Rescues

I am one of the people in this Southeast corner of Minnesota that can go capture up injured raptors to first bring to my friend Foxfeather for stabilization (she is our local wildlife rehab professional), for eventual transfer up to either the University of Minnesota Raptor Center or the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for non-raptors. On September 28 I got a call for a vulture down. I was able to locate this poor unfortunate bird with the help of the person who had reported it. Eventually I found that the bird was put down, as its injuries were too extensive, and its condition very poor. When I caught it, for the 30 seconds I held it before placing into the box for transport, a whole bunch of mites jumped off the bird and onto me. This is not a good sign, when parasites are looking for any available source to abandon the host they are on, especially when the new host is not a much warmer bird. I had to go right home and take a shower!!

A short time later on the same day I was contacted for a supposed Merlin in someone's back yard here in my little town of Saint Charles. I was just a little skeptical, as this is an uncommon bird for our area, and many people don't know how to properly identify raptors. 

Rich and I responded, and walked around the large backyard not finding the downed bird, then turning, and looking in some shrubs next to the house . . . . and Holly Sh**t!!  It really IS a Merlin!!  This is an intermediate sized falcon, larger than our smallest kestrel, but smaller than the iconic peregrine. I happened to have brought along my box of assorted hoods just in case. I popped one onto its head to keep it calm for its journey to Fox.

This bird too unfortunately was deemed beyond saving, and was euthanized by the Raptor Center, but for a brief moment I was able to hold this little bundle of fire. Falcons truly are very wonderful creatures, even when they are injured.

Camping and Satisfaction of a Bucket List Item

 

It has been quite a few years since I have gone camping. My gear has been gathering dust, and a few mouse droppings in the closet downstairs where it is all stored. Recently, I felt a need to get it out and put it to use.  I almost spent a night at a local State Park, until some unexpected rain cancelled that plan before I purchased a site for the night.  Minnesota has gone all digital now for park access. It is slightly annoying in that the camp site fee is usually about $25 to $30 for the night, but every transaction charges a $10 fee to use the service to make the reservation. There is no other option!  The State is going all "Ticketmaster" on us. I don't mind the money going to the parks. I do mind that they seem to have to hire out the service for reservations, who make a profit off it, because the State can't build their own reservation system that doesn't charge to use the service. 

It has been way too long since I have had any time off from work. I am not the only one! I do have 18 days off coming up in October, which can't come soon enough. I want to do more camping then.  However, recently over a 6-day window off I got from smooshing my normal 3-days-a-week at each end of a 2-week schedule, I was able to sneak in a first camp night out. I coordinated it to tick off a "Bucket List" promise I had made to Rich.

There is a couple of "Big Dumb Boats" up in Duluth. Rich seems to really like touring things like that. I am quite indifferent. In an effort to make sure we also do stuff he is interested in, I tried to fit in seeing the last above water and not scrapped for steel Whaleback ship, the SS Meteor (click to follow link), which is permanently dry docked, having been retired in 1969 after sustaining a fatal injury to her single hull. Her owners chose to not repair her, and instead sell her to be a museum piece. We missed being able to see her last year because I didn't make a reservation. I made one this year to assure he could see the spider-infested thing.

I picked a State Park not far from Duluth/Superior for us to set up the tent and enjoy a night under the stars.  The closest park is Jay Cooke, but I went for the next closest one a little further South, Moose Lake.

We were camping on a Wednesday night, so not a whole lot of competition for sites. I had also picked what is called a "walk-in site". The walk-in part is probably about half a football field from where you park the car and where the camp site is located. It does allow you to be just a little bit more isolated.  Add to that the minimal other campers in the park, and none in the sites right next to us, and the experience is rather a private one. We hauled our stuff to the camp site.  I set up the tent. Rich started the fire to cook our dinner. A couple of industrious rodents, a ground squirrel and a red tree squirrel, foraged and played and scolded us from the canopy.

We've not slept on the ground for several years. I was OK with the plan, but My Man was not particularly thrilled by that arrangement.  Well, we can't afford a fancy travel trailer, so ground sleeping it is.  I do have a nice air mattress and a cozy sleeping bag for two.

The path to my car above.  Rich chilling below after starting the fire.

Me chilling, waiting for the wood to burn down some before grilling our dinner.

Steaks on an open fire, with beans.  YUMMMY!!

I enjoyed my dinner with a ginger beer (I don't like "real" beer).

Rich had a "real" beer. Well, as real as a berry-infused beer can get.

After our dinner we cleaned up and secured away any food, not leaving anything out to attract racoons or bears. I do think we were far enough up North where bears may roam around. Then we just enjoyed the fire as the sun went down. I had not brought any marshmallows. **Darn!** We were far enough away from good cell signal to make staying off the technology time suckers easier. I think there was a game going on that Rich would have liked to follow, but I was just fine with being in the moment. As it got dark a barred owl awoke and called a few tentative contact calls. Later in the night the local coyotes sounded off for a few minutes. The night was clear and still, and would remain that way. I left the rain flap off the tent. Around 9:30, with it getting dark, and no digital distractions, we decided to go to sleep early. One last stop down our path to the toilet vault, and we crawled into our sleeping bag.

Many years ago we purchased a sleeping bag for two. It is quite cozy, but maybe just a little smothering for the partner sleeping in the fold side of the bag, instead of the flap side.  I snagged the flap side. Just worked out that way. After all, I was the one that made the sleeping arrangements.  We did awake around 1 in the morning, and struggled out of the tent and shuffled down the path for another bathroom break, old people that we are. The August Blue Moon was large in the sky lighting our way.

In the dawn that followed, I captured a quiet morning outside the tent window, as I snuggled down in the cozy sleeping bag. In the distance you can hear traffic on I35. The whole time of our visit at our camp site it was calm.  There was some bird song, but not that much. It was late in the summer, and has been very dry, so many of the song birds have probably already abandoned the North woods for places down South, where there is more rain and insects. Briefly a pair of loons on the nearby lake called out, probably contacting each other, but their song was so fleeting I could not catch a recording.

I got up and promptly made coffee.  I have become very much a morning coffee drinker. I came to it late in life, mostly enjoying tea up until my 30s. I consider myself somewhat of a coffee snob. I buy my beans whole from a reputable roaster and grind them at home. I make my cup with a square of dark chocolate, and a good amount of cream. For this trip I decided to try out something new, and purchased a French Press.  Oh My God!!  What have I been missing for so long?  Pouring boiling water over fresh ground coffee and allowing it to steep pulls out so many more flavor notes to the coffee.  This is probably going to become part of my regular morning coffee routine.

Morning Coffee is GREAT! Morning Coffee in the Woods is even BETTER!!

We would pack up our tent and gear, and go in search of some breakfast. But first, we visited the lake that is part of Moose Lake State Park. Oddly, it's not Moose Lake, which is just a little further East.  Below is a panoramic picture of Echo Lake, at the point where there is a swim beach. Click the picture for a bigger view.

When traveling, I like to find small diners to patronize. They usually have the best food in the area, and supporting non-chain establishments goes further to benefit the local economy of the town being visited.  Also, usually, there is no real choice other than a local small diner.  We scored our breakfast at the Lazy Moose Grill (click to follow link).  The breakfast specialty was their Kalevala Hash, which according to the menu is a "unique signature breakfast potato made with russets, sweet potatoes, grilled onions, bacon and a mixture of tasty spices."  You can see it above on my plate.  It was quite good. They had cute coffee mugs for sale, so I bought one to add to my coffee cup collection at home.  If you visit me, I will invite you to pick from an assortment of beautiful and sturdy coffee mugs, then fill it with coffee, or other drink of choice, and sit down and visit.

After breakfast we made our way into Duluth, and beyond to Superior, and got down to the serious business of checking off the "bucket list" item of letting Rich finally visit the Meteor.  As ships go, it is rather small.  Most of the freight delivering vessels on the Lakes have become quite large, limited only by the dimensions of the locks they must pass through on the Lakes. Our reservation was for 11:30, but we were early, and the tour guide was willing to let us go at 10:30.  We had the tour all to ourselves, despite this being a terribly popular tourist hot spot.  😆 Are you catching my snark??  Being a stationary object right next to water, and in the warmer months, it was absolutely covered in spider 🕸 🕷 🕸 webs.  For whatever reason, spiders like to be near water. I let the tour guide and Rich lead the way. Working on such a cramped, industrial ship like this seems rather depressing to me, with tight spaces, an extremely hot and dangerous steam engine, minimal comforts, and limited bland food. I take small comfort in knowing that when she would have been operational, women would not have been part of the crew.    

Thumbs up for Rich finally getting to see the Meteor.

Rich seems to like visiting tourist locations like these derelict ships. Maybe in a previous life he was a sailor.  

One of the most dangerous, and thus high paying jobs on the ship was the oiler. A man's entire responsibility was to go over all the points in the giant boiler engine that had to be constantly lubricated. Imagine that this is done while the engine and all its parts are moving, and you understand how they lost fingers, frequently.  The boiler room, per the tour guide, was often 120℉, or hotter.  What a miserable place to work.

Rich seemed pleased to finally tick off this tour.  I think he first mentioned it to me way back in 2009 (click to follow link), when we first visited Duluth together, when I took my exam that allowed me to become a Respiratory Therapist. We have since visited Duluth many times, and just about every time he speculated if we could get over to see the Meteor.  Well OK, now we FINALLY did it!!

He even has the T-Shirt to prove it.  He appears meditative in the accomplishment . . . or I just caught him blinking.

Illinois Trip - 'Cuz I Gotta Get Outta Town

From Saturday/Sunday overnight July 22-23, 2023 to Wednesday July 26, 2023 I made a whirlwind trip down to Illinois to visit my niece and her family, and my best friend Darla. It has been a long stretch of work, and I needed to Get Outta Town even for just a short break.  I had not gotten any of the Personal Time off at work I had asked for, but my boss was able to reschedule some days on my schedule that allowed me a 6-day block off.  That's enough for a road trip!

I never had any kids. Mostly didn't want any, and for a brief time in my life with my first husband we thought about starting a family, but it just didn't work out.  Ah well!  However, my two sisters each had two daughters, and I was able to know my sister Jennefer's daughters as they grew up into wonderful young women. I sometimes regret not being able to live near any of my blood kin, but I am able to connect once in awhile with Erica and Sarah, who both live within a reasonable drive from me. 

For the start of this little road trip, after working the overnight shift three days in a row, I came home on a Saturday morning and slept myself out for the day. Awake in the late afternoon/early evening, I prepped the house, kissed the husband, packed my car, and was out on an overnight drive down to Illinois.  Driving in the middle of the night is definitely the way to go!  I would arrive to my niece Erica's home in the morning as the sun rose. She and her husband Sean were already up with the older of their two children, Audrey. Their son Ethan was sleeping in. We spent the morning catching up and just being family.

As we moved into late morning/early afternoon I went out shopping with Erica. We found a favorite coffee/drink place she likes to visit and had some fruity non-alcoholic beverages. Shortly after we found tacos!

I'm not always the best aunt.  I don't always send gifts for Christmas or Birthdays, but I did bring some gifts with me on this trip for my great niece and nephew.  Once Ethan awoke, he quickly took to the giant blocks I brought for him. So glad he likes them!  

Audrey is in a sparkly magical animals phase, so a light up unicorn was just the perfect gift for her.  

💜💖💛💚💙

Being in the middle of goat milking season, I had some fresh chevre to share.  Audrey is quite adventurous when it comes to eating as a child. She didn't mind trying the soft cheese, and liked it.

One of their two giant cats was sure to come over and say hello. Big Friendly Marshmallows!

After visiting all that morning and early afternoon, I would lay down for a nap in their basement, as I had been awake now for most of the previous 20 hours. It was enough of a reboot to see me on the next leg of my trip, to drive North about an hour and meet up with my best bud Darla.  It was so very nice to connect with my niece and her family.

I drove that late afternoon/early evening into the sunset to arrive at Darla's home just as she was returning from one of her jobs up in the Chicago area.  She is a professional house and pet sitter, and keeps herself busy with that side gig. Once I arrived and unloaded what I needed, we settled into sleeping, as we were both fairly tired. The fun would begin the next day.

Once awake and everything we needed packed into her old car, we drove into the urban hellscape that is the Chicago metroplex. It's Darla's stomping grounds even if she no longer lives there.  She wanted to do lunch at the famous Dock at Montrose Beach (click to follow link). There we both ordered way too much food, and would share between us for a fabulous lunch. I had the cod basket with nachos. She had quesadillas and friend chicken fingers. No alcohol! Just cold water on this hot day.

Darla assures me that this is quite the famous landmark for Chicago, the beach and all. Currently it is also famous in that a rare species of plover have taken up on the nesting areas off to the side of the beach, in the Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary. Click below if you want to read about the nesting pair. The area is roped off to give the birds the best opportunity to raise their chicks to fledging.

Chicago Piping Plovers - Montrose Beach

After lunch, we walked a little in the Bird Sanctuary area not closed to people. The summer wildflowers are in full bloom, and the red winged blackbirds were defending nests in all the prairie overgrowth.  

Gratuitous wildflower pictures, just because flowers are beautiful!

After walking around Montrose Beach area, Darla drove me around interesting places in Chicago, and then made our way closer to our destination that evening. I've wanted to see the Blue Man Group for some time. Sharing it with a friend is even better!  We still had plenty of time to kill, so found some nice little coffee shop in Lakeview to while away some time.

The place we chose also serves up bread.  I love bread!!  Bread does not always love me.  This particular shop had a bit of a Hispanic vibe to it.  They also sold pastries and sweet treats behind a counter display. I don't know what this is called, but it is a dark chocolate and chili bite, rich with chocolate bitter and chili fire.  Very Good!

 

Our little snack accomplished, we checked into our Airbnb for the night, left our luggage, then made our way to the theatre to find parking and snag our seats.

What to say about Blue Man Group??  It is not for everyone, but it is a lot of fun. The humor is a bit snarky in a non-insulting kind of way. There is quite a bit of audience participation, so best to not sit too close to the stage if you don't want to become part of the show. We chose balcony seats to keep out of the way and watch the fray from above.  It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I got to share it with my friend.

After the show, and the very busy day that we had shared together, we returned to our Airbnb, a very nice home in Wilmette, Illinois. The hosts are Bahai, and apparently there is a Bahai Temple in Wilmette, of which they are members. Darla stayed up late to visit with them, but I checked out having been awake for too many hours the previous few days. The following morning I would have a delightful shower in the airy bathroom, with a bright window in the shower, and then enjoy their kitchen and dining room all to myself. Their home is beautifully decorated and a very calm and inviting place.  I had coffee and toast from the bread I bought the day before, with a few nut bars and fruit offered to guests. 

An urban rabbit foraged in the garden outside the window.

After Darla got herself up and moving, we packed up our things to make it out before the checkout time, then continued our adventures in the Chicago area.  We would go check out an Asian Market Place as suggested by Fox, called Mitsuwa (click for link).  Leave it to Fox to know where all the best food places are.  She loves Oriental and Indian food, so knows the best places for that.  The establishment is a grocery store, but also has an indoor courtyard where you can select from a variety of fresh made food. Not being particularly hungry, we opted for a bubble tea, and shared some dumplings.

I would also buy some mochi for our next adventure.  What is mochi you may ask!  Well, package I bought is below.  It is a soft rice paste that encloses a fruity center. Some mochi has ice cream inside.  The texture is soft like marshmallow, with a dusting of corn starch to keep it from sticking to everything. An Internet search found way too many resources, so if you really want to know, go search yourself.

Our next destination was to the movie theater, and a unique one to Darla's credit. It is called Hollywood Boulevard Cinema in Woodbridge (click to open link). It is creatively decorated, with 10 theaters, all themed.  We saw Oppenheimer in the Super Hero themed theater.  It is unique in that it has a full bar, and you can order food in the theater.  We had a nice show.  Here is a link to an advertising production that gets you a feel of the place.

See a movie with a friend . . . Best way to spend a day!

After the movie, and needing to get back to her place, we opted for some quick food, and what better choice than a Chicago hotdog, from Portillos (click to follow link). She assures me that this is not the AUTHENTIC Chicago dogs, and those can only be snagged from hot dog carts down town, but hey, it's close enough!!

They were quite good!  We got a two dog option, and shared one each.

We returned that evening to her home a couple hours drive away. I was up early and on the road to get back home, as it was just a very short window I had to get away.  Still, a very good way to spend a few days when you really need to get outta town.  Thanks Darla!!

On the way home I stopped at another Asian market in Madison, Global Market Foodhall (click to open link). This one I found a couple months ago, but was on a quick road trip with Fox, so that is why it was selected. What did I get?  More dumplings!!