Wow, that's weird...

 
Okay. Just posted something I'd merely drafted before, and it's sitting BELOW today's post (Mumday follow up). It's a message I'd like you to see, so if you wouldn't mind, please check this out to see info re: impending images and slight (ahem) delay.

Thanks!!

=) xoxo

bb

Midwestern mink sighting--ghost of Mumday

 

 

This lovely creature was, unfortunately, having a rough day (no golf pun intended, esp. since it's on the green) which nevertheless allowed me to take it's picture. A recent blog entry I read yesterday talks about what I think this species MAY be (it was really big), but the red tail is throwing me off.


The first shot of trees, living on the rise above a pond, is the intro to the habitat wherein I experienced the wildlife viewing moment of the day/week/month.

that's our little cart

Just along the bank on the right is where we saw it, and it galloped up and (I presume 'cause it disappeared) into the culvert, at the dark spot under the steak on the right. Of COURSE I did not have my camera, but according to a philosophical friend of mine, that's probably why we got to see it.  =)


From the checklist of North Dakota Mammals, courtesy of USGS:

Order Carnivora
  Family Canidae
    Canis Latrans                    Coyote                          All
    Canis Lupus                      Gray Wolf                       NE
    Vulpes vulpes                    Red Fox                         E,NW
    Vulpes velox                     Swift Fox                       SW
    Urocyon cinereoargenteus         Gray Fox                        E
  Family Ursidae
    Ursus americanus                 Black Bear                      NE
  Family Procyonidae
    Procyon lotor                    Raccoon                         All
  Family Mustelidae
    Martes pennanti                  Fisher                          NE
    Mustela erminea                  Ermine                          E
    Mustela nivalis                  Least Weasel                    All
    Mustela frenata                  Long-tailed Weasel              All
    Mustela nigripes                 Black-footed Ferret             SW
    Mustela vison                    Mink                            All
    Taxidea taxus                    Badger                          All
    Spilogale putorius               Eastern Spotted Skunk           SE
    Mephitis mephitis                Striped Skunk                   All
    Lutra canadensis                 River Otter                     All
  Family Felidae
    Felis concolor                   Mountain Lion                   N,W
    Felis lynx                       Lynx                            N
    Felis rufus                      Bobcat                          All

Trying to ferret out (pardon) what that mysterious weasel/mink-like creature I saw at the pondy-hole, the above list makes me think it was a mink, per the guess of the local we were with.

He, the local, is a hunter (and golfer), and quite a good naturalist. I learned years ago that to ensure they are shooting the right species of duck, hunters have to be able to identify (quickly!) a duck species in flight. Hence rockin' naturalist skills. Plus, he grew up there and is generally a smarty.

American mink, therefore, is my formal conclusion, Mustela vison.

Original photo uploader was Mwanner at en.wikipedia

It was dark, dark brown, very slender, had that distinctive I've-gotta-very-long-body-and-short-legs undulating gallop, and swam like nobody's business. I expect it disappeared into that culvert, which inspired my pretty lame one-day-later shot into the culvert JUST IN CASE this notoriously energetic, roaming creature happened to be there again. Doesn't look like it, tho' I did miss the right side...

According to Wiki it's a semi-aquatic carnivore and loves to dine on water borne species like fish and crayfish. SO exciting for me--I've NEVER seen one in the "wild" and funny that I should see it here, on the golf green.

Smarties!
Also, apparently mink were compared to skunk and ferrets and cats re: intelligence based upon their respective abilities to recognize/memorize shapes and minks were the top of the class: "Mink were in fact found to be more intelligent than certain groups of primates." Wow!

Habitat
The golf course straddles to a pretty fat and long riparian corridor which runs between two towns. There are scattered woodlands there, and some unmown stretches of grassland, too, so despite the (presumed abundant) presence of herbicides, etc., there's some pretty nice habitat here and there.

There's a LOT of water in the midwest, and apparently they had a pretty wet spring. My ankle was sore for three days after being bitten like mad during my first (and last) outdoor dining experience. Happily, though, the winds picked up and the mosquitoes went back to harbor.

Before we invaded their space, these Canada geese (Branta canadensis) perfectly filled out the shade from the tree. Sweet.

 Wisely not trusting the wingless bipeds, they marched (typo was marshed!) pond-ward.

We have relatives who have a Boston terrier (an EXTRA tiny one), and Canada geese frequent their backyard.

 (photo courtesy of http://www.iwannapet.com/Boston_Terrier.html)

Apparently they see the boston terrier, which has superficially similar coloring to the Canada goose, as a lost member of their flock. They are forever approaching that little guy, seemingly trying to get it back to the flock. Of course the geese TOWER over the dog.

They do NOT exhibit this behavior toward the other dog in the house or any other dogs in the neighborhood.

Again, sweet. =)

Really lame photo, but it's a green-backed heron. Really well named species, I must say. I NEVER get to see these guys.

A MUCH better photograph by Peter Wallack:

Beauty. Coincidentally (or not) this photograph was ALSO taken at a golf course. =)

Wiki calls them green herons.

Here is where I saw the following cool little fly--in different light, near its eyes is BRIGHT, light blue.

It was on this tree species--which I don't know off the top of my head (professional formative years re: plants was amid coastal sage scrub--no real trees there):

Ooh, I think it's common buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica. Looking up cathartic (which I know as a kind of emotional breakthrough or release), I find that at least in the Encyclopedia Brittanica, this word describes things used to treat constipation! Woah.

I wonder if this shrub, should it be chewed, or the berries brewed (which I am NOT recommending) have that effect?

Ah, as ever, Wiki to the rescue: "The bark and fruit were used as a purgative in the past, though their potentially dangerous violent action and side effects means they are now rarely used.^[8]"

Good GRIEF I love the internet.

K. Thus ends our tour through the wilds of a Midwestern Mumday. =)

xoxobiobabbler

good news and bad news (for now)...

    
Good news
So, for the first time ever on a flight during the day (this time returning from the Midwest) I FINALLY had my camera with me on the plane so I could reach it, even if the fasten seat belt sign was lit (I'm a total rule follower, esp. re: safety).

AND there were AMAzing views this time. I CANNOT believe my luck. Wonderful experience.

I took "lotsa photos."

Grain bin apparently apprehensive about the impending bad news...

Bad news
And now, I cannot find the cable that connects my camera to my computer.

To quote an earlier draft of this post: "But I REALLY hope that of ALL the things I might have left, I did NOT leave that cable behind."

Ah, yes. Well...

I have since determined, through skill and cunning (and an e-mail to our Midwestern host) that of all things (like, say, socks I'm sick of, or one of my 900 white field shirts), I forgot the cable.

http://www.sdims.com/site/sad/sad-face.htm

So, I just get to look at my Nikon (really, I try not to). And wait. Yeah. I'm so good at that.

So, please pardon the delay.

More good news
I WILL update you on the garden (which is in full "It's AUGUST!!!" crazy-greeness-swing) and share what I hope to be really cool shots from 30,000ft over the Southwest. Cannot (well, apparently I MUST) wait to see them!

Oh, one more GOOD news point. I am getting back into web-building/learning mode, so this site may benefit, as well as those of my "clients." We shall see!

xo

biobabbler

Mumday on the green--trailing after a ghost...

 

bb

snippets from the midwest...

     
Our trip to Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge yielded some fun species. Beautiful out there, very peaceful and the place was EMPTY except for the 2 employees and us. Oh, and the myriad wildlife...

We break for turtles. And park. And grab the camera, and get out and photograph.

A painted turtle--not sure which one, but Chrysemys is the genus.

I was chatting with one of the staff there and it was refreshing to talk with someone who is familiar with Allen's rule, etc. Albeit we both forgot the name of the rule we were trying to think of, Allen's was the one that came to mind (extremities of similar or same species shorten as you get further from the equator--so rabbits down here have LONG ears ('cause it's HOT) and rabbits up north where it's very cold have shorter ears).

Ooh, just found it. We were trying to think of Bergman's rule, which explains why (at least how I was taught it) one species living at a lower lattitude would generally be smaller than the same species living at a higher lattitude (as in the coyotes in Southern California are very lithe and small relative to the whopping creatures I saw up in Wyoming).

Northern leopard frog, Lithobates pipiens. Found it first in some shrubbery on the edge of the lake (Lake Tewaukon):

Then, not a great background, but a better look:

When the sun hit it, it was SO gorgeous. BRIGHT green with what looked to be shimmery gold highlights. Stunner. And three hops and it was GONE!

Cool snag and shadows and green floaty trails in this little backwater area.

I love trails like that which make you wonder who was there, where did they go, and why.

Super charming grasshopper.

Be sure and click on the photo to get all the detail. Lovely creature.

Then on the way back to town, I saw this sign post and loved the juxtaposition of street signs indicating a crossroads (with, to me, urban implications) in the middle of so many acres of corn and soybeans and beets and sunflowers. =)

biobabbler

Another view of the tornado: it forms, then shreds a house...

 

 
I feel so bad for the folks who live there (weren't there at the time, if it's the house I think it is).

bb

Midwestern Mumday

 
(oh, hm, perhaps it should be Tongue-tied Tuesday? fyi, while I'm breaking the vow of silence, the flower/bug pics look MUCH better if you click on them...)
 

 
biobabbler

our little physics lesson for the day: a la rhubarb pie...

 
If you think the 2 rhubarb pies you are baking are done, begin to slide rack towards you (with pies filled with boiling custard...) and rack TIPS down of its own accord, the molten pies then start SPEEDING toward you, and you leap out of the way to watch them FLING onto the linoleum (upside down, of course), their contents SHOOTING out across the floor to within inches of the opposite wall...

What you might learn is that the teeny, tiny, painstakenly chopped pieces of rhubarb can slide up to 6.5 feet FURTHER across the floor than the pie plate. Substantially further than all of the custard.

This, at least, is what we learned about mechanical physics today.

And, you?

biobabbler

P.S. Good news is, though, that I have ended the day with grass stains on my pants (meaning I got outside and played). Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes would approve, though my wardrobe does not.

video of the twister....

 



mentioned in last post (we toured the aftermath 2 days ago)--very impressive tornado!

biobabbler

postcards from the not-edge

 
We're way into the interior today: the great Midwest.

One quick shot for you all =)

Toured 2 farm sites yesterday through which a tornado blew recently. Definitely TOTALING one house and damaging the other plenty. Lots of trees stripped, down, and/or random things in them.

May have more on that later.

With humidity and humility (both abundant here),

biobabbler

oop! Photo quiz Phriday (12 hrs late...)

 
Pardon, I was traveling ALLL day yesterday.

Why is there string above the cosmos? I asked this earlier and got no guesses, so making it an official quiz.

Fat hint was that they are growing in what used to be the chicken run.

biobabbler

if you like bugs, you'll never be lonely...

 
While waiting for friend at a water stop at RAMROD (see previous post), this creature appeared on my snack.

The apple is mine, the banana was destined for my cycling-maniac friend, but we didn't end up seeing each other there (crowded and he was a BIT focused and JUST climbed thousands of feet).

However, this lovely spider (who is holding his/her legs like a crab spider...) did stop by to hang out. Was running around the top of the apple. I think it was setting up a web and thinking "wow, cool flower" and then decided, hm, I don't think it IS a flower, and left. This is my own personal theory. Who knows.

Either way, if you appreciate bugs (I use this term very loosely), you have a HUGE advantage over everyone else re: being interested and entertained and enlightened and accompanied by SO many amazing species.

I know an entomologist who started out as a kid being really into herps (reptiles and amphibians) and would go on hikes to find them and would frequently come up with very few, but all along the way there were bugs. All different kinds. Always. And that got him to thinkin'.

I've also heard about someone in solitary confinement basically becoming very interested in the comings and goings of ants because that was the only living thing he got to hang out with. I feel like it was Nelson Mandela, but can't find evidence to back that up.

Anyhow, re: appreciating bugs, I'm just sayin'. It's worth considering.


biobabbler

P.S. Discovered a goldfinch nest in the tree out my back door--was standing nearby this week (apparently too near, and I'm tall so my head was probably WAY too close) and I heard but didn't see a bird REALLY CLOSE chirping very unhappily at me. And it was thin and high pitched so figured it was something small. And now and then I hear the super rapid, very high pitch of what I expect are the babies when the parents are near saying "FEED ME!" I'll take a pic when I get back. It's a SMALL nest, my goodness.

P.P.S. And I investigated (while doing yard work yesterday) the place where I thought Stellar's jays nested this spring and yes, there is a substantial nest there, say, volleyball sized?

attention span of a gnat

 
(albeit I'm assuming that's very short, but what do I know)

Remember a number of days ago I posted a picture of my first harvest from the garden? A glorious sunburst squash?

Well, I've harvested maybe 4 since then. AND a tomato.

Any pics? Any celebration?

Nope.

I'm much better and planning and planting and nurturing the garden into maturity. CRAZY about cotyledons. LOVE leafy things. DIG the dirt.

Very bad at harvesting.

Ho hum.

Just not super interesting to me.

So, that got me to thinking; why?

Maybe we need the drive to plant and grow and nurture, but presumably our tummies would hurry along the harvesting. As opposed to today, where people pay other people to help them eat less and burn off what they do eat.

I'm thinking maintaining interest in harvesting, say, 3000 years ago (or even today, just not my house), when your life depended upon it, was not the dilemma.

Not starving was.

hm.

Guess I'll go install that drip irrigation system now.

bb

photo withdrawals...

 
My camera battery is d.e.d., and my spare is no where to be found (really hope it appears, this'll be the 2nd back up I've lost if it doesn't) so I finally admitted defeat this a.m. and took out the drained battery and shoved it into the charger.

So, that's why it's been not super visual around here of late.

I totally have withdrawal.

Consequently, I will have to dig through my 10,000,000 photos and slam some up here just because I like them. Hm, maybe I'll do it now?

Oh, why not?

So, a few more pics from last week's tour du Yosemite:

Half Dome view from Glacier Point.

Yeah, it's okay...

Amazing shrub/rock combo at Glacier Point.

yum.

Then we hiked to Sentinel Dome. Here's the "lid" of same.

Love that wacky stone landscape.

And SO amazed at the trees that can live there!

Dome to dome: view of Half Dome from Sentinel Dome...

... and, panning right.

If I was standing up tall here, or walked a bit forward (not too far...) I could see Vernal and Nevada falls in the right third of the photo.

Oh, kinda like here (from back at Glacier Point):

Fun thing about this view is that my visitors had hiked up to Vernal falls the day before, so then they got to see it from here. How cool is that?  Mind you they hiked up that far with 2 kids, the youngest being 6 years old. We were amazed.

Apparently this place inspires people.

Major bonus of having visitors: it gets me into the park! Love that. And there's very little work involved. Give them a place to sleep and bathe, a bit of food and the park does ALL the rest. And they're happy. Really happy.

Once had a friend visit and I had to work (back in my NPS days) so we dropped her off with directions to a place to hike. Picked her up 9 hours later, feeling guilty that I'd abandoned her. She had a huge, relaxed smile, plunked herself into our back seat, and the first words out of her mouth were, "I'm so blissed out." =)

Go, Yosemite!

biobabbler

P.S. will be hitting the road very soon, so postings may be very spotty (to nil) in the next week. However, I WILL be bringing my camera (of course!) with newly charged battery, so hope to return with plenty pics for you all, to show you another part of the world. VERY different from here.

P.P.S. I MAY be doing a spot of work while out there (which means time on the Mac) so MIGHT get to process and post some photos... we'll just have to see! =)

you know you're a gardener when...

  
You reach your left hand to your hip as you take a long drink of water, and you find an Anaheim chili. In your back pocket.

It's been there for 2 hours.


biobabbler

A drip irrigation system for the garden in 3 hours?!?

  
"You only have tomorrow to do this.

You need to get it done in less than 4 hours. Preferably 3.

You also have a business call in the middle of the morning; prime gardening time. After that, you're gonna fry.

To be honest, in all the excitement at the hardware store,  I lost count of how many feet of drip irrigation tubing you bought, how many drip emitters, Ts, connectors...

So, biobabbler, you've gotta ask yourself: 'Do I feel lucky?'



Well, do ya, punk?"



(To be continued....)

cat safety message...

  
...from Hyperbole and a half (made me weep with laughter--still wiped out from it):

Allie Brosh / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

I think this is the fastest I ever "follow"-ed a blog; a RIOT.

(phew)

And a good ab workout.

(whoof!)

biobabbler

P.S. and how genius is the blog title?

more recent visitors

  

These are the Jr. High school-aged turkeys I've mentioned which have been cruising around under the watchful eye of 2-3 adults. It's fun when all you can see of them is quivering grass.

 

First young fawn I've seen this summer.

Startled the (probably same) fawn this morning when I popped out of the back door to let the chickens out. The fawn SPRING leaped to its mom, behind the coop, and stayed there after they decided I was not there to harass them. =)

Better than tv.

biobabbler

sharp dresser....

  

(click on the picture for an even better look)

This charming creature becomingly decorated our window last week. Very patient as I took photographs (but obediently staying indoors so I didn't scare him). Notice how the red/orange on the legs matches the antennae. HOW coordinated and stylish is that??

Later that day:

More to scale, perched on our cat scratching post, and looking oh-so winsome. =)


biobabbler