nighthawks are flying

And taking with them the last days of summer. They swoop down low over the asters and goldenrods, hanging in the stillness of the evening air.

blackbirds flying

We saw these red winged blackbirds flocked together and feasting on wild rice at a local lake on Friday.

Sand Creek becomes a raging river

Well, as much as a low gradient stream can rage. This is Sand Creek after a 2 day total of 6.25 inches of rain. Without a "before" picture it's hard to tell, but normally that island in the middle is not flooded.

This is the part of the stream I sampled by electrofishing about a week ago. Back then, the water in the foreground was about eight inches deep. Now it's almost to the tops of the three culverts under the road, which are about three feet high.

Here is the downstream end of the same road crossing. Last year when they replaced the culverts I thought three 3' round culverts was maybe overkill. The closest one in the photo had no water flowing through it on Saturday. A little overkill comes in handy in torrential rains.

Of course the pond is full and running out the overflow culvert. And of course, the kids left a canoe, kayak, and duck boat in the water; all are floating very low and since the kids are on vacation in Nebraska, I will be doing some bailing tomorrow.

rain

I never got around to emptying the nine tenths of an inch of rain we got over the weekend from the gauge. So when it started raining yesterday morning I made a mental note to subtract that from whatever was in there when it stopped raining.

It poured all day and did not stop until around 7 in the evening. At work I had to put on waders to move my car, which was in a puddle several inches deep.

When I finally got out to the rain gauge, I poured off the first inch of rain. We have one of those gauges with an overflow catcher thing, so I filled the gauge from there. Then I filled it again, and again, and again. The total from today: over five inches. I don't think I've seen a rainfall like that since we've been living here!

I blame Starflower. The evening before she had washed a load of her clothes and hung them out to dry. :)

We're still playing catch-up from a drought period, so this rainfall will help recharge the groundwater and get Sand Creek flowing a little faster. There's no danger of flooding here, unless we get a huge rain that completely fills up about fifty acres of wetland upstream.

Today I'll be on the road, driving southwest to Sioux Falls SD (yes, I'll actually make it to another state besides Wisconsin) to bring the kids to stay at my stepdaughter and her fiance's in Nebraska for a few days. How do I spend a kid-free weekend at Sand Creek? Rumor has it there may be some home improvement projects in the works...I'll keep you posted.

into the alders

For my job today I got to spend some time exploring a stretch of Sand Creek upstream from my place. I run by the downstream end of that part of the creek nearly every day now, but I've never gone more than a short distance upstream. The 80 acre parcel the creek flows through there is owned by the state, and managed by my office for brook trout habitat.

Brook trout are particular about habitat, even more so than rainbow or brown trout, which are not native here. They need cold clean water with a variety of habitat including deep pools and gravel substrate for spawning. They do well in the larger streams on the North Shore of Lake Superior, but I have also seen them in very small streams.

This stretch of Sand Creek was mostly narrow (10 feet wide) and shallow, with sand for substrate. Much of the stream was shaded by alders that hung so low we had to lift them up to pass through or crawl underneath. Alders have a way of doing that. The shade keeps the water from warming in the sun, but the branches limit all but the most determined angler.

The water was cool. Cold, even. In a deep pool I held my hands underwater and had it not been such a hot day, it would have been uncomfortable after a short time. I have been in a few small streams around the area lately, but none with water nearly as cold as this. The source of much of the water became apparent as I moved upstream; here and there along the banks were flowing springs. I lost count of how many there were. Very unusual for streams in this part of the state! My theory is that this part of Sand Creek lies close to an ancient bedrock fault, and the bedrock is close enough to the surface to keep a layer of cold groundwater just under the soil's surface. The water table has been pretty low around here lately with the drought; I think in a more normal year those springs would have been flowing even more.

We were successful in sampling brook trout: three small adults and one young-of-year. We also sampled one mottled sculpin, which is a good indicator species for trout streams. I'll bet there were some more trout and sculpin in the deep pools we could not sample well. All were released unharmed.

Tomorrow I may be on Sand Creek again, a bit closer to home. I'll try to have the kids bring the camera out if we sample there!

gathering

I really seem to have fallen behind in blogging lately. Summer is happening, kids are as busy as ever and so am I, work is crazy, and in between I'm trying to keep the house in some semblance of order. But last Sunday, the wild raspberries were calling me, and I spent all morning crawling through brambles picking the tiny, juicy, sweet as summer berries.

I didn't have to go too far from home. Since our riding mower died a couple of years ago, large areas of our land have gone unmowed, and raspberries are one of the first plants to take over. They produce fruit in their second year, so while in other years we have had a few berries here and there, this year we;ve had enough to make it worthwhile to spend some time picking.

I ended up with about half an ice cream pail's worth, which was enough for four half pint jars of jam, which I made last Monday. I also made twelve half pints of strawberry jam from some berries the kids and The Hermit had picked. It was my first canning effort in the new house!

There are more raspberries out there, and I'm hoping to get my hands on some fresh local blueberries, but do I have to say "so much to do, so little time"?

cuteness on the banjo case

Status of The Garden, Early August

Sugar snap peas in August? Well, it's been a strange year. These are the products of what is left of the pea vines after Ms. Doe got after them. I replanted yesterday, thinking optimistically as ever, that I may get a fall crop in. I will take steps to decrease Ms. Doe's interest in garden greenery.

What is that? A micro melon? This is my first year's attempt at growing melons, and I am encouraged that I even see flowers and mini Blacktail Mountain watermelons.

Doesn't this tomato bed look great? Of course by this time of year it should have fruit in various stages of ripening. But this is the unsung Coldest Spot in Minnesota after all...

And the dill. Best crop ever, and I didn't even plant it! I keep hoping my miserable frost bitten pickling cukes will catch up to it. By the way, I love the repetitiveness in the dill head and dill flowerettes. Garden fireworks.

smile for the day

but those human feet are getting so big!

garlic harvest

It's that time of year again, already. Once again I had a pretty respectable harvest of garlic, planted last October. Actually I only harvested half of it; the garlic in the bed where the dill came up fantastically has yet to be pulled up. But this basket alone was pretty heavy. No vampires here.

I also tilled that garlic bed, along with a bed of beans that were chomped heavily by my resident garden doe. And the parsnips, which did not sprout. Might as well plant some kohlrabi or Chinese cabbage or other fall crop now, although I just might be able to sneak a bean crop in yet.

In the rest of the too short weekend, I ran 5.2 miles, something I haven't done since my early twenties, and watched the always wonderful East Central marching band in a parade.

clouds today

I was on a tiny bog lake miles from anywhere. First there were no clouds. Then the clouds looked beautiful, as in the photo. Then they looked ominous. One flash of lightning was enough to send us off the lake for half an hour, waiting out a small storm. Then the sun came out again.

There were little storms like that all afternoon, the kind where you can see sunshine and blue sky while standing in the midst of a downpour of rain and hail. Things have settled down for the evening, at least I think.

diving lessons

Remember the loon family I posted about approximately three weeks ago?

I was on the same lake today, finishing up a vegetation survey, and I saw them again! The babies have grown from tiny fuzzballs to big, demanding fuzzballs. Both parents were busy diving and bringing up small fish to feed them, and my coworker and I watched in awe as the little ones dipped their heads under the water to watch the adults, then finally disappeared under the surface themselves. Diving lessons. Amazing. And all this happened within fifty feet or so of our boat. This was the best picture I got with the low-zoom work camera; I was lucky to get all four of them on the surface at the same time.

It was kind of a windy, nasty day to be out otherwise, and I was glad to be finished around noon. Tomorrow's high is only supposed to be in the upper fifties. O Summer, where art thou?

just add water

Last evening we had a total of around 1.8 inches of rain. It was raining so heavy at times I thought we would not be able to watch the All Star Game; our satellite TV was knocked out for a few minutes during the pregame. But all worked out well.

Tonight the frogs are back at it. They had been silent for a few nights, but I guess they were just waiting for a little more moisture. Tree frogs are chirping, and it even sounds like Western chorus frogs, usually an early spring species, are going for a second round.

Today while I was driving somewhere for work I saw a pair of sandhill cranes, and their half grown chick, crossing the road. I so rarely get to see a young sandhill! Cute!

Welcome to the Coldest Spot in Minnesota, again

This is not sun scald, or some strange fungal thing. This is frost damage, here on a winter squash. In the middle of July. The plant will survive, but excuse me? Are we entering a mini Ice Age here? Can I not expect to grow frost sensitive vegetables and not have to worry about covering them up every night in the summer?

On the other hand, the sugar snap peas, which I planted pretty late, are thriving. As are the kale and Swiss chard. The tomatoes and other frost wimpy plants survived too.

summertime

It's that fireweed time of year, the time I first realize that summer is slipping by, the days are only going to get shorter. Best to savor every moment.





I think this photo is absolutely priceless. Calvin, on the right, is giving me the "okay Mom, I see you but I'm not supposed to look like I do" look. His two flag bearing friends in the middle had some 12 year old goofy look thing going on. And Floridacracker, this photo does not show it very well, but the flag at the right is indeed the banner of Florida. I guess because the band has played at Disney World, they earned it. :)

white pine eagle

If I had only had my own camera with 10x zoom...

At first I thought there was a nest in that bunch of branches behind the eagle. But after viewing it from two different angles, I saw no nest. The eagle was staying in the tree as we moved in pretty close, though, so I'm guessing the nest may not be too far away.

Sometimes my job is worth it.

random thoughts of grace

I don't exactly remember the night I took this photo; maybe a week or so ago. What a pleasure to find on the camera card!

I just saw and heard an indigo bunting! I am hoping the song is etched in my mind, but I think I will need to hear it a few more times to associate it with the bird. They must be nesting around here!

Tomorrow is Calvin's first ever marching band parade, and what a biggie: the Lions Club International Convention in Minneapolis. From what I've seen and heard, the band is up for it. I would think they would have to be really good to get in in the first place. So I'll be thinking of and cheering for East Central in the morning.

The evening is still and beautiful, deer flies notwithstanding. We've had high temps in the upper 70's, lows in the upper 40's. A bearable summer, all in all.

I heard Bob Dylan sing "Boots of Spanish Leather" on the radio as I was driving home, and now I have the uncontrollable urge to play and sing it. The question is, which instrument?

my garden helper

Mr. Attitude, in a gracious display of helpfulness, took over the hose today as I was watering the garden. Here he is, watering my still small but hopefully huge and fruitful by the end of the month tomato plants.

There has been a hoofed visitor to the garden lately, and I think we will need to take action. She has been nibbling on beans, potatoes, peas, and tomatoes (surprisingly!) As our first action, Mr. Attitude and I were yelling "WE LIKE VENISON!" :) I don't think it will help tho.

And I could not leave without posting about Mr. Attitude's post-gardening outfit. Very Miami Vice, and definitely cool!

Notice however, the bare studs and undone appearance of the house interior. It will get done someday.

great blue

loon family

This may have been the cutest thing I saw today. Well, after those little hooded mergansers I saw at the fish rearing ponds. And the kittens...sigh...

I got to spend a day at work cruising around the shoreline of a lake by myself in a boat. How cool is that? I certainly did not mind.

There was another adult loon, but loons are so difficult to photograph. They dive just as you get the camera ready. I was happy to get this shot.