hooded mergansers

These three sharp looking guys were cruising the pond this morning.

the day Sally dreams of all winter

The day the pond is free of ice, and Mom beckons, when she comes home from work, with the magic word: POND! It's enough to send Sally into a frenzy.

I also had to supervise some lawn tractor driving. Starflower and Calvin are getting pretty good at it. I have promised Mr. Attitude that I will give him lessons. When I'm ready.

spring sightings

The pond is almost ice free. I would say totally but it's supposed to get pretty cold tonight so more ice will form. And the culvert under the driveway is still plugged by ice or something else. No more water has entered the equation, and there is not significant rain in the forecast, so I'm just hoping it thaws soon.

Today I finally spotted a pair of sandhill cranes flying, while I was commuting home. Kestrels have arrived, and northern harriers once again amaze me with their beautiful, effortless flight. And I saw the first turkey vulture soaring above the town of Sandstone today. Turkey vultures make me think of Lynne. Not that she's a "vulture" in the sense of the popular definition, far from it, she is a beautiful, fun, caring person who happens to have a personal affinity for the oft maligned turkey vulture. I like them too.

My lawn tractor arrived yesterday. I took it out for a spin, and I admit John Deeres are pretty nice. Calvin and Starflower have been taking turns driving it around the yard. I hope the enthusiasm continues once I assign them various tracts of land to keep mowed this summer!

At work, I have been practicing the Zen of fish net mending. It is really kind of fun once you learn how to do it right. Fun, that is, unless one is subjected to a radio station blaring '80s rock music, or political discussions between my coworkers. I forgot to bring my iPod today. I will definitely remember tomorrow.

Our blessedly warm March is turning colder for a few days. That will give me an excuse to not go running. I have not been feeling the running bug lately. Same with music. On one level it irritates me that I can't seem to rise beyond that, but on another level maybe I need to take it easy and approach it again in a few days. Whatever. I wish I, like the kids, had a week's spring break to look forward to after tomorrow. I'll take a couple days off if work doesn't heat up. If it's just net mending, it can wait.

what a few stitches cost

Did you know a trip to the emergency room for stitches costs 700 dollars?

I got the bill for Starflower's recent incident the other day, and it nearly blew my mind. I knew we were talking at least a couple hundred bucks, but wow.

I was grateful for the bottom line: "Expected insurance coverage = 100%", although I knew better. We have not met our deductible for the year, so we will have to pay about $150. Still, I am more fortunate than a lot of folks in that my job provides health insurance.

While I think a lot needs to be done in the way of cost containment, personal responsibility, and defining why it is that people need to be on so many prescription medications anyway, I am glad this nation has finally taken a big step towards providing affordable health care for most, and guaranteeing that those who need it most will not lose it. After all, stitches happen, despite our best efforts at prevention. Although maybe next time I'll do them myself! (Taking them out myself saved us/insurance at least a $120 doctor visit.)

43

Well, I guess I don't feel all that different. Better than I have in years, in a lot of ways. My forties have been a lot more fun that my thirties. I think wisdom finally comes around 40. Or so it was for me.

Guess what I got for my birthday? A LAWN TRACTOR!!! No, actually it wasn't my gift, we just happened to have bought it this morning. It will be delivered Wednesday. Even though we don't have any mowable grass yet, I can't wait!!! Our last one kicked the bucket over two years ago.

dude, where's my culvert?

I think I can say unequivocally that ice skating season is over. Actually this year we did not get out skating once. The ice formed, then enough snow fell before the ice was thick enough to support its weight so there was slush. Then slush froze into hard bumps that even the best Zamboni would not be able to resurface.

The ice has been retreating at a pace unusual for March. The weather lately has been a blessing for a winter weary soul (and a blessing for our heating bill, which could use a break). Yesterday and today above 60 degrees = unbelievable (but very likable). I think after the last few years we deserve a March like this.

This fast meltdown and runoff has posed a bit of a problem though, and it's not just the mud in the driveway, which may go away sooner than normal if this continues. The problem is, the pond is at record high water levels. That means that at some point, water is not flowing out of the pond.

This is a view directly below the pond outflow culvert. So water is flowing through that one fine. But there is another culvert, underneath our driveway. There is lots of water above the driveway, but little below. A-ha.

I decided to investigate this matter today instead of going for a run. The pond outflow runs north through the outflow culvert and the driveway culvert. This is an important fact: The driveway shades the outflow below it so that thawing happens more slowly. I entered the ditch north of the driveway, and at first could not even see any sign of a culvert. Then, as I examined more closely, I saw, just above the surface of an ice pack, a curved form that looked like the top of a culvert. I chipped out some ice with a heavy spud bar (ice chisel) and it did indeed appear to be the culvert I was looking for.

I continued to chip away at the ice, thinking perhaps I could break through. I could have broken through, with unlimited strength. The ice was still sturdy and unrelenting, and finally I gave up with the idea that I had speeded the process. Just a little.

I am not too concerned at this point. Most of the snow has melted, and the pond is as high as it is going to get. Unless, of course, we get a couple inches of rain in one night. Then maybe we would be faced with a driveway washed away, unable to drive anywhere, huge excavating bill to get things back to normal. Nope. Don't even want to go there.

Hopefully another day or two of this wonderful weather will resolve the problem.

Amazing Grace

The other day I had a rare moment alone in our acoustically wonderful house, and my flute was in my hands. The recorder was also nearby, so I turned it on and started playing an old favorite tune.

I think I played it better than I ever have.

I learned this version of "Amazing Grace" when I was a senior in college. The flute section played this in unison as part of our program for our band tour to Arizona and California. I have since played it many times at church services. I have played it at three funerals: my grandpa's, my great uncle's, and my mom's.

This is one of those tunes that just transcends everything.

the hill run

I have been easing myself back into running for the last week or so, and it feels great to be out there on the thawing gravel road right around sunset. Today I took a turn from my usual run, which is relatively flat, and climbed up some 70 feet of glacial moraine terrain in the first half. 70 feet might not sound like much to you mountain dwellers, but it provided a challenging workout for me. And I was up to the challenge! 3.2 miles total, and I didn't think of checking the clock when I went out but it was well under an hour.

High temps in the 40's predicted all week, with lows above freezing and maybe rain tomorrow. Snow is disappearing fast, and mud is everywhere. Welcome Spring!

Sunday night unwinding

I am recovering from another Sunday drive. The Hermit signed the boys up for a baseball clinic that meets for six Sunday afternoons...100 miles away from here in a suburb of Minneapolis. Furthermore, the boys need to provide their own catcher, and since The Hermit isn't quite up to squatting, kneeling, and everything else a catcher does, that would be me. They are receiving great instruction in the fundamentals of pitching. I am learning a lot too, and gaining a lot of respect for pitchers, and catchers. But when all is said and done, it eats up seven hours of a Sunday. Only two weeks left.

I want to thank everyone who contributed to I and the Bird 120, and everyone who came by to read it. It was fun putting the whole thing together, and I was able to reconnect with some old birding blogger friends and meet a few new ones.

I have my own budding young birder here. Mr. Attitude spotted three ruffed grouse in an aspen tree at twilight last night, and a short time later told me about a strange noise he heard in the woods. That noise just happened to be the saw-whet owl that's been calling for the last week! I showed him a picture of the owl in a bird book, then I presented him with a copy of a bird guide specifically written for kids. That book was a gift from a blogging friend, Cindy Mead, and unfortunately I don't have a link to her blog handy right now. Mr. Attitude sat right down and started reading. I would tell you of what he thought about the Roseate Spoonbill, but that is another post in itself, a post I hope to write this week!

Today on the way to baseball camp Mr. Attitude and I noticed several bald eagles and several red tailed hawks. We also saw a flock of crows mobbing a red tailed hawk.

I haven't had as much time for music as I would like, but in a rare moment when I had the house to myself I turned on the recorder and cranked out possibly the best version I have ever played on flute of an old favorite song. I will make it into a video so I can post it here.

Mud season is here. I can't complain about the weather, it's been sunny with highs in the 40's this last week, and it's expected to continue, but our driveway is becoming its annual mess. With a plan we have made, however, this will be the last year of impassable conditions on our driveway.

Our newest chickens have been stepping up egg production. It's nice to have three dozen fresh eggs in the fridge!

A week ago Saturday night, I was in the emergency room with Starflower as she got stitches above her right eyebrow. She and Mr. Attitude were messing around in Calvin's room, and next thing I knew she had hit her head. These things happen; now all three have had stitches and/or staples. Yesterday I took it upon myself to remove the stitches. It's not that difficult; convincing a kid that you know what you are doing (even when you don't) is the hardest part! That, and I could have used a pair of reading glasses. My eyes ain't what they used to be! But despite my visual shortcomings, everything turned out fine.

We now have a soprano saxophone player in the house. Calvin has played alto sax in the band for two and a half years, and out of the blue he started telling me he would like to try soprano sax. Cool! That has always been one of my favorite instruments. So I talked with the band director last week, and he just happened to have one available for Calvin to try out. He brought it home over the weekend, and I even got to have a little fun with it.

That's about all I can think of now. So many thoughts, so little time.

I and the Bird #120: March

Welcome to this week’s edition of I and the Bird. Since the name of my blog, Sand Creek Almanac, is a twist of the title of Aldo Leopold’s classic, A Sand County Almanac, and it is March, let us begin with Leopold’s musings on March:

One swallow does not make the summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of a March thaw, is the spring…a migrating goose, staking two hundred miles of black night on the chance of finding a hole in the lake, has no easy chance for retreat. His arrival carries the conviction of a prophet who has burned his bridges.

– Aldo Leopold, essay “March” from A Sand County Almanac, 1949, Oxford University Press

Here in Minnesota, USA, March is a month of limbo. The calendar says winter is over, but we know spring won’t arrive until at least mid April, when our 10,000+ lakes finally emerge from a covering of ice. A warm sunny day is as much a possibility as a blizzard or a cold frosty night. We may peel off a layer or two of clothing, but we don’t pack away the long underwear…yet. (We’re saving it for the first Twins baseball game in their new outdoor ballpark!)

Perhaps it is because I was born on the day of the vernal equinox, but I find March to be the most hopeful month of the year. I listen for the first joyful honking of Canada geese. I eagerly anticipate the first sighting of a male red winged blackbird staking out his marshy territory. Although robins overwinter in some scattered areas, my first March sighting of a robin is a cause for celebration. The pair of sandhill cranes that nest in the shrubby wetland by Sand Creek near my house raucously announce their arrival in the latter part of the month. Just the other night I was thrilled to hear the call of a northern saw-whet owl. The cycle of life continues.

Bird bloggers seem to embody this spirit of March hopefulness year round. Whether they travel great distances to enjoy seeing new species, or delight in the drama in their own back yards, birders are aware and open to the wonder that is always present in life. I am pleased to present another fine collection of bird blogging!

In the Backyard

Jayne has the privilege to see a raptor in her backyard regularly, and she shows how the red shouldered hawk got its name!

Amber's Texas bird lounge took on a wintery look, attracting many visitors!

Another Texan, Kay, shows that if you build it (or fill up your feeders and baths) they will come!

There are two lessons to be learned from The Geek In Question: 1) Sometimes a bird will wait while you run inside to get your camera, and 2) Your mother in law can wait--photos like these are worth it!

March means it's time for spring cleaning, and even Carolina chickadees are getting into the spirit! Thanks Alan!

The Grizzled but still Incorrigible Scribe Himself (perhaps the longest Blogger handle ever) lives and writes by a river in Ohio. He is a newcomer to I and the Bird, and I introduce you to him via his observations of great blue herons fishing-Wow! Can they EAT!

Close to Home

RuthieJ, a fellow Minnesotan who knits, birds, and writes about it at Nature Knitter, takes us on a Sunday drive by the Mississippi River.

JSK had an opportunity to zero in and identify some ring necked ducks on a local river.

Of course, when your home is an RV, everywhere is close to home! Dawn's latest home is in Arizona where she went on a quest for a rare visitor.

And, was anyone in the USA and Canada NOT watching the final Olympic hockey game? Wanderin' Weeta and I were perhaps the only two. She found a great opportunity for an uncrowded beach walk.

Travels with Birders

Aimophila Adventures goes to Kootenai Lake, and the owl he found is way too cute.

Laura escaped this year's brutal New Jersey winter temporarily for sunny Florida.

Carrie went on an owl prowl in Canada, and let me tell you, this is one of those blogging moments when the telling of the tale is as sweet as the destination!

Mike Bergin, while in Ecuador, got up close and personal with some antpittas. What's an antpitta? I've learned so much from hosting this carnival!

The Horned Guan. It's a bird that requires tremendous physical exertion, careful planning, and a lot of luck to see. Nate gave it his best.

Birds in the News

It seems this ivory billed woodpecker thing won't go away, even after five years. Grrlscientist wonders about this "faith based birding", and asks if we shouldn't maybe spend our time and money on birds that are proven to still exist.

We know corvids are intelligent birds, but is there a limit to their problem solving ability? And do the corvids really care? John at A DC Birding Blog reports on the latest research.

Birds Up Close- Photos and observations

What's a shikra? Otherwise known as the little banded goshawk, it is a beautiful bird that looks a lot like the northern goshawk I sometimes see here. Thomas at Nature Magnified, of Karimannoor, India, gives us the details.

I don't think I've ever had a bird give me the evil eye, but it sounds like the yellow eyed junco would do it. BEWARE! Alison of IBIS tells us how to ID this bird of high altitudes.

Pileated woodpeckers. I love 'em. And by my unofficial poll, they are the most-often mentioned species in this IATB edition. Adrian at Voyages Around My Camera gives a good account of these giants of the woodpecker family.

Kestrels are another sign of spring where I live. Thanks to Moe of Iowavoice.com for showing one in its striking beauty.

I used to listen to Marsh Wrens singing at night at a house I lived in that was...next to a marsh. I never knew they built such elaborate nests! Thank you Larry for the details and photos.

Birds in Dreams

Yes. I do dream about birds sometimes. And sometimes I can't remember if it was a dream or reality. Our dreams reflect aspects of our lives. So what do these dream birds represent?

Birds and Life

Sometimes an everyday walk can provide extraordinary moments. Often birds provide the gateway to those moments. Have I mentioned pileated woodpeckers already? They cannot be mentioned enough. Robin never fails to notice these wonderful moments in nature.

A beautiful tribute to an eagle that stole Vicki's, and no doubt many others' hearts. Fly free, Spirit.

Looking towards the future, a mom writes about birds, feathering the nest, and the little milestones of childhood.

Thanks to all for being out there and sharing it with everyone! Next edition is at Birder's Lounge!

I and the Bird: call for submissions!

I am way late on this. I have known for several months that I would be hosting the 120th edition of I and the Bird, the carnival of bird blogging. But nevertheless, the event has sneaked up on me and the time for submitting your excellent bird blog post for inclusion in this edition is NOW! Well, actually you have until Tuesday, but don't leave me hanging! Drop me an email with a link to flutemandolin AT gmail dot com. Thank you!

Egg comparison

On the left, a "local" egg from our very local huge chicken operation that stinks up the air regularly. Our school is downwind from this hatch house, and we always dread a wind from the northwest if there be football games, or baseball, softball, or track meets.

On the right, one of our homegrown eggs. They have not had any special organic feed, nor have they had much space to roam. This is just what it's like to have fresh home grown eggs. I can almost see the Omega 3's!

I and the Bird #119

Since I have nothing to say here, as has been the February curse, go check out I and the Bird, the carnival of bird blogging, over at the eloquent Laura's blog, Somewhere in NJ.

I'm up next for hosting, so if you have anything bird related, let me know! My e-mail is on the sidebar, or just leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

My coworker saw a red headed woodpecker today. Damn. I mean, good sighting! ;) I haven't seen one in years!

Testing 123...

This is a test of 1) my new AMAZING toy (more below); 2) my fledgling skills at creating a video from audio and still pictures on Windows Movie Maker; and 3) my ability to record myself without freezing in stage fright.

For my anniversary/early birthday present The Hermit got me something I didn't even know I'd been wanting: a portable digital audio recorder. Well, actually it's way more than that; it has a tuner, preset rhythms, effects, it does everything but play flute/banjo/mandolin/whatever for me.

There's so much I want to do with it I didn't know where to begin, so I thought I'd just pick one of my favorite songs, play it, and try not to be too much of a perfectionist about the finished product; after all, I was more anxious than anything to share some of my music with you! This is an Irish reel called "The Laurel Tree".

There's much more where that came from. I promise.

synchronicity

A couple weeks ago I commented on RuthieJ's blog about how beautiful I thought southeastern Minnesota looked, but that I had hardly ever been to that part of the state. Really. I have been to the far northeast and southwest corners of Minnesota, and spent some time in St. Peter and Park Rapids, but by far most of my Minnesotan experience has been limited to the east central part of the state.

Last week at work my boss asked me if I would be interested in a training opportunity to be held this fall in southeastern Minnesota. In previous years I would have balked at the time commitment, but now I think the time is right. Plus, in these economic times, I see additional training as a valuable asset in making myself indispensable. ;)

So it looks as though I will be spending a week or two in October in far southeastern Minnesota, becoming fluent in fluvial geomorphology. And maybe spotting some migrant birds?

They say there are no coincidences. I'm starting to believe they are right.

just an update

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I have just run into a paucity of bloggable moments, coupled with a paucity of computer time. Someday I will have my own laptop. Darn kids.

Seriously, in late January/early February, nothing is happening in Minnesota. I haven't even had any notable birds at my feeders. I have heard a few great horned owls calling, but generally there is a lack of wildlife wonder around here.

Today I cleaned/organized the room that will eventually be The Hermit's and my bedroom. A little wiring, a little drywall, and get the tools and building supplies the heck outta there! I am so ready to have a finished house, and so realizing it's not going to happen any time soon.

Starflower and Mr. Attitude were having a good time sliding down the stairs on a piece of cardboard that was part of the box our big TV came in, the box I finally removed from the future bedroom today.

Calvin's basketball season is winding down. They have one game left, at a town so far away I probably will not be attending. But the game I watched this week was good enough for me. He scored six points, had some great defensive moves, and played almost the entire second half. One of his best friends was on the other team, they had the same number, and ended up guarding each other...fun to watch!

In musical news, we have a new Yamaha keyboard in the house, with (literally) all the bells and whistles. Starflower and Mr. Attitude needed something better than our 20 year old muddy sounding Roland for piano practice, and we don't have a good place in the house for a real piano. But when you have a gazillion different sound effects, a real piano would just be so BORING! The interesting part is, Calvin has taken a great interest in the new keyboard. He has never taken a piano lesson, but he can figure out how to play the trumpet part from a band song on keyboard (Calvin plays alto sax). I know enough about playing music to think that is amazing.

So that's the news from the doldrums of winter.

my one wild and precious life

Tell me, what is your plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver, from "The Summer Day"

I have still been feeling the winter blahs lately. The temperatures dropped this week and we were flung back into the throes of a normal Minnesota winter. I have to remind myself in just one month it will be March, the month when spring begins to unfold.

Out of boredom, or maybe desperation, I went to the library one day and ended up browsing the aisle that contains "religion", "psychology", "self help", "nature", and "auto repair". It is, after all, a small library. I ended up with a self help book written by an architect. Really. Sarah Susanka, of "The Not So Big House" fame, has a book entitled "The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters". Of course I have been living the experience of building the "not so big house" for a while now, and I have learned a lot about interior design from her books. And who says you have to have a degree in psychology to write a self help book anyway? It's been done.

I'm about halfway through, and while I enjoy the architectural perspective, I realize it is just another self help book. And I realize that my life is not so big to begin with, compared with the examples. But like any good self help book it has gotten me to think about my life. In one chapter there is an exercise that asks the reader to "recall any situations where Providence moved to create the perfect conditions for your own exploration or pursuit of an interest or passion." For some reason I thought of something I had never considered before.

When I was in sixth grade, nearing my twelfth birthday, I played the violin. I was doing okay, pretty good really, but for some reason it just didn't excite me. Then one day, I don't know how or where I came up with the idea, but suddenly I just knew: I wanted to play the flute. What's more, I knew I was going to do it. My conviction must have impressed my mom, who went so far as to speak with the coordinator of musical education for the school district. After all, they needed all the violinists they could get and flutists were a dime a dozen. But I ended up learning the flute, even accompanying the church junior choir and playing a solo on Easter Sunday, barely six weeks after I started!

So where has the flute taken me? I only wish that passion and confidence had stayed with me, that I had dared to dream I could be...a flautist. But then again, I would not be here in this life I know, so let's not even go there with the "what if's". But I still have the passion for music, and it's been showing itself more often in the last year or so. What if I could still invite that passion to move me to action, to make my life more about music?

Then yesterday I was tagged in a Facebook note by my dear blogging/FB friend Jim. He asked to respond to the question "What are my plans for living my one wild and precious life?" (See the Mary Oliver quote above)

My plans? Have I ever had any? It seems I've just been rolling along with the flow. I like a lot of things about where the flow has taken me, but what if I had the courage to make plans? I know, nothing makes God laugh more than humans making plans. But somehow, and this is going to sound incredibly stupid, I never realized I had the choice to make things happen and live my dreams.

So my plans? Practice. More practice. Make a commitment to play music with others. Print a business card: "Musician". Write those songs I've been meaning to write. Sing whenever the mood hits me. Join in. Play flute under the bridge even when there are canoeists within earshot. ;) I knew it when I was not yet twelve. I've been ignoring it for way too long. I plan to be a musician. Well, I already am, but I mean even MORE of a musician. One who actually is heard in public.

I have been having some incredible times with the flute lately. I'm reeling on the reels, and jigging with the jigs. Not that I'm ignoring the other instruments; the guitar was out of its case for a while, as was my singing voice. Both were fairly in tune for having been ignored so long!

I remember the year of the great gray owl...

...and perhaps the greatest thing that came of it.

Five years ago we were in the midst of a northern owl irruption that I may never see the likes of again. Great gray owls were everywhere. Sometimes it was difficult to drive on the roads without hitting one; I never did, but I did pick up one or two unfortunate ones and brought them to the local wildlife office. I looked forward to my 30 mile commute, eager to see just how many owls I could count without really trying.

I was sort of in a sleepy mode in need of awakening back then. We had lived here just over two years, and were just coming off being very close to moving away in what I understand now would have been the mistake of our lives. God acts in strange and mysterious ways, and there had to be a God to have orchestrated that in the twisted way it turned out for the better. Maybe someday I'll be ready to tell that story. Or not. All that matters is that we are still here.

But for now, it was the year of the great gray owl, and I was feeling kind of lonely and isolated, and I somehow found out about blogging. "Cool", I thought, and signed on and started one up. I had to think a bit about the name; what to call this crazy journey I was now about to document to the world? Out of the blue it came to me: Sand Creek Almanac. A nod to Aldo Leopold, and a recognition of one of the important natural features on our land. Well, not so natural in that it was ditched straight as an arrow about 90 years ago, but maybe I will do something to fix that some day.

I did not expect much at first. I did not even own a digital camera then, so no day to day photographic owl updates. I was writing, and with that I found an important outlet I had been missing. Then I got my first comment. I think it was from Dan of Through the Woods (formerly A Payne Hollow Visit). Wow, I thought, people anywhere can find what I write, and some even are moved enough to share a few words with me?

So it's just kept on growing from there. I know there are some that think blogging is dead since Facebook and Twitter took over, but I still think there is a place for each kind of social media. For the record, I enjoy Facebook in moderation, but it can never replace the depth of what I want to write here.

My fifth "blogoversary" was yesterday; I don't know how I missed it! I feel as if I've been no less than reborn by blogging. I'm not being sentimental, I really think blogging has taught a social recluse like me how to connect with people. I have met a few new friends in person, and consider many more as true friends. I enjoy the day to day exchange through comments, and I have learned so much from all of your blogs. So a toast to five years at Sand Creek, may there be many more, and may I always awake to find new posts from my blogging friends!

the winter blahs

It was a beautiful Sunday for January, partly cloudy with a high of 38. It's the middle of a 3 day weekend for me. Yesterday I went running for the first time in a while, and I was all excited about making an effort to stay in shape over the winter and to get outside and enjoy life.

So why did I spend most of my day indoors, half heartedly doing random things and not enjoying much of it?

I feel like I've hit a wall. Stuck in a rut. I think maybe no small factor is the fact that we are still two months away from spring. Sure it's nice to be halfway done with January and to be having great weather at this point. But February, for all its brevity, can be the longest, dreariest month of the year.

It also doesn't help that I am aching from my exercise efforts yesterday. I wore my boots running, and while they supported my feet just fine they weigh about twice as much as my running shoes.

On the bright side, I have played lots of flute and banjo this weekend, and I can tell the more I play the better I get. I saw a bald eagle while I was running yesterday. And today Mr. Attitude, while playing video games, spotted a hawk flying outside. It landed in a tree long enough for me to get a look, with binoculars, and I decided it was either a juvenile Cooper's or a juvenile goshawk. I didn't know what details to look for that would distinguish the two while I was looking. Judging from the map, it is more likely a goshawk, which would be a great yard bird sighting!

And the Vikings scored a convincing victory over the Cowboys. Now I'm not nearly as much of a football fan as I am a baseball fan, but it's fun to have Minnesota go this far in the playoffs!

Maybe watching a little "Cheers" and "Frazier" with Mr. Attitude will help. :)

making bigfoot tracks

A late Christmas present arrived yesterday. A long time ago, The Hermit returned something to a sporting goods store and got an in-store merchandise credit, which in a moment of guilt, weakness, or whatever, he gave to me. From time to time I had thought of what I might spend it on, but I never made up my mind and forgot about the whole thing for a while.

Until last week, when we saw some snowshoe tracks when we were driving around. That made me think...I sure would like some snowshoes...oh yeah...the merchandise credit! I quickly went online and found a reasonably priced pair of recreational snowshoes. Notice the "made in the USA" label; these were made by Redfeather in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

I took them for a test drive today, through some tamarack woods behind the house, along the creek for a while, then across the sedge and alder swamp to some aspen woods. I found out quickly that snowshoeing is not just a walk in the woods. You have to lift your legs more than with regular walking, and even with snowshoes I was still sinking in about six inches with each step. At around 170 I am probably close to the upper recommended weight for this model, so that didn't help. But then again if I do this whenever I can it will help me to lose that extra 30 pounds.

I saw lots of signs of wildlife: rabbit highways are everywhere, and once I got into the aspen woods I saw lots of deer tracks and even deer beds like this one:

As the deer's body heat makes a depression in the snow, the snow helps to insulate the deer and keep it warm. I saw at least a dozen of these beds in the woods. One of them was right next to this:

This is a deer stand we built about 15 years ago. I have hunted from it once or twice, but not for a long time.

It was tough going, even with snowshoes, across the swamp where sedges hold a layer of snow above the ground. The actual snow depth is a foot or less, but I was breaking through two feet or more of snow crusted sedges. But it is even more difficult for the deer, who don't have snowshoe feet.

My wildlife highlight for the day was seeing a snowshoe hare, white as the snow! Of course it was way too quick for me to get the camera out of my pocket. But the real thrill was just being outside in the middle of winter. From time to time I would stop, breathing in the cold air and the silence. I felt alive, not hibernating. The swamp was a challenge to get across, but the big thing was, I was outside.

Here's a view of my house you won't often see.