Horse Manure Park

Hmmm... I guess nobody thought much of my rollerblading joke. I thought sure I would have a comment or two about it. I heard that one the other night and I laughed so hard I nearly cried. I guess it is too politically incorrect for people's taste these days. If you were insulted or offended, get over it. Ha! Thanks to President Bush, we are now proud owners of a flat screen television. Because I am the way I am, I read the instruction manual from front to back. The manual is about 75 pages long, but only 20 of them are in English. I tried to reading the French, Spanish, German, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese and Korean instructions, but I couldn't understand a damn word. I hope I didn't miss anything important. The broken English in these manuals is funny, though. For instance, the manufacturer recommends the following: "Hang product by a wire from pre-fitted screws to prevent damage from immediately when the earthquake happens." Huh? I'm not quite sure w...

Q: What's the worst part about rollerblading? A: Telling your parents you're gay.

I seem to be updating my blog often this week. I guess it's been an active week. The garage sale is done and it was a huge success. Beth closed up at noon on Friday because we basically ran out of things to sell. All of the big items sold right away, which means our upstairs is pretty empty now. The recliners, armoire, my beautiful television... all of it is gone. Sold to some passing stranger, never to be seen again. It is time to go onward and upward, so they say. The other day I e-mailed Stan Tekiela, who is a famed naturalist, author and wildlife photographer, and asked him to identify our little birdy that has come to visit us (this was before I figured out the mystery). Stan is a busy guy; he wrote Birds of Minnesota Field Guide , which many of you probably have at home, and many other nature books. He also appears on WCCO radio on weekend mornings. I never thought he'd write me back, but sure enough he took the time to send me an e-mail this morning, confirming...

This has been driving me crazy all day and I kept looking until I finally solved this mystery. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions about what our new feathered friend might be, but I finally stumbled upon the Cape May Warbler, and that's what he is. Their markings are identical and the clincher is the fact that this particular warbler has a unique tubular tongue, which they use to eat nectar, and that explains why he is hanging out at the oriole feeder. Posted is my picture (above) and a picture from Cornell University (below) of a male Cape May Warbler in its breeding plummage in May. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Cape_May_Warbler.html

Just an update from an earlier blog entry, Def Leppard's Songs from the Sparkle Lounge debuted at #1 on Billboard's Hard Rock Album chart and #5 on Billboard's Hot 100 Album chart, leap-frogging over Hannah Montana, Clay Aiken and bunch of other people I've never heard of. This is the highest debut for a Def Leppard album in 17 years, and deservedly so. Lead singer Joe Elliot joked in a recent interview, "This is kind of unfamiliar territory for us, but I guess we're in the right place at the right time." The next single from the album, "C'mon, C'mon," has been playing in both NHL and NBA arenas during the playoff games over the last couple of weeks; it's also been heard on Versus Network as a lead in to hockey games, and ESPN2 as "bumper" music over the last couple of weeks. If you haven't heard the song, it stands on its own against anything Leppard has done in the past. Once you hear it, it is embedded in your brain....

Beth and I love to watch/feed birds. We've got several cardinals and the other day at least two pairs of orioles found their way back to our place, plus we've got a couple of humming birds. But a stranger has come along which I just cannot identify, even though I have my Birds of Minnesota field guide right by my side. I got some fairly good pictures of him this morning. He hangs out at the oriole feeder and was even trying to get nectar out of the humming bird feeder. He was also munching on some orange halves. I thought it might be a juvenile oriole, but my book says juveniles look like female orioles. I just don't know what this is. It is just a little bigger than a nuthatch. Can anybody out there help me?

Tomorrow is the first day of our big garage sale. Beth worked all day today in the garage while I watched a mischievous two year old. I hope we do well because Beth really busted her butt getting this organized and ready to go. We'll be open Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We have furniture, including an armoir (excellent condition), two matching La-Z-Boy recliners (good condition), a 32-inch color Magnavox television (works perfectly fine) and a 7 foot tall artificial Christmas tree (like new). Plus there's enough odds-n-ends to keep you browsing for an hour. This crap -- I mean merchandise -- is not going back into my house, so it must SELL ! If you are in the area, come on over and have a cup of coffee. Remember, one person's junk is another person's treasure. You never know what you might find.

My girls are home and I am settled back into my normal routine, which suits me just fine. Ava is down for a nap now and Beth just left for work. It is the weekend, but it isn't just an ordinary weekend: it is fishing opener. Even the governor will be in the neighborhood. Hooray . I can hardly contain my enthusiasm. This means that the weekend at work will be a sprint to Sunday, meaning that it can't possibly be over soon enough. Yes, fishing opener means the good folks from the Twin Cities come "up north" to "the cabin" after watching KARE 11's condescending and belittling "Cabin Cast" forecast on Thursday (complete with jangling banjos as background music). "Up north" means the normal laws of gravity and rules of common sense no longer apply. It is time to get drunk, be stupid and complain about paying taxes on your cabin even though you don't live here. I hear it every year. I also hear "I wasn't expecting to be in the ...

Not much to write about. A very quiet night at home. Beth, Ava and Ann went to Waseca to see Beth's sister Gretchen for a few days, so I've been home alone since Tuesday. There is no doubt I would be a miserable bachelor. The dogs have been keeping me pretty good company, although they tend to prefer sleeping over anything else. They don't say much, but they are good listeners. The house is silent and I'm not used to it. Unlike my canine companions, I have found it kind of tough to sleep for the last couple of days. I've been working since Monday, my usual routine, and my lack of sleep is starting to catch up with me. I don't know why I can't relax, but I'll wake up after five hours of sleep and be wide awake. You would think I would sleep like a rock with the house being empty. Oh well, not a big deal. I can survive on five hours. Like they say, I'll sleep when I'm dead. We finally opened up the camper on Saturday afternoon; I am g...

Let's see, a few things to write about in my web log... Yesterday, May 1st, was Bethany's birthday. I think she's 31 now, or something like that. We had a little celebration yesterday morning with an Ava-made card and presents, She got a digital photo frame and a CD, Sam Cooke's Greatest Hits . I think she was happy. I also made a cake; double chocolate with caramel drizzle, topped off with whipped cream frosting and mini-chocolate chips. I made it up along the way, but it turned out pretty tasty. I was on the road by 10 a.m. yesterday, heading for Bertha, where Brian and I rehearsed with the senior high concert band at 11:15 a.m. Our former high school band instructor, Ken Nelson, is retiring this year and Thursday night was his last concert. We were honored that he invited us back one last time. After rehearsal we came back to Brainerd for the afternoon, then met Scott and Ann at Pizza Ranch in Wadena, where they treated us to supper that evening before the s...