I love barbed wire birds like this Western Kingbird.
A treed Field Sparrow.
The Cecropia Moth, North American’s largest native moth.
Female and male Brewer’s Blackbirds. The bird is named after ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer who didn’t invent mayonnaise.
Female and male Brewer’s Blackbirds. The bird is named after ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer who didn’t invent mayonnaise.
What happens when a spider sneezes.
The peanuts were gone and the thief left these calling cards. I put them back on the ground in case the molting Blue Jay wanted them back.
Smooching cardinals.
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak sang loudly and proudly today. It was unexpected, but a great welcome to September.
A molting Northern Cardinal.
A young Red-bellied Woodpecker.
Oleander Aphids. That’s not the name of an amateur baseball team from Oleander, Minnesota, that just missed going to the state tournament. Some would call these a herd of Milkweed Aphids.
“Every night my honey lamb and I Sit alone and talk And watch a hawk Makin' lazy circles in the sky.” That’s from “Oklahoma.” Here in Minnesota, we watch Red-tailed Hawks perch on utility poles.
Beaky Buzzard was a Looney Tunes character. This perched and flying bird is a Turkey Vulture.
By Al Batt
For the Birds in The Caledonia Argus
Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting
A sweater I bought was filled with static electricity, so I returned it to the store.
Did you get a different sweater?
Yes, they gave me one free of charge.
Driving by Bruce’s drive
I have a wonderful neighbor named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: The morning began early. I made tea before turning on the radio and learning the “Now what?” of the day. It sounded as if the weather forecast was for rain followed by a Thursday, but I might have heard wrong.
Would John Wayne wear a mask? Someone might have to put it on him as he’d be 113 years old now, but he’d wear one as he wanted to be the hero in his movies. He’d say as he did in “Flying Tigers,” “Don’t try to win this war all by yourself.” Or maybe he’d quote his character from “Stagecoach, “Well, there are some things a man just can’t run away from.”
I listened to some songs by John Prine, who is most often my favorite singer, and died from the dad-blamed COVID-19.
It was low-hanging fruit
My wife was in a grocery store. She wanted to buy a seedless watermelon. The store kept their watermelons in a huge box at the end of an aisle. There was only one melon left in that container and she couldn’t reach it.
She said there were no big people around to help her. I have been asked often to grab an item from the top shelf for someone. I’m vertically enhanced and the one asking wasn’t. One day, I’m going to ask a short person to get something from the bottom shelf for me. That would be good. I could use the help.
And the winners in the Worst Joke category are
“What is brown, wrinkled and lives in a tower?” The lunch bag of Notre Dame.
“What breed of dogs enjoys taking baths?” There are two — the shampoodle and the bathithound.
We got a puppy to help us get through the pandemic. Unfortunately, my husband turned out to be allergic to dogs. I need to find a new home for him. His name is Robert. He’s 59, handy around the house and has a nice car.
What’s the difference between a hippo and a Zippo? One is heavy and the other is a little lighter.
Six things I shoulda, woulda, coulda, had oughta done in 2019
Bought more books from the Friends of the Library. Visited with and hugged everyone. Read up on toilet paper hoarding. Found a good mask to get the flu to skidoo. Planned a bigger garden. Invested in Zoom.
Nature notes
A blue jay flew into a feeder holding peanuts in the shell. The jay picked up a number of peanuts and put them back down as it searched for the perfect goober. Finding one with the weight that indicated good eating inside, the bird flew off with it.
Jerry and Jill Morstad of Albert Lea had a mallard raise a family in a nest in a tree in their yard. They live along a busy street, so Jerry erected a “Duckling crossing” sign.
Goldenrods bloom and don’t cause hay fever as their heavy pollen is carried by insects. Great and common ragweeds shed pollen causing hay fever symptoms.
Wild cucumber, an annual native vine, blooms with small white flowers. The rambunctious plant has star-shaped leaves and spiky fruit. Orb spider webs in grasses are evident on dewy mornings and make swell photos.
If you get lost in the woods, follow a Virginia opossum. You’ll end up in the middle of a road.
Naturally
I walked to the mailbox. There were butterflies puddling — obtaining sodium and other minerals concentrated in a moist spot on the sandy roadside. I often see sulphurs, cabbage whites, azures, swallowtails and red-spotted purple butterflies engaged in such an activity. Most are males seeking nutrients. They allow approach which leads to photo opportunities. Puddling stations can be made by filling a shallow pan or dish (pie tin, saucer, etc.) and sprinkling salt on it or adding overripe fruit (bananas work well), stale beer, or leaf or manure compost. Water it to keep it moist.
A hint of fall is in the red leaves of Virginia creeper twining around trees. Twin fawns are a kind of “terrible twos.” Their gangliness will soon be replaced with fluidity and fleetness. I don’t think “gangliness” is a valid Scrabble word, but it fits them.
I checked the rain gauge. There was just enough rain to make it worth looking at. A fox squirrel walked up and smelled all my toes (she might have been counting them) made available by my sandals. She climbed the post hosting the rain gauge to say hello.
It was a squirrel that my wife and I adopted from the good folks at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The squirrel appeared well and prospering. Squirrels spend around 60% of their time sleeping.
A study found they average 14.9 hours of sleep each day in a nest called a drey composed of twigs and sticks, and lined with moss, bark, grass and leaves. The nest is typically built at least 20 feet high in the fork of a tall tree.
It’s common for squirrels to have second and third nests to use in an emergency to hide from a predator, as food storage or as a temporary rest stop.
Gulls flew over. Curt Nelson of Albert Lea was in Florida when he put his hearing aid on an outdoor table and a bird flew down and grabbed it. It never brought the hearing aid back. I suspect it had been a gull. They show little remorse.
Q&A
“Do Japanese beetle traps work?” Yes, but they may attract more beetles than they catch. They do give you the satisfaction of doing them in. Japanese beetles have been documented feeding on over 350 different plants. Adult Japanese beetles become active in Minnesota in late June/early July. Adults feed primarily in July and August, although some may be active into September.
“How long do cicadas live?” Dog day cicadas, also called annual cicadas, hatch from eggs laid in a slit of a tree twig. The tiny nymphs drop to the ground and burrow, where they live 2 — 5 years, sucking juices from plant roots. During the dog days of July and August, they claw to the surface, climb a tree and molt into a winged adult that might live 5 — 6 weeks. The shed skin remains behind, while the adults sing and mate. Some adults emerge each year and are most common in wooded areas, parks, and treed borders.
Meeting adjourned
The old catchphrase of Rexall Drugstores was, “Good health to all from Rexall.” The same to you from me.
Thanks for stopping by
“If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.” - Albert Einstein
Do good.
© Al Batt 2020
A rose by any other name is still eaten by a Japanese beetle.
This hibiscus made the “loser” sign as I walked by. I’m not going to argue with a flower.
A Red Squirrel swears like three sailors.
A goldfinch named Eeyore feeding on thistles.
Young orioles aren’t much for reading the labels of jelly jars or anything else.
Being a father can be hard on a dandy daddy like this Northern Cardinal.
Being a father can be hard on a dandy daddy like this Northern Cardinal.
A Common Green Darner, the “darning needle” or “mosquito hawk” is migrating south.
A hummingbird, a honeybee and a ladybug go into a bar. Think up your own punchline.
It felt good being a hummingbird for a moment, but it was difficult getting my face down low enough to fit the hole in the hummingbird’s head. I identified with the bird as I have a hole in my head as well.
It’s in Henderson, Minnesota and was canceled this year, but next year will be a jubilation.
Humpty Dumpty is about to have a short, but eggceptional fall.
A House Wren peers into my house. Wondering if it’s for wrent, I suppose.
Let us spray.
Another warm day. Even the sweat bees were sweating.
This Differential Grasshopper (I love the herringbone pattern on the hind legs) is on one of those diets where you eat everything while upside down.
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak dropped by to bid me adieu.
A monarch butterfly in training learns about ants.
A Cochin hen finds the grass greener.
The nuptial tubercle on the topside of its beak makes the pelican the rhinoceros of the bird world.
A Giant Ichneumon wasp with her dramatically long ovipositor. These beauties are occasionally called “stump stabbers.”
The exoskeletons of escaped Annual Cicadas that should be considered winged and sonorous.
A Cedar Waxwing appears to have been carved into perfection.
The Red-headed Woodpecker is a flying checkerboard.
The Fox Squirrel’s hammock is a bit different from mine.
Pelicans pretending to be on a beach in Florida.
Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the yellow garden spider, black and yellow garden spider, yellow and black garden spider, golden garden spider, golden orb weaver, corn spider, scribbler spider, writing spider and McKinley spider. In 1896, one reportedly predicted the U.S. presidential election by weaving McKinley's name in her stabilimentum.
By Al Batt
For the Birds in The Caledonia Argus
Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting
I put cow manure on my strawberries this year.
I’ve heard that’s a good thing to do.
Maybe so, but I’m going back to whipped cream next year.
Driving by Bruce’s drive
I have a wonderful neighbor named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: “Knock, knock! Who’s there? Hutch. Hutch who? Bless you, but remember we’re in a pandemic.”
I’m fine, thanks. Other than I must be parked in an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” People have been spring cleaning for over four months and many have racked up more screen hours each day than there are hours in a day.
My wife made me a mask. She said it was reversible. The first time I wore it, she told me I was wearing it inside out. Maybe it was a color-coordination faux pas. We’ve upgraded our behavior during a time when every sneeze is writ large.
I wear a mask, social distance and wash my hands hundreds of times each day. I wear a mask because I don’t want to take the chance of being the male equivalent of Typhoid Mary and I haven’t found a single soul unworthy of my concern.
Masks are good for the economy. People are spooked when masks are lacking in stores. It’s a red flag. I don’t want the scariest Halloween costume to be someone not wearing a mask.
Perhaps a health insurance company will give discounts to mask wearers? I don’t hate anyone, but I hate this damndemic and cancer. I’m doing my best to figure things out. I’m trying to piece things together by choosing to be happy.
Conjured memories
I’m part of the “get out” generation. I had to get out of the kitchen, the house or the drugstore with the comic book library. A neighbor, Tom Miller, told me what to do when I couldn’t get out.
If I used the tube from an empty toilet paper roll as a megaphone to yell “too doo to do,” a concerned citizen would bring a new roll of paper at the exact time it was needed the most. That may have worked in the Miller home, but not in mine.
Donna Ferguson of New Richland, a wonderful woman I knew as Ma Fergy, died recently. Some called her Ma Ferguson. In 1924, another Ma (Miriam) Ferguson of Texas and Nellie Ross of Wyoming were elected the nation’s first female governors. Coincidentally, both Ma Fergusons had a husband named Jim.
The Texan Jim had been elected governor in 1914. During his second term, he was impeached for misapplication of public funds and declared ineligible to hold public office. When his wife ran for office, she promised “two governors for the price of one.” Ma urged voters to restore Pa’s honor by voting for her and he governed over his wife’s shoulder.
I’ve learned
Uncomfortable chairs become antiques because no one sat on them.
Each day, the weather answers our questions from the day before.
Baseball was more fun to watch before every pitch and swing was analyzed from every possible angle.
Nature notes
A red-tailed hawk flew low enough that I could see the prey item it carried was a vole. The vole is the “potato chip of the prairie” — a popular food for many animals.
Large insects flew short distances before landing on the ground. They were Carolina locusts, a kind of grasshopper, that make crackling sounds called crepitations in flight. Their grayish-brown color blends into dry soils. Rainbow on wings, dragonflies and damselflies are fierce predators of flying insects.
The two operate each of their four wings independently allowing for nimble flights. Damselflies are more slender than dragonflies and fold their wings over their bodies while at rest, while dragonfly wings are held horizontally.
Naturally
The Royal Guild of the Stable Fly Appreciation Club met. There was no one in attendance. I hoped the darner and meadowhawk dragonflies find the flies appetizing.
Bull thistle is more robust than Canada thistle with redder flowers. Yellow flowers of goldenrods and sunflowers delighted. Dew-covered spiderwebs proved photogenic.
Young Baltimore orioles swamped the jelly feeders. As the great philosopher Adam Sandler sang, “Oh, so many things for me to wonder. Oh, I love grape jelly!”
Q&A
“How many species did Audubon discover?” John James Audubon practiced the first bird-banding in North America in 1804, ringing silver thread, yarn or wire around the legs of eastern phoebes.
Audubon claimed 40% of his tagged phoebes returned home. An “Archives of Natural History” paper doubted that as larger scale studies found much lower return rates and suggested Audubon was in France at the time of the phoebes’ return. Audubon’s method of painting birds was specimen-based ornithology.
He killed them with small shot, before arranging them with wire into natural-looking tableaux that might include nests, stumps, branches and/or predators. He compiled his works into a masterpiece called “Birds of America.”
It was common for authors to seek subscriptions from members of the public willing to pay for the work’s completion. In 2010, a copy of “Birds of America” sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $11.5 million. Audubon is credited with discovering around 25 species and 12 subspecies, but there are other mystery birds that appear nowhere but in Audubon’s watercolors: the Bartram’s vireo, carbonated swamp-warbler, Cuvier’s kinglet, Townsend’s finch (or Townsend’s bunting), small-headed flycatcher, and blue mountain warbler.
They were likely hybrids, birds with aberrant plumages, immature birds, sexually dimorphic specimens or birds no one else saw. Audubon had been known to stretch the truth. And then there was the Washington eagle. Audubon first saw one on a trip up the Mississippi River in 1814.
A few years later, he shot one in Kentucky and according to his measurements, it stood 3 feet, 7 inches tall and had a wingspan of 10 feet, 2 inches. The journal “American Naturalist” opined that it was a large, immature bald eagle. Was it a case of avian misidentification or a con that duped people for financial gain (subscriptions)? Either way, he was a brilliant bird artist.
The Massachusetts Audubon Society began in 1896 when people became alarmed at the number of waterfowl being killed for use as feathers in hats. The National Audubon Society was founded in 1905.
Thanks for stopping by
“Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit.” — Elbert Hubbard
“That which is hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the whole Law. The rest is commentary. Now go and learn.” - Rabbi Hillel
Do good.
©Al Batt 2020
No murder hornet. It’s a cicada killer wasp.
It’s a parsleyworm all grown-up and it’s a knockout! Black Swallowtail butterflies accumulate likes and followers in my yard.
“A wonderful bird is the Pelican. His beak can hold more than his belly can. He can hold in his beak Enough food for a week! But I'll be darned if I know how the hellican?” ― Dixon Lanier Merritt
Cuddling Gray Treefrogs.
Blue Cohosh. Cohosh is an Algonquin word likely meaning “gnarly root.” Blue is a color found in the entry-level box of eight Crayola Crayons.
As the ruler does to other school supplies, the Monarch Butterfly rules the other butterflies in my yard.
The pansy is wearing a disguise.
A molt has made this Blue Jay look as if it had a self-haircut.
A Leaf-cutter Bee takes a break from cutting leaves.
It was a one-way traffic lake in the morning. American White Pelicans.
The eye of an Eastern Cottontail. A bunny blinker.
Our cat Purl enjoys napping on sweet corn.
The Milkweed Tussock Moth looks like Cousin It of “The Addams Family” TV show fame.
Wednesdays can be difficult when you have to share a cubicle with three others as these Steller Sea Lions in Sitka, Alaska, have to do.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly — male or female.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly — female.
The exoskeleton of a cicada.
The exoskeleton of the Annual (Dog Day) Cicada and the cicada that jumped out of that cake.
To cormorants, pelicans are fish locators.
A Red Squirrel, likely not named Milo, ignores milo seed.
This apple tree shows repeated visits of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. That bird prefers to feed on the sap of pine, birch, maple and apple trees.
I found this Argus Tortoise Beetle busily doing Argus Tortoise Beetle things in Kansas.
This Yellow-headed Blackbird had just eaten a spider — intentionally.
Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.
A gray treefrog disguised as a green frog not on a tree.
It’s meant for songbirds. Big Bluestem is the star of the tall grass prairie.
The American White Pelicans waited after ordering anchovies on the pizza.
By Al Batt
For the Birds in The Caledonia Argus
Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting
I tried your advice on fixing my lawn mower.
Did it work?
No.
That doesn’t surprise me. It never works for me either.
Driving by Bruce’s drive
I have a wonderful neighbor named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: Some years ago, as luck would have it, I found myself in Luck, Wisconsin.
It was my good luck or good Luck to be working in the “Yo-Yo Capital of the World.” In 1946, Duncan started manufacturing yo-yos in Luck, producing as many of 3,600 of them in an hour. Kids had yo-yos instead of video games in those bygone days.
Napoleon and his army were said to have relaxed with yo-yos before the Battle of Waterloo.
I don’t have video games or a yo-yo. I have Zoom. I taught a class on Zoom recently. I’ve taught writing, birding, journaling, storytelling, etc. classes, but always in person.
I did the first few minutes of teaching trying to emulate my good teachers before I realized that my video screen had cut off my head. It wasn’t Zoom’s fault, it was mine. I’ve been married long enough to know when there’s a problem — I’m it. My only excuse was that I had none. The class expected a brainless instructor, but they got a headless one, too. I should have used a yo-yo.
A good stick
I went for a walk. I looked for a stick. A good stick is a walking stick, cane, pointer and sword. A bad stick can be all of those things, too, but not as good. When I was a boy, it wasn’t a day without a good stick made from a maple branch or sapling. I could toss an acorn into the air and hit it with the stick as if the combination were a baseball and a bat.
Somebody told me that Minnesotans and Iowans are good at milling about. As a kid, I walked about, but I called it “walking around.” At a fair, I’d declare to my parents, “I’m going to walk around.” I did the same thing in a store or at Allis-Chalmers Days or John Deere Days. I still do that — with or without a good stick.
Nature notes
A sulphur butterfly landed on me. I hoped it brought good luck. Butterflies and fireflies are people pleasers. The neighbor’s rooster crowed as no politician or pundit could. Bee balm or wild bergamot (Monarda), a native plant, bloomed. It’s attractive to bees and butterflies. The bergamot oil added to Earl Grey tea comes from an entirely different plant. Mints bloomed on square stems. Ponds were covered with duckweed, a tiny, flowering plant. Barn swallows gathered on utility wires. They are the swallow species with what we think of as swallow tails.
Naturally
If there is a low-pressure area or storm in the region the winds will blow day or night. Windy nights are more common in the cold season. The night wind, as strong as the growing corn, had blown in a genial day. Each day, the weather answers our questions from the day before.
My day’s goal had been to not upset the blue jays. A lot of things irritate them and my wife has told me that if I don’t know what the problem is, it’s me. One day, I saw the source of their outrage had a yellow bill and black eyes. It wasn’t me glaring at an ancient invoice. It was a barred owl.
Butterflies filled the yard. It was their home, I was just walking through it. The air was made of painted ladies, red admirals, sulphurs, cabbage whites, monarchs, question marks and azures.
My wife said it was the butterfly version of the movie “The Birds.” It was in a believable and benign way. Yellow was the predominate color of the insects. It was just another day at the sulphur butterfly factory.
Butterflies don’t have lungs. They breathe through tiny openings on the sides of their bodies called spiracles that carry the oxygen through tubes to their bodies.
Frass is the excrement produced by insects. I don’t know why I added the part about frass, but it makes a worthy replacement word for any reader who has a penchant for creative cussing. Just remember, bears do not frass in the woods.
Cicadas called. Folklore says that cicadas start singing six weeks before a frost and their singing heralds warm, dry days ahead. Their heads-up frost warnings aren’t known for their accuracy. When I was growing up, cicadas were called locusts. They aren’t. Locusts are a type of grasshopper, while cicadas are related to crickets. Cicadas typically sing from July to the first frost.
During the late summer, small, obscure insects known as insidious flower bugs or minute pirate bugs make their presence known in a convincing manner by biting with an impact out of proportion to their size. They are small enough people call them no-see-ums and can make them disappear by removing their eyeglasses — from their faces, not the insects’. They can be an annoyance, but I remain thankful that raccoons can’t fly.
Q&A
“Does anything eat the berries of the jack-in-the-pulpit?” In autumn, the plant bears a cluster of bright red berries. Few mammals feed on this plant as it contains calcium oxalate crystals that could burn the mouth, which makes the plant unpalatable and poisonous. Some birds, including wild turkeys and pheasants, eat the berries.
“I heard a female cardinal sing. She was good. Do many female songbirds sing?” A female cardinal sings a similar song to the male. A 2016 study found that in a sample of over 1,000 songbird species from around the world, 64% had females that sing.
“Why is it called a whooping crane?” The name probably originated from the loud, single-note vocalization given repeatedly by the cranes when they are alarmed.
“Are rattlesnakes poisonous or venomous?” Poisonous is used for anything that poisons (unloads its toxins) you if you ingest it. Venomous is used for anything that poisons (injects toxins) you if it bites or stings you. Rattlesnakes are venomous.
Meeting adjourned
Staying positive doesn’t mean being happy all the time. It means that on hard days you know there are better ones coming. Be kind.
Thanks for stopping by
“Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, shall all be saved.” - Jane Goodall
Do good.
© Al Batt 2020
The American Goldfinch — the king of the gapes.
When I was a dear boy, I called the Painted Lady a “thistle butterfly.” Thistles are host plants for the caterpillars.
A pheasant fellow told me that a Ring-necked Pheasant may not travel over more than 700 acres. No Disneyland for this rooster.
The American Bison has a shaggy coat that is so well insulated that snow could settle on its back without melting.
While singing in the rain, a wet Red-winged Blackbird doesn’t smell anything like a wet dog.
A Cedar Waxwing searching for food or a lost contact lens.
The famed swallow that returns to Mission San Juan Capistrano is the Cliff Swallow. When I was a dear boy, it was called a “bridge swallow” and returned to the dentist’s office once a year.
The famed swallow that returns to Mission San Juan Capistrano is the Cliff Swallow. When I was a dear boy, it was called a “bridge swallow” and returned to the dentist’s office once a year.
I am enchanted by the white around the eye of a female Wood Duck. Her call is a loud "oo-eek" whistle.