Al Batt: ‘Critter-sizing’ on a quiet afternoon

By : 

AL BATT

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Everything is nearly copacetic. I'm still getting all my table utensils at Wendy's. The whole political scene thing is something. I haven't seen such a ruckus since Hiram sat on the gopher trap down at the hardware store. I never talk politics with friends because most of them are morons. I'm thinking of taking up running, but I pulled a hamstring just thinking about it. I haven't done that since I ran cross-country in high school. I should have started with a smaller country."

Nature by the yard

It was calm and quiet. There was no eerie groaning caused by the rubbing of one tree or branch against another in winter's bluster. I might have been able to hear a squirrel breathing had I listened hard enough. Squirrels carried on their ancient business. I'm not prone to criticizing. I'm into critter-sizing. I have three species of tree squirrels in the yard – red, fox and gray. The red is the smallest and the fox the largest. As you have already deduced, the gray squirrel is the middleweight entry of the three.

The quiet was disrupted by the sound of a murder of crows feeding on a raccoon carcass. It wasn't death most fowl. It was death by Kia. Folktale says that crows gather to decide the capital fate of another crow. Crows are scavengers, but the term "murder of crows" reflects a time when collective nouns of animals had colorful and poetic names.

A deer or white-footed mouse ran across the snow. I'm surprised it wasn't in someone's house. Their presence is pervasive. They become squatters to find shelter from the elements.

 I shoveled snow and considered how parts of Minnesota are blessed or cursed by more or less snow. According to Current Results, which uses weather data collected by the NOAA National Climatic Data Center, Albert Lea receives 37.8 inches of snow each year, Mankato 38.6, Brainerd 46.8, Rochester 51.9, Minneapolis 54, International Falls 71, and Duluth 86.1 inches of annual snowfall.

Indoors, while searching for something else, I came across some seed packets. I wondered if the seeds were still viable. Seed viability varies depending on the plant and how they were stored. They should be stored in well-sealed, watertight containers in cool (50 degrees), dark locations. I could conduct a ragdoll test. The ragdoll is a rolled tube of a moistened paper towel containing the seeds to be checked for germination, placed in a plastic bag, and stored in a warm place for several days. I'd assess the number of seeds germinating over the next few days. If the rate was less than 75 percent, I'd be better off buying new seeds. If the rate was between 75-90 percent, I'd use them but plant more seeds per planting.

Q&A

"How good is a turkey's eyesight?" Wild turkeys have excellent vision during daylight hours. Turkeys see color, have a wide field of vision, and generally, their eyesight is about three times better than ours. You might not see them, but they see you.

"How many kernels on an ear of corn?" The number of kernels per ear of field corn can vary from 500 to 1,200. A typical ear has about 800 kernels. Much of the field corn plants are bred to develop just one large ear. This approach usually yields better production. A bushel of shelled corn weighs 56 pounds.

"Why do dogs turn in circles before lying down?" Robert Benchley observed: "A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down." I've been told that it's an act of self-preservation in that a dog may innately know it needs to position itself to check for threats and to ward off possible attacks. Others have told me wolves sleep with their noses to the wind so they could detect a threatening scent and circle to determine wind direction. Still others think circling is done to roust vermin or to discover any stones or prickly vegetation that might prove uncomfortable. I think the theory that is most credible is dogs are creating a nest for themselves by trampling down grass or perceived grass before settling down for a nap.

Keep an eye and an ear out for

1. Starling bills are dark in winter but begin to turn yellow as the breeding season approaches. They are changing now.

2. House finches singing their exuberant, tumbling song.

3. Cardinals whistling "what-cheer" in honor of a town in Iowa.

4. Wild turkeys gobbling.

5. Red-tailed hawks perching close to one another. This is a sign of Valentine's Day.

Thanks for stopping by

“The point of life is to help others through it” – Peter Matthiessen, "In Paradise"

"The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work." – Robert Frost

 Do good.

© Al Batt 2020

PHOTO BY AL BATT Why the red-bellied woodpecker is called a red-bellied woodpecker.

The snow shovel was hoping for a day off.

Al Batt: Widdershins is my default direction

By : 

AL BATT

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Everything is nearly copacetic. I'm already suffering from election fatigue. I've stopped watching reality TV shows. Who needs more reality?"

"Philip K. Dick said, 'Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.'" I add.

"Boy, you slobbered a bibful there. I had a tough day yesterday. I'd gotten the feeling that nobody loved me and the whole world hated me. Then I realized that couldn't be true. There are many people who don't even know me."

Naturally

White-tailed deer change from grazers to browsers in winter.

There were pheasants under the feeders in my yard. It’s a place where I can’t imagine them wanting to be. I saw a hen and a rooster walking through the snow together. It warmed me on a cold day.

Red foxes stay warm with their thick winter coats. An adult rarely retreats to a den in winter, but curls into a ball in the open, using its bushy tail to wrap around its nose and footpads instead. I've looked through spotting scopes and seen foxes nearly blanketed in snow.

The river was open but wrinkled in the wind. I watched a hawk perched in a cottonwood. The hawk had quite a slice and it wasn't anywhere near a golf course. In falconry, a slice is when a hawk propels its droppings out and away from a nest or perch. A bigger bird, like a bald eagle, can add serious velocity to that action. Falconers refer to hawk droppings as mutes. For some reason, I thought of a line from a book I'd read, “The hawk was everything I wanted to be: solitary, self-possessed, free from grief, and numb to the hurts of human life.” I'm guessing Helen Macdonald wasn't thinking about slicing when she wrote that part of her delightful book, "H is for Hawk."

I squinted to see the rabbit on the moon. The man on the moon is a myth. The moon looked yellow, silver or white, but was likely gray in color.

Q&A

"Do carpenter ants eat wood?" No. Termites do. Carpenter ants nest in weakened wood.

"What is the difference between a bird's song and its call?" Songs and calls are the cellphones of the avian world. A bird's song is generally related to mating. Birds may sing to attract mates, claim territory or for pair-bonding. Songs are often sung repeatedly. A call is more flexible in usage. Many calls are short notes or phrases that birds use to convey alarm, provide identification or maintain contact. The dapper black-capped chickadee's "chick-a-dee-dee" call can be used to communicate danger, with research suggesting the number of dee notes increase in proportion to the perceived threat. A chickadee is as good a ventriloquist as Jeff Dunham, so it could be hard to place when it vocalizes without moving its lips.

"Squirrels aggravate me. I wish I could appreciate them more." Your wish is granted, and you still have two wishes remaining. Here are five reasons to treasure squirrels: They eat some insects, they plant trees, they are accomplished acrobats, they run down trees headfirst, and they speak highly of you.

"I like my window feeder, but how do I get the suction cups to stick?" Wash the window, wash the feeder, and place the suction cups in hot water for a few minutes to make the cups pliable. After you've dried the suction cups, apply a little vegetable oil on each cup and then wipe lightly before applying the feeder to a window that has been warmed by the sun or a hair dryer. Don't fill the feeder until you're sure it's securely held in place.

"Do polar bears hibernate?" They definitely don't in Minnesota. The farthest south that polar bears live all year is James Bay, Canada. In winter, polar bears move as far south as Newfoundland and the northern Bering Sea. Pregnant females dig a den in the snow, give birth, and emerge three months later. Females can go up to eight months without eating, but they don’t hibernate in the strictest sense. Adult males and non-pregnant females don’t hibernate or go into torpor.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

I suppose that put you in a foul mood?

Not until I walked face-first into that wall.

Driving by Bruce's drive

I have a wonderful neighbor, named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: Far from home, I pulled into a convenience store for fuel. The pump had a TV showing the news. I appreciate a break from the world's problems and loud commercials while pumping gas, so I pushed the mute button repeatedly, but the talking heads refused to stifle. I got my fill of the news long before my car's tank was filled with gas. Not much later, I wiped road salt off my bunion Buicks – my shoes. I had the time to do that because my hotel room wasn't ready yet because it wasn't my room yet. If it had been my room, I'd have had it ready for me.

 The delay caused me to dig out a pen and a receipt. If I don't have a notebook, I write things on newspapers, napkins, bookmarks, receipts, and anything else I can scribble upon. I'm a chronic note taker. I write things down. I'm not about to spend my time trying to remember things. I've got better things to do. Things like trying to remember what I wrote on and where I put it.

The sports report

There were 1,100 people at the basketball game. The $5 entrance fee allowed each to become the world's greatest referee. 

I walked at halftime, trying hard to stay out of the way of those headed to the concession stand for grub. I aim to walk counterclockwise unless signage says otherwise. Widdershins is my default direction. Widdershins means in a contrary or counterclockwise direction. I try to put on a certain number of steps every day. That number is both too many and not enough. Some days it's more of a challenge than on others. When I was in grade school, I could put on 10,000 steps per day just by walking to the front of the classroom to spit forbidden gum into the wastebasket.

I heard a sports guy on the radio report a heart-wrenching injury during an athletic endeavor. His sidekick said he saw the game and agreed it was heart-wrenching. I shuddered at the thought of a player's ticker being wrenched. It turned out that a knee had been damaged. I shuddered again. I'm sure heart-wrenching has found its way into some dictionaries, but the image of someone using a crescent wrench on a heart is disturbing. Gut-wrenching might be what they meant. Guts do twist, both literally and figuratively. Perhaps they were aiming for heart-rending, which means causing great sadness or distress.

In local news

A 100-year-old man sets off alarm when he tries to leave the historical museum.

Local cheese store owner believes in the Loch Ness Muenster.

Store welcomes its one-millionth annoyed customer.

Local man to marry Rose Thorn after finding a Rose among the Thorns.

Man sells his house for more than his asking price. He was ecstatic, but his landlord was furious.

Nature notes

“Is wild asparagus a real thing?” In the 1960s, Euell Gibbons wrote a book about eating wild edibles titled, "Stalking the Wild Asparagus." I enjoy asparagus. One of my father’s favorite dishes was creamed asparagus on toast. I enjoy asparagus pickles. Our asparagus patch was treated with reverence. It seemed as if everyone grew asparagus. The wild plant we commonly see along roadsides is the same species as tame asparagus – Asparagus officinalis. Wild asparagus produces without human assistance or manipulation. Asparagus plants are insect pollinated and its seeds are spread by birds, allowing domesticated crops to escape into the wild.

“What is Smokey the Bear’s middle name?” The.

“What causes deer to drop their antlers?” Diminishing daylight and falling hormones after the breeding season initiate the antler-weakening process. Testosterone controls the antler cycle, but production of testosterone and the annual antler cycle is ultimately controlled by photoperiod. Large-antlered older bucks typically shed their antlers earlier than young bucks with small-antlers. Weakened bucks may shed earlier than those in better physical condition. Genetics has some effect on the time of shedding.

Meeting adjourned

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." — Edith Wharton.

© Al Batt 2020

The black-capped chickadee’s song is a whistled “fee-bee.”

A chickadee trying to stay warm.

Batt: Scoping out birds in the winter months

By : 

AL BATT

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Everything is nearly copacetic. I've come to the realization that the only way I'm ever going to get my name in the lights is by changing it to ‘Exit.’ It was so cold that I cracked a tooth. Frozen coffee on-a-stick was a bad idea. I put my sweatshirt on backwards this morning, and I've spent all day going where I'd just been. I've started calling my bathroom the gym. That way I can tell my doctor that I go to the gym every day. I just learned that I'm colorblind. That diagnosis came right out of the yellow."

Naturally

I wanted to go for a walk, but I didn't want to bother the rooster and hen pheasants foraging under the feeders. They were pleasant pheasants. When they finished breakfast, I became an errant exerciser. Gretel Ehrlich said, "Walking is also an ambulation of mind."

I heard a red-bellied woodpecker call. It sounded peeved. And why not? It had to deal with winter. A chickadee sounded off, it's "fee-bee" song triggered by hormones. A downy woodpecker drummed along, hoping to establish a territory. The days grow longer at both ends. That should excite everyone.

People have reported high numbers of blue jays. There was a good mast crop this year in most places. That means there were plenty of acorns for eating and caching. Jays and crows know far more than they let on. A reader from Mora has a varied thrush in the backyard and a column customer in Mankato is being visited by a Carolina wren.

I saw a fox squirrel clutching an ear of corn on a “No Passing” sign. A nice find for the squirrel, which jumped down and ran across the snow. Then it suddenly disappeared into the deep snow like Wile E. Coyote running off a cliff.

I peered through my binoculars at a perched bald eagle. It was a young bird. For some reason, I focused on its bill. It was dark. It was a bi-colored beak that immature bald eagles have. This beak is a dark, blue-black and lighter in color nearer the eye. As juveniles mature, the beak color gets lighter from the base outward, gradually becoming the light yellow of an adult. Northern eagles are generally larger than their southern brethren. There’s a biological rule of thumb called Bergmann’s Rule which states that, within a species, individuals living in colder climates have larger body sizes than those in warmer climates. Bergmann found large animals have a lower surface-area-to-volume ratio, so they lose heat more slowly in cold climates. Small animals have a higher surface-to-volume ratio and cool off faster when it’s hot.

From the mailbag

Brian Schofield of Fairmont wrote, "I have seen oddities that nature presents to us: a whitetail doe with antlers, a two-headed painted turtle, but what I have been seeing the last week is something I haven't even heard about before: a ringneck pheasant hen with wattles. For the past week this hen has been haunting our bird and squirrel feeders gleaning scraps that have fallen to the ground. This little hen has provided us hours of entertainment and we have supplemented her foraging with shelled corn to assist her survival through the winter."  

I've not seen a hen like that, Brian, but some older females or those with damaged ovaries may assume rooster-like characteristics. I found this in The Condor from 1961: "Intersexes (gynandromorphs) were birds with supposed abnormal chromosomal complements which had mixed male and female feathers, and sex-inverts were birds undergoing change from one sex to the other — usually female to male."

Q&A

"If birds don't like milo, why is it in seed mixes?" Milo (sorghum) is used in livestock feed, ethanol production and as feed for birds. Generally, birds don't eat it. According to the trade group Wild Bird Feeding Industry, economy mixed seed mixes, which usually include milo, account for a third of the market. Single-seed products, such as sunflower seeds, make up 26 percent. If birds refuse to eat it and it's nothing more than wasteful filler, why milo? Two words. It's cheap.

"Why don't I ever see an owl in a tree?" It's because they are good at hiding. They excel at blending in and remaining motionless. I typically see them after outraged crows have found them.

"Why were my bird feeders quiet for part of the winter?" The winter was well-behaved for a time. Birds forage elsewhere when winter weather is mild with little snow or ice covering natural foods. Birds need fewer calories during warmer weather to maintain body temperatures.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting 

I went to a movie yesterday that made me cry.

A really sad film, eh?

No, really high-priced popcorn.

Driving by Bruce's drive

I have a wonderful neighbor, named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: I donned warm clothes and comfortable shoes, and I went walking on a nice day for winter. I returned to the house with thoughts of taking a shower before hitting the road. The shower held a new bar of soap with its brand name etched deep into its flesh. Fresh out of the wrapper and mighty nice.

A friend experienced being an owner of cows calving in January during a storm. It wasn't epic, but it was a storm, nonetheless. He ventured out into the great outdoors to be of help where he could. There was a problem and he needed to carry a calf to the warmth and safety of a barn. The world holds countless people who have never had that experience. I'm not one of those. I recall similar happenings from my cattle-filled past with a smile and a shudder. I now limit my calving adventures to watching glaciers perform in Alaska.

My friend didn't need to summon a veterinarian but told me a story about a guy we both used to know, named Irving. Irving had a sick cow. He called the veterinarian who came to the farm and treated the cow. The cow died. Not long after that, Irving received the vet's bill in the mail. Irving paid it, but sent a note along with his check reading, "If I call you again, don't come."

Nature notes

I drove down the highway, looking at the road and glancing at raptors. Red-tailed hawks patrolled highway margins. When snow covers much raptor hunting grounds, highways provide prime places to pursue prey like voles. At the edge of town there was a highway turkey. A wild turkey standing nonchalantly in the middle of the road as cars went by on both sides of the big bird. It was obviously a turkey with street smarts.

This is a list of athletic teams nicknamed for plants or parts of plants but is by no means complete. The one I'm most familiar with is the Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossoms. Others include: Ohio State Buckeyes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Moorhead Spuds, Indiana State Sycamores, The Roses (an English rugby team), Scottsdale Community College Fighting Artichokes, Delta State Fighting Okra, and the Cedar Rapids Kernels (minor league baseball team). Another minor league baseball squad was the Visalia Oaks, which changed their nickname to Rawhide.

Thanks for stopping by

"If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments." – Earl Wilson

Do good.

© Al Batt 2020

A cross bald eagle. Photo by Al Batt

Blame the groundhog, woodchuck or whistle-pig for the weather

Blame the groundhog, woodchuck or whistle-pig for the weather.

The clean-up crew aT the bird feeders.

Batt: Reflecting during a winter snowstorm

By : 

AL BATT

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Everything is nearly copacetic. I can't tell if it's late last night or early tomorrow morning. In my dream, I wanted to become a glassblower, but I blew my chance and became a snowplow driver in the freezer of a supermarket instead. Despite the troubled sleep, I was ready for the recent storm of the century when it hit. I'd fashioned a crude ice scraper out of a spear."

Naturally

It was as if I were walking in a snow globe. The snow fell all friendly and benign. The days before were windy and had given the yard its first snowbank of the year – in front of the garage. I mumbled "amain." Herman Melville in "Moby Dick," wrote, “The wind now rising amain, he in vain strove.” Emerson wrote, "The soul strives amain to live and work." Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word as: With all one’s strength, at full speed or with great haste. With that as inspiration, I recalled another word from the cobwebs of my mind and walked widdershins, meaning in a counterclockwise direction.

A bald eagle flew over the yard just as the sun was in the right position to create a shadow flapping across the snow. Talk about casting a giant shadow.

The sun became scarce and a true winter storm hit. It brought more snow. Snowbanks became abundant. The Old Farmer's Almanac said this about that. "Now is the time of the deep snows and thrice blessed is the neighbor who will plow you out."

A skunk had awakened long enough to make a few trips in and out of a culvert, its trail showing it had plowed snow in the process. A group of skunks is a surfeit. I prefer scurry as a collective noun for squirrels, although I call them a surfeit when there are too many.

I watched a snowplow go by. It's always a welcome addition to winter.

Q & A

"When do great horned owls nest?" In Minnesota, courtship and territory formation begin in December and early January with eggs laid at the end of January through February. The owls have thick feathers, even their legs and feet are feathered, to handle the cold. The young hatch with fluffy down to keep them warm. The owls are able to incubate eggs successfully at -27 degrees and eggs have been recorded to withstand a mother's absence for 20 minutes at -13°. The incubation period is 30-37 days and the nestling period lasts about 42 days. Early nesting might give the young time to learn hunting skills before the next winter.

"Why is a species of tree named the hackberry?" It's an unfortunate name for a tree. It makes it sound as if the tree is about to cough up a ball of berries or has done some criminal things to your computer. Colonists called this canopy tree a hagberry, probably because they found it similar to the wild cherry species by that name in Scotland. Eventually the name morphed into hackberry. Its bark resembles warts on young trees and changes into deeply furrowed, corky ridges on mature trees. Witches’ broom, a dense cluster of branches resembling a broom or bird’s nest growing from a single point, is a disfiguring disease common on hackberry trees. These deformities are typically caused by mites or powdery mildew. Hackberry produces small, pea-sized berries that change from light orange to dark purple when ripe in the fall. Birds feed on the fruits both on the tree and on the ground. Some humans eat them too.

"Have wild turkeys always been here?" Do you mean in your house? If so, I'd say "no." If you refer to Minnesota, my answer is a definite "maybe." Prior to European settlement, wild turkeys were found only in southeastern Minnesota along the Iowa border. Those turkeys were eliminated by hunting and habitat loss.

"Are all spiders poisonous?" I'm not certain that any of them are poisonous, but most spiders are venomous. Poisonous generally refers to something you eat, drink, or is taken into the body in other ways. Mushrooms might be poisonous, but spiders or snakes aren't. The venom found in the majority of spiders isn't strong enough to injure a human, but I wouldn't recommend eating any of them.

"Is the cedar tree really a cedar?" The eastern redcedar is a juniper and is sometimes called a pencil-cedar because, prior to 1940, pencils were made almost entirely from cedar. Pencils are now made from other woods or synthetic materials. The tree's berries are an important food source for birds and mammals.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

I wish I knew then what I know now.

What did you know then?

Nothing.

Then your wish has come true.

Driving by Bruce's drive

I have a wonderful neighbor, named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: I stopped at the clinic for a little-get together. The little get-together was helping put a jigsaw puzzle together. I helped by staying out of the light and eating a Rice Krispie treat. I don't have the desire to slap a jigsaw puzzle together, but I admire those who have the patience to do so. The last jigsaw puzzle I attempted to piece together was a used one missing a couple of pieces. It left me feeling unfulfilled.

The two ladies attempting to conquer the puzzle found it a challenge. "Idiot!" one of them proclaimed. I'd been found out. It turned out she wasn't talking to me. She was being hard on herself for trying to punch a puzzle piece into a place where it didn't fit. I offered to find her a scissors. Not just any scissors, but the good scissors. I might have even run with the scissors as we were already at the clinic.

I'm an idiot. I believe my father thought idiots were drivers who passed him and morons were those who tailgated him. "What's that idiot (moron) doing?" he'd say. I suppose I could be a moron. Idiot or moron, there's nothing I can do about it. My dues are paid for life. I once tried writing a paper for school on an Etch A Sketch.

Despite those shortcomings, I teach classes on writing. With a couple of minutes left before one class ended, I asked if anyone had a friendly riddle or knock-knock joke to end the day with a few chortles. A young woman raised her hand. "Why did the chicken cross the road?" she asked.

I gave the standard answer that it did so to get to the other side. She shook her head. I offered, "To show the opossum it could be done." That, too, was wrong. I surrendered.

"To get to the idiot's house," she said, a bit smugly I thought. Then she added, "Knock, knock."

"Who's there?" I responded cleverly. I'd answered that door before.

The young woman smiled before saying, "The chicken."

The cafe chronicles

The day, as each day does, offered a plot twist. The slurping was deafening. Everyone was eating the please-don't-let-me-get-sick soup. The chicken noodle soup could have been served in a long trough. Apparently, the heads of chickens are good for our immune systems.

Thoughts while watching sundogs

I remember when I learned how to count. It was odd even then.

The only thing some people will do right away is to procrastinate.

Do lawyers believe in free will?

It's OK to talk to yourself when you need expert advice.

Who was it that thought we wanted TV commercials featuring someone yelling at us?

Nature notes

“I watched a bald eagle fly over ducks on a lake. Some ducks flew and some didn’t. How does a duck decide what to do?” Its choice of predator evasion tactics might be decided by what kind of duck it is. A dabbling duck (puddle duck) is a type of duck that feeds primarily along the surface of the water or by tipping headfirst into the water to graze on aquatic plants, vegetation, insects, and larvae. These ducks are infrequent divers and are more likely to fly to escape danger. Diving ducks propel themselves underwater with large feet attached to short legs situated far back on the body. When threatened by an aerial predator, they tend to dive to safety. A mallard is a common example of a dabbler and mergansers are divers.

“Can a large insect fly farther than a smaller insect?” I don’t know. I do know the fragile looking monarch butterfly can travel 2,500 miles during its migration. You’d think that would win a gold medal, but it doesn’t. The Pantala flavescens dragonfly, about 1.5 inches long, flies across continents and oceans from India to Africa, about 4,400 miles. According to Smithsonian, dragonflies are known to travel at a speed of 35 miles an hour. Hawk moths, clocked at a speed of 33.7 miles an hour, come in as the second fastest. I’ve read there is a horsefly that is faster, but not according to Smithsonian. I'm sorry I was unable to provide a proper answer.

Meeting adjourned

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other." — Ephesians

Thanks for stopping by

"Nature poets can't walk across the backyard without tripping over an epiphany." — Christian Wiman

"There’s a whole world out there, right outside your window. You’d be a fool to miss it.” ― Charlotte Eriksson

Do good.

© Al Batt 2020

PHOTO BY AL BATT This young deer is often caught raiding the bird feeders.

I’m pleased to see my photo of bald eagles perched on this cover

I’m pleased to see my photos of bald eagles perched upon this cover..

Population 307

Batt: Birdwatching helps cure winter blues

By : 

AL BATT

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Everything is nearly copacetic. I've been watching some high school basketball games. I remember when the fans used to chant for me to enter the game."

"I recall that. Those fans were rooting for the other team. How is your class at the college going?" I say.

"I quit."

"Quit? Why?" I ask.

"Because you're never too old to stop learning."

Nature by the yard

It was snowing. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face – at least until I took it out of my pocket. I thought of albedo. No, that isn't the name of an infamous mobster. The reflection of sunlight from the Earth's surface is an important control on the temperature. The percentage of sunlight reflected from a surface is called its albedo. Generally, the greater the albedo, the cooler the surface because less sunlight is absorbed. Snow acts as a reflective blanket. It reflects the sun's heat, cooling the overlying air, and it insulates the ground in winter, preventing some upper soil layers from freezing solid and protecting underlying vegetation from damage by severe frost. Snow reflects more of the sun's energy because it's white and more reflective than the darker ground.

There was a cawcus of crows sorting through the snow. There was likely carrion there or perhaps the crows we're building a snowbird. Earlier, the crows and blue jays had been hassling a sharp-shinned hawk in the yard. That accipiter had taken a junco.

I've been seeing more coyotes and their accompanying tracks. The mating season for coyotes begins in January and lasts through February. After breeding, females search for dens where five to seven pups are born in April. I'd seen a coyote, with tail curved to its body, running down the road not far from my mailbox.

Canada geese flew overhead. There was a lot of honking. Road rage in the air?

Q&A

"What is a group of squirrels called?" A scurry. When there numbers are high, I call them a surfeit. An interesting collective noun. Surfeit is a word meaning an overindulgence, and an excessive or immoderate amount.

"If I were to give a popsicle to a beaver, would it eat only the stick?" Yes, unless it's a red popsicle. They're quite tasty.

"Do daddy longlegs have the world’s most powerful venom?" No. The living thing we most often call a daddy longlegs is an arachnid, but it's not a spider. It's a harvestmen and it has no venom of any kind. Some people call the long-legged crane flies daddy longlegs. They are harmless insects that have the appearance of large mosquitoes. They have no venom at all.

"How fast can a hunting peregrine fly?" According to PLOS Computational Biology, the peregrine falcon is capable of snatching prey from the air at speeds of 186 to 223 mph. This stoop gives the falcons an element of surprise and allows them to outmaneuver their prey. The falcons are more maneuverable at higher speeds because they are able to generate more turning force.

"Are the birds at my feeders this winter the same ones that were there last year?" There is a definite possibility of that being the case. Most songbirds aren't typically long-lived, but are creatures of habit just as we are. Bird banding studies have shown that many of our winter birds return to the same wintering location yearly. Keep the feeders filled and there is a good chance the birds will be loyal customers.

"We dissected owl pellets in school. Do any birds other than owls regurgitate pellets?" A pellet is the mass of undigested parts of food that a bird regurgitates. The contents, dependent on diet, could include bones, fur, feathers, the exoskeletons of insects, plant matter, bills, claws and teeth. In falconry, the pellet is called a casting. In addition to owls, there are many other birds that produce pellets including gulls, herons, hawks, songbirds and many species of shorebirds.

"How big do Minnesota wild turkeys get?" The heaviest documented bird tipped the scales at just over 30 pounds. The wingspan of a turkey can be a bit over 4 feet.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting 

I'm trying to eat healthy this year.

Good for you.

Yes, I have a little lettuce on every double cheeseburger.

Driving by Bruce's drive

I have a wonderful neighbor, named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: Life is a road. Each day is a mile marker and a good reminder to slow down. I was on a driving tour of the great rest areas of America. I brought along enough foodstuffs from home that my car was a touring cafe. Even so, I asked about an eatery in a small-town gas station. One man recommended a restaurant, but another said their knives were more tender than their steaks.

I parked my car in a downtown hotel parking ramp in Chicago. Actually, I didn't park it. A valet did that. It cost more to park the car than it did to drive it.

An Austin man told me had two cats. He used masking tape to make a square on the floor. His cats sat in that taped square as if it were that dreaded cat trap, a cardboard box.

I stopped in a coffee shop in Fayette, Iowa, where I enjoyed an Iowa sweet corn cookie. It was a sugar cookie as full of sweet corn as an Iowa summer.

I visited with a fellow in Montana who told me that he was from a town with a population of two. I've been to that kind of place. If you've ever taken a wrong turn off the freeway and lost your cell service, you might have been too. "I lied," he said. "Make that a population of one. I'm out of town."

The cafe chronicles

They were men who go anywhere and talk to whoever is there. One of them told me about a champion eater. I ate a side salad while considering Joey Chestnut who had eaten 74 Nathan's hot dogs, buns and all, in 10 minutes to win an eating contest. He consumed 22,200 calories in the process. That's fast eating. He must wear starting blocks on his elbows.

A checks mix

I'd planned on watching a granddaughter play basketball on TV, which was an iPad on my desk. I had paperwork to do and checks to write. I thought it would be easy to do that during commercial breaks and at halftime. It wasn't. My mind stayed with the game and was intent on avoiding work. I messed up one check and I had only two checks to do. I've made a note to myself to never try to multitask with those two tasks again.

Those exciting days of yesteryear

Uncle Bill asked me, "Do you want a haircut, or do you want them all cut?"

I didn't need to reply. Uncle Bill always had more to say. Two great talkers can't walk far together.

Mom couldn't avoid kicking the hornet's nest. She told Uncle Bill, "I want you to notice that Allen had two ears when I brought him in."

Nature notes

I tell myself that winter is on my side, but it can be ornery. At least I don’t have to shovel the cold. Here at my field station in January, I turn to the birds as sunflowers turn to the sun. I try to notice things. It’s an expression of life and of hope. The crashing temperatures painted frost patterns resembling ghostly plants on the window glass.

I watched a handsome red-bellied woodpecker fly to a feeder. It was a male with a red crown and nape. The female has the red nape but lacks the red crown. I saw a pair of critically acclaimed birds – cardinals. Each time I take a good look at a bird, I’m reminded why I’m a card-carrying birder.

A squirrel chattered at me the entire time I filled the feeders. Squirrels have a salty vocabulary. I enjoy squirrels even though they can be hard on feeders. It’s as the psalmist said, “Harden not your hearts.” I reckon that applies to all things including squirrels.

We’d received somewhere between 1 and 143 inches of snow – most of it parked illegally. It reminded me that Harmony became the Minnesota state annual precipitation record holder by receiving 60.21 inches in 2018. This proves that planning and hard work pay off. A downy woodpecker flew in as I was filling the feeder. I wondered if a downy finds winter weather a downer? I told it about Harmony’s record in hopes it might bring cheer, but the woodpecker wasn’t interested.

Meeting adjourned

We don't have to agree on anything to be kind to one another.

Thanks for stopping by

"There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher 'standard of living' is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free. For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasqueflower is a right as inalienable as free speech." – Aldo Leopold

"You have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy." – Ken Kesey

Do good.

PHOTO BY AL BATT Maybe this look is why a junco is called a snowbird.

PHOTO BY AL BATT A male red-bellied woodpecker has red from his nape to his bill and lacks the gray crown of this female. 

The sundogs were barking

This house sparrow keeps an eye on the thermometer.

It’s just January being January.

Batt: Goldfinches spectacular in any color, even olive green

By :  AL BATT

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Everything is nearly copacetic. New Year’s is a holiday created by the calendar companies who don’t want anyone reusing last year’s calendar. I had to buy a piece of farm equipment because I needed a new jacket."

"You know, you can purchase a jacket without buying a new implement," I say.

"I know, but I wanted the jacket for free."

Naturally

The point in Earth’s elliptical orbit around the sun where it's closest to the sun is called a perihelion. It happened on Jan. 5. I hope you remembered to send it a card.

There were many creatures in the yard trying to keep their New Year's resolution to not be eaten by a predator. A shrew was under the feeders eating what it could find. The tiny mammal has the metabolism of a blast furnace.

Squirrels wore trails in the snow to get to the corn I'd put out for them. Squirrels are locavores. They eat where the locals eat and that includes bird feeders.

Goldfinches fed upon the nyjer seed. Sometimes I wish the American goldfinches were a bright yellow all year, but then I realize they are spectacular in any color. They experience a complete molt twice a year. In the fall, the male trades his bright yellow feathers and black cap for an olive-green wardrobe with dark, blackish wings and pale wing bars. He becomes yellow again in the spring. Adults and juvenile goldfinches have similar dull olive-green plumages during the late fall and winter. The color of the bills of goldfinches change with each molt, too. In winter plumage, their bills are drab grayish brown. In breeding plumage, they change to an orange color. My father often referred to them as wild canaries.

I took part in a Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Everyone who counts was there. Everyone dressed for a pleasant winter day. It was a regular fleece circus. One of the participants, Mark Johnson, gets a CBC haircut every year. This year, his hair was trimmed to resemble a zebra. Last year, it was a pileated woodpecker. Other years have featured an indigo bunting and a tufted puffin. When asked why he does it, Mark replied, "It keeps me single."

I walked six miles counting birds. It was a lovely day, but a breeze did find a way of intruding. I've been told by those who suspect things that the wind here blows 364 days a year (365 on Leap Year) and then takes one day off to catch its breath.

Q&A

"Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?" A fruit is a seed-bearing structure that develops from the ovary of a flowering plant, whereas vegetables are all other plant parts, such as roots, leaves and stems. That means tomatoes, beans, peppers, pumpkins, and peas are fruits, but look for them in the vegetable department of your favorite grocery store.

"Are wild turkeys stupid?" No, and I doubt you'd find any turkey hunter who'd accuse them of it. They'd say that hunting a turkey is a great challenge. I suspect the young males (jakes) come the closest to acting stupid.

"Are there fewer insects today?" I'd be surprised if there weren't. We've been waging a constant war against them.

"A hawk is getting after my birds at the feeders. What can I do?" It's likely a Cooper's hawk (they nest here) or a sharp-shinned hawk. Try hitting the pause button. Shut down the feeders for a bit. The birds will stop showing up and the hawk will get the hint and hunt elsewhere.

"What is the territory size of a rabbit?" According to the DNR, the range of an eastern cottontail is no more than five acres (about the size of four football fields).

"Why have I been seeing and smelling skunks this time of year? Shouldn't they be hibernating?" Once settled into its winter home, the striped skunk becomes dormant, but doesn't enter a full state of hibernation. Skunks enter a state of torpor – a deep sleep from which they awaken occasionally. They may emerge briefly from their dens at any time during winter.

"Is seeing a cardinal supposed to bring good luck?" I think so. I consider myself lucky whenever I see one. I've been told that when we hear a cardinal sing, our sadness will soon be lifted. And when we see a redbird in winter, we will prosper in spring. I've also heard it said that if a bird poops on you or anything you own, it foreshadows good luck.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

Your last name is Batt? Any relation to Al Batt?

I am Al Batt

It’s a small world, isn’t it?

Driving by Bruce's drive

I have a wonderful neighbor, named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: I read in Business Insider that McDonald's serves about 1% of the world's population daily. Trying to avoid the crowd, I joined family at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was filled with people who regularly remembered their passwords. Buffalo Wild Wings was originally called Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck. They offered beef on weck sandwiches. Weck is kummelweck, a kaiser-like roll. The company shortened its name to Buffalo Wild Wings, with the acronym BWW pronounced: “bee-double-you,” which was shortened further to “B-Dubs.” 

There were TVs everywhere. They got in the way of one another. Each displayed a sporting event. I asked a server how many TVs there were. She thought 80, but she wasn't sure. That seemed high, but I wasn't sure.

The meal came with silverware. A TV remote would have been nice.

The cafe chronicles 

There were fenderbergs on the highway. They are clumps of ice, snow and slush that accumulate under a vehicle's fenders. I stopped at the cafe to wish everyone a happy New Year, but everyone wasn't there. I ordered a peanut brittle on whole wheat sandwich. They were out of those. A sister-in-law had given me lefse for Christmas. I went home and ate peanut butter on lefse. It was scrumptious.

The Shepherd and Ingeborg 

I sat at my desk as nice weather swirled about outside. I had more work to do than I could shake a stick at if I were the kind to shake a stick at work. I listened to Frederick Forsyth's "The Shepherd" read by Al Maitland on CBC radio as I do every year. Forsyth, known for the thrillers "The Day of the Jackal" and "The Odessa File," leaned one word perfectly against another in the story. A Royal Air Force pilot was headed home from Germany on Christmas Eve 1957. Fog set in, radio communication was lost, and he found himself flying over the North Sea without navigational aid. Hope was nearly lost when a ghostly silhouette of a World War II de Havilland Mosquito airplane rose from the mist below him. It's a breathtaking Christmas mystery with remarkable imagery. If I'd have been standing up, I'd have had to sit down. I'll not spoil it by divulging more.

In an unrelated event from years ago, Aunt Ingeborg called to tell me of going to Duluth to get an award for her accomplishments as a teacher. Ingeborg was someone who fed an opossum on her front steps because she worried about it. I had a photo of that animal hanging on a wall in my office until my wife found a better place for it. Back to Ingeborg's call. She described the bus she rode in, meals, venue, weather, and award ceremonies (there were no airplanes involved) before mentioning the man seated next to her had died on the trip home. She buried the lede. She said the pleasant fellow told a couple of jokes and then he up and died. I thought of the song "Mr. Bojangles," "He spoke with tears of 15 years how his dog and him traveled about. The dog up and died. He up and died. After 20 years he still grieves."

Nature notes

I pay attention to the things in my yard. Mary Oliver wrote, “Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” She also wrote, “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”

I spied with my little eye, snow and a deer in the distance. One of them was looking my way. High numbers of deer reflect a productive landscape. One study found a white-tailed deer will eat over 600 plant species and 3.5 percent of its weight daily. 

A bald eagle flew overhead. The DNR estimated there were 9,800 pairs of bald eagles in Minnesota in 2017. A 2018 survey found nearly 1,700 bald eagle nests in Iowa.

I busied myself providing room service at my bird feeders. I remember seeing evening grosbeaks some winters. I don’t see them in my yard anymore. Those handsome “grocerybeaks” displayed prodigious appetites.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there is no official difference between hills and mountains. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names once indicated the difference was a mountain rose at least 1,000 feet above its surrounding area, but this is no longer applicable. 

Meeting adjourned

“Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows.” – Robert Green Ingersoll

Thanks for stopping by

"Wonder is the salt of the earth." – Maurits Cornelis Escher 

"This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in." -– Theodore Roosevelt 

Do good.

© Al Batt 2019

PHOTO BY AL BATT The rusty blackbird breeds in bogs and around beaver ponds in the boreal forests of the far north.

Despite its name and the fact this one is grabbing a tree branch, the American tree sparrow is most comfortable on the ground. Photo by Al Batt

Al Batt: Black squirrels are really gray squirrels in disguise

Published by rkramer@bluffco... on Mon, 01/06/2020 - 3:18pm

By : 

AL BATT

It was another day in paradise with no normal to the weather. The nice weather had coaxed a raccoon from its winter napping place. Trash pandas have sharp minds and strong paws. 

A window is a lens to the outdoors. It's nature near at hand. Everything is new and different. Every window is unique. John Muir said, “Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.”

The morning had gathered enough light that I was able to marvel at a handsome white-tailed deer. The buck, with impressive antlers, paid little attention to me as it was watching a coyote trotting past. The coyote paid no attention to either of us. I gloried in the lovely red color of the red-twig dogwood, otherwise known as: red-osier dogwood, red willow, red brush or dogberry tree. Charismatic chickadees attacked a feeder's sunflower seeds. Like any cafe owner, I appreciated the regulars. 

Phil Morreim of Albert Lea had 24 squirrels on the deck of his home. He gets that many because he feeds them well so they'll leave his bird feeders alone. Among this scurry were four black squirrels. Black squirrels are gray squirrels in disguise; a color variation, not a separate species. The color is the result of a genetic mutation that causes excessive pigmentation. They are melanistic, which refers to melanin, a dark pigment. The black fur offers a thermal advantage, enhancing survival during extremely cold winters.

There are eight members of the weasel family in Minnesota — short-tailed weasel, long-tailed weasel, least weasel, American marten, fisher, river otter, badger and mink. I watched a mink lope along. I had a bit of nature awareness available that allowed me to notice the mink and realize that it wasn't wishful seeing. I used a technique I'd learned years ago. I stood motionless with a fixed gaze. I hoped to gain the wide peripheral vision of an owl. Stillness and a wide-angle vision cause motion to become evident. It's not difficult. Imagine you're an owl. Look straight ahead and pretend your eyeballs cannot move in their sockets. Pick a spot directly ahead of you and train your eyes on it. Hold that spot in the center of your vision as your focal point. If your eyes wander, bring them back to your focal point. Always return to that spot. While staring at it, you can see some ground between you and that spot, and some sky between you and that focal point. You can see the ground, the sky, and that spot all at the same time using your peripheral vision. This is called having owl eyes.

An easy way to see things in nature is to look beyond your cellphone.

As winter begins, I had a thought. I have one occasionally. The warblers wintering in warmth are counting the days until they return here.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

I can't believe it's 2020. 

Time flies. May all your troubles last only as long as your New Year's resolutions. 

If this is 2020, that means it's been an entire year since I gave up trying to become a better person than I'd been in 2018.

Driving by Bruce's drive

I have a wonderful neighbor, named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: Every year, something incredible comes along. It's called Christmas. I want it to stay, but it's like hanging onto smoke. My wife made delicious biscuits, an acini de pepe salad with mandarin oranges and maraschino cherries (no eye of newt), and Swedish pancakes served with lingonberry preserves on Christmas Eve. There aren't any better things to pile into a piehole. I'd acquired a small jar of asparagus pickles. I'm fond of pickles — dill, okra and asparagus are particular favorites. My wife took the asparagus pickles along with her cherished watermelon pickles to a Christmas party I was unable to attend. I worried that the people there would snarf down the asparagus pickles as if there were no tomorrow. That wasn't the case. Each pickle returned just as tall as it had been when it left our abode. Not a single one was eaten. I wasn't unhappy about that. 

I can't sing. I can barely clap, but I can listen to powerful good music like Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan singing, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"/"We Three Kings" as we opened gifts. A gift should warm twice, once when given and again when received.

I took possession of a few pairs of socks. They were new, which means that now some of my socks match. I garnered tasty cashew and almonds. I scored a lovely book. The world lives in the written word. Between family things and work, I read a couple of books at Christmas time. One was about the Harriman Alaska Expedition and the other about the Navajo. I started reading a book by Malcolm Gladwell. I must appreciate his writing as it will be the sixth book of his I've read. I enjoyed reading the recent issue of The New Yorker. I started reading that magazine when I was 17, thanks to the encouragement of a high school librarian named Mrs. King. I don't believe I ever thanked her properly. Shame on me.

My wife and I gathered donated edibles for the local food shelf from the Kiwanis Holiday Lights at Sibley Park in Mankato. We picked up 1,113 pounds of nonperishable foods that more than filled my car. My stuffed vehicle resembled an overly optimistic food truck. Laina Rajala came to our aid. She not only helped loading and unloading the foodstuffs, she transported the overflow from Mankato to the food shelf. Every gift should warm twice. Laina's gift certainly warmed us both.

Thoughts while eating Swedish pancakes

Never say that a day is the worst day of your life. It will give the next day a challenge.

I'm leaving my body to science, but I'm keeping the oil and mineral rights.

Any music with its volume turned off is easy listening.

Nature notes

The temperature was supposed to drop. I think it was likely due to the cold. A little winter snarkiness there. Sorry. The night’s activities are often inscribed in the snow, but the snow had melted or hardened, making clues difficult to find. I picked up trash from the road ditch. Like a crow, I pick up shiny things from the ground. Blue jays had a collective cow as I walked. Jays are known to eat eggs and nestlings of other birds, but in a study of blue jay diets, only 1 percent of jays showed evidence of having eaten eggs or baby birds. The diets of the jays studied were composed of mostly insects and nuts. The oldest known wild blue jay was at least 26 years, 11 months old.

On the subject of studies, researchers discovered that opossums have impressive memories when it comes to food. Opossums were found to be better at remembering food locations than were cats, dogs, pigs, and rats. Any mammal can get rabies, but the chance of finding rabies in an opossum is extremely slim.

A white-tailed buck’s antlers begin growing in April and are fully grown by mid-August. Depending upon the source of the information, his antlers grow one-fourth inch to an inch per day.

A red fox has a white tip to its tail and a gray fox has a black tip to its tail. 

Neighbor stops by

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Everything is nearly copacetic. Once you get past the first day of winter, there are only 300 days of winter left. I'm saving on my fuel bill this year. I bought a heated toilet seat and turned the furnace down."

Q&A

"How far away should I haul a squirrel I've live trapped to make sure it won't return?"

I don't know. There is a paper, “Movement and Mortality of Translocated Urban-Suburban Grey Squirrels,” published in 2004 by Adams, Hadidian and Flyger, which focused on live-trapped, radio-collared squirrels that were moved from a suburb of Washington, D.C., to a large wooded area. The study found that 97% of the relocated squirrels died or disappeared from the release area within three months. Relocated squirrels have difficulty finding food, water, safe hiding places and shelter. Being dumped in the home range of other squirrels leads to territorial disputes. There are rules and regulations that could apply. It's unlawful to release wildlife on state-owned lands without permission.

"Why do snowy owls fly south in the winter?"

Scientists once believed the owls left because they were starving in the Arctic, having exhausted the supply of their primary prey item, lemmings. However, many of the travelers are relatively healthy and well-fed. Their visits may indicate it was a boom year for the birds and the population was so high they couldn’t all stay in the Arctic. The owls move for food availability or due to population density.

Listen for these current events with your good ear

1. The whistled "fee-bee" song of the black-capped chickadee.

2. The drumming of the downy woodpecker on a resonant surface.

3. The blue jay's pump-handle call.

Meeting adjourned

Measure your words, but be free with compliments. Happy New Year!

Thanks for stopping by

"At some point in life the world's beauty becomes enough. You don't need to photograph, paint or even remember it. It is enough." — Toni Morrison

"The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion." — Thomas Paine

Do good.

© Al Batt 2019

Black squirrel or gray squirrel in disguise? Photo by Al Batt

I hope this female cardinal brings you good luck. Photo by Al Batt

Christmas season revelations with Al Batt

Batt: Christmas season revelations with Al Batt 

Published by rkramer@bluffco... on Mon, 12/16/2019 - 3:36pm

By : 

AL BATT

Shoofly pie and fruitcake

I was at a Christmas party with friends. One had made shoofly pie, a molasses crumb cake baked in a piecrust. It was powerful good. There was no fruitcake at this particular feast day for friends. I like fruitcake.

There, I've admitted it. I like it best when none of the ingredients is sawdust. I'm keen on fruitcake wearing a layer of whipped cream. I like some fruitcake better than others, but that's true about all foodstuffs.

I wish I’d been eating fruitcake instead of a salad, greens and walnuts at a banquet in Sitka, Alaska. I broke a tooth. I didn't do it for me. It was a Christmas gift for my dentist.

December weather folklore

A windy Christmas is a sign of a good year to come.

If Christmas Day be bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in the year.

White Christmas, green Easter. Green Christmas, white Easter.

December changeable and mild, the whole winter will remain a child.

Thoughts while in the dentist’s chair

If someone signs your paycheck, they can't be a complete idiot.

You become an adult when you've lost the desire to become a grownup.

Familiarity invites repeat customers to restaurants.

Nature notes

I got a nice Christmas card from a Baltimore oriole. It said he was warm and eating fruit and nectar in Costa Rica.

After reading the card, I moved to a pretty place. The window. There were chickadees at the feeders. My favorite bird eats about 35 percent of its weight per day. A Cooper’s hawk had been hunting/haunting the yard. That raptor eats 12 percent of its weight daily.

An opossum was nibbling on seeds that had fallen from feeders. I'd eaten an apple and tossed the core outside, nearly hitting the opossum. I didn’t mean to come that close. It didn’t alarm the animal.

An opossum’s eyesight isn’t the greatest, but it smelled the apple and grabbed it with its mouth of 50 teeth and ambled away. I felt good about my simple gift.

A male house sparrow in the yard had an impaired wing. Birds don’t fly well on one wing. I tried to catch the little bird, but it was too quick for me. I’ve been feeding it. Many would say that it’s just a house sparrow.

 Even though I’m more than willing to trap a mouse or swat a mosquito or stable fly, I try not to judge creatures. They are what they are. I remain hopeful on the sparrow’s behalf.

I saw a coyote feeding on a deer killed by a car. Coyote mating season is January and February. Five to seven pups are born in April. Their mother teaches them to hunt when they are 8 to 12 weeks old. From autumn until mid-winter, the pups leave the den and search for their own territories.

Deer are nature’s “reduce speed” signs. Just think how fast people would drive if it weren’t for deer.

I went outside and stayed a while

Rick Mammel told me about decoys affixed to Albert Lea Audubon's purple martin houses as a tool to attract martins. They were attacked by Cooper's hawks, which destroyed the decoys.

The Eurasian collared-dove is grayish brown with a black collar. It's chunkier than a mourning dove and has a blunt-tipped tail unlike the mourning dove’s longer, pointed tail. Males give a distinctive koo-KOO-kook call.

Snowmobilers, snowshoers, skiers, and those making money by moving snow aren't the only ones happy to see snow. Voles live in a subnivean zone, the area between the surface of the ground and the bottom of the snowpack. Voles retreat to that grocery store for protection from the cold, wind, and predators.

Male pheasants crow throughout the year. "Cow-cat" they proclaim while making a drumming sound with their wings. During severe winter weather, pheasants can go two weeks without food by reducing their metabolism.

They are able to detect sounds or ground vibrations from long distances. The Department of Game and Fish acquired 70 pairs from Wisconsin and Illinois, and released them in 1905. None survived.

In 1916, the Minnesota Game Protective League established a game farm on Big Island in Lake Minnetonka.

The Game and Fish Department assumed the operation in 1917 and by 1922, pheasants had been released in 78 of Minnesota's 87 counties. Minnesota held its first hunt in 1924.

Phun with phenology

Great horned owl pairs hoot duets.

Raccoons aren't true hibernators. They may forage when temperatures hit 20°F or above.

Most white-tailed deer bucks shed antlers in mid-January, but some do so in December when stressed by severe weather conditions.

Q&A

"I saw a cowbird recently. Shouldn't it have left here?" 

Most of the brown-headed cowbirds have flown south, but some overwinter in southern Minnesota and are reported on Christmas Bird Counts. I sometimes see them in the winter on the backs of livestock. A cowbird feeding on the ground might show a raised tail.

"When I was a boy, I had an ant farm. What kind of ants worked on that farm?" 

They were likely harvester ants. I find ants fascinating. Ohio State researchers discovered the American field ant can withstand pressures up to 5,000 times greater than its own body weight. The black garden ant queen, found throughout Europe and in certain parts of Asia and North America, can live 15 years, with claims of up to 30 years. Despite their name, no ants are found in Antarctica.

"I'm thinking of getting my wife a bug zapper for Christmas. Do they work?" 

Yes and no, you romantic devil. The Rutgers Center for Vector Biology found bug zappers kill a lot of insects, but kill few mosquitoes. The continued popularity of the zappers is probably due to the sound effects, which assure owners that their investment is working.

Most of the popping sounds are moths lured into the trap while attempting to navigate by the moon. Bug zappers aren't the only useless thing foisted upon folks attempting to avoid mosquito bites.

Scientific studies have repeatedly shown that electronic mosquito repellers do little in the way of reducing mosquito annoyance.

Citrosa plants are another way someone takes advantage of consumers. Mosquitoes are able to alight upon the leaves of these plants. Mosquitoes produce that annoying buzz by beating their wings 300 to 600 times per second. They don't live long, but they make up for it by volume and irritation.

"Do you have suggestions for Christmas gifts for my birdbrained brother?" 

Here is a long, but far from exhaustive list for birdbrains everywhere: Binoculars, calendar, backpack, warm socks, trail camera, bird feeder, membership to a nature organization, book or field guide, state park sticker, camp chair, fanny pack, gloves or mittens, and subscription to Bird Watcher's Digest or Audubon magazine.

Thanks for stopping by

"There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child." — Erma Bombeck

"God gave us our memories so that we might have roses in December." — J. M. Barrie

Meeting adjourned

"Happiness is the new rich. Inner peace is the new success. Health is the new wealth. Kindness is the new cool." — Syed Balkhi

Do good.

© Al Batt 2019

The day may darken too soon, but its beauty lingers. Haines, Alaska.

Al Batt: Snow buntings common siGHT on roadways in winter

Al Batt: Snow buntings common siGHT on roadways in winter 

Published by rkramer@bluffco... on Mon, 12/09/2019 - 3:08pm

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

I thought I'd be wiser by the time I reached this age.

You must know something.

I know I should never underestimate winter.

It's how we roll

I used the necessary at a huge clinic. I noticed the toilet paper. I notice things like toilet paper because I've looked through an empty toilet paper tube and discovered land. There were two rolls of toilet paper at the service of those in need.

There are two ways to hang toilet paper: Over with the loose end draped over the top and under with the loose end hanging inside next to the wall. One of the rolls was over and one was under.

Unintended or was someone trying to please everyone? No matter, it's good to have choices. I wonder if it was 1-ply or 2-ply? Toilet paper is like many things. I don't care which way it hangs as long it's there. You never know what you have until it's gone.

A few days later, I received a survey from that clinic with a request for completion. If you leave your house, you're going to be asked to complete a survey. It's homework for grownups.

I read the survey twice; there wasn't a single question about toilet paper.

Aussie bites

I wolfed down a couple of Aussie bites for breakfast. I've heard them described as the offspring of an oatmeal cookie and a granola bar — packed with oats, nuts, seeds, berries, fruits, honey, vanilla, cloves, and anything an Australian might find while foraging in the bush. They’re chewy and sweet, but not too sweet.

Properly fueled, I walked through a heavy rain. I was a big drip, dripping rain. I carried no umbrella because I'm an adrenalin junkie.

I was unarmed when encountering those jousting knights armed with sharp umbrellas. The most dangerous of those were the people texting while walking and carrying an umbrella.

Nature notes

I walked by a talking oak. Its limbs moaned and groaned in the wind. A tufted titmouse visited my feeders. The weather changed for the worse. When the going gets tough, I hoped the tufted didn't get going.

Snow buntings flew up from a roadside field. They flew along with my car as if we were racing for pink slips. I’m glad we weren’t. My slow moseying would have resulted in snow buntings driving my car.

I wore a cap bearing the image of a Caspian tern, the largest tern in the world. The Caspian Sea is the Earth's largest inland body of water. I wore that cap as I watched goldeneyes in Alaska.

Ernest Hemingway wrote that the wings of this duck make the sound of ripping silk. It’s a wonderful time of year. An appreciation of nature means that presents aren’t just under a tree. They are over, on, in and around a tree.

Big Bird, the towering Sesame Street character is 8-foot-2-inches of yellow feathers. A black-capped chickadee is a bit smaller, with wing beats of about 27 times per second.

Naturally

The world had put on its winter coat — a heavy coat of snow. I drove through way too much snow (according to the National Weather Service) to get to an important meeting. We complain about the weather forecasts, but we should complain that they are too accurate.

Another attendee asked how my drive to town was. I told her that I'd seen a small flock of snow buntings. Those birds made the post-storm journey a delight.

Forty-two Canada geese flew over the yard in a lopsided V-formation, honk-a-lonking their way south. The bird feeders had been busy. If you fill your feeders, the birds will come before a storm.

A rooster pheasant flew from the yard. I heard him before I saw him. I was sorry to have bothered the handsome fellow. Male pheasants utter a series of loud, excited two-note calls when they flush. It's difficult to assign a precise meaning to these cackles.

Red oak, ironwood and buckthorn hang onto their leaves. Turkeys, deer and squirrels dig through the snow in search of acorns. The squirrels may be checking for cached nuts.

There was a Eurasian collared-dove, with a black collar on the back of its neck, under the feeders. This Eurasian species, approximately the size of a mourning dove, was accidentally introduced into the Bahamas in 1974 and was first sighted in Minnesota in 1998.

Q&A

"Are there are more than one kind of cattail in Minnesota?" 

There are two — the common or broadleaf cattail and the narrow-leaved cattail, both found in shorelines of marshes, lakeshores, river backwaters, and road ditches. There is also a hybrid of those two species. Narrow-leaved cattail isn't native to Minnesota or the United States. It's a native of Canada.

The DNR says narrow-leaved cattail has a flower spike 4 to 8 inches long and 1/2 to 1 inch wide that looks like a hotdog on a stick. A broad-leaved cattail spike is 4 to 6 inches long and 1 to 2 inches wide that resembles a sausage on a stick.

"Why is nature usually called 'she'?"

Because even when angry, she is beautiful.

"How do birds decide who eats first at the feeders?"

They operate on a hierarchy called a pecking order. The idea of a pecking order came from studies conducted in the 1920s when Norwegian biologist Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe established that chickens had a dominance system.

He named it the "pecking order" after noting that chickens enforced their leadership by administrating a sharp peck of the beak to underlings whenever they got ideas above their station. Our feeder birds follow that same practice.

"There is an opossum in my yard. Should I worry about the animal having rabies?" 

Any mammal can get rabies, but the chance of rabies occurring in an opossum is rare. It's thought that the opossum’s low body temperature makes it difficult for the virus to survive in the animal’s body.

Meeting adjourned

“Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” ― Henry James

Thanks for stopping by

"The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say." —Geronimo

"We haven't yet learned how to stay human when assembled in masses." — Lewis Thomas,

Do good.

© Al Batt 2019

AL BATT/BLUFF COUNTRY READER An adult and an immature bald eagle. Eagles will often go after other animals' catches, such as osprey, instead of doing their own hunting.

AL BATT/BLUFF COUNTRY READER The Steller’s jay was discovered in Alaska in 1741 by Georg Steller. There are two variations of the Steller's jay, including coastal and interior, which both have different color variations.

Al Batt: First sign of juncos signifies first snow chance

Al Batt: First sign of juncos signifies first snow chance 

Published by rkramer@bluffco... on Mon, 12/23/2019 - 1:06pm

By : 

AL BATT

It was a calm day. Geese seldom migrate against a strong wind. They wait for the wind to blow from the right direction and go with it.

I watched juncos, often called snowbirds, feed on the ground. Some people consider this bird a harbinger of winter. That's a miserable responsibility for a lovely, little bird.

Snow had given my world a natural texture. December and January are typically our snowiest months. Red squirrels tunnel under and through the snow. They are much more likely to do so than are gray or fox squirrels. Weasels (ermine) tunnel through snow in search of voles, mice, and shrews.

Deer, turkeys and squirrels dig through the snow for acorns. I sampled acorns when I was a boy. I had to. I was a boy. The acorns weren't tasty. They needed frosting.

It was a real pane

I feel terrible when a bird hits a window of our house. "That's it!" I say to my long-suffering wife, "We're moving to a cave."

The temperature had fallen below zero as my wife and I rang bells for the Salvation Army. I heard the demoralizing thud of a bird crashing into a store window.

My wife spotted a female house sparrow that had fallen to the concrete. I held the bird in my closed hands. The warmth helped. I opened my hands and the bird flew off. I felt good about having a tender soul. Later, I heard house sparrows chirping. I hoped that bird was one of them.

The winningest birds

Ranker rated the most successful pro teams with bird nicknames from the most successful down to the least: Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Seahawks (I'm not certain what kind of bird that is), Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Hawks, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Pelicans.

Q&A

"Where do juncos nest?" 

Dark-eyed juncos breed in forests across much of North America, including northeastern Minnesota. The female chooses the nest site, typically on or near the ground in roots, moss, or grasses — occasionally nesting off the ground.

"Do bears need to eliminate waste during hibernation?" 

Scientists don't agree whether or not bears are true hibernators. Some people of science maintain bears enter a sleep-state called torpor.

Torpor, like hibernation, is a survival tactic used to survive the winter months, and is triggered by colder temperatures and decreased food availability.

Torpor involves decreased breathing and heart rates, and lower metabolic rate, but not the dramatic decrease in body temperature often associated with true hibernation.

No matter what it's called, do sleeping bears need to use the little bear's room or do what bears do in the woods? Bears are able to sleep 100 days without passing waste. Bears avoid eliminating metabolic wastes by recycling them. Bears lose fat and may gain lean muscle mass while sleeping. They need to do an infomercial.

"What towers kill the most birds?" 

It would be the tall structures like the radio and TV towers that have guy wires. The guy wires can be treacherous for flying birds. The lights on those towers can confuse birds in foggy weather, causing them to fly into the guy wires. Self-supporting, shorter towers are less of a problem because they lack guy wires. Studies have found wind turbines are murder on bats.

"Do trees have feelings?" 

It depends upon how you’d define of feelings. I think they do, but when I see a dog lift a leg to one, I hope they don't.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

I got my wife an earring for Christmas.

Just one?

There will be other Christmases.

Christmas comes but once a year

I waited so long to become an adult, only to discover that I'm not good at it.

"When are you going to put up the Christmas lights?" my wife asked.

"It’s too cold," I replied, "I’m waiting until summer."

"Then it will be too hot."

"OK, I’ll do it next fall," I said.

"Fine! Don't put up any lights this year."

It was her idea.

Shivering is a Christmas tradition

I was a shivering boy from a combination of excitement and frozen socks. It was Christmas and I’d found thin ice on the Le Sueur River and fallen into its gelid waters — again. It was a blessing — an unintentional tradition that left me thankful I didn't do it more often.

One year, I wanted and I got Silly Putty. It came in an egg and was a popular stocking stuffer. I didn’t know or care what kind of chicken laid the egg.

I’d press the putty on a newspaper comic and the image of the cartoon character came off with the putty. It stretched and it bounced like a rubber ball. It was silly, but it was like putty in my hands.

Echoes from the hardwood

I once told a basketball team, "They're bigger than us and they may be more talented than us, but they are going to be surprised when we beat them."

It was my Knute Rockne speech. Rockne was the football coach for Notre Dame when he gave his "Win One for the Gipper" speech to his players at halftime of the 1928 Army game.

Rockne was trying to salvage something from his worst season as coach at Notre Dame. To inspire the players, he told them the story of the tragic death of one of the greatest players ever for the Fighting Irish, George Gipp.

Historians doubt Rockne's version of Gipp's last words was true, but it supposedly went like this, "None of you ever knew George Gipp. It was long before your time, but you know what a tradition he is at Notre Dame. And the last thing he said to me, 'Rock,' he said, 'sometime, when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock,' he said, 'but I'll know about it and I'll be happy.'"

Anyway, Notre Dame did win the Army game and my team won its game. I shared my line with a friend who is a college basketball coach. He used it for a halftime talk when his team was trailing by a bunch. His team won. Have a great Christmas. Do it for the Gipper.

Nature notes

Some trees hold fast to their dead and dried leaves. This leaf retention is called marcescence and is common in some oak species and ironwood.

Marcescence is most common with smaller trees and the reduced sunlight when growing beneath taller trees might slow abscission (the natural detachment of the leaves).

The understory leaves might continue the photosynthetic process as upper leaves fall. Some speculate the retained leaves deter browsing animals, such as deer, by concealing the buds.

Perhaps by holding onto their leaves, trees are able to retain and recycle nutrients.

Meeting adjourned

“May the song of Christmas be music to your ears, a symphony of love that resounds throughout the year.”—Joy Bell Burgess

In the words of Richard Lederer, "Knock, knock. Who’s there? Eyewash. Eyewash who? Eyewash you a Merry Christmas."

Thanks for stopping by

"I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me. — Fred Allen

"The best Christmas trees come very close to exceeding nature. If some of our great decorated trees had been grown in a remote forest area with lights that came on every evening as it grew dark, the whole world would come to look at them and marvel at the mystery of their great beauty." ― Andy Rooney

Do good. Merry Christmas.

© Al Batt 2019

No gull is an island.

Al Batt: Poppies reminder of World War I veterans and soldiers

Al Batt: Poppies reminder of World War I veterans and soldiers

The poppy queen

Annie was my hometown's poppy queen. She held sales records. After World War I, the poppy flourished in Europe. Scientists attributed the growth to the soils in France and Belgium becoming enriched with lime from the rubble left from the war.

The red poppy came to symbolize the blood shed during battle after the publication of the poem “In Flanders Fields.”

In 1920, the poppy became the official flower to memorialize the soldiers who fought and died during the war.

In 1924, the distribution of poppies became a national program of the American Legion. Members of the American Legion Auxiliary distribute poppies with a request that the person receiving the flower make a donation to support veterans and active military personnel.

Annie lurked in the post office, waiting for unsuspecting prey. I visited the post office six mornings a week.

Annie sold me a poppy day after day because I was too stupid to wear the poppy she'd sold me the day before. She didn't request a donation each time. She demanded one.

I'd protest that I'd just bought a poppy from her yesterday. Annie asked why I wasn't wearing it and then sold me another. One morning, I awoke with a goal.

I wasn't going to buy another poppy from Annie. I put five of them on my shirt and one on my necktie. I was a living poppy tree. I walked into the post office with great confidence in each stride. Annie wasn't there.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

I'd love to buy a new car, so I'm taking vitamins each day.

What do vitamins have to do with buying a new car?

They might help me live long enough to be able to afford one.

Ask Al

"What would you say to a new resident of your neighborhood?" Hello.

"How would you describe a small town?" If it's big enough to have a 4-way stop intersection and it has two cars stopped at signs, each driver will be encouraging the other to go first.

"You are a tall guy. What have you found to be the easiest way to take off your socks?" I sneeze them off.

Nature notes

Folklore says that if you have a bird nest in your Christmas tree, your family will experience health, wealth and happiness in the coming year. Birds don't nest here at Christmas.

Use an artificial nest for your tree as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it illegal to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such a bird except under the terms of a valid Federal permit.

Raccoons winter in places like tree cavities, animal burrows, abandoned buildings, chimneys and rock crevices.

They stay in their dens and sleep lightly during bad weather. When temperatures and weather improve, they're out looking for food. They eat as much as possible in the fall, in order to build an extra layer of fat.

They don’t hibernate, but hole up in dens during the nastiest winter days and are capable of sleeping for long periods of time. Raccoons are typically solitary creatures, but sometimes den in groups during cold weather.

My neighbor Crandall 

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Everything is nearly copacetic."

"What time is it?" I wonder aloud.

"Well, one wristwatch says it's 1:03 and my other watch claims it's 1:21."

"You have two watches and they don't show the same time?" I say.

"If they had the same time, I wouldn't need two of them. I thought about getting one of those fitness tracker watches, but I don't need one. I just burned 2000 calories in 20 minutes."

"How did you do that?" I ask.

"I forgot to take my brownies out of the oven."

Naturally

Three common grackles showed up at our feeders right before Christmas. Not many would accuse them of being the three wise birds. Perhaps they were traveling as a part of a wagon train and had the rotten luck of getting a bad wagonmaster.

I don't expect to see a robin in my winter yard, but I'm never surprised to see one. I spotted a northern shrike perched on the top of a small tree.

The shrike was about the size of a blue jay, but had a horizontal profile. This shrike has a black mask and is a predator songbird that will impale its prey because it doesn't have the talons to hold them.

I have seen mice impaled on barbed wire and the thorns of trees. It breeds in the taiga and at the border of taiga and tundra.

I listened to a man talk of many things. I thought he'd said something about a "corbie messenger." He had not. It was faulty listening on my part.

I'd gotten up on the wrong side of my brain that morning. He had no idea what corbie messenger meant. He's in a full boat there.

It means a messenger who doesn't arrive or return in time. It comes from the raven that Noah sent out from his ark and from the Latin corvus.

The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, jays, and magpies. In the Bible, in the aftermath of the flood in Genesis, Noah released a raven to see if the waters had receded.

The raven never returned. Many think that was because it was a carrion eater and had found food in drowned corpses. A dove released by Noah returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf informing Noah that dry land had begun to appear.

Q&A

"Do cedar waxwings migrate?"

They are considered a short-distance migrant, but winter movements are irregular, responding largely to availability of fruits and berries. It's certainly possible to see them here in winter.

"When do red foxes breed in Minnesota?" 

Red foxes mate in February and 52 days later pups are born. The pups nurse for 10 weeks and are independent at 7 months. Foxes reproduce when a year old. They often den in deep holes made by woodchuck or badger. The den is primarily a nursery as fox prefer to sleep in the open, even in winter.

"What does a sandhill crane eat?" 

This omnivorous crane feeds on land and in shallow marshes. Its diet consists of seeds, grains, berries, tubers, insects and larvae, snails, reptiles, amphibians, nestling birds, and small mammals.

"Are golden eagles much bigger than bald eagles?"

 They are about the same size.

"Do great horned owls build their own nests?" 

They typically appropriate a nest built by hawks, crows, ravens, herons, or squirrels. I often see them using red-tailed hawk nests. They will nest in tree cavities, on snags, cliff ledges, and buildings.

"How can I tell a deer mouse from a white-footed mouse?" 

It can be difficult to discern the difference between the two by appearance. The lower parts of the body and feet of both species are white, both have prominent, lightly furred ears, coarse whiskers, and bulging, black eyes.

The deer mouse differs from the white-footed mouse by its soft, luxuriant gray fur on the upper parts of the body, a uniformly colored back with a faint darker stripe in the middle, and a bicolored tail that's dark above and white below, with a tuft of white hairs at its tip, and is as long as the combined length of its head and body.

I saw mouse tracks in the snow. White-footed and deer mice often travel on top of the snow. They hop, leaving tracks that resemble those of a tiny rabbit, with the larger back feet landing in front of the smaller front feet. They frequently leave a tail mark in the snow.

Meeting adjourned

"Remember, this December, love weighs more than gold.”—Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon. Al adds: Remember this all year.

Thanks for stopping by

"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." – Henry Ford

“The things we do at Christmas are touched with a certain extravagance, as beautiful, in some of its aspects, as the extravagance of nature in June.” — Robert Collyer

Do good.

© Al Batt 2019

A bald eagle doesn’t get its adult plumage until it’s around five years old.

photo by Al Batt

The Bald Eagle has a good look for a bird.

The Bald Eagle has a good look for a bird.

Roofing a house was a real challenge back in the day.

From the Hammer Museum in Haines, Alaska.

A prehistoric squirrel cannon.

I love watching Fox Sparrows scratch in the bare ground. Both feet are used in a shuffle and kick operation that proves to be most effective.

I’m blooming with the birds at the Albert Lea Seed House.

I’m blooming with the birds at the Albert Lea Seed House.

Batt: Alaska wilderness still wild as ever

By :

AL BATT Bluff Country Reader

I walked down a trail in Sitka where a brown bear had been sighted earlier in the day.  A fellow from California walked with me and expressed his concern about being in bruin territory.

I told him not to worry too much about the bears.  Neither of us would even be able to handle one of Alaska’s squirrels.

He whistled loudly and off-key in the hopes the bear would hold paws over its ears until we reached our destination.

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Everything is copacetic. I understand you've been waltzing with bears in Alaska?"

"Not exactly. I saw a bear and I walked trails where bears had been seen, but I didn't waltz with any or have any anxious moments around one."

"I know what I'd do if I were attacked by a bear."

"What would that be?" I say.

"I'd immediately take a selfie."

A red squirrel could take me in a best of three falls match

I walked down a trail in Sitka where a brown bear had been sighted earlier in the day. A fellow from California walked with me and expressed his concern about being in bruin territory.

I told him not to worry too much about the bears. Neither of us would even be able to handle one of Alaska's squirrels.

He whistled loudly and off-key in the hopes the bear would hold paws over its ears until we reached our destination.

American Bald Eagle Foundation (ABEF)

The bald eagles living there enjoy ripping up cardboard tubes from toilet paper and paper towels, cardboard boxes, phonebooks, and egg cartons. It gives them something to do.

Cheryl McRoberts, executive director of the ABEF in Haines, had asked local residents to share those items with her. Cheryl said that whenever she receives toilet paper tubes, she knows someone had been thinking of her.

It was a mobile eagle feeder

Mike Walsh of Fairbanks, Alaska, told me that his closest encounter with bald eagles had come when he rented a pickup truck. Unbeknownst to him, the box of that truck had fish scraps in it. It quickly filled with eagles.

Q&A

"Will putting mothballs under the hood keep mice out of my car?"

Probably not. Mothballs are pesticides that release a gas vapor that kills and repel moths and their larvae. They are toxic to humans and pets. As a pesticide, they are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

I wouldn't recommend using mothballs to repulse mice. Mothballs aren't an effective pest repellent. The idea is that when the chemicals in mothballs react with the air, they produce fumes that are irritating to mice and rats.

For mothballs to discourage mice, the fumigant concentration must be high. If you can take the smell, so can the mice.

"I saw mourning doves in my yard last winter. Don't they migrate?"

Mourning dove migration is a complicated affair called a differential migration and is related to a bird’s age and sex. They move south from late August through November.

Young doves leave first, followed by adult females, and then the adult males. Some mourning doves, most of them adult males, don’t migrate at all but stay here.

The males find it's worth it to brave bad weather and frostbitten toes to get a head start on establishing a good breeding territory early in the spring.

The doves make a whistling sound when they take to the air. The sound comes from the bird’s powerful wings and is believed to be a natural alarm system, warning other doves that danger is near, while simultaneously startling a possible predator.

"Would pocket gophers eat my bird seed?"

Pocket gophers eat the tender underground roots of plants. They wouldn't climb to any feeders. I suppose they could eat seeds that had fallen to the ground, but I've never witnessed them doing so. Moles feed on grubs, worms and other creatures that live underground.

They rarely appear above the surface of the earth and they'd have no interest in bird seed. If a mound looks like something pushed a pile of dirt from a hole, that’s a gopher. Moles are known for their raised tunnels.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

I get the feeling that people don't really know who I am.

What makes you feel that way, Delbert?

My name is Harold.

The shoes shouldn't have squeaked; they were paid for

 I'm no clothes-horse, but I'd become a regular shoe-horse. That meant I'd bought new clodhoppers.

A friend, Jim Shook of Haines, Alaska, has big feet, too. His father told him it was difficult finding shoes for Jim because it was hard to come up with two cows exactly the same color. My new shoes squeaked loudly.

Dampness on the shoes or the floor or both that caused a duet in the library. Another patron said, "You can't sneak up on anybody wearing those."

That concerned me. I checked my to-do list. Fortunately, there was nothing on the list about sneaking up on anyone.

A traveler's tales

I was in a bookstore in Juneau, Alaska, when a little boy walked up to me and announced at full volume that he'd just wet his pants. His mother was mortified.

What am I supposed to do in a situation like that? Do I give him a high-five, say, "Way to go," or tell him that I just did, too?

I was in the Seattle-Tacoma Airport listening to a fellow traveler tell me what the perfect number of cup holders was in a car, when I heard the Alaska Airlines gate agent say, "If you are wearing a Russell Wilson sweatshirt, you are invited to board at this time." I had to ask someone who Russell Wilson was.

As you probably know, he's a quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. I figured it wasn't worth buying a sweatshirt just to board early.

I floated on a large ferry from Haines to Juneau. It was the 408-foot long Malaspina designed to carry 450 passengers and has a vehicle capacity of 1,675 linear feet, which is equal to approximately 83 twenty-foot long vehicles.

It's named after the Malaspina Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The ferry was in need of $16 million in repairs, but I didn't notice any limping on its part.

Table tending

I told Susan Johnston of Haines, that I liked the rustic table in her house. She said it wasn't hers. She had it because its owners hadn't room for it in their house. Susan was just table sitting.

Nature notes

I walked the sidewalks of a small city. The stroll was an icy one, so I quoted a chickadee. Chickadees make a chickadee-dee-dee call and increase the number of dee notes when they are alarmed. Blue jays flew from yard to yard. They sampled the fare at various bird feeders as if they were running a trap line. The jays share one belief with all other jays: Jays are wonderful.

Sometimes called "snowflakes," snow buntings resemble snowflakes as they swirl through the air before settling on winter fields.

 The duck test is a form of abductive reasoning. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck. Likely a mallard.

Meeting adjourned

"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." — Lao Tzu. I wish you a blissful Thanksgiving.

Thanks for stopping by

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." — F. Scott Fitzgerald

"A man said to the universe: 'Sir, I exist!' 'However,' replied the universe, 'The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.'" — Stephen Crane

Do good.

© Al Batt 2019

Hard-shelled barnacles are attached to this humpback whale’s fluke. Barnacles feed upon plankton that the whales swim through. Photo by Al Batt

The Baranov Totem Pole in Sitka, Alaska.

Al Batt: Nature all over provides spectacular scenes

Mon, 11/25/2019 - 1:45pm

Apparently, this bald eagle had never seen anything like me before.

Steller sea lions on a buoy near Sitka. This species of sea lions are a near-threatened group.

By :

AL BATT

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Everything is nearly copacetic. I got my old truck fixed."

"What was wrong with it?" I say.

"It needed a longer dipstick. The old one couldn't reach the oil."

The Raptor Center

Established in 1974, The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota treats around 1,000 sick or injured raptors each year in its clinic and trains veterinary students and veterinarians from all over the world.

On Oct. 18, for the first time in The Raptor Center’s 45 years, a nestling barn owl was admitted to the clinic. There are few reported barn owl nests in Minnesota.

This nest was found in a barn in Douglas County, making it the northernmost barn owl nest reported in Minnesota in the last 50 years according to the DNR.

The Center specializes in the medical care, rehabilitation, and conservation of eagles, hawks, owls, and falcons.

Contact information: 612-624-4745 or raptor@umn.edu 1920 Fitch Avenue, St. Paul.

Unicorn or Sasquatch 

Narwhals are related to bottlenose dolphins, belugas, harbor porpoises, and orcas. Narwhals have two teeth.

In males, the more prominent tooth grows into a swordlike, spiral tusk up to 9 feet long. Scientists are unsure of the tusk's purpose — mating rituals, impress females, battle rivals or as a sensory organ.

Before the Age of Enlightenment, nervous royals paid enormous sums for magical things they believed would neutralize, expose or repel poison.

The most coveted was the unicorn horn. Vikings traded narwhal tusks to European traders who took them to be unicorn horns.

In Medieval times, people believed unicorn horns had magical powers. A cup carved from a unicorn horn protected the person drinking from it, who was one who could never be poisoned.

Herman Melville wrote that a narwhal tusk hung in Windsor Castle after being gifted to Queen Elizabeth. Narwhals spend their lives in the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia.

Meanwhale, in Sitka

I watched humpback whales in Sitka, Alaska, in November. Humpbacks travel nearly nonstop for 6-8 weeks to breeding grounds, with some covering nearly 3,000 miles. About 94% go to Hawaii, the rest to Mexico.

While in warmer waters, humpbacks mate and give birth. The females are at least 8 years old before becoming mothers (they live 40-50 years), have an 11.5-month gestation period, and give birth to a single calf (10-15 feet long at birth) every 1-3 years. By May the whales are back in Southeast Alaska.

Q&A

"I saw a flock of bald eagles circling over my farm. Is that common?" 

It was likely another big bird doing the circling — the turkey vulture. Bald eagles tend to migrate and soar alone, but may follow others to feeding grounds or roosts.

"Do we really swallow eight spiders a year in our sleep?" 

I don't know what you've been up to, but I haven't been spending time eating spiders. Unless you order spiders on your pizza or are a professional spider-swallower, you haven't been swallowing spiders. An open mouth brings snoring that sounds like a souped-up Hoover vacuum cleaner and frightens spiders away.

"Do the hedge apples sold in supermarkets repel spiders?" 

Not unless you throw them at the spiders. A hedge apple, the fruit of the Osage orange tree, wards off no spiders. Spiders live on the trees and build webs on the fallen fruit.

Things to see

The dawn was incredible. I watched in silence. The sun doesn't rise to hear the rooster crow, but the stars are out all day in the winter plumage of European starlings: glossy, speckled feathers with white tips resembling stars, and black bills.

Short-tailed weasels (ermine) are white except for black tail tips.

Tundra swans congregate on the Mississippi River south of Brownsville in migration from nesting territories in northern Canada to wintering grounds on Chesapeake Bay.

Flocks of cedar waxwings feed on crabapples.

Burdock brandishes weapons — burs.

Steam fog forms when cold air drifts across relatively warm water. It's also known as water smoke.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club 

Can I help you change your tire?

No, I've got it, but I appreciate your asking.

I appreciate your saying no.

Cafe chronicles

The smell of cigarette smoke lingered outside the door. I ordered a BLT. It was good, but the lettuce was weary. A curator of local gossip talked as if each word cost him money.

Then he put too many spoonsful of sugar into his coffee. It must have been half sugar. He didn't stir it because he didn't like his coffee too sweet. One sip and the gossip flowed faster than the coffee.

A plethora of pulchritude

Haines is advertised as the adventure capital of Alaska. Folks come to Haines in an attempt to wear out cameras.

A man from Colorado showed me photos of bald eagles he'd taken one morning along the Chilkat River. They were extraordinary.

He was so happy with the beauty of Haines, he told me that if his camera broke and he was unable to take another photo on his trip, he'd be OK with that.

Another person told me she was an avowed atheist, but she believed in heaven. She'd seen it in Haines. I've not been everywhere, but as an unabashed celebrator of life, I've found that everywhere I've been had a beauty. I visit Haines regularly.

I didn't realize how often until someone in Minneapolis showed me a lovely photo of a bald eagle in a tree. I said, "That's in Haines."

 The surprised photographer said, "It is. Did you recognize the tree?"

"Yes, and I know the eagle," I replied.

The whales of November

Walk a mile in my shoes and you'll end up in a bookstore. I walked miles in the Sitka, Alaska, sunshine — rain. My thoughts had become soggy. My presence in a bookstore was limited because I didn't want to drip on any books.

 I saw humpback whales in Sitka. Cellphones and cameras documented every whale movement. A thing of beauty would be a joy forever.

You'd have thought the whales were holding a press conference regarding an impeachment. One whale led to an otter, a sea otter. I smiled and wished everyone could see what I saw.

Thanks for stopping by

"The time will soon be here when my grandchild will long for the cry of a loon, the flash of a salmon, the whisper of spruce needles, or the screech of an eagle. But he will not make friends with any of these creatures and when his heart aches with longing, he will curse me. Have I done all to keep the air fresh? Have I cared enough about the water? Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom? Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild's fondness?" – Chief Dan George

"How simple life becomes when things like mirrors are forgotten." — Daphne du Maurier

Meeting adjourned

"The world needs you at the party starting real conversations, saying, 'I don't know,' and being kind." — Charlie Kaufman. Happy Thanksgiving.

© Al Batt 2019

Bald eagles fishing together

A young Bald Eagle practicing looking stately.

Haines, Alaska

Haines, Alaska.

Al Batt: Birds are boisterous this time of year

The yard scold, a boisterous blue jay, had a comment on everything. This is the time of the year when the crows begin to get on the nerves of anyone named Caw.

It’s also the time of the year when we notice much of the leaves remaining on trees belong to nonnatives like buckthorn, lilac and weeping willow.

I moseyed along a lovely trail at the Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary located in Columbia, Missouri. I walked in on a Carolina wren concert.

A pair bond can form between Carolina wrens at any time of the year and they usually mate for life. A pair stays together all year and forage on territory together.

I found pelicans to keep a rehabilitated pelican company when it was released in late October. During the breeding season, both male and female American white pelicans develop a pronounced fibrous plate on the top of their bills called a nuptial tubercle that is shed by the end of the breeding season.

 The three sisters are corn, beans and squash. Native Americans found this trio thrived when planted together. In legend, the plants were gifts from the gods to be grown together, eaten together and celebrated together.

The corn offers the beans support. The beans pull nitrogen from the air and into the soil for the benefit of all three. The large leaves of the sprawling squash protect the others by creating a living mulch shading the soil while keeping it cool and moist, and limiting weeds.

My neighbor Crandall 

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"Everything is nearly copacetic. Remember when we were just out of high school and we went to work building pole sheds for that slave-driving guy. He bought a new Cadillac and you were drooling all over it. He taught us something that day when he said, "'If you boys work hard, put in long hours, and do excellent work, one day I’ll be able to buy another new Cadillac.'"

Nature by the yard

I'm sure there are people able to not worry about things such as whether or not a visiting tufted titmouse has enough peanuts or what the cricket that sings along with the dehumidifier in the basement will do when the dehumidifier is no longer being run, but I'm not one of those people.

Leaves do an ancient autumnal dance with the wind. The yard is a place of extraordinary learning. The ginkgo tree dropped 99% of its leaves all at once. The petioles of ginkgo leaves form a protective layer simultaneously and a hard frost triggers all the leaves to drop at the same time, which results in a lovely shower of leaves.

Autumn meadowhawks, red or yellow dragonflies, were active late as they are usually the last species of dragonfly seen in Minnesota each year.

They can often be seen at the end of October or beginning of November. Red admiral butterflies were still flying, too. Each fall they flee south, spending the winter in deep-south states. The migration is one way. They lay eggs, die and the eggs hatch.

When spring comes, the new generations begin migrating, repopulating northern states. At least in the southern parts of their range (which extends from Guatemala to Canada), adults and pupae hibernate. How far north they can survive a winter is up for debate.

Q&A

"How many deer give birth to triplets?" 

The number of fawns a doe has depends on age, nutrition and genetics. Most does have a single fawn the first time they give birth. Mature does commonly give birth to twins, but under favorable circumstances they could produce triplets. One study indicated that the proportion of triplets in free-range deer could be as high 14% with proper nutrition. Things aren't always perfect, so actual numbers would be lower and varied.

"How can I tell if it's a centipede or a millipede?" 

When you enter your basement zoo, a centipede moves quickly and its legs are to its sides. A millipede is slow and its legs are under its body.

"How do I know if it's a butterfly or a moth?" 

There are approximately 700 species of butterflies in North America and 15,000 moth species. Butterflies usually rest with wings closed above their backs, while moths generally rest with their wings open and out at their sides. Butterflies have long, thin antennae, while moths have shorter feathery antennae. Most butterflies have club tips to theirs. Moths have stout and hairy or furry bodies, while butterflies have slender, smoother abdomens. Butterflies tend to be more colorful than moths. Butterflies generally forage during the day while moths are seen more at night. There are exceptions to every rule.

"Are male and female eagles the same size?" 

Generally, males weigh approximately 25% less than females from the same area.

Bald eagles and golden eagles are about the same size, with variations in individual birds. The weight of a bald eagle is 8-14 pounds, with a variation depending on where an eagle is from.

Northern eagles tend to be larger than their southern relatives. The weight of a golden eagle is between 6 and 15 pounds, with the male being smaller.

This is called sexual dimorphism, a distinct difference in size or appearance between the sexes of an animal. Why are females larger? Maybe it's to enhance defense of the nest.

"How dense is a beaver's fur?" 

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, a beaver has nearly 60,000 hairs per square inch. Sea otters have 170,000 to 1,062,000 hairs per square inch.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

I couldn't sleep last night.

You should do what I do when I have trouble sleeping.

What's that?

I pretend I'm in a meeting.

Thoughts while trying not to yodel

A professor told me, “Don’t let the parade pass you by.” I thought that was the point to a parade.

Listening is usually the best advice.

Never let a traffic light know you're in a hurry.

Meeting adjourned

"Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference." — Helen James

Thanks for stopping by

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." — Theodore Roosevelt

One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: ‘To rise above little things.’”― John Burroughs

Do good.

© Al Batt 2019

AL BATT/BLUFF COUNTRY READER The raven might be the valedictorian of Minnesota’s bird class.

Meanwhale, my wife found a friend in Sitka.

A golden moment at Chilkoot Lake in Haines, Alaska.

This was at a wonderful place on Sitka, Alaska.

A hammer only John Henry could love at the Hammer Museum in Haines, Alaska.

A hammer only John Henry could love.

Yendistucky Cemetery near Haines, Alaska. I was told that this was the site of a Tlingit village that was wiped out by a flu epidemic in 1920.

Yendistucky Cemetery near Haines, Alaska. I was told that this was the site of a Tlingit village that was wiped out by a flu epidemic in 1920.

‘Tis the season.

Ole the peregrine falcon at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines, Alaska.

Hans is a Eurasian Eagle Owl at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines, Alaska.

Hans is a Eurasian Eagle Owl at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines, Alaska.