Monster Freaking Moth!

Even though I claim to be a born-again nature lover, it was all I could do to keep from titling this post "Ewwwwwwwww!!" (Note: When I break out the exclamation points and italics, you know I'm worked up about something.)

Anyone who knows me well is aware of my phobia/disgust where bugs are concerned. I find them repulsive, but also strangely fascinating at the same time. I can appreciate the role they play in the circle of life, I just don't want them anywhere near me - and definitely not touching me or crawling on me. *shudder*
But I enjoy nature walks and hikes, and thus in recent years I've become much more tolerant of them while outdoors. But come on, this...
This is just too much to handle:

I love taking evening walks to enjoy the cool, fresh night air. But it seems there's always something disgusting lurking out there, like my nemesis, june bugs *gag* and also apparently mutant moths the size of my freaking hand! Hey, I'm not exaggerating, take another look at that picture and notice the normal sized moth next to it. Yeah, it was that big. *faint*
I think I'll just stick to my early morning walks from now on.

... it is kinda cool though huh? I loathe to admit it, but it's almost pretty. Almost.

P.S. My curiosity got the better of me so I googled this bad boy and found he's a species of Giant Silk Moth. I refer to it as "he" because I learned the bushy antennae indicate it's a male. Gross. At least he has a neat name. More photos and info can be found here.

Surfacing

Last night I finally conquered my childhood nemesis, Ms. Pac-man. That is to say I got so far in the game, with no end in sight, that I finally got bored and just started chasing the ghosts. I think I was around level 50 and my score was something like 389,000. The victory was sweet after weeks of committing pac-man hara-kiri over and over because I screwed up early on in the game and wanted to start over.

I'm still slowly snapping myself out of a recent funk, so this morning I forced myself to get up early and take a walk. I encountered a deer and a Peregrine Falcon – both fairly close-up. I saw a variety of pretty wildflowers and ate wild strawberries for breakfast.

Pac-man and nature walks...Ahhhh…life is good.

Lemmings, slow thy roll

You know, being a nature lover I care about the environment and try to do my part to be "green", but I'm not the most optimistic person by nature and sometimes my efforts just seem pointless. Am I really making a difference? When I think of the billions of tons of refuse going into the earth, waters, and air it's mind-boggling. The situation in the Gulf of Mexico right now is monumentally tragic. When I think about the millions of gallons of oil continuing to pour into the sea as I write this, it's overwhelming and makes my stomach ill. I try to avoid it but when I see images on t.v. like that pelican covered in thick, black oil my heart sinks and the situation seems utterly hopeless. We are slowly destroying the wondrously intricate and fragile ecosystems of this beautiful planet and I feel helpless to stop it.

But then I remember uplifting quotes like "Success is just a state of mind.". Now I don't know who said it, but it's basically true right? And of course there's the classic starfish story reminding us that although the big picture can be overwhelming we shouldn't lose hope because we can still make a difference in each life we touch. But lately those old standbys haven't been enough to pull me out of my funk.

Then, today as I was flipping through the channels I happened to hear just a fragment of something a man was saying and it was enough to hit home and turn my attitude around. I don't remember his exact words but this was the message I took from it and where my mind ran with it:
We are essentially the proverbial herd of lemmings running full-speed towards the cliff (so true!). Now, with all our momentum it may be physically impossible to come to a complete and sudden halt, but we can certainly start slowing down. All our generation needs to do, all we CAN do, is start applying the brakes. It's our obligation to do so, even if we didn't start the fire. (Sorry, I love mixed metaphors!)

I think the lemming reference is genius and sums up the situation perfectly. Whoever you are, you wise little man in my t.v., you rock! I don't know how far away that cliff edge is but it doesn't matter, I can't change that, all I can do is start slowing down the pace. And that's what I intend to do with each pop can I put in a recycle bin or re-usable bag I buy for my groceries. Small things, but not insignificant.

So what can I do about the tragedy unfolding so far away in the gulf? I don't know, but ignoring it because it's too difficult to watch sure hasn't been doing any good. There must be something I can do, maybe assist a wildlife rescue organization in some small way. I'm going to log off right now and look into it and I encourage you to do the same.

I hope these thoughts and ideas are as inspirational to you as they have been to me.

With Peace, Love, and Hope,
Angela

~ Every day should be Earth Day ~

Happy Birthday Grampa Shorty

You'd be 86 today. I know you're watching over things but I thought I'd give you an update just in case. (I'm sure you're a regular reader of my blog right? Ha!) I'm living back on the ranch, keeping Gramma company and helping out with chores. We had an early spring this year and the lilacs are already in full bloom. The yard smells wonderful, I just wish they'd stay around longer. I guess we can't always get our way.

We've been cleaning out the clutter from the house and outbuildings and having an ongoing yard sale. I've been spending a lot of time in the barnyard, sheds, and your workshop. It's a treasure hunt for junk in decent enough shape to sell, but it's also a trip down memory lane - finding remnants from your life and my childhood. I feel your presence all around here and it never escapes me that this stuff is still very much yours. I can almost see you working in the shop, welding a bike frame or something. Seems like it was just yesterday.

I bought some fake blue and white carnations for your shed door. I know you'd hate them but memorials are more for the living you know. Gramma found a sign at a garage sale with an eagle on it that reads "Captain's Quarters". Perfect. She and Steve hung it over the shed door.

The Twins have a new outdoor stadium and I saw a game there, very nice. I'm following the team closely this year. I've been keeping busy with a number of projects, the latest of which is volunteering for the library. I deliver books to a nice old lady in Robbinsdale - she was born just a year after you. Oh, and I cut my hair really short and dyed it black. No doubt you'd have something interesting to say about it. Amy looks just the same, cute as ever, and is expecting a baby in September. Today just happens to be the day we learn the gender. I always thought May 3rd was an auspicious day! I won't find out 'til later on but I think it will be your first great-granddaughter. And I have a feeling she'll be a Twins fan too ;)
Little Raymond is a force to be reckoned with. He's strong like you. I know you'd get a kick out of him. He seems cold and grumpy when you first meet him, doesn't smile a lot, but once he warms up to you he has quite a distinct and surprisingly warm personality. I think he's going to be a character when he grows up. Imagine that!

Well, things are chugging along here, life goes on without you, things change quickly, but one constant is that we all sure miss you like heck. Here's a kiss on the forehead for ya. Happy Birthday Grampa, I love you.






P.S. I was wrong, it's a boy!! And if he's anything like you he's gonna be a feisty little handful! :)

Road Trip: Mississippi River

Well, since the budget is a little tight these days my travels need to be closer to home, but that doesn't mean they need to be any less special. This week I took a spectacular two day drive through bluff country alongside the mighty Mississippi River. On the first day I drove down the Minnesota side (Hwy 61 South) and the second day back up the Wisconsin side (Hwy 35 North) for a total of 460 miles round-trip. Let me just say right now, if you have any affinity for bald eagles, water fowl, or birds in general - along that river is the place to be. Very cool. Let's get to some pics.

Day One: First stop, Frontenac State Park 10 miles SE of Red Wing, MN.



Great views. I took a nice walk in the park and saw a group of deer.

The next cool stop was in the Whitewater area. I guess Whitewater is a wildlife preserve/State Park. From what I saw it was a gravel road that went on for miles, surrounded by wilderness, mostly wetlands, and wildlife. In this picture below I was trying to get a picture of a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree.

I tried zooming but this was the best shot I could get:

Ah, If only I had an awesome camera.


View of Winona, MN from a bluff.



Next stop, Great River Bluffs State Park. It has great trails, my kind of trails anyway, through forest and meadows.


Didn't see any snakes there.


Crossed over into the lovely state of Wisconsin.

Stayed in a cheap motel in Onalaska, WI right across the street from the river. As the sun went down I sat on a bench and watched Pelicans migrating north up the river. I didn't have my camera with though.

Notice little Teeta at the bottom of the statue, she was my companion for the trip and proved to be a handfull. I don't think I'll take her on any overnight trips anymore, she doesn't let me sleep.

Day Two: On the way back up north I stopped at the historic Seven Bridges Road. I'm guessing the famous song is referencing this site. It was a neat little footpath.



And now for my most favoritest stop on the trip, Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge.

I spent most of the morning, at least 4 hours, there and was having so much fun I forgot to take a picture of the welcome sign like I usually do. But I still have the brochures. What was so cool about this place is that it had wetland, prairie grass, and forest habitats. And there was a self-guided driving tour that consisted of a narrow one-way gravel path with several numbered point-of-interest stops along the way. The brochure gave great information about plant and wildlife and even history for each stop. It was exactly like a hike except you were in your car, which I appreciated because I was starting to get tired with all the activities and driving. I rolled all the windows down and crawled along, I don't think I ever went over 5mph and I turned the engine off frequently to just watch and listen. It was awesome. I swear those moments when I'm alone out in nature are just about the only times when I feel zero stress, anxiety, anger, or sadness - out there I'm not in a rush or locked in my own head, I'm just present in the moment and at peace. I feel really alive and a part of everything around me. It's the kind of high worth chasing. And when I do get lost in thought out there, I'm just imagining what life was like for the early European settlers, and before them the Native Americans. I wonder what the landscape was really like back then, and when early man hunted mastodons and sabertooths, and even before man when it was just dinosaurs. Before there was a Mississippi River, when the land was covered in glaciers that eventually melted, creating it. It's nice to get lost in nothing but those kinds of thoughts sometimes.
Alrighty, moving along, this is another pic I snapped at the wildlife refuge. It's a Common Flicker (Yellow-shafted)




Canada Goose

Muskrat

Canada Geese looking for food.


There was this great little grassy pike that stretched 3/4 mile I think. It was a narrow walking path with water on both sides; it felt like a narrow little island. There were tons of birds everywhere I looked. I saw a flock of Sandhill Cranes, many types of duck, a Blue Heron, what I believe was a White Egret, quite a few Bald Eagles and other unidentified hawk-like birds. It was incredible. The whole park felt like a paradise, or what my idea of paradise is anyway.


Beaver Dam


On the way back I stopped at the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder who wrote the Little house books.



And that's it. I'm thinking for my next trip I should do a tour of the covered bridges of Madison County. Sounds like fun.