Patron Saint

In the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith there is Saint Hubert.  Hubertus or Hubert was the first bishop of Liège in 708 AD. A patron of metalworkers, mathematicians and opticians he is considered the patron saint of hunters, archers and hunting dogs.

Born into nobility in 656 Hubert was raised in the Catholic faith yet was not particularly devout.  His interests were primarily mastery of those skills and weapons of the time that would benefit his interest in hunting and as a mounted soldier.  Moreover, as a member of the privileged class seeking other worldly pleasures.    

Hubert married a woman named Floribonne who tragically died after the birth of their son Floribert.  Hubert was grief-stricken, confused and so angry with God that he turned from the faith that his wife had sought to rekindle to focus on secular pursuits.  

His devotion was to the hunt and not to God. 

One day while hunting there appeared before Hubert a magnificent stag.  And as Hubert drew his bow for the kill there appeared between the animal's antlers a radiant glowing cross and a voice spoke to him:  Hubert, unless you turn to the Lord, and lead a holy life, you shall quickly go down to hell.

As a consequence, Hubert renounced all claim to titles and wealth, turning everything over to his younger brother including the custody of his son.  Hubert became a student under Lambert of Maastricht and was eventually ordained a priest.

Hubert evangelized the Ardennes Forest region - inspiring Christians and converting pagans.  His title became Apostle of the Ardennes.  Following Lambert's death Hubert was appointed bishop of Maastricht and later first bishop of Liège.  

Hubert died of natural causes in 727.  His legacy of hunting ethics and fair chase continues to this day in the rigorous and extensive hunter education courses of many European countries.

And if you look carefully, on every bottle of Jägermeister you will find this... 

Passing the Time

When I barbecue I use my watch.  Particularly the fifteen minute countdown timer because everything you might grill or smoke can be broken-down into tidy fifteen minute intervals.  And when the timer alarm sounds you are saved from the tyranny of distractions.

For others there is an alternate form of time-keeping.  

To each their own......

Stuck

 

 

Sure, I know that ‘unskilled’ labor is a topic for debate from time to time. 

But there is a significant percentage of the global trade market that is dependent-upon how fast this guy can shovel sand.....

 

Moonrise

I published some background earlier today.

Here is moon rise this evening shortly after sunset.....

Full Moon

March’s full moon is frequently called the Full Worm Moon.  The story goes this is because of the earthworms that wriggle out of the ground as the earth begins to thaw in March.  As a consequence some Native American Tribes referred to it as the Worm Moon and the return of robins to feast on the emerging worms. 

The fact of the matter is that Northern tribes would not have embraced this name for the March moon as there were no earthworms. A Southern tribe maybe – but certainly not a Northern tribe.

Historically, earthworms did not exist in the northern reaches of continental North America. The ice sheets of the last glaciation wiped them out. All of the earthworms and night crawlers we see nowadays were introduced by European colonists – brought here in plant root balls and soil used as ship ballast. That’s right – earthworms are invasive species.  But I digress.

Northern American tribes such as the Shawnee tribe know this as the Sap Moon - a reminder for the tribes that they can begin tapping maple trees for the making of syrup.

In general, March’s full moon is known as a herald for the beginning of spring and new agricultural cycles. The European settlers referred to this as the Lenten Moon and as a way to measure the progress of their crops. They called it the Storm Moon if the weather was inclement – an indicator their crops might fail. Under ideal growing conditions they called it the Rugged Moon – a sign of a successful harvest that year.

One of its other names is the Chaste Moon, symbolizing the purity of early spring. The Pueblo tribe named it the Moon When the Leaves Break Forth, while in Shoshone culture it was known as the Warming Moon. Sometimes it is called the Crow Moon, after the crows and other birds that appear as winter draws to a close. Other times, it’s called the Crust Moon, because of the snow that becomes crusty when it thaws in the sun and freezes in the moonlight.

In my latitude the moon will be at its fullest when it rises this evening at 7:18 PM.

 

Striking a pose

Decent trail camera composition.....

As my buddy Smokey Joe would say - Posing for a holy card......

Friday Music

Originally known as the Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals with Del on guitar and his brother Jerry on bass. The band has evolved over the years adding McCoury's sons Ronnie and Robbie on mandolin and banjo.  'Dixie Pals' has been dropped in favor of the current name. Fiddler Tad Marks and bass player Mike Brantley joined in the early 1990s while the band has become a national touring act (Wiki). 

Here's a nicely done – bluegrass cover of Buffalo Springfield's For What its Worth. 

Economics 101 and the Impact on Rising Gas Prices

As a recovering financial guy I am both bemused and chagrined on nearly a daily basis by the abundance of delusional and wrong-headed economic thinking (much of it magically wishful) that seems to fill every corner of social media as it relates to the subject of rising gasoline prices. 

It is apparent to me that confirmation bias has replaced Economics 101 as vast numbers of disaffected people pine for the return of the low oil prices of a year ago.  Perhaps they have forgotten this so I want to be absolutely clear -  the price of crude oil and gasoline tanked a year ago as the impact of the pandemic laid waste to the global economy AND PEOPLE STOPPED TRAVELING.  The truth of the matter is that demand fell off of a cliff.

Fast forward to today - a recovering economy is heralded with a rise of gasoline prices.

The price of crude drives two-thirds of the cost of a gallon of gasoline. The balance is refining, distribution, taxes, marketing and demand. 

On the demand side of the equation the increasing strong demand for gasoline (and other petroleum-based products) places pressure on the supply.  Basic economics dictates that as demand increases and supply remains static the higher demand leads to a higher equilibrium price.  And vice versa.

        

      Click on the image for a closer look at the graph

 

As individual consumers, higher prices at the pump means that some of us will have less money in our household budgets to spend on other goods and services.  As a consequence higher gasoline prices have an effect on the overall economy.  Nevertheless, high gas prices are a principal sign of a strong economy.  If you remember nothing else – remember that. 

If you want to forget something you can dispel the notion that Presidents Trump and Biden determine gasoline prices. 

That is not only lazy thinking - it is silly.

Chump

nytimes.com

Meet Sidney Powell - champion conspiracy monger and member of Donald Trump’s Elite Strike Force leading the former president’s failed post-election legal effort.  Dominion Voting Systems is suing her (among others) for defamation.

In a Monday court filing lawyers for Powell outlined her defense.  Basically, do not believe a thing she’s said – it’s all make believe.  Made-up stuff.

Powell’s attorneys write that she was sharing her opinion and that the public could reach their own conclusions about whether votes were changed by election machines.  In the filing there is this - Given the highly charged and political context of the statements, it is clear that Powell was describing the facts on which she based the lawsuits she filed in support of President Trump. 

The problem is that Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani advanced the bizarre claim that Dominion voting machines were created in Venezuela at the direction of Hugo Chavez (dead now for eight years) and that corrupt Dominion machinery manipulated the vote count in such a way that dark and sinister forces stole the election from Trump by means of an algorithm that switched the votes of unknown numbers of ballots.  Of course, even though Trump’s own Justice Department found no evidence of widespread voter fraud the damage was done.  This was The Big Lie.

Vast numbers of people have bought-into The Big Lie with polling supporting the notion that three-fourths of Republicans believe the 2020 election was fraudulent.   And a pro-Trump mob rioted and attacked the US Capitol because they believed they had to stop the steal.  People died.  And certain rioters are likely going to bear witness to the comforts and hospitality afforded by a stay in a federal penitentiary.  But I digress.

As a consequence of all of this Dominion’s reputation was damaged and in January the company filed defamation suits against multiple individuals who advanced The Big Lie.  In Sidney Powell’s case they are seeking $1.3 billion in damages. 

The twisted irony in all of this is that Trumpian logic now advances the legal defense that reasonable people would not accept such statements as fact. 

Which is another way of Sidney Powell's defense team saying if you believe any of her nonsense you’re a chump - thrown under the bus.

In anticipation of the warm-up to the discovery portion of the legal action I have stocked-up on microwave popcorn and Merlot. 

Stay-tuned…..

 

Don't Try This At Home

 Meet Gay Wilkinson - World Champion Anvil Shooter. 

Inquiring minds want to know if a coyote and roadrunner ever get involved.....

Would You Purchase These?

 

 

From the grocery there was this.

Take heed where you place the coupon on the packaging.

These are Pick Me Ups.....

Rare Vistor Pays a Call

I stumbled-upon a technological hiccup with a recent upload of photos from our Snapshot Wisconsin (DNR) trail camera.  It would appear that back in February a routine upload to the cloud network failed to send all of the photos.  Last weekend that SD card found it's way back into the upload rotation and sure as shooting a big slug of photos from January and February showed-up.  Good thing because this infrared gem was in the collection......

click on image to enlarge

I captured my very first picture of one of these in February of 2019.  Again in March and October of last year.  And the end of January this year.  Woot Woot!   

This is Martes pennanti - the Fisher.  One of the larger members of the weasel family - only the river otter is bigger.    

Characterized by a soft and supple pelt this highly-prized furbearer was oft referred-to as the American Sable.  Once widely distributed across Wisconsin - the great cutover of our northern forests and unregulated trapping eventually led to the extirpation of this species.  Only very small remnant populations retreating to the northern-most reaches of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Nevertheless, the species persists as a consequence of reintroduction efforts and reforestation of marginal farmland.  Four photos over three consecutive years is not happenstance and it would appear that southern Door County is now part of an expanding range. 

These are habitually solitary animals and while a pregnant female will den-up for a period of time - males are always on the prowl with a typical boy requiring as much as 150 square miles of territory.  March and April is mating season for the fisher and is characterized by a reproductive curiosity featuring a delayed implantation period of 10 to 11 months.  Possibly stimulated by longer daylight - the blastocyst (the earliest stage of the embryo) is then implanted in the uterus.  Gestation is 6 weeks followed by the birth of three to four kits.  Since mom is capable of mating immediately afterwards females spend virtually all of their adult lives either pregnant or lactating.  By the end of summer the young will leave the den and disperse to establish their own territories.  Males contribute nothing to the raising of the young.

Another fun fact is that this critter is an accomplished swimmer and quite comfortable in the water.  You're probably thinking - how many fish can a fisher fish?  The answer is none.  The fisher does not fish.  Their smaller mink cousins are better fishermen than the fisher.  An opportunistic feeder this animal will dine on mice, voles, dead fish, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons and an occasional house cat.  Seasonally they'll help themselves to reptiles, amphibians, nuts, berries, eggs and fruit.  Equipped with cat-like retractable claws this is one of the few predators that will take-down a porcupine with little to no ill-effect. 

I'm positively tickled to capture another photo with an ever-patient, motion-activated woodland sentinel.

Raising a toast to big weasels and second-rate fishermen....

Born Under the Sign of Capricorn

Bock beer traces its origin to Northern Germany and the city of Einbeck - probably as far back as the 1400s. By the time the 1600s rolled-around popularity had spread and it was being brewed in the land of my birth - Southern Germany.  Einbeck was pronounced as “Einbock” in the Bavarian accent of the region – and “einbock” loosely translates to “billy goat” in German.

Coincidentally, bock beers are brewed under the sign of Capricorn (The Goat) and consumed during Lent and Easter. The monks of Bavaria brewed this beer to sustain them during their Lenten fasts (I am not making that up). 

Maibock, also known as Helles Bock, is associated with springtime and the month of May. It is lighter in color than traditional bocks but has a similar ABV. A little less malty than its darker cousin maibock has a drier and hoppier character. 

Bock beer has been brewed in Wisconsin for longer than 150 years and pictured is a paler Bock brewed from two row barley malt and European hops.  Sweet clover honey is added to the kettle mellowing the flavor notes like those of a Maibock. It's a seasonal brew meaning you have to enjoy it subject to shortened availability. 

It's a tropical 60 degrees on the south side of the porch so I'm savoring this adult beverage in the spring sunshine while the smoker out back is smoking dinner. 

Cabin Fever - New Glarus Brewing

6% ABV     

Prosit!

Spring

Happy vernal equinox.    

The astronomical arrival of spring is a consequence of the earth’s tilt on its axis as it orbits around the sun.  

Equinox from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night) means the the earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays equally.  Night and day are approximately equal in length.  As you observe the movement of the sun across the sky each day you will note that it is shifting toward the north.  Birds and butterflies begin their northward migration as a response to this change in daylight following the path of the sun.  

From a meteorological point of view the first day of spring is March 1.  Meteorologists split the year into quarters for purposes of cataloging and comparing/contrasting seasonal and monthly statistics from one year to the next. These meteorological seasons are based on annual temperature cycles rather than on the position of Earth in relation to the Sun.  Moreover, they more closely follow the Gregorian calendar.  

Because the dates corresponding to the astronomical equinoxes and solstices vary from time to time and as a consequence would create a problem comparing statistics year over year.

Mud season commenced on March 1.

Friday Music

This artist is an American composer-performer best known for the 1971-72 hits Brand New Key and What Have They Done To My Song Ma. 

It was this song that brought her to the dance.  

Her 1970 album release featured this song which was inspired by her her experience performing at the 1969 Woodstock music Festival. Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) by Melanie…..

 

What's for Dinner?

 

Schnitzel!  

Accompanied by green beans and taters from the garden.  

Thanks to the Foodies over at the New York Times for the inspiration.....

Last Snow

It is flat as a pancake in this stand of trees.  The 'up-hill' effect is a consequence of some critter knocking the trail camera out of alignment.

It is also quite possibly the last real snow-shot of the season.

Me and Her Highness the Blonde Dog making a trail camera circuit.....

 

A Wee Bit O'Blarney

The Feast Day of Saint Patrick has taken-on more significance for me since we traveled and visited the Old Sod of my ancestors a couple of years ago.  

Unless you are oblivious it is obvious that the Republic of Ireland is most assuredly a bastion of the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith.  And I suppose more than a few visitors are left with the impression that Ireland is - in some official capacity - a Catholic country.  While Catholics significantly outnumber all other faith traditions in Ireland, there is no reference to Catholicism in the Irish Constitution.  Ireland is officially a secular state and tolerates all belief systems.  Of course, on my visit not even once did I spy a Lutheran church.  But I digress. 

Getting back to the Feast Day the story of Ireland’s Patron Saint persists and you readers are likely wondering if St. Patrick really did chase the snakes out of Ireland.  Or is that tale just a bunch of blarney?        

According to the tale way back in the fifth century the legendary priest raised his staff and banished the reptiles into the seas surrounding the Emerald Isle.  Save for those in captivity it is true that Ireland has no snakes.  But this current condition has less to do with religious tradition and more to do with geologic history and events dating many millennia ago.  Following the retreat of the last glaciers some 15,000 years ago Ireland was devoid of snakes.  Surrounded by icy waters to this very day snakes cannot swim or find their way there and as a consequence Ireland remains snake-free.          

That’s too bad because if my recreational DNA test is to be believed I am becoming more Irish with every passing year.  And I have a particular fondness for snakes. The bigger the better.    Like this dandy five foot long Western Fox Snake.  

 

I also like a good saint when I see one and St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish.          

Patrick was born of aristocratic blood in Britain probably around the year 390.  The legend says that he was not particularly religious.  At age 16 he was kidnapped into slavery was forced into life as a sheepherder in Ireland.  It is held that it was during this time that he found God and became a believer.          

As the story goes he began hearing voices and the voices instructed him to flee.  Which he did.  Patrick eventually found his way back to Britain and his family.  Alas, the voices returned commanding him to return to Ireland.  He was ordained a priest, went back to Ireland and spent the balance of a rather difficult life converting the pagan Celts to Christianity.  He died on March 17, 461 and was promptly forgotten.       

Nevertheless, over many years faithful conviction and belief in the story of Patrick grew.  And he grew ever larger after his death than he did in real life.  Hundreds of years after the fact he was honored as Ireland’s patron saint.          

So on March 17th we gather to pay homage to this saint who - ostensibly - banished the snakes from Ireland.  It is said that on this one day of the year everyone is Irish.           

 

Since I have real Irish blood coursing through my veins I intend to raise a glass of Guinness and toast my ancestors and Saint Patrick.  I will ignore the part about the sketchy British and Western European connection.          

Speaking of Guinness - according to the Guinness people somewhere around 5.5 million pints of Guinness stout are consumed world-wide each and every day.  On St. Patrick’s Day this will grow to 13 million pints.       

Drink responsibly people.         

Sláinte!

Scruffy Deer

This animal looks a bit shaggy - perhaps a bit scruffy.  It would be a fawn born earlier last year.  Which would make him a teenager.

Maybe he just got out of bed...

Out With the Old - In With the New (Part Two)

For as long as we've owned our patch of wildness there have been nest boxes for the song birds. It began in the first year with a couple fashioned out of scrap lumber and evolved thereafter with a dozen boxes or so being added in alternate years.  After a couple of decades passed the inventory of bird boxes plateaued around five-dozen with the standard of bird box design evolving to this - a pine box, treated with a sealant and manufactured in the basement workshop using a template. The hinged and latching roof can be flipped open for inspection or cleaning. Constructed of affordable materials it also boasted standardized, interchangeable parts. 

 

Taking a page from Henry Ford's success story the beauty of this design was that if a roof or wall failed it could easily be replaced new or with parts salvaged from an earlier box. Some boxes that remain in use contain parts traceable to three different generations. 

The 2010 boxes on the left have received a new roofs and a coat of UV sealant. 

The drawback to this design is the wood used in its construction - pine.  Even if sealed - the effects of sun, precipitation and the outdoors eventually compromises the wood with the roof usually going first followed by a wall or floor. 

The latest iteration of nest box is this… 

Clean design lines with minimal hardware - including a wall that flips-open for inspection and clean-out.  It is also constructed of rot-resistant cedar and the exterior treated with a non-toxic UV wood sealant for lasting duty.

Following their roll-out the new cedar box design has held-up nicely over the last seven years of service without any replacement parts required. Nevertheless, these are also constructed of interchangeable parts – and a supply of spares can be found in the workshop.

If you decide to place affordable housing on your property for your fine feathered friends always remember to clean-out your boxes late winter or early spring before nesting season to provide for a clean and sanitary place to live.

Out with the old - in with the new.......

 

Dinner Neutralized

Paper wasps are vespid wasps. They construct nests that made of papery material made from woody plant fiber mixed with their saliva.  

Like this nest. 

This sucker is larger than a basket ball and I gave it a wide berth last summer as the occupants have a reputation of defending their nest from any and all threats – perceived or real – by aggressively stinging the invader. 

Meet Dolichovespula maculata – the Bald-faced hornet.  

uwm.edu

Also called the white-faced hornet, white-ass hornet, bull wasp and black jack.  This insect is technically not a hornet but is a yellow jacket wasp from the genus Vespa. 

It is perfectly safe to examine the nest now as the colony does not overwinter in it and never uses the same nest again. A fertilized queen is the lone survivor and she is holed-up beneath some leaf litter it in the bark of a tree. She’ll emerge when the weather moderates to establish a colony from scratch. 

As the danger has been neutralized it appears that the birds who overwinter here have been scavenging any dead eggs, larvae or insects from this nest. 

Yum!

Out With the Old - In With the New (Part One)

The bird house that you see here is of my own design.  It has a hinged roof that opens for inspection and cleaning.  A hook locks the lid in place.  And it features an entry hole too small for English sparrows. 

For decades I've been building and installing nest boxes to provide homes for cavity-nesting song birds.  You know - tree swallows, house wrens and blue birds namely.

The first two boxes a built in 1994 were constructed of scrap plywood and lasted exactly two seasons before returning to the earth.  Nevertheless, it was a whim that took root.  Since then I have eschewed nails and Thompson's Water Seal - although after decades a remaining few of those 1997 boxes remain in service.

The box that is pictured is somewhere around the third generation prototype.  It is built of inexpensive pine and treated with a sealant/stain.  The design adheres to a standard template and it has a life expectancy of about a decade - give or take.  As a consequence of being assembled of standardized parts I can build multiple copies and if a box is damaged and requires a fix the repairs are simplified.  A busted lid is the most common complaint followed by the occasional split wall.  All I have to do is back-out the screws, slap-in a replacement part and we're back in business with a genuine factory rebuild.

Just like the new roof on this 2006 box. 

After peaking with a census of 60 boxes we’re down to about 50 strategically situated on three and a half miles of trails.  The original pine boxes have held-up reasonably well but require more care, time and attention.  Beginning in 2013 an updated and redesigned cedar box was adopted, constructed and deployed.  This design model is performing exceedingly well.  The third cohort of cedar nest boxes has been constructed and is ready for installation.   Eventually, all of the pine boxes will be retired and replaced.

Check back in a couple of days for more about out with the old - in with the new.....

 

Friday Music

This song was released in 1972 and eventually hit the Number One spots on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B Singles in 1973. 

Recorded in Philly it was a house band that provided the backing. Coincidentally, the song lyrics of unity mention a number of countries, including England, Russia, China, Egypt and Israel, as well as the continent of Africa – the same year the Paris Peace Accords were signed. 

Plenty of fond memories over this tune from my Senior Class Trip during spring break in 1973.

It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2006. 

Love Train – the O’Jays…….

Changing of the Seasons

As of the time this is published most all of the snow will have disappeared.  Sure, there's some in the shadows and in the woods where sunlight cannot penetrate - but nothing like a month ago.

From the same location where a trail camera has been situated for likely a decade are some winter wildlife in the snow photos for your viewing pleasure.......

Round-up Your Mates

Sometimes you stumble-across a clever example of market that is just too good not to share.  This is one of those examples.

Cheers!

Oops

 Not my house.....

Whitetail Bedtime

I find their beds all the time when scouting in the brush - a carefully matted-down depression in the taller grasses or a hollowed-bowl melted into the snow.  

Whitetail deer like to hang-out and rest in locations where they feel secure. Typically where they have the wind at their back to smell danger and can see potential danger in front of them – a place that offers good cover.  

A deer could be quite vulnerable while they sleep if it were not for the sensitive sniffer and always swiveling ears.  Deer know what is happening around them at all times and if they smell or hear something out of place with the normal rhythms of their surroundings they will bolt and skedaddle.  

In the wintertime deer prefer to bed amongst the thermal cover provided by dense stands of pines.   

Such as here. 

 

Deer also prefer to bed near water and food sources.  Sometimes they sleep solo.  Sometimes they bed-down in groups.  Because they are creatures of habit if they find an optimal location it is not unusual for several return visits.  

Sleep is usually five to ten minutes in length. Trail camera surveillance supports the notion of up to twenty minutes of rest.  The whitetail sleep cycle is not at all unlike that of the whitetail deer hunter – dozing-off for a few minutes and snapping to attention.  Consider this too; bedded deer might not be dozing at all.  

From the very same location as above is this series of silent 15 second video vignettes that I stitched-together.  

They might just be hanging out for an extended siesta and chewing their cud......

Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

The German language can be expected to outperform in the creation of new words and compound nouns and the COVID crisis is no exception to this inspiration. There is also Denglisch - a corruption of German and English - which has also seen some new words enter its vocabulary as a result. 

Germany's response to the pandemic has spawned more than one thousand tongue-twisting, multi-syllable, linguistic responses to the daily affairs of pandemic life. 

Some of my favorites are among the following:

Abstand halten soziale Distanzierung Kontaktsperre (keep your distance contact ban)

Anderthalbmetergesellschaft (one-and-a half-meter society)

Coronamüde (tired of Covid)

Coronaspeck (quarantine weight gain)

Der Covidiot (anyone who is not following pandemic rules)

Der hamsterkaupf (to panic buy or hoard)

Gesichtskondom (face condom mask)

Hände gründlich waschen mit antibakterielle Seife (wash your hands completely with soap)

Impfneid (envy of those who have been vaccinated)

Jetzt kontaktloses Bezahlen (contact free payment)

Mindestabstandsregelung (minimum distance regulation)

Mundschutzmode (mouth protection fashion)

Vorsichtsmaßnahmen (precautions)

Finally there is this tongue-in-cheek public service video that urges young Germans to do their patriotic duty in the war against coronavirus by just staying at home and being couch potatoes.....

What Makes This Critter Guard His Musk?

If you are a Wizard of Oz fan and recall the soliloquy of the Cowardly Lion you already know the answer to the title of this blog post – Courage!  

On Friday Blonde Dog and I were out for a walk and we figured we’d take advantage of the frozen conditions around the pond to check on one of our resident aquatic residents.  

Meet Ondatra zibethicus – The Muskrat – aptly named as a consequence of its long naked tail and musky odor (quite noticeable in the male during the breeding season).   

The muskrat is ideally-suited to living in a watery environment and sports a waterproof fur coat, webbed feet and a tail that can be used like a rudder.  This chunky rodent can stay submerged for up to fifteen minutes before having to surface for air.  

Since the spring of 2012 muskrats have called our large pond out back between the house and Silver Creek home.  They built and enlarged their original home and constructed a second one several years ago.  By the close of 2020 the second lodge had disappeared into the depths of the pond.  

Not all muskrats build lodges – with some choosing to dig a burrow in a stream bank or lake shore.  Our rats are builders (as near as I can tell) and this is their lodge constructed of mud and cut vegetation.  The outer roof extends more than 30 inches above the surface of the ice.  

Muskrat lodges have one to two underwater entrances and may have a second chamber for different occupants.   They’re fastidious about their den and will not use it as a bathroom.  

The muskrat does not hibernate and is active year-round.  Living up to ten years in age breeding begins in April and ends with the return of fall weather.  Around half a dozen young are born two to three times a year and the little ones can swim at two weeks of age.      

 

Unlike the beaver - who occupies only one lodge per lake or stream - the muskrat may build multiple abodes.  

However, overcrowding will cause the critter to disperse and to find a new home.   

 

Quote of the Day

If you tell a big enough lie, and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.

-Adolf Hitler

 

Winter Driving Conditions

 

 

Yeah, I know it's technically spring according to the meteorological calendar.  Nevertheless, we're still getting snow.

You know you're having a bad start to your day when you lose control of your wiener on the way to the day job.

Friday Music

This song was composed by the Doors and recorded in December of 1970 – subsequently released on the album L.A. Woman in June of 1971. 

Jim Morrison initially recorded his main vocals – then whispered the lyrics in a follow-up recording creating an echo effect. 

This was the last song recorded by all four members of the Doors and Morrison's last recording released in his abbreviated lifetime. 

The single eventually topped-out at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July of 1971 the same week that Morrison died. 

This is an exceedingly well-done cover of Riders on the Storm performed by Widespread Panic…...

Ten Points

The consensus among my associates and I is that this is a 2.5 year-old buck.  He's certainly a healthy specimen and if your look at the spread of the antlers relative to the ears he more likely younger than older.  If he survives to next fall he could be a trophy worth hanging on someone's wall.

Anyway, the important thing to note is that the trail cameras are revealing that antler drop has just commenced with some of the boy deer sporting only half of their headgear - while others (like this) still have an entire rack.

Blonde dog is looking froward to antler hunting in the next week.