Author: turndoozie

There’s something dead under the Ed Shed. When we moved here, one reason we bought this house was because it had a 12” X 24” shed with it. The shed is insulated and has electric power with its own circuit breaker box. When Lise saw the house, she immediately saw the potential for the shed to be my woodworking shop. No more sawdust drifting through the house, no cars covered with sawdust, no more overloaded circuit breakers tripping, noise greatly reduced. It was immediately dubbed the “Ed Shed” and I spend many hours in there.

The Ed Shed

Inside the sanctorum.

Some products of the Ed Shed.

Things were going along pretty good until about two days ago. Apparently, animals like to find a private place to die. Like the elephant burial ground in the old Tarzan movies. Unfortunately, something decided that crawling under the Ed Shed to die was about as private as one can get. In the high heat of summer. The shed sits low to the ground, way too low to see under. There are a couple ingress and egress points made by various animals over the years, but zero help in locating a rotting carcass.

The smell is bad. Like really bad. Like eye-watering bad. Like paint peeling bad. Think military field latrine and you’re getting close. This could bring a SEAL to his knees. Epoisses cheese doesn’t smell this bad. I’m expecting to see vultures circling shortly. According to some sources a racoon or opossum can remain putrid for weeks to a couple months. Especially in hot humid weather. So, I have two choices. One is to empty the shed, which includes moving a 300-pound table saw, and tear out a nailed down floor, looking for a decaying carcass I then have to remove. Or two, wait until the maggots and dermestid beetles to do their thing. Which could be a long time. I lean towards number two, but I am concerned that before the bugs digest the carcass my shed becomes the racoon equivalent of the elephant burial grounds. Every racoon and opossum in Tippecanoe County crawls under the Ed Shed to die in private.

On a more cheerful note, we’ve been getting out for some birding. This past week we did runs to Portland Arch Nature Preserve and Shades State Park to get some nesting species. We got rough-winged swallow, cliff swallow, Louisiana waterthrush, and worm-eating warbler. That puts us both at 195 species for the year. And I finally got out to do some dragonfly photography. Conditions were terrible but I managed to finally get pictures of a male widow skimmer. I have plenty of female widow skimmer pictures, but the males are a lot more skittish than the females. I have a new macro lens that lets me stay a couple inches further away from the subject. Trivial distance for humans but life or death for dragonflies.

Widow Skimmer.

Today is the summer solstice so the days will start getting shorter again. Winter will be on us in no time as we do yet another lap around the sun. Sure, it’s hotter than Hades right now, with humidity that can fell an ox, but at least we have a lot of daylight. I don’t mind the changing of seasons, but I really like the extend light of late Spring and early Summer.

We have been busy in Ed and Lise world. Can’t say I have a lot to show for it either. Too many things that just suck the time out of you. My brother-in-law spent about three weeks with us. He wanted to build a bookcase for his grandson. I have better tools and workspace than he does, plus I could bring some expertise to bear on the project. I enjoyed helping him, but it put me way behind on my own projects. Like finding time to write or do photography was nigh onto impossible.

On the travel front, we’ve been getting in some short trips. Lise’s work has taken us to Pokagon State Park and to Spring Mill State Park. The Spring Mill trip was on real short notice. We only had a few hours’ notice and only spent one night there. We did get to explore some and got in a bit of birding. Spring Mill is in a geologically interesting karst area. Lots of caves and sinkholes. A whole subterranean ecosystem that few get to experience.

The park also contains Donaldson’s Woods, one of the tiny fragments of old growth pre-European settlement timber left in the Indiana. Huge white oaks, some more than 300 years old. If you’re not impressed when walking through there, I feel sorry for you. Something’s very wrong with you.

Our other trip of note was a four-day excursion back to Okemos. This was a social trip for a wedding and a graduate school graduation party. Two different people, two events, both in the same family. Good times with good friends. Life can’t get much better than that.

What hasn’t been happening is birding, chasing dragonflies, and the photography that goes with those adventures. We’ve been getting in some birding, but it’s been sporadic. We’re both at 192 species for the year. Not a bad number but nothing to brag about either. It’s a matter of effort. We just didn’t get out during the spring migration like we should have. There’s still some opportunity to get the migrants we missed this spring, but it is more difficult. But we shall try. As Lise pointed out today, I can do my shop projects in the winter. But, the birds and dragonflies are ephemeral. They’re not here all year.

Monday, May 30, 2022

Memorial Day. A holiday established to honor those that have fallen in war. There’s a long history going back to ancient times of decorating warrior’s graves with flowers. Here in the U.S., Memorial Day was once called Decoration Day, a day when flowers were placed on the graves of the fallen. Any number of places claim to have originated the idea of a day honoring the war dead. Post Civil War, numerous places held remembrances in both the North and the South. Eventually May 30 was declared the Federal Holiday of Memorial Day. In 1971, Memorial Day was switched to the last Monday in May to make it a three-day weekend. The unofficial kick-off to summertime.

Somewhere along the line we seem to have morphed from memorializing war dead to memorializing anyone that has serves in the armed forces. They all get a flag on their grave if they served. I don’t have an issue with that. All who have served, in time of war or not, have sacrificed. Not the ultimate sacrifice as those who have fallen in combat, but they have sacrificed. That sacrifice deserves recognition. Military duty can be hazardous, even if someone isn’t shooting at you. An aircraft carrier flight deck is dangerous, in war or in peace. Four people I served with died while serving. They deserve to be memorialized, even if they didn’t die in wartime.

For Memorial Day,  Lise and I walked through the Indiana Veteran’s Home cemetery. The home was initially established to care for Civil War veterans. The cemetery is the final resting place of many that have served, from the Civil War onward. Mostly men, but a few women too. Our visit was a simple gesture to pay our respects and give thanks to those that have served.

I had to have our pet bearded dragon Rover euthanized today. He quit eating about five months ago. Like eating nothing. He would walk right through his food. He wasted away to literally skin and bones. Without some invasive procedures there as no way to say what was wrong. The vet looked at him and said it could be kidney or liver failure, or even cancer. And he was not going to recover. So, I did what I thought was best. He was a great pet and had more personality than some people I know. I’m going to miss him.

Rover trying to be bipedal

So why haven’t I written a blog for two months? I wish there was an easy answer for that question. No excuses. I just couldn’t bring myself to sit down and write. We have been doing things, I just couldn’t get the motivation to write.

At the beginning of March we did a little trip that took us around Lake Michigan. Started with a Mardi Gras party in Angola. IN. Then onward to our old stomping grounds of Okemos, Michigan. After two nights in Okemos it was across the Mackinac Bridge to St. Ignace, Michigan with a stop in Grayling to buy cross-country ski boots. Our friend Joanna met us in St. Ignace for our annual Eastern Upper Peninsula winter birding trip. We saw lots of good winter birds and for us a record 19 snowy owls. After a night and day of Eastern UP birding it was on to Marquette for some winter fun.

Snowy owl, one of my personal favorite birds.

Marquette is a great place. Brew pubs, winter birding, skiing, and winter scenery. When we talk to people about Marquette, and our interest in living there, the hard winters usually comes up. Life is different above the 45^th parallel. The hard winters are part of the draw. They know how to do winters there. There’s a rugged beauty that comes with the north country. Especially around the Great Lakes. Lake Superior is beautiful, even when there’s an ice shelf as far as you can see. Something that Indiana hasn’t seen since the last ice age.

Frozen waterfall in Munising.

Ice fishing on Lake Superior in Munising. Doesn’t that look like fun. Beats an afternoon at home I guess.

The Lake Superior ice shelf at the cabin where we stay. (Sand River)

Looking down a breakwater in a Marquette park. At the end there’s a navigational light you can walk to in the summer.

In Grayling a restaurant used ice fishing tent for their COVID outdoor dining. Gotta go with what ya got.

The snowed in ice freezer. I’m not seeing why you need a freezer when it’s something like 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

When in Marquette we always do a trip up the Peshekee Grade to the McCormick Wilderness looking for boreal chickadees. With very spotty success. This trip we found out the secret. Those who know spread peanut butter on the trees and wait for the boreal chickadees and other winter species to pop in. Brings them in like a magnet.

The elusive boreal chickadee

Black-capped chickadee.

The ever adorable red-breasted nuthatch eating peanut butter.

The ever adorable red-breasted nuthatch eating a seed.

Hairy woodpecker

After about a week in Marquette we headed down to Milwaukee. My brother Rich just moved there and bought a house that needed some work. OK, a lot of work. So, Lise dropped me off and I spent a week helping to remodel. Got back West Lafayette for a couple days, then went back up to do some more work.

Since then, we have pretty much been homebodies. Basically, just attending to matters in West Lafayette. We have been getting out some locally, and things are picking up a little with the coming of Spring. Although, I am writing this as we drive to Delaware for ten days.

Some local birds:

Gray catbird

Cooper’s hawk

I trust everyone had a happy Twosday. 2/22/22. Now we need to wait until March 3, 2033 before we have a fun number date (3/3/33) to play with.

Things are a little slow in West Lafayette. Like real slow. So, it’s time to mess with the lizard. Let’s have a look at some lizard yoga, presented to you by our bearded dragon, Rover. Hold applause until the end so as to not break his concentration.

Start by relaxing. Control your breathing. Full breaths, nice and easy. Totally free your mind. Clear out both brain cells. Hold this position for several days, up to a week.

Now let’s stretch those front legs forward. Easy does it. Hold this position until you get bored. Usually for a couple days.

Now really stretch those back legs backwards. Reach for the tip of your tail. Extend your stretch on each out breath. Hold for days.

Now let’s move to both sets of legs stretched backwards. Don’t rush into this position. Curl to whichever side feels more comfortable. Hold for days.

And now let’s alternate stretching those front legs forward and backward. Give each leg at least a day in each position. Remember to keep control of your breathing. Relaxed, deep breaths.

Finally, the biped pose. Hold for several hours. Hope evolution starts taking place.

Finally, relax and breathe. Meditate on what’s important. Like dinner. Hold position for several days, maybe a week or so. Then start looking for food.

If you need to cool off, try hiding behind the toilet for a couple days. You can relax. Your fans will not bother you here.

In all fairness, our lizard Rover has been a good pet. We acquired Rover when we were still up in Lansing. He is an example of why there should b,e a law barring pet stores in close proximity to bars. We were at Zoobie’s Bar in Old Town, Lansing, which is way too close to Preuss pets. After a drink or two Molly and I decided to take a quick walk through Pruess pets. Rover came home with us. He was already an adult lizard whose owner had to give him up. He looked like he needed a good home, so we supplied one. Five or so years later, he is really showing his age and I fear he may not be with us much longer. I doubt he will make it to 3/3/33.

2/2/22 if you are into the number thing. This month we will also have 2/22/22.

Happy Grundsautag. That would be Happy Ground Hog’s Day to those not from Pennsylvania. Apparently, Punxsutawney Phil, the weather predicting rodent, has seen his shadow and is blessing us with another six weeks of winter. I really don’t have anything against rodents per say, except maybe rats carrying bubonic plague, anti-vaxers, and tRump’s minions. But I’m not happy with this particular rodent right now. I’m looking out the window at an eight-inch snowfall, with lots more to come. We could have 15 inches by tomorrow. I’m ready for winter to be over.

We’ve been dancing around snow for a couple weeks. We went to Delaware to do some birding and hopefully enjoy some slightly warmer weather. We had to delay a day to avoid a major snowstorm. We still hit parts of it but avoided the worst. Only had maybe two hours of snow driving. Leaving to come back here last weekend we first spent a couple days Philly. The same weekend the east coast was nailed by a major Nor’easter. Luckily Philly was on the western edge of the storm. Snow started Friday evening and several inches were on the ground Saturday morning, with several more predicted. It doesn’t take much snow to paralyze a city like Philly. Lots of people packed into a small area with really narrow streets. We left Saturday morning before any food riots started and the snow died out about an hour west of Philly.

Overall, the Delaware weather was less than stellar. January of 2021 we were riding our bicycles in Delaware. Not this year. Cold temperatures and lots of wind. We did a couple hikes around Cape Henlopen, doing a loop from the Delaware Bay side to the Atlantic Ocean side. The word bracing comes to mind. Nothing like being battered by a cold ocean wind for you to realize the raw power of the ocean. Forget about taking pictures or using a spotting scope. Standing and walking were accomplishments.

We got in some birding too. Because of weather, using the spotting scope was almost impossible and photography was impossible. We got some good species, and our 2022 species list is up to 87 for both of us. And we had some spectacular sights like tens of thousands of snow geese at sunset.

All quick cell phone pictures out a car window:

Snow geese in a field.

Sunset snow geese flyover. There were thousands of them. Wave after wave.

We followed Delaware visiting Molly and Mitchell in Philly. Always a fun time.

Chilling in the apartment with Sgt. Pepper.

Tattooed Mother; one of many fun bars close to where Molly and Mitchell live.

We brought in the new year with COVID run in. Up until this time we have been careful and have avoided the pestilence. Then we went to Florida for Christmas.

We rented a condo in Fort Meyers Beach for a Christmas break. Molly and Mitchell planned to fly down for a couple days, then fly to Minneapolis, meet some friends, drive with them to Montana for a couple days of snowboarding. Then drive back to Minneapolis, get a ride to Chicago, stay with some friends, then fly back to Philly. A solid plan. Nothing could go wrong there, right? The best laid plans of mice and men.

Molly got her booster shot the day before they flew to Florida. She felt really bad at the airport, which she chalked up to the booster and a major lack of sleep. A day later Mitchell started showing COVID symptoms, so they got tested. Both were very positive. Like they got a positive result in about five seconds. Then Lise got symptoms. So, we all did a 19-hour, one day drive back to West Lafayette and they stayed here through the new year. Then they grabbed their original flight from Chicago back to Philly.

We all had vaccines and boosters except Molly who only got her booster the day before leaving. I never got COVID, despite close contact with multiple infected people. I felt fine the whole time and had three negative tests. The others had relatively mild symptoms, nothing severe or life threatening. We’re thinking Molly picked it up shortly before her booster.

All in all, everything worked out well. Staying at a condo made it easy to isolate ourselves from other people. We could still get to the beach or natural areas and avoid other people. Back here in West Lafayette we got to spend a chunk of time with Molly and Mitchell. Mitchell did woodworking in a shop instead of the trailer porch. Off quarantine Molly spent time with her grandmother. We all took turns cooking and ate extremely well. So, things could have been much worse.

Not too much else about the trip to report. Florida is Florida. A once unique place ruined by air conditioning, Interstate Highways, unchecked population growth, and gross commercialism. Not to mention a whole bunch of Northern and Midwest carpetbagging transplants and tourists like us. Kind of like Phoenix except with water. Too much water in a good hurricane.

Hoosiers in Paradise, Fort Meyers Beach. OK, let the record show that I’m not a Hoosier. I just live here. Only two of the three were born in Indiana.

The coastal area is overrun with people and development. Remaining are a few tiny fragments of unique natural areas and undeveloped beaches. Sure, we could stroll around on Christmas day in a tee-shirt, and it was delightfully green for winter. But I’m not so sure I would want to live there and put up with the traffic, tourists, and gated communities full of crazy old people hell bent in their golf carts.

Fort Meyers Beach on Christmas day.

I guess palm trees don’t have a wide enough trunk to hide with your radar gun.

Driving anywhere from Atlanta, Georgia south.

Florida’s future might be interesting. Its average elevation is something like 100 feet above sea level. A lot of the state is way close than that to sea level. I suspect that climate change is not going to be kind to Florida. Doesn’t bode well for those high-rise hotels right on the beach. You can’t seawall the whole state.

Osprey, Lovers Key State Park.

Trees, Lovers Key State Park.

Anoles, National Audubon Society’s Corkscrew Swamp.

Big hairy spider, National Audubon Society’s Corkscrew Swamp.

White pelicans, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

White ibis, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

Palm, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

With due deference to Clement Moore

‘Twas the night before Christmas, in a condo we rented,
No one was stirring, they’re all quite contented.
The stockings were emptied, to wait we couldn’t bear,
We had to use Zoom, so Lindsay was there,
Now Molly and Mitchel nestled in their bed,
While visions of scrapple dance in their head.

And Lise was snoozing, while I did a nightcap,
This whole crazy year I wanted to recap.
My thoughts were all swirling, my brain pitter-patter,
Nothing was clicking, not sure what’s the matter.

Thoughts would appear, then disappear in a flash,
Whirling and twirling, then they would crash.
All of them spinning could make one feel sick,
Focus and think, get it together right quick.

When what to my wondering mind should appear,
We had us a riot at the start of the year.
tRump lost the election, but he couldn’t believe it,
He ranted and raved, pushed his minions to riot.

More rapid than eagles, his flunkies they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name.
Now! Dimwits, now! Dummies, now! Proud boys and Flynn,
On Qanon, on Nazis, on Oath Keepers and kin.
Assault Capitol Hill, and climb up that wall,
Now march away, march away, march away all.

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
They marched to the Hill, for a coup to try.
They invaded the Capitol, but their coup did fail,
Left to hang by their leader, many went to jail.

And then in a twinkling COVID came to mind,
A worse pandemic you rarely will find.
New versions have hit us and nasty the lot,
Till all are vaccinated, our efforts are naught.
It keeps coming back, I fault anti-Vaxers,
Here’s hoping they all have a date with the knackers.

Thoughts were still coming, not all of them bad,
This year has been strange, but not everything sad.
We managed some travel, going by car,
Not wanting to fly, we couldn’t go too far.
Some trips to Delaware, with side trips to Philly,
And missing Marquette would simply be silly.
We got to Nebraska, and now Florida too,
With Molly and Mitchell, most of our crew.
And our crew’s doing well, we’re proud of them all,
Each has good reason to be standing right tall.
Molly and Mitchell still living in Philly,
they travel all over, their schedule’s a dilly,
Mitchell’s new tech job means working from home,
Comes in quite handy as much as they roam.

Lindsay heard a calling, it’s her future you see,
Now she’s in grad school, soon a teacher to be.
University of Michigan, she’s now Maize and Blue,
To the old Green and White, she couldn’t stay true.

Molly’s been published, working on that degree,
To be the first in our family with a big PhD.
Tho’ times may seem dark, there’s always some light,
So happy Christmas to all and to all a goodnight

What to write about when the Muses abandon you? I sit in front of the laptop and nothing I think would be of the slightest interest to another human being drifts into my brain. The inspiration just isn’t there. Our lives have been notably low key the past couple months. A big night out is throwing darts at the Knickerbocker Saloon. I can’t blame COVID for my lack of inspiration anymore. That’s just life in the Indiana corn belt. The one-two punch of an uninspiring place paired with my lack of ability to make it inspirational.

We did a quick trip to Nebraska, for a rather somber purpose. My niece Katie died suddenly in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Her husband came home and found her unresponsive. Her memorial service was in Fremont, Nebraska where my brother and sister-in-law now live. As a child, Katie took her first steps in our cabin down in Bloomington. She died at 33, a mother of two and a step-mother of another two. And a Navy veteran. I had the privilege of making a display case for her memorial flag. RIP Katie. We can’t change what happened, we can only accept that it happened and move on. But our acceptance still doesn’t make it right. Some things just should not happen.

Our last Lewis and Clark stop was in Pittsburgh where the Corps of Discovery had their keelboat built and started westward. While in Nebraska we were close by the Missouri River but given the circumstances we didn’t have much exploration time. While at the Desoto National Wildlife Refuge we were on the banks Missouri River. Nothing much we can say about our intrepid explorers except that the Corps of Discovery passed the point where we were standing.

The Missouri River, much changed from when the Corps of Discovery passed this way.

So, here’s hoping the Muses show up with my inspiration injection. I’m certainly in need of a booster right now.

Veteran’s Day, formerly known as Armistice Day. The end of the war to end all wars. Nice thought.

The sentiment for Veteran’s Day is well intentioned. Those who have served deserved to be acknowledged and saluted. I served, during a time of relative peace. No major conflicts were going on, but I did end up in the Indian Ocean to support the Israelis during the 1976 Entebbe incident. Yeh, I know, ancient history.

Even in times of peace, or outside the theater of conflict, there’s plenty of opportunities for something bad to happen while serving. An aircraft carrier, especially the flight deck, is not a safe place. The best thing that can happen to you there is nothing. Anything that does happen is probably not good. Carriers aren’t the only hazardous places. A friend’s wife was from a submariner family. She lost her father when the Thresher sank and her brother when the Scorpion sank. When she married Ray, in aviation instead of submarines, he was one of three crew members on an A-3D Skywarrier. Which is said to be an acronym for All Three Dead.

So every Veteran’s Day I drink a toast to those that served, and especially to those that died while serving. Here’s to those that gave their life while in the service of the country, regardless of whether we were in conflict or not. Here’s to Perry, John, Brian, and Fred, four friends that died while we were serving. Here’s to my father, a Navy veteran who served in the Korean theater of operations. Here’s to his other son that served in the Navy, during time of conflict. Here’s to his three grandchildren that served in the Navy, all during time of conflict. Thank you all.