Fully-fledged

The new 2015 robins are out, look just like last year's model, seems like there are more of them this year. This fledge perched on our back deck this morning, building strength and courage for the next leap.

Pet of the Week

Save today's Minneapolis StarTribune Variety Section!

A congratulatory email has already poured in. Birdie was selected as "Pet of the Week" and there she is in glorious color on page E3.

Mom and Dad couldn't be more pleased. Birdie just went about her business as usual this morning.
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Tom Story writes:
So proud when neighbors draw positive media attention.

Lorlee, are you okay?

After: White Rock Creek in Dallas today.

After what seemed like forty days of news reports about the flooding of Texas, we inquired of our Dallas friend if she was in need of an ark yet. Lorlee's post-diluvian response:

"Last night brought another five inches at my house -- I have had to do a bit of trenching where it comes off the roof, but still no ark needed.

Lorlee

"Not so for a lot of other people in lower areas. Some areas got 7-8 inches last night and areas that have never flooded were under water.

"Attached are two photos of White Rock Creek which is about half a mile from my house. The photo below was taken Monday after it had subsided after Sunday's rains. This is still higher than normal. The left channel is usually just barely a trickle and usually there isn't much water coming over the dam.

"The photo above was taken today and the creek is now just one big river.

"We have surpassed the most rain for any May and now stand at over 17 inches for the month and we have 2 days left. We are going for the wettest month ever. It has rained 58 of the last 88 days. Next week they are predicting sunshine."

Before: White Rock Creek on Monday

A perfect day to bury your eggs

She's got her foreleg extended for extra leverage. Now push, push, push!

Most of the work is done by the hind legs,
lubricated with bladder water. Look
closely and you can see the leg sticking way out.
The typical hole is two to four inches.

It was 85 degrees today, optimal temperature for a painted turtle egg-laying party. They're cold-blooded, so it can't be too hot and it can't be too cold to get the eggs done just right.
Our expectant mother climbed up the bank, dug a hole just so in the clay and birthed her young-uns. It took hours to get the job done, we tired of watching from a respectful distance. There was a lot of digging and layering and mushing around, which was remarkable considering that she couldn't see a thing that was going on.
The eggs will hatch in August or September. . . if they aren't found and eaten by some predator. We'll have to mark the spot, because she laid them right in the middle of the path ringing the pond.

Pine Marten in the cabin

Our friend and neighbor Matt Drees returns from a Canadian outpost this morning with a tale:

He was alone, sleeping in a fishing shack on an Ontario lake and heard a noise he thought was a mouse, something he'd never experienced in the well-appointed cabin. Irritated, he got up to investigate. 

About the size of a cat, the pine marten (a member of the weasel family) is a worthy adversary, Matt learned. Apparently slipping through an open slit in a sliding window, the beady-eyed creature was deep into Matt's grub stake when his excellent adventure was interrupted by a half-naked man with a six-cell flashlight.

Matt relaxing in the cabin. We didn't get a picture of the pine marten.
You can google one.

Hard to say who was the most frightened, Matt said. Using a fishing rod in the semi-darkness, Matt eventually chased the wily pine marten into the screen porch. At that point, the panicked intruder actually leaped nose-first through the lightweight screen on the porch door, astounding its pursuer.

Shaken, Matt returned to his bed, unable to do much in the way of repairs. Remarkably, he was visited twice more that night by the highly-motivated, persistent pine marten, who had learned that a light screen is no barrier to an enterprising burglar.

Matt returns to the lake in June, armed with a roll of heavy-duty window screen.

Missing, presumed dead

When we saw a Baltimore Oriole flitting through the nearby Black Hills Spruce we rushed out and got a feeder and some sweet nectar to try and hold this brightly-feathered star. Not a tweet since. We figure we placed the feeder in a location that we'd like. . . and so would a hawk, but not an oriole, apparently. The orioles have left this exposed feeder entirely to itself. It will come down shortly.
We can add this disappointment to the sudden loss of our beautiful goldfish, who survived the winter, only to be taken out by a pair of snappers, who used the pond for their vigorous mating ritual and stayed on . . . we think.
We will remove the bird feeder. . . and hopefully relocate the snappers if they are still here. A Tomahawk live trap has been ordered on Amazon and should arrive in early June. Anyone wishing to have a pair of healthy snappers relocated to their back yard should contact us. We're not considering turtle soup, but we're not happy about the predation either.

Missing. Presumed Dead.

No excuses

Five days ago Wayne bought twenty pounds of screws to finish his Rainy Lake dock rebuilding project. The weather has been nice, the No-Good Brother-in-law should be available so we're assuming this job is done.
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Update:
Wayne responds with photos and an update.
After the 5x6's are cut flush the 2x10 fascia will be screwed on and the final touch of a 2x4 rail perimeter can be built. It will be 2" off the deck for tying up boats.
Project was delayed because there was a change order. Forty more planks were torn up and replaced. I was out voted on that decision by my no good brother-in-law and his sister or I would have been fishing on Memorial Day.

We remember our guys

"On behalf of the President, the Armed Forces of the United States and a Grateful Nation, I present you this Flag, a symbol of our Great Republic, for which our Departed Comrade has honorably served." --- words spoken by the Captain of the Color Guard, on two occasions, to the late Mrs. Florence Neilson.

These two American flags, folded crisply into the traditional military tricorne by two separate Rifle Squads at Fort Snelling, honor the memory of a father and his son. They are lovingly kept at our house, a treasured record of two lives risked in service to others.
We fly Old Glory on Memorial Day to salute our nation and those who served it -- but we especially remember Leonard O. and James John Neilson.

Rocking to the Eagles, One More Time

The tall guy (grammy nominee and local boy makes good Paul Diethelm, google him) played a great slide guitar and riffed magically. A special permit was obtained from the county to allow five electric guitars on the same Chanhassen stage at one time, he said. Billy's white cane was not a prop.

Last night's Tribute to the Eagles combined two local bands for two hours of music everyone in the sold-out Chanhassen theatre still knew by heart. We joined a roomful of boozy boomers gathered for a retrospective of the famous band and were not disappointed. It took ten aging rockers to do it, but the "fake Eagles" delivered very faithful renditions of the familiar tunes. The intricate guitar work was spot on, the rhythms were right . . . and yes, sometimes the vocals got a bit ragged, but it was all there, everybody had fun and so did the performers, who knit together a tight show and left a tired audience, up past their bedtimes, wanting more.
The guys looked like their audience, one wore a wig, blind Billy Scherer used a cane and joked about deaf people, recent surgery necessitated a bald "stunt guitar" to aid a healing member who could sing but couldn't play yet. It was alleged that the group's "secret weapon," Rich Witteman, had voluntarily removed a testicle to help with the high notes in "I Can't Tell You Why."  Rich admitted he "wasn't using it anyway." He did have a wonderful falsetto and great rhythmic dance moves. Kathleen thought he looked like her brother-in-law, Bill Shearer. The drummer, who looked like Paul McCartney, was steady throughout.
You absolutely had to love these guys.
"Hotel California," "Desperado" and others brought everyone at the intimate Fireside Room to their feet. (The room was once the Bronco Bar, a popular venue for '70s bar bands, where Stan's brother Steve worked briefly as a bouncer.)
"Witchy Woman," "New Kid in Town," "One of These Nights," "Tequila Sunrise," we knew 'em all and helped out in the ballads where ever we could. "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Life in the Fast Lane," "Lyin' Eyes," "Love Will Keep Us Alive." Perfect. Not always pitch perfect, but perfect nonetheless, and way good enough for rock and roll.
There was plenty to see on the busy stage because the band not only enjoyed the performing, but they obviously enjoyed each other and "Takin' It to the Limit, One More Time."