I suspect raccoons are good at talking trash.
My wife found a lawn whale in Sitka, Alaska. They both seem nice.
It takes many wind turbines to produce a proper amount of wind.
The beaches are crowded.
Can pigeons be rabid?
For the Birds: Summer brings out nature of all sorts
By Al Batt
For the Birds The Caledonia Argus
Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Masked Meeting
I believe it’s good luck to hold my breath when an ambulance goes by.
I never heard of doing that.
Are you going to start?
No, I think it’d be better luck if I held my breath when a hearse went by.
Keeping a lawn story short
The lawn mower was invented in 1830 by Edwin Beard Budding, an English engineer. What did people do about lawns before then? Ignored, ate or used a scythe on them. Had no lawn or grazed livestock. Our riding lawn mower is dilatory, inclined to delay or waste time. In other words, it doesn’t work. We’ve had it repaired several times, but it refuses to go back for mower.
Naturally
Robins, a significant part of the yard squad, worked the lawn, looking and listening for earthworms. Rose-breasted grosbeaks sang like robins in a good mood and brought joy to an active listener. I haven’t seen any tent caterpillars on the home front this year. They are a food staple for cuckoos. An eastern kingbird flew overhead. My mind flashed to a canoe trip I did on the Missouri River in Montana. I camped where the Lewis & Clark Expedition had. Each morning vociferous western kingbirds woke me.
Raccoon carcasses act as mile markers or speed bumps on our roads. They appear to be losing the battle against vehicles.
Barn swallows reminded me I was in Vienna once. When my mother had to be gone at mealtime, my father’s specialty was a can of Vienna sausages and toast, so I felt at home in Vienna. I crossed streets while dodging Smart car taxis and stopped to admire the statues of famous composers — Mozart, Schubert, Brahms and Strauss. But the first music I there heard was that of crows and barn swallows. That swallow is the national bird of Austria.
Everyone looks good when bending over in a garden
Gardening is no bowl of cherries. It’s not even a bed of roses. Or maybe it is a bed of roses, complete with thorns. We’re all in this together. That includes rabbits, deer, chipmunks, squirrels, slugs and a dazzling array of worms and insects. The rabbits have been eating well this year. Apparently, the rabbit economy needed a stimulus package. The secret is to raise only onions. Rabbits aren’t fond of them.
Q&A
Matt Maras of Albert Lea asked about a bald cardinal. I typically see bald birds in July and August. It’s normal for some birds (usually cardinals and jays) to go through an abnormal molt with an odd replacement of feathers. They’re OK with that cool look and that’s why there is no Hair Club for Birds or Feather Club for Birds.
“Can pigeons be rabid?” Birds, snakes and fish aren’t mammals, so they can´t get rabies or give it to you.
“How can I help a turtle cross the road?” Hiding in a shell hasn’t proven to be a good defense against automobiles. Never pick a turtle up by the tail, remember that snapping and softshell turtles bite, don’t put yourself in danger when prodding a turtle along, and always push them with a blunt object in the direction they were headed. Thanks for caring.
“What eats slugs?” Firefly larvae, toads, salamanders, snakes, shrews, moles, raccoons, opossums, chickens, ducks and songbirds, such as the robin.
Driving by Bruce’s drive
I have a wonderful neighbor, named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: I owned a 1959 Rambler Six Custom Sedan when I was a teen. It had a radio and rust. I decided to scrape off the rust. I had yellow paint and no money, so I covered the scraped spots with yellow paint. You can’t be a true idiot without experience. The result was a polka-dotted car. That made it easy to find in a parking lot. To give the car an elegance, I bartered for three used baby moon hubcaps.
A friend, Jim Finseth, said his father (Ken) had worked at Pop Moon’s in New Richland. That was a Phillips 66 gas station before gas stations became convenience stores. Pop sold gas and to supplement the family income, he sold alcohol (Moonshine?) during Prohibition. He was caught and fined.
In 1934, he sold the station and moved to California to escape his notoriety and winter’s cold. Pop bought a restaurant there, which became Moon’s Cafe. His son Dean started Moon Automotive and in 1954 produced a spun-aluminum wheelcover called the Moon Disc.
The business later became Moon Equipment and made baby moon hubcaps that turned my polka-dotted 1959 Rambler Six Custom Sedan into a boss hot rod.
Nature notes
Female buffalo gnats (turkey gnats or black flies) bite chunks from my skin and feed on the blood. They punch above their weight and cause intense reactions and painful itching. The end of May and early June is prime time for these insects that breed in moving water. I’m happy I can the see gnats, but I’m never happy to see them.
An indigo bunting sang “Fire; fire; where? where? here; here; see it? see it?” This bird nests in brushy and weedy habitats on the edges of farm fields, woods, roads and railroads. I see nests in raspberry thickets and on corn and ragweed plants.
A red-headed woodpecker stores insects, nuts and seeds under bark, in cracks in fenceposts, under shingles, etc. It catches flying insects and forages on the ground. It occasionally drills holes in dead trees searching for wood-boring larvae, but flying insects are more important to its diet.
I watched a groundhog (woodchuck or whistle-pig) eating mulberry leaves in a tree. It also enjoys Dutch clovers and dandelions.
Toni and James Perschbacher of Albert Lea are being visited by a banded pigeon. The bands indicate the racing pigeon’s organization, club and its hatch year. I get many reports of lost pigeons and have found most owners aren’t interested in recovering a poor performer, so enjoy its company.
Meeting adjourned
“Kindness, like grain, increases by sowing.” — English proverb
©Al Batt 2020
A widow skimmer is a dragonfly you might be able to talk into eating a few mosquitoes.
Photo by Al Batt
“You carrot chompin', flop-eared, bob-tailed rabbit! I hope your innards turn to outards and your ears go visey-versey! I hates rabbits!” Yosemite Sam said that.
“You carrot chompin', flop-eared, bob-tailed rabbit! I hope your innards turn to outards and your ears go visey-versey! I hates rabbits!” Yosemite Sam said that. I wonder if he had a garden?
The yard’s mulberry trees tremble as if they have a keen understanding of the world’s situation. Birds feed on the berries. I watched robins, orioles, cardinals, Blue Jays, Great Crested Flycatchers, thrashers, catbirds, and grackles feed. I ate a few berries myself.
If I could have named the characters on “Gunsmoke,” Marshal Dillon would have been Marshal Peregrine, Miss Kitty would have been called Daylily (not sure why), and Festus would have been Festus.
If anosmia (the loss of the sense of smell) is an early symptom of COVID-19, I've learned I’m OK.
Salsify or goatsbeard.
Salsify or goatsbeard.
Believe it or not, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird can weigh more than a penny. Or not.
A Fox Squirrel looking to see what its tail is pointing at.
A Japanese Beetle on a rose. Sadly, it’s not just there to smell the sweetness.
A Japanese Beetle on a rose. Sadly, it’s not just there to smell the sweetness.
A damselfly that delights and dazzles, the Ebony Jewelwing.
A Tree Swallow finds a tree wherever it can.
A Bald Eagle looks good while it’s having a good look.
A particularly awful photo of raccoon kits thinking they’d found a wading pool in my yard. I shouldn’t say thinking. They had found a wading pool.
A particularly awful photo of raccoon kits thinking they’d found a wading pool in my yard. I shouldn’t say thinking. They had found a wading pool.
A pleasant dream has the feel of being touched by a hummingbird’s wing. Rudy-throated Hummingbird.
Birdsfoot Trefoil crowds the roadsides. The name originates from seedpods that fan out from the stem like the foot of a bird.
I called this beautiful spiderwort “cow slobber” when I was a dear boy because the flowers decay into a jelly-like mess. More refined folks nicknamed it “widow’s tears.”
A Red-winged Blackbird brings lunch.
A Red-winged Blackbird bringing lunch.
A Mallard with a very dark bill.
I got the raspberry from a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
Feeders dangling from an old chandelier at the Hummingbird Garden in Henderson, MN.
Al Batt’s For the Birds: Hummingbird hurrah
Al Batt’s For the Birds: Hummingbird hurrah
Al Batt For the Birds
The Caledonia Argus
By Al Batt
For the Birds
Echoes from the Loafers’ Club
Outdoor Meeting
I want to be a millionaire just like my father.
Your father was wealthy?
No, but he wanted to be a millionaire too.
Nature by the yard
Among the multitude of events canceled this year was the wonderful Henderson Hummingbird Hurrah. Although the Hurrah has been shelved, the Hummingbird (and butterfly) Garden in Henderson is open and is well worth visiting. Volunteers maintain its magnificence. Hummingbirds fed on a four parts water to one part white sugar mixture.
A pileated (either PIE-lee-ay-tid or PILL-ee-ay-tid is correct) woodpecker called. The call is similar to a flicker’s, but a flicker sounds like a soloist and a pileated an entire choir.
The light show begins in June and continues into August, as fireflies flash in search of mates. Each species of firefly has its own flash pattern. I think of their numbers peaking around the 4th of July, but that’s not exact. Eastern tiger swallowtails, bluet damselflies and widow skimmers (dragonflies) move about.
A chickadee makes me smile without doing anything more than being. The chickadee is in my birding sweet spot. In 2017, I spent too much time in the hospital. Freed from that confinement, I found walking difficult and birding nearly impossible. I decided to count chickadees, with 1,000 being my goal. I didn’t care if it was the same chickadee repeatedly, if I saw it, I counted it. I told no one, holding my own soft celebration upon achieving that minor goal. I counted 1,000 chickadees again this year. They added up much quicker in 2020.
Those thrilling days of yesteryear
Locations were given in the number of miles to the nearest paved road. Mother described town as being just a hop, skip and a jump from our farm. Have you ever tried traveling that way for a few miles? It’s exhausting. Fortunately, it wasn’t the only way to get there.
The old joke department
A priest, a minister and a rabbit walked into a bar while social distancing. The rabbit was there because of autocorrect.
Nature notes
The man told me he’s spending more time with his small dog. He and the dog spend 15 minutes each morning staring out the window. The dog points things out with its eyes. They particularly enjoy watching the crows. Crows are always up to something.
American white pelicans flew overhead. Their 9-foot wingspans carry them unusually long distances to forage for food. Fishing trips of 30 miles one-way isn’t uncommon.
I find great joy in seeing Canada anemone, a North American native perennial growing in moist meadows, along wet wooded edges, in road ditches and along stream banks. Its white flowers have showy yellow center stamens on long, stalked branches. They compete with oxeye daisies for my attention.
My neighbor Crandall says
“I was born with nothing and I still have most of it. My son told me that I don’t know anything about computers. Why does he insist on telling me what I already know I don’t know?”
Q&A
“How can woodpeckers hammer without getting headaches?” They have reinforced skulls structured to spread the force and brains cushioned from repeated impacts. Despite that, woodpeckers are susceptible to fatal window collisions.
“What do swans eat?” Trumpeter swans eat aquatic vegetation — leaves, seeds, roots, tubers and rhizomes. Swan parents use their feet to stir up food for cygnets. Invertebrates in the sediment with the tubers and rhizomes provide protein to cygnets and adults. Swans eat grains leftover from harvest.
“Have coyotes ever killed a human?” Historical records show two documented incidences in the U.S. and Canada of people being killed by coyotes. Typically, 30-50 people in the U.S. die from dog bites annually and deer-related car collisions are responsible for about 200 deaths each year. Coyotes are omnivores and small-game hunters. They feed on rodents, fruit, rabbits, turkeys, geese, woodchucks, carrion, pet food, garbage and fawns (primarily up to 20 days old). They’d eat a cat and adult deer hit by cars. Mesopredators (such as coyotes, foxes and raccoons) are mid-ranking predators of a trophic level, which typically prey upon smaller animals.
Thanks for stopping by
“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.” — Mason Cooley
“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Do good.
Meeting adjourned
Appreciate those who do favors you didn’t ask for. It’s a good deal. Be kind.
© Al Batt 2020
A female ruby-throated hummingbird. A male wouldn’t have white tips on his tail.
Photo by Al Batt
Flowers growing from a crack make me hopeful.
Flowers growing from a crack make me hopeful.
This Brown-headed Cowbird male is exhausted after visiting family members in the nests of so many other species. Lots of travel required.
Kissing cardinals. My walk in nature shows life is good.
John James Audubon wrote this about the Chipping Sparrow, “Few birds are more common throughout the United States than this gentle and harmless little bunting.”
John James Audubon wrote this about the Chipping Sparrow, “Few birds are more common throughout the United States than this gentle and harmless little bunting.”
A Gray Catbird sings about everything in the nothingness.
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of a marsh? The Shadow knows.
When it has caught its limit of fish, it must stand on one leg.
Superstition claims saying "rabbit, rabbit" aloud as your first words on the first day of a month will ensure good luck for the rest of that month.
Superstition claims saying "rabbit, rabbit" aloud as your first words on the first day of a month will ensure good luck for the rest of that month.
I spotted the spots from a spot on my deck.
No soap.
An Indigo Bunting singing in the rain like a feathered Gene Kelly.
A spring azure. That would be a great name for a high school baseball/softball team.
A spring azure. That would be a great name for a high school baseball/softball team.
Skippers are skipping from one flower to another.
The skunk’s motto: Always leave them smelling.
Just as it is important to listen to one another, it is important to listen to the birds.
Woodpeckers have been working on a huge and dead grapevine. Such vines were the Tarzan vines of my dear boyhood.
Woodpeckers have been working on a huge and dead grapevine. Such vines were the Tarzan vines of my dear boyhood.
Stop and look down now and then. Toad you so.
From out of the past. A book.
From out of the past. A book.
It’s a beautiful summer day here in Hartland, Minnesota, the entertainment capital of my world. A summer warbler (Yellow Warbler) is a featured performer.
Looking ahead to late July or early August in the yard, I’ll be hoping to see soldier beetles and crescent butterflies on the butterfly weed.
PIE-lee-ay-tid or PILL-ee-ay-tid?
Nature by the yard
I see a lot without going anywhere but outside.
A pileated (either PIE-lee-ay-tid or PILL-ee-ay-tid is correct) woodpecker called. The call is similar to a flicker's, but a flicker sounds like a soloist and a pileated an entire choir.
The light show begins in June and continues into August, as fireflies flash in search of mates. Each species of firefly has its own flash pattern. I think of their numbers peaking around the 4th of July, but that's not exact. Eastern tiger swallowtails, bluet damselflies and widow skimmers (dragonflies) move about. Hummingbirds fed on a four parts water to one part white sugar mixture.
A walk in our woods show shady plants are doing well. The Virginia bluebells have gone, but wild ginger, jack-in-the-pulpit and Solomon's seal delight. Flowers move from the spring ephemerals growing in the woods before the leaves blocked the sun to those growing on the edges of woods to the summer flowers growing in the open.
Among the multitude of events canceled this year was the wonderful Henderson Hummingbird Hurrah. Although the Hurrah has been shelved, the Hummingbird (and butterfly) Garden in Henderson is open and is well worth visiting. Volunteers maintain its magnificence.
I like most everything, but stable flies didn't make my list of things whose company I enjoy. They cause me considerable discomfort. Chiggers and buffalo gnats (black flies) didn't make that list either. I've copied the list to Santa Claus. Their common name is stable, dog or biting house flies, and they target dogs' ears, the legs of cows and horses, and me. Stable flies resemble small house flies and both males and females bite hard. I've heard them referred to as ankle-biters, a reference to their favored feeding site — my ankles. They're fast fliers, usually biting low on the leg, feet and ankles, although any bare skin is fair game. Their bites cause cattle to stomp or kick and my shins have felt the misdirected anger of a cow. Decaying organic matter such as grass clippings, compost piles or bedding straw are ideal breeding areas.
A chickadee makes me smile without doing anything more than being. The chickadee is in my birding sweet spot. In 2017, I spent too much time in the hospital. Freed from that confinement, I found walking difficult and birding nearly impossible. I decided to count chickadees, with 1000 being my goal. I didn't care if it was the same chickadee repeatedly, if I saw it, I counted it. I told no one, holding my own soft celebration upon achieving that minor goal. I counted 1000 chickadees again this year. They added up much quicker in 2020.
Q&A
"How can woodpeckers hammer without getting headaches?" They have reinforced skulls structured to spread the force and brains cushioned from repeated impacts. Despite that, woodpeckers are susceptible to fatal window collisions.
"What do swans eat?" Trumpeter swans eat aquatic vegetation — leaves, seeds, roots, tubers and rhizomes. Swan parents use their feet to stir up food for cygnets. Invertebrates in the sediment with the tubers and rhizomes provide protein to cygnets and adults. Swans eat grains leftover from harvest.
"Is it true that red squirrels emasculate other squirrels?" I've heard red squirrels castrate their competitors, but no reliable observations have been documented. I grew up reading naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton (I still have one of his books) and he noted that a species of parasitic botfly preys on squirrels, laying eggs in their groins. The hatched grubs burrow into the skin and consume the host animals’ testes or ovaries. I'm not certain of the veracity of the previous sentence, but botflies do parasitize tree squirrels and chipmunks, with the larvae leaving protruding boils called warbles on a skin. This makes for a lumpy squirrel. Adult male squirrels lacking testes have been cited as evidence of the emasculating abilities of pugnacious red squirrels. It's an old man's tale that arose from the fact that males have testes that shrink and retract after the breeding season.
"Have coyotes ever killed a human?" Historical records show two documented incidences in the U.S. and Canada of people being killed by coyotes. Typically, 30-50 people in the U.S. die from dog bites annually and deer-related car collisions are responsible for about 200 deaths each year. Coyotes are omnivores and small-game hunters. They feed on rodents, fruit, rabbits, turkeys, geese, woodchucks, carrion, pet food, garbage and fawns (primarily up to 20 days old). They'd eat a cat and adult deer hit by cars. Mesopredators (such as coyotes, foxes and raccoons) are mid-ranking predators of a trophic level, which typically prey upon smaller animals.
Thanks for stopping by
"Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are." — Mason Cooley
"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered." — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Do good.
© Al Batt 2020
A female ruby-throated hummingbird. A male wouldn’t have white tips on his tail. Photo by Al Batt
Baby American Robins pack up all of their stuff and leave the nest when they are about 13 days old.
Baby American Robins pack up all of their stuff and leave the nest when they are about 13 days old.
Fledged starlings trying to remember each other’s names.
A faded rainbow, a fading rainbow and not a single treasure chest.
And now for something completely different: A Fox Squirrel eating an avocado.
A collective noun for starlings is a chattering, affliction, murmuration, scourge, or constellation.
A collective noun for starlings is a chattering, affliction, murmuration, scourge, or constellation.
There were lifeguards on duty as the robin took a little dip.
The nest of a house wren. Jenny wren.
Life is a bed of roses. You have to expect a few thorns.
I love catalpa trees. I could never see enough flowering trees in Minnesota.
Hey, Monarch Butterflies, the Associated Milkweeds of Minnesota are on the way.
Hey, Monarch Butterflies, the Associated Milkweeds of Minnesota are on the way.
Scrabble can be a wonderful thing after a long visit to the clinic.
I took a short but inspiring walk near St. Olaf Lake in Minnesota. A Great Crested Flycatcher called me a creep. The 10 most common names for lakes in the Gopher State are Mud, Long, Rice, Bass, Round, Horseshoe, Twin, Island, Johnson and Spring.
Young starlings looking all directions at once.
James Russell Lowell wrote, “The Bluebird, shifting his light load of song, from post to post along the cheerless fence, a Spring habit which has delighted many.”
James Russell Lowell wrote, “The Bluebird, shifting his light load of song, from post to post along the cheerless fence, a Spring habit which has delighted many.”
From the poem “Why if It’s Not” by Ja Ja, “A killdeer is not roadkill That’s just absurd It really is A wading bird.”
It can be shy, but either PIE-lee-ay-tid or PILL-ee-ay-tid is correct for this lovely woodpecker.
A nuptial tubercle is a sign of maturity for both male and female American White Pelicans.
The ticks in Minnesota are even larger than those in Texas.
The ticks in Minnesota are even larger than those in Texas.
A groundhog (woodchuck, whistle-pig) doesn’t ever look for his shadow this time of the year.
Things are looking up for at least one Mallard.
Another Tree Swallow falls for the old fake tree trick.
An unintended ATV seen at The Archway in Kearney, Nebraska.
A kaleidoscope of birds
Naturally
American goldfinches sang merrily in the yard. At least it sounded like that's what they were doing. They haven't begun nesting yet, so they're the young and nestless.
It's been said if a person knows only three species of birds, one will be the crow. Are the birds in a large flock of crows called velcrows? The crows cawed. It was late. I feared they'd go to bed angry.
There was a gorgeous kaleidoscope of birds at the feeders — goldfinch, indigo bunting, catbird, brown thrasher and cardinal.
I see a skunk in the yard occasionally. It's being stalked by a strange cat. It's like a Pepe Le Pew cartoon with the interaction of Pepe and the cat reversed. It will not end well. I hope they go to the cat's home yard. The cat was a trespasser, so I cheered for the skunk. I guess I'm scentimental.
Chipmunks love tomato juice and eat holes in the bottom of tomatoes to get it. Pups develop quickly and leave the nest by 4 to 6 weeks of age to make their way in the world. I told a young rabbit not to worry, be hoppy.
Paul Godtland of Rochester said he watched an indigo bunting land on a dandelion stem and ride it to the ground where the bird fed on the seeds.
I visited the good folks at the Albert Lea Seed House who needed to install an electric fence to keep deer from browsing heavily upon plants for sale.
Some people practiced No Mow May in an effort to promote pollinator-friendly habitat.
On a visit to Myre-Big Island State Park, I heard a sora, stretching out a "sorry," call, a skunk bird, a bobolink, trying to sing too many songs at once, and saw a prothonotary warbler. In 1948, Alger Hiss, a government official, was accused of being a Soviet spy. The trial hinged on whether Hiss knew Whittaker Chambers, a former member of the U.S. Communist Party. Chambers claimed he'd talked to Hiss about birding and reported Hiss's excitement after seeing a prothonotary warbler along the Potomac River. That sighting linked the two people and eventually led to Hiss's conviction.
A friend loves doves, but dislikes pigeons. Dove is a brand of soap. Maybe he'd like pigeons if there was a soap named, "Pigeon."
Audubon shot birds and posed them to replicate the behavior he witnessed in the wild before he painted them. He said, “I often say that if I shoot less than 100 birds a day, they must be rare.”
Roadside-nesting cliff swallows have evolved shorter, more maneuverable wings, which may help them evade oncoming vehicles.
Q&A
"How do I keep raccoons out of my yard?" Secure the trash, bring in pet food, cap the chimney and get an alligator. Alligators eat raccoons.
"Why do grackles dunk food in our birdbath?" To soften the food, especially when they have nestlings. I've seen grackles do this with dog food kibble.
"What's the smallest bird in the world?" The bee hummingbird of Cuba, which weighs less than a penny.
"What duck is capable of diving the deepest?" I reckon it's the long-tailed duck, which is able to swim as deep as 200 feet to forage.
"How many eggs does a cowbird lay?" Brown-headed cowbirds are brood parasites and usually lay an egg each day for six days in different nests, pause for a few days, and repeat the process. They may lay as many as 41 eggs per season.
"What's the world's heaviest flying bird?" It's the great bustard or the kori bustard, which edge out the trumpeter swan.
"Do black bears hibernate?" They aren't true hibernators. Ground squirrels, woodchucks and chipmunks enter true states of hibernation. Their heart rates, body temperatures and metabolisms decrease to such low levels that life is sometimes barely detectable. Black bears sleep in a less vegetative state. Chipmunks store foods in underground pantries and awaken every few days to eat.
"Why does a hawk call while hunting?" Not to alert prey, which would become motionless. A hawk vocalizes to announce its presence, defend territory or communicate with mate or young. Fledglings call when demanding food.
"Is it getting hotter?" The world’s five warmest years have occurred since 2015 with nine of the 10 warmest years occurring since 2005, according to scientists from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. NASA found 2010-2019 was the hottest decade ever recorded. According to the DNR, Minnesota has warmed by 2.9 degrees between 1895 and 2017, while getting 3.4 inches wetter annually.
Thanks for stopping by
"Birdwatching is something that we do for enjoyment, so if you enjoy it, you are already a good birder. If you enjoy it a lot, you are a great birder." — Kenn Kauffman
"For the mind disturbed, the still beauty of dawn is nature's finest balm." — Edwin Way Teale
Do good.
© Al Batt 2020
A ring-billed gull is happy when it’s down in the dumps. Photo by Al Batt