The Frog Chorus

So am sitting here tonight listening to the deafening frog and toad chorus rising from the vicinity of the big pond and the creek.

I'm telling you it will periodically rise to a crescendo and tail off.

Then begin again. Rising and falling.

Suddenly, without notice, it sometimes stops completely.

A long silent pause.

Then it starts-up again.

This may sound crazy but I have a vision of some big old warty amphibian standing atop a stump conducting the whole chorus.

Yikes! Snow!

I'm starting on garden prep today. Looks like the last of the severe frost threats have passed.

Got an email last night from friends in Colorado.

10 more inches of fresh snow yesterday.

An Unintended Conseqence of Deforestation

Joke of the Day

Making the rounds, a little Goldman humor (ht CalculatedRisk Blog):

"You want the truth? You can't handle the truth.

Son, we live in a country with an investment gap. And that gap needs to be filled by men with money. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Middle Class Consumer?

Goldman Sachs has a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Lehman and you curse derivatives. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what we know: that Lehman's death, while tragic, probably saved the financial system. And that Goldman's existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves pension funds.

You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want us to fill that investment gap. You need us to fill that gap. We use words like credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligation, and securitization. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent investing in something. You use 'em as a punchline.

We have neither the time nor the inclination to explain ourselves to a commoner who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very credit we provide, and then questions the manner in which we provide it!

We'd rather you just said thank you and paid your taxes on time. Otherwise, we suggest you get an account and start trading. Either way, we don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!"

Credit: Anonymous

The Return of the Big Pecker

Lately there has been an incredible hammering coming from somewhere to the north.

When the wind is right you can hear it from a distance of a half a mile or more.

It's one of my feathered friends the pileated woodpecker.

As per usual he's completely hollowed-out an old dead birch.

That bird - about the size of a large crow - actually weakened the tree so much that the top half fell to the ground.

He's still at it.

If this wasn't on my neighbor's property I'd put the game camera up and take some pictures of him hard at work.

Talkn' Literature

I've been talking about turkeys lately and one of the books I began (and finished) while out hunting in the woods was Tracy Kidder's - Strength in what Remains.

It's a story about a young man, Deogratias, who escapes the genocidal civil war in Burundi and lands in New York with only $200 and no knowledge of the English language.

Without giving away too many of the details, Deo eventually ends up attending Columbia University, medical school and a life of healing others.

It's a remarkable story about hope. It's also a remarkable testament to success and the American dream.

It's a good source of inspiration.

Swamp Gas

The other day I was heading out to go turkey hunting and there was this giant cloud of swamp gas hovering over the big pond.

Talkn' Turkey

Got my bird this morning at 9:15 AM.

One shot at 38 paces.

He's a dandy alright. 22 pounds and a 9 inch beard.

Playing the Odds

Image courtesy of Reuters

Volcanic ash spewed into the atmosphere by the eruption in Iceland led to numerous cancelled flights and closed airspace in Britain, Ireland, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland over the past week.

Eyjafjallajokull blasted clouds of ash several miles into the atmosphere on Wednesday night, which drifted south-east on the wind. Volcanic ash does not mix well with jet engines, hence the disruption.

In addition to surprising airlines, Eyjafjallajokull caught bookmakers unaware. Paddy Power, an Irish bookie, had the odds on it erupting at 28-1. The odds are much shorter on other volcanoes around the world losing their lids.

Read more about this story from The Economist and see the odds of the next large volcanic eruption.

The Tail End

Girlfriend found this on the trail recently.

A deer's tail.

Very strange.

Talkn' Turkey

This is my typical kit that I take afield for hunting. A cammo pack containing the following:

A book

Turkey box call and a crow call

Blackberry

An envelope of Quick Clot along with a trauma bandage

One sandwich, a couple of granola bars and a hard-cooked egg

Toilet paper

Headlamp

Three Hevishot 12 ga. magnum turkey loads

Ziploc containing license, tags, latex gloves and knife

Bottle of water

Steel thermos filled with black coffee

A Mossberg auto-loading turkey gun

What's the crow call for? You're not hunting crows are you?

The crow call is known as a locator or shock call. When you give it a couple of sharp blasts any gobblers that are in the area are going to feel compelled to respond to it with excited gobbling. It can help to locate your quarry.

Spent all day yesterday out in the woods. Had a gang of six jakes in my sights and passed on them. One hen gave me a wide berth. Lots of gobbling and yelping. One solitary shot from my neighbor's woodlot.

Sid saw more birds than I did but didn't have any decent shot situations. Back at it today.

Talkn' Turkey

Last Friday I attempted to finish-off a vast pile of day job work. Normally this would come very easily to me. This time, however, I ended-up only nibbling around the edges.

I had a bad case of turkey hunting on my mind.

Turkeys on the game camera.

Turkeys strutting in the field across the road.

Turkey recipes too.

In the end I packed it in and Girlfriend and I loaded-up the 4-wheeler with a couple of blinds and sling chairs and we took-off to find where the birds have been hanging-out.

Scouting is always fun as you'll find all manner of sign you might ordinarily walk past.

Like this feather in the trail.

Or the dusting site that my feathered friends have made from a big-old ant mound.

Girlfriend is really good at locating turkey poop too. But I have opted to not post the photo of her gobbling-it-up.

Gobbling.

Get it?

We set-up a couple of blinds in what I think are some good locations.

Later-on we'll deposit some decoys in them for placement in the wee early hours before sunrise.

Check-in here at the Platz for an update on turkey camp.

It's going to be running on and off until the end of May.

Bet You Don't Have This In Your Liquor Cabinet

In keeping with the weird thread of drinking posts over the past few days I was reminiscing about the final curling weekend earlier this month.

I want you to know that my stay on the island (with the gas lamps, outhouse, etc.) was not without its creature comforts.

That is Schlichte - Traditional German style gin loaded with juniper flavors and other fine aromas.

And Penninger - A traditional German schnapps infused with all kinds of goodness.

Prosit!

The Recovery is Here

Yep. A bottle of red wine. Recovery Red - Wine For The Optimistic.

I found this in the kitchen at the day job. And it had been opened and partially consumed.

How an open bottle of red wine is to be found in a staid office environment first thing in the morning is beyond me. Maybe someone was working late the previous night and enjoyed a glass or two. Who knows.

Anyway, I uncorked the the half-full bottle and gave it a sniff.

Hmmm, acceptable nose. Wonder how it tastes?

I pour a cuppa joe and put the bottle back on the table.

The maker - Spann Vineyards - has this to say about it.

Has the economy got you down? Lift your spirits with Recovery Red.
After hearing President Obama's messages of hope for the impending recovery we decided to do what we could do to spur a more immediate recovery - as least as far as liquid assets are concerned. We're offering this $20.00 wine for a recessionary price of $15.00. Inspiration for wording on the back label came from various politicians and financial institutions:

Blend - We’ve included multiple grape varieties and economic regions to ensure a broad based recovery.

Taste - Rough at 7,500 points, more palatable at 9,000 and most enjoyable anytime over 10,000.

Food Pairings - Ideal with bull, makes bear more tolerable, highly recommended if eating crow.

Full Disclosure - 1) No federal bailout money was used to produce this wine. 2) None of our employees received bonuses in excess of $250,000.

On The Trail - Scouting

Girlfriend and I have been out installing nest boxes for our little feathered friends.

The forest and meadow song birds.

We have also been scouting for the really big feathered friend.

The wily wild turkey.

Yesterday there was a flock of no less than 30 turkeys in the plowed field across the road. They were back this afternoon.

Egads!

Check-out the deer trail in the picture above. It cuts across the property for a quarter mile from east to west. Or maybe it is from west to east? Maybe I should position my new trail camera on this pathway to see who is moving thru?

It's like a cow path.

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

One of my curling buddies is a smoker.

He doesn't smoke a great deal unless he's been sipping. (That would be a glass of Weller at the top of the photo).

Anyway, it's impossible to smoke a great deal when you have to roll each cigarette one at a time.

Rolling your own.

Sigh...

High Cost of Healthcare

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services - Americans aged 55-64 that end-up in an ER seeking treatment for whatever ails them are about 3.5 times more likely to receive a MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) or a CT (Computed tomography) scan as they were 10 years ago.

Swamp Gas' Theorem - Escalating cost of care is directly correlated to the increase in utilization.

Put Your Hands In The Air and Step Away From The Mailbox

This has got to be the coolest mailbox I've ever seen.

This guy must be an awesome metal worker.

Who also happens to appreciate Smith and Wessons.

Incidentally, if you click on the picture to the left you may notice that he might also have pinched my new game camera...

Primitive Living

Last weekend I traveled with some buddies to curl in the last event of the season in Pardeeville, WI.

It is a tradition of ours.

As usual we stayed in some high-end facilities.

On an island.

Very low tech. Blissfully without the disturbance and distraction of the world wide web.

Affordable Housing

The bird house that you see here is of my own design.

Sure, it's adapted from something else but it is unique. It is not patented but rarely imitated. It has a hinged roof for easy clean-out. A hook for locking the lid. And an entry hole too small for English sparrows.

For more than a decade and a half we have been installing nest boxes here on the Platz to provide homes for cavity-nesting song birds.

You know - tree swallows, house wrens and blue birds namely.

The first two boxes I made in 1994 were constructed of scrap plywood and lasted only a couple of years. It was a whim that took root.

Since then I have eschewed nails and Thompson's Water Seal (although after ten years a few of those boxes still stand).

The box you see here is somewheres around the fourth or fifth generation prototype. It is made of simple pine and treated with an oil-based sealant/stain. It's design adheres to a standard template and it has a life expectancy of about a decade.

Because this latest iteration is assembled from standardized parts - ala Henry Ford - that means I can make multiple copies of this box and as the boxes are damaged or need components replaced (a broken lid is the most common followed by the occasional split side) all I have to do is back-out the non-corrosive deck screws, slap-in a pre-sealed part and we're back in business.

There are 47 of these nest boxes strategically situated on our 80 acres. I'm adding another 10 in the next couple of weeks.

The hardware (hinges and hooks) for these boxes were recycled from previous bird houses.
I spent last weekend strolling about the Platz with girlfriend and the Frau. We stained the lids on some four and five year-old boxes.

They're holding-up pretty well.

Tax Freedom Day

Today is tax freedom day.

The date on which Americans will have worked long enough to have earned enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels—falls on April 12, 2010 for residents of Rhode Island (12) and Wisconsin (13). The date for America on whole was April 9, 2010.

Those living in Rhode Island and Wisconsin worked 102 days into the year in order to earn enough money to pay their combined federal, state and local taxes, three days longer than the national average of 99 days.

Learn more about it here.

Tree Farm Trivia

The 1999 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year is a fella named Chuck Leavell.

He's presently a Trustee for the American Forest Foundation Board.

The American Forest Foundation is focused on amplifying the voices of family-owned forests on Capitol Hill to create a family forest friendly tax environment, promote enlighted education policies (such as No Child Left Inside), advocate for forests as renewable energy, and secure fair treatment for wood products in green building markets.

Chuck lives in Macon, Georgia.

Keyboardist for the Rolling Stones.

Deutscher Wachtelhund

I was reading about this breed of dog just the other day in Wisconsin Outdoor News.

It's kind of like a German version of a spaniel. And I found out that whenever I head-up to Eagle River to go fishing I practically drive right past one of the Wisconsin's better-known breeders.

The Wachtelhund is an extraordinarily versatile gundog. They are used to hunt upland game and will match the retrieving ability of any other breed.

They excel at tracking and blood trailing large game.

They are also known for being personable, intelligent, aggressive hunters, and love water work.

There are some rather stiff standards for breeding these dogs. Everything from DNA profiling to the use of a breed warden who oversees all the decisions regrading breeding pairs. You can read more about it here.

Having a Bad Day?

Just about the time you think you're having a bad day you find out someone else is having a worse one.

The Dump

This is the Summer Shack.

At least that's what the sign on it says. And it is used year-round.

You'll find it at the town's Waste Disposal Facility.

The dump.

If you live in the city you have the luxury of someone coming to your curb and hauling away your garbage, your recyclables or your junk. Here you have to haul it yourself to the dump. (For that reason and deer hunting - I will likely always own a pick-up truck.)

So a couple of times a month I make a trip to the dump to off-load our stuff.

That is actually the smallest part of the trip because when you go to the dump you have an opportunity to talk with the dump man who is the town's repository of critical information such as hunting results during hunting seasons and useful gossip. Other townsfolk will be there too so it's usually a pretty good gab fest.

I have to pay close attention to detail when I make this trip since my Frau always asks for a report to be rendered upon my return

Spargelzeit

The spargel has emerged.

Ooooh baby. This is its third growing season since I established the bed and now I get to harvest.

Suppose you were to be the recipient of an invitation for a spargelessen. You should treat it with the utmost respect and decorum. The perfect spargel is in short supply so an invitation to such a dinner party is a special occasion.

Wait, wait. Do not bother with checking your mailbox. There is no invitation from me. I am keeping all of my spargel for personal consumption.

If you have the opportunity to indulge in the spring delicacy always eat from the stalk end to the tip. Saving the best for last.

Spring Greenery

I don't particularly care for willow. While it is a terrific form of wildlife cover it has a tendency to invade and occupy other more valuable space.

Particularly when it encroaches on something like your valuable oak trees. Like any other invading occupier you have to either suppress it or better yet - eradicate it.

It is one of the first spring blossoms and I admit that it sure is pretty.

Venison Express Part 2

Last evening my Frau hosted one of her book clubs.

Yesterday morning she asked if I wouldn't mind preparing dinner for a couple of her friends beforehand.

To which I replied - Sure. Just tell me what you'd like and I'll whip it together.

Yeah. I know. Your thinking - You'd drop whatever important stuff you're doing and prepare some dinner for your wife's girl friends just like that. At the drop of a hat?

You bet.

First - this is the stuff of which terrific marriages are made.

Secondly - when they heard that old Swamp was cooking they were all over that. And asking what kind of wine they could bring.

The trouble (as I found out) was that my pal - The First Mate - was bummed that he didn't get an invite. His Frau did and he didn't.

His spouse got a big kick out of his feigned feelings of rejection. And I felt a tad remorseful. After-all I should have politely extended an invitation to him too. I wasn't thinking.

When book club wrapped-up for the evening I rummaged through my freezer and sent home with his wife a tube of venison burger, a hunk of loin and some steaks.

Plenty of hurt feelings can be assuaged with gifts of wild game.

I'd be willing to bet that the next time The First Mate fires-up his Weber he and I will be back on good terms.

That's just as well. We're going fishing before too long. And If I have to listen to him grouse about this in a boat for a bunch of days I'd probably toss him overboard.

Venison Express

Filled the Coleman Extreme cooler with six plastic grocery bags filled to the brim with frozen venison.

Everything from steaks, chops, kabobs and burger. The deer camp boys will stop over after work today to pick-up their fractional share of this year's harvest. You might say that this is our vestigial contribution to the socialist movement. Whether we take one deer or six deer - everyone at camp shares in the bounty equally.

Save for what I have left as my share in the chest freezer that is the last of four deer we harvested last fall.

Turkey season begins next week with a youth hunt followed by the regular season. I've applied and received a couple of tags.

Yes, I know, I say this at great risk of personal peril by invoking the wrath of the turkey gods-

I now have room in my freezers for a couple of turkeys.

Turkey camp has a capitalist tradition. We do not share turkeys. You either shoot your own bird or eat track soup.

Keep it Down!

It sure has gotten loud around here lately.

Whadya mean? You have noisy neighbors?

Well, there is the loud family that sometimes inhabits the hillbilly house down the road a piece. But they haven't been around since they interrupted our deer camp with all of their hollering last November.

What I was referring to was the racket the critters have been raising.

Every evening there is a vast frog chorus. The night air filling with singing punctuated with chirps and croaks.

And every morning dawns with the cackle, squawking and kee, kee, kee of the turkeys as they fly down from their roosts. The red wing blackbirds are going at it full bore. And everyone else too.

Music to my ears.

Final Four Trivia

Useful information about this year's final four participants-

Michigan State University

Michigan State University was founded in 1855 as the nation's first land-grant university and served as the prototype for 69 land-grant institutions later established under the Morrill Act of 1862.

MSU's current nickname is the Spartans, which was changed from Aggies in 1925.
Thirty-seven Michigan State players went on to play in the NBA or ABA.

Butler University

Butler plays at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Butler Fieldhouse until 1966) in Indianapolis, where the championship game in the movie "Hoosiers" was played. When it was built in 1928, it was the largest basketball arena in the United States, and it retained that distinction until 1950.

Three Butler players went on to play in the NBA or ABA, the last being Billy Shepherd in 1975.

Prior to 1919, Butler's athletic teams were known as the Christians. But numerous losses in the 1919 football season caused Butler's followers to grow weary of the nickname, leading to the unleashing of the Bulldogs name.

West Virginia

West Virginia is the only state created by carving out territory from another state without that state's permission.

West Virginia University played Pitt in the first football game ever broadcast on the radio in 1921 on KDKA.

West Virginia University is well known for its rowdy fans who like to set objects ablaze after big games. Morgantown led the nation with 1,129 intentional street fires set between 1997 and 2003.

Thirteen West Virginia players went on to play in the NBA or ABA.

Duke

Duke's nickname comes from the French "les Diables Bleus" or "the Blue Devils," which was the nickname given during World War I to the Chasseurs Alpins, the French Alpine light infantry battalion.

On Sunday morning March 12, 1944, during a time of heated racial segregation, the men's basketball team from the North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University) competed against a squad from the Duke School of Medicine on the campus of NCCU in the first racially integrated college-level basketball game in the South.

Fifty-one Duke players went on to play in the NBA or ABA.

A Strange Early Warning System

This is the American toad (Bufo americanus).

It is the only species of toad to be found in Wisconsin and I expect a chorus of these to begin their spring song anytime now.

They're good to have around as they are an early warning system of sorts.

When it comes to predicting earthquakes, toads - warts and all - may be an asset.

British researchers said Wednesday that they observed a mass exodus of toads from a breeding site in Italy five days before a major tremor struck, suggesting the amphibians may be able to sense environmental changes, imperceptible to humans that foretell a coming quake.

Since ancient times, anecdotes and folklore have linked unusual animal behavior to cataclysmic events like earthquakes, but hard evidence has been scarce.

A new study by researchers from the Open University is one of the first to document animal behavior before, during and after an earthquake.

I'll let you know if I see an exodus of my toads.

But only after I beat it out of Dodge first.

You can read more about it here.

Thou Dost Protest Too Much

Spokespeople for the newly launched "Organized Resistance Against New tax on Gamma Ray Exposure" (ORANGE) gathered on Capitol Hill today to state their case against the new 10% excise tax on indoor tanning that goes into effect on July 1, 2010.

Details here.

Tread Carefully Today

The history of April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day is uncertain, but the current thinking is that it began around 1582 in France with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved from March 25 - April 1 (new year's week) to January 1.

Communication traveled slowly in those days and some people were only informed of the change several years later. Still others, who were more rebellious refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate on the last day of the former celebration, April 1.

These people were labeled "fools" by the general populace, were subject to ridicule and sent on "fool errands," sent invitations to nonexistent parties and had other practical jokes played upon them. The butts of these pranks became known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish" because a young naive fish is easily caught. In addition, one common practice was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke.

This harassment evolved over time and a custom of prank-playing continue on the first day of April. This tradition eventually spread elsewhere like to Britain and Scotland in the 18th century and was introduced to the American colonies by the English and the French. Because of this spread to other countries, April Fool's Day has taken on an international flavor with each country celebrating the holiday in its own way.

In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

Learn more about the best April Fool Pranks here.