The Thing About Wildlife.....

......is that wildlife is ubiquitous.  It is everywhere.  If you provide cover, water and natural food resources they will come.  They might even move-in with you.  Well, may not move in (literally) but stay close.

From the other day there was this.  

Directly out in the front yard, in the flower bed behind the rock wall - deer beds.  Three of them - the two you can see in the photo and a third off to the right out of view.  They just wandered-over after dusk, maybe helped themselves to a birdseed bedtime snack and plopped down to sleep.

Directly in the front yard.  Thirty feet from the house.

And on our walk there was this.

Coyote pee marking several spots along the trail.

This is mating time for the resident coyotes and Mr. Wiley Coyote has been leaving his spore along the trail trolling for female companionship.  Just like some lounge lizard handing out his phone number to the ladies at the singles bar.

Blonde dog made sure to pee on all the male markings on our walk.  An action which should mix things-up for sure.

Unless conditions are so nasty it's keeping the critters and people holed-up there's never a dull moment around here.  

Should be seeing more migrant song birds materializing before too long.

Spring is directly around the corner.

Moon Set

Viewing conditions were sub-optimal yesterday for the rise of the Cold, Snow Hunger moon-rise in the east as dusk fell.  Same at 1 AM when I crawled out of bed to pee.  The night sky was socked-in with solid overcast. 

Nevertheless, the skies cleared at some point overnight. And when I awoke and poured myself a steaming cuppa joe this was the view west from the porch that Blonde dog and I took-in.

 Moon set - photos brackets at 6:15 and 6:30 AM.

The Eagle Has Landed

Some of my friends that live in southern Wisconsin have shared with me their news that the American Robins have return in the past week.

Not a massively large number of them - yet a sufficient number to take notice.

I fully expect the male Redwing Blackbirds to return in about three weeks from the publication of this post.

In the interim, yesterday morning there was a bald eagle perched in the dead elm tree situated on the eastern line fence.  Not the best photo but a bald eagle nonetheless...

 

 

Full Snow Moon

Native Americans have long grown familiar with this moon.   

The origin of the name is rooted in the reality that February has the largest amount of accumulated snowfall here in this part of the northern hemisphere.

As a consequence of its association with hunger and starvation members of the Cherokee nation refer to this month’s full moon as the Bone Moon and the necessity of cracking-open bones to access the marrow for survival food.  Those of the Kalapuya nation referred to this as the Out of Food Moon.   For others it was the Little Famine Moon or the Hunger Moon. 

The Ojibwa call this the Bear Moon, the Lakota people know it as the Raccoon Moon, to the Cree nation this is the Bald Eagle Moon and because bear cubs arrive this month the Tlingit people call this the Black Bear Moon. 

Indeed, these ancient native tribes named this moon after the way trees cracked in the cold, or how people had to huddle around a fire for warmth.  My own people – the early Celts – remember this as the Moon of Ice as it is associated with the coldest month of the year.

 Photo NASA

Watch for it to climb above the horizon in the east around sunset and reach its highest point in the sky around midnight.

The Snow Moon should reached peak illumination at 2:19 A.M. CST tomorrow morning, February 27.   

Fingers-crossed for cold, clear, winter skies.

Friday Music

This song was composed by David Gates and originally recorded by the group Bread for their 1972 album. 

The record mixed strings, acoustic guitar and a Wah-Wah pedal electric guitar to arrive at a unique soft-rock sound that was popularized by Bread in the early 70s. 

This tune peaked at 11^th place on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the groups third 1^st place on the Easy Listening chart (remember soft-rock was a thing). 

A most excellent cover of Guitar Man by this collection of outstanding Thai musicians...

Lenten Fare

Ordinarily I wouldn't need religious guidance to eat more fish - fish of all types tastes good and is good for you.

Nevertheless, during the season of Lent it is not uncommon to find something that swims featured in our household table fare.

Between, you and me there is nothing better than locally-sourced, smoked Lake Michigan chubs...

Lafonds Fish Market - Kewaunee.  Go get yourself some chubs while they last.

Laundry Day

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, household chores proceed without interruption......

Book Reveiw

Most of those interred by the Nazi SS were identified not by name – but by a number tattooed on the arm. The principle characters in this story were tattooed 32407 and 34902. 

Heather Morris’s novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz, is the story told to her by a Slovakian Jew and holocaust survivor - Lali Sokolov - whose job it was to tattoo new arrivals at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Nazi Germany's largest concentration camp and extermination camp. 

It is a story about how he fell in love with a girl he tattooed upon her arrival. A best-selling novel the book has been shadowed by no small amount of criticism about the plot line clashing with the historical record. Fact-checking by the Auschwitz Memorial claims that - the book contains numerous errors and information inconsistent with the facts, as well as exaggerations, misinterpretations and understatements.  According to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum the novel is - an impression about Auschwitz inspired by authentic events, almost without any value as a document. 

The author makes it clear that even though story is based-upon the personal recollections and experiences of one man. It is not, and has never claimed to be, an official history.  As a consequence this book can truthfully stand by its claim to be a work of fiction. 

Setting-aside the historical inconsistencies and controversies it is a good read solely on the basis of a tale of love and survival in the midst of one of mankind’s greatest crimes against humanity.

The Right Stuff

Sixty years ago my folks allowed me to stay home from school so I could watch live television coverage of Alan Shepard riding a Redstone rocket in his Freedom 7 Mercury space capsule to become the first American in space. 

It was May 5, 1961

That was the beginning of a long and enduring love affair with America's space program - manned and unmanned.  

 

This country’s accomplishments in space travel continue to grab me. 

 

This short video is some good stuff.  It continues to be The Right Stuff

 

Official NASA video of Perseverance Rover’s Descent and Touchdown on Mars.......

 

Poetry in Motion

I dunno about you but I can never get enough of the fluid motion and athleticism of a Labrador retriever on a joyous romp in the snow.

Poetry in motion. 

 

It's All How You Spin It

 I can't go out because of the virus.

(Sounds weak, whiny and boring)

Try this instead:

I've sworn an oath of solitude until the pestilence is purged from our lands.

(Sounds principled, valiant and heroic)

People might even think you are wielding a sword.

Love in the Air?

This short, silent, video vignette was captured at the very end of January.

Two weeks before Valentines Day there is no mistaking the behavior captured digitally by an ever-vigilant trail camera. 

That is a dandy buck chasing a girl deer - and if I'm not mistaken he's got loving on his mind.

An occurrence more common in the southern latitudes - this behavior is less common here half-way between the equator and the north pole.  Nevertheless, it is not entirely unknown.  

Female whitetails generally come into estrus within a shared window of opportunity beginning in mid-October into mid-December.  Gestation is around 200 days with fawn drop beginning in April and into June.  Unbred does will come into heat again 28 days later.  

With better nutritional resources here in farm country female deer born in the spring are often bred in their first year of life.  These younger mothers will come into estrus later than mature does and their fawns are delivered in July and sometimes as late as August.  

It is these late-bred does that explains the arrival of newborn fawns on the landscape in summer.  These fawns are at a disadvantage going into the fall as they lack the head start necessary to put on sufficient bulk and fat reserves than those with the earlier start.  

While some may not survive their first winter - around here (food sources), the absence of large predators (wolves and black bear) and the moderating impact of water on opposite coastlines - these late arrivals stand a better chance of survival than their brethren born in Wisconsin's north woods.   

A remarkably adaptable animal the whitetail deer is. 

Friday Music

Having achieved some level of commercial success writing songs for other artists Neil Diamond recorded Solitary Man and released it on Bang Records in early 1966.  By the time mid-summer rolled-around this tune had became a minor hit as it rose to #55 on the U.S. pop singles chart.  It was Diamond’s first hit and launched a song-writing, recording and performing career. 

 

Coincidentally it is colloquially-known as a pretty good break-up song too.

    Don't know that I will

    But until I can find me

    A girl who'll stay

    And won't play games behind me

    I'll be what I am--

    A solitary man...

    Solitary man.

 

Don't Mess With Texas

There is a saying that everything is bigger in Texas. I guess weather events and the power grid are included in this aphorism. 

In case you’ve missed the news there is a really big energy crisis in Texas which happens to be a consequence of a really big cold snap. The stretch of cold snap now has extended to three consecutive days of energy outages. 

Natural gas distribution has slowed to a crawl.  The grid is down and plagued with rolling blackouts.

The extended power outages have led to unheated homes, apartments and offices, frozen and burst pipes (flooding), closed gas stations (no electricity to run the pumps), boil advisories (if you have running water), inoperable handheld devices (no power to recharge them) and an abundance of Texas-sized finger pointing and blame-shifting. 

Let me begin by pointing out that 90 percent of Texas’s power needs (more than 25 million customers) are served by the Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT) an independent and largely unregulated energy grid. 

Governor Greg Abbott (R) has aimed his ire at frozen wind turbines. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry has also falsely blamed frozen wind turbines for the mass outages adding: Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business. 

So what’s Texas’s business problem? 

The main problem is frigid temperatures and frozen natural gas pipelines that stalled ERCOT’s natural gas production and distribution, which is responsible for the majority of Texas’s power supply.  Wind and other renewable energy resources are hardly insignificant yet contribute less than 10 percent of the state’s overall mix of power generation. 

Unremarkably, here in the frozen tundra, we get natural gas to heat houses and generate electricity through pipelines carrying natural gas from Texas. Our end of the pipeline doesn't freeze - even at 30 below zero. Our wind and solar generation work just fine at 30 below.

As remarkable as it is that Texas supplies the world with talented engineering minds this is an engineering problem. Really bad engineering - pure and simple.  Engineers don't design things to simply work - they design things to not fail. Texas’s ERCOT was negligent in the design and construction standards of their gas pipelines, power plants and energy distribution system. Texas standards are lower than those applied in other states and countries because Texans chaff over the notion of being regulated. Texas made a calculated choice to avoid federal regulation and a requirement that the grid be effectively winterized. The ERCOT equipment that failed in Texas is working just fine in predictably colder northern latitudes everywhere else in the world where it has been winterized. 

The Texas privatization system discouraged redundancy in critical systems.  And as a consequence they have no one to blame but themselves. Blaming wind or solar energy is a lame distraction. 

As evidence of this reality consider the fact that all the neighboring states are suffering identical and even colder weather than Texas yet their power grid is fully-functional. And as much as they’d like to lend a friendly neighborly hand to help Texas out of its predicament they cannot. Texas does not allow their power lines to cross the state line.  Go figure.  

So what about the other 10 percent of Texans not dependent-upon ERCOT?  Ironically, these Texans belong to well-managed Rural Electric Co-Ops. They haven’t suffered any service interruptions, blackouts or water issues. 

Don't mess with Texas.

 

Schnee Hirsch

Translation:  Snow deer

Sure enough - if you look carefully this fork-horn buck still has his antlers - although some of the boy deer showing on the trail cameras are now missing half their headgear.  Blonde dog is going to have to kick her antler-hunting into high gear any day now. 

The other thing you may notice is that deer this time of year appear fuzzy or chubby in their cold weather wardrobe.

Whitetail deer sport a uniquely adapted winter coat that efficiently absorbs scarce winter sunlight.  Solar heat is trapped by coarse outer guard hairs - each of which is hollow.  For added insulation the layer beneath is dense and soft - retaining heat close to the skin.  Deer also produce an oily substance that works thru the entire coat to enhance waterproofing.  These insulating qualities are so efficient that falling snow will collect on the animal without melting.  Furthermore, the dull brownish-grey winter coat this time of year is superb camouflage.  

 

The whitetail deer is a remarkably adaptable animal - all the way down to below zero.

 Digital images were captured six days ago at two different locations

Cold Snap Continues

A day ago I awoke at dawn, poured my self a big, steaming cuppa joe, fed the dog and while perusing my morning news feeds took in the the bitter, cold winter landscape.

Unless I was still in a somnambulistic state I could have sworn that it was maybe 4 to 6 F upon arising and within less than a couple of hours the temperature had dropped to -2 F or more as dawn broke and the sun rose.  This is indeed counterintuitive.

And has happened on more than one occasion.

I call it my Dr. Zhivago moment.

Daily Bread

We no longer purchase much in the way of bread stuffs any long - mostly specialty items like English muffins and bagels.   This is a consequence of my bread-baking evolution.

I have a contractor lined-up to construct a cut stone pedestal and countertop upon-which will be installed a Forno Bravo wood-fired outdoor oven.  

Until then I've been diligently mastering the art of baking a French Boule and Deli Rye.  

The plan is to eventually include a practical selection of flat breads, focaccia and pizza dough.  Once these are mastered my scheme is to introduce sourdough starter as an optional leavening agent.  Yes, ambitious but attainable.  I think.  After that it is making this come together in a wood-fired outdoor oven.

Last week our daily bread included a first attempt at a traditional Italian loaf.

It turned-out well - proving the hypothesis that bakery-quality bread can be made at home if you put your mind, heart and hands to the task at hand.  

Sunday, I made some large croutons from the last of it.  

 

Toasted gently and anointed with olive oil and grated Parmesan - they were served topped with olivara bruschetta tapenade and anchovies along with adult beverages for Valentines Movie Night.

The journey continues.....

Cold Monday Morning

 

 

Another tropical day in paradise.

Good Monday morning everyone......

Patron Saint

In the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian Faith St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of betrothed couples, happy marriages, love, lovers, bee keepers, fainting, epilepsy, plague, travelers, and young people.  His feast day is today.   

As a consequence of so little being known about the man the Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar in 1969.  Nevertheless, he remains recognized as a saint.  

One of many stories is that Valentine was imprisoned for committing the most heinous of crimes - marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted by Emperor Claudius of Rome.  Angered to the point of rage Claudius commanded Valentine to renounce his faith or be beaten with clubs and beheaded.  Refusing the emperor - Valentine was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269.  

In case you’re wondering if Valentine was a real person - archaeological excavations have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to him.  In 496 Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration honoring his martyrdom.   

Today his relics can be found throughout the world – including his skull at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Rome.  

 

Happy Valentines Day.

 

Turkeys on the March

Spring turkey hunting is only three months away.

And it's been encouraging to see turkey numbers holding steady as the winter progresses - both brood flocks of hens (like this one) 

 

And bachelor groups of gobblers and jakes too.

Raising a toast to the upland game bird that works for a living.

And hopeful for the Covid vaccine to arrive before the season opens.

Cheers!

Friday Music and a Bonus

This happens to be one of my favorite tunes from the 1960s and would include it in my Top 100 list if I ever get around to compiling it.

Aside from being an American Bandstand throw-back it includes bonus material.

An advertisement for Bic pens and an appearance from Alan Kalter - pitch man from David Letterman's Late Show.

And there is further evidence that white men can't dance.....

New Moon Tonight - Dark Skies on Tap

Last year I published a post concerning  the problem of light pollution and how it can mess-up your viewing of the celestial bodies on a dark night.  Tonight offers a terrific opportunity to venture outside for what might be the last of the winter stargazing as long as the skies remain clear and cold.  This is because it will be extra dark tonight.  The darkness is a consequence of the new moon.  

With this new moon, the earth, moon and sun will align with one another in a straight line.  The moon will fall between the earth and the sun appearing in front of the sun and hidden by the glare. 

In this alignment the moon is 'disappears' because the side we see not illuminated.  Word to the wise - never observe anything in the direct path of the sun.  Doing so may damage your eyes and cause permanent blindness.

Book Review

The publishing of this post has everything to do with my finishing this book on Monday afternoon and nothing to do with the impeachment trial of Donald Trump.  That is coincidence.  As former FBI Director James Comey said - Impeachment would let the American people off the hook and have something happen indirectly that I believe the they're duty-bound to do directly. 

Donald Trump has already been completely removed from office.  But I digress.

The title of this book is deceptive as it is far more than simply removing a president from office. This is a historical account of our country’s rather dark political and presidential election history. 

This is an excellent read chronicling the drama of party intrigue and betrayal, backroom deals, presidents who died in office by means of natural causes and at the hands of an assassin. Presidents undermined by opponents and subordinates, presidential departures and presidential ambitions of some particularly talented individuals thwarted. There is more than a fair share of corruption and graft in the historical timeline - a veritable double-dose. It reminds us that our nation has had some really terrible, horrible, very bad chief executives. 

David Priess takes a deep dive into pertinent provisions of the U.S. Constitution to explain how the Founding Fathers struggled with how much stability to offer a chief executive without making the position ineffective. As well, how to avoid the tyranny of a presidential monarch. 

The author makes the historical context relevant by means of good storytelling and a bit of dark humor. If you think that the last couple of elections have been laden with drama you need to wrap your mind around the historical record. 

In particular, I was previously unaware of the circumstances surrounding the Electoral College drama in the contest of New York Governor – Democrat Samuel Tilden against the Republican many American came to know as ‘Rutherfraud’ B. Hayes. 

If you like politics and history this is an eye-opening and terrific read.

 

Celestial Hunter

Orion - a familiar image situated on the celestial equator - is one of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky.   

Named for Orion 'The Hunter' of Greek mythology the constellation's brightest stars are blue-white Rigel and red Betelgeuse. The most noticeable part of Orion is Orion’s Belt – with the alignment of three stars sure to catch your eye.  Hanging from The Hunter’s belt is a sword identified as three fainter stars. The central star of the sword is actually not a star at all – it is the Great Orion Nebula.

In the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere this time of year Orion appears to be lying on his side – with the Belt stars pointing upward – when he rises in the eastern sky. 

This photo taken with my iPhone XR from the driveway looking east.

click on the image to enlarge

As the story goes - Orion hunted along the river Eridanus along with his ever-present dogs – Canis Major and Canis Minor.  With his dogs Orion stalked various celestial animals including Lepus the rabbit, and Taurus the bull. In the mythology of the ancient Greeks Orion was in love with Merope - one of the Seven Sisters forming the constellation Pleiades.  Alas, Merope spurned Orion’s advances. Tragically, the heartbroken Orion met his end when he was stung by Scorpious the scorpion.

Nevertheless, the gods were kind and they consequently fixed Orion permanently in the heavens with his two dogs. The creatures he hunted were placed in the sky as constellations as well. With foresight the gods exiled Scorpius to the opposite side of the heavens so that Orion would forever be safe from harm. 

Raising a toast to cold, clear winter skies and star gazing.   

Cheers!

Monday Morning Quarterbacking

I recognize that my friends and acquaintances who happen to be die-hard Trump supporters continue to embrace a belief that the election was stolen from their guy. The intent of this post is not to change their hearts and minds. I recognize that is impossible. Besides, everyone is entitled to their own belief system.

The purpose of this post is to briefly review the truthful reasons for Trump’s defeat in the last election as revealed by an autopsy conducted by his campaign’s internal polling people.

To be clear – this isn’t made-up fake news – this is the actual 27 page Exit Poll Analysis by Fabrizio, Lee and Associates and published by Politico. Hit the hyperlink for a redirect to the document – it is an easy read.

The report focuses on the ten battleground states that Trump won in 2016 but split in the 2020 election. The five states won by Biden in 2020 are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin while the five states held by Trump in 2020 include Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

There’s much to learn from the Autopsy but the key takeaways are among the following:

1. While Trump increased turnout in 2020 among GOP voters – receiving a record number of GOP votes – Trump lost independents.

2. Trump increased his support among Hispanics by a significant margin, broke even among Black voters but lost significant support among White Males across all states.

3. Support for Trump shrank among all age groups but was greatest among 65+ and 18-29 year-old groups. The greatest losses were among College-Educated White voters in all states.

4. New voters in 2020 supported Biden.

5. Both candidates were not perceived as particularly honest or trustworthy – nevertheless, Biden held a double digit advantage over Trump in flipped states.

6. Trump was perceived as mishandling Covid across the board – particularly in flipped sates.

7. Covid was the Number One issue for voters across the board but more so in flipped states. Biden won that support 3:1

8. The economy was the Number Two issue for voters across the board and Trump won that support 6:1

9. Three-fourths of voters across the board favored mask mandates.

10. 90 percent of voters said that Supreme Court appointments were a factor. Strangely, for those that said it was they supported Biden across the board. Those that said it wasn’t largely voted for Trump.

Conclusion:

Trump’s slow-walking of the pandemic and personal behavior (truthfulness) was a big deal – particularly for suburban voters. Spurn the Big Fat Middle of the electorate at your own peril. Politicizing the virus, wishful thinking and ridiculing masking was a strategic blunder. Same for obsessing over the stock market.  

Trump had at his fingertips the virtually limitless resources of the federal government, its agencies and its scientists.  Trump failed to seize the moment like George Bush did when he mounted the still smoking ruins of the 9/11 attack with a megaphone. 

In my own opinion, if Trump would have seized on the notion that China ‘did us bad’, focused on early detection and contact tracing of the virus, set an early and consistent example in common sense public health measure (social distancing, hand washing and masking) and ceased conflating the economy with the stock market he would have won the election. Maybe by a landslide.

 

Bathroom Humor

Hard to believe someone could get away with this - yet the proof is in the picture......

Wile E. Coyote

Near the dawn of time, the story goes; Coyote saved the creatures of Earth. According to the mythology of Idaho's Nez Perce people, the monster Kamiah had stalked into the region and was gobbling up the animals one by one. The crafty Coyote evaded Kamiah but didn't want to lose his friends, so he let himself be swallowed. From inside the beast, Coyote severed Kamiah's heart and freed his fellow animals. Then he chopped up Kamiah and threw the pieces to the winds, where they gave birth to the peoples of the planet.  

– Nature

Yote - short for coyote, Wile E. Coyote, Canis latrans.   If you were to inquire of a wildlife biologist they would tell you that there are nineteen subspecies of coyote that are exceedingly well-adapted to living in urban, rural and wild America.   

Male coyotes top out at about 44 pounds while females weigh-in slightly less.  For scale my Lab is bulkier than the average coyote.   

Coyotes are known for how well they adapt to different habitats.  They are found living in and around large cities, the central plains, farmland, and northern forest, in the desert scrub of the Sonoran Desert, foothills and mountains as well as in populated ring suburbs. 

Coyotes dine on large prey and also eat snakes, insects, rodents, fruit and other mast.  As an opportunistic hunter coyotes have been known to prey-upon small pets and livestock.  In an urban setting they will eat garbage and pet food left on a deck or patio.  The coyote is a gregarious animal - socially-inclined - like the wolf.  This is likely a consequence of the need for a family unit or pack of animals combining to bring down large game. 

Recent genetic studies suggest that coyotes are not native to the eastern United States - having largely evolved on the Great Plains.  As the eastern old growth forests were cleared for settlement and agriculture coyotes adapted to the new environs.   It is thought that coyotes dispersed to our neck of the woods early in the twentieth century.  These canids are presumed to have come from the northern Great Plains and are unique in their genetic origins.  Additional coyotes dispersed from here to New England via the northern Great Lakes region and southern Canada meeting in the 1940s in New York and Pennsylvania. These coyotes have inter-bred  with gray wolf and Eastern wolf populations adding to their own unique genetic diversity and further contributing to their hybrid vigor and ability to adapt to an ever changing environment.  Coyotes here are known as the Northeastern coyote. 

More frequently Jill and I hear coyote vocalizations than we see them live and in person.  In rural America coyotes share the same natural aversion to people that other wildlife do.  They are scared-to-death of people.  However, from time to time I do capture a handful of digital photos on a trail camera.

All of which leads to this:  From the centrally-located camera set on video mode is this short, silent, video vignette.  A bonus.....

 

Nutcracker

Plenty of birds will make quick trips to and from your feeder – too many for it to be eating them all – it is likely to be storing the seeds for later in the winter, by caching them in nearby trees.  Blue jays do this and so does this bird.

clinging to a screen on our porch

Meet Sitta carolinensis - The White-breasted Nuthatch.  The names is derived from the Middle English word 'nuthak' from the bird's habit of wedging nuts in the bark of a tree and using its beak to break-open the hull to extract the seed within.  

A common visitor to your backyard feeder - summertime fare is primarily insects and larvae and nuthatches are distinctive when searching for food as they descend tree trunks head-first and can hang upside-down beneath twigs and branches locating food that other birds overlook.

Identified by its black cap (gray if female) and a chestnut lower belly. The upper parts are pale blue-gray, and the face and underparts are white. Nuthatches have small tails and almost no neck, making them appear chubby in appearance.

As a casual winter feeder observer it is clear that this bird is inclined to  join mixed flocks of Juncos, Chickadees, Downy woodpeckers, Finches and Redpolls.  It is thought that the vigilance of many birds foraging together assists all of them in keeping an eye out for raptors.

A cavity nesting bird - breeding pairs are monogamous raising one brood per year.  Female builds the nest and both parents assist in feeding raising their young.

form monogamous pairs that remain together year-round from the time of courtship and establishment of a territory until one of the pair dies or disappears.

form monogamous pairs that remain together year-round from the time of courtship and establishment of a territory until one of the pair dies or disappears.

form monogamous pairs that remain together year-round from the time of courtship and establishment of a territory until one of the pair dies or disappears.

Friday Music

Grand Funk Railroad was formed as a trio in 1969 by Mark Farner (guitar, keyboards, harmonica, vocals), Don Brewer (drums, vocals) and Mel Schacher (bass).   This tune was included on the band's third album released on June 15, 1970 which coincidentally reached gold record status by the end of the year.  As of 2019 the band was continuing to tour.  

This song was a staple on progressive rock stations who committed to playing extended version singles.. 

I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)....... 

Living Dangerously

This diminutive arachnid has been hanging around the kitchen sink for days.

Taking the notion of life on the edge to new heights.....

Tracking

From our walk this morning it was 22 F and sunny - no gloves or hat required

Blonde Dog and I did some tracking 

We crossed the Oregon Trail of rodent tracks (sun low on the horizon = long tall shadow) 

Some sort of canid came loping thru leaving pairs of tracks spaced 5-6 feet apart

Smaller, closely-spaced tracks belong to a cat or racoon?