Fall Colors In My Backyard

I haven't taken you for a walk around the backyard in a while, so I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the colors that are out there. (Remember you can click on the pictures to make them bigger.) We haven't had a hard frost yet although tonight's forecast is for temps in the low 30's. (I covered my second crop of lettuce just to be safe--it's finally gotten big enough to start eating.) I would say we're at peak color in the area right now and in addition to all the beautiful colored leaves, I still have some flowers blooming.

Yarrow

Gorgeous purple asters

One brave little purple coneflower

We lost quite a few apples in late season windstorms, but there are still some hanging on. I'll let them get frosted a little (it makes them sweeter) and then pick what I can to make apple butter and applesauce and maybe even an apple pie for Mr. Johnson!

Don't you love these Winterberry Holly?

I have several of these holly bushes in the backyard, but this one has the most fruit on it. I planted them especially for the birds, but the birds have never taken advantage of the fruit. However, they provide beautiful color in the backyard through much of the winter.
Asparagus plants are even changing color. This is how you find where asparagus is growing wild in road ditches--drive around looking for the yellow color in the fall and remember where it is so you can go back to cut some in the spring.

Some of the sumac from the roadside ditch is infiltrating the evergreen windbreak at the edge of my yard. It's annoying to me and I need to go cut some of these wayward visitors off, but the red leaves of the sumac are such a beautiful contrast against the dark green of the evergreens, don't you think? So I think I will give them a "stay of execution" until they have lost their leaves.

Here are a couple views of the staghorn sumac patch. This patch has probably quadrupled in size since I planted it about 7 years ago.I think this is the most colorful I have ever seen it!

Here's one of the maple trees--changing over from green to yellow. I think it's pretty amazing how some of the leaves are still completely green and some are completely yellow, while the others are half and half.

The aspen trees are just starting to change to their yellow leaves. I'm guessing within the week, these trees will be all yellow. This aspen grove is another success story in my backyard. By discontinuing lawnmowing around the 10 or so trees that were there, the little shoots just took off and now I have a really nice little grove. The only mowing I do there now is 3 trails through the middle of the trees--it's like my own private little aspen jungle! Bunnies and deer like to spend time in there too.

The Mountain Ash trees are covered with orange berries too. I'm surprised the Cedar Waxwings haven't eaten all these berries yet.

How about this handsome little feller? I've had bunches of these White Crowned Sparrows (adults and juveniles) in the backyard for a couple weeks. I tried hiding behind a shrub to get some pictures of these twittery little birds, and after 20 minutes, this was the only acceptable shot. BTW - I saw my first dark-eyed junco in the backyard yesterday afternoon also.

And here's one of the favorite spots for many of the birds in my backyard. It started out as 10 red osier dogwood seedlings that eventually grew into 10 foot shrubs. Now the shrubs are grown over with Virginia creeper and wild grapes, also one giant elderberry bush and a box elder tree right in the middle of the thicket. I keep a tray feeder right on the edge (you can see it in the lower left of the picture). It's so dense and excellent cover for the birds--especially when Cooper's Hawk swoops into the yard. I think the Gray Catbird nested here this summer, but I won't be able to check for any nests till all the leaves are gone.

I hope you all get a chance to go out and enjoy fall colors soon--in your backyard and beyond.

The 1-Year Swap

Last week I came across an interesting post at the blog of my knitting friend Herci. She had just signed up for her first knitting/crafting swap/exchange/circle/chain. And then I signed up for myself with Herci. Have you ever participated in one of these? I see them pretty regularly on some of the blogs of knitters and spinners.

Here's how it works: Herci will be hand-crafting gifts for 5 people who signed up for the swap on her blog. Those 5 people (I'm 1), will then announce the swap on their blog (this is my announcement), and hand-craft (in my case, probably knit) gifts for 5 people who sign up for the swap by commenting on this announcement post.... those 5 people then have to announce the swap on their blog, and make gifts for 5 people who join the swap by commenting on their post.... and the gift chain continues. The giver has 1 year from the date of the post to deliver their 5 gifts (hence the name).

Sounds like fun, don't you think? If you would like to join this swap/chain, you just have to comment on this post. I promise to put lots of love into the gift I craft for you!

Why I Bowhunt

Last summer at the birding festival in North Dakota, someone asked me why I hunt. I think my response was probably pretty lame, but it got me to thinking and now I'm going to try and give you an explanation, in words and pictures, how I can be a nature lover and hunter at the same time. I know plenty of people who enjoy nature without having to be a hunter, but I feel bad for someone who's a hunter and yet doesn't fully appreciate or enjoy nature while they're out hunting.

Hunting with a bow and arrow is so completely different than hunting with a gun. First of all, the deer season starts in September (usually around the peak of fall songbird migration), when the weather is still beautiful and I can enjoy being outside. The season lasts until the end of December, so there's no pressure to shoot the first deer you see like there is during the 6 days of shotgun season. Another reason is that there are no other buck-crazy hunters out there with guns blasting away at practically anything brown and furry, so I never fear for my life or Mr. Johnson's while we're out bowhunting.

The nice thing about bowhunting is that you're all dressed in camouflage, so once you're where you need to be, you become part of the landscape (i.e., invisible to birds and wildlife). So I get to see cool things like this little doe snacking out in the hayfield and squinting into the late afternoon sunshine. Did you even know deer could squint? (me either until I took this picture)

I got the chance to see eye-to-eye with this little buck. He could see my hands moving as I took the picture, but he didn't know what I was, so no fear on his part.

I got to see this little buck right under my tree--he never even knew I was there!

And he crossed farther into the field maybe 10 yards from my treestand. This would have been an easy shot for me with a bow, but I prefer to let this little guy grow up. And that's a choice I can make as a bowhunter because I know there are bigger bucks (and does) out there that would provide a lot more meat for my freezer.

Bowhunting in the fall allows me to spend time outside on gorgeous days like this.
Bowhunting forces me to physically challenge myself and makes me so thankful that I have good health. It's not quite as easy as it used to me, but I can still haul my 50-year-old body 15 feet up that little ladder attached to the left tree to the treestand (right arrow is pointing to it).

Once I get up into my treestand, I get to enjoy this view. Definitely worth the hike and climb, don't you think?

From my treestand, I can look down on beautifully colored leaves on my tree.

And when I'm not watching for deer, I can watch Eastern Bluebirds, checking out evening roosting spots in natural cavities of a nearby dead tree (this is something I have never seen before!)

And because I'm in the tree at bird level, I can get a photo of a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet -- at his level -- for the nanosecond that he sat still before flitting out of my camera range just 10 feet in front of me.

I can watch Eastern Wild Turkeys going about their business across the pasture.

And I can watch another little buck enjoying some sweet alfalfa in the same pasture.

And in addition to wildlife, I get to have a little fun with the cattle out here too--in the daytime..... .....and after dark. I enjoy cattle because they are so goofy and curious.

Bowhunting takes a huge amount of time, dedication and practice to be successful. I practice target shooting every day and concentrate on hitting the target inside a 3-inch circle. I feel it's my personal responsibility to not to take any shot where there's a chance I could injure, but not kill a deer. I actually bowhunted for 3 years before I shot my first deer 2 years ago. For me, shooting a deer is the hardest part of the bowhunting experience. While I'm happy that I'm able to provide food for us, I actually have to kill an animal myself in order to do this. So I'm always aware of my responsbility to the animal to try and make its death as quick as possible. (Reading Catherine Friend's book "The Compassionate Carnivore" made me even more mindful of this responsibility.)

So there you have it.....why I bowhunt. Not because I enjoy killing animals, but because I love nature and I get the chance to be a part of it for many enjoyable hours each year. We have an overabundance of deer in this area, so I know I'm not doing any harm to their population and we will have a freezer full of great tasting, organic, free-range venison that was harvested with skill, appreciation and respect.

And if you need anymore convincing, I enjoy bowhunting specifically for moments like this (shown in the video below) when I get to see and learn more about deer in their natural environment. These are things a person normally wouldn't have the chance to experience unless they're able to spend lots of hours out in the woods. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away."

I Got an Award!

Over 3 weeks ago, I received this neat little award from Red out in California (thanks Red!). Amazingly enough, this award originated with Patricija at her Wisdom of the Heart blog and has come all the way around the world from Slovenia to Minnesota by way of California! Now I'm finally getting around to the acceptance/acknowledgment and passing this award on to some other excellent blogs I love reading.

To Marsha--a fellow biker woman (and Minnesotan!), birdwatcher and fabulous gardener.

To Deb--building her own house and enjoying her family, pets and nature in the Minnesota northwoods

To Richard--who's learned more about birds in 2008 than he ever thought possible and also has time to enjoy and photograph the various other wild critters visiting his backyard habitat.

To Ruth--sharing birds, nature and stories of her life, family and work in Ontario, Canada.

To Jayne--a wonderful woman who loves her backyard birds, her family and caring for others with her faith and her job as a nurse.

To Cindie--mom of a teenager, wife of a farmer, loves dogs, cats and nature.....she's living the good life in southwestern Ohio.

To Julie--a fellow fiber artist, nature lover and weather geek. I hope to get the chance to go birding with her in Kansas some day.

I hope you all enjoy this award and will also get a chance to pass it along to other blogs you love.

Time for Another Auction

Gosh, is it Monday night already? That's what happens when you take a couple days off work and try to cram a week's worth of activities into 4 days! I always wish my days at work would go by as quickly as my days off!

I meant to do this post over the weekend, but finally got caught up just tonight to take some photos of the shawl I'm going to auction off for October's "worthy cause." I'm sure most of you know Mel, our sweet blogging friend from Peru. She's been quite busy with other things in her life and job right now, so you probably haven't seen many posts or comments from her, but back in August, she posted a story about her friend Rita Lucia. (And if you read Spanish, Mel has also created a blog just for Rita and her recovery efforts).

At Mel's request for ideas from creative people, I decided to do my part with a handknitted shawl. The auction proceeds from this shawl will go directly to Mel who will put it into the bank account for expenses related to Rita Lucia's recovery efforts.

This shawl is 100% wool. I admit these pictures don't really do it justice, but hopefully when you click to enlarge them, you will get a better idea of how this shawl looks. It's not a huge shawl, but would be very warm over your shoulders on a chilly evening while still leaving your lower arms free for sitting at the computer and blogging! The front edge folds back into a little "lapel."

Front View

(blouse not included)

Back View

Although this shawl would hang very nicely over your shoulders without having to be secured, you may also want to think about getting one of these lovely handmade shawl pins from Romi. I found her website (Google!) early one Saturday morning. I had been looking for some new shawl pins and penannular brooches and Romi has a nice selection of both.

(shawl pin not included)

So, on to the auction! The auction will be open until 8 PM (CDT) Friday night (Oct. 10th). I realize finances are tight for everyone right now, but I hope you can find a little extra in your wallet (and heart) to contribute towards a very determined young lady (and in return you will get a beautiful red shawl to wear this winter!). Please leave bids in the "Comments" section of this blog post or if you're not comfortable with that, you may also e-mail your bid to me (rjknits at msn dot com). Bid high and bid often!

Some Things You Don't See Every Day

Fall has arrived......my furnace came on this morning and we have a little frost predicted for overnight. I got my final glimpse of a hummingbird at my nectar feeder last Sunday afternoon. I'm finally caught up at work after another end-of-quarter and it's time to get caught up again with my blog and blogging friends. I've been taking a few pictures here and there in the last couple weeks and today I'm cleaning out my photo files and sharing some of these pictures with you.

We took down the trail cameras on September 20th. But before they came down, we did manage to get several photos of the 12-point buck that's been seen in this area. I love this picture! This camera has a woven fabric strap that secures it to the tree and I'm sure this strap and camera are covered with "Ruth scent" from all the handling.


Here's another good shot of this magnificent buck. This is the biggest buck we've ever captured on any of our trail cameras.

In the same area, there's still a doe with her triplets and here's one of her little babies--still covered with spots!

My buddy Mike at work shot a bear in northern Minnesota a few weeks ago. I begged him for some bear steaks (because we've never tried bear, but heard it was very good). Mike obliged with a package of 4 steaks for us. It was so good! Mike told me he likes it better than venison and Mr. Johnson and I agree.

Bear........it's what's for dinner!

More goldfinch-palooza! When the level of seed goes down in the tube, more finches congregate in the seed catcher tray.....
......and in the platform feeder on the deck below the tube feeders.
Aren't they fun? I love these little birds!

A gray catbird visited early Saturday morning a couple weeks ago. This bench sits very near my little pond with the fountain and I think the catbird was trying to decide whether to "take the plunge."
The same morning (9/21) this migrating yellow warbler also stopped by the pond for a quick drink.

No red-breasted nuthatches yet, but I was surprised to see this little female purple finch stop by the nyjer feeders last Friday (9/26).

I'm in the process of choosing a shawl for the October "worthy cause" auction. I hope to get that posted by Saturday, so be sure to check back then.

UP Challenger No. 3985

We interrupt this birding and nature blog to bring you............a train! But not just any old train, this is Union Pacific's Challenger No. 3985 Steam Locomotive, "the only operating engine of its class in the world today – the largest and most powerful operating steam locomotive."

This train was originally scheduled to be in Minnesota during the Republican National Convention, and I had been anticipating that event since I first heard about it in April. Then in late August, we heard the train had been cancelled. About 3 weeks ago, Mike (my train buddy at work) told me this train was re-scheduled to return to Minnesota at the end of September, and as luck would have it, I didn't have to work today and was able to see the train up close and personal!

(I had another really great video that I wanted to insert here but Blogger absolutely refuses to let me upload it. I tried at least 8 times, even tried resaving the video in Windows Movie Maker but nothing's working. UPDATE: I finally got this video uploaded, but in a separate post......please click on this link or just go down to the previous post and you can view the video there.)

There was a wide variety of people in Owatonna to see this train, but mostly older folks. I spotted this lady with curlers in her hair as I was making my way through the multitude of "train enthusiasts," but didn't realize till I got home and processed my photos that she appeared in my photo too. I'm always amazed when I see ladies who still wear curlers!

OK, back to the train.

I think these are tender cars that carry the fuel to run the train. Although the engine is still powered by steam, that power is now generated by diesel fuel and not coal like years ago.


Here are some of the other cars that make up the train. Each car has a name on it. I didn't notice that until I spoke to Brother Phil in California (who works for Union Pacific).

This is a huge engine. I think I read on the UP Website (link is above) that this engine and tender together weigh 1 Million Pounds!
This plaque was on the side of the engine. She looks pretty darn good for 65 years old, don't you think?
Here's another photo of me with the Challenger engine in the background.

And here's a similar photo of my Brother Phil and Nephew Charlie with the same Challenger engine in California.

This train is going to be in St. Paul, Minnesota for the rest of the weekend at the South St. Paul Union Pacific Station (a link to the schedule is here). If you're going to be in that area and don't have any other plans, take time to go over and see this magnificent steam engine. Or better yet, take the morning off Tuesday and go over and see the train leave the station. There's nothing quite as exciting as being able to see and hear a train like this in person!

Here's a video I shot of the train departing Owatonna on its way to St. Paul.

UP Challenger 3985 Steam Locomotive Video

Old Dog Learns a New Trick

Remember a couple weeks ago when I was so frustrated with my inability to upload videos to my blog? I asked for help in my comments and Larry from The Brownstone Birding Blog mentioned that he was having good luck using Windows Movie Maker. So this afternoon, after searching my hard drive and finding out that I do indeed have this program on my computer, I did a little bit of experimenting. Results are shown below:

Now hopefully I'll remember what I did for next time!

Thanks Larry!