Has it Really Been a Month?

Sorry for the lack of posts this past month. No excuses, I'll just catch up.

Art and the kids had the flu last week, fevers, aching muscles, cough and sore throat. The whole works. They all seem to be on the mend. I'm not sure why but I didn't get it. Thank God.

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A few weeks ago I got to spend a morning birding with "Hap in New Hope." For the most part birding was slow but the conversation was wonderful. Hap brought along a great photo album of many of the rare birds that he's seen here in Minnesota over the years. Any time that I can spend with Hap is special and I can be sure that I'm going to learn something good.

Thanks Hap! I hope we can go birding again soon.

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We have snow. On the ground.

Ack.

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My mad knitting skilz that Ruthie taught me are getting dusty. I finished my green dishcloth without too many bumps and loops (not part of the pattern!) I did find some pretty yarn at the thrift store last Friday and I hope to get back on track. I need to crank out a few posts first!~~~~

Canada Geese are flocking by the hundreds in the corn fields near home. I scan every flock hoping this will be the flock hiding a Cackling Goose. No luck yet...

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I've applied for a 911 emergency address for Hasty Brook.

An address. That makes it real.

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On our last trip to Hasty the siding and roof were on. We talked to the builder last week and the well is in! The plumber should be out soon to install the bathroom fixtures. Then we need to get electricity to the pump and we'll have running water!! We'll need to buy a water heater over the winter so we can run the shower next spring. I immagine showering with well water would be brisk.

I love it! I saw my first Great Blue Heron sneaking up along the creek. I'd heard them there before and they've flown over but it was the first in the "yard."

The view from the drive in to our place. Both garage doors are installed now.

You can see my spotting scope on the balcony. It's just a pefect spot for me to watch the creek and all the life around it. I'd like to find some kind of mount to attach to the railing so I don't have to have the tripod up there. Space is limited on the balcony and the tripod takes up a lot of it.

Here is the view of our new building from near the road. The clearing just ahead is the septic mound. This was the only site on our land that met the 150 foot set back (from the creek) required by the county. This area and the trees around it seems to be a popular evening roost spot for the wild turkeys up there. The big tom likes to do his strutting dance back and forth across the mound.

Isn't this a great spot to sip coffee and watch the world go by? The maples were just beginning to turn. We won't be able to go back up there until October 23rd. I hope the leaves aren't all gone by then.

Backing up from the chair, on the left you can see the stairway up from the garage.

Under the dormer oposite the stairs, we'll have a small kitchen. You can see the pipes coming up through the floor where the sink and counter will go.

Across the whole back we plan to biuld a wall to separate off a big bedroom. (15x32) Since the walls on the ends of this room are only 4 feet high, we plan to put up walls to create storage space on either end. We can't decide if we should make this space into two bedrooms. We have all winter to decide how to finish off this space. We'll also need to make a decsion about heating the building. We had the slab built with the pipes for in-floor heating but have not had the boiler installled. We'll wait until closer to the time when we can live there year-round. It will serve as our cabin for several years until our kids are grown and we are able to build a home at Hasty Brook.

Ruthie and Lynne Take on Wausau

Here we are!! Ruthie and I are having a blast in Wausau, Wisconsin. We birded two parks today including Rib Mountain State Park where we took this silly picture.

Scroll down to see my personal best Turkey Vulture photograph.

I'm thinking of submitting it to WildBird Magazine. Amy?

What do you think??

We haven't found Julie Z. or Debby Kaspari yet. We'll try again tomorrow.
I need to keep this post short-
Ruthie's teaching me to knit!!
This is Lynne, Hasty Knitter signing off!

Recent Hasty Brook Birds

There's not much time for text for this post as I'm leaving in a while for my road trip to Wausau with Ruthie. I've got a stack of bird photos from our trips up to Hasty this summer so I thought I'd just post them all together. This mature Bald Eagle is actually the last photo I took two weeks ago when we were there last. He cruised just at tree top level past the balcony.

I'm calling this little guy a Least Flycatcher. I am admittedly poor at identifying flycatchers so if I'm wrong, help me out.

When I took this picture of the Black and White Warbler I didn't even realize there were two birds in the view.

Here's an immature Bald Eagle flying over the yard.

The hummers liked the clover better than my feeder.

"Dueling finches!"

We have many Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers breeding at Hasty.

I finally got a picture of the Golden-winged Warblers breeding at Hasty. I've seen them for three summers but this is my first photo. It's not a great shot but I'm happy to have it. This bird spent a lot of time hanging upside down checking out clumps of dried leaves for insects. When I looked it up in my Peterson guide, that behavior was listed as characteristic of this warbler.

Chestnut-sided warblers are very common breeders at Hasty. They seem to be very curious birds and are easy to pish in for a closer look. In fact, this bird sat a long time letting me take pictures, then launched himself right at me landing only about two feet away checking me out!

These Sandhill Cranes were about a quarter mile from Hasty but last visit we had three Sandhills fly over the camper. I've heard them down by the creek several times but have never seen them. Maybe with our new view from the balcony I'll get a look.

White-throated Sparrows breed at Hasty but last visit the numbers were way up. Are they starting show up from the north? This one is shy.

It was only last summer that I was finally able to hear Red-eyed Vireos and identify them by sound. Now they seem to be everywhere up there. They are another bird that seems to be curious about pishing.

Well, that's it. Time to finish my packing for the ROAD TRIP! We'll have wifi at the hotel so I hope to post from there.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Pull Up a Chair

I worked all of Labor Day weekend but we were up at Hasty the weekend before. Most all of the siding was up as was the decking for the balcony. The weather was lovely- warm but not hot during the days but chilly at night. In fact it got down into the 30's every night we were up there. I got up early one morning, made a pot of coffee and brought it up to the balcony to watch the woods wake up. Mist was rising from the creek and the sun shining through it gave it life. The white spots in the bare birch branches on the photo are big spider webs coated in dew. The Wild Turkey Gang was chuckling on the ground below the balcony, a Pileated Woodpecker called from across the creek and several Turkey Vultures were floating toward the south. I wish you all could have joined me!

I've got a few more pictures to post tomorrow showing the progress on our building. It's really coming along! I also have to pack my bags tomorrow because Ruthie and I are going on a road trip! We're going to Wausau, Wisconsin for the weekend to see Julie Zickefoose and her wonderful artwork at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. It's going to be a blast!

International Vulture Awareness Day

Tomorrow is International Vulture Awareness Day. I wish I had time to write a post beautifully singing the praises of vultures. Instead, here's a photo of a gorgeous Turkey Vulture floating past our balcony at Hasty Brook last weekend. All of you who know me even a little know of my passion for Turkey Vultures. I've taken more than a little heckling about my love for TUVUs. I don't care. They are simply magnificent. I love their physical form; crinkly red skin on their heads, large intelligent eyes, pearly white beak, silver lined wings. There is no other bird that can compare to them in flight as they hang effortlessly on thermals. While others watch for warblers to arrive in the spring, I am thrilled to see the the first Turkey Vultures return.

They draw my eyes to the sky and make my heart sing.

Turkey Chuckles

There's a gang of five Wild Turkeys that live in the area in and around our place up at Hasty. I call them a gang because they've been known to chase our construction guys around the site. They seem particularly possessive of our yard and driveway. Last month when Art and I were up there Art heard them clucking and chuckling outside the camper. I started taking photos through the screen door but moved quietly out the door to stand about ten feet from them. This male in particular was so engrossed in pecking at the chrome on the bottom of Art's truck that he didn't mind my being so close. He'd make his funny mumbling noises, looking from every angle and then would haul off and smack his beak into the truck. Clang! Others in the gang crawled under the truck looking for the rival. You can see one peeking under the truck and one under the truck looking back. I think the one by the driveway is the look-out. The big guy in the middle puffed himself up, spread his tail feathers and dropped his wings in indignation.

The nerve of that truck-turkey!

Construction Part Two

August 1, 2009

Art and I made a day trip up north to talk to the builder and look around. The slab was in!

This angle is from our current campsite, roughly where we'd like to build a house some day. We had hoped to build the house shell this summer but had to change plans. Building a house would have required new home financing and we would have had to have the house, inside and out, nearly completed within a year. We wanted to do some of those jobs like finishing the kitchen, baths, flooring, wiring etc. over time and we didn't want to spend that much money in so short a time. So, after much thought, we abandoned the plans of building a house for right now. We could build a garage though. We had been approved as part of our variance, to build a 32X32 garage with a maximum height of 25 feet. The garage would be Art's dream garage with lots of space for building whatever he wanted. I wanted a bathroom with shower so he could clean up before coming back to the house (in the future...). I also wanted a little loft area for a workshop/office for him. We'd add a little cantilevered balcony for me to watch over Hasty Brook. It's all we talked about last winter. We wanted to make the most of the space we were allowed to build. I hoped we could use some of the garage level as a relaxing living space over the next several years. Then Art got the idea to enlarge the loft area to a second story. Using an inexpensive software package (by Better Homes and Gardens- $60 at Costco) Art put together the plans keeping in mind our 25 foot height limit. We'll have plenty of room for a small kitchen area, a long bedroom (or two smaller-haven't decided yet) and a good sized living area facing the balcony and my Hasty Brook.

This is our future bathroom- sink, stool and shower. The red tubes are for the in-floor heating for Art's garage so he can eventually be out there all winter. We won't install the boiler for the heating until later but it'll be all ready to go.

Here's the view from the garage toward the septic tank and mound. Tommy seeded the area and in two short weeks the grass has taken hold and it looks pretty nice. Wouldn't this be a nice spot for wildflowers? I've been grabbing up wildflower packets (on clearance!). Should I spread them this fall or wait until spring?

Before the rain drove us away Art and I laid down some long, skinny aspen poles to give me an idea of what the usable space will be like on the upper floor. Yes, Richard, it was lots bigger than I expected! My vision of this space changed and I could see that there was room for a kitchen area and sleeping area too.

On our next trip up: walls!

Construction Part One

July 3, 2009

When we arrived for the weekend the excavating equipment was here. We had all ready cleared most of the big trees in early spring before they leafed out.

July 14, 2009

More heavy equipment and the septic system is being installed.

The stakes are out and the county approved the building site.

Art got quite the workout hauling big rocks out of the construction area for us to use later for landscaping.

A huge truck and trailer backed into the cleared line to drop the septic tank into the waiting hole.

I ran down the driveway to get a shot of the tank being lowered into the ground but missed it. The worker in the white shirt is standing on the concrete tank. The trench leading away from the tank is for the pipes which will lead on to the mound system.

The tank is in. It was a little tricky for the septic designer to plan the septic system keeping it all away from the creek. We actually bought our second 10 acres last year in order to have room for a septic system site that would meet all of the set-back requirements.

Tommy the septic/excavation guy uncovered some huge rocks during his work. I asked him to save them, explaining sheepishly that I really like rocks. It turns out that Tommy likes them too and he offered to set them aside and later move them to a scenic location.

It was so nice of Tommy to spend some extra time helping me find the right spot and then set the rocks so they'd look the best. This is the largest of them.

It's nearly as tall as me!

More rocks appeared as he worked to bring the grade down to prep the site for the slab.

Skimming just a few inches over a large site makes a lot of dirt.

Next visit: the slab!

My View of Hasty Brook

We made a quick day trip up to Hasty today to deliver the shower. The plumber is coming tomorrow and the electrician on Friday. When we pulled up the builder shouted out right away that the stairs were built! Finally I could get upstairs to see the view.

I'll be posting the photos of the building progress over the next few days but I can't wait to share the view that I'd been longing to see.

In case you didn't know, the river is actually called Hasty Brook on the map.

Pardon the rain spots on the camera lens. It was raining buckets.

Birders Who Blog Tweet and Chirp and Talk and Laugh...

Sorry for the delay in getting this post out. I've been having computer issues that prevented me from downloading photos to my laptop. Thanks to some fine tweaking from Art, I finally got them ready. Last Saturday Dawn and Jeff Fine brought their RV through Minnesota on their way west. It was Dawn's inspiration to put together meet-ups of birders who use various media to communicate about birding, Birders Who Blog Tweet and Chirp. A wonderful group of birders assembled Saturday morning at the Lowry Nature Center in the Carver Park Reserve in Victoria, Minnesota. Roger Everhart of the blog Minnesota Birdnerd was on hand to demonstrate bird banding. Unfortunately, the windy,warm weather did not bring birds to the nets but Roger spent time explaining the banding program and telling of his experiences in banding.

Here's our group proudly holding a copy of WildBird Magazine (Hi Amy!) . Maybe you'll see our photo in the magazine in the future!

Left to right, front row:

Dawn from Dawn's Bloggy Blog

Lizette from Mike and Lizette's Travels and Thoughts

Virginia from Bees in the City

Penny from Penelopedia

Jeff (Dawn's hubby)

back row:

Me!

Hap in New Hope

Mike from Mike and Lizette's Travels and Thoughts

Richard from At the Water

Ruth from Nature Knitter

Dave (Penny's hubby)

Roger from Minnesota Birdnerd

not pictured:Sharon, aka "the other Sharon" or Hellziggy (who came later)

Volunteer handlers showed us the education raptors including this beautiful Merlin-

and this lovely mellow Barred Owl.

I believe these serious looking birders were gazing at an American Redstart high in the branches. After a leisurely morning at Carver, we all headed over to a local restaurant for a fabulous lunch. Laughter and lots of chatting filled the time and a delish lunch filled our stomachs. Our plans for the afternoon were to drive east to Bloomington and the Hyland Park Reserve for more birding. Right away in the parking lot as we arrived we got to watch an Eastern Kingbird hunting for dragonflies.

After the dragonfly was caught the Kingbird spent a bit of time trying to bash the wings off before it could be eaten.

We spent a lot of time on the dock overlooking the turtle pond. There was lots to look at and talk about. Sharon let me try out her 2X converter on my camera and lens. Here's a photo of a pair of Mergansers and a Mallard that I took using Sharon's converter. The auto focus wouldn't work on my lens with the 2X in place so I had quite a bit of trouble focusing. I have not used my camera on the manual focus mode so I felt like I was all thumbs, but maybe with more practice...

Turtles chillin'.

Some of our group had to leave early but most of us went to dinner at Merlin's Nest to meet the Birds and Beers folks. Another great meal and more conversation and laughter, it was a perfect ending to a wonderful day. I learned something from every person throughout the day. Birders are fun loving, big hearted people. We're planning to get together again for more birding and talking and laughing...

Thanks everyone for coming, some from long distances to make this day so wonderful.

BwBTC Meets Birds and Beers on Saturday

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100657257602172319160.000470f1f9b8cfe6411ec&ll=45.032774,-93.293152&spn=0.679355,1.167297&z=9&source=embed

Here's a link to a Google map with all of our birding destinations for Saturday. I tried to imbed the map on my blog but I'm a bit to challenged to do it!

We're leaving for Hasty Brook to check on progress this morning and won't be back until Friday. When I get back I'll email everyone that I've heard from and send out my cell phone number just in case anyone needs extra help with directions.

I checked the weather forecast but I think we're too far out to predict so plan on any kind of weather. I've got lots of bug spray and will bring coffee (regular, not decaf) and some breakfast treats to get us through the morning.

I can't wait to meet you all-

Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp Meets Birds and Beers!

All right Minnesota birders- it's time to get together for a fun day of birding and socializing, laughing, learning and maybe a beer or two.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

is the day. We're meeting at 0800 at Carver Park Reserve for bird banding with Roger Everhart, host of the blog Minnesota Birdnerd. Roger is a terrific birder and experienced bander. It's certain to be a fun and informative morning.

Here's a bit of information about Carver Park quoted from their website:

"This is a 3300 Acre Park Reserve, located west of Chanhassen. Carver Park Reserve supports a large wildlife population of trumpeter swans, osprey, mink, white-tailed deer, barred owls and numerous waterfowl and songbirds. The park reserve is home to the Lowry Nature Center, the first public environmental education center of its kind in the state.

Park visitors of all ages are delighted to discover the park's rolling wooded terrain and interconnected lakes and marshes. The park features miles (8.5 miles of paved trails, 12.2 miles of turf trails and six miles of horse trails) of trails that wind around the nature center, historic Grimm Farm and the King Waterbird Sanctuary. The trails also provide a valuable link to the Southwest Regional LRT Trail. Boaters and anglers can explore four lakes within the park reserve, and campers can enjoy a relaxing stay at the quite Lake Auburn Campground. The park continues to thrive in winter for cold-weather enthusiasts who treasure mornings and afternoons spent on miles of groomed cross-country ski trails that begin at the Springview trailhead. More than 1,700 feet of boardwalk takes you through marsh and tamarack swamps."

Bird banding runs from 0800 until noon. We're free to watch and/or explore the park to see what birds are to be seen.

There's a great place for lunch in nearby Victoria called Victoria House.

The plan for the afternoon is to head over to Bloomington and the Hyland Lake Park Reserve. Hyland Lake Park is home to the Richardson Nature Center. A quote from their website:

"Richardson Nature Center is the largest of Three Rivers’ nature centers. Come inside and enjoy an interactive wall-to-wall clay sculpture, view live animals and raptors, or relax in a rocking chair while watching birds from the wildlife viewing room. Outside, take in the abundant wildlife of the ponds, prairies, and forested areas found along the nature center’s 2.5 miles of trails. Or grab a spot on the dock and simply enjoy some peace and quiet."

We'll finish up the day with Birds and Beers at Merlin's Rest on Lake Street in Minneapolis at 6PM.

SO- come on! Join the fun!

Tell your friends. Bring your friends! You don't have to be a blogger, Twitterer or Chirptracker or Facebooker. Anyone interested in birding and meeting other birders to share all or just part of the day is welcome.

Here are a few of the people we're expecting:

Ruthie Johnson the Nature Knitter
Troutbirder
Roger Everhart from Minnesota Birdnerd

Hap in New Hope is my birding mentor- he's an absolutely amazing birder

Virginia from Bees in the City

Mike and Lizette from Mike and Lizette's Travels and Thoughts

Penelope from Penelopedia: Nature and Garden in Northfield Minnesota

Dawn and Jeff from Dawn's Bloggy Blog

Sharon aka HellZiggy

Everyone is welcome.