Vortices

Sand Creek crosses our road in two 8 foot concrete culverts. Most of the time they provide more than adequate room for water to flow. Yesterday they were a bottleneck. At least water was not flowing over the road, as it was in several locations on a nearby dead end road. The vortices look cool but deadly.

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The Great Flood of 2012

Just when you think you've seen everything and you think your day will be perfectly normal...

...you walk outside in the morning and your driveway looks like this!

It rained a lot last night. The Hermit and I were home alone, the older two kids were camping about 20 miles east of here, and Joe was at a friend's house about ten miles downstream on Sand Creek. We were worried at times about the campers, with severe thunderstorm warnings all around, but they texted us that they were okay.

It had also rained a lot last Wednesday night, 3-4 inches. The creek was up, and Vinny's baseball playoff game got postponed from Thursday to Friday due to wet baseball fields.

I think we got about 4 inches last night too, but I never put two and two together until I saw the driveway this morning. The creek had overflown its banks, and was flowing through the old horse pasture to the right in the photo, the very place where I was going to put a garden but decided not to. The pond, meanwhile, had risen to meet the creek.

After I put on waders to investigate, I found myself wading through above knee deep water on the driveway. Wow, I thought, as reality started to sink in. We were flooded in!

The house is high and dry, so we are okay there. However, Sand Creek has to be a good 4 or 5 feet above normal. No one around here has ever seen it like this. We had to load bales of hay in the canoe and take the canoe out to the road and have a neighbor drive out to the horse pasture to feed the horses.

The horses had a small area of high ground to stand on. And see the baby horse in the photo? That is one of the many things I need to blog about.

The water rose a bit throughout the morning, and I used the canoe to bring a bicycle out to the road so I could survey the area. The road a half mile north of here was washed out in a low spot between two old gravel pits. There were county workers hauling loads of gravel and working on this holiday to make the road passable. Sort of. That same road is under water in at least four places.

One of our canoes had been parked along the creek bank, a good two feet above normal water level. As I was riding in the back of the neighbors' pickup truck to feed the horses, I noticed the canoe, on the other side of the road, lodged in some alders on what used to be the creek bank. Vinny and Nina were able to rescue the canoe, and the paddles were still inside!

It looks like the kids and I will be having a day off from work and school tomorrow. It rained and hailed again this afternoon, and I doubt we will be able to get out of the driveway until late tomorrow at the earliest. Joe is staying another night at his friend's house; they are having flooding issues there too. But I am thankful everyone is okay, and that the house is on high ground!

You don't need a big river...

...to have big fun. At least that's what my kids were finding out over the weekend.

 It was beautiful weather for May, with highs in the 70's both Saturday and Sunday. Nina and I spent Saturday at the wedding of an old friend of mine. Vinny had a couple friends over, and while much time was spent playing video games, the lure of Sand Creek and a kayak were too much to resist. They paddled upstream, occasionally having to pull the kayak over small beaver dams, until they found what Vinny described as "the mother of all beaver dams". It was built at the confluence of Sand Creek and a tributary, and was so large and had been there for such a long time that the creek had changed course, flowing around one end of the long dam and creating a waterfall.

On Sunday morning, Vinny and Devin (pictured above), along with Devin's brother Calvin, Joe, and Nina in our 17 foot Old Town canoe, held the first ever Sand Creek Canoe Race. Everyone paddled upstream to the beaver dam, which was the starting line. From there the length of the race was a good quarter mile or more. I went out to the horse pasture to watch them go by, and they were making pretty good time. Devin and Vinny were in the lead when I took this picture, but apparently there was a dispute over where the finish line was, and the three in the canoe claimed victory. A good time was had by all.

I always dreamed of living on a big lake, or a river big enough to canoe. Apparently my dream has come true and I never realized it until now. That kayak is calling my name sometime this weekend.

To garden, or not to garden

I never thought this would actually be a question. In 20 plus years of adulthood and marriage, I have always had some kind of a vegetable garden. Some years it was smaller than others, but I always felt I had to have something. With all the space I have here, to not use a good amount of it for growing food seems like, well, a waste.

This spring, however, I am re-thinking things, at least for this year. We have a number of things that need to be done on the house. Bathroom. Kitchen cabinets and sink. Deck. Flooring. Garage. The garage will be built by professionals, but I expect I will have to put in a considerable amount of time on the other projects. This full time job thing of mine gets in the way, and despite my desire to get everything done AND have a large garden, it does not appear to be realistic. Especially when I had planned on moving the garden to a new location this year, and the ground is not even tilled yet.

Relax, I tell myself. Abide. I will still have the garlic I planted last year, and maybe some plants in containers. But do I really want to go all out planting, only to feel guilty later about not tending weeds? Next year, when my house is a lot more finished than it is this year, I'll get back into it.

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Play ball!

Warning: Shameless Mom bragging ahead! :)

It is now baseball and softball season here, which means I can just as well forget about cooking dinner or being home before eight two or three nights a week. Vinny and Nina love these sports the best, and I am more than willing to sacrifice time at home to see them play.

Yes, that is my #23 gracing the cover of the local newspaper this week. Of course I was just beaming when I saw it. After the starting pitcher gave up a few runs in the first inning of their first game, Vinny came in and did a good job for the rest of the game. And Thursday night he was starting pitcher and went the full game. They lost 6-2, but it was a good game and the opposing coach even complimented our coach about Vinny's performance.

A few notes about this team. We are a small, rural school, and there are only about 13 players out for baseball this year. They were sub section champions last year, but they lost a few good seniors. Of the 13 players, four are freshmen. There is no junior varsity team. Just about everyone on the team can pitch. BUT- Vinny has been to pitching camp, and has had many hours of practice in the back yard (we have worn out one pitch back, just ordered a new one). He takes his time, thinks the situation through, and mixes things up with a few different pitches. Which is why Vinny has quickly established himself as the eminent starting pitcher for the Eagles. Oh yeah, he can hit too. I haven't kept track of his batting average, but it is pretty darn good. He has been asked to play American Legion baseball this summer for a nearby town. More good games to watch.

I think I have a fun four seasons ahead of me. Wait, Joe is in fourth grade, so I have a good eight baseball/softball seasons ahead of me. Good thing I invested in a good folding chair.

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New post up on "Under the Blue Roof"

Announcing the resurrection of my food/domestic blog after a long hiatus (that's a fancy term for laziness)! I was so happy with how my fried rice turned out last night I just had to share the recipe.

Life is good

Joe has a new bike. The older kids are headed home from their amazing trip to Washington DC. Peepers and western chorus frogs are singing, and woodcock are displaying. The road is finally dry enough that I don't fear my new car getting swallowed up by a gigantic mud hole. Said car is averaging over 35 mpg. My new kitchen cabinets, and bath fixtures, will be delivered soon.

No complaints here. :)


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Was this month really March?

For having a blog that includes "phenology" in the description, one would think that I would have been faithfully updating posts these last few weeks, chronicling the unfolding of the warmest March on record. In an ideal world, that is.

Sorry folks. In reality it seems this month has gone by in a blur, busier than ever doing I don't even know what. Getting kids ready for the band trip. Helping Joe with his Science Fair project. Putting the first 3,000 miles on the new car shuttling kids to baseball and volleyball practices and shopping in Duluth. Working. et cetera.

However, those of you who are on Facebook know that it is much easier to write a quick status update than it is to compose a coherent blog post. And if we're Facebook friends, you know that I manage to update my status fairly often. That is, if you haven't hidden me from your feed because you're tired of hearing about my life! :) So, I have reviewed my last month of status updates and put together a phenology of sorts:

March began with about a foot of snow on the ground, the first significant snowfall we'd had all winter. On the evening of the 3rd, we had a visit from a friend who was out snowmobiling, perhaps for the first time this winter. The next day a warm spring wind blew in. I traveled to the southern part of Minnesota for a work meeting on the 5th and saw my first ducks and geese. On the 7th I saw my first kestrel. On the 8th we had a mini blizzard, but that snow quickly disappeared. Early the morning of the 9th, I saw the aurora borealis; I have been waiting to see this for years!

On the 11th, The Hermit and I went shopping at Menard's in Duluth (for those of you outside of Minnesota and Wisconsin, that is like Home Depot or Lowes) and picked out base kitchen cabinets, a tub/shower enclosure, and bathroom vanity- all on sale! Let's just say I love my new Discover card...

First bluebirds on the 13th; on the 18th we put up four bluebird houses in the horse pasture, with the hope that at least one of them will be occupied by bluebirds. I didn't even record when I saw my first robin, but it was well ahead of the usual schedule. First blooming dandelion on the 16th. Lots of tundra swans flying over the 17th and 18th. Woodcock have been displaying morning and evening since the 18th; I even saw a female woodcock approach a male when he landed from his sky dance in the back yard. First spring peepers on the 19th.

Oh yeah, I seem to recall something happening on the 20th. Something to do with the number 45...

So now the ice is out on the pond, which makes Sally one happy Labrador, and the ice is even out on the big lakes. Of course, with my job that means I am out on the lakes too, pulling nets as we attempt to get an idea of the health of various fish populations. I don't think I had ever been out in a boat in March. Northern pike are spawning, and walleye are getting ready.

The lake I am working on just happens to be the lake where my grandma and grandpa lived, where I spent many weekends in and on the water. My grandma, 92, lives in town now, but my uncle still has the lake home. It is fun to be back; that lake will always be special to me.

So there's what happened in the March that felt more like April or May.


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Band trip 2012

My two oldest kids are now somewhere between here and Washington, DC. I last heard that they were eating dinner at the Cracker Barrel in Rockford, Illinois. Vinny ordered the catfish. :) Nina convinced me to swap iPhones and sim cards with her, because her phone is having some serious issues. I hope she is enjoying my phone, because I am cursing hers.

Really, I think this band trip, to our nation's Capitol, is a once in a lifetime opportunity for them. I traveled to DC when I was seventeen, with 4-H club, and it really changed my perspective. Actually, I liked shopping in Georgetown. But that was where I was at. I think my kids will see so much more.

The band director has created a blog: ecbandtrip2012.blogspot.com . i am having trouble copying and pasting this link on my iPad, but if you are interested, please follow it!

I still have Joe here, but the house feels so quiet. I wish the ice hadn't gone out on lakes so early this year, because that means a lot of work for me.

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An un-lazy Sunday afternoon update

Okay, so my plans to use the iPad to increase my writing and blogging frequency so far have not panned out. But like everything else, it takes time to break old habits and settle into new ones.

This last month found me unexpectedly car shopping. The Subaru ended up totaled; apparently taking a ride over tree stumps, saplings and rocks was too much for it. But all in all I think I came out ahead on this one. The Subaru was worth more than I still owed on it, just enough money to make a down payment on a new 2012 Ford Focus.



For the same monthly payment, I now have a vehicle that does not have 106,000 miles on it, does not make strange noises, and that annoying "Check Engine" light is not constantly on. Perhaps more importantly these days, I can get up to 40 miles per gallon, over ten more mpg than the Subaru. And I can plug my iPod into the sound system. I will miss the heated seats though.

Notice the snow in the picture. Until Wednesday, snow was something that was missing from this winter around here. Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, however, we received over a foot of snow. and the kids and I were delighted to have a day off from work and school (my office was officially closed, something that rarely happens). I always think Leap Day should be a bonus day anyway.

The boys are at baseball camp this afternoon; I am enjoying a quiet day in the house with Nina, Sally, and the cats. I plan to get out a musical instrument in a while, but for now I have an Extra Pale Ale brewing on the stove, and bread in the bread machine. I have decided recently to try and make more essentials, like bread and beer, at home. I can save a little money that way, especially on the bread, but more importantly, it's hard to find a loaf of store bought bread that doesn't have all kinds of strange ingredients, and too much sugar or high fructose corn syrup.

Well, it's time to put the brew pot out in the snow to chill. But hey, I blogged! :)
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Location:Wolf Creek Rd,Bruno,United States

Three reminders

Life has gone by fast lately. It seems the last four or five years have been nothing but a blur. There have been good times, that's for sure, but they seem to get lost in the whirl of day to day living.

But, in the last few weeks, I have found some remembrances of an earlier life. The kids were very young, I was probably in a state of perpetual confusion, but each one of them gave me their own views on life, words that kept me going even when I thought i did not even know myself.

Vinny- When he was in his twos and we had recently moved to Missouri for a job The Hermit took, I found myself floundering in depression, from living far away from family, from moving away from the life we'd built early in our marriage, and maybe some postpartum depression after giving birth to Nina. She was, by the way, a very challenging infant. Which will probably explain the quote from her.

in the midst of all this, I had an extremely intelligent and perceptive two year old son, who took it all in stride. One night when I was not at my best, he took one of those drawing tablets they have, the plastic ones where you draw things with a stylus and it can be erased wi a swipe. He drew a spider. An oval, eight legs radiating from it like sunbeams, and a smile on its face.

"I drew you a 'pider, Mom. I hope it makes you happy."

Oh Vinny, if you only knew. That spider probably saved me.

Now on to Nina, or as she was known in her infant years, Nina Sirena. She could grab your attention and drive babysitters to insanity. She was an independent gal from the start. When she was about the same age as Vinny was when he drew the sweet spider, I was trying to tell her to do something one day. I don't remember what it was. Anyway, she looked at me thoughtfully and said, "It's not MINE purpose. It's YOURS purpose!"

wow.

I did not expect that to kick in until the teenage years. And now that she is a teenager, well almost, it is kind of a relief that she got that out of her system early. We are pretty good at talking things out and negotiating.

And as for Joe, well, I have a photo of him, an analog, physical copy that I need to scan one of these days. In it, he is about two years old (why are all these stories seeming to converge on the Terrible Twos?), and he has a very thoughtful look on his face. His finger is crooked at the corner of his mouth, adding to the drama. "What shall I do next?" I wish I had it scanned now, so you could see the mischief on his face. It was about this same time in his life that he left a DeWalt lamp on the bed, face down turned on, and nearly burned the cabin down. The wool blanket saved us.

Three reminders, that, while I was going through times in my life that I thought were pretty tough, three reminders of what I was living for, and what kept me going.

I'm still here...

Yes, I am still here in the blogging world, still trying to figure out the intricacies of blogging photos on the iPad. I've been meaning to post more often, tell about my birding trip to Sax Zim Bog with Lynne, my reunion with high school friends I hadn't seen in years. Et cetera. But what matters most to me, this morning, is that I am alive and well. And I am reminded that I am not invincible. Last night, when I was driving to the activity bus stop a mile and a half from home to pick up Nina and her friend, I skidded straight through a "T" intersection and ended up well beyond the ditch. I'm fine, the car took some serious hits from tree stumps and saplings and is not drivable. It all happened so fast, I am at a loss to explain what went wrong, why such an ordinary drive I make all the time ended up that way. I was a half mile away from home, approaching the intersection which is the north end of my road. I stepped on the brakes as usual, and...nothing happened. I kept going. There was fresh snow on the road, but nothing I'm not used to. I think my brakes failed. The whole thing was kind of a blur, but I don't remember hearing the anti lock brakes grind, I don't remember feeling any slowing down when I stepped on the brakes. I know I didn't accidentally hit the accelerator because I was pressing down hard and the engine didn't rev. Whatever it was, and I'm willing to admit I probably was not concentrating as much as I should have, but STILL...anyway, I'm pretty lucky to be alive and unhurt, except maybe for my ego. I am humbled and reminded that anything can happen, anytime, and life can change in an instant. I'm still here, and I am grateful.

Testing BlogPress

I got a nifty Apple wireless keyboard for my iPad yesterday. It is so small it could fit into a backpack, and the keys have just the right amount of action so it feels good typing. The iPad screen is okay for typing for a short time, but I want to be able to use the iPad for writing longer things. Like blog posts.

The problem with that is, apparently Blogger, WordPress, and other platforms have not kept up with the rapidly evolving world of apps. I can do limited writing and editing on the standard Web interface on Safari, but it does not want to add photos or hyperlinks. Blogger has an app for iPad, but again the functionality is very limited. So this morning I spent the $2.99 and downloaded BlogPress (thank goodness apps are cheap). It has tools to insert HTML so you don't have to write your own, and there is a tool to upload photos that are stored on the iPad. Apparently if I want to add a photo from Picasa I have to copy the location and insert the proper HTML. The downside is, there is no WYSIWYG interface, no previews. And when I went back and tried to complete a draft of a post I am working on, for some reason I could not start typing.

My prediction is that by the end of 2012 someone will have come up with an app that solves these issues. After all, if we can put a man on the moon...

Now for a test photo:





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A Monday holiday

I am sitting here in my rocking chair by the wood stove with a cat in my lap, another one on my shoulders. The third cat tried to get on my lap, but since Frisky takes up most of my lap space that was not possible.

I like it when holidays fall on Sundays, because that means I get the following Monday off work. Whatever observance of the holiday is behind me, and I get a "bonus" day to relax and regroup before getting back into the normal routine.

A week ago I spent my Monday holiday doing what has become a tradition for me: the Pine County Christmas Bird Count. It was the warmest count day ever, with temperatures in the 40's, and with the lack of snow it felt more like late October than the day after Christmas. There were also strong winds, which made birding more challenging. Nonetheless, my group came up with 24 species, including a rare treat for this area: a golden eagle! Bald eagles are fairly common around here, even throughout the winter now, but I had never positively identified a golden eagle in this area. Even the expert birders I was with had to consult their field guides, and they ended up having a lengthy discussion about what features distinguished it from a dark morph rough legged hawk. In the end the wind helped them make the distinction. Since a golden eagle is considerably heavier than a rough legged hawk, its flight is less buoyant. A rough legged hawk would have hovered more and soared more lightly in the wind. It was a good learning experience for me: good birders never assume anything and consider all the details.

This Monday holiday will be a bit more home-based. I will finish cutting up the turkey we had last night, maybe making a soup from the leftovers. Maybe I will finally make the time to play music, like I keep telling myself I will. At least I've already blogged, which is more than I can say for most days last year!

Goin' wireless!

Testing 123... At long last, I have a pretty good WiFi signal in the house and I'm using the Blogger for iPad app. Oh yeah, THAT was my big Christmas present! So what better subject for a test photo than Frisky.

dreaming of a brown Christmas

Has it been over a month already since I've posted? 2011 will certainly not go down as a big blogging year for me. Yes, I'm still thinking of ideas for blog posts all the time, and there is always something interesting going on here to write about. But then there's this big disconnect between experiencing something, forming the words to describe it, getting to a medium where I can jot those words down for later use, and actually sitting down at the computer and connecting with Blogger. I've been going through my archives, and from what I see there it didn't used to be this difficult. Of course back then I didn't have teenage kids monopolizing the computer, and I didn't have Facebook for those moments I would have jotted down a quick blog post just to let the world know something.

This morning I have the computer to myself, finally. I stayed home from work with a bit of a sore throat and cold, just enough that work would have been somewhat miserable. I'm kind of glad to have a "me" day. The Hermit was out of town all last week, and between tending the wood stove and driving to various kids' activities, I didn't have much spare time. Fortunately the weather was very mild for December, even though some of the days were dark and gray, so heating was not a major issue. This has been one of the mildest Decembers I can remember, and what little snow we have has come an inch or so at a time. That means occasionally conditions on the pond have been perfect for ice skating, something I did not get to enjoy last year.

Christmas spirit is running at perhaps an all time high this year. Vinny found a very nice balsam fir on our property, and took it upon himself to cut it, bring it inside, and set it up by himself. Nina and Joe joined in for the decorating. I decided to make up for all the years I thought about making Christmas cookies but didn't get any further than that. Three batches done so far, about eight to go.

Brewing is also being done at the rate of about one five gallon batch a week. You'd think I'd have a lot of beer sitting around ready for consumption at that rate, but oddly enough it seems to disappear as soon as it has sat in bottles long enough to build carbonation.

Here's Frisky, official mascot of "Sixteen Pound Siamese Brewery", overseeing the transfer of a wheat beer from fermenter to carboy.

That's the news from Sand Creek for now. Come to think of it, it feels pretty good to be blogging again. I'll be back soon.

birding skills

It's been a long time since I've done a birding-oriented blog post. It's not that I have not seen birds, but being the opportunistic birder that I am, as well as the lazy blogger, I haven't taken many bird photos this year, or taken the time to report my findings. Today, however, I had a birding moment that not only resulted in a new Year Bird, it also gave me reason to reflect on what makes a good birder and how every experience is a teacher.

In a work-related errand, I went to a small dirt road that had been built over a bog many years ago. This road had been flooded over and washed out many times in recent years. Well duh, you build a road on a wetland, what do you expect? But nevertheless, the township wants to clean out an old ditch to see if it will alleviate the flooding. Truthfully, I'm not the right person to make that determination. I'm not a hydrologist. But even without those credentials, I can tell you I really don't think clearing a little brush and silt out of a ditch will make much of a difference in the drainage of a hundred or more acre bog, especially when the land (bog) is flat and the next stop is a 35 foot deep bog lake. But whatever.

This is the road. The water level is about a foot below the road bed. Something tells me that this road should never have been built here. But again, that's not mine to judge. I liked how it looked though; with all the tamaracks and spruces, and the understory of unique bog plants, this looked like great bird habitat.

As I paused to look at the side of the road in search of a culvert, I heard the sound of little bits of something dropping from a nearby tamarack. Birding skill #1: Use your ears. I immediately scanned the tree branches for the source, likely a bird or red squirrel feeding on tamarack cones.It took a while, but I finally picked out a flock of about six smallish birds, occasionally flitting from branch to branch as they fed on buds or cones. Birding skill #2: Think habitat. What kind of bird would be using tamarack as a food source? Something told me these weren't chickadees, or goldfinches; they just weren't acting that way. Birding skill #3: Watch for behavioral cues.

I was regretting not having a pair of binoculars with me. Birding skill #4: Always carry your binoculars! The birds were just dark silhouettes against the midday sky. But I had the work camera with me, with its limited zoom, so I thought maybe I could take a few photos and examine them in greater detail later. Birding skill #5: Always carry your camera! I was also thinking for some reason that my iPhone, which has the cool Sibley bird app, was still in the car. Birding skill #6: Carry a field guide! So I decided to head back to the car and get my phone. But before I did that, I decided to try "pishing" to see if that would bring any of the birds closer. Birding skill #7: "Pishing" comes in handy. In no time the entire flock took notice and flew across the road. I, of course, saw little dark flying silhouettes. But I did hear some vocalizations, and that was enough to rule out a few common species. Birding skill #8: See #1. I got back to the car only to realize my iPhone had been in my pocket the entire time. I opened up Sibley's and scrolled to what was becoming a likely suspect.

Recognize these silhouettes yet? The audio calls in the app matched up with what I had heard. And when I zoomed in on this photo, I was able to see some distinctive white wing patches.

White winged crossbills! My first in a long time. But along with the satisfaction of seeing a species that is only seen irregularly, I noticed that my birding skills were becoming more sharp. Perhaps the best way to develop identification skills is not by being told what species is in front of you and then watching it, but by being presented with an unfamiliar species and figuring out what cues might distinguish it from other species.

And, the Sibley iPhone app comes in very handy. :)

Changes in attitudes

Remember how I used to rant about all terrain vehicles?

We own one now. And that very grown up looking young man, and one very capable driver, is my son Vinny. Now 5'11 or so.

It was an evolution in attitude. I used to be a Thoreau-driven, Luddite kind of person. But when you have 40 acres, and the acreage tends to get grown up in brush if you ignore it, and trees fall across established trails, it's hard to maintain the land without horsepower. Or gasoline power. And given that snow falls in the winter, and we have a very long driveway, and it's hard to do with a city-dweller snowblower...well, enough excuses. And Vinny doesn't need excuses. At 14, he's ready to ride!

The best thing is, we will use it to plow my new garden spot. After a lot of frustration, and deliberation, I have decided to move my garden out to the old horse pasture in the front part of our land.

I was getting tired of grasses and other weeds constantly getting into my raised beds. Which weren't really raised beds, considering I tilled down below the boards every spring, and pulled up new rocks all the time. Many of the beds were rotten and needed replacing. Added to that is the fact that some aspens are growing just south of the garden, and will shade it in the near future. The old horse pasture has less rocks, and has been enriched by manure for a while. I plan to do a more "traditional" garden, plowing up an area instead of maintaining individual beds.

Besides, the kids needed additional space in the outfield of our backyard baseball field.

Vinny and I saw this porcupine while he was taking me on a 4 wheeler tour. Not the best picture, but it was fun to see after a bumpy ride across the swamp on the old railroad grade.

This has been a very mild November thus far. We had a couple of inches of snow the other day but it has disappeared, and the pond has frozen over and thawed, and Sally can still go for a swim. She is beginning to dislike going out in the deep water; I imagine when the water is in the 30's, even a Labrador will give it a second thought.

photo comparison, and Brew Cat

Just sayin'. I snapped this with my iPhone with its micro lens, and ended up with a much better exposure than what I took later with my Kodak Z740.

While I'm at it, here's Best Cat Ever (aka Frisky), looking on with interest as my St. Paul Porter is being transferred to the carboy for an excruciatingly long waiting period of secondary fermentation. This is my first brew in a few years, and I must say it is about time!

Whether snow, sleet, hail, or rain...

Sally will go to the pond. And though this looks like a picture I would have taken on my iPhone, it was actually taken on my current working digital camera. What this photo does not show, and what I could not find a quick, easy fix for, is that at the time there was a very dramatic sky. Those little bolts you may see above the pond are blobs of sleet falling. Oh Kodak Easyshare Z740, you could have done so much better! You overexposed!

Anyway, the sky was dramatic as I was driving home, and I could tell there was some sort of precipitation falling nearby, although the sun was shining all the time. And since Vinny and Nina are done with sports for now, I was able to get home before the sun set. Two weeks from now when Standard Time kicks in, I will be lucky to see my home in daylight. The pond will freeze over, and Sally will just have to dream for a few months.

So the question now is...which do I want more? New digital camera, or iPad?

fall is happening

And I am doing my best to stay awake for it. Life seems more hectic here than ever; I haven't even had the time to stop at my refuge, Banning State Park, for over a week. These are photos from my last visit there, and my, things have changed in a few days.

It has been unseasonably warm and very dry here. The fall colors are beautiful, but I enjoy them more on a crisp, cool day.

My life mostly revolves around driving to work, and driving my kids to and from sports. My 2006 Subaru Outback just hit the 100,000 mile mark two days ago, which is not out of the question considering we live 15 miles from school and 30 miles from my job, but still it is a sobering reminder that I am, for now, dependent on driving. I love these fall days, but sometimes I wish the progression of the seasons, and the events in my life, would just slow down for once so I could enjoy them a little.

I mean, how in the heck did my kids end up so old already? :)

energy

I found a rock ledge today, perched on a slope some 50 feet above the Kettle River. It is just yards away from a major trail, but yet it is hidden from view. It was just me and the rock and the river. I sat in a sort of meditation for a while, then I wrote. I will share what I wrote, unedited.

I am hidden from the world of humans. Down a rocky slope towards the river, underneath a sandstone ledge that long ago broke away from the hillside. It was the work of the water, the water that carved the valley, the water that now rushes far below. The leaves, beginning to show hues of soft yellow and blushes of red, come and go. Trees anchor their roots in rock crevices. The water still does its work. I feel its energy in the sound. If there were no sound, that is if I had no ears to hear, I would still feel the dull roar as it echoes off the sandstone behind me. The leaves turn sunlight into energy, the water finds power in the pull of gravity, even the bonds that hold the rock together are energy on another scale. 

Here I am rock. I am leaf. I am water.

september

I have been easing back in to the routine of kids going to school, and me picking kids up from various activities. Vinny decided to play football after all, and Nina is playing volleyball, so after I get off work at 4:30 I usually end up doing errands and then waiting until about 6 when they are done with practice. When the weather is nice, and there are no games to watch, I've been spending my time at Banning State Park, which surrounds the school grounds. This has become one of my favorite places. The Kettle River cuts through a sandstone gorge, creating amazing rock formations. I like to walk down by the river, or sometimes I find a rock outcrop high above the river and I sit and read, write, or just unwind. I would hesitate to call what I do meditation, although I am trying to learn meditation and make it a part of my life. Life is just so noisy, so chaotic, sometimes I need to quiet the thoughts that keep racing around in my mind. The river, with its constant rushing and tumbling on rocks, helps.

Totally effortless compost garden, revisited

Remember the stuff I had growing in my compost bin? Take a look now. I love this kind of gardening!

 Yeah, there's a compost bin in there, somewhere. But it has been overtaken by squash, tomatillos, corn, and a tomato plant, although like most of my other tomatoes this year, it is not faring well. I don't know what it is with me and tomatoes this year. Oh well.

I have at least five of these acorn type squash ripening on the vine. The funny thing is, they do not look like any acorn squash I have ever planted before. The coloration looks a lot like Delicata squash, which I did plant last year, in the same bed as acorn squash. I think they somehow cross-pollinated, and the seeds I scraped out of one and tossed in the compost bucket grew into this. I can't wait to try the result; maybe I have come up with a new heirloom! Delicata are delicious, acorn squash are delicious. A cross between them....we'll see!

I also have at least three Montana Jack pumpkins growing where I planted them last year, but where this year potatoes are ready to be harvested. And I will have a bumper crop of tomatillos from several garden beds, even though I did not get around to planting them this year. I love this kind of gardening.

so what's up?

I don't know about my whole blog energy lately. This blog is such a part of me I will not quit it, ever, but I just have a hard time keeping up. Maybe it's the whole computer location thing. The computer is still in the cabin, which is just out of WiFi range of the house. I can't get used to blogging on my iPhone anyway, the computer needs to stay in the cabin for space and gaming reasons (the XBox is there, dammit!), and it is hard for me to come out the the cabin and write what I want to write. And I do really want to write.

So what does this mean? I don't know. I know that I want to write, and I have to keep working at it. I know that there are so many things I want to say that remain unsaid. I will work at it.

Did I mention my son Vinny is now at least 3 inches taller than me, and my daughter Nina is catching up fast? Wow. And Vinny made a pretty mature decision to not go out for football. Or basketball. He is a baseball guy. And I like that. Football takes so much time, what with two a days and all that, and I think as long as he concentrates on his talents, which include baseball, music, AND every topic in school, he will do all right. He actually told me "I will have more time to focus on academics." To hear this from a 14 year old kid is priceless. He told me his math teacher said he was probably the smartest kid in his class. And I believe it!!

Ah, time. Vinny drives the old truck like it's second nature. Next summer he will be taking driver's ed. Meanwhile, I stop and try to breathe in every last breath of August that I can...

finally seeing blue

 I planted blueberries five years ago, anticipating that I would have huge harvests within a year or two. But as usual, things didn't work out as planned (do they ever?) Plants got nibbled by rabbits in winter, weeds competed in summer, and every year I was left with blueberry bushes about the size of the ones I had planted. But last fall, I took some time to weed the bed and pile on a heaping load of pine needle mulch (plenty of that around here). The response was very positive: good plant growth in spring, good flower set, and now, ripe berries. Yeah, they look imperfect, but they taste wonderful!

This is the entire harvest, and that's before tasting. Yeah, I know...but if I do what I did again this fall, things should just get better, right?

I saw another kind of blue in the blueberry patch- blue vervain. This wildflower is one of my favorites for its spikes of dainty purple-blue flowers. I'll let this weed stay.

The rest of the garden is coming along, although I have a resident deer who is quite fond of cucumber plants, bean leaves, Swiss chard, and even tomato plant tops. I managed to harvest enough snow peas and sugar snap peas for a couple meals, although I won't have enough to freeze. Despite the deer depredation, I may be harvesting green beans in a week or so. And my first summer squash is on its way.

I can't believe it's almost August. Every summer I have grandiose plans of accomplishing so many things that can only happen in the summer, and I always fall short. I have managed to restart my running this summer though, and I am feeling the benefits: 5 or so pounds lost, hopefully more to follow, and the exhilaration of jumping into the pond after a 5.8 mile run being chased by deer flies. I only saw one vehicle the whole time this morning.

easing back in to work

It felt surreal driving into the parking lot by the strange looking blue and white pole building that has been my workplace for the past eight years, and where I worked for seven years before that. Before children, before the tough decision to follow my husband's job opportunity in a different state, before all of the strange path that led me back here. I had been off work for nearly three weeks due to the state government shutdown, my longest break from work at any time that I have been actively employed. I had found myself enjoying the time off, not worrying about the money I was not making, not being ruled by a time clock.

As a rule, I rarely show up to work "on time". It drives my boss crazy sometimes, and I'm sure it annoys others, but I think there is more to life than being punctual. I showed up my usual ten minutes or so late, and did not miss a thing. As usual.

I did not have a hundred emails waiting for reply. I did not have a "to do" list a mile long. Pretty much as I had left my desk three weeks ago. My job is like that, I don't have responsibility for many urgent things, but what I do has value in the long run. My boss was on vacation, there were no immediate plans, so I decided to do something that might be of value somewhere down the road. I hopped in a truck, hooked up "my" boat, and headed for a lake to take a leisurely cruise around the shoreline.

Now that may sound kind of like a luxury job, but I had a reason for my choice. This lake, on the border of Pine and Carlton counties, has had Eurasian watermilfoil in it for about six years. Being the person in the office responsible for aquatic plants, I have followed the progress of this species, considered invasive in certain situations, in this lake for about four years now. What I have found has been interesting: while for a year or so there was considerable growth of Eurasian watermilfoil, and some control efforts were undertaken, the plant all but disappeared from the lake a couple of years ago. Since then it has appeared here and there, but nowhere at a level I would call "invasive". I had not heard anything about milfoil in the lake this year; I considered no news to be good news, but I wanted to check it out for myself.

I was alone, I had "my" boat, the weather was nice, and I was headed for a good day. The solo launch went well; I am one of those rare women who can back a boat down a ramp and launch it myself! I was sidetracked momentarily by a battery connection problem. It turned out the connectors were pretty corroded, so I filed them off and got the boat started. I like being able to solve problems.

It was a good day out. I found Eurasian watermilfoil in a few spots, mostly where it had been before and not growing in any quantity. I found more lush growth of native plants, such as whitestem pondweed, largeleaf pondweed, variable leaf pondweed, and others. I have found that when a lake has a lot of native vegetation like that, invasive species find it harder to take hold.

I also saw kids jumping of docks, smiling and laughing. I saw a dog swimming out to retrieve a tennis ball thrown by his human friend. I was reminded of my childhood days at the lake, swimming all afternoon and never getting tired. My job is a paradox: while "working" I experience all the fun things a Minnesota summer at the lake is supposed to be, but as an observer. I find myself wanting to be that girl on the sailboard again, finding joy on the water, on my own.

Weather and politics are making me surly...

Another Monday at home. While I rather enjoyed the first couple weeks of the MN state government shutdown, I am getting a little antsy about my extended vacation. I can apply to get my first unemployment check this week, but if there is a budget agreement this week and it includes back pay to July 1st, I would just have to pay it back. So I'll wait another day or so...

It's not the money that's bothering me. I'm saving about $50 a week on gas, cutting back on household expenses, and making do with back pay and The Hermit's income. And while I basically like my job, I am not going stir crazy being away from it and my coworkers. I try to not let my job define my life. And if there is one thing this vacation period has shown me, I have a life outside of my job that is much more meaningful than earning a paycheck.

What bothers me is that, while Governor Mark Dayton pulled what I think was an incredibly savvy move and agreed last Thursday to the Republican legislative majority's budget plan, MINUS a few social agenda issues that I do not think should ever be part of a budget bill, the legislators have continued with business as usual, bickering, dragging their feet, and complaining about the legislation THEIR party drafted. They are basically holding 22,000 state employees hostage, not to mention those that depend on suspended services. Dayton will not call a special session to end the budget stalemate until all the ducks are in a row so to speak, which I think is wise governing, because with the pathetic toddlers we have in office, a special session without said ducks in a row could turn ugly. So I may return to work later this week. Or not. I never thought it could come to this.

By the way, my state senator and representative are both Democrats, very much involved in the community and good examples of responsible elected officials. I was in a school/community musical last fall with the wife of Senator Tony Lourey, their three children, and the granddaughter of Representative Bill Hilty. I am proud to know them and to have voted for them. I am glad that they are not part of the party that created this fiasco.

So here I sit at home. It's better, however, than being out working in chest waders on a lake this week. The whole state of Minnesota is experiencing a high pressure system producing heat and humidity that has not been seen in years. It is 91 degrees here now, with humidity off the charts. This is expected to last throughout this week. I have complained about frost in July before; this is just another turn of Minnesota weather. We even have an air conditioner now. I have never thought one would be of much use here, maybe one or two days a year. However, my stepson Ryan happened to have one that would not fit any of his windows, so he loaned it to us. It would not fit any windows in the house, so we put it in the cabin. It is a mixed blessing. It provides a thermal refuge, but it makes it that much harder to go outside or to the house and face the reality of summer. Summer here is so short anyway, I won't complain, but I can't even play my mandolin because of the humidity!

So I'll end on this note: When the going gets tough, the tough get Surly. Surly beer, that is. Perhaps the only good thing that came out of this year's MN legislative session was a bill that allowed this successful MN microbrew to sell their own beer at a proposed brewery/restaurant. Imagine that! That such a proposal had any opponents is living proof that we have not reached the age of political enlightenment. Yet. Until then, I'll sit back, enjoy the show, and sip a Surly CynicAle. Perfect. Or maybe I should just forget state work and apply for a job at Surly. :)

Abundance in the garden

 With my abundance of free time lately, I have been able to get some work done in the garden. Last year it seemed like I never had time to work in the garden; I was always busy doing home improvement projects when I was not at work. By the time I got around to the garden, the grassy weeds were so overgrown in some beds that I just gave up. It's nice to be able to look at neat, (mostly) weed free beds for a change.

 These Provider bush beans got a late start but they are growing like crazy now.

 Note to self: You can NEVER eat that much arugula! What were you thinking? Also in the bed are red russian kale, lettuce, and Swiss chard.

 My sugar snap peas got a late start in the spring, and for some reason did not germinate well. Nevertheless I spent yesterday morning weeding the beds and improvising trellises from old hay bale twine. I hope I get at least a few pea pods before these plants give in to hot weather. Not that the current very pleasant 81 degrees is relatively hot, I'm not complaining, but peas don't like it much. Perhaps I should throw a row cover over them for shade.

 While weeding the snow peas, I noticed several Asian green looking things growing. I think the above one is mizuna. I harvested one bunch, but left the others where they were. I thought I had peas in that bed last year, but who knows?

My garlic is growing well with little help from me. For several years now I have not had to buy garlic for planting or eating. I even have some left over from last year's crop; it keeps extremely well.

 And finally: This is NOT a garden bed, and I did NOT plant these. This is my compost bin! There are a couple of extremely well nourished tomato plants, one tomatillo, a few unknown squash, and even one corn plant. How's that for easy gardening? It will be interesting to see if these plants bear fruit, and what they will look like.

I have discovered that when I have enough time to not worry about the endless other household chores that must be done, gardening does not seem like work and I don't get tired of it. It is pleasant, actually, listening to the birds and letting my mind wander. It is a form of meditation, of worship.

summertime...

It is a Sunday afternoon, as lazy as Sunday afternoons get. In a rare stretch of time, I have the house/cabin/40 acre compound to myself (not counting dogs, cats, rabbits, and chickens). Vinny and Nina are both away for the weekend, camping with friends, and The Hermit and Joe headed to town to get away for a while. I can never get enough of being home, so I declined to accompany them.

Actually, I may be home for an extended weekend of indefinite length. The State of Minnesota is shut down, and I am in temporary layoff status since Friday. No new budget talks will happen until at least Tuesday, so Wednesday would be the earliest day for me to report back to work. I don't mind having a couple days off without pay; I'm enjoying relaxing around the house, getting a few things done. And realistically I don't think the shutdown can continue for more than a few days without serious consequences: the state is losing money, state parks and rest areas are closed, and vital services are not being provided. I didn't even think it would come to this, but the Republican leadership in the state legislature was not willing to negotiate in good faith. I had a lot of admiration for Democrat Governor Mark Dayton when I voted, and I have even more admiration for him now for sticking to his principles of doing what's best for the people of Minnesota.

I would say more, but I don't want to go there on this beautiful afternoon. This too shall pass. I hope to spend some of my free time writing, playing music, trying new recipes, and living in balance. This morning I went for a 4.4 mile run, and while the last mile or so was not feeling so good, it was all worth it when I jumped into the cool waters of the pond at the end. It was like instant euphoria in every cell of my body. I'm still walking on air it seems. 

Luna moth

Finally saw one of these beauties on the cook shed door. Exquisite.

Blanding's turtle!

While I was driving home from work today at 55 mph, a turtle caught my eye. Turtles laying eggs by the side of the road are fairly common this time of year, but this one was DIFFERENT. It was the size of a small snapping turtle, maybe twelve inches long, but the shell was too round and helmet-like for a snapper, and it was too big to be a painted turtle. I eased to a stop (appointment for new brake pads is in place, don't want to overuse them at this point), turned around, and parked nearby. I took the above photo with my handy iPhone.

The Blanding's turtle is considered a threatened species here in Minnesota, and this was the first one I had ever seen. They live in wetlands, especially adjacent to running water, and nest in sparsely vegetated upland areas. Unfortunately, they seem to like roadsides for nesting. I'm guessing this one came from Bear Creek, which could mean she would cross the road when she is finished laying eggs. It is not a busy road, but I'm praying for her!

These eggs will probably hatch in August or September, and the young turtles will have a long journey to find a suitable wetland or Bear Creek to spend the winter. I marked the location on my phone, and I will be thinking about the mama turtle and her eggs every time I drive by.

They're so grown up...

Vinny and Nina spent the afternoon at the neighbors' house, earning money for mowing and other chores. Now I just watched them take the truck, alone, out to the horse pasture to feed the horses.

WOW. And, I'm so glad we live out here where they can do this stuff!

Minnesota weather...just follow the bouncing ball

As I sit here in the very un-air conditioned cabin, it is probably about 90 degrees. The Twin Cities had a record high of at least 103 degrees for this date, so I should be thankful I'm at least in the outer reaches of the Lake Superior cooling effect. But if I remember correctly, and I do have a short memory when it comes to these things, we had frost last week. And, lows in the 30's are predicted by the end of the week. So it's a good thing half the garden is still a jungle and the beautiful heirloom tomato plants my neighbor Patty gave me are not in the ground yet.

Does anyone from Minnesota (Lynne?) remember the Northwestern National Bank Weatherball? In the days before the Internet and instant weather updates, the bank had a cool idea: build a gigantic neon ball atop your building, come up with some catchy slogans ("Blinking white- cold weather is in sight), and there--you're a Minneapolis icon! I remember I even had a plastic coin bank with a replica of the weatherball. Unfortunately, the bank building was damaged beyond repair in a Thanksgiving Day 1982 fire that was caused by arson in the neighboring vacant Donaldson's department store building. The bank became NorWest, then Wells Fargo, and the weather ball was no more.

I thought about the weather ball today and the wisdom it might hold. I would have had another code for it: Weather ball is pink--don't blink. The weather will change in a minute!

I do have a blog post in mind about a great weekend, which involved, among other things, the most ukuleles I have seen in one place at one time. But that will have to wait.

cedar waxwing

Seen while fishing a secret spot this evening with a favorite fishing buddy (Joe). No fish, just tangled lines and a few nibbles. And a few good birds.

guess who came to my feeder today?

I think I've just died and gone to heaven, except the TV is playing a tribute to Harmon Killebrew, who is there now, so I must still be here.

An Indigo Bunting! And I got a clear, croppable photo! Made my day. :)

glorious days of spring

Calvin (Vinny) and Starflower (Nina) after the second to last ball games of the season

A lot of time has passed since my last post. Time filled with work on a lake in some cold, windy, rainy Minnesota spring weather, time filled with junior high baseball and softball games, a band concert, and little time for anything else. May is slipping by, and warmer weather is finally upon us after lots of waiting and false starts, Minnesota style. Things are running well behind last year; I just planted onions, potatoes, peas, and greens two days ago. Today it is 72 degrees and humid, with more rain on the way. It's a good day to catch up with indoor tasks, like playing music and blogging. I try not to do too much housework on Sundays. :)

Long time readers of this blog will probably barely recognize the pair in the above photo. I swear they have each grown several inches in the last month! For reference, I am 5'7 and between them in height. Yes, Calvin has surpassed me and I don't think he'll stop growing for a while. Starflower and I have been sharing footwear for some time, and I hope for her sake her feet are done growing, because it's hard to find shoes beyond size 10! I can't leave out Mr. Attitude; he's approaching five feet tall and just as full of attitude as ever.

When I started this blog six years ago, or at least some time shortly thereafter, I decided to use pseudonyms for my family members. I thought it only proper to protect their privacy online. A lot has changed since then. The kids now have iPhones and text messaging and Facebook accounts in their real names (after some good conversations about online privacy and some common sense reminders). Many of you who are on Facebook know them by their real names. So I think the time has come to start referring to them as such on this blog. Part of it is for my convenience; I have to stop and think about which names to use in which context. So may I now present to you: Calvin = Vinny (or Vincent), Starflower = Nina, and Mr. Attitude = Joe. The Hermit will remain The Hermit for the time being, because it fits him. ;)

I enjoyed watching Vinny and Nina play baseball and softball this year. Nina, sixth grade, was in her first year of school softball, and she decided early on she liked playing catcher and worked hard learning what can be a difficult position. Vinny, in his third and last year of junior high ball, was outstanding. I know, I sound like I'm bragging, but he has matured into a thoughtful pitcher, quick-reflexed infielder, and solid hitter. His coach told him and two other players that they could be playing some varsity games next year, as ninth graders!

Now for a couple random bird feeder photos. If you think that looks like wreckage behind those beautiful male goldfinches, you are right. We had one of those tarp-covered Quonset shelters, with perhaps too much random junk inside, but one March day it collapsed under heavy snow cover. It's pretty unsightly right now, but there hasn't been much time, or good weather, to sort out the mess. So it sits.

This has been the Year of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak at the feeders. For the last couple of weeks, we have had as many as six of them at one time. The front one in this photo is a first year male, and the other one is fully mature. In addition to these and the goldfinches, I have had purple finches, pine siskins, black capped chickadees, downy and hairy woodpeckers, red breasted and white breasted nuthatches, chipping sparrows, Baltimore orioles, and.......one male indigo bunting! A feeder first for me. Of course the camera was not available. Maybe some other time.

I have so much more to catch up on, and hopefully this post will break the ice and get me back in the habit of writing. For now, it's starting to rain and I think I hear a mandolin calling my name.

Annual exuberant pond opening post!

Today was the day. The pond is 99% ice free, and of course Sally had to celebrate. We humans will wait a while, at least until the water temperature is within 30 degrees of body temperature.

Spring is unfolding in the wondrous way it always does. Birds are returning, woodcock are doing their spectacular display, ruffed grouse are drumming, robins are singing, and in the last couple of days, frogs have started singing. It's a wonderful time here.

Early spring evening at Sand Creek

The daily highs have inched up into the forties and sometimes fifties, but the wood stove is still a necessity. The major snow cover is gone, but snowbanks still persist on the north side of buildings and anywhere large amounts of snow were piled up. Road restrictions are in place, which means I can drive without meeting logging trucks. There will be no logging trucks until the frost is completely out of the ground.

Today I saw my first turkey vultures of the year, soaring over the Kettle River. Sand Creek has absorbed the majority of the snow melt, and may have reached its crest today; the banks are overflowing but are nowhere near reaching our house; that's the nice thing about having huge areas of low wetlands upstream.

The woodcock were putting on their show tonight, making their strange call before spiraling into the sky in a shower of twitters. What an amazing bird.

Still waiting for frogs, and it will be a week or so. But it will happen.

Maladjusted Minnesotan kids on spring break

EVIL WINTER MUST DIE!!!!


Starflower and Mr. Attitude are pretty close these days. They come up with all kinds of unique ideas to celebrate their week off from school. I had a well-deserved laugh when I came home tonight and saw this. Kinda reminds me of the Calvin & Hobbes snowmen!

shirttail relatives

Calvin has a new friend at school. Last night they went to a movie, and today his friend went to baseball camp to be Calvin's catcher. What makes this friendship special is that Calvin and he are distantly related. Very distantly. Here's the deal: My aunt (mom's brother's wife) is a cousin of the kid's grandma. I don't even know if there is a technical term for that kind of relation. Tail of the shirttail maybe? Anyway, Calvin is kind of proud to hang out with his "cousin".

I think the reason Calvin enjoys this connection is because we don't have family in the immediate area. My dad and brother and his family are a hundred miles away, while my aunt and uncle and grandma are a bit closer at sixty miles away. The Hermit's family are all in Michigan and Ohio; one of our nephews is even an attorney in Ireland. I'd love to visit him some time! But there are a lot of families around here that have been here for a long time and have scores of relatives within a stone's throw; Calvin and Starflower's best friends up the road are an example. So finding a connection with someone in the area is probably important to them.

I grew up seeing my first cousins infrequently. They lived in Walla Walla, Washington, St. Augustine, Florida, and Newton, Massachusetts. I barely know them. I have a few second cousins I saw more frequently, but I am not that close to any of the family. So I can totally understand Calvin's enthusiasm at finding someone he is related to, however distantly. :)

The first of March (or, my annual optimistic spring-is-almost-here post)

The first day of March should be considered a holiday. I’m talking a full blown, no holds barred celebration complete with music, dancing, bonfires, and revelry!

Why, you may ask, especially if you live a lot closer to the equator than I do. Why? The official explanation is that the first of March is considered to be the first day of “meteorological spring”. That is, the typical coldest 90 days during the calendar year, December 1-February 28, are behind us.

In my mind, winter officially loses its death grip when the calendar page turns over. Yes, we may still have some nights of subzero temperatures, and you can expect a snowstorm or two. But when March arrives, whether as a lion or a lamb, the weather is guaranteed to get warmer. Sooner rather than later. Snow will melt on a sunny day and freeze with a solid crust at night. Patches of open ground will be revealed. The cool sweet smell of damp earth will permeate the air at twilight.

The warmth of the sun and the motion of flowing water will work together to break through the fragile ice on the Kettle River. The newly opened patches of water will attract a pair of trumpeter swans or Canada geese or hooded mergansers. Kestrels and red winged blackbirds will appear over every marsh and field as the tawny grasses emerge from their winter snow cover.

And I will emerge once again from what always seems like the long sleep of winter. I will plant seeds, which is after all one of the most optimistic acts in the world. I will bask in the warmth of a sunny afternoon at the south facing window by the wood stove, and not know which is warming me more. In my hands will be a musical instrument playing tunes that seem just a bit more lively than I played a month ago.

Then I will go outside, running, laughing, filling my lungs with cool air at sunset. And so it begins again, as it always does.