Giant of the Woodpeckers

Pileated Woodpecker at my feeders today during a rainy, dreary day.

Petting Zoo

We know that the chipmunks here are tame. Especially over at my brother's place, where they have been spoiled rotten by all of the good chippie food like corn, sunflower seeds and the assorted bird seed that would get scattered on the ground.

Last night my sister-in-law went to the shed for birdfood - they'd been gone all week and the feeders were empty. Setting the food on the picnic table, she turned to say something to my brother. When she turned back, a chipmunk was on the table trying to eat its way into the bag of seed.

"Why, you cheeky monkey!" she declared.

Okay, she didn't really say cheeky monkey - this is Minnesota, after all.

As she and I got closer, the chipmunk didn't run away, didn't even act like he cared. He filled his cheeks with food and ran off behind the woodpile.

A few minutes later, with the feeders full, Mr. Chipmunk came back for more. While he was gorging on the spilled bird food, I decided to see how close I could get. 2 feet, 1 foot...I put my hand down thinking "ooh, maybe I can touch his tail before he runs away".

He didn't run away. He turned his head back like he was going to bite, saw it was my hand, and went back to eating. My hand moved closer. I touched his back! I rubbed behind his ears! I ran my hand down the entire length of his body. My sister-in-law did the same.

Next time he came out for more food, we dared my brother to pet him. Now my baby brother startles easily - he once jumped 5 feet and screamed like a girl when a chipmunk ran out of the shed towards him once. Last week a kildeer (a bird) chased him around the campground.

He reached his hand towards the chipmunk, jerked it back, moved it down again...success!

Now if we can get the muskrat, the snapping turtle, the ground squirrel, and the heron living in the swamp to cooperate, we can open our own petting zoo. Well, maybe not the snapping turtle. I'm not sure if my homeowners insurance would cover it.

Lutefisk

Being from North Dakota or Minnesota is like being from a foreign country. We talk differently, we act differently, and our food is way different. One popular dish in the Fall and Winter is Lutefisk, served with lefse (more on that later), boiled potatoes, and other whitish food. My Stepfather still goes to a lot of the church suppers when lutefisk is on the menu. So what is Lutefisk, you ask? Read on if you have a strong stomach!

From Wikipedia:

Lutefisk is made from air-dried whitefish (normally cod, but ling is also used), prepared with lye, in a sequence of particular treatments. The first treatment is to soak the stockfish in cold water for five to six days (with the water changed daily). The saturated stockfish is then soaked in an unchanged solution of cold water and lye for an additional two days. The fish will swell during this soaking, attaining an even larger size than in its original (undried) state, while its protein content decreases by more than 50 percent, producing its famous jelly-like consistency. When this treatment is finished, the fish (saturated with lye) has a pH value of 11–12, and is therefore caustic. To make the fish edible, a final treatment of yet another four to six days of soaking in cold water (also changed daily) is needed. Eventually, the lutefisk is ready to be cooked.

Cooking

Cooking pots at a church supper: with this method, the lutefisk was boiled for about five minutes, until translucent, then promptly served.

After the preparation, the lutefisk is saturated with water and must therefore be cooked carefully so that it does not fall into pieces.

Lutefisk does not need any additional water for the cooking; it is sufficient to place it in a pan, salt it, seal the lid tightly, and let it steam cook under a very low heat for 20–25 minutes. It is also possible to do this in an oven. There, the fish is put in an ovenproof dish, covered with aluminium foil, and baked at 225 °C (435 °F) for 40–50 minutes.

Another option is to parboil lutefisk. Wrap the lutefisk in cheesecloth and gently boil until tender. This usually takes a very short time, so care must be taken to watch the fish and remove it before it is ready to fall apart. Prepare a white sauce to serve over the lutefisk.

Lutefisk sold in North America may also be cooked in a microwave oven. The average cooking time is 8-10 minutes per whole fish (a package of two fish sides) at high power in a covered glass cooking dish, preferably made of heat resistant glass. The cooking time will vary, depending upon the power of the microwave oven.

When cooking and eating lutefisk, it is important to clean the lutefisk and its residue off of pans, plates, and utensils immediately. Lutefisk left overnight becomes nearly impossible to remove. Sterling silver should never be used in the cooking, serving or eating of lutefisk, which will permanently ruin silver. Stainless steel utensils are recommended instead.

That Kind of a Day

My work has been pretty stressful lately, and I've been snapping at people left and right.

A few minutes ago my neighbors knocked on my door and asked me to come outside - they wanted to show me something. There in the road was a big 'ole snapping turtle going as fast as he could for shelter. He made it under the camper next door and rested for awhile, where I took this shot. He better watch out, or I'll have turtle soup tonight!

Muskrat Lovin'

Just to keep the wildlife theme going, here is a picture of a muskrat that lives in the swamp behind my brother's cabin. We watched him surface, swim to the grassy area, chew several stalks of grass off at the base, and swim back with the sheaf of grass in him mouth. At a certain point in the water he'd dive with the grass.

What I've read is that muskrats have burrows with underwater entrances, so my guess is this muskrat is redecorating a little.

Baby Bird

I staggered out of bed as usual this morning, started the coffee brewing, and set up the computer in front of the window.

I noticed a gray lump in the grass and went out to investigate. It was a baby bird (maybe a black capped chickadee?) that wasn't quite ready to fly. I got closer, and it jumped up on my pants leg. So now I had to violate the rule of not touching a baby bird in fear that its mother would then reject it.

So I gently disengaged it's feet from my pink sweat pants, and moved it to my garden. I put some bird food next to it, and a little tin of water.

So far, it doesn't seem all that interested in either the food or the water. And I don't have much of a talent for finding worms and small insects for it to eat, so here's hoping little birdie makes it through the day!

Chip in the Grass

Just a hint that the grass needs mowing. This little fella thinks that I can't see him. But I can. And I hear his high-pitched squeek when he's around too.

I found wild rhubarb near the swamp. I wonder if it's any good to eat? There are wild raspberries there too, but the birds get 'em before I do every year.

At dusk I like to sit in my chair and look out at the swamp, hoping to see a herd of deer walk serenely past. But all I've seen so far is a raccoon running across the yard. Humph.

Officially Summer

For the first time this year I turned the air conditioning on. Only for 30 minutes, but it's a start.

Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrel

What is the size of a chipmunk, sits like a prairie dog, is mistakenly called a gopher in Minnesota and lives under my deck?

A Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrel.

When I saw him this afternoon I put some corn out for him, which he has been ignoring completely. Another gourmet meal gone to waste.

When Cows Fly

It’s not every day you see a cow fly by your window, but Elva Dittmer swears that’s what she saw near her barn Wednesday morning.

“I seen something white going into the air, and I’m sure it was a cow,” said the rural Valley City, N.D., woman. Dittmer was about 120 feet away when she saw the cow go about 10 feet in the air at 8:20 a.m.

“I don’t know if a cow would jump that high,” she said.

Dittmer said she could not tell whether the cow spun around or went straight into the air, but said its movement frightened her 30-some other cows.

“They ran away from it,” she said.

Dittmer said at first she didn’t believe she had seen a cow fly, and she knows it may be hard for others to fathom, but she’s standing by her story.

“I’m sure she went up in the air because I seen it,” she said.

Full article can be found here.

Tornado Target

When is a tornado not a tornado?

When there are "straight-line winds". There was not tornado watch or warning today, not even a severe thunderstorm warning. Only an innocuous "high wind advisory".

It started to get scary around noon. At 1:45 pm I decided enough was enough, and headed for the local tornado shelter, where a few others had already gathered. We watched shingles blowing off, furniture becoming airborne, and a camper that threatened to overturn completely.

Even when danger threatens, the folks here are still thoughtful. One lady brought cookie dough and made cookies in the oven while another brewed a fresh pot of coffee. As the storm started to subside, I was invited to stay and play cards for awhile. I politely declined, and started out in the rain and wind to see what damage had been done. Lots of sheds were damaged or destroyed, trees uprooted, and one mobile home completely destroyed. We were lucky. No one was hurt.

Cleanup starts tomorrow, with more rain in the forecast.

The Wave

When I first started coming to Minnesota in the summertime, I noticed my family waving at everyone we passed in the campground or on the lake.

"Who was that", I'd ask.

With a shrug of their shoulders, they'd say they didn't know.

"So why do you wave at them?"

When I was growing up in North Dakota, it was very common to wave at a passing car in town, even if the wave was one index finger held up off the steering wheel. I don't remember that being so common in Fargo, but once you hit the city limits of Casselton, the waves would begin.

Here's my theory. This area is filled with very polite, nice people. Way back when, the tradition of waving started just to be nice. Way back when everyone knew everyone else. Now, I think people wave just in case they might know that person. Don't want ugly gossip to spread that you're a non-waver, i.e., not friendly.

Another theory? It's a guaranteed way to tell who the tourists are by who waves and who doesn't.

My New Improved Working Conditions

My new Summer Palace arrived a week and a half ago, the day before I had to scoot back to Texas for a week. I'm finally unpacked and can start to enjoy the new digs. I moved all of the bird feeders to the backyard, and after family visited this weekend, and more family, and then family of family, I can sit down and watch the birds. Retirement doesn't sound too bad if this is what it's all about.


Already this morning I've had a Pileated Woodpecker and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak visit the feeders. I can smell the big bunch of lilacs I picked yesterday, and a cool breeze is coming through the open windows. It don't get any better than this.

My Texas Garden

Right around the 1st of April I planted my Texas garden after putting in a sprinkler system first. I spent too much money way too many years on plants that died when I couldn't keep them hand-watered in this heat, so I finally made the investment.

When I left for Minnesota three weeks ago, a couple of my cherry tomatoes were just turning red, and the roma tomato plant was only about 6 inches high. Today, the cherry tomato and the roma plants are about 3 feet tall, and my petsitter reports that several cherry tomatos have already been harvested. The basil will boltif I don't harvest it soon, and my red peppers are growing nicely. I think I'll harvest a bunch of the herbs and bring them into work tomorrow as gifts.

This morning I cut some blooming lilies for a fresh flower arrangement. Then I harvested some chives and a couple of cherry tomatoes for my breakfast. Two eggs scrambed with chives and quartered tomatoes made for a delicious (and healthy) breakfast. There was also a couple of ripe strawberries that didn't make it into the house because I ate them right from the plant. I can do that because my gardens are totally organic this year.

I also cut a bunch of catnip as a treat for my small furry feline friends. I rip ped up the fresh leaves and scattered them on the floor for hours of enjoyment. I suppose I ought to dry some up too for the winter.