The Twins

We headed up to the Mall of America a few days ago.

To go shopping? Me? Are you kidding? To go for a ride on the Light Rail to downtown Minneapolis.

To go shopping? No! We’ve been over that point. To go to Target Field to watch the Twins take on the Pale Hose.

I thought you gave up on them ye of little faith. I did. Face it after 7 of their starting players were out on the disabled list and they were 16 ½ games behind Cleveland near the end of May, it looked hopeless.
So you gave up and..... And they’ve won 12 of the last fourteen games and are now only 8 behind Tigers for the lead. Plus our big boppers are coming back. Things are looking up..So how was the game? Blackburn bested Buehrle 1-zip for the win.
"We gonna win Twins. We’re gonna score. Watch that baseball soar....."

Ok. I confess. Mrs. T. is correct. I'm a "fair weather fan." When things are going good or looking up I'm 100% on the band wagon. :)

The Dynamic Duo

New Housing

The current economic doldrums were, in part, initially caused by ancollapse of the housing market. This, in turn, was caused by an unsecured home mortgage scam. Baron and I went for a hike yesterday to see if there were any signs of recovery. A trip through a fine wooded area did show some definite signs of new housing.

Mr. and Mrs. Pileated T Woodpecker are the proud new residents.

Spring Biking

With the crummy weather this spring the biking got a late start. The first two outings were lots of fun though and quite the contrast. An offer to join John & Joanne’s eldest daughter Janelle and family was too good to pass up. Getting ready for "all aboard" the gang is getting ready for Carl to tow baby downhill 10 miles to Lanesboro. Starting at Fountain all you have to do is push off and coast about halfway there. Thats why I like this kind of run for starting out in the spring. The people passing you in the opposite direction are mostly young, some bearded, wearing tight spandex outfits and all with a very determined look on their faces. Oh and the fact is they are all going faster up the steep hill than I feel safe coasting down it.

My next ride, a week later, was a whole different ball game. Mrs. T dropped me off at the burgeoning town of Tiopi (population under 50). Here I would head 12 miles east to LeRoy State Park against a 25 mile an hour headwind. It felt like I was pedaling uphill all the way. The trail was basically flat and open to the wind. My strategy was basically "slow and steady wins the race." In other words, I just hoped to meet my spouse at the park without having to call her on the cell phone to come and rescue me from total exhaustion. It worked.......
Follow the shadow and he'll show you the route.

The trail basically was an old railroad bed. Thus some brush and trees on either side sheltered me slightly from the wind. The track was mostly straight as an arrow. It seemed a long way to my destination.

In the distance, on either side of the trail, I could see farmsteads and the emerging corn trailing off into the distance.

This trail is known as the Shooting Star Trail. In the late summer and fall, it is a surrounded by an amazing variety of native prairie plants, all abloom. In late spring, I didn't expect to see much but kept my eyes open nevertheless. Sure enough some dames rockets appeared around a bend beneath a small grove of oak trees. Later I spied the brilliant orange of some pucoons.

I was also keeping watch for birds but here I expected the high winds to keep them hunkered down. I did manage though to spot some dickcissels along the way. Somehow they always seem to look like miniature meadowlarks. But can they sing!

I also spotted a flooded field and took a careful look for some shore birds. They are rarely seen in the glaciated areas of southeastern Minnesota because lakes and untiled fields are few and far between. Then I spotted a few on the far side. Can you see them???? Just kidding I couldn't tell what they were even with my binoculars. Inching carefully up the trail I did get a few shots. Some kind of very small sandpipers methinks. Jeepers Creepers just little Peepers.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the ride. There's lot of different trails in this area. Maybe we can go again sometime.

The Toilet Crises

As everyone knows the early years of marriage usually require some adjustments and compromises. Facing and fixing a mechanical crises for first time homeowners can be one of them.

A clogged toilet is a case in point. In the days before equal rights for women had clearly taken hold it was definitely a "mans job." Mrs. T was "volunteered" as assitant and gopher. After much ado, she consented grudgingly. Further frustration and poor results followed the inexpert use of the plunger. The toilet plunger that is.... Loud voices were heard. Finally an ultimatum. "I'm going to call a plumber," she cried. I was humiliated.
The plumber arrived several days later (they are an independent lot). He was brandishing a "snake."
"That does the trick," he reported and left behind a large bill. Things were fine for a couple of days and then the problem reappeared. Although not recommended for septic systems, I resorted to extreme chemical measures.It had no effect whatsoever.
Mr Plumber was again called to the rescue. "My hero," seemed to be Mrs T's response. Yuk!!! Three days later.... again failure. This whole scenario was really starting to bug me. Fortunately, I took it out on the toilet. I called on a teaching comrade, who happened to be the handyman type as well as the physics teacher. He explained the mechanics of the thing and advised taking it apart.
I removed the toilet and set it in the bathtub. Yes.... the bathtub. Then I picked it up and turned it upside down. Some water came out and I also heard a "clink." Harking back to my childhood I remembered shaking my piggybank. "Aha... I've got a giant piggybank here," I thought. Much turning, twisting and shaking followed, until finally out came a toothbrush.

Dumbfounded, I then made a serious mistake. I yelled, in a not too friendly manner at my bride, lurking skeptically in the background. "HAVE YOU BEEN BRUSHING YOUR TEETH IN THE TOILET?" We obviously survived that misadventure. It wasn't until years later though I learned that a bucket of soapy water and toothbrush had been used to clean some tile in the kitchen. Toothbrush forgotten and water poured in the toilet.
Marital cooperation is always best but sometimes it can be a struggle......

Spring Lifers

A cold, wet, & windy spring didn't improve my attitude till the following "lifers" showed up in May. Big surprises all, they included a white winged scoter, a glossy ibis, a black billed cuckoo, several warblers and while having diner at Steve and Jewels, a Harris sparrow on the lawn. Entering my fourth year of "serious" birding, new ones are getting harder and harder to come across.

Photo by Steve G.

Stocking Up On Vitamin C

I put the orange halves on the oak tree. I walked up on the deck. I turned around to look. There they were. The first orioles of spring.
Inspired by our friends Steve & Jewel, I then decided to upgrade the quality of our stale big box store black sunflower offerings to include finch food, nuts, dried fruit, sugar water for the orioles and hummings birds, homemade plugs for the suet feeder with lard, oatmeal, raisins & other secret ingredients the ladies (Jewel and Mrs. T) threw into the mix. Here are some of the results.

From left to right. Indigo bunting, downy woodpecker, chipping sparrow, gold finch & female rose-breasted grosbeak.

Brown Thrasher

Catbird

Indigo bunting, male northern oriole
Swainsons Thrush

In addition, this spring, we also saw at the feeders, the usual bluejays, northern flickers, yellow bellied sapsuckers, hummingbirds, chickadees,robins, white throated sparrows, juncos, northern cardinals, grackels, & starlings but alas no bluebirds yet. To see waterfowl, warblers and other songbirds I've got to go futher afield.

Feeder watching in the spring.... what fun!

Touch The Sky Prairie

To many, it is simply known as "the prairie." A landscape where the eye can see the horizon, and thunderstorms can be watched from infancy to fury. It is America's breadbasket, its corn belt, and its duck factory; a place of hard work, strong families, and civic pride.
The original Tallgrass Prairie is mostly gone now, with only one-tenth of one percent remaining. Our challenge is to save, and restore remnant portions of the remaining Tallgrass Prairie. A good friend of mine, Mr Science, has already restored 2 acres of his property. So have countless others.

On a larger scale The Northern Wetland National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1999 to preserve 77,000 acres of native prairie and buffer lands at widespread locations within the historic northern tallgrass prairie region of western Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. The refuge was established to address the loss of America's grasslands and mounting evidence indicating that many grassland species are vanishing as fast as the prairies that support them.
A recent camping/birding trip brought us and our good friends Gary and Rose to Blue Mounds State Park near Luverne, Minnesota. This beautiful site lies in the far southwestern portion of the state near the South Dakota border. Here, were spent several days exploring the native prairie and wildlife areas. We also took the opportunity to visit the gallery in Luverne of world famous wildlife photographer Jim Brandenberg. It was there the we learned of the efforts of his foundation to preserve this preserve the small remnants of the now rare prairie ecosystems. The Northern Wetland National Wildlife Refuge provides the means for private groups and individuals to support the cause of preservation. . The Brandenburg Prairie Foundation, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have purchased over 800 acres of untilled prairie land in Rock County, Minnesota creating the "Touch the Sky Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge." Together, they have developed a 15-year management plan for its restoration. With time and continued effort, hundreds of native species will return – the tall grasses, the songbirds, flora and native wildlife. Their dream is to see the bison roaming "Touch the Sky Prairie" again.
Troutbirder & Rosie. Photos by Gary
Take a look.

By late summer this land and others like it will be ablaze with native prairie wildflowers. Blazing Star (liatris), New England Asters and countless others. The Blue Stem grasses will reach upward of 5 feet to the horizon. Perhaps someday buffalo and even prairie grizzley bears and... wait cancel that last one. Might be a little tough on birders since there a few trees to climb up for safety.