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[calhound]

Daily Updates
NABC Bears, Ice, Catkins, and an error - UPDATE April 12, 2020
12 April 2020
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At the Bear Center, Tasha was back to her sweet treat tree and then on to entertain herself and us while Holly and Lucky entertained each other as Toni Embree caught in this 3-minute video https://www.facebook.com/toni.embree.54/videos/266957937652672/Turkey
Turkey

Before I forget, I wrote a wrong date last night. The first bear spotted around here was on April 8, not the 5th. (Now corrected on the update) None reported since.

Beaver mom with juvenile
Beaver mom with juvenile
While the bears sleep or at least continue their winter lethargy, the early bird is getting the catkins. On quaking aspens, buds are bursting and furry little catkins are growing and grouse are eating them (12-14% protein). By the time bears are out and climbing to the tops of aspens, the catkins will be bigger, so maybe bears know what they are doing energy-wise. Maybe the average bear is smarter than we think.

Beavers are still bound by ice on the lakes; but on the rivers a week ago the ice was disappearing in some stretches and this mother was leading her 10 or 11-month old baby on a quest for food (They?re born in May or June). The mother would dive under an ice shelf while the baby waited for her to resurface and lead onward. Here on Woods Lake, which is one of the first for ice-out, the water and ice by the lodge across the lake is looking pretty black as it begins to melt, but the beavers are still ice-bound.

Beaver lodge Woods Lake
Beaver lodge Woods Lake
Gull at suet
Gull at suet
 

As I wrote that last sentence, the eagle flew close again and is perched on the pointy top of a spruce tree while I get the right lens on to click him if he comes. The suet has also been popular with gulls today with the lakes still frozen and fruitless. Gulls are back in number now. The picture is of 6 O?clock trying to pull off a piece of still-frozen suet early this morning.

The day started with a serene scene as a bit of the outlet stream for Woods Lake started to open and was quickly occupied by a beautiful pair of hooded mergansers.

Turkey male
Turkey male
Quaking aspen catkins
Quaking aspen catkins
Hooded merganser pair
Hooded merganser pair
 

Big excitement for Donna and me shortly after our big lunch of turkey leftovers was seeing only the second turkey I?ve seen here in 27 years. I don?t know how they make it through the winter here. It was eating the little blades of emerging grass just like the deer. As the turkey got bolder, the deer got warier and didn?t know what to make of this critter. They had probably never seen a turkey before. The deer shied away. But when a deer later ran by, the turkey ran away. April is turkey mating season in the north, and the wattle on this big Tom?s neck was in its full red glory. He gobbled at times, which is what Toms do in mating season to gather hens. I don?t know how far this Tom traveled in his search for a mate, but he lucked out to find this spot that has some blades of grass, although grass is also appearing on roadsides now as evidenced by the number of deer eating their now. Along that line, this was the only day that I ever counted 4 deer IN Ely as I drove to work at dawn. The big Tom here knew a good thing when he found it and stayed here the rest of the day. We?ll see what happens tomorrow. The previous sighting here was also in April?on April 28, 2012.

Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

[calhound]

hi jewelies it is 28 here wind is cold 53 in the barn 3 raccoonies. i had just enough cookies! loved the update beaver with her kid hope she found food hope that ice melts for the beavers that turkey knows where to be for food and safety hope he hangs around there forever.loved the video of tasha and lucky and holly those two. so nice they got each other. picture of that gull. wish i had a really nice camera like that. i saw on the world news that because everyone staying in or at least most are business shut down can really see the milky way in the skies now. no pollution that is cool.

hi nora! i just love that easter card from you with chester!! so darn cute! it got cold here too north wind is cold guess no mowing today! i may just have to read my third frankenstein book. i had cereal for easter and jim came home from the lake and ate a box of ho ho's and drank a half gallon jug of milk.

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[calhound]

http://www.jigzone.com/puzzles/E616C0D0F57?z=0

http://www.jigzone.com/puzzles/AE16EAE1754?z=28

[lupinelady]

good morning everyone- 26 here and a howling wind but the east sky looks clear. Doesn't look like there will be any mulch distributed today. Yesterday was a funny day. Rain was not far away when I got up so I stayed inside. Then the temp went up to 70 so I went out after lunch and relocated some renegade plants from the barn garden. I had a hosta that when planted 20 years ago fit right in. However as the tree grew I planted shorter hosta behind the original one. So the one in the front was taller and hiding the back plantings. Yesterday I dug up part of the tall hosta and relocated it to the back of the garden. Still some to dig up but I'll save that for another day. Also dug out some self seeded columbine and pit them in the field. Turns out that we didn't get much rain and in the soace of 4 hours the temp dropped 30 degrees. didn't rain until about 3 PM.

nora- ty for the card- Chester looks good in his bunny ears.

We have lots of turkeys here- that one in Ely was pretty.  The birds here are already singing- reminds me of a comment by rues- I think about a storm coming through at night and then the birds were singing. At night even. Never heard of that. Maybe they were complaining about getting woken up at night. lol

johoward- I hope you got your visitors yesterday and you had a nice time. We seem to be spending way more time on the phone than usual but still keeping in touch with family and friends.

time for breakfast- have a great day jewelies!

[calihoula]

hi you guys! i went to price choppers at 7 only one other person there had on mask scarf gloves its so cold wind howling. got my drinks jims precooked pork fritters his corn dogs my cereal cat litter got gas 1.58 wait mouse cake done. jim said at lake gas was 1.22 wait griz wants petted. okay went to the bank told stephie depositing our unemployment check! thank you ykw. called missy today she is much better  she does have insurance! pete got it for her and diane they pay 200.00 a month he pays the rest. she said cig cost her 175.00 a month better deal now no cigs insurance and she has lost 30 lbs and her mom coming over every day helping her throw out junk clean up her house her dad renting a big trash container. i thought i might drive into a ditch! so happy she feels like she has been given another chance her dr wants to draw blood see exactly what she has cause it was really bad she is not over it but lots better came home went to the barn got pearls used hay came out wind almost got me but did not. i have to have pearls area clean smooth so she gets spooks not trip on hay keep it dry to not slide better for me to fall than pearl better for me to break a bone than pearl. came in the garage feral coaly retro by jims four wheeler i went and pushed them back a mouse ran out i grabbed it cupped in my hand took it out to the barn let it go it looked up at me like what a morning for me. your okay now eat some cake i dread them snakes showing up hope i can grab them. they must go mice trust me.

[ruesgram]

Hi Jewelies! Strange Easter thanks to ykw. Our local paper didn't even mention Easter yesterday! Usually there are pics of kids at egg hunts and others at church services. Our county now has 19 cases of ykw so the health dept has put more restrictions on us. No more than 5 people can be in a group and stores can only have 2 people per 1000sq feet and continue wearing masks and gloves. Wish this was over.

Cal, nice update pics! We have lots of turkeys outside of town. Funny how there are only few in Ely! Sounds like Missy is doing very well! So good to hear that. Thanks for the info on Victoria. I was wondering how they would make the queen age. I would rather have Jenna continue playing her. Loved your Easter bunny riding the horse! Bunny didn't leave me any candy.

Lupe, I had a doctor appt scheduled last Tuesday. Instead of going there my doctor called me! I had the choice of a video call or a telephone call. I chose the telephone. It was so weird to talk to her on the phone! I had had bloodwork done the week before so we went over the results. Then she asked me how Robin, Crow and my older sister were doing. The remainder of the call we talked politics! We have similar beliefs. We made my next appt for Oct. Hope I get to go to that. Wish I could get bulk mulch but I know Crow couldn't help me with it. He thinks he has a torn ligament in his knee.

Ra, did you have any kind of Easter dinner? Robin came and we had Thanksgiving dinner again! No more turkey breast dinners till Sept. Robin wants it for her birthday again. Her Hawaii trip is officially cancelled! She got refunds on everything. She and Tasha are hoping to reschedule the trip in the fall.

Nora, thanks for Chester's Easter card! Always enjoy seeing him in his holiday garb!

Jo, so sorry that Joan is feeling so bad now. Hope she feels better soon.

Have a great day! Stay safe!

[calihoula]

hi rues! bunny left me no candy either that is okay. i know rues wish this was over. missy is better! quit smoking! i would rather have a phone call from my dr but i dont think i can get a pneumonia shot over the phone as soon as ykw leaves i will go get one later my flu shot. robin sure likes thanksgiving dinner did her boss get that small business loan? last sat i saw keeping up not on some other british comedy took its place im sad no more recording it i got 9 episodes but i forgot what took its place wanted to ask you about it so friday i should be able to see it. i know i want jenna to wear old queen makeup but they are going to replace her.  yay robin got a refund on the trip are you going to walmart this week with your sister?

[calhound]

Daily Updates
Cedar Bark - UPDATE April 13, 2020
13 April 2020
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Crows are supposed to be one of the most intelligent birds. Actually all birds in that family (Corvidae) are known for their intelligence. Deer with quizzical look
Deer with quizzical look
But so are bears and people. Maybe the binding proof is that all three use cedar bark for clothing, bedding, or nest material. I had no idea about crows, but "Pooch Pal" recorded the evidence in this 30-second video Birds Stripping Bark From NABC Logs

I had no idea about people, either, until a Lily Fan sent me an email letting me know that Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest used cedar bark for clothing. I scoured my emails for her email today and couldn?t find it, so I tried Wikipedia. There is was, just like she told me with a picture to ?prove? it:

 
Cedar Bark ClothingCedar bark textile was used by indigenous people in the Pacific Northwest region of modern-day Canada and the United States. Historically, most items of clothing were made of shredded and woven cedar bark.

The name of the trees which provide the bark material are of the genus Thuja, which has two species redcedar and cypress which are both known by the common name 'cedar' in North America. After the western redcedar or yellow cypress (often called "yellow cedar") bark was peeled in long strips from the trees, the outer layer was split away, and the flexible inner layer was shredded and processed. The resulting felted strips of bark were soft and could be plaited, sewn or woven into a variety of fabrics that were either dense and watertight, or soft and comfortable.

Women wore skirts and capes of red cedar bark, while men wore long capes of cedar bark into which some mountain goat wool was woven for decorative effect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_bark_textile


Duck in small opening in ice
Duck in small opening in ice
Out the window, a duck was so desperate for open water that he settled for the tiny open patch shown in the picture.

As I cranked a window open today, a deer looked at me with such a quizzical look that I had to click. I think it is the buck that was limping earlier; this deer was walking fine. I hope it is the same one. I should compare pictures.Black bear at Wolf lake
Black bear at Wolf lake

The person who saw a bear at her bear feeder on April 8 got a picture of it back last evening, April 12. Not a bear I recognize.

Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

[calhound]

hi jewelies it is 30 here 53 in the barn 4 raccoonies one possum good i had the big can filled with dry food. love the update pictures. the duck looks like a card photo so good to see a bear is back for someone and i do hope that deer is the one limping and okay now hope dr rogers checks on that.

http://www.jigzone.com/puzzles/4E16C0D083B?z=28

http://www.jigzone.com/puzzles/D1168F0BAA8?z=0

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[lupinelady]

Good morning everyone- I didn't look at the thermometer but  it is cold once again but no wind. Haven't turned on the tv  so no forecast yet. Yesterday it barely got to 36 and it was a howling wind all day. I went out to get my sil her favorite bread at the bakery and got myself a caramel cinnamon donut too. It was hard to even open the car door the wind was so bad.

No mulch got spread yesterday- we'll see about today. Rues if I waited for hubby to help the mulch would never get done. He never helps with my yard work except for keeping my mower in gas and fixing it. My bleeding heart was about to bloom but the wind yesterday really hurt it. I moved my big metal garbage cans that I keep my bird seed in to help block the wind but it suffered a lot. I may trim off the damaged stocks and see if it will come back. Poor thing. The daffs were hiding their blooms too- harsh, cold wind.

cal- so glad missy is better; I love the picture of that bear at the feeder. Had to laugh at Dr. Rogers comment- not a bear I recognize. Maybe a young one- but a smart one. I saw 2 tv s yesterday so they are back here.

Time to eat- have a great day jewelies!

[ra]

Hi Jewelies! Beautiful day again... nice and sunny.  My grands stayed with me on Saturday night, then again last night because their phone and internet was out.  They both have school work online, so that's why they came here again.  Big news around here... a VERY scary night Sunday night.  The next town over from us, Seneca, had an EF3 tornado go through at 3:30am.  It absolutely destroyed a manufacturing plant where over 900 people work.  The security guard was killed, but there were no workers on the night shift, thanks to ykw.  The town of Seneca was hit very hard... lots of houses destroyed, vehicles destroyed, trees everywhere along with power poles.  Some of the debris from the plant was found on the other side of Clemson... about 15-20 miles away.  All together there were 5 tornadoes that went through this area that night.  It woke me up around 3:15, torrential rain and 80 or so mile an hour wind.  I watched it from my front door.  Quite a light show over the trees toward Seneca.  So much lightning!!  All my mulch work in one place ended up in my driveway... again.  I think it's time for plan C there.      I was very lucky to have my power stay on... My daughter's house wasn't so lucky, but no damage there.  I spent all of yesterday picking up sticks and cleaning off the driveway.  A big mess, but nothing like it could have been.

cal... I'm glad Missy is home and feeling better.  Fingers are crossed that she really will quit smoking and keep her house in better shape.  I got my mowing done today while the girls were doing their online classes.  I figured I wouldn't distract them if I was outside.  lol

rues... Too bad Robin had to cancel her Hawaii trip, but so good she got her money back!  No... no Easter dinner here.  You guys are so funny with your Thanksgiving dinners for all occasions!  lol

lupine... Did you have a chance to work on your mulch pile today?

Nora... Thanks for the cute Easter card!  Love Chester!!

joho... Hope Joan feels better today.

Hope all are well!  Hi to all!

[calihoula]

hi ra! omg my heart reading your post! oh ra so happy all of you are okay! your homes okay hope that little bull is okay hope no one gets him murder him for meat i hate that wow 80 mph wind you are so lucky not to lose your power scary for sure i truly believe miss done smoking and her mom getting tons of stuff out of her house.

[Nora in IA]

I'm so glad you checked in RA!!!!  I was all set to call and then thought I'd see if you posted anything.  That was a shame about the older security guard that died at Seneca that lived in your town.  I'm glad your daughter just lost power and didn't get damage.  Take care!!!!!!!

[ra]

Nora and cal... There was another smaller tornado that touched down past my house, but by the track they showed, it looked to have been right over my house!  Whew.  I was very lucky that night.  The pictures of the homes in Seneca are heartbreaking... my daughter was just showing me some that somebody she knows took with a drone.  Amazed that only one person died, especially in the middle of the night and it was a fast moving storm, too.  They have the streets there blocked and a curfew for the whole town.

[calhound]

black bear people of ely mn said this...No update tonight, date night for Dr. Rogers and Donna - LM