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| Tracks of 3 critters on my way to the barn! |
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| Black-capped Chickadee |
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| Pileated Woodpecker |
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| Sunset |
Saturday, November 27, 2010
BRRR!
Its been rather chilly lately. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the past week or so!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Chef Jennifer
I don't cook very often. Partly because my meals are provided by the center and partly because I am lazy.
Most of the center has this week off. I am holding down the fort in the barn and get the house to myself. YAY! I decided to actually cook (i.e. not microwave my dinner) tonight. I made some lemon-pepper chicken, broccoli, whole wheat pasta with cheese and a piece of garlic toast.
Most of the center has this week off. I am holding down the fort in the barn and get the house to myself. YAY! I decided to actually cook (i.e. not microwave my dinner) tonight. I made some lemon-pepper chicken, broccoli, whole wheat pasta with cheese and a piece of garlic toast.
YUMMY!
I forgot how little time it actually took to make something like this. Lately, I have really been in the mood to bake as well - cookies, muffins, cupcakes. Unfortunately, the house I live in has some quirks; including a non-functional oven. Just one more thing to look forward to the next time I head home!
Turkey Day!
This year, was my first Thanksgiving away from my family. Sadly, I had to work yesterday and today. I did, however, get to spend the holiday with a friend and her family down in the cities. On my way down, I stopped at Starbucks and got my first peppermint white mocha of the season. SUPER DELICIOUS! All in all, a very relaxing break from my busy week in the barn!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
The World Is Blue
I had high hopes for this book since I have such a love for the water and the creatures residing in it. Sylvia Earle is a very accomplished scientist - she has served on numerous committees and has even been the chief scientist for NOAA. That being said, I was a little let down by this book. Earle shares her experiences with readers as she talks about the changes in the ocean during her lifetime. Her stories make me want to explore the oceans myself. But the book as whole, offered little new information to me. Perhaps its because I have read a lot on the oceans perils recently. Don't get me wrong. Its a good book, if you want an introduction to marine conservation.
I walk away from this book still frustrated by the global policies pertaining to the ocean. The oceans account for 3/4 of the planets surface area and today less than 1% of the ocean is protected. Much of the blue world is still unexplored. This large body of water has long been viewed as being beyond human influence. Like it or not, our influence can now be seen everywhere. If we don't change the way we treat our resources, there will come a time soon that they are no longer available.
Okay, I will now get off my soap box. For now.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Here and There
Another busy week. It started with a long weekend and a trip to the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth. Then, it got hectic when I was liaison for the school group on site. At one point I was talked into judging a "30 seconds of Fame" talent show. Jess and I took the opportunity to use the costume bins.
The center also had a juvenile bald eagle in for rehab. We had received several phone calls about an injured bald eagle in the area. Since it was local, we actually went out and rescued it. Based on its lack of physical injuries and people seeing it feeding on a gut pile, we suspect lead poisoning. A small amount of lead is enough to start having negative impacts on the birds nervous system. Unfortunately, we see a spike of birds in with possible lead poisoning each year in November and December, when hunting season gets underway. If you are interested in more information you can go toThe Raptor Center.
I rounded out the week by going to the new Harry Potter movie. Its good but frustrating and very dark. Now I only have to wait to next summer to see how they are going to play out the remainder of the final book.
The center also had a juvenile bald eagle in for rehab. We had received several phone calls about an injured bald eagle in the area. Since it was local, we actually went out and rescued it. Based on its lack of physical injuries and people seeing it feeding on a gut pile, we suspect lead poisoning. A small amount of lead is enough to start having negative impacts on the birds nervous system. Unfortunately, we see a spike of birds in with possible lead poisoning each year in November and December, when hunting season gets underway. If you are interested in more information you can go toThe Raptor Center.
I rounded out the week by going to the new Harry Potter movie. Its good but frustrating and very dark. Now I only have to wait to next summer to see how they are going to play out the remainder of the final book.
Monday, November 15, 2010
First Snow
On Saturday, we had our first snowfall of the year! It was the really heavy stuff and it quickly stuck to pretty much everything - here are a few pictures!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
mice
Mice. I hate them.
Yes, as a naturalist I realize that they are an important part of the ecosystem. They are the prey for the animals I love. But do they really need to sit in my ice cream bowl and wake me up at 3:30 AM? I haven’t slept through the night for over a week now thanks to these little guys running around in my walls.
The good news is operation mouse massacre has begun.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Migration
For my birthday, I received a bunch of books that have been on my “To Read” list for quite some time. One of the books was No Way Home: The Decline of the World’s Great Animal Migrations by David Wilcove. This book takes you through some of the world’s most amazing migrations of the sky, water and land. It starts with birds and monarchs. Next, the author follows the migrations of the large mammals in Africa and North American plains. Lastly (but perhaps the most interesting to me) was the migrations of whales, turtles and salmon.
The message of this book is about the disappearance of the worlds major migration events. While many of the animals are in no immediate threat of extinction, the scale of these events is changing. Rather than having heards that have millions of buffalo, we now have much smaller herds of a couple hundred or thousand. The reason for the change is simple; the success of a predator known as Homo sapiens. Humans have single handedly changed the landscape in more than one way. Each of these could have an impact on a population but as a whole the impacts are far reaching. We have hunted animals to the point of extintion (or close to it). We have broken up the forests so migrating animals no longer have resting spots. We have polluted our waters so much that fish and whales get tangled in fishline or mistake plastic bags for jellyfish. The list goes on.
Some people may say that we shouldn't be concerned. These animals have numbers that show they will be around for decades still. But these are the events that inspire us and take our breath away. That is worth a lot (in my opinion anyways). I hope to see at least one of these great migrations soon - perhaps one spring I will see the Sandhill Cranes at the Platte River in Nebraska. This is a nice quick and informative read. Whats really fun is that I already got to use some of the information in a class taught at Audubon!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Trick-Or-Treat Corvids
I have been feeling a little swamped at work lately and am starting to feel like a workaholic.
The most entertaining part of my week, was doing barn today. There is something that I really find relaxing about working in the barn alone with the animals. Since I had a little extra time in day, I decided to try out some new enrichment with the crow and raven. These birds are part of what many consider to be the smartest family of birds, the corvidae family. Because of this, we give them daily toys to keep them entertained.
For the past month or so, I have been wondering what would happen if I hollowed out a pumpkin and stuffed all their food into it. As you can see, I even carved a jack-o-lantern for our crow.
Potter, the raven, used his typical technique to get his food. DESTROY! Anytime we stuff his food into a container, it comes back with large holes thanks to his strong beak. This time was no different and he made short work of his pumpkin.
Mob, the crow, was a little more interested the round orange object. He walked around it a few times before deciding to hop tentatively towards the pumpkin. He grabbed the stem and the top came out. He quickly put that on the ground and walked over to investigate further. Once he got all his food out, he went back to the pumpkin and pulled out the few remaining seeds to eat as well.
Not only was it entertaining for me to watch Mob and Potter get their food from the pumpkins, I think they enjoyed it too. When I went back to check on them a couple hours later, Mob had pumpkin stuck to the side of his face :)
The most entertaining part of my week, was doing barn today. There is something that I really find relaxing about working in the barn alone with the animals. Since I had a little extra time in day, I decided to try out some new enrichment with the crow and raven. These birds are part of what many consider to be the smartest family of birds, the corvidae family. Because of this, we give them daily toys to keep them entertained.
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| Mob the crow - he like shiny things...like my camera. I call this one "whatcha doin'?" |
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| My AWESOME pumpkins! |
Potter, the raven, used his typical technique to get his food. DESTROY! Anytime we stuff his food into a container, it comes back with large holes thanks to his strong beak. This time was no different and he made short work of his pumpkin.
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| Potter investigating the pumpkin |
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| Mob checking out the pumpkin |
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| "What other treats are in here?" |
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Weekend Festivities
On Friday, I got the unexpected news that I had Saturday off! I was excited because that meant I had a full weekend. Any time I get two consecutive days off I feel the need to do something productive with the time.
What to do, what to do?
I ended up going down to the cities and meeting up with a friend. We spent Saturday at the Mall of America shopping and eating amazing food. Then in the evening we watched a couple of shows where people track ghosts. Now, I will say that I am a HUGE skeptic but still found the shows interesting from a historical perspective.
The next morning we enjoyed a great brunch at a local cafe. This place is really cool because they try to make smart choices for their customers by using local farm eggs, fair trade coffee and giving back to the community. As you can see I am enjoying the coffee from Brazil. (And for those of you wondering, I am back on coffee. I have, however, significantly reduced my intake - its down to 1 or 2 cups a day!)
All in all, a successful Halloween weekend!
What to do, what to do?
I ended up going down to the cities and meeting up with a friend. We spent Saturday at the Mall of America shopping and eating amazing food. Then in the evening we watched a couple of shows where people track ghosts. Now, I will say that I am a HUGE skeptic but still found the shows interesting from a historical perspective.
The next morning we enjoyed a great brunch at a local cafe. This place is really cool because they try to make smart choices for their customers by using local farm eggs, fair trade coffee and giving back to the community. As you can see I am enjoying the coffee from Brazil. (And for those of you wondering, I am back on coffee. I have, however, significantly reduced my intake - its down to 1 or 2 cups a day!)
All in all, a successful Halloween weekend!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Day Zero
I have been working on developing a bucket list (rather unsuccessfully) for the past couple months. A friend pointed me in the direction of this project called Day Zero. Basically, you think of 101 things that you would like to do in the next 1001 days (that works out to roughly 2.75 years). Thats the cool thing about this list; it has a deadlines. Deadlines usually help me focus in on a task a bit more and procrastinate a bit less. There are a few rules for this list. First, everything must have a measurable outcome. Second, the goal should show growth / work on your part.
So here it is: My Day Zero list. Some of my goals are silly, others are going to be a real challenge. I will try and do regular updates as I complete the goals but you can check my progress here (http://dayzeroproject.com/user/aquafirfir). Hopefully it is completed by July 21, 2013.
So here it is: My Day Zero list. Some of my goals are silly, others are going to be a real challenge. I will try and do regular updates as I complete the goals but you can check my progress here (http://dayzeroproject.com/user/aquafirfir). Hopefully it is completed by July 21, 2013.
1: Host a games night with friends (board or video)
2: Decorate my bedroom
3: Have a picnic
4: Learn how to sew
5:Make a custom recipe book from my favorite recipes
6: Try acupuncture
7: Do my own taxes
8: Pay for the person behind me at Starbucks
9: Create a piece of art
10:Sleep on the beach
11:Donate blood
12:Kiss in the rain
13:Find out my blood type
14:Complete a 365 day photo challenge
15:Buy a lottery ticket
16:Do some volunteer work
17:plant a tree
18:Dive with sharks
19:Run a 5K race
20:Learn to do my make-up
21:Skydive
22:Zipline through the rainforest
23:Go to a concert
24:Get a massage
25:Use a snake in an education program
26:Give up coffee for 1 month
27:Have my own apartment
28:Get a manicure
29:Try 5 new foods
30:Go on a road trip
31:Go skinny dipping
32:Join a book club
33:Put change in someone's expired parking meter
34:See the Northern Lights
35:Live by myself for a year
36:Not log into facebook for a whole week!
37:Visit a new state
38:Blog at least once a week
39:Make five new friends
40:Make a list of 1000 places I would like to visit in my lifetime
41:Make a list of the important people in my life and make sure i don't don't lose touch with them
42:Sign up as an organ donor
43:Visit and explore Colorado
44:Be able to identify 10 constellations
45:Stay up late and watch a meteor shower
46:Read a whole book in one day
47:Take a road trip with friends
48:Get a "real" job
49:Learn to knit
50:Inspire someone to make a 101/1001 list
51:Visit a new city
52:Try contacts
53:Make an album of my favorite photographs
54:Bake a birthday cake for a friend
55:Read 10 non-fiction books
56:Buy a plant and keep it alive
57:Send Christmas cards to family and friends
58:Visit 10 Museums
59:Go whale-watching
60:Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find
61:Go to a movie alone
62:Start swimming again
63:See one great animal migration
64:Get a hammock
65:Go somewhere that requires a passport
66:Register to vote where I move next
67:Read 1 non-fiction book a month for 1 year
68:Read a book on the beach
69:Send a postcard via Postcrossing.com
70:Take a hot air balloon ride
71:Do the 200 sit-ups challenge (www.twohundredsitups.com)
72:Gamble in Las Vegas
73:Watch the complete Lord of the Rings film trilogy
74:Sleep in past 9 AM on a lazy day off
75:Give someone a handmade gift
76:No fast food for a month
77:Make a wish at 11:11 on November 11, 2011
78:Unplug for 24 hours (i.e. give up electronics for a whole day)
79:Print 10 of my favorite pictures that are currently trapped on my computer
80:Update my resume
81:Give up chocolate for 1 week
82:Take a photo of each completed item on this list
83:Visit Yellowstone National Park
84:Sort out my wardrobe and donate any old clothes
85:Climb a tree and take a photo of the view
86:Don't say anything negative for one day
87:Watch the sunrise and sunset the same day
88:Hug a tree
89:Visit a brewery
90:Do a sponsored run / walk for charity
91:No fast food for one month
92:Go to a fireworks show on the Fourth of July
93:Have a snowball fight
94:Move out of home
95:Read a book by Jane Austen
96:Search for a rainbow on a rainy day
97:Buy a watch
98:See a falling star and make a wish
99:Do something different with my hair
100:See a volcano
101:Learn how to skip a stone across a lake
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