Playing Catch-Up

Sorry about the sad lack of posts lately, it seems I'm barely able to keep my nose above water with.... well I don't know what exactly, but I've been busy! I'm happy to say we'll be packing up the truck and heading north to Hasty Brook this weekend. I've been up there only twice this year and we haven't spent a night there at all. We'll be restocking the camper with fresh bedding, filling the propane tanks and thoroughly cleaning the water tanks. We'll also be bringing along two sets of loppers and a hand saw to scout out the newly annexed "South Hasty." I'm hoping the ticks are past their peak. Two weeks ago when I was there they were THICK. It seemed the deer ticks out-numbered the wood ticks by about two to one. Ugh.

I don't think I mentioned before that the beavers are back in the creek. I thought I'd seen new evidence of them last fall but two weeks ago I actually saw the pair. Maybe I'll regret their presence as I know they can do a lot of damage, but for now it's their creek and they're fun to watch.

His head is under water.

It's softball season. Molly has played for a community girl's slow pitch league for four summers now. The games are all on weeknights (except for the tournaments) and are all very close to home. I love watching the girls play. It's all about sportsmanship, skills and teamwork. I'll be parked in my chair in the shade tonight, sipping iced tea and snacking on spitters. Ahhh....

I took Molly to the DMV yesterday to take her driver's permit test. There were signs posted THANKING people for "complying with the policy of refraining from profanity and/or violence within the building!!"

We need a policy for that?

We need to thank people for compliance?

The line for the permit test was the same line for reinstatement of driving privileges following a DWI. Every single adult that was getting privileges reinstated argued about the fees. The fees are substantial- but give me a break- if you broke the law, put lives in danger- you're lucky that $$ is the only consequence.

One more rant. After Molly passed her exam (Hurray!) we were sent to yet another line to wait for her actual permit. Behind us in line was a man who must have BATHED in cologne, talking very LOUDLY on his blue tooth phone. For 35 minutes he crammed himself up behind us, yacking without a breath. Now maybe it's a Minnesota thing, but obviously he'd never heard about personal space. Or moderation with his cologne. Or how rude it is to blab at the top of your lungs indoors in a crowded line.

Where are manners? Why do we need a policy prohibiting profanity and violence?

That's all.

Happy Birthday Art!

It's a big day at our house today. It's Art's 50th birthday and it's also our 18th wedding anniversary. When the priest that married us gave us the dates available he laughed and suggested we take Art's birthday because then Art would never forget our anniversary! We were both 32 years old when we married- older by some standards. We met on a blind date and married in under a year! One of my brothers worked with Art's brother and they set us up. We met in July, were engaged at Christmas and married in June. I guess at 32 we just knew what we wanted. I could not be luckier.

Happy Birthday and Anniversary to my best friend.

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I've been a bit missing in blogging these last few weeks. Working a lot of night shifts really wipes me out. Good news on that front though, I should be moving to days pretty soon. I was offered a part time position in the Hematology and Blood Bank departments and will move to days as soon as my replacement is trained. Yahooo!!

Also- big news about Hasty Brook. For a while now Art and I have been thinking about buying more property connecting to Hasty Brook. We own 10 acres now with the Hasty Brook running through it. Because Hasty Brook is a designated trout stream, there is a DNR imposed 150 foot setback for disrupting the land all along the creek. The creek curves across the land about half way between the road and the back of the land (no road access at the back half). The ten acres we have now does not have enough room for a building site on the road half. Over the winter we found out the name of the owner of the 10 acres to our south and wrote them asking if they were interested in selling. Within a week we got a letter back with an asking price $5000 less than we were planning to offer! Molly and I drove to Duluth last week with our check and signed off with a lawyer that we hired to handle the transaction. We're waiting for a call from him early this week letting us know that he has the title and the 10 acres to our south will be ours! I'm thrilled! As soon as the deal is final, I'll be contacting folks at the county up there (St. Louis County) to look in to choosing a building site. I've all ready found the cabin plans that we like so we're hoping that next summer we might be starting a cabin at Hasty Brook.

It's been a dream of mine for so long.

Someone pinch me.

Up, Up and Away

Compass Set for North

We packed the van and hit the road Friday evening. It was about a three hour drive to my brother Phil's lake home north of Brainerd. He and his wife Mary are retired and live in a beautiful home that they bought as a cabin years ago. It's gone through a few metamorphosis since then and it's now a lovely home that they opened to us. Another retired brother Charlie and his wife Michele were there for the weekend as well. It had been such a long time since we'd had a happy get-together, too many sad occasions this last year. This weekend was so good for me. It was good for us all, I think. We played card and dice games, watched movies, looked through old photographs and retold family stories. Lots of laughter and for me, a just a few tears. We talked lots about Dad and Mom and Phyllis. They would have loved the weekend. I could feel them smile.

I did get to do some birding too. We took two pontoon boat rides and I got a few nice pictures of the loons on the lake. I actually took 64 loon pictures to get maybe four that were keepers. I like the water droplets on this loon's head. If you look carefully you can see his red eye. Listening to the loons at night is a Minnesota experience that we like to think you will not find any where else.

I spied three loon nests on the lake. Trust me that we stayed a respectful distance away.

Water temps were in the high fifties but that didn't stop Molly and John from dipping in for some fun.

We had a fabulous view of a huge thunderstorm coming across the lake. You can see the line of wind rippling the calm water as it moved toward us. No damage at their place but the same weather system brought good sized hail to New Hope. Sadly, my new-to-me, used car got some dings. Ah well, life is short. I'm not going to be bothered by hail dents.

Today's Best Dressed Bird in New Hope

Not loved by many, but can you really deny his beauty?

In fifth place- Grackle!

Mr. Oriole is looking a bit resentful, but it's a tie for fourth -

Oriole and the chickadee finial.

Third place- Ms. Oriole!

smack, slurp- "I'd like to thank the voters..."

Stopping in for a quick bite to eat, our bird in second place is Mrs. Red-winged Blackbird.

Ant the winner of The Best Dressed Bird in New Hope is....

MR. HARRIS!!

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I've has a Harris' Sparrow visit my yard for the last several years, staying only a few days. I was getting a bit worried that he wouldn't show up this year but I spied him two days ago. He comes scratching under the back feeders several times a day. I've got to say- I really think he's the best looking sparrow.

We Remember

A section of the monument near the grave of John F. Kennedy

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Korean War Veteran's Memorial

"Freedom is not Free", part of the Korean War Veteran's Memorial

Vietnam Women's Memorial

Vietnam Veteran's Memorial

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Photos from our family trip to Arlington National Cemetery and Washington, D.C.

November 15, 2003.

Dove Love is in the Air

I've been watching this lovey dovey pair cooing around the yard for the last week. They're inseparable. I wonder where their nest is.

Yesterday morning I was upstairs folding clothes and other mom chores and kept hearing a pretty robin's song out back. Something about the song was both familiar and different. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak? I scanned carefully but couldn't see a thing in the thick leaves. I gave up and went in to the bathroom to put towels away and there he was- singing happily right outside the bathroom window.

This picture was taken through the window screen and so is a bit fuzzy but I like the dream-like quality. I wonder what he's thinking.

Here he is awake! He stayed at the feeders all day and even took a few baths. I didn't see him at all today. Moved on I guess.

He seemed to enjoy the company. Do you think I have enough feeders on this pole?

Mrs. Oriole came for jelly by really like the meal worms I tossed in the ant moat.

I spied an American Redstart checking out the bird bath dripper. He watched here on this solar light while he thought it over. That was the longest time I've seen a Redstart not in motion. Check out his black legs and feet.

I've never seen House Wrens eat suet before today. This cheeky little tyrant chased away birds three times his own size.

My yard has more than its share of gray squirrels. They're such pigs but if they don't ruin my feeders, they can stay. They all disappear when this little red squirrel shows up. I've watched him eat fallen seed until he's full then hide around the corner of the shed. The gray squirrels think the coast is clear and come running back only to have the red devil spring out and attack.

Looks like he's found another hiding place!

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I'm watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and am finding myself creeped out by Johnny Depp. I really love Gene Wilder in Willie Wonka and this version is just

NOT RIGHT.

They Made Me Laugh

Sunday evening, I though I'd try to get into a good book. I am a big reader but haven't been able to commit to a story for the last several months. I guess there have been too many distractions and my mind has been very unsettled. I picked up a few books at a garage sale last week that looked interesting so I settled down in my chair by the window to see if one of them would grab my imagination. No luck. Again, feeling easily distracted I started looking out the window. It's an upstairs window which sets me at about the mid-height of our large maple tree out back. There had still been a few warblers passing through but they were tough to spot in the thick maple leaves. A flash of movement caught my eye. Out of a clump of leaves popped a Magnolia Warbler! He sat at the tip of a bare branch and preened. The longer I watched the more movement I detected in the tree.
HA! I caught a Redstart perched!! By now I was laughing loud enough to bring my kids running.

"Oh, it's just Mom. She sees a bird."

By the time this Wilson's Warbler popped into view I was beside myself. I've tried so hard this spring to get a photo of a Wilson's but they've been too fast for me. I checked the times that these three pictures were taken and they were all within five minutes. Such a gift.

I stalked this Ovenbird, trying to get a good look all day yesterday. He spent the day creeping around under the lilac hedge. He was cagey, never coming out of the shadows for long. Finally he made his way out to the ground under my feeders.

Who needs a stinky Wilson's Warbler when you have ME in all my golden beauty?

I still need to start a book.

More From Eagle Lake

I made two trips to bird the west side of Eagle Lake last week. With Thomas' emailed directions I first went by myself. There's a freedom in exploring a new area for the first time by myself. Having no expectations, everything is new and it feels like every discovery belongs only to me.

Swamp sparrows (life bird) were plentiful.

I followed a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers through a stretch of woods, trying to get a good picture. They were foraging a lot on the ground
and it was hard to get a good look. I was so intent on catching up to them that I nearly got too close to a skunk. Luckily I smelled him before I got any closer. I was really excited to find this Marsh Wren (lifer). I've only ever seen House Wrens before so now I have a whopping TWO wrens on my life list!
I think I lost track of time watching a dozen or so Barn Swallows swooping over the cattails and under the foot bridge. After a while they didn't seem to mind my presence and I just stood there, turning slowly, watching them all around me. Speed and grace in a beautiful little package.
Eastern Wood Pewee? I'd heard it's call but don't think I can id it just by looking at it. Help please!
How about a snoozing Song Sparrow?

While walking through the woods Thomas and I could hear a White-breasted Nuthatch scolding nearby. The trees held many cavities and finally she shot out of this one.

Thomas, being very familiar with birding this area showed me a Cooper's Hawk's nest that he's been watching this spring. I could just make out a tail sticking over the edge. The hawk was sitting very low on the nest. Suddenly a Coop shot out of the woods chasing close after a Gray Catbird. They flew back and forth among the branches of a large flowering crab apple tree until the hawk gave up and flew back up to the nest. Thomas suggested we walk int to woods under the nest to see if we could spot the mate. Almost immediately we saw the mate in a tree with a red squirrel.

Thomas showed me that we could approach closer if we walked slowly with our heads down, not making eye contact and not walking in a straight line.

I must have taken fifty shots of this beautiful raptor. Finally after I got my fill watching, she gave a warning call and left- with her lunch!

Thanks again to Thomas for sharing this terrific birding location, along with his knowledge and tips!

Where Are You?

Here's a snapshot of where the last 20 visitors to Hasty Brook blog are from:

1
United States
Minneapolis, Minnesota
2
United States
Sacramento, California
3
Iran, Islamic Republic of
Gostar, Hamadan
4
United States
San Francisco, California
5
United States
Orlando, Florida
6
United States
Boston, Massachusetts
7
United States
Wilmington, Delaware
8
Norway
Lyse, Rogaland
9
Portugal
Carnaxide, Lisboa
10
United States
Minneapolis, Minnesota
11
United States
Minneapolis, Minnesota
12
Netherlands
Leiden, Zuid-Holland
13
United States
Aurora, Minnesota
14
United States
Saddle Brook, New Jersey
15
United States
Austin, Texas
16
Canada
Napanee, Ontario
17
United States
Minneapolis, Minnesota
18
Iran, Islamic Republic of
Iran, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari
19
United States
Waterford, Pennsylvania
20
United States
Glenwood City, Wisconsin

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I guess it really IS a small world after all...