Naturally
It was feather weather. I watched a barred owl watching me. Years ago, a raptor guy told me that an owl could hear a mouse’s heartbeat under a foot of snow.
I saw a coyote run across the road. It struck me that Wile E. Coyote is the only coyote I’ve ever seen hit by an anvil. It was an Acme Anvil, of course. Wile E. Coyote’s middle name is Ethelbert.
I stopped to admire some plants carrying dead flowers. Wabi-sabi (“wah-bi sah-bi”) is an ancient philosophy tied to Japanese culture. Wabi-sabi sees the beauty in imperfection and impermanence, appreciates simplicity and accepts that change is inevitable.
A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences estimated there are a staggering 20 quadrillion (20,000,000,000,000,000) ants in the world or about 2.5 million ants for every human. The researchers said that was a conservative estimate.
I watched whirligig beetles moving about like madcap bumper cars without involving any bumping. They have a simple form of radar that allows them to detect food and other whirligigs on the water’s surface. They resemble big, thick watermelon seeds floating on the water. Whirligigs are carnivorous and are predators of insects that have fallen into the water and have difficulty breaking away from the surface tension and invertebrates. They’re beneficial and many fish won’t eat them because of the beetle’s chemical defense system.
Paul Douglas is a crack meteorologist who wrote that El Nino might give winter a milder nudge. It will be cold and it will snow. Beyond that the details are murky. During El Nino winters the jet stream, the main superhighway for storms, often whisks big storms south of Minnesota. There are notable exceptions, but odds favor a milder and drier winter based on previous El Nino events. Thank you, Paul Douglas, for those words offering the hope for a kind winter.
Q&A
“What bird is the state bird of the most states?” The most popular bird chosen by seven states is the northern cardinal; these include Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. The beautiful western meadowlark is the state bird of Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon and Wyoming. The northern mockingbird is third with five states, including Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. The American robin is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin, and the American goldfinch is the state bird of Iowa, New Jersey and Washington.
“How do the wildfires in Canada’s boreal forest affect birds?” To some degree, birds are accustomed to wildfire. Some birds thrive in the habitat that grows after a fire. Birds that prefer mature forests might be pushed out. The severity of these fires would require birds to make changes and we all know how difficult change can be. Smoke might be the greatest threat. We know what it can do to a human, but there isn’t a clear understanding of the impact of smoke on the health of birds.
"How do I read woolly bear caterpillars?" Folklore says that the darker the caterpillar, the harsher the winter will be. If the rusty band is wide, it will be a mild winter. The more black there is, the more severe the winter. As to the accuracy of a woolly bear’s prediction, please remember that it isn’t a trained meteorologist. One year, there were so many woolly worms on the road that I couldn’t help but hit some. I learned that when driving over woolly bear caterpillars, turn into the skid.
“Does a pelican’s bill really hold more than its belly can?” Dixon Lanier Merritt was right. Its large bill pouch can hold about 3 gallons of water while its stomach holds only about a gallon.
Thanks for stopping by
“Don't be seduced into thinking that which does not make a profit is without value.”—Arthur Miller.
“Bird watchers top my honors list. I aimed to be one, but I missed. Since I'm both myopic and astigmatic, My aim turned out to be erratic, And I, bespectacled and binocular, Exposed myself to comment jocular. We don't need too much birdlore, do we, To tell a flamingo from a towhee; Yet I cannot, and never will, Unless the silly birds stand still. And there's no enlightenment in a tour Of ornithological literature. Is yon strange creature a common chickadee, Or a migrant alouette from Picardy? You can rush to consult your Nature guide And inspect the gallery inside, But a bird in the open never looks Like its picture in the birdie books—Or if it once did, it has changed its plumage, And plunges you back into ignorant gloomage. That is why I sit here growing old by inches, Watching a clock instead of finches, But I sometimes visualize in my gin The Audubon that I audubin.”—Ogden Nash.
Do good.
©️Al Batt 2023
It’s a rare trick-or-treater who dresses as a differential grasshopper, but just wait until Marvel makes a movie about one. Giant ragweed, a big promoter of hay fever, is one of this grasshopper’s favorite foods. It feeds on a wide variety of grasses, leafy plants and crops (including corn, soybeans, sunflowers, cotton, vegetables, wheat, alfalfa and leaves of fruit trees). An adult could travel 10 miles in a day in search of food.
Photo by Al Batt
No matter when the first snow arrives, it always seems too early. October 28.
Can you have too many tote bags? I thought so, but I was wrong. I needed one more. When something requires toting, do it in style with a canvas bag from Xplorer Maps. If you need to be puzzled, Xplorer Maps has that covered, too. Various bags are available.
https://xplorermaps.com As members of 1% for the Planet, Xplorer Maps donates a percentage of proceeds from every product they sell to a variety of non-profit organizations around the world.
The Hamm's Bear was so popular that some newspapers printed the time that the television commercials featuring him would air.
If you combine Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barbara Kingsolver and coyotes, what do you get? You get a book with rich illustrations, lyrical language and gentle lessons that will entice young readers to learn more about coyotes. It’s a fine read for adults, too.
Near the Freeborn County Courthouse in Albert Lea, Minnesota.