Have I mentioned red winged blackbirds yet? They are here. And I decided to go out to my car for something this morning when I was at work, and just as I got outside I heard the distinctive call of a flock of tundra swans! They were flying low, so I could see them well without binoculars, and they flew right over the office. Tundra swans are kind of hit or miss; you have to be at the right place at the right time. Calvin saw eight wood ducks on the creek this afternoon, and I happened to be close enough that I heard them enough to confirm they were wood ducks.

The temperature reached 60 today! I drove home with my windows open, hoping to hear some Western chorus frogs, but apparently they need another warm day or so to activate.

This and that

Today's new bird sightings and/or hearings:

This morning I opened the door and was greeted to the call of sandhill cranes in a nearby swamp. Later I sighted a pair of them in a field on my route to work.

On my way to work I saw a flock of 8-10 hooded mergansers on Sand Creek a few miles from my house. On my way home I saw three of them on the big pool in the creek by my home. Male hooded mergansers are just amazing looking birds.

Also seen and/or heard: killdeers, red winged blackbirds, harriers, and one bluebird. The temperature soared into the mid fifties today. Spring is here.

In blogging related business, please go here and here for Thingfish23's amazing photos of the bird that got me started on a life of birding at age 6. And, just past the male painted bunting, I found this apology. Apparently, when he was doing some blog renovation he lost my link in his sidebar, and it was gone for a while. I had noticed I wasn't there, but thought oh well, it's his sidebar. But it really made my day to see that he actually posted an apology about inadvertently leaving me out! That is one classy blogger. I probably would have just put the link back in and hoped no one noticed...Can you tell I have this thing about being acknowledged? Anyway, thank you Thingfish23. If God Forbid I ever make it to south Florida, I hope we can meet up. (I was in Fort Myers Beach in 1985 for spring break, that's probably the closest I'll get.)

Another thing you may knot know about me

Pun intended. I am KNOT dyslexic.

Which means, although I can tie my shoes and do a decent square knot (learned it in Girl Scouts) and even a couple half hitches (most of the time), I just cannot learn knots from diagrams in books, or if I do, I have a very short memory for them. Really. Even if I do a knot successfully five times in a row, I can walk away from work for fifteen minutes, and the next time I try to do the same knot it's a disaster.

Lately part of my job involves mending fish trap nets. I have been working on faith that, when one of my coworkers lifts that very net this fall, they won't exclaim "Deb must have done this one! Look at those stupid overdone knots!" And "why was this not patched instead of just stitched together haphazardly!"

I know none of my coworkers would say this. And the muskrats will continue to chew holes in the nets no matter how elaborately they are patched. But I just wish I could learn how to do more than a figure eight and a square knot. And remember how to do them, for more than a few minutes.

I am choosing to do the smaller mesh nets, which we use for walleye fingerling harvest, because instead of tying an elaborate web of knots in those, we simply stitch in a patch of mesh. That I can do. Don't ask me to weave a net.