The Lake is Calling...

In mid December I stumbled upon a FB group for Sax Zim Bog in Minnesota. What caught my eye was that visitors to the bog were posting frequently about Great Grey Owl sightings.

Bucket List trip to Sax Zim 2/10 in search of a Great Grey Owl. We were 15 feet from the owl at one point and got to photograph it hunting in a farm field at dusk. The owl was blind in its right eye but that didn't hinder its ability to hunt because they have very good hearing that allows them to capture prey that is hiding in the snow. In one photo you will see the owl holding a meadow vole. This was an amazing winter trip to a beautiful area of Minnesota.

Departed: Wednesday 2/8 6:30 pm - Arrived Brownsburg, Indiana (in a snow storm) 10:30 pm

Departed:  Thursday 2/9 8:00 am - Arrive Duluth, Minnesota 6:30 pm and drove straight to the Lift Bridge to take a photo of the full moon rising above it. Arrive at the hotel around 8:30 pm

Departed for the Bog at 2/10 6:15 am . There was skiff of new fallen snow on the roads so we drove at a leisurely pace and arrived around 7:30 am. We drove around to get the feel of the bog and its habits and then stopped at the visitor center and talked to some other bird watchers and ascertained the location of a Great Grey Owl. Unfortunately we arrived  at that location just in time to see the owl fly into the woods as we were talking to the son of the homeowner whose yard it was using as a hunting ground on a regular basis. It was about 15 feet from me. As the day wore on we amassed an impressive list of birds. We stopped at Lou's Feeders and logged several "life" birds although we are not listers.  Around 4 pm we arrived  back to the scene of the earlier owl sighting.  This time we arrive just in time to see the owl arrive. We watched the owl, which only had one eye, as it hunted for its dinner. We also go to see it catch and devour a meadow vole and got several nice photos of it in action. We met several nice and enthusiastic birding groups. Nolan & Lacy got to enjoy a couple long walks and playing in the snow which they loved!  We arrived back to hotel at 7:30 pm after stopping for take out at Texas Roadhouse. I was more tired than I have been in years. Birding and nature photography is hard work.

 Great Grey Owl-the largest owl in the world

 Snow angels loved the snow

 Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth

Superior, Wisconsin

 Golden Eye ducks

Pancake Ice

 Agate Bay Lighthouse

 St Ignace, Michigan

Great Grey Owl with Meadow Vole

Bird List from the bog:

sharp-tailed grouse
rock pigeon
great grey owl
downy woodpecker
hairy woodpecker
northern shrike
blue jay
black billed magpie
american crow
common raven
black capped chickadee
red breasted nuthatch
white breasted nuthatch
pine grosbeak
common redpoll
hoary redpoll
pine siskin
evening grosbeak
house sparrow
turkey

Other birds:

mallard
goldeneye
bald eagle
pileated woodpecker
herring gull
ring billed gull
Canada goose

Saturday 2/11 morning departed at 8:30 am and stopped at Starbucks and Walgreens then drove to the docks (freighters), Park Point Beach (pancake ice), and to take photos of ducks (mallards and mergansers). Went to Duluth Pack (Andrew needed his DP repaired), Viindii (art store-I bought some art print greeting cards). Headed for Two Harbors, stopped to see the mailboat Edna G, the Agate Bay Lighthouse, and Castle Danger Brewery (for some craft porter beer in a growler). Had takeout lunch at Betty's Pies (open faced roast beef, Lake Superior (rhubarb, strawberry, raspberry, bumble berry) pie and Old Fashioned Apple pie.  Arrived back at hotel at 4 pm. Ordered Dominos pizza

Early Sunday morning exploration of the shipyards in Superior, WI with a stop in Escanaba to get a world famous cinnamon roll from the Swedish Pantry and a quick trip to the shipyards there. We boat nerds saw about 25 vessels layed up for winter among them the Paul Tregurtha, one of the thousand footers. On to St Ignace with a quick stop in Gladstone to capture a flaming sunset and then a 60 mile drive to St Ignace, part of it in white out conditions from Lake effect snow.

Freighter List:

Paul Tregurtha
Lee Tregurtha
Edward Ryerson
Arthur Anderson
American Century WI
American Spirit WI
American Victory
AE Clifford
Burns Harbor
Great Lakes Trader
Joseph Thompson
Chicago Fire Boat
Siscowet
Sea Chief
SS Meteor WI (museum) whaleback
American Victory
Burns Harbor
Siskowet. Escanada
Great Lakes Trader
Joseph H Thompson
Joseph H Thompson Jr

2/13/17 Early Monday morning photography outing to the St Ignace side of the Mackinaw Bridge and then to the Mackinaw City side of the bridge.

Warm Winter Weekend

Out and about this weekend to Darby on Saturday-where we walked about 6 miles in the prairie looking for birds and then on Sunday to Hoover to watch the fog and mist in the early morning, to Rocky Fork to walk the pups and to Boyer Nature Preserve to try out our new 150-600mm camera lens.

 At Darby on the trail

 Intrepid bird watchers

 Hoover in the am Sunday

 Boyer

At the Creek on a Warm Winter Day

The weather has been stupid. Ice storm and then 60 degrees all in one day.  We went to the creek yesterday just to get out.  Andrew had seen a merlin there the previous day and we went back to see if it was still around. I haven't been out on the ice because I was afraid I would fall and then I fell anyway...stalking a white squirrel to get a photo. We saw heron, beaver, raccoon and squirrel tracks.   Andrew found a heron feather and we also found some beaver scat.  Pretty exciting huh?

Thumb Up

Out of the cast this morning. Wrist and thumb are stiff as a board. Join is rotating nicely. Scaly skin abounds...

Darkness in incision is remanent stitches which washed away when I cleaned my hand. A bit of ink remaining on wrist that dr. put his initials on to indicate left hand.

X-ray showing implant. 

Happy New Year

Suggestions for 2017:

Be kind to everyone you meet.  You don't know what unseen battle they might be fighting.

Have a reverence for nature and conserve resources; especially water.

Eat less refined and added sugar.

Be mindful and grateful for something each day.

Don't post anything on social media that you wouldn't say to someone's face.

If you are going to share something on social media investigate its truth first.

Go outside and play, walk, or do something EVERY SINGLE DAY.  Open your eyes and senses to this thought provoking quote from Aristotle. "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."

Only schedule in a day that which you can do without being rushed, rude to people and/or in a bad mood or tired because you have overdone it.  You are not that important.

Don't text and drive or drive distracted.  You might kill someone's family member or your own.

Don't be in a hurry while you are driving. Slow down. The one second you save while passing someone in a huff isn't going to get you to your destination significantly sooner.

Stop griping about all the perceived injustices in your life; especially at work.  Be thankful that you have a job. Unless you applied for their job and were turned down - stop criticizing the management. If you don't like something first ask yourself what you can do to make the situation better. If there is nothing then maybe you should move on.

Republicans-stop blaming all the world's problems on the Democrats.  Democrats-stop blaming all the world's problems on the Republicans.

Get a good night's sleep.

Leave your bad mood at the door.

Remember that your lack of planning doesn't constitute an emergency on my part.

Compliment one person every day.

Send handwritten thank you notes instead of emails.

Make a donation of money or time to an animal shelter or wildlife rehab group.

Investigate where your money is actually going before you donate to or otherwise support a charitable organization. You might be unpleasantly surprised.

Try to help a student on their journey to being a professional. Our students are the world's future leaders!

Mind the business of your own family ands stop judging everyone else. Not only is it not your business but you are wasting your energy.

Make sure your spouse knows how much you appreciate them and that your parents, siblings, children, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents know how much you care about them. Life is short and the older you get the shorter it becomes.

Happy New Year from these two sweet peas!

My favorite place in Ohio

A oak savanna in Madison County has captured my heart with its stark beauty and remote location. I find myself wanting to visit it at least once each season. There is always something special to see and you never really know what you might see. Today the sky was bright blue and it was very cold and windy.  We saw a red tail hawk and a whole lot of bittersweet which was just beautiful against the blue sky. I got a new hat for Christmas, a snowy owl from Knit Wits of Canada, and I wore it for the first time and found it to be very warm and a good choice for this outing.

The Other Side of the Family Christmas

Visited hubby's family on Lake Erie today. A very relaxing day and my sister in law made beef noodle soup, herb bread and shredded chicken sandwiches. The food was really good. Our nephew liked the long underwear and Amazon gift card we got him.  (He's the only kid and we don't exchange gifts among the adults). The day was over shadowed by the extreme sadness we all felt in not having hubby's mom with us this year. It is said the first's following the loss of a loved one are most difficult and it was definitely difficult and very sad not to have her physically with us and also missing all the things that she did for her family that made Christmas special.

 Our nephew with Nolan

Our nephew modeling his new coat. I had a coat exactly like this in the 70's so I got a kick out of it.