Garden Guard Dog

A total of fourteen expert dog trainers (including police dog trainers) were consulted to compile this list of the top ten best guard dog breeds. During their evaluation they considered not only a dog's temperament and physical strength, but its courage, loyalty, and resistance to pain. There are some dogs who possess all of these qualities but didn't make the list because of their small size. Chihuahuas, most breeds of Terriers, and Miniature Schnauzers are certainly brave, but unfortunately can easily be dealt with by an intruder.

The top 10 guard dogs as chosen by the experts are:

#10 Staffordshire Terrier

#9 Kuvasz

#8 Rhodesian Ridgeback

#7 German Shepherd

#6 Giant Schnauzer

#5 Puli

#4 Komondor

#3 Rottweiler

#2 Doberman Pinscher

#1 Bullmastiff

As you can see my precious South Woodland Flower garden is "guarded" by a top ten dog. At #7 his breed (GSD) is known for their willingness, even eagerness, to put it all on the line to defend a few hepaticas. Upon a proper introduction though, Baron will be more than happy to show you around. We will need to stay on the path. It quite a maze in here.

The South Garden has filled in quite nicely from the gooseberry patch of a few years ago. I built a wall with limestone rock to separate it from the turnaround parking area adjacent to the garage. The rocks also delineates the pathway. Many of the wildflowers were taken from the flower gardens on our old property next door.

I love my hostas in the woods and keep adding more and dividing and replanting more. The more there are the fewer I remember their names. I tend to say things like "oh here's one that looks great in the dappled light."

"Or this one's a Sagae, I think....maybe." Etc.

There are several kinds of lamium and some make great groundcovers. Yes, they can try to take over, but I wasn't a classroom teacher all those years for nothing.

Thanks for the tour Baron. Good boy!

The Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge

The quickest way to the grandchildren in Colorado from Bluff Country is south on I-35 to Omaha and the west of on I-80 across Nebraska and eastern Colorado. After the umpteenth time on this route only two things can be said - BORING & HEAVY TRUCK TRAFFIC. Thus, we alternatively have tried other routes such as I-90 to the Black Hills and then kitty-cornering south west across Wyoming or other two-lane east-west highways across Nebraska.

The later brought us to the famous and scenic sands hills of Nebraska and the small town of Valentine. There we spent a night and also visited the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife refuge. Are you a birdwatcher? If so there are more than 240 species of birds for you to see at this refuge. There are also elk, bison and deer.

Just observing the wildlife that roam the area, is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy seeing nature at it’s most beautiful. The river is one of countries top wild and scenic canoeing destinations. We had just a couple of hours before dark so we did the self guided auto tour.... all to ourselves.

The auto route took us over and thru the dry sands hills. Here we saw scattered small herds of bison.

Then came a real surprise. Coming over a small hill, I noticed some rather unusual birds perched atop the fenceposts that contained the bison.

From a distance, it was hard to tell what they were, but one thing was clear ..... they had long legs. Shorebirds? In the middle of a dry prairie? Not too likely, I thought. Still, shorebirds are not something I see very often. They all scattered into the short grass as we approached in the car. I pursued on foot. Well, to make a short story even shorter, the were upland sandpipers. A "lifer" for me!

Mystery Flower

We are deep in the Minnesotian jungle. Lost! Fighting for survival. The plants tower above us. Huge white flowers peer down at us. WHAT ARE THEY????



Ok maybe its not the jungle but it sure looks like it from this angle. I hear a rescue helicopter approaching and I will provide an overhead view to make this a lot easier. In the meantime, can you identify this jungle like plant? Give it a try!

Birds, Flowers & A Dog

We have camped pretty much all over the country & Canada. This looks like our stay closer to home summer. There are three gorgeous State Parks less than a hours drive away. One of these is Myre-Big Island State Park near Albert Lea. This park has something for everyone. The trails take visitors around wet lowlands, oak savanna, and grasslands. Albert Lea Lake and park marshes draw hundreds of waterfowl during migration. Oak savanna and prairie landscape, including wetlands, dominate most of the park. One of the more unique aspects of the park is the 116-acre Big Island that is covered with maple/basswood forest. Another is the glacial esker located in the northeast section of the park.
If you like camping, hiking, birding and walking the dog, this is the place for you. We joined our friends Gary and Rosie, to do all three. Mrs T had a bum knee which limited her hiking but she got some photography and reading done, Gary also did some photography and walked big bad Baron. Troutbirder mentored Rosie in her novice outing as a birder.

In 2 days. Rosie identified around 30 birds, along with spotting numerous deer, ground hogs and other creatures. Birding highlights included an osprey, two green herons, lots of yellow warblers, redstarts, bobolinks, white pelicans, cormorants etc.

The prairie habitat was great for bobolinks and meadowlarks

During our hikes many delicate wildflowers came into view.

Fleabane

Wild Rose

Daisy


Blue Flag Iris

In a walk along the lakeshore we came upon some daylilies. These plants are often a sign of an abandoned farmstead. Shortly thereafter, what I thought were some old fashioned shrub roses appeared.

Closer examination proved them to be otherwise. The pink flowers looked very pea-like. Some of these shrubs were at least twelve feet tall.


All in all, Myre-Big Island State Park proved to be a great spot to relax for a few days. And it didn't cost a fortune in gas to get there!

Dog Parks & Malls

The grandchildren returned by plane to Colorado yesterday after a very rare & wonderful visit. The send-off left, however, a little to be desired. Warning! Rant to follow.......

Plan A was to visit the St. Paul Zoo. It rained all day yesterday. Plan B was we spent the afternoon at the
"Maul of America." Oops..... I mean the Mall of America. That grossly overpriced, overcrowded, noisy, urban monument to rampant, plastic, artificial, American materialism. Of course, children of all ages love it. Why should they not? It's bred into their systems thru the miracle of modern advertising and social one upmanship.

Which brings me to the Willow Creek dog park in Rochester. Really! When Mrs. T finds it necessary to spend some quality time at Apache Mall in Rochester, I take the opportunity (weather conditions permitting) to continue Barons socialization process. Being a naive unworldly country boy, (such as his master), the chance to improve his social graces is not to be passed over lightly. There are often canines of many persuasions in the area. It is surrounded by a chain link fence, yet has access to a woods and a small stream, where one can romp and splash unfettered by the usual constraints. Yipee!

Woof Woof It sure beats going to the Mall! Woof.

Forestville Creek

Mr Science (Gary) and I had planned a birding outing for that day. It didn't work out that way as the day proved to be very windy. The birds would be hunkered down and surely not visible. Plan B was a hike down into the valley of Forestville Creek below his house. My idea was to let the two GSD's Baron and Daisy have a good romp and perhaps catch some early spring wildflowers with my wife's camera. No, I haven't found my missing camera yet!

This is "Bluff Country" at it's best. The region is unglaciated meaning the glaciers did not scour this region thousands of years ago as they did the rest of Minnesota. That means no lakes here or much standing water. The creeks and rivers have had a long time to carve our beautiful valleys. It is also a karst region, meaning the limestone underneath is fractured, leaving sinkholes, disappearing and reappearing rivers. Very susceptible to water pollution which can reappear anywhere.

The major rivers here, the Zumbro, the Whitewater, the Root and the Upper Iowa flow east to meet the mighty Mississippi on its way to the Gulf. The origin of Forestville Creek is a cave which lies below a bluff near Gary's home. It's a first class trout stream exclusively carrying wild trout.

A view of the bluff and cave from the valley.

A disappearing river five miles away leads eventually to this cave. The water is ice cold.

Several other springs at the base of this hill contribute to the flow of the stream.

Baron and Daisy explore ahead of us. Oh, this is fun!!!

Daisy in the foreground. Baron trying to figure out what she is up to.

We run across some fishermen.

False rue anemone.

Hepatica

Dutchman's Breetches

Bloodroot

It was a great morning!

Big Birding Mystery Solved

Let's do a little birding mystery today on Monday, April 20, 2009. I will set the stage, detail the qualifications of the investigators, provide the evidence, and then reveal the conclusion. But no peeking ahead unless you're in a really big hurry.

The scene is my backyard. Troutbirder lives in Bluff country i.e. the karst region of southeastern Minnesota.

We had our first rain of the spring last night. The morning was foggy, damp, windy and 40 degrees. Naturally, I had figured conditions were perfect for my first trout fishing outing, as the season had opened on Saturday. After breakfast I gathered my stuff together and was explaining my destinations to Mrs. T. It was right then, that looking out the living room window, I noticed a bright yellow mustardy bird in the oak tree. Not having a clue what it was, I ran and got my binocs. By the time I returned the bird had alighted on one of my platform feeders.

I did pick out a somewhat russet red tail. It's some kind of a thrush, I thought. It wasn't in the Peterson nor my Golden Field Guides. Actually, I couldn't find anything that remotely looked right! I looked at it some more. Maybe a indistinct eye ring? An elevated crest towards the back of the head? You can see I don't know all the technical jargon. It was time to call my birding mentor Mr. Science (Gary).

"It's robin size sort of fluffed up. Maybe an eye ring and a crest. Definitely mostly mustard yellow with a reddish tail. A strong looking beak "

"Did you check the flycatchers &/or phoebes?" he asked.

"I went thru my field guides twice," I noted.

"I'll be right over."

I grabbed my wife's camera and took a few shots before the bird took off. They were mostly blurred as apparently taking pictures through a screen is not a good technique. I was sure that by the time Gary arrived it would be too late and my pictures were basically yellow globs. Then the bird returned. "I've never seen this bird before," said the retired teacher who has been birding since high school.

"Me either," I nodded profoundly. Then he announced he had to go pick up his granddaughter but would "call John."

In the meantime, Mrs T (a non birder) had been perusing a book I had recently purchased on special at Sam's Club for $30. It was a table book, titled: The American Museum of Natural History Birds of North America. She had been observing this whole operation all morning. Casually handing me the heavy open book she sweetly asked while pointing, "Is this it?"

"Yup exactly!!!!" Ta Da!

John Hockema is one of Minnesotas top birders. He is in the top listing group for Minnesota at 377 sightings. Here in Fillmore County he tops the list with 236/272. Pretty impressive. He arrived about two o'clock with his brother. I showed them the basement window for now the bird was on the ground. "Wow. Unbelievable. It's way too early anyway. This might be a first. I will call a friend of mine. He has written the book on southeastern Minnesota birding and keeps records of everything," said John.

The call was made. It turns out that the bird had been identified in Forestville State Park in 1986. This apparently was the first sighting since.

Ladies and gentlemen may I present to you a female summer tanager. I hope you had an easier time figuring this all out than I did..... but it sure was fun.