Month: December 2018

This is just a short post to wish you happy holidays!  The weather here in the Midwest has been just beautiful, and unseasonably warm, the past few days – and promises to remain this way for a few more days.  I’m definitely taking advantage of this… today I took a good walk around Staring Lake with one of my Barred Owl friends, and it was lovely.  I didn’t even have to wear a coat!

On one of the walks I’ve taken recently (not far from my house), I found some great cat prints preceding me down the trail (photo above).  Very cool – that isn’t something you see every day!

I also participated, for the first time, in Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count over the past weekend.  I chose to go out at night to survey nocturnal birds, but only found a single Barred Owl over the course of three hours.  I enjoyed myself, nonetheless.  There were coyotes serenading me at one checkpoint, and I was treated to the brilliant sight of several meteors from the Geminid meteor shower, which peaked Thursday and Friday of last week.  It was a bit windy, but otherwise it was a clear and star-filled night – and I was very happy to be out wandering under that sky!

I also wanted to mention that I’ve begun to develop a merchandise store front via CafePress, featuring many of the photos I’ve been posting on this website.  I’ve just begun, so there are only a few photos (themes) on the site so far.  But if you’re looking for any last-minute Christmas gifts, take a look… you might find just what you’ve been looking for!  The site is organized by theme, which you will find on the menu bar at the left of the screen.  Each theme features one of my photos, and there is a variety of merchandise to be found under each of the themes.   I’ve added a new page to the blog, under the Trail Markers tab, called Travel Trove, where you can find the link to my shop, and hopefully links to more nature and rambling-related stores in the future.  But you can access the shop here as well, it’s also called Forest Wandering.

I’m going to try to get in another post or two before the end of the year… with all this wonderful weather, I should be able to get out for some good rambles!  But if I don’t, I wish you and your loved ones a very joyous and wonderful holiday season!

As I mentioned in my October post, this time of the year tends to run away with me in terms of sleepless nights due to owl banding, and trying to keep up with diurnal activities while operating on a minimum of sleep.  This year was actually not as bad as some past years, since we had a number of bad weather nights that facilitated cancelling banding activities… hence, I did get more sleep on those nights.  At the same time, I’m not getting any younger!  But regardless of the challenges, owl banding season is the highlight of every year for me, and I’m certainly not complaining!  

This year was a bit slow in terms of the number of owls moving through our area during fall migration, but we still managed to band 57 Northern Saw-whet Owls in total, such as the one pictured here.  I’m extremely fortunate to have 16 volunteers who work with me throughout the banding season.  I wouldn’t be able to maintain two banding stations, or conduct the public programs I facilitate, without these talented owl-loving folks!  I’m a very lucky woman indeed!

But owl banding season is over, and I’ve caught up on my sleep enough to now catch up with you… sorry for the delay!

During the banding season I didn’t do much in the way of dedicated walking, but I did get in some occasional relaxing wanderings from time to time.  Autumn is my favorite season… the brilliant colors, the aromas carried on cool breezes, identifying summer’s end.  The light.  The sometimes raucous passing of birds overhead, on their way south for winter.  I love being outside during the fall months, just to experience these fleeting sights, sounds, sensations.  So I took as many short walks as I could, in areas such as West Twin Lake in Nisswa, pictured above.

I was also blessed with several lovely days to ramble a little in Carver Park. These pictures are of Crosby Lake, which is very near to Lowry Nature Center in Carver Park.  Since I do take care of the three resident raptors at Lowry, I am there every Sunday, and try to take advantage of those visits to get a bit of walking in, most often with one of the birds on my arm.  There’s nothing like taking a walk in the woods or down to the lake with an owl or a hawk as a companion!  Again, I am one very lucky woman!

The last of my photos from Carver Park was taken the day after a windy night that blew the last of the leaves from the trees.  A blanket of gold covered the ground that day, and the sunlight captured that richness one last time before those colors began to dim, signaling the end of yet another stunning fall season.  

 

 

 

 

I also spent a little time walking around Staring Lake, and caught this misty, peaceful autumn photo…

Hopefully I’ll get in some walks in the near future, but I’m also hoping to do a little cross-country skiing this year.  Either way, I’ll keep you in the loop!   Until then, a quiet autumn sunset to end the season with…