Wendell's Thriftblog

Gift Thrift

2011-11-05T11:55:00.000-05:00

Already I have failed NaNoBloPo. Hopefully no one wept at seeing I didn't post yesterday.Today I'd like to highlight two of my favorite items, both given to me by my beloved paternal Grandma D. Here we are a few years ago at Christmas:

I'm very thankful to have two wonderful grandmothers in my life!

The first item is this red orange dress. Perhaps someone can help with the history of it; did my Aunt J make the dress for Grandma Diane? Or did Aunt J make it for herself? Anyway, I LOVE how it fits me PERFECTLY. I resemble my Dad's side of the family and in this case genetics are a blessing.

Grandma D is also responsible for starting my Haeger flower pot collection, as she allowed me to remove this red pot from her basement. The plant inside it is a from a cutting from her as well!(I have never seen another pot like this one.)

What are some of your most treasured gifts?

Thrifted Objets d'Art

2011-11-03T11:35:00.001-05:00

Heyo,Happy sunny Thursday to you!I realize most of my friends and family fully embrace thrifting as a hobby and lifestyle, so in many ways I'm preaching to the choir with this blog. For those of you who aren't thrift aficionados I will suggest that thrift stores and resale shops also can provide furniture and decorations for your home.

I'm totally in love with this stained glass column, found at the Lake St. Savers:

Also note Robert's handiwork on the tile floor, freshly painted bathtub and restored claw foot!

I also collect flower pot-type vessels, particularly from the manufacturer Haeger. The golden yellow pots here above my cabinet are Haeger. The other fluted round ones don't have a manufacturer label; I just like the shape.

See you tomorrow!

Nov 2

2011-11-02T11:33:00.001-05:00

Howdy and welcome to November 2nd. Today I could find neither my phone nor my water bottle as I left the house. Probably they are throwing a big party and bothering Stella in her kennel.Here is my outfit from yesterday. My photographer was sitting down as he took the picture, which explains the awkward angle of my bust and double chin.

This is a J Crew dress purchased at the University Avenue Goodwill. Boots from one of the Unique thrift stores? The plastic necklace I purchased in Northfield, MN on an excursion with my Mother in Law. You can't see the row of tiny red beads at the top of it.Happy Wednesday!

NaBloPoMo 2011

2011-11-01T22:32:00.002-05:00

Greetings friends,

On Sunday I decided I should participate in NaBloPoMo for the first time. Considering it's been eleven months since I've posted here it's clear blogging hasn't been a priority of mine.

But buying thrift store items remains an important part of my lifestyle. I still purchase new items, such as these boots.

(Which I got for $35! They must have been the last 9.5 wide pair or something, which I why I bought them.)

So for November 1st, I present this blurry picture of yesterday's thrifted outfit: Martin and Osa jersey shirt (thrift store unknown...maybe an Arc Value Village?) and Zinc wide leg trousers (Goodwill, Portage, WI). Also my adorable dog Stella!

Thrifted outfit showcase!

2010-11-30T09:22:00.003-06:00

The above photo highlights a mixture of older and newer thrifted items. The gray sweater dress is from Target, found this weekend at the Lake Street Savers. Black patent boots are from two Augusts ago, Goodwill on University Avenue. Red belt from a Unique, red necklace from one of the Savers.

This picture highlights the challenges of a do it yourself Christmas portrait with a dog. Note the treat crumbs below my chair!

United in Thrift,
Wendell!

Long neglected thrift blog....

2010-11-17T09:24:00.006-06:00

I hope to start posting more as my semester finishes. Here, a totally thrifted outfit!

Check out these crazy Steve Madden boots (pretty uncomfortable!)

Details to follow.

Designer Jeans!

2010-07-06T00:02:00.005-05:00

Dear Reader,

While I have not been blogging, I have been thrifting! Hopefully many of you took advantage of the big sales over the Fourth of July weekend!

Designer jeans are a major reason shopping pre-owned can save you big money. Ranging from $100 to $200, brands such as Joe's Jeans, Citizens of Humanity, Level 99, Adriano Goldschmied, 7 for All Mankind, Paige Premium Denim, Chip and Pepper, True Religion and Rock & Republic all can be found in thrift stores for a fraction of the original cost.

While the Unique Thrift Stores may sell these jeans from $15 to $40, check out these Joe's I found at the Roseville Goodwill for $6.99!

While these didn't fit me, I sold them to a friend who gave them to her niece.

I think the best odds of finding designer jeans are at the Lake Street Savers, followed by the University Avenue Goodwill. For extensive and more expensive high-end jean collections, check out Plato's Closet, TurnStyle, Clothing Mentor, Marshalls/TJ Maxx or my favorite consignment shop, Nu Look!

xooxxox
Wendell!

The Downtown Salvation Army/"Target Outlet"

2010-05-10T23:34:00.006-05:00

Last week I made my third pilgrimage to the downtown Salvation Army. Introduced to me by my sister in law Julia several years ago, her sister Anna and I went there together last summer.

The building is monstrous and therefore holds plenty of furniture, tschotchkes, tons of shoes, loaded bookshelves and of course, clothes. Items are arranged by male/female/boy/girl, genre and color, but not size, which means a lot of picking through racks.

The upper story is your average thrift store, though I would say fairly dated in clothing styles. I feel you wouldn't find designer jeans here, but you would find plenty of 80's and 90's styles. (Acid washed jeans are back, apparently!) Vintage Levi's would be a possibility.

But descend to the basement, aka the "Target Outlet" and you will find most of the customers in the store! This Salvation Army seems to be the repository for Target store clothing samples, overstock, scratch and dent and miscellany. However the prices are much higher than upstairs; $5 for a t shirt, $10 for a dress, etc.

The home goods section includes furniture, various decor items, towels, comforter sets ($30 to $50), sheets ($25 for a queen set without its original packing, wrapped in duct tape, which seemed high for not knowing the fabric/thread count.) There are some toiletries and pet care items there, along with gardening items and clothing accessories. One highlight is the multitude of brand new shoes and sandals in the basement.

The majority of the lower level is dedicated to clothing, arranged by titles like "Girls T-shirts", "Mens Pants", etc. I was especially drawn to the colorful summer dresses, but there were few in size large. The extra-small or plus sized woman would have a field day down there, as well as expectant mothers who like the Liz Lange line.

I didn't check out the kid's clothes but there was a huge selection!

One drawback is that this Salvation Army only has one dressing stall, upstairs. Also make sure to look carefully at your Target cast-offs; they might have a hole, stain or a big stamp labeled "SAMPLE" across the back. Some items have no tag or no size listed at all.

For me the "Target Outlet" hasn't really been worth the digging. Target pants usually don't work for me anyway, and the store itself has pretty good sales. I feel most Goodwill stores have plenty of Target clothes at better prices. But, for the Target addict, this Salvation Army is a must see!

New and New to Me Thrift Stores

2010-05-05T22:20:00.007-05:00

In the former Joe's Garage restaurant at University and Fairview Avenues in St. Paul is the new Second Debut store. Run by Goodwill Industries, Second Debut features high-end clothing and designer shoes and jeans. The store seemed to cater to a person older than myself, but did have a great selection of pre-owned items. Running the gamut from a Gucci jacket ($150) to Express Jeans ($14.99) prices are obviously higher than at the neighboring Goodwill Store. Clothing is arranged by size and genre and includes accessories and a large shoe room, where a size 7.5 pair of Manolo Blahnik black pumps sold for $79.99. Definitely check it out!

I recently made my inaugural visit to a thrift store in St. Anthony, Hidden Treasures. This was a very neat, well organized store of the "smells like Grandma's basement" variety.

Hidden Treasures had furniture and loads of kitchenware, including many matched sets of dishes. The usual vases, candle stuff, cutlery, Tupperware and wicker baskets were included, as well as a large selection of books and video cassettes. There was a tempting but too small black velvet and taffeta dress, but otherwise the clothing was from the Kohls/Kmart/Walmart ilk, mostly dated. For $19.99 I purchased a dehumidifier that appeared to work in the store when I plugged it in, and proved to indeed dehumidify our basement! I also found clothes for my niece and nephew (1 and 3) who had their birthdays this week.

(The tags with the bar codes are from Hidden Treasures; the others are from the St. Anthony Unique Thrift store.)

I feel both stores are worth checking out; Second Debut for the cream of the Goodwill clothes crop, and Hidden Treasures for who knows what! Ah, the beauty of thrifting.

Happy shopping,
Wendell!

Thrifted Outfit SHOWCASE!

2010-04-18T22:11:00.003-05:00

This outfit includes three thrifted items: the sunglasses and Lux denim skirt (originally $65 at Urban Outfitters) from the Lake Street Savers, and the Frenchi gray t shirt from Arc's Value Village in Richfield. All three pieces were $12 or less apiece.

Thrifted Outfit SHOWCASE!

2010-04-11T21:52:00.004-05:00

I found this Boden wrap dress for $8.99 at Goodwill on Fairview and University Ave in St. Paul. The necklace and the little bird house are pre-owned as well!

The Time Has Come

2010-04-09T23:19:00.006-05:00

For a new blog. I think.

While my love for critters remains undiminished, I have sort of run out of MN wildlife to feature on the Critter Corner.

Meanwhile, thrifting has grown into a new passion in my life. Perhaps because of necessary budgeting as a homeowner, or simply the "wisdom" that comes with being over 30, buying pre-owned is becoming more attractive.

Both my Wisconsin and Minnesota families are avid thrifters; none more so than my mother in law R and sister in law AM.

AM gave me this thrifted rug last summer for my birthday:

(Not included: her dog, Ari.)

I found the middle Haeger pot at a local thrift store to match the ones my Mom bought me for Christmas.

At the Savers on Lake Street in Minneapolis, I found this Boden wrap dress for $12.99, compared to a retail of around $100:

Even today I found a SIGNED COPY of this Tyler Florence cookbook at the same Savers, for $7.99:

Hasten there immediately if you're a size 31 in designer jeans; there were at LEAST five pairs of 7 for all mankind, Paige Premium Denim and Paper Denim and Cloth jeans at the Lake Street Savers.

Blog Entry: November

2009-11-26T19:41:00.007-06:00

Heyo,

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all enjoying a lovely holiday.

We had a relaxing day with the B family:

(Baby M was getting really tired at this point!)

What critter encounters to report? After the squirrels stole our tiny pumpkins last year, I decided to get a larger specimen as my sole outdoor decoration. Once more the squirrels destroyed my hopes and dreams:

It took me a few days to realize these "crumbs" on the floor were really wood chips left by a rodent invader:

(Yuck; never take macro photos of your dirty floorboards!)

He worked alone:

The above photo might not be in the true spirit of the Critter Corner. I felt badly after killing the mouse, but he did poop in my house and chew my floorboards.

Recent thoughts:

Lately I have been contemplating changes in my life. I don't fully recall my daily life while I was in college, or the year afterward which I spent in my hometown substitute teaching and waitressing. Things become clearer when I remember moving to MN for grad school, watching my friends move to the opposite sides of the country and finally meeting Robert. Now I consider how my shopping sprees have moved from the mall to the thrift store (mostly), and how our Friday nights consist of pizza and a NetFlix viewing. We see our friends a lot less often now.

It seems my life is more centered around my husband, dog and house now. Does this mean we should have a child?! Hmmm.

My other thought is less weighty in nature: Salon Guilt. Do you have a long standing relationship with your stylist? I did for a while but for the last year I've been going to the Aveda Institute for discounted services performed by students. While I feel confident about what I want for my hair, I dislike the conflict that arises every time they ask about my product usage. I prefer Suave shampoo, Nexxus Humectress conditioner and LA Looks hair gel.

$1.99!

No offense to all of y'all Aveda product users, but that stuff does NOT work for my dry, bleached, naturally curly hair. I don't like the fragrance and my hair felt and looked like straw yesterday two hours after I left the Institute. I just dislike hearing that my cheap products are hurting my hair. Finally I realized I could just lie to the stylist and tell them I use Aveda so and so shampoo/conditioner and hair gel. My choices were confirmed today when I washed using my makeshift system and my hair looks and feels great; soft and shiny, with a defined curl.

To summarize, I guess I feel guilty about not buying the suggested products stylists recommend. Also I hate how you go to one salon and the stylist sniffs, "Did they put you under the dryer at your old salon?", or, "They used a razor to cut YOUR hair?" There's a lot of disapproval at salons.

Hugs and winter critters!
Wendell

October

2009-10-09T16:23:00.004-05:00

Dear Critter Readers, specifically The Carrot Queen, how are you?

I'm sorry to abandon you for the last two months. What happened was school and six-day work weeks and several 10 day plus work marathons. Then I needed to spend quality time with R and Bobo, eat, do laundry, rehearse, etc.

What has happened since August 10th? Sister KB and I did a triathlon!

Next came my birthday and a big surprise! R, AM, KB and RM arranged to purchase and secretly deliver a new piano for me! Here nephew B and I play a duet:

I went thrifting 1000 times and bought cool stuff (next post). One $1.99 garment seemed perfect for our little niece, M:

The piano necessitated a living room rearrangement (provided by the peeps listed above). I enhanced it by finding a cool tv stand and coffee table at Aldi. I am obsessed with that store. And the furniture doesn't seem half bad!

R and his Pa have been busy remodeling the upstairs bathroom, one Saturday at a time. So far it's gone from:

To:

To:

Last weekend R, Bobo and I visited my sister AG and her hubby TG's cabin in Northeast WI. It was great to see the fall colors, my Mom, A's dog Ninja and most of all, A's baby bump!

I have nicknamed the baby "Beavis".

We tried to attract wildlife by leaving an offering:

I believe Stella ate it.

We did see some chipmunks though, and eagles.

That's the report. I may have saw a fox running into the alley across the street, but maybe it was a dog. Today I planted 70 of the 400 bulbs I bought. Went a bit overboard on bulbs!

Hugs and warm coats,
Wendell!

Beetle-Bugs of Summer

2009-08-10T13:55:00.003-05:00

Heyall,

Hope things are going smoovely for you!

This post is being written on a beautiful, hot Monday that finds me paralyzed with indecision about how to spend such a day. Buy new running shoes? No. Exercise? Not right now. Clean? Maybe. AND the library is closed and I'm out of books!

Yesterday GH and I went to Izzy's Ice Cream to get some cones. I tried the Mexican Chocolate as my Izzy scoop and the Salted Caramel as my main ice cream. It was AMAZING and probably I should not go back there today for more.

While summer is prime ice cream time, it is also the height of bug activity. Along with pretty butterflies, busy bees, crawling ants and biting mosquitoes, beetles gather under logs and fly around porch lights at night. Let us learn about some of these flying, crawling and plant-eatin' dudes!

The June Beetle.

These black, brown and yellow beetles are around an inch long. They are members of the New World Scarab beetle family, or Phyllophagia (leaf-eater in Greek), which is part of the beetle order Coleoptera.

Side Note: Coleoptera contains the most species of any animal order in the world!

June beetles are "chafers", or leaf eaters, who enjoy eating corn leaves and other crops. While the beetles can be destructive, beetle grubs are especially evil. Living for three to four years underground, beetle larvae eat the roots of grass and cereal crops. They can be especially pesky underground at golf courses.

Ew.

My cousin Miss Lippy has a very disturbing story about such a grub attacking her as a child.

More intimidating than a June Beetle is the Stag Beetle!

Ay!

These oversized mandibles were thought to resemble deer antlers, hence the name "stag". While scary-looking to humans, the mandibles assist male beetles in wrestling matches to find mates!

The British stag beetle is the largest insect in England. Their grubs live in rotting wood instead of underground.

Perhaps the most annoying of these insects is an import: The Japanese Beetle, Popillia japonica.

These green and copper beauties like to eat the leaves in your garden! In the US there are few natural insect or bird predators that will eat Japanese Beetles.

Thankfully the adults are only alive for about a month, and can be easily collected in a bucket of soapy water and discarded. If you have leaves which are eaten between the veins, or "skeletonized", Japanese Beetles might be the culprit.

Scientists think these beetles were accidentally imported in a shipment of iris bulbs before 1912. The first Japanese Beetles were found in New Jersey in 1916.

Please keep me posted on any beetle sightings!

xoxoxoxo
Wendell!

Sommer

2009-07-13T20:12:00.003-05:00

Heyo,

I'm realizing the focus of this blog has changed, mostly focusing on my dog and my yard! This might restrict its universal, even world-wide appeal! Also I haven't posted in a while.

But I have seen critters! First, a pair of wild turkeys right before taking the Ford Parkway bridge into St. Paul!

We went camping last weekend at Afton State Park. It was our first time there and our inaugural camping trip with Stella. The hike-in status of the campground made it a little burly, however. Especially as the fresh drinking water was 1.5 miles away in the parking lot. Poor R had to carry a giant water bladder up the hill!

Our campsite (22) was the perfect combination of forest and prairie, sun and shade. Right away a deer came to visit!

Stella also scared up...a wild turkey! It fluttered away, making an angry noise!

Can you see the Bobo-Dog?

It's hard to get Stella to pose in a photo!

The St. Croix River:

Hardcore camping requires a nap:

Apparently this is the smile we have when attempting a self portrait:

Hope you're all enjoying every moment of summer!
xoxoxo
Wendell!

June Adventures

2009-06-17T08:37:00.007-05:00

Greetings, all!

Man, for being recently unemployed for over a month, I sure have not posted a whole lot! Probably because I've been eating every meal outdoors and trying to relax, read, exercise and have fun with my Bobo-Dog. A summation of these activities is represented by this photograph:

Check out this adirondack chair and table set our across the alley neighbor GAVE US!

(I baked the neighbor a strawberry rhubarb pie to thank her.)

We finally went inside the Prospect Park Water Tower, after living in that neighborhood for over four years. The tower is open once yearly.

GH came to visit:

On the same night that R and I went to Fogo de Chao we saw our first baby bunnies of the year. Yes, two babies! They were right outside my teaching office, where we'd parked.

I'm glad to have tried Fogo de Chao, but honestly, only one of the meats was really delicious to me. It's an expensive place and I'm happy R's colleague was nice enough to treat us.

In non-meat news, R and his Dad destroyed our upstairs bathroom because water was leaking into the basement:

Goodbye, horrifying bathroom carpet!

The poop pipe to nowhere, which overflowed from the sink drain at this point behind the toilet:

Cooties.

Last week Stella and I went on a solo mission to the Minnesota River Valley Wildlife Preserve:

In the summer, Bobo toys with vegetarianism, sampling grass several times a day:

Deer tracks:

It is hard to take good pictures when your dog is really excited and you're holding the leash!

The first goose babies I've seen:

There were many great egrets at the preserve:

Stella and what I believe is a loon in the background:

Now I've returned to the working world, as a waitress! After an eight year hiatus, I think I'm getting the hang of modern serving, that is, with computerized ordering and credit card machines. Come visit me at the new Brasa on Grand Avenue in St. Paul!

Critterlove,
Wendell!

Non-Blogging

2009-05-25T23:03:00.004-05:00

Hello!

I decided to chronicle the advance of spring, taking roughly one picture a week from March 15th to May 8th. This view of the Mississippi River is taken from the Marshall Avenue/Lake Street bridge.

Make your own animation

Finding summer employment has been a challenge! Although I had a lead, I applied for many other positions; medical records, nannying. One cashier job that paid $8 hourly had over 100 applicants. I was one of the fifteen chosen for an interview (without knowing the pay!) Anyway, the lead paid off and I'll be starting job training later this week. I'm quite thankful! More on that later.

To pass the time and alleviate the stress I've been budget gardening. My definition of this is to use supplies we already have and to move existing perennials into different locations. Also I love fixing up my yard!

My shade garden, with a border made of glazed bricks I found buried and stacked around the yard! The bricks are crooked because it appears we don't have a true poured cement sidewalk; rather it consists of cement pavers which are not set in a straight line.

The herb garden:

The window boxes.

The tall scraggly plants are vincas which were rescued from the front yard last fall and wintered indoors. We'll see if they survive and flower after I trim them down.

The front garden.
I'm excited that the white anemones and lily of the valley came up of their own accord!

Obviously I purchased some annuals to fill the flower boxes and garden bed. I love the perennial creeping phlox and divided a big box. Hopefully they'll flourish!

My neighbor's school had a flower sale and I purchased this lovely fuchsia for only $17!

I have a new rain awareness now because I have to water everything! May has been dry as a mofo; we're two inches behind here in Minnesota. R and I are thinking about getting soaker hoses.

The dryness has had a serious effect on that most important spring crop, morels!

I found a few dessicated specimens at our old apartment. (Shhhh!) No one seemed to catch me walking hunched-over around the property....

Even my expert 'shroomer Dad has had trouble finding morels in Wisconsin, although he did spare a meal for us when we visited last weekend.

As R and I drove to the Motherland we spotted:

A turkey vulture in a tree!

Wild turkeys!

A porcupine (deceased.)

A sandhill crane!

Hope you're all having a fantastic May!
Wendell!

Happy May!

2009-05-03T22:43:00.002-05:00

Greetings, all!

The last two weeks have been very busy! School ended for me, including three student recitals in two weeks. This Thursday, our new niece, Baby M, was born! And Friday, my Mom and Sister AG came to visit, along with AG's dog, Ninja!

A photo documentary:

Our first tulip!

Our lil' niece, Baby M!

My lovely Mom and sister, plus Stella and Ninja, who were BFFs all weekend!

AG, Mom and I went shopping at their favorite local high end consignment shop, where I found awesome jeans in a size 10! For $42! This never happens.

We also conquered the wilderness:

Finally, today R and I witnessed our first Powderhorn Mayday Parade!

Spring in the Swamp: the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Preserve part III

2009-04-20T21:42:00.003-05:00

Hello Critter-heads!

I hope you're doing well! This seems to be the week when most of the buds on the trees are finally opening, and the earliest crocuses and hyacinths are at their peak. Plus this flower which is my all-time favorite color:

It's called the Siberian Squilla. (I didn't know that before.) I need one billion bulbs for my whole yard, methinks.

To celebrate the warm weather on Saturday, R and I thought it was time to expose our dog Stella to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Being a super-dog, Stella leapt over this raging torrent:

We went out on a pier to expand our view of the sky and sea:

Is that a swan in the background?

I warned Stella to be on the lookout for the Wild Beaver:

We headed into the forest trail. I think this could be the Minnesota State Flower, the Showy Lady Slipper. Or maybe its orchid cousin, the Moccasin Flower.

We'll have to go back to see!

The one blooming flower we saw was the lovely Marsh Marigold:

I love little springs like this:

At this point the walk got VERY exciting. While R and I are animal lovers and photographers, Bobo-dog is a terrier, bred to hunt quickly moving small critters! A rodent narrowly escaped her initial pounce. Stella's second leap off trail resulted in this critter getting the heck out of there:

(Can you spot the garter snake)!?!

Unfortunately Stella did successfully root another rodent out of the leaves...perhaps a gopher? It may have been left the worse for wear. I felt badly about this, but then again, as a rodent in a giant wildlife preserve, it might not be the best idea to live right next to the trail!

Encouraged by her previous hunting skills, Stella strongly believed she could catch some geese:

Check out the Minnesota River Valley Preserve; fun for the whole family!

Huggies,
Wendell!

The South American Degu!

2009-04-12T23:41:00.005-05:00

Howdy all!

I hope April is going smoovely for you. Things are great here! Today I watered my gardens for the first time and discovered tulips and lilies emerging! Since this is the first spring in our house I didn't know what to expect, other than the 80 bulbs I planted in the fall.

Last weekend I was so excited to host my cousins Miss Lippy and Big W from Wisconsin - their blog links are visible on the right of my screen. It is always fun to have visitors, and these sisters are awesome in general. Not only did we feast at Brasa and on pizza from Pizza Luce, but also conquered the MOA and IKEA, the latter with Maven herself!

Miss Lippy and Big W shown here after the big shopping day, bonding with Stella:

Apparently Big W has a former colleague who was really into having pet rodents, including a South American degu. What?!

Have you heard of degus?! Let us learn together.

Fer cute!

Degus, or Octagon degus, is a cousin of the guinea pig, capybara and chinchilla. Tonight I learned the above critters are members of the Caviomorph infraorder of Rodentia. These guys have different skull structures than other rodents, and include some Rodents Of Unusual Size in Africa too. Not to forget our own North American dude, the porcupine!

Side Note: I am totally fascinated by how animals evolved throughout the planet, and the role of plate tectonics in how these rodents moved from Asia to Africa and to South America.

There are four species of degus with populations in Chile and Argentina, including a distinct variety living solely on Mocha Island off the central coast of Chile. (Field trip necessary.)

Degus are four to seven inches long and have furry-tipped tails. These social rodents are herbivores and live in complex social groups. Together, they dig extensive tunnels. Along with plants and cacti, degus eat nuts and roots. In rough times they supplement their diet by eating their own poo, (coprophagy) like rabbits.

Side Note: My dog prefers to eat cat poo and other, mystery poop she can quickly snatch off the ground before I stop her.

Degus have a complicated vocabulary of squeaks and grunts with which to communicate, along with urine scent marking. Unlike some other rodents, degus see well, probably because they are active during the day. A degu superpower is the fact they can see on the ultraviolet spectrum, and their white belly fur and urine glows when viewed through an ultraviolet lens!

Some white belly fur:

Like most rodents, degus reproduce on the regular. The females even nest together and nurse each other's babies. Unlike other beady-eyed critters, degus have a long gestation period of 90 days. This allows the degu pups to be born with fur, vision and hearing ready to go.

Degus are also really intelligent, probably because of their social systems. Scientists have taught them to use tools in captivity. They also become easily diabetic when fed too much fruit, and are used in laboratory research to study the disease.

In fact, it was through the lab that degus first became house pets! They are easily trainable, intelligent and affectionate pets, "grooming" their owners by stroking them with their teeth! It is also convenient that they are active during the day. Because of their burrowing habits, however, a degu can easily chew through the plastic bottom of most guinea pig cages, so more rugged housing is necessary. Degus can live eight to thirteen years in captivity.

OMG I totally want one!

Fuzzy fuzzy degus,
Wendell!

April Fools!

2009-04-01T09:03:00.004-05:00

I don't really have any jokes.

Critter good news: 6000 rare dolphins found in Bangladesh!

My budster PoundPapi sent me this sort of critter link...how to make a PC out of a stuffed beaver! (This is the "I'm a PC" commercial I want to see!) I bet Big Kral could do it!

These messages approved by Bobo.

More to come! Happy April.

Wendell!

Critters currently destroying my belongings.

2009-03-22T22:11:00.003-05:00

Hi, Critter Lovers!

I hope this post finds you all enjoying the first warm breezes of spring!

Unfortunately, with warmer weather comes the renewal of horrifying insects:

This 'pede was above my kitchen sink on Saturday morning. Thankfully it was only 1/4 inch long.

Before we discuss critter destruction, I'd like to show off our "new" couch!

Stella did not mind the old couch, which was perched on duct-taped-together phone books, even if it was getting holey.

The first incidence of critter warfare was a bug attack on two of my houseplants. But was a dual attack; two different plants, two different locations, and two different bugs!

My dear Mama bought me a lovely ivy when she visited in November:

Unfortunately the plant has been fading all winter. I should have taken action sooner, for I noticed tiny spider webs covering the plant.

Upon further research, I've discovered the culprit: Two Spotted Spider mites, or Tetrahychus urticae. These tiny spiders have been sucking the chlorophyll out of the formerly lovely ivy, causing it to wither and drop leaves!

(Actual size, .05 mm)

The female spiders have been laying up to 20 eggs a day underneath the leaves. To remedy the situation, I've sprayed the plant with bug spray, but I think a more effective treatment would be to wash the plant with a special soap. The dry and warm climate of my house contributed to the spiders' success. Maybe I should try misting it, or I could just throw it away, as it could be spreading spider mites to other plants.

The next attacker struck my music studio. I'm so thankful to have windows for the first time, so I went ahead and bought some plants to decorate the space.

(Note the cool fountain made by my Father-in-law and the thrift store painting!)

Why, what are these white fuzzy bugs on my plant?

Could it be...a Mealy Bug? Pseudococcus longispinus is covered with a white, waxy coating that protects it from moisture loss. These guys love hiding in the nooks and crooks of plants, as well as in soil and pot crevices. Using a pointy mouthpart called a stylet, mealy bugs suck the moisture out of plants. Their toxic saliva harms the leaves, causing them to drop. Meanwhile, they excrete a sticky substance called "honeydew" which can encourage mold growth.

In the following photo you can see the mealy bug's long tails.

Apparently the long tailed species gives birth to live young! Even better.

To control this infestation I've been manually removing the fuzzy bugs.

The final destruction of my property is on a much larger scale:

Oh! Perhaps the gnawing sound I heard upstairs was only a squirrel, EATING OUR HOUSE!

Thankfully, R fixed the fascia with some wire mesh and that foam stuff.

The squirrels have further "trimmed" the foam since I took the photograph. I would think the squirrels would be thankful for all of the birdseed I've provided over the harsh, cold winter. Ungrateful bastards!

I'm looking forward to hearing of your Spring critter encounters!

love,
Wendell!

My Boyfriend and Mandy Moore Secretly Married!

2009-03-16T11:00:00.001-05:00

Check it out!

Coyote spotted in Southeast Minneapolis!

2009-03-07T21:14:00.003-06:00

Happy March, critter enthusiasts!

I did not post over my spring break, as you might have noticed. As with most vacations, the week flew by. I read a great book, joined Weight Watchers, hung out with sis AM and went thrifting twice, and went for a few runs with Miss Stella-kin.

It was on our run yesterday when we encountered a true wild animal; a coyote!

For once I was thankful that Stella took a poo-break, as we were stopped when the coyote ran across the trails near Franklin Avenue and the East River Road. At first I thought the animal was a dog, but I heard the man who had jogged ahead of us say, "I think that's a coyote."

Stella was quite interested; I was quite freaked out! Would it attack us? But the coyote was about 50 yards off.

We continued on our run with no coyote sightings, but did encounter a very strong smell I associated with fox urine (having smelled it in my Dad's trapping shed) but which I assumed was coyote pee. The same smell reappeared further south on our run, near the Lake St/Marshall Ave bridge. Stella again tried to pull me toward the scent.

I had been thinking about critters on the east side of the Mississippi as a lady I encountered on an earlier excursion told me that she'd seen a gray fox running around. It probably was the coyote, methinks, although I did see two red fox pups frolicking on that side of the river in the summer of 2007.

Let us learn about this dog and wolf cousin, then, the coyote!

Coyotes, also known as prairie wolves, are medium sized predators with a range throughout North and Central America. Coyotes weigh between 20 and 50 pounds and are around 30 to 34 inches in length, with the tail being as long as the body. Canis latrans (barking dog) actually evolved on this continent, unlike the gray wolf, which originated in Eurasia. I didn't know that.

It's a good thing the Minneapolis coyote didn't chase after us; coyotes can run 43 mph and jump eight feet! These canines are one of the few animals who have become more successful with the human expansion throughout the United States. Coyotes are extremely adaptable, dining on garbage and house pets when they live in urban areas. It is estimated that Chicago is home to around 2,000 coyotes.

Even when living in well-populated areas, coyotes are most often heard and not seen. Their barks, yelps and howls occur at night when they are most active, but occasionally during the day as well. We saw our coyote around 10 in the morning.

Mating season for wolves is now! Usually coyotes are done with the nooky around the end of March. A mating pair may be monogamous for several years. While they can dig their own dens, coyotes often enlarge existing marmot or badger holes.

After two months of gestation, six or so coyote pups are born! They develop more quickly than wolf pups. After about three weeks the pups emerge from the den for the first time, and after 35 days they're weaned. Both parents then feed the pups with regurgitated food.

Babykins:

In the wild, coyotes live in forests, swamps, tundra, plains, deserts and mountains, with 19 subspecies covering the enormous range. They eat a diet consisting of about 90% rodents, but will eat carrion too. Packs of coyotes can take down an elk, and chase away bears or wolves from their prey.

If wolves populate an area, most likely there are few coyotes in residence. In turn, foxes avoid coyote territory, although they have been known to peacefully coexist. Wolves will kill coyotes, and both species will kill each other's pups. In the eastern U.S. and Canada, the coyote and wolf populations are quite mixed genetically. Both wolves and coyotes can interbreed with dogs; apparently the former is more genetically viable than the latter. It seems dog breeders are attempting these hybrids on purpose, which is generally considered a horrible idea.

The next question about the Franklin Ave. coyote is...will I see it again? Will there soon be a den somewhere on the east bank of the river?! I will start bringing the camera on excursions and obviously will keep you all posted!

Love,
Wile E Wendell!

The Habitat of the Wild Stella

2009-02-28T16:49:00.006-06:00

Greetings, all!

Long timey, no writey. Why? I don't know. Last weekend I went to WI and I've had a cold for the last TWO WEEKS.

This week is my "spring" break, so maybe I will write more often. I hope to thrift a lot.

Some of you might be wondering how to locate the Wild Stella-Dog. A rare species, this mixed breed can mostly be found on our couch:

(The couch is rapidly deteriorating. Anyone want to get rid of a brown leather sofa?!)

She also likes laps:

Like wolves and jackals, Stella-Dogs often inhabit laundry piles as well.

The den of the Wild Bobo-Dog:

Stella enjoys only the finest Innova food:

(Note the raccoon penis bone on the windowsill; a must for every kitchen.)

While pitbulls have a very tough persona, Stella is a fairly fearful girl. Her nemesis is the stove:

Unfortunately, between our coffee roasting and cooking activities, the smoke alarms go off quite frequently. Even the wildest beast-dog must retreat until the noisy threat passes:

It's much safer upstairs.

Stella-Dogs especially enjoy disgusting bones:

But some toys, this one a gift from KB, Stella loves TOO much.

Wild beasts of course can be found outdoors.

(With dog-cousin Ari in our backyard.)

Today we walked north on the West River Road. (The University of Minnesota West Bank is visible, with downtown Minneapolis behind.)

Here the Wild Bobo did not appreciate the loud noises from the Highway 94 bridge above.

She prefers beautiful scenery:

But pitbull/boxer mixes do not have a lot of fur or fat to keep them warm. After our cold walk, the Wild Stella found a cozy sunbeam to nap under, not unlike a ferocious cat.

I hope this critter post helps you locate the Wild Stella-Dogs in your own neighborhood!

Lovies,
Wendell!

The Como Zoo and Conservatory

2009-02-15T22:16:00.003-06:00

Happy President's Day weekend, y'all!

I hope everyone is feeling smoov. R and I have had a very social weekend, including my inaugural broom ball game:

It was really fun! R made two goals. But now my legs hurt from falling and I have a bruise on my knee.

Happy Valentine's Day! We had a great meal at home:

My first attempt at making crab legs; highly recommended!

These last two weeks in Minnesota have been pretty warm. We can all pretend that spring is here, but it's totally going to snow and get freezing again. When this happens, I recommend heading out to the free Como Conservatory and Zoo!

Sis KB and her fancy new bag in the foreground:

A sleeping sloth:

My nephew and god-child Baby B! (He was pretty tired by this point.)

Fun with the macro lens and the orchids:

Baby B enjoyed them too!

The flower building:

Some of the zoo animals are outside, however.

We wondered if the lady lion was expecting.

The American Bison!

A mama and baby giraffe:

Back indoors, a crazy monkey:

Leaf-cutting ants, which were so cool!

And a new heebie-jeebie inducing critter:

The Tanzanian Tailless Whip Scorpion!

Apparently these African dudes are fairly harmless; capable of pinching people but more likely to run away instead! They eat insects and make good pets! Yikes.

For some reason in my eight-plus years of living in Minneapolis, I have never been to the Como Conservatory! It was so humid and lovely in the buildings, and of course great to hang out with KB and Baby B and check out some critters.

So in a few weeks when everything still looks like this:

Hasten to the Como Zoo and Conservatory for a little of this:

xooxox
Wendell!

The Holy of Holies, Thrift Store Edition

2009-02-07T22:12:00.004-06:00

Happy weekend, all!

Today I got the hankerin' to hit a thrift store. After calling three people to join me, I decided I might as well combine thrifting with a grocery store run on nearby Lake Street. Therefore, I hastened solo to Savers.

I was encouraged by their denim collection. As usual, I found some designer brands; Earl Jeans and a pair of Seven for All Mankind. They were not in my size. Anyway, I went through the sweaters, long sleeved tops, workout clothes, dresses and finally, skirts.

Anyone who knows me probably has noticed that in the summertime, I primarily wear one skirt at all times:

Summer 2007

Spring 2008

Yes, I even wore the Lux denim skirt on my wedding day on August 12, 2006! (Note as well the ever-present Caboodle, a gift from GH! At this point I had put on foundation, two types of concealer, eyebrow pencil and am dabbing imperfections with loose powder before patting down everything with pressed powder. In case you were interested.)

GH was the original owner of the skirt too! The garment was originally sold at Urban Outfitters when she bought it for around $60. Unfortunately it was too big, so being the awesome friend she is, GH gave the skirt to me! I don't know when...2004? 2005?

But as I'm sure you've guessed, today I found a nearly identical skirt at Savers!

The new one is darker in color and a size bigger:

Also it is not threadbare and falling apart like the original!

Obviously I will keep wearing the old one until it explodes. But for real, when I found the Lux skirt today I almost teared up! There are few garments in my wardrobe that are flattering and super comfortable and practical, that I love and would wear daily. I'm so thankful to have found one for $7.99!

So, I say, keep thrifting! But prices at Goodwill, Savers, etc. are going up because more folks are shopping at them to save money. Whatevs! If you're in the mood to dig, I highly recommend shopping pre-owned. Because maybe, like I did today, you will find EXACTLY what you are dreaming of finding!

xooxxoxo
Wendell!

Marmot Day!

2009-02-02T09:20:00.001-06:00

Dear Critter Readers,

Happy Groundhog's Day! This historic date, February 2nd, marks the fourth anniversary of Wendell's Critter Corner!

It was so cold here this morning I fear I already know Punxatawney Phil's prediction!

xoxoxo
Wendell!

Ryan Adams Update

2009-01-31T21:20:00.005-06:00

Howdy, y'all!

Here in Minneapolis we're experiencing a heatwave, which for Minnesota in January is 37 degrees. Lots of folks were out and about today, including Stella and I, trying out the waist leash for another run! It was a very muddy excursion. Only in Minnesota do you see joggers wearing both shorts and stocking caps!

In Critter-free Ryan Adams news:

(Oooh, HOT!)

Because my work commute is about seven minutes, I haven't been doing the extensive Ryan Adams listening that I've done in the past. So I've been revisiting their latest album, Cardinology, while doing the dishes. It is awesome, upon further listening.

Upon doing some interweb research tonight, though, I came across this horrifying article. RYAN ADAMS QUITTING MUSIC?!? Disaster.

I realize that I haven't given a report on the Ryan Adams and the Cardinals/Oasis concert I saw at the Target Center back in December.

It was mostly really cool; finally I got to hear The Cardinals perform "When the Stars Go Blue". They did a little bit of jamming on "Off Broadway" and a slow version of "Let it Ride", which were both sort of lame. Ryan acted crazy as usual, flopping down over his guitar and forgetting the words on "Natural Ghost" and giggling. Also he sounded great, also as usual.

The new Oasis album "Dig Out Your Soul" was awesome and it was great to hear a legendary band play in a huge venue. Noel Gallagher lived up to his reputation as a chode, sort of arrogantly strutting around the stage and carrying a tambourine for no reason. Although he did give it to a fan at the end of the concert! Liam was very polite and chatted with the audience, asking us why we all didn't move to California. When the we booed he said, "Yes, ok, but today they're wearing shorts in California!" It was really funny. More info on their tour together here.

Ryan suggested that his March 20th Atlanta show will be his last (for now) with the Cardinals! Currently they're in Australia but are finishing the Cardinology tour in the U.S. south.

Well, if Ryan does go on hiatus I hope it's not for too long!

xoxoxox
Wendell

Critters and Kids: Part Two

2009-01-25T19:31:00.004-06:00

Howdy y'all! I hope you all had a great weekend!

Wildlife news:

The Fish Empathy quilt. As an omnivore I'm not really against fish consumption. Especially when I see the cannibalism that sometimes occurs in my own aquarium! But resource management must be used in the fishing industry; some areas/species are becoming dangerously overfished.

More fishy news; a rock climbing catfish?!

Life on Mars?

Today's Critters and Kids feature is dedicated to Baby C! As you can see, Baby C happens to be adorable:

Approaching eight months of age, Baby C is an active baby. Her hobbies include napping with Mom, being flown around like an airplane with Dad, sitting up, considering crawling, sweet potatoes and her pet giraffe, Sophie:

I think Baby C's pet is an excellent excuse for us to feature this amazing African mammal, the giraffe!

Giraffa camelopardalis was given its Latin name from the old belief that it was a cross between a camel and a leopard. Now we know that giraffes are even toed ungulates, like many deer and antelope, although they share their family with only one other relative, the okapi:

In addition to being the world's tallest mammal, giraffes are the world's biggest ruminants, or cud-chewers. Like cows, giraffes have four stomach organs to help them digest the tough leaves and twigs they have for dinner.

Giraffes can grow up to 18 feet tall and weigh between 2500 and 4000 lbs. Females are smaller than males and there are nine varieties of giraffes spread throughout south central Africa.

Acacia trees are a favorite of these tall guys, and the giraffe's nimble tongue pulls the small leaves off the branches - up to 140 lbs of leaves a day! Giraffes have tough molars to grind the thorns of these trees. Okapis possess an even longer tongue than giraffes, being the only mammal that can clean the inside and outside of its ears with its big blue tongue! Evidence of the giraffe's wet-willy potential:

Even though giraffes only have seven vertebrae, just like us, they have other unique features. Giraffe (and okapi) "horns" are called ossicones. Unlike antlers, which are made of bone, ossicones are formed from cartilage. One way to tell the gender of a giraffe is to look at the skin and hair covered ossicones. Males "horns" (above in the tongue picture) are often bald, with the hair tufts worn off from fighting with other boys. Girls ossicones are hair covered:

In order to keep blood pumping through its giant body and all the way up to its brain, giraffes have very high blood pressure. An adult has a heart that is nearly two feet long and that weighs 22 lbs! The legs of the giraffe have very thick, tight skin to prevent this high-pressure blood from leaking out of their capillaries. A network of blood vessels called a rete mirabile (miraculous web) prevents too much blood collection in the giraffe's brain when he bends down to drink. This same type of venous web helps prevent waterfowl and penguin legs/feet/beaks from freezing in cold water.

Giraffes form loose herds arranged by gender; usually females and female calves stay together, with young males grouping separately. Older males may roam alone. Giraffes are not territorial and are often preferred company for wildebeest, other antelope and zebras, who rely on the taller mammal to spot danger far away.

In the mating season, male giraffes often fight each other by "necking", which is the act of swinging their heads and necks around to hit each other. These attacks can occasionally be fatal.

"Ew, gross!" Fact: Male giraffes taste the females urine to determine if she is in estrus!

Like some other animals (bonobo chimpanzees, seals, deer), male giraffes mount other males quite frequently.

After a male/female pairing, a giraffe calf is born after 14 or 15 months gestation. The momma giraffe gives birth walking or standing up, and often the umbilical sac bursts upon the calf hitting the ground, two meters down! Baby giraffes start walking and nursing at 15 minutes of age.

While adult giraffes are safe from most predators except lions, unfortunately it is baby giraffes that are the most vulnerable to predation. Hyenas, panthers and alligators often take giraffe calves. Only 25 to 50% of giraffes make it past their first year.

Thankfully, many of the varieties of giraffes are protected in Africa's giant nature preserves. Their height helps them survive when domesticated animals enter their territory, as they can reach the tops of trees for food. Like many animals, giraffes are threatened by poaching and loss of habitat.

But I think Baby C's giraffe Sophie will remain quite safe!

Hugs n snuggles to Baby C...and everyone else too!
Wendell!

Wednesday Critters

2009-01-22T09:21:00.004-06:00

Hey Critterfarians,

Hope your week is smoov! Here in MN we're having a warm snap, and yesterday Stella and I went on a run together. We saw:

A pileated woodpecker in flight!

And a bunch of geese in the Mississippi:

I've been seeing flocks of robins near the river, but yesterday there was one in the tree outside my office window downtown.

Here are two robins near the river. Down by the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge there is what appears to be some kind of wastewater treatment land, closed off with a fence. The ground must be quite warm, as it is snow-free and steam rises from it. There were about 30 robins rooting around in the soil; maybe worms were in there. Or maybe it was just a warm spot! Anyway, I'll have to photograph it.

Another Critters and Kids feature is coming soon!

Happy Thursday,
Wendell!

Critter Attack!

2009-01-07T10:25:00.003-06:00

Disast!

This morning as Stella-kin and I took our walk, we headed into Brackett Park, where a murder of crows had gathered.

Unfortunately, as we walked under a tree populated by crows, Stella bore the brunt of their attack:

Mur! Stella seemed non-plussed by the poo and we continued merrily on our walk. But her coat is now in the wash!

Here is a photo of the crows taken last night from my backyard:

Haters.

xoxoxoxo
Wendell!

Critters and Kids: Part One

2009-01-06T18:01:00.004-06:00

January greetings!

The only thing cuter than critters are kids, so I thought why not combine the two? The first dedication goes out to Big W's daughter Phook! While more cute pictures of the Phookster can be found on her Momma's blog, here's one I snapped at Christmas:

I believe at this juncture Phook was chillin' with her Grandpa J and watching "The Wizard of Oz".

In addition to being a delightful two-year-old, Phookie has recently become an aquarist. Her betta's name is Steve-O. (Big W might have helped suggest the name!)

Betta splendens are common to southeast Asia, hence their nickname "Siamese Fighting Fish". Part of the Class Actinopterygii, or ray-finned fishes, bettas are in the gourami family, or Osphronemidae. Bettas, like other gourami, have developed a labyrinth organ in their heads that allow them to orally inhale oxygen from the surface of the water. This ability helps tropical species receive enough air from warm, oxygen-poor water. Bettas that cannot access the surface of their aquariums may drown!

The reputation of bettas as fighters is well-earned. Male fish will indeed fight to the death when they are enclosed close together. In the wild, the weaker fish will simply retreat to other territory. Wild bettas are actually gray-brown in color, with the males only gaining bright pigmentation during these battles. Breeders found a way to activate these bright reds, purples and blues in domesticated strains. Even the usually drab females have been bred to be colorful:

Even keeping females and males together in the same aquarium can be dicey; the boys are only nice during mating season! Male bettas can be placed in mixed aquariums, but ask a professional what kind of fish can handle these bullies.

Betta nooky involves the amorous couple spiraling around each other. During this "nuptial embrace" the female releases eggs, with the male fertilizing them. Then daddy fish creates a bubble nest for the eggs, and guards it for the three to four days it takes for the eggs to hatch! After the fry leave the nest though, they can be cannibalized by their parents.

As the last statement suggests, bettas are carnivores. In captivity they survive best with a protein-based food, but can be fed veggies cut into miniscule pieces. Bettas enjoy live food, too, such as mosquito larvae. Maybe Phook and her parents can collect some larvae this summer and feed them to Steve-O! But they better not put too many in there or the mosquitoes might hatch in their house....

One of the fancier bettas:

Well, big lovies to Phook, her little brother and the rest of the K family! I hope to meet Steve-O in person the next time I'm in the Motherland.

Bubblenest!
Wendell

New Year's Walk

2009-01-01T20:42:00.005-06:00

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone got to have a relaxing day like I did. We started the day late, but as you can see here Stella was ready to explore, starting by claiming the back of the couch!

It was a great day to take a long walk. We headed out to the Mississippi River Winchell Trail, just a block from our house.

In the distance you can see the Short Line railroad bridge over the river. In the mornings I can see the sun rising beyond it and the view is spectacular.

The Wild R and the Snow Dog under the bridge!

Graffiti:

The view over the water:

The cawing of crows led us on. It was weird to see them on the Mississippi River ice!

Here you can see more of the murder of crows, the Short Line bridge and the Franklin Avenue bridge in the background.

We discovered this section of the Winchell Trail in the last few weeks. It heads south, popping you out at the Lake Street bridge. You can see how tall the bluff is in the following photo, along with some of its lovely limestone outcroppings.

I am on vacation now before the semester starts mid-month. Hopefully this will mean one million blog posts!

xoxoxo
Wendell!

Holidazzle

2008-12-29T19:33:00.005-06:00

Howdy y'all!

I hope you all had a good holiday and are getting excited for New Year's Eve. In the last few years my enthusiasm for this holiday has waned, although this year we are invited to an early evening event. Last year I think R was sick.

We returned on Saturday from our trip to WI:

(The rest of the photos can be seen on the Flickr screen to the right)---->.

As for critters, I've got a few ideas for future posts. But for now, it's all about the squirrels. First, they destroyed my suet feeder. It started slowly. The squirrel broke the hanging part first, so I had to ghetto-rig the roof back on with a wire. Then the rodents stole the whole wire cage thing!

Needless to say, the suet cake was gone.

Upon returning to Minneapolis, the squirrels broke the "squirrel-proof" panel off of our bird feeder:

But I put it back on.

The squirrels also attempted to bite through our screen to get to one of R's frozen lasagna portions!

That is my critter report; pretty weak! Uh, we did see some wild turkeys on our road trip!

More soon!
Wendell

Randy rando

2008-12-19T22:00:00.003-06:00

Man, December has been a little slim on the posts. Might be the only slim thing about December, har har har! The semester finished up nicely last Wednesday, and this week and last I've been working a job involving text books, shelves, and my arms. I'll let you put those three together in your mind.

In order to quell my $5 Footlong guilt, tonight I took Stella on her first run with me! We went just over three miles. Currently she is sleeping on the floor next to the computer!

Here's Stella in her winter coat:

We found a cool Martingale collar from Canada:

It's purple with gold filigree, if you can't tell. I figured it would be appropriate for a both a princess-dog and a Viking fan (R).

Sick of cute dogs? Here are some alternatives:

A spider hanging out in our office.

A lasagna lovingly made by R:

R is the lasagna chef in our family, and made two different types last Saturday. The above photo is of the Cook's Illustrated "Lasagna Bolognese", for which he reduced one billion cups of whole milk and white wine into a delicate bechemel, food processed veggies into tiny particles, cooking them together with ground meats; then let the fillings cool, shredded a lot of parmesan and carefully assembled the lasagna.

The other kind of lasagna is R's specialty; purchased sauce, lots of shredded mushrooms, peppers and zucchini, crumbled Italian sausage, garlic and basil-infused ricotta, topped with plenty of mozzarella and some pepperoni.

Um, can you guess which one tasted better?! Yes, it was R's own version. It's always good to try new recipes, methinks. Especially if I just get to try the finished result!

Hopefully I'll post again before Christmas; that is if I survive a "brief" trip to the mall this weekend.

xooxo
Wendell!

Ultimate Critter Report

2008-12-08T20:01:00.003-06:00

Hello, All!

Happy December! Diciembre. Decembre. Dezember. Anyway.

Last weekend R and I adopted our very own Critter!
Introducing Stella!

Stella is a two and half year old Boxer/American Pitbull Terrier mix. Also she is a babykin.

Here, R gives her a lovie.

Our first night with her (pic courtesy of the adoption agency:)

More reports and more cuteness to follow!

Enjoy the snow,
Wendell!

Thankgiving and tree trimming.

2008-11-30T22:12:00.004-06:00

Howdy all!

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to you, or the end of it, I guess.

Last weekend I traveled to WI, where I bonded with Dom Nem (did you take any pictures, G?!) and my sisters and cousins. Sisters:

(K and L might be a bit windburned due to sitting in trees all day, deer hunting.)

And cousins, aka Big W and Miss Lippy:

It was fun to hang out as a group!

For Thanksgiving we headed down to R's ancestral homeland. I managed to amuse Baby B for a few minutes with this book.

On Saturday R and I went to Menards to get our Christmas tree; possibly more cheaply than in my small hometown. We bought an eight foot tree for $26.

R does not appreciate the unicorn ornament collection of my youth and arranged these two to look like they were mating!

Weirdly, I came up with a crafty tree trimming idea. R and I have "competed" in many races over the years; Twin City 10 miles, Grandma's Half Marathon, etc, and we often receive medals for completing the race. I figured, why not turn them into Christmas ornaments?!

You can either cut the ribbons and tie the ends together, as I did with my triathlon medal:

Or get fancy like R did and hot glue the ends together decoratively:

To me this seems like a great way to display these medals; they're a part of our personal history, and otherwise they were sitting in drawers or hanging on a rack in a closet somewhere.

I have about eight days of teaching left in the semester! Crazy.

Hugs and snow-critters,
Wendell!

In brief.

2008-11-21T08:17:00.002-06:00

Hello, everyone!

As I prepare to drive to The Motherland, I present this picture, sent in an email from my friend PV:

Quite a delicate maneuver!

Have a great weekend!
Wendell!

The Mexican Axolotl

2008-11-12T22:50:00.002-06:00

Greetings, All!

R recently sent me an email regarding a Central American amphibian which was completely unknown to me; the Axolotl.

Have you heard of them?!

Apparently axolotls are closely related to our own Tiger Salamander:

But unlike its northern cousin, Axolotls remain all of their lives in a larval state, which is known as neoteny. These salamanders are bred in captivity to further study on the neoteny phenomenon, as well as for the fact that they can REGENERATE ENTIRE LIMBS! Cool.

Unfortunately, Axolotls are suffering in their natural habitat: the lakes and canals within Mexico City. Pollution, water drainage and introduction of alien species, particularly Tilapia, are decimating the Axolotl population. Mur.

Seeing the following photo, I'm tempted to keep an Axolotl aquarium!

I also want to go to Mexico City to see the canals.

Crazy salamander,
Wendell!

Further Squirrel Mysteries

2008-11-07T09:39:00.003-06:00

Hello, all!

Today marks the first real snow in Minneapolis!

Upon buying our house, we discovered the previous owner had left a bird feeder behind. When I suggested to R that we fill it with birdseed, he expressed fear that squirrels would overtake our yard and infiltrate the attic, or something. I reminded him that our yard is surrounded by oak trees and that his point might have been moot.

After hanging the bird feeder on our single clothesline pole, I wondered if the metal post made it a squirrel-proof feeder. But the birdseed is almost gone after I filled it less than a week ago, and also:

Quite a healthy beast, no? I wonder if he stole my mini-pumpkins. Well, maybe the wildlife needed them more than I did.

I'm excited to see how they jump up on the bird feeder; if the corroded pole is rough enough to climb, or if they leap from the nearby bush or tree.

Finally, we have the opportunity to get a free pit bull puppy in the next few weeks. My Mom is horrified by the idea. Any reader input?

Moving miscellany

2008-11-05T21:16:00.004-06:00

Howdy, y'all! Homeowner Wendell here. The last two weeks have been really amazing. Here's a photo montage of the events.

Moving Day:

Pizza for the helpers!

Disast!

But because of R's traditional Halloween/Birthday party, we cleaned up and prepared to rokk with our friends!

The birthday boy and I! We were not really that creative on the costume front, however.

(CN dressed up as a Clinique Counter lady! Clearly PG is interested in some new makeup!)

Gratuitous munchkin shot:

(Baby B in a dinosaur costume!)

Last weekend my Mom and sis AG came to visit!

But it wasn't all fun and games! Other than going out to dinner, shopping and putzing around, I also put them to work:

We planted a bunch of daffodils, four irises and some allium thingys. Most of the bulbs were sold out.

Note the mini-pumpkins; AG noticed a squirrel running off with one! We intercepted the beast and recovered the fruit. But by Monday all three of the pumpkins had been stolen!

We went to R's ancestral homeland where I purchased an Arts and Crafts plant stand at an antique store, only $28:
Note the quarter sawn oak.
It is about knee high, perfect for our living room.

The to-do list includes:
Put away 1001 pairs of shoes
Buy a piano
Put away books...but where is the best place for the book shelves?
Clean and display china
Get a futon
Want different coffee table, couch and rug
Hang up artwork
Find permanent spots for plants
Clean everything

More critteration to follow,
Wendell!

Giant Bumblebee Spotted in Twin Cities!

2008-10-23T09:22:00.002-05:00

Oh, wait, it's our nephew, Baby B! Baby Bee, I mean!

xoxoxo
Wendell!

Moving!

2008-10-22T08:45:00.002-05:00

Hey dudes,

As of yesterday, R and I are officially homeowners!

The rear of the home:

I haven't moved in four years. While it is so exciting to move forward and make changes, it's hard to say goodbye too. Perhaps the hardest thing is just changing the daily routine. Only when everything is in destruction mode do you realize how much you cling to the daily cup of coffee while sitting in the same chair, coming home from work and plopping down on the (disgusting) couch (which I was hoping to abandon at the curb....I guess we will be moving it!)

The random items tucked into closets can bring back a lot of memories as well. I found my old cordless phone from high school and college, and I felt sad to plop it in the Goodwill pile. The act of moving puts into focus how you've changed; it's sort of a twilight time where all of your past relocations come together, outlining your story.

(We got a lot of boxes from the liquor store!)

Hopefully I can post photos of our house next week!

xoxoxoxo
Wendell
P.S. There is a friendly neighbor cat who came over to our new crib last night and willingly submitted to my lovies. Nice.

Bug Attack!

2008-10-15T13:33:00.003-05:00

Hey, y'all!

Hope you're doing smoov mid-week! I am packing, exercising, thinking about packing and hanging out with people.

Beauty on the St. Olaf campus:

Once again the Box Elder Bugs are invading our apartment:

It's weird; before I went to the gym today there were several clusters of like, 100 bugs, and by the time I got back the clumps had dissipated.

A mini-gathering on this little plant:

Meanwhile, R is on his way to the OC! Jerk. Last night he felt like a little coffee:

I'm excited for the Project Runway finale tonight! Also I've heard Ryan Adams and the Cardinals new single "Fix It" TWICE on The Current. It's from their upcoming album Cardinology! EEEEEEEEeeeee! I'm going to see them open for Oasis at the Xcel Energy Center this December. Yes.

xoxoxo
Wendell

Romancing the Stone

2008-10-11T09:32:00.003-05:00

Howdy, all!

I hope you are feeling good this October!

Lately my critter sightings have been limited to the usual birds (except for an eagle soaring over the Mississippi as I crossed it on the 94 bridge), squirrels and bunnies. Have you encountered any wildlife?

I decided to take the critter crisis into my own hands the other day. At my workplace there is a shady landscaped garden. It seemed like a very good idea to lift a few of the garden rocks to see what lived beneath!

I found:

Mr. Slug:

The outdoor centipede, which is less scary than his indoor cousin!

And the centipede's vegetarian relative, the millipede:

Sometimes one needs to go the extra mile to find wildlife!

xoxoxo
Wendell!

The Gopher State

2008-09-30T21:49:00.003-05:00

Hello, everyone!

As I mentioned last week, things have been busy here. Sis K and I had such a good visit; hanging out with her was one of the highlights of my year!

In house buying news, we close on our new place Oct. 21st! I am realizing that every item in our apartment will have to be moved. By us. It will be a good opportunity to get rid of crapola, right? Plus, all the yucky stuff can be hidden in our future basement, two-car garage or shed.

In World Critter News:

Hawaii lists 48 species as endangered!

Save the wolverines!

A giant dinosaur that breathed like a bird?

An ancient goose with teeth? I wonder if the geese I saw today wished they had teeth? Maybe their poop is weapon enough.

After seeing a gopher this summer, I knew I needed to write about them here. Not only am I running out of rodents to profile, but also, I've lived in the Gopher State for over eight years!

The problem is that Goldy Gopher is really modeled after a thirteen-lined ground squirrel, not a true gopher!

The thirteen-lined ground squirrel:

Goldy:

(Actually, Goldy's tail looks more like a chipmunk tail to me, but anyway....)

In general, the ground squirrels described below share many characteristics. They are diurnal, or active during the day. They range from four to twelve inches long. Ground squirrels form tunnel communities and call to each other with high pitched squeaks. While their main foods are roots, plants and grains, the squirrels will eat the occasional bug, egg or baby bird. Frequency and time of mating depends on the climate, but most ground squirrels have at least one litter per year, and are sexually mature after their first year.

A member of the squirrel family Sciuridae, thirteen-lined ground squirrels are related to chipmunks and tree squirrels. They dig tunnels ranging from 15 to 20 feet long, in a territory up to three acres in size. As summer progresses, these ground squirrels gain as much fat as possible and dig deeper hibernation chambers in their tunnels. As early as October, Squinneys (as they're known in Iowa!), start hibernating. Their respirations decrease from an average between 100 to 200 breaths per minute to only one breath per five minutes!

Other Minnesota ground squirrels include Franklin's ground squirrel, named after the British Arctic Explorer Sir John Franklin, and Richardson's ground squirrel, named after the Scottish naturalist Sir John Richardson.

Franklin's ground squirrel:

These animals resemble tree squirrels, but live more like prairie dogs in similar open habitats. They are much more omnivorous than other ground squirrels, consuming eggs, baby birds, insects and rodents along with plant matter.

Richardson's ground squirrel:

These guys are known as flickertails, as they wiggle said item constantly! Richardson's ground squirrel is the state animal of North Dakota, also known as the Flickertail State? Apparently Richardson's squirrels were too plentiful in Saskatchewan, so the province had a controversial open season for them in 2002 and 2003.

Now, let's turn to an actual gopher! Part of the family Geomyidae, or true gophers, pocket gophers are much bigger than ground squirrels.

Look at those digging paws! In one year a pocket gopher can dig 300 mounds and move four tons of soil. As you can maybe guess, they are mostly underground dudes, and therefore have poor eyesight. Dandelion and alfalfa roots are their favorite meal, and they prefer moist soil, which can bring them closer to crops and yards.

Side Note: Does anyone else think of junior high typing class when they see the word "alfalfa"? I'm just wondering.

These fatties can weigh up to two pounds, with the males being twice as large as the female. They are larder hoarders, meaning they store food in their cheek pockets and carry it to holding rooms within their tunnels. The cheek pockets, which give these rodents their name, are huge, reaching from the sides of their mouth all the way back to their shoulders!

While ground squirrels leave mostly small holes as signs of their tunnels, pocket gophers announce their presence with large, fan shaped piles of dirt reaching up to eight inches high!

Unlike ground squirrels, who share tunnels, pocket gophers are usually alone in their tunnels, with the exception of mating season and when babies are born. During mating season, male pocket gophers dig tunnels hoping to intersect with a female's chamber!

Pocket gophers are active year round, and keep tunneling beneath the snow! If you ever see something resembling this after the snow melts:

You know a pocket gopher is in your 'hood!

I must say, I was really excited about this gopher post, until I realized the only one of these critters I've ever seen is Goldy, and the thirteen-lined ground squirrel he was designed to resemble! Have any of you seen any of the other ground squirrels or pocket gophers?

Do you have any autumn critter stories?

Tunnel of love,
Wendell!

Fun Week

2008-09-24T09:40:00.001-05:00

Hello all!

My lil' sister K is visiting from Wisconsin! We are having a great time.

More to come!

Wendell!

September

2008-09-16T23:21:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all.

Spotted any critters lately?!

I'm hoping to bring our camera to my workplace soon, as I've been again spotting voles, baby bunnies, and, the long-awaited immature squirrel:

Two babies, actually.

This week has been busy though as we might be buying a house! The inspection is Friday; keep your fingers crossed! The potential property does have a verdant yard with mature trees...surely a critter habitat?

More to come.

xoxo
Wendell!

Just like Jesse James

2008-09-07T22:52:00.003-05:00

Howdy, y'all!

This weekend marked my inaugural Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield, MN. Even better, the Domestic Nemesis herself, GH, came up to visit!

Here we are at the B family homestead; notice Horndexter the cat roaming in the background!

Here are R and D, aka the Surly brothers, prior to their 60 mile Jesse James Days bike ride! Rock on!

After R, GH and I watched the reenactment of the bank robbery, we headed down to the fireman's bingo tent, where I immediately won!

The prize was $15! With which I purchased fried cheese curds and cotton candy.

As you might recall from my last post, I was excited to find a salamander last week. Thankfully sister LW is keeping me posted on the amphibian goings-on at her house. This weekend she reported seeing TWO salamanders together, and confirmed that they are the spotted variety:

This morning she rescued another salamander as it walked across her driveway!

As for my own pets, R gave me a PetSmart gift card for my birthday, with the intention of buying me a new aquarium. I've been thinking about this one. My research suggests that the aquarium stands sold along with the tanks are not the highest quality, so I might stick with my old wooden sewing machine table. The 18 gallon tank from the link would fit nicely on top of that, and would be an upgrade in size from my 11 year old ten gallon aquarium.

I will keep you posted on any aquatic acquisitions.

Today as I drove to the PetSmart on Stinson Blvd., I passed the marmot field...empty of rodents. Now I worry about them. Has anyone seen any groundhogs?

Hugs to you all and happy Monday!
Wendell!

Minnesota State Fair/Bratfest/Critters of the Motherland

2008-09-01T19:20:00.005-05:00

Happy September!

I hope you all had a spectacular weekend. Shout-outs to everyone who has their first day of school tomorrow, especially PG, who starts her doctorate at the U!

R and I had a marathon of fun adventures, starting with our annual pilgrimage to the MN State Fair on Thursday night.

Every year there is a featured weird food at the State Fair, including such things as Hot-Dish on a Stick, Deep Fried Candy Bars, Pizza on a Stick, etc. This year it was Chocolate Covered Bacon. Heck yes we tried it:

As one could expect with a combination of two perfect foods, Chocolate Covered Bacon was delicious. The salty/chocolaty quality reminded me of dipping a french fry into a chocolate shake, except with a smokiness that was a little weird. These so-called "Pig Lickers" were pretty rich, though.

The animal barns were being cleaned last Thursday, and unfortunately we couldn't see any miniature goats as they were all being replaced. We did attend the "Miracle of Birth" barn, however.

Can you see an umbilical cord hanging down from one of the baby pigs? They were so tiny.

These two larger piglets appear to be snuggling, but in reality they were biting each other.

Lambkins:

The baby calf.

These ducklings had their own swimming pools!

On Friday we traveled to my hometown in Central Wisconsin. As usual we were pampered and fed heartily. R and I spent every evening at my sister L's and her boyfriend CC's rural estate. L and I went on a wildlife search AND ONE OF MY CRITTER GOALS WAS FINALLY REALIZED.

Ladies and Gentlemen: The salamander.

Unlike the tiger salamanders we found in the sandy basement of my aunt's house, this one was all black. Here is a tiger salamander:

Here he is in his hole, under a board leaning up against CC's garage.

How we loved this gentle creature! But, I'm having trouble identifying this salamander. Could it be a blue-spotted salamander, a native of Wisconsin?

I think we would have noticed the spots, even though our salamander was covered with sand.

Or it could have been another WI salamander, the spotted variety.

We also saw one of these guys:

A gray tree frog.

And possibly a frog that is endangered in Wisconsin, a Blanchard's Cricket Frog:

We didn't have our camera last night when I spotted this guy on the outside of the garage window. He was green with distinctive copper eyes and a matching copper stripe along the side of his head. Adorbs!

Arachnids were present as well:
There were tons of daddy long legs everywhere!

I also spotted one of these guys:

Unfortunately she was just zooming through the treetops, not up close!

Close to my hometown is the largest one day festival in Wisconsin, the Harrisville Bratfest!
R had never attended this venerable event, so we hastened there, seeking brats and adventure!

The brat and R's commemorative bottle coozy! Notice as well his new camouflage hat.

L and CC in action!

For some reason I do not recall watching a tractor pull before.

Side Note: The tractor pull track is directly adjacent to the Lion's Club where R and I had our wedding reception!

Trucks pulled too:

The plume of smoke was very dramatic! And carcinogenic!

I highly recommend attending the Bratfest. Although tickets to the tractor pull were $10 (kids get in free) the menu is quite reasonable:

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Lovies,
Wendell!

Bugs and Birthdays

2008-08-25T17:26:00.004-05:00

Dear Critter-heads,

How are you? I admit my posts have not been wildlife related as of late. But! That is soon to change.

Here are the creatures I've encountered recently.

On my Saturday birthday party (shout outs to everyone who bowled and chillaxed!) a grasshopper awaited R and I at our table. He evacuated to my pants leg.

Sunday we ventured south to the B family homestead, where my Mom-in-law spotted these cicadas emerging from their old exo-skeletons!

I think cicadas have cute faces, with their wide-set eyes.

Here is my cicada entry from my old blog, dated 7/12/2007:
Dear Critter Lovers,

Hello! Happy Thursday to you all. The last few days in Minneapolis have been those 75 degree, puffy cloud-filled sky days, my favorite. Daydreaming weather.

I can even see the sky from my new cube at my new temp job! I've never had a cube before; it's very exciting.

Critter Newz:

More trouble in the Middle East: Badgers?!?

Another mammoth fossil!

You've got to be squidding! (Lame joke.)

Check out this cool horsey. Yet another pet R needs to purchase for me!

Wow, I have several critter ideas for this blog; a bird request from my cousin Miss Lippy, bats, and a mammalian menace that is taking over the world!

Today our focus is the request of CN, Puccini soprano and recent birthday-girl. When CN was visiting her motherland of Chicago, she was accosted by cicadas! I think she is referring to the emergence of Brood XIII, according to the University of Michigan Department of Zoology page.

I think we saw one of these in St. Paul the other day. (Shout outs to the B family!)

Cicadas are members of Hemiptera, or the "true bug" order. They are present on every continent except Antarctica.

These bugs are famous for two things. First, they are the loudest insects in the world! Second, cicadas have dormant cycles of two to 17 years.

Male cicadas are the noise-makers (with females being the audience!) and obviously this music is love related. Unlike grasshoppers who rub their leg against their abdomen to create sound, cicadas have a pair little drum-like membranes, called tymbales, on their abdomen. They vibrate the tymbales, which resonate in special enlarged hollow chambers.

In addition to finding mates, cicada song can repel birds, and a special version of the song acts as a distress cry. Differences in cicada sounds are the most definitive way to identify individual cicada species.

Once the female is seduced by the male's song, he might sing a special courtship song to her. After mating, the female bites open slits in a nearby twig, into which she lays her eggs. Once they hatch, the nymphs drop to the ground, where their strong front legs bury them one to eight and a half feet. There they subsist on tree root juice.

After their dormant period, the nymphs emerge from underground, sometimes thousands in one night. They climb into trees and molt one last time there, emerging as snow white adults. After hiding in the trees and hardening up for a few days, the cicadas begin flying around, finding some plants to suck on, and searching for mates.

In the U.S., most cicadas are part of the Magicicada genus. These are cyclic in either 13 or 17 years. You'll note these are prime numbers, which is a strategy to avoid predators with three or five year tendencies from wiping them out. Primary enemies of the cicadas are insects too: the cicada killer wasp and the praying mantis.

I think cicadas are cool-looking.

Cicada Fun Facts:

*Cicadas, particularly females, have been prized as a food source ever since ancient Greek times.

*They are harmless to humans.

*Chinese and Japanese healers grind up cicadas to help with hearing.

*They are not related to locusts, even though some people call them "13 year locusts."

*Adult cicadas are called "imagines"?

Finally, cicadas are special to me because I sang a song about them in my graduate voice recital.

Side Note: I obviously need to do an all-critter recital! (I don't know if there are any animal arias, though....)

The song, "O Cigale", was a setting of a Leconte de Lisle poem by the French composer Ernest Chausson, and alludes to the insect's song and mysterious life cycle. Here's an English translation by Laura Sylvis:

O cicada, born with fine days,
Poised from dawn on the green branches,
Happy to drink a little dew,
And kinglike, you always sing.

Blameless to all, peaceful and without guile, The happy worker, shaded by the oak tree, Hears you in the distance heralding summer. Apollo praises you as highly as the Muses,
And Zeus has given you immortality!

Hail, wise child of ancient earth,
Whose song invites eyes to close,
And who, beneath the intensity of the Attic sun, Having neither flesh nor blood, live like the Gods.

Let me know if you see any cicadas!

Back to 2008!

In Domestic Nemesis news, here is my advice to you. Do not spill most of a pitcher of orange juice inside of your refrigerator at 11 pm.

It even splashed on the ceiling of fridge!

Um, it is possible my refrigerator needed to be cleaned anyway....

Fridge cleaning really isn't as bad as it seems. After 45 minutes, everything had been washed, sanitized, wiped off and replaced.

No more juice puddle.

Finally, another critter. Two of these crossed the street in front of us...on Franklin Ave. just a few blocks west of St. Paul!

I hope the turkeys come to live with us.

Tomorrow is my birfday! Hugs and turkeys,
Wendell!

48 hours

2008-08-20T06:56:00.005-05:00

Lovies,

How are you?

In the last 48 hours I have:

Worked 16 hours.
Bike commuted twice.
Placed a new offer on a short-sale house we've been waiting on since June 28th. (!)
Went to a weightlifting class.
Swept, mopped and cleaned the kitchen and bathroom.
Spilled a whole glass of Fresca/grapefruit juice on the the clean kitchen floor.
Made chicken tikka masala.
Electrocuted right arm on rice cooker.
Was filled with despair and wept one time.

In the last week I have:

Sang karaoke twice! Shout outs to Maven, Poundpapi and Sis ACM who celebrated her birthday!
Had a zen moment at Brasa.
Found awesome jeans for $24 at Ragstock! Yay for KS and our inaugural shopping trip!
Contemplated the Squirrel.

They are dropping acorn shrapnel everywhere.

The State Fair starts tomorrow!

What have you been up to?

xoxox
Wendell!

Amor y odio (Love and Hate)

2008-08-11T06:44:00.004-05:00

O hated 6:15 wake up time...only two more weeks to go!

O PedEgg, I love you?

Tri Wendell

2008-08-02T18:25:00.006-05:00

Happy weekend, everyone!

I hope you are all having a great day! Currently I am recovering from my first triathlon!

R and PG were my supporters, awaking before dawn to help haul me down to Prior Lake.

Of course, I was most nervous about the swimming. I was worried about needing help or getting disqualified for swimming inside the buoys!

As we waited on the beach, music was playing. I felt it ironic that the tri organizers put "One" by Metallica into the mix..."hold my breath as I wish for death"...is that a good lyric for those about to plunge into the water!?!?

The swim consisted of me trying to stay calm, staring into the yellow-brown water and more often up into the blue sky and blinding sun, gasping for breath. Some backstroke occurred, and some doggy-paddling as I made sure I stayed pointed in the right direction.

So then I was like, ok, a bike ride and a little run, no big deal.

The T1 and T2 transition area.

According to R, I had one of the only old-school bikes there. He was proud of that fact. I was proud that I passed a few of the $2K+ tri bike riders on my garage sale Peugeot!

While cycling, I kept waiting for my breath to come more easily. It didn't!

The cycling portion of the tri went through some quiet country roads with rolling hills. Occasionally the scent of cow pies floated in on the breeze. I saw a few folks pulled over patching their tires...if I would have had a flat I'd a been screwed. Thankfully the Lioness worked like a charm!

My only injury occurred as I was walking my bike into the transition area. As I pulled off my helmet, a bee stung the back of my neck, in my hairline! Hater. So I tried not to focus on the pain of the sting as I settled into the running, just over a 5K.

I do a 5K nearly every time I run, so I was feeling pretty confident. The sun was hot though, and again I was all alone on a paved path going around the lake. Like the biking, the run was a lot harder than I had visualized.

My previous athletic races have been running only, a few Twin Cities Ten Miles with R and a group of peeps, a 10K with PG, and last years Grandma's Half Marathon up in Duluth. Running with friends in a big sea of people really does a lot for your endurance. Today I realized that for the first time I was doing a race by myself. The other challenge was that there were no spectators in the bike or running portions of the tri, unlike the events listed above. Receiving cheers of yelled support, hearing music, either through speakers or performed live by drum circles, garage bands or random trumpet solos really go a long way for one's morale during a race. Really most of this triathlon was like a regular, solitary work out, which made it a lot harder.

Next year I hope to do a few more triathlons (possibly one more this summer, we'll see.) I will definitely sign up for the LifeTime Fitness tri, which takes place in Minneapolis, because there will be more spectators and more competitors to help pull me along.

Critter sightings during the triathlon:

A newly deceased:

Also in the wrong place at the wrong time:

And, flying over my head as I ran:

The bee don't get no picture 'cause I'm mad at him.

Tired but feelin' good,
Wendell!

B Family Wedding!

2008-07-28T17:22:00.004-05:00

Howdy, y'all!

I hope you've been doing well. Things are good here, although I feel a little guilty about not writing very much this summer. The whole working 8 to 4:30 thing is taking up some of my time, along with busy weekends and activities, not to mention the triathlon I'm doing this Saturday!

This weekend we celebrated the wedding of R's sis AB to RM!

Unfortunately I only have action shots of the couple. This is maybe appropriate as they are both some of the busiest people I know; RM as a chef and manager of a restaurant, and AB as a grad student, thrifter, munchkin-attendant and educator.

The wedding was held at A to Z Produce, (they don't have a website) an organic farm in Stockholm, WI.

(Quite a vista for the four piggies in the background!)

Of course there was a litter of kittens running around. Bro D and Baby B snuggle this marmalade kitty.

Where the magic happens:

This is an unappetizing photo of tremendously good pizza. I can't wait to go back on a Tuesday night and have it once more!

The dessert table.

Wendell and sis K in the Motherland.

R and Wendell.

The piggies.

The B Family grew even more a few weeks ago when newlyweds ACM and RM adopted their yellow lab/border collie mix Ari. He is adorbs.

Hugs to you all and I hope to do a more critter related post soon!

Yup

2008-07-21T17:19:00.002-05:00

Hey guys! I hope you are having a good Monday!

I'm quite tired from the Bachelorette weekend of Sis AB (featured here in her Party Outfit.)

We had a great time at a cabin up north! We caught up with a lot of magazines at the cabin, where I learned for the first time that Ryan Adams and Mandy Moore had been dating.

(What's with the dye job, Ryan?)

I think they've broken up now, however. Man, I thought he was still dating the red-haired Banana Republic model Jessica Joffe:

Better get back into the loop!

In the Pet Peeve department:
Lately at the Twin Cities big grocery stores, the issue of bagging has moved from do-it-yourself to having baggers there. Sometimes the checkout people will also help you bag your items. The latter happened a few weeks ago, and the checkout guy placed my avocado and bag of cherry tomatoes into the same bag with, can you guess? Yes, about six metal veggie cans. It's like, you know, let me bag my own groceries if you're going to jack up my produce. Right?

R was gone this weekend as well, on his annual man-trip to the BWCA. He took the camera, and here are some of his snapshots of the Great White North. Damn, don't you want to go?

The Wild R.

The men went swimming in two waterfalls! I've never done that.

The Wild Strawberry:

Create a great day for yourself,
Wendell!

The Last Two Weeks

2008-07-14T21:20:00.004-05:00

Don't cry; dry your eye, cause here comes Wendell with an entry that's fly!

There is my Lodi Dodi-inspired rhyme! Weak.

How are you? Things are smoov here, although it's been a busy two weeks.

For the Fourth we went to the Motherland:

R and I spent a lot of time with sister LW and her boyf CC, plus of course, the puppies! The dogs, Diesel (four months?) and Chevy (almost a year) played grab-ass the whole time.

We learned that fireworks aren't for the kids, but rather for the grown men, including R, who stocked up at a WI fireworks shop. We shot off huge mortars and I used a roman candle for the first time. Pyro fun! No photographs were taken, however.

We did feed Hot Dog, the gray fox. He might have a lady-friend who was also feasting on wieners, but it was hard to tell them apart.

This is the same bad picture from last year; I took a bunch of new Hot Dog photos with sis KW's new camera. Man, foxes are cute; his ears were so rounded and his fur so beautiful! I love Hot Dog the fox!

When we came back from lighting the fireworks, a little tree frog was awaiting us on one of the patio chairs!
Frog-love!

After leaving the Motherland, R and I roadtripped south to Peoria, IL for his cousin's wedding. I'd never visited that town, which is perched on the Illinois River. We took photos of an impressive edifice, the Cornerstone Building. I felt it had some Arts and Crafts features, an era I've been researching as R and I look for houses of our own. Scenes from above the wedding reception:

I love the chandelier!

Last weekend we made a marathon journey to Arkansas. Here R's Dad and I pose in front of the Nixa, MO Super 8:
We look a little wiped out after ten hours in the car.

Side Note: If you want to buy a fabulous house on the cheap, move to Springfield, MO! You can get like, a 3,000 square foot house, a horse barn, a riding arena, and five acres of land for $175K.

I wish we could have stayed longer in the Ozarks: they were ravishingly beautiful.
At the bottom of a valley. With a cow.

R's Grandfather's house:

Some Ozark cows:

While most of Iowa and Missouri closely resembled MN from the highway, we did start coming into some rolling hills as we approached Springfield, which is very close to Branson, Missouri*. We started spotting these mimosa trees. The delicate threads of the flowers had a light, sweet scent.

*We passed right by Yakov Smirnoff's theater as we headed down to Arkansas. Remember that guy?!

One of my critter goals for AR was spotting the wild armadillo!

Alas, all the ones we saw were deceased by the highway. Check out my armadillo entry here. Sheeot, I need to fix those old picture links. Sorry.

We did see a juvenile prairie skink! Unlike the following photograph, the lizard I saw had a BRIGHT blue tail, like fluorescent blue. He moved fast, sliding sideways into a sidewalk crack.

The ten hour ride home yesterday was greatly improved by the end of the book on tape we'd purchased for our Colorado trip this spring. Back in March, the iPod died with five hours left to go! So yesterday we listened to the finale of Dan Brown's Digital Fortress. (Uh, we bought it on iTunes.) It was a bit cheesy, but fast paced, and the narrator had a fascinating voice and did great characterizations of everyone. Highly recommended!

Due to our traveling, I missed the triathlon I'd signed up for on the 12th. So, I'm doing a different race on August 2nd! Hopefully I will be able to do some freshwater swimming before then.

Shout outs to Big W and Big K, who welcomed a bouncing baby boy on the Fourth of July! While they were birthing, R and I got to see their daughter Phook as Grandma J brought her over to ride on my parent's front porch swing. She has cuteness, and curly hair, two of my favorite things!

How are the critters treating you this summer?

Best wishes,
Wendell!

Recent Encounters.

2008-07-03T08:02:00.002-05:00

Heyyyyy!

Are you ready for the Fourth of July weekend!? R and I are getting ready to head to the Motherland, and then down to Peoria for a wedding on his side of the family. Yay!

I am excited to report the first vole sighting of the year! I was walking to work, and an enterprising vole ran out on the sidewalk in front of me, noodled around curb-side, and then hightailed it across the road! I yelled for him to be careful, but the vole made it safely across!

Check out this vole story!

A more somber encounter was at the break room at work. I'd heard rumors of infestation, but witnessed this firsthand as a colleague and I opened the door. I saw a flash of movement near my feet, and as I lifted my foot to take a step a dead cockroach was revealed! I'd just squished it! It's good I did it by accident, because some of those big guys freak me out too much to step on. EEeeeeeee!

My cockroach blog, with expired pics, sorry.

Keep me posted about any Independence Day critter sightings!

xoxoxo
Wendell!

Stroll at Wood Lake

2008-06-23T18:20:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone!

How was your first official weekend of summer?! Birthday shout-outs to Poundpapi; I'm looking forward to hearing about his celebration.

Recently life has been dominated by work and triathlon training. Three weeks to go! I'm feeling fairly competent, even at swimming, although my endurance in the water isn't the best.

This weekend I hankered for a fish taco and went to Sea Salt. It's not a place to visit by yourself; it seems there is always a huge line and a long wait for food, which is fine if you can chat with a buddy. I had raw oysters on the half shell and four fish tacos, which lacked the creamy sauce and cabbage I was hoping for. They were sprinkled instead with good salsa, cilantro and onion and served with limes. I might have to try to make my own fish tacos, although it seems the Food Network website is lacking what I want as well. Maybe I will try this recipe.

On Sunday R and I made our inaugural journey to Richfield to check out the wetland and hopefully spot some critters!

The first

of the season!

I love fat toads! A faster-moving toad hurried across our path later in the walk.

Also enjoying the sunshine:

Some turtles! A faster-moving turtle sped down the embankment and into the water later in the walk.

We also found some dried up turtle egg shells and shallow holes from which the baby turtles emerged. How amazing would it be to watch the tiny turtles making their way to the pond for the first time?! (Wendell wipes a wishful tear from her eye.)

We did see the muskrat, the red winged blackbird, a dead mole and a dead shrew! We think the latter might have been drowned out of their holes.

More Wood Lake nature:

How is your critter watching?

Have a good week, y'all!
Wendell!

Car Cat

2008-06-14T23:18:00.002-05:00

Hello!

I hope you are in the midst of a delightful weekend! Happy Father's Day to all you daddies out there; especially to Mr. JS, as we met his newborn daughter this week! Adorbs. And congrats to Mrs. JS too, of course!

(R's mountain bike, robbed of fenders and lights to trick out my hybrid bike! Also the hallway where our three bikes spent the winter.)

Currently I am damp from my first nighttime bike ride! Not only am I a recent bike convert, partially because of my triathlon training (less than a month away!) but also because I'm commuting to work! My new job is seven minutes away by bike. This is perfect for me as I don't get too sweaty or nappy-haired, and also because there is no parking at my workplace; plus I'm saving the earth or whatever.

Tonight the plan was to meet sis AB and some of her peeps at a local bowling alley. R said, "It's really close; let's ride our bikes." Of course a thunderous downpour occurred while we were bowling! It was fun to ride home in the rain with our lights flashing!

Today bro DHB rode his bike over to meet R for a disc golf excursion. Since the living/dining room was filled with cycles, I figured I better take a picture:
In the foreground, DHB's maroon Surly Steamroller fixie; in the background my blue Specialized mountain/hybrid bike. More hidden are our road bikes; R's Surly Cross Check and my "new" red Peugeot, which was a true find at a Motherland yard sale!! Apparently the latter is worth some money as it has a sought after steel frame.

These photos also illustrate why we need to buy a house with a garage!

The title of this Critter Corner refers to a phenomenon R and I witnessed this last week. While looking at homes in south Mlps, a blue Lumina passed us. It was adorned with multiple bumper stickers, but instead of a dog sticking its head out of the passenger window, there was a car cat!

It's true; a brown tabby, head out the window and alert and blissful in the manner of a pooch. Have any of you seen this car?! The funny thing is that the same car was parked near the Franklin Avenue public library on Tuesday night. The tabby was roaming the dashboard!

Someday I will take a photo of this car cat. Would your cats enjoy this type of activity? I think my Uncle JS's cat, Bob, rides in the car with him.

Meow,
Wendy

Garter Snakes

2008-06-08T19:44:00.003-05:00

Hello and happy Sunday to you all!

After watching a show featuring garter snakes a few months ago, I knew I needed to write an entry on these charming reptiles!

Do you like snakes or are you scared of them? When and where was the last time you saw one?

Apparently as a little girl of three years old, I walked up to my Mom excitedly holding a snake! I'm assuming she told me to put it down.

The Eastern garter snake.

The most widely distributed reptile in North America, garter snakes range from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada, and are the only snake found in Alaska. These snakes are obviously very adaptable, living in prairies, forests, rocky heights and wetlands.

Within the Thamnophis genus there are many species and varieties of garter snakes, some of which are disputed by scientists. Only one garter snake species is endangered: the San Francisco garter snake.

Oooh, pretty!

Garter snakes are 24 to 53 inches long, weighing about 5.28 oz. Most garter snakes have one to three light-colored vertical stripes down their body, while some have patterns between the stripes. The background color of their scales can range from black, gray, brown and olive. Back in the day folks thought these narrow, striped snakes resembled garters, and the name stuck. Here is a pretty MN native, the red-sided garter snake:

Like most snakes, garter snakes are predators. They find food by moving around their territory, particularly in cool mornings, afternoons, and evenings. Using vision, vibration detection and sense of smell, garters search out slugs, worms, bugs, eggs, lizards, birds, spiders and rodents. An aquatic garter snake will also eat tadpoles, frogs, fish and leeches. Many people consider garter snakes helpful as they will dine on garden and yard pests.

Because of their diet, garter snakes are affected by pesticides and water pollution. Other enemies include mink, hawks, crows, crayfish, other snakes, herons, raccoons, snapping turtles and domestic cats. Baby garters are preyed upon by shrews and frogs.

Garter snakes are mostly independent during the warm months. They communicate by excreting pheromones to each other, or leaving pheromone trails. Because of the cold here in MN, and further north, garter snakes hibernate together during the winter, finding traditional hidey-holes that stay between 37 and 39 degrees fahrenheit. This process is called brumation, which varies metabolically from actual hibernation. On warm winter days garters will occasionally come out to sun themselves on rocks.

In the spring, garters wake up from brumation horny! Often the males will emerge first, lying in wait for the females to emerge a few days or weeks later. She will emit a sex pheromone, and the snakes form a writhing mating ball!

To assist in successful copulation, male garter snakes (and all snakes) have two penises! Each hemipenis is attached to its own sexual glands. Apparently only one penis is used at a time, however!

(Don't worry; the above snake is not being harmed. Gently "popping" out the hemipenes is a definitive way to sex a snake.)

Some male garter snakes are born with both male and female pheromones. These "she-males" emit their female scent while in a mating ball, presumably to distract the other males from the ladies. Once a male has ejaculated inside a female snake, he leaves a mucous plug inside her cloaca to block other males. She also stops emitting the sex pheromone, and can leave the mating ball to find a suitable place to eat and bear her babies.

If the female garter snake isn't feelin' any of the dudes, she can simply use sperm she might have saved from the previous autumn!

After two to three months, the female garter snake gives birth to three to fifty live babies. The juvenile snakes are 5 to 9 inches long, and independent immediately after being born. Being small and vulnerable, baby snakes often die in their first year.

Cuteness!

Contrary to popular belief, garter snakes do produce venom. However, their small rear fangs lack the venom grooves to deliver poison to the enemy, and they don't possess the giant front fangs a rattlesnake or viper has. A garter snake has to sort of chew the enemy to deliver their mild neurotoxin. Most garter snakes will retreat when approached, but will occasionally strike. They can also be tamed and make good pets!

I hope you've learned something about garter snakes, and will send them happy vibes the next time you see one! I know I'm always excited to spy a snake. Maybe you will like them more if you think of their twin penises!?

Whither do they slither,
Wendell!

Bunnykin

2008-06-06T06:49:00.002-05:00

Hello, everyone!

It's true; I've seen my first baby bunny of the year!

I saw him as I turned off 280 onto my street last night, delicately nibbling grass by the side of the road. Be careful, little rabbit!

This week I started my summer job, which has been going well. The problem is that I have to get up at 6:15 am. Whine whine. It will take my body a while to get used to that.

The cool part is that I've been riding my bike every day! Including last night, when I got completely drenched in the storm.

How was your week? Wildlife sightings?

More to follow; have a great Friday!

xoxoxo
Wendell!

'Sconnie Report/Memorial Day

2008-05-30T22:06:00.009-05:00

Hello everyone!

I hope you are having a good Friday! Has anyone else just eaten a big plate of nachos? Yum.

Thrift news:
If you haven't been to a thrift store lately, take note: tonight at the Univ. Ave Goodwill I found two pairs of Joe's Jeans, a pair of Citizens of Humanity jeans and a pair of Level 99 jeans. At Macy's or Anthropologie these brands run $99 to $200; at Goodwill they were $6.99 apiece. I bought the Level 99 and the Citizens of Humanity pants (neither of which were in my size) for either of my sisters in law to try. The Joe's Jeans were tiny; size 25. I should have bought them to sell on Ebay for a major profit....

Traveling news:
Last weekend I journeyed to south central WI, my Motherland.

In the first critter report, observe the cuteness of my sister L and her boyf C's new puppy. L and Diesel:

Of course, L is cute too!

It is hard to take pictures of puppies as they are constantly moving. My Dad carried Diesel out to the garage to get a treat.

He refers to Diesel and Chevy as "his dogs".

Chevy is L's dog and is ten months old. Because of the younger puppy, and because he is EXCITED Chevy wiggles around more, too. Here sis K attempts to snuggle Chevy!

One of the main purposes of the trip was to go morel-hunting with my Dad! More mushroom p0rn:

These "yellows" as my Dad called them, were significantly bigger than the morels I found in my Minneapolis backyard!

We collected two plastic grocery bags full of morels!

Both good and evil reside in the forest:

(Heebie jeebies, heebie jeebies! Check out this post regarding tent caterpillars!)

How many of you have encountered one of these in the woods?

So precious and tiny.

Look at the fawn's delicate little hoof peeking out! I loved him so much. My Dad says that baby fawns remain scentless for about a week after they are born. He suspected the Mama deer was very close by.

The next day I left my ancestral home and headed to Wisconsin's capital, Madison! It was great to be reunited with GH, aka the Domestic Nemesis! With her shiny new Master's Degree, we conquered the city!

A fellow graduate of my high school, KZ, joined in our State Street frolic. She's working on her Doctorate at the UW.

I steal her necklace.

GH and I went out for a FABULOUS (and cheap!) dinner on the Square, at Muramoto. After enjoying great sushi, an exquisite miso-grilled sea bass, and a fascinating six course beef rib prix fixe menu, we were some happy campers! Interestingly, that very afternoon sis L went out for sushi at the other location!

Another important part of the trip was my Mom's birthday on Monday! We took her out for dinner.

(Why does my Dad look happier holding the dog than standing next to his wife and daughter?!?)

We were all surprised and excited when family friend, HS, announced that her boyfriend D proposed to her on Memorial Day! HS and I at Christmas:

Congratulations, H and D!

Stay tuned for a 93% critter-related post very soon!

xoxo
Wendell!

P.S. Has anyone seen a baby bunny yet?! I haven't. :(

Camden State Park

2008-05-21T11:01:00.005-05:00

Hello Critter Lovers,

How are you? Instead of being outdoors on this lovely morning, I'm writing a blog post. Oh well!

We had a great one night camping trip in Southwestern MN. Camden State Park was much lovelier than I expected. The 3.5 hour drive went by quickly (although Highway 212 through Eden Prairie is a CF; no wonder I haven't been out there in years) and the park was in a very hilly and scenic region. Highly recommended!

Our campsite:

The path and the Redwood River behind our campsite.

R hung our hammock right over the water!

Here he messes with the newly-discovered macro lens on our camera. (We've had the camera for four years! Thanks to Maven and JH in CO for the macro tips.)

We took a hike, which was partially thwarted by the fact that some of the portages were out because of high water.

There were a lot of natural springs.

Check out these morels we found on the horse path!

The Wild R and his Garmin GPS!

Our first geocaching excursion was sort of a crisis. We missed the 1:00 pm geocaching tour, and when we took our GPS out around 4 we think the rangers moved the cache. On the way to the site we did startle two deer, however!

The deer jumped right into the river! The first one made it easily across, but the second deer got caught in the current and dragged downstream a few yards! R caught it on camera as it successfully made it out of the river and followed its buddy up the hill.

There were deer everywhere. Can you spot the one in this photo?

We also saw a wild turkey, a pheasant, and tons of orioles.

R and I have only been to this State Park, William O'Brien, the Boundary Waters and a less-than-thrilling State Park in Alexandria, MN. Can any of you recommend some of your MN favorites?

Have a great week!

xoxoxo
Wendell

Annual Morel Post

2008-05-16T23:52:00.004-05:00

Greetings, y'all, and happy Friday!

As the years go by I realize that May is a special time of year for me. My childhood home, and parent's current house, has a huge lilac bush in the backyard. Not only have I been enjoying the scent of lilacs since I was six years old, but also I've been picking bouquets since then. Concurrent with the lilac blooms is the appearance of morel mushrooms, which my Dad has been hunting for a very long time! I try to continue the tradition.

Our apartment building has two different varieties of lilacs in front, as well as a few mushrooms springing up! This year I found the morels not in the front yard, but rather the side and the rear of the building, where two years ago several elm trees were cut down.

And for Cousin Senor R, my own tulip photo, with a lilac bush in the background:

Stay tuned for a full report of our camping trip!

xo
Wendell!

Mitwoch

2008-05-14T22:57:00.002-05:00

Hey dudes,

How goes it?

Things are good here, although I'm mighty tired tonight! Not as tired as the Domestic Nemesis, as she's finishing her last grad school paper RIGHT NOW! You can do it, buddy.

My temp job ends Friday, and for the last week and half I have been hauling books in the university book store warehouse. It makes me feel tough because I'm the only girl! But today my body is pretty tired from walking around all day, picking up stacks of books, alphabetizing them, putting them on carts, wheeling the cart to the correct shelf and locating the book pile and placing the books on it. I used to do work like this all the time; I think a few pounds may have crept on because I switched jobs.

Critter report: There are yellow finches in the trees outside the warehouse!

Now, a brief meme.

Stuff that is driving me crazy:
*Two super sensitive teeth; the Sensodyne the dentist recommended is not working!
*An 11 day emotional crisis every month (making a MD appt. for this)
*My hair (but I got new highlights today!)
*Happy people. (Just kidding) (Partially kidding.)

Things I am looking forward to:
*An overnight camping and geocaching trip to this State Park!
*Traveling to the Motherland next weekend with SH to go morel-hunting!
*Summer in general.
*Meeting my sister L's new puppy!

Finally, a picture of my sister AG's cute doggy, "Kung Fu":

Hugs and shout-outs,
Wendy

Wedding Weekend and Rodent Repost!

2008-05-07T19:06:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone! I hope the month of May has been good for you so far! The sunshine was lovely today; I just took a nice bike ride. (Well, except for a smashed shin from trying to get my bike past the screen door and wooden door and up the stairs into our apartment.)

We had a great trip up to sister JHF and JF's wedding at Lake Winnibigoshish! I highly recommend the Bowen Lodge, where we stayed. The cabin was lovely, the lodge was beautiful and the hosts were very nice people.

Ze pictures:

Bridal makeup design provided by Wendell!

We had the pleasure of transporting R's grandpa and his wife up north with us. It was great getting to know them better and hearing wonderful stories about their lives!
Here they are in the horse drawn carriage.

While beauty was provided by JHF, the bride, cuteness was provided by our nephew, Baby B! Shown here with his beautiful Grandma, RB.

R and I took a nature walk by the lake, which the Mississippi River flows right through.

(It was a lot more wintry up there, four hours north of the Cities!)

I luv moss.

We ran into AB and RB on the trail; they had seen a porcupine run right up a tree! Indeed, we soon came upon the furry rodentkin!

It watched us as we paused beneath the tree.

As we walked to the end of the point and headed back toward the lodge, we discovered YET ANOTHER porcupine!
I would like to pet the porcupine, just a little bit on his forehead.

To learn about this defensive dude, I'll repost my Critter Corner Entry from 3/27/2007:

This critter was suggested to me by my dear cousin Miss Lippy. The porcupine!

Fuzzy! (But spiny.)

Porcupines are the world's fourth largest rodent, after the capybara (and mara) and the beaver. The average porcupine ranges from 25 to 36 inches long, has and eight to ten inch tail and weighs between 12 and 35 lbs.

In the big ol' Order Rodentia, there are two porcupine families. The eleven Old World species fall into the Hystricidae family, while the twelve species of our own New World porcupines are part of the Erethizontidae family. Interestingly, the two families are not closely related. It seems like the New World porcupines actually evolved quills as a form of defense separately (and later than) the New World dudes. For a large, slow and otherwise wimpy rodent, some badass quills sound like a good development.

The word porcupine comes from the French "porc d'epine" or "thorny pork". They are also called "quill pigs".

Superpowers of the porcupine include, um, its' quills, along with superb hearing, senses of hearing and taste. Eyesight is poor, though. They're also excellent swimmers, kept buoyant by their hollow quills!

Contrary to popular belief, porcupines don't actually throw their 30,000 quills at their enemies; they just come off easily when touched. The body heat of the attacker causes the quill to expand and sink in deeper. Barbs on the quill also deepen the wound if an animal (or person) tries to pull it out. An encounter with a porcupine can kill an animal, not usually from infection, but instead from starvation, as any quills in the mouth might prevent the victim from eating.

The fisher, part of the weasel family, is one of the few creatures that can kill a porcupine. A fisher will incapacitate the porc by biting its' nose, and then flips the spiny guy over and attacks its' furry belly. Porcupines aren't very fast, and can easily be clubbed by people. In Italy, Vietnam and some parts of Alaska porcupine meat is considered a delicacy.

Side note: Has Mario Batali ever cooked porcupine on his Molto Mario show?

Side note: Have YOU ever been stuck by a porcupine?!

Porcupines are strict vegetarians, enjoying leaves, twigs, ground plants and in the wintertime, tree bark. They can kill trees by eating all the way around a trunk. Although porcupines climb trees regularly, and may live in a hollow tree trunk, one Alaskan study found up to 30% of porcupines had healed fractures. This makes one assume that they fall out of the trees, too!

These rodents are mostly solitary, although they might snuggle together in a winter den. They'll live in caves and hollow logs as well as tree trunks.

Females are more territorial than males, but when nooky season comes along, in the late summer or early fall, males will expand the size of their territory over five times to find a honey. Upon meeting each other, the male porcupine will put on a squeaking and wiggling display, culminating in the process of urinating on the female's head. If she's into it, she'll back up, flip her tail over her quills (the underside of the tail is not spiny) and accept his love. If the female porcupine is not interested, she'll shake off the urine and leave the scene!

The gestation period for porcupines is very long for a rodent: Seven months. Usually one or two babies are born. Their spikes harden within the first hour, and they nurse for about four months. The baby porcupines then find their own territory in the late summer when mating season comes around again.

For cute!

Two more facts: Native Americans decorated leather with porcupine quills. Porcupines will seek out salty items like shovel handles and wooden canoes and then eat them to get the sodium!

I hope you liked learning about porcupines!

Happy Hump Day!

xooxxo
Wendell!

Last Day of Skool

2008-05-01T09:14:00.002-05:00

Hello!

It's the last day of my semester; just four hours of teaching until "summer starts". This includes the temp job I just accepted, working in a university book warehouse for two weeks. I can lift 50 pounds, right?! According to BM, with whom PoundPapi and I had a great brunch yesterday, there might not be a lot of temp work this summer, due to poverty levels, etc. It is my poverty levels I'm concerned about!

In critter news, a black and white cat is stalking the neighbor's back yard. Also, the previously mentioned Glo-Fish (tm) in my aquarium have disappeared. All three, gone without a trace. It is my hope that with their genetic engineering they have found a wormhole to a new aquatic dimension. Either that or they were eaten by their compatriots!

I tried a new recipe; homemade biscuits and gravy!

Last night soul-sis AB came over to rehearse for JB's wedding. We bonded earlier this week at the bridal shower, and are looking forward to exploring Lake Winnibigoshish this weekend. Did you know that lake hosts the largest breeding population of bald eagles in the Lower 48?

Full wedding report to follow, along with a post about a creature that has unique genitalia!

Critters of India Part II

2008-04-27T21:22:00.004-05:00

Howdy, Critterfarians!

I hope you have all been doing well this week! As usual, I will start out with a lame statement about the weather: it snowed and was cold and I did not feel like exercising. And I did feel like eating copiously.

My posting has become sporadic due to 1. improving weather 2. the end of the semester 3. increased busy-ness. Next weekend we're heading up north to Lake Winnibigoshish for the nuptials of R's youngest sister, JB!

JB in her CO hostel:

And also, soon I will return to the nomadic existence of being a temp. I know I will be reprising a previous position at a university bookstore, to once again work alongside 16 year olds and feel like a weirdo.

In critter news, today my critter skillz were utilized in a baby shower game; the guests had to guess the names of baby animals. Here are some examples for you to ponder!

Which Critter goes with which Baby?

beaver ********* hatchling
fox ********* cria
eel ********* joey
turtle ********* kit
opossum ********* pup
llama ********* elver

Here are the answers!

beaver ******** pup (or kitten)
fox ******** kit (or pup)
eel ******** elver
turtle ******** hatchling
opossum ******* joey
llama ******** cria

I think it was a fun game! Unfortunately I had to leave the shower early and missed the gift opening and other games. Shout outs to all the ladies and the expectant mother, JS!

While I have several ideas for interesting critter entries, today once more I will steal from recorder player PG and her recent trip to India!

The previously mentioned chipmunk of the Sub-continent!

A working camel:

A herd of goaters:

What cows eat in India:

A baby monkey!

Some building or whatever:

SO! Hopefully more entries will follow; of course expect a up north wedding adventure post next week. Finally, a huge thanks to world-traveler PG, from whom I've jacked all of these critter pictures!

xoxoxo
Wendell!

Marmot Encounter

2008-04-20T20:04:00.004-05:00

Dear Readers,

Has the warmth and sunshine this weekend lifted you out of your funk? Me too!

The critters are excited about spring as well. In fact, last Sunday, I had a close encounter with a marmot, IN MY OWN BACKYARD!

R took this picture of me later on Sunday. The important thing to notice (other than my fabulous sunglasses, which were $12 at TJ Maxx) is the ledge on which I'm standing. As I approached our Road Toad Honda, a marmot was peeking its head over the ledge! I paused where I was standing, wishing I had our camera (should have used my phone camera). Then I wondered if the marmot was going to attack me! I slowly walked forward, and the rodent retreated under my neighbor's car. The excitement! I almost wanted to skip the opera I was going to see in order to track the marmot!

I love marmots so much.

Several entries ago I stated we were thinking of purchasing a home. We have since decided that we should wait another year, and then after that thought made us sad, we cut our price point in half and started looking once more. R and I still might not buy a house, and if we can't afford one I have only one thing to blame:

I don't know; is it worse to use disposable razors or to use these expensive Mach 3 refills?! Disaster.

Today we combined a fabulous bike ride with some informal house-hunting over South. I checked out Powderhorn Park for the first time (fab) and had my inaugural crossing of the Hiawatha Greenway Suspension Bridge!

It was cool; almost like riding along the deck of a crazy ship.

The bridge is connected to the Greenway, a former railroad line that has been changed to a bike and walking path, which links the Mississippi River across town to Lake Calhoun.

After biking home, I hastened to the southwest side of our apartment building with an iced tea, a new book and my lawn chair. Is it wrong to say that one of the absolute greatest pleasures in my life is sitting outside and reading a great book? Inevitably I feel total contentment and peace with the world while doing those two activities.

A kitty cat walked by while I was reading, and paused and meowed when I called to it, but did not approach me for petting. His loss, I guess! I also saw the first one of these:

I hope your week starts off smoothly!

xoxoxoxo
Wendell!

The Interloper

2008-04-17T09:13:00.001-05:00

(P.S. How does one take a good picture of a critter on a wall? I have struggled with this for a while....)

Critter of India/Baby B

2008-04-08T22:19:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone!

Happy April 8th to you! Any adventures today?

Fife player PG is still in India and mentioned that the only creature she has seen so far is a chipmunk! Obviously I put her on total wildlife patrol...hopefully PG will take some pictures of exotic animals to share with all of us!

It is for PG, then, and all of you, that I repost my previous chipmunk entry from 10/8/2005:

I'm afraid to report yet again that I have neglected to share some very important information with you all. This is a subject about which I have known for several years: The mammalian penis bone.

It's true! There are some mammals that have penis bones, scientifically known as baculae. (I think Bacula is also the name of some computer program?!)

As you know, my Dad knows a lot about animals, and a few years back I was looking through one of Maven's "Jane" magazines when I saw the raccoon penis bone featured as a pendant on some Hollywood stars. So I discussed this with my Dad, who proceeded to "collect" a bunch of these things! Raccoon penis bones are about three to four inches long, and there was one otter bone in there, which was a little longer. I brought these specimens back to MN to show to my friends, and in fact gave them as gifts to people! (Mine currently resides on the kitchen windowsill.)

The reason I was reminded of the bacula tonight was because I was researching the chipmunk, which has one! Other species that have penis bones include bats, other rodents, dogs, mink, foxes, bears, fishers, beavers and badgers! The largest bacula belongs to the walrus, which can get to be over 20 inches long! Inuit people use this large bone as a club or as part of dog-sled harnesses!

Primates have penis bones, too! But don't get your hopes up, men; our cousin the chimpanzee's bacula measures only six millimeters in length.

So, why do these animals have dickbones? Scientists aren't completely sure, but do have some theories. Obviously, they help with erections. Dogs start intercourse without having a complete erection, so it is thought that the bacula helps the dog get started. The bone also acts to help the urethra stay open, which is helpful for creatures who have several spurts of semen. Scientists also think the bone helps to better stimulate females who require intercourse before they actually release an egg. Also for animals mating in water or upside down (bats) the bacula can assist in helping nooky occur.

Raccoons have the largest penis bone in relation to body size. Raccoon nooky lasts for a full hour, which belies the belief that the penis bone is necessary for creatures with much shorter copulation times.

Are y'all educated yet? I'm so excited to present this subject to you!

So learning about the eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) might be a little less exciting. But maybe it will help if you picture their little penis bones?

There are about 25 species of chipmunks, which are differentiated from ground squirrels by the fact that chipmunks have stripes on their faces. Members of the Rodentia order, chipmunks are part of the Sciuridae family, which makes them cousins of the true squirrel, marmot and flying squirrel!

Cute chipmunks live in forests, near forests, and in suburban and rural yards. You can recognize a chipmunk hole because it will be about two inches in diameter and there will be no dirt pile outside of it. The chipmunk carries the dirt in his cheek pouches and removes it from the scene! These rodents have a territory that ranges from 50 feet outside its hole to a half acre. There are usually two to four chipmunks per acre on average.

From tip to tail the eastern chipmunk is about six inches long. They usually can be seen on the ground (playing grab-ass with each other as R and I observed) but will climb trees to get nuts. They also eat mushrooms, grains, berries, eggs, baby birds (!), insects and carrion. The chipmunks then hide food in their burrows, which contain several food storage chambers, a nest, side pockets, and separate escape tunnels. These chipmunk burrows can measure 20 to 30 feet long.

Chimpmunks, like skunks, don't fully hibernate. They rely on their cached food, and chill out when it is very cold. But the chipmunks wake up in March to make sweet love! Babies are born 31 days later, and become sexually active a year later. Chipmunks usually have two litters a year; the second mating season is in late July.

Chipmunk species are spread all over the western hemisphere, but there is only one species in the old world; Tamias sibiricus, which is closely related to the eastern chipmunk.

I hope you get to see and hear chipmunks soon, and that you think differently the next time you see a raccoon, chipmunk, dog, bat....

Ok, back to the present. Which is cuter, the above chipmunk chubby cheeks or our own nephew, Baby B?

(R placed Baby B on his skateboard; do you think B likes it?!)

xoxoxoxo
Wendell

A mystical omen/Thrifting Part II

2008-04-05T18:30:00.004-05:00

Howdy, all!

Happy Sunny Saturday! It's about time, man. Perhaps your week was like mine; starting off slightly depressed in mood after a wicked snowstorm, then personal negativity brought on by (possible) house-buying financial stress, and then finishing with major mood improvement related to sunshine and the approaching weekend.

Today R and I were looking at a house for sale in south Minneapolis (we're not yet working with a realtor) near 35th St and 35th Ave and what did we see? A white squirrel and a regular squirrel playing grab-ass!

Clearly an omen! An omen of what, I don't know.

While we're in the critter vein, R and I welcomed some genetically-altered fish into our aquarium! Check out these GloFish!

They are cute. As usual, I'm trying to get my fish to reproduce, and purchased a silver molly pair; the female looked quite knocked up. But no babies can be found in the tank!

Once again I've been hitting the local thrift stores, even while visiting the Motherland:

The above is a dress from H&M, bought at the Goodwill in Portage, WI for $6.99.

I had great luck at the Unique Thrift Store in the Sun Ray shopping center east of St. Paul. Although a pair of jeans turned out to be too big, check out what else I found!

A khaki twin of the adorable Nine West Sport skirt I found earlier this year!
The cardigan in the above photo is pre-owned as well, coming either from Goodwill or a TurnStyle.

But the piece de resistance was finding almost new Danskos!

Please ignore the non-pedicure.

The running callus on the ball of my foot is featured here. Foxy!

So altogether, the shoes ($14.99) the skirt ($7.99) and the jeans (not pictured, $9.99) all came to $23 dollars with the Monday 25% discount! Jes.

To close, another one of my coats that my littlest sister, KW, hates!

(I took the belt off of it.)

Happy Saturday to y'all!
Wendell!

Eh Part 2

2008-03-31T22:55:00.002-05:00

Monday's storm:

It is at this point that the Minnesotans go totally crazy.

Tuesday morning aftermath:

Wendell's Weaknesses Part 2

2008-03-29T13:41:00.005-05:00

Greetings!

I hope you are all doing well on this spring Saturday!

Critters in the News:

Did our ancestors leave Africa earlier than we thought?

New critters found in Antarctica!

The mystery of squid beaks - and a possible application for human medical care.

As illustrated in my previous Wendell's Weaknesses post, I do have some problems with household stuff. Today's entry stems from a horticultural project I started back in January. In that cold, desperate month, I decided to plant some seeds indoors, which included cilantro, mint and basil. After making some threats to HS and BS, children of the mint farmer The Carrot Queen, regarding my mint production rivaling theirs, eventually I had to call the Queen herself for some germination advice. Because my seeds weren't growing.

I replanted the remaining mint seeds a few months ago:

See the tiny seedling in the front?!

I also took some morning glory seeds from the plant outside my sis-in-law AB's front door, and planted them concurrently with the mint seeds:

Nada.

There was one success story from January, however:

Observe the tiny cilantro/coriander plants!

In this similar photo, you can see the successful growth of a little nectarine tree I planted from a pit a year ago!

This week things turned around for the mint and morning glory pots, however. Unfortunately, I buried the little mint seedling while watering the plant and couldn't find it again:

Disast.

But, check out the morning glory pot!

Yay!

The January basil was a total wash, so I got sneaky last weekend and purchased this at the grocery store:

Voila!

(Can you see my curly hair coming down the front of the pot?!)

But, several days later:

Maybe the greenhouse sprayed something to kill the basil roots and it's not my fault the plant is fading. Right?

Moving outdoors, my West Coast Cousin, Senor R, has been blogging about his various blooming daffodils, azalea and other plants. This is what's appearing outside of our apartment building:

But the front yard looks like this:

Have a good week!

Seed happy,
Wendell!

Critters of Colorado

2008-03-23T19:33:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone, Happy Easter!

Did you get snow this weekend? It's been a weird return to winter pigging out and staying in all weekend, compared to the bike riding and long runs that R and I spent time doing LAST weekend.

So, as our trip to Colorado is nearly a month gone, I will reflect one last time about some of the non-Minnesotan critters we saw there. In Golden we spotted a strange black and white bird. Upon doing some research with K and JH, we figured out it was a Black Billed Magpie!

These Corvids, or members of the crow family, live from Alaska down to Oklahoma. They're about 18 inches long, with their long tails accounting for about half that length.

Pica hudsonia pairs live together year-round, and March through July is breeding season. While the female bird only incubates her four to eight eggs for 16 to 18 days, the magpies spend up to 50 days building their nest! Measuring 48 to 90 inches across, magpie nests are hooded and feature several side entrances. Hawks and owls sometimes steal magpie nests for their own use!

Magpies enjoy eating a variety of foods, including carrion, bugs, fruit, nuts and seeds. They have a reputation from stealing baby birds from nests, as well as snatching food from other birds. Magpies also will alight on big animals like moose and deer to pick wood ticks from their coats. The black billed magpies will often hoard the live ticks in a hiding place, which backfires as the bugs are still alive and escape from the hiding spot!

I hope you've learned a little about these lovely birds! Apparently their winter territory includes Western Minnesota, so maybe we'll see some soon after all.

On our mountain drive to Salida, several mule deer ambled across the road in front of our car! They seemed quite nonchalant about the danger. The funniest sighting was when JB and JF were driving us to the hot springs; about 20 deer were surrounding a church and eating the shrubbery! Unfortunately we didn't have our camera.

Here is my deer entry from my old site, circa 11/16/2005:

This weekend my sister A and I were chatting about deer. Sis A said, "Wendell, just write that the deer are running crazy all over the place." (She hit one last month). Her sweetie TG [now husband] was there and he mentioned a friend of his had been in Texas hunting something called "Axis deer". You know my interest was piqued!

So, back to deer. Scientists believe that deer moved down from the Arctic Circle about four million years ago, populating the warmer southern regions of Europe, Asia and North America. These animals are members of the Order Artiodactyla, or "even-toed ungulates", (even though some peccaries have three toes?) This order includes the aforementioned peccaries, piggies, cows, antelope and deer.

The most widespread species in the US is the whitetail deer, Odocoileus virginianus. There are 30 subspecies and eight different varieties of deer in the Americas.

I'm sure you've seen the whitetail deer, hopefully not running in front of your vehicle! They are tan to reddish or grayish tan, with white undersides. And of course, the white tail, which becomes visible when a startled deer lifts it, or while running away from an enemy.

Most often you will see deer at dusk or before sunrise. During the day they usually bed down and rest, and then awaken to feed through the night. They will also lie down to rest and chew cud in the night.

Whitetails are known to eat up to 500 varieties of plants in the US. Depending on their habitats, deer will either graze on grasses or forage for leaves and bark; usually a combination of both. In food-rich habitats, deer won't travel far, but obviously will have a larger home range if nourishment is scarce. It requires seven deer to eat as much as one cow.

Whitetails have antlers, which act as protection, a way to mark their territory, and as a fighting tool for the rut! Apparently antler production is related to TESTICULAR ACTIVITY! (Yes!) In the spring, male deer aren't sexually active, and antlers form. As the sexual glands grow during the summer, the antlers harden and lose their velvet. After the bucks mate, the antlers fall off. (My parents then try to find these "sheds".)

Contrary to popular belief, the amount of points on a deer's antlers does not show the age of the animal. Instead, antler size is mostly determined by how much food the deer eats through the spring and summer. (Although older deer will have thicker antler bases.) The best way to determine the age of the deer is by examining their teeth. Apparently antler size is affected by geography (and I wonder if that's related to nutrition too?)

Also whitetail antler size is usually larger if my Dad and his hunting buddies (which includes the S family, my uncles and cousins, and two of my sisters) are shooting them! We have five 10-pointers in our living room at home. At Christmas my Dad likes to hang jewelry for my Mom from the deer antlers! This has included diamond earrings, necklaces, and even her wedding ring after he'd replaced the long lost diamond!

Ok, back to the nooky! The rut takes place from Sept. to early Dec., depending on the climate of the region. The bucks necks swell, and they start fighting to win the doe's attention. The gestation period for deer is seven months, and the doe will hide the newborn fawn for ten days to two weeks, returning throughout the day to nurse it. The spots on the fawn are designed to help it remain invisible in the dappled sunlight of forest underbrush. Eventually the fawn will start walking more strongly and follow her around. Occasionally deer will mate in their first year of life, if food is abundant, but most often lovemaking occurs at the two year mark.

Mule deer (Ococoileus hemionus) are also found in the United States. It seems they prefer more southern and western climates. These large-eared deer sort of hop along, and leave four footprints at once! Mulies and whitetails can interbreed, and these hybrids most resemble whitetails. A variety of mule deer is the blacktailed deer. Here is a male muley; note the black tipped ears.

Now on to T's Axis deer. It's true! In 1932 axis deer (Cerus axix) were imported from India to Texas! In their native land they are referred to as chital. These large deer are spotted even in adulthood, have three spikes on their antlers (with one being much longer than the other two) and have a dark stripe running down their spotted backs!

As you can see, axis deer resemble elk, and like that species, bugle during mating displays. Unlike mule deer and whitetails, axis deer mate throughout the year, and males shed their antlers accordingly. Even so, most babies are born between January and April.

So there is your refresher course on deer! R and I did spot some antelope on our drive back, but, I don't want to make your brain explode with too much information!

Hope your weeks start off smoovly!

xoxo
Wendell!

Eh

2008-03-21T10:02:00.001-05:00

Colorado Part II

2008-03-14T10:50:00.003-05:00

Yee haw! Happy Friday, dudes.

I hope you have all had a good week. It seems Spring Fever has hit Minneapolis, although I guess we get the most snow in March, so we'll see what happens!

As you might remember from my last vacation entry, R and I were about to leave Golden, Colorado. The trip was a snowy one through the passes, and we drove near the Red Rocks Amphitheater and saw some beautiful scenery. We were heading south to visit sister JB and future bro JF in Salida.

Side Note: The "S" on the mountain glowed white at night, and alternated with the outline of a red heart. JB hates the signs! I loved them, though.

JB and JF are starting a guest hostel in Salida!

We chillaxed Tuesday night and saw the town. JB and JF know so many people already. There is a real sense of community and camaraderie in Salida. On Wednesday we were going to Monarch Mountain to ski and snowboard! Here is a webcam near one of the lifts!

I've only skied three times in the last twelve years, but ski design has advanced a lot since then, making it easier for beginners, and I feel somewhat confident. It was really crazy to be on a real mountain, however! Monarch was very beautiful, and other than biffing it and not being able to put my skis back on (for a while) it was really fun. Our cardiovascular endurance suffered from the altitude, though! We decided not to bring our camera, but did pay a photographer for this photo:

After skiing, JB and I checked out the local thrift store, where I scored a work out tank for ten cents! Then we checked out one of the many hot springs in the area. It was fun to soak in the clothing-optional, 95 degree pool! We wore swimsuits, but there were two women soaking with us in the nude. It was amazing to watch the sun set across the valley while enjoying a natural hot tub! I especially loved the geothermically heated creek, which was lined with strange green plants.

Too soon, however, it was time for R and I to return to Minnesota.

Gotta love a buffalo sculpture!

One of JF and JB's housemates has this ADORABLE puppy:

I hope you enjoyed these photos! Next I'll present a few creatures we saw in Colorado!

xooxoxox
Wendell!

Spotted tonight:

2008-03-13T22:44:00.000-05:00

The first

of the year!

CO update tomorrow!

Colorado Part I

2008-03-09T18:44:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone!

I hope March has started out smoovly for you. Is it my imagination or are the buds on the trees looking more prominent? (CG, whom SH and I joined yesterday to see the Minnesota Roller Girls, said it was just my imagination!)

Shout outs to pan flute player PG, upon her acceptance to the U of MN for her doctorate!

R and I have returned from our Colorado vacation, obviously. It was a great time! We left last Saturday, the 1st.

Highlights of I35 and I80 in MN and IA:
* Tons of windmills
* Brick silos

It turns out Saturday was the warmest day of our trip. As we entered Nebraska I started sweating to death; it was 65 degrees outside! We enjoyed some Subway out on the grass.

Nebraska features:
* Beauty
* Thousands of cranes, both in the air and in the fields.

Colorado features:
* It was dark, we couldn't observe any beauty. Somehow we got to 5,000 feet above sea level, however.

It was great to see KH and finally meet her hubby, JH! (In front of the Coors factory!)

JH has a fancy camera!

The warm weather abated and it snowed on Sunday. KH, R and I went shopping. Here we are in front of the mall.

Then we drove to the hills.

(The sign in the background warned us there were cougars in the area!)

The four of us played trivia at a local restaurant in Golden. Our team was in third place for a while! R and JH knew things like presidential history, world capitals and the Federal Reserve Bank. KH and I knew things like the Romantic period in music, and what song was from "Les Miserables". We didn't win though.

R and I took a nature walk in the hills.

We spotted the western bunny!

(Actually I think it is an Eastern Cottontail.)

If you touch a cactus it might poke you. You heard it here first!

Also, these yucca plants were really spiky.

We searched for goats, thwarted perhaps by the adjacent State Trooper school, where drivers appeared to be whipping shitties while driving in reverse.

Could it be...a sign of the wild goater?!

After that high altitude hike, we needed to rest with K and J's doggies!

R and Roo D.

Keku and I!

The cuteness of Keku is better exhibited in this picture:

We took a tour of the Coors factory:

Thankfully, goats were represented in Coors advertising:

Before R and I left Golden, we decided to drive up the mountain to see Buffalo Bill's grave.

It was certainly a scenic and quiet resting place; except for the howling winds that day!

The crazy thing was that the road up the mountain was super steep, with tons of sharp corners (duh) and cyclists were winding their way up alongside our car! And zooming down, as well. As beautiful as the mountains were, I am a little scared of driving up there. It seems the possibility of a violent death is much higher!

Here is another photo of Golden. It is weird to consider that these mountains and buttes used to be at the bottom of the ocean!

Stay tuned for stories from the rest of our trip!

xoxoxoxo
Wendell!

Critters of Thursday/Spring Break

2008-02-28T18:57:00.002-06:00

Hi guys!

How are you? We're currently getting some snow in Minneapolis! Therefore I just ate some popcorn to increase my cozy feeling.

Today I took a stroll to the bank. I observed:

Some pigeons.

A squirrel

running along a windowsill holding part of a

(blueberry bagel, without the wax paper or smear.)

And some sparrows:

(No green grass was visible, however.)

Last year at this time Robert and I were fixin' to go to Jamaica for our honeymoon!

This year we're preparing for a road trip to visit KSH near Denver, Colorado:

And her hubby JH, whom we are excited to meet!

And our sister JB and her future husband JF in central CO:

(Baby B is in the shades.)

Obviously we'll be making a full adventure/critter report next week!

Mountains,
Wendell!

Bears

2008-02-24T21:11:00.003-06:00

Hello Critter Lovers!

How was your weekend? I must say I'm feeling great after going for two lovely outdoor runs the last two days! Lots of folks, munchkins and doggies were enjoying the warm weather, as well. Today jazz flute player PG joined me, and a nice couple walking a Jack Russell terrier pointed out a bald eagle sitting majestically in a tree by the Mississippi.

My friend and former roommate, the tenor DR, reported this winter that black bears were being sighted in his homeland of Upstate New York. Therefore I lovingly dedicate this entry to DR, aka Pound Papi, aka Dirt McGirt. (Just kidding about that last one!) Big love to a great guy!

There are eight main species of bears in the world. I'll outline them here with some lovely pictures!

First, our native black bear, Ursus americanus:

Scientists estimate that there are 750,000 of these bears found in the U.S. Although they are called black, these creatures range from brownish, to blond, to reddish in color. They weigh 300 to 800 pounds (males being larger than females) and have curved claws which are excellent for climbing trees!

The black bear cubbikin:

Now, moving on to the brown bear, Ursus arctos:

These bears are notable for the hump on their back, which represent strong muscles used for digging. Formerly found throughout the U.S., brown bears are now located in the Northwest, throughout Canada, Europe, Asia, Japan and in Alaska, where there is a larger subspecies of brown bear known as grizzly bears. Brown bears weigh between 200 and 800 pounds, while grizzlies can reach up to 1,500 lbs. Even larger than the brown or grizzly bear is a rare subspecies, the Kodiak bear, which is found in Southern Alaska. It and the polar bear are tied for largest land carnivore.

And speaking of polar bears, here is a photo of Ursus maritimus:

Fuzzy! Polar bears are mostly seal-hunters, weighing in at around 600 to 1,500 pounds. Their fur is actually made of transparent hairs, which are designed to collect sunlight and pull the heat downward through the whitish or yellowish underhairs and finally to the skin. Only pregnant female polar bears hibernate. Some scientists classify polar bears as marine animals as they can swim for up to 100 miles!

Moving eastward we find the Asiatic black bear, Selenarctos thibetanus:

Note the large ears and light-colored chest patch. These bears live in southern Asia and the Japanese islands of Honshu and Shikoku. Asiatic black bears are smaller than their American cousins, weighing in at 100 to 400 pounds. While they share habitat with stronger brown bears, the Asiatic black bears have the advantage of increased agility in trees, where they find fruit, nuts and leaves to eat. They are also more aggressive than American black bears, perhaps because they come into human contact more often.

Another smaller bear is the sloth bear, Melursus ursinus:

A native of Sri Lanka* and India, the sloth bear features the superpower of being able to close its nostrils at will. This is to facilitate a pleasant experience while eating its favorite meal, termites! The sloth bear is also notable for its mane and the fact that it has fewer teeth (40) than the rest of the bears. Sloth bears weigh 120 to 300 pounds.

*Side Note: My sister AG once told her Junior High reading teacher that our family had vacationed over the summer in Sri Lanka. It seems like the teacher believed her! (The farthest trip my combined family took was one hour away from our hometown to go camping.)

A mysterious New World bear is the spectacled bear of South America:

The subject of the above photo looks quite haughty, don't you think?! Tremarctos ornatus lives in altitudes of 6,000 to 8,000 feet, and weighs 140 to 340 pounds. Scientists have not studied them very much...I wonder if it's because they're found in the mountains or if its related to political unrest in South America? Hmmmm.

Moving back to Asia we find the smallest bear, the sun bear:

Handsome! This bear, which weighs only around 140 pounds, lives in Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Sun bears enjoy eating plants, termites and birds.

Of course we can't forget about human "bears"! I'll let Wikipedia define this type of manly man! My own big strong husband once said that he probably fit into the "bear" category...if there was one for straight guys.

Now to one of the most famous kinds of bears, the panda!

R and I had a disagreement regarding the taxonomy of pandas; he suggested they weren't bears, I said they were. It turns out we were sort of both correct; until 1995 pandas were placed in either the raccoon family or the red panda family. Due to DNA research, after 1995 the black and white guys were placed in the bear family. Pandas, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, are unique among bears because they have six front fingers to grasp bamboo. Also, the genitals of the male point backward, unlike other bears. (?) Confined to only six regions in China, an area totaling about 5,400 square miles, pandas are highly endangered. Weighing 155 to 275 pounds, pandas can eat up to 40% of their body weight in bamboo daily, ranging from 26 to 33 pounds of mature grass and up to 84 pounds of the bamboo shoots!

And here is the red panda, which scientists are still unsure how to categorize. Some think they are a raccoon cousin that developed similar traits to pandas because they both eat bamboo. Others feel red pandas should be in the bear family, or in a category of their own. First, my own photo from the Minnesota Zoo:

They were chillaxing.

And a close up:

DEAR LORD, THE CUTENESS!

Now I will focus on bear nooky (the non-human kind), specifically the mating habits of the brown bear. Reaching sexual maturity between age four and seven, female brown bears become fertile from May to July. Males are often eight to ten years old before they are large enough to beat other males to the ladies. It takes several encounters for a female to become receptive, so sperm from several males may be received. This means cubs born at the same time can have different baby-daddys. The rest of the summer I guess the bears just eat and relax (they can gain up to 400 pounds of fat during the summer!), as the fertilized eggs don't implant until October or November. One to four cubs are born between January and March. The cubs stay with mama for usually two and a half years, after which they separate and the female can become pregnant once more.

Bear Fun Facts:
* The closest living relatives to bears are the Pinnipeds, or seals!
* Bears are not true hibernators, but most northern species do become dormant in winter.
* Most bears live 20 to 25 years in the wild.
* Asian bears are often killed for their bile and other body parts used for medicinal purposes.
* Brown bears found in the ABC Islands of Alaska are more closely related to polar bears than to other brown bears.

Have you learned a few things about our friends the bears? I am scared to see one when I am camping; have you had any encounters?!

Have a good Monday!
xoxoxo
Wendell!

Miscellany

2008-02-20T22:51:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone!

How are you?

Did you see the toad eat the moon tonight?

This photograph allows plenty of room for the imagination:

Two weeks ago it was really cold and windy. R and I took a walk before things got too crazy:

It's hard to stay in shape in the cold Minnesota winter:

(To any of you who live in warmer climes, the preceding pictures represent February conditions in MN. As I write this it is -1 degrees fahrenheit.)

Because of the dry, cold weather, I took the opportunity to straighten my hair:

Keep your eyes peeled for the evidence of vole activity! An example from Eagan:

Finally, a photo of Baby B! Here he is wearing a camping romper I gave him for Christmas.

Apparently he is crawling and pulling himself up to stand! Adorbs.

More critter info l8r!
Wendell!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T12:09:00.002-06:00

Hey Buddies!

Happy Valentine's Day! Whether you're filled with love or hate today, check out The Current tonight; either for on-air love songs (awesome) or online break up songs!

Ryan Adams says "Happy Valentine's Day", too:

Have you heard his song "Gonna Make You Love Me" on those AT&T cell phone commercials?

"Gonna Make You Love Me" is from Ryan's 2001 album Gold.

The same song is featured on an episode of Undeclared, a Judd Apatow produced TV show from 2001-2002. R and I rented the show on Netflix; it's really funny and highly recommended!

This weekend I'm headed to the Motherland to see Ms. Non-Sequitur and my family! I hope you have fun plans for President's Day weekend too!

Meanwhile, snuggle with your sweetie today!

xoxoxoxoxo
Wendell!

The Flamingo!

2008-02-10T17:25:00.000-06:00

Happy Sunday, Critter Readers!

How was your weekend? I must say it was nice to relax with R yesterday, staying in, enjoying some lasagna he made and watching the hilarious BBC series Robin Hood, which we got from Netflix.

I've also been reading a series of books, M. John Harrison's Viriconium. They're really excellent novels, but I started realizing there were a lot of words in there I didn't recognize. So here, for the first and probably last time, is your Critter Corner vocabulary list. Define:

bice
gamboge
solipsist
desuetude
demimonde
litharge
baize
nitid
lustral
glaucous
oneiric
catafalque

How did you do?! (Scroll down for definitions.)

Here they are:

bice: pale blue pigment
gamboge: yellow or yellow orange
solipsist: a person to whom only oneself exists; self-focused
desuetude: no longer used or practiced
demimonde: a group that has lost standing in society, or that is defined by their lack of success
litharge: a yellow poisonous solid, lead monoxide
baize: green felt fabric, such that covers a pool table
nitid: bright or lustrous
lustral: something occurring every five years or a rite of purification
glaucous: light blue green or green blue
oneiric: pertaining to dreams
catafalque: a hearse or a raised platform that holds a coffin in state

Um, can you tell the books are post-apocalyptic by these descriptive words?!

Onto the Creature Feature of the day, which is dedicated to a dear friend of the whole W family: Mrs. JS. Since there is already a Mrs. (and a Mr.) JS among the readership, I will give this lovely woman a new name, a nickname by which she is known in our family: The Carrot Queen.

The Carrot Queen and I at Christmastime:

SS and his wife the Carrot Queen own a muck farm, which is a vegetable farm built on a drained wetland. The soil is black and powdery, I'm assuming fertile, and is conducive to growing such things as mint, onions, spinach and carrots.

We basically grew up with the S family; I babysat their kids, HS and BS when I was twelve (during a brief but tumultuous correspondence with a 16 year old I'd met at FFA camp; he didn't know I was twelve.) We've spent some quality time on the S farm, where my family has their own vegetable garden, and the S's are always present to celebrate happy family events as well as to show support when my parents have been hurt or in the hospital.

For as long as I've known the Carrot Queen she has loved flamingos! Here is a photo we took last week at the zoo!

In addition to loving flamingos, while on the farm driving tractors, attending the mint oil stills, etc, the Carrot Queen wears bright pink like her favorite bird! I believe the genesis of the pink farm wardrobe comes from her wanting to be visible and recognizable in the fields. The Carrot Queen asked SS what color she should buy and he replied, "Anything but pink." Hence, a trend was born!

Onto the birds. There are six species of flamingos in the world; four in the Americas and two in the Eastern Hemisphere. The photos on this page are of lesser flamingos; the smallest of the six species, and the ones at the Minnesota Zoo. Lesser flamingos are about 42 inches tall, and some of the other species are closer to four feet, with a five foot wingspan and weighing six to eight pounds.

As with other bird species, scientists are fighting about how to arrange flamingos taxonomically. DNA research puts them close to the grebe family; previously they've been aligned with other long-legged wading birds like spoonbills.

Flamingos have a unique beak that functions best when it is upside down. The birds are filter feeders, and the mouth and tongue are covered with hairy extensions called lamellae, which help separate food from dirt and grit. Flamingos eat shrimp, algae and insects, and can filter 20 beakfuls of water a second!

Beta carotene gives flamingos their pink color, and is found in the shrimp they eat. In captivity, some birds are fed a phytochemical that also gives farmed salmon a pinker hue.

Flamingo nooky can take place several times a year. The healthiest and best fed flamingos are pinker and therefore more attractive to the opposite sex. In the spring, the birds, who live in flocks, start pairing off, preening each other and and singing in unison. A domed mud nest is built that can sit twelve inches off the ground. The female lays a single egg and both parents incubate it.

As you can see from the above picture, baby flamingos are gray, but soon take on the same pink color as their parents. Adult flamingo parents both regurgitate "milk", with which they feed their hatchlings. It is a whitish substance that is excreted from their digestive tract and has more fat and less protein than standard mammalian milk. After five days the baby leaves the nest and joins other fledglings in the group, where it starts foraging for solid food. But for two more weeks the baby will return to the nest to receive "milk" feedings.

Flamingos prefer tropical alkaline lakes, such as those created by volcanoes. They can live around 20 years in the wild. Scientists are unsure why the birds stand on one leg; they think it's possibly to stay warmer and drier. The "knee" of the flamingo is actually its ankle. Flamingo eyes are orange!

Like other waterbirds, flamingos are in danger from pollution and loss of wetlands.

The two flamingos facing each other in this picture were fighting or playing or something:

Well, Carrot Queen and everyone else, I hope you've enjoyed this flamingo entry! Perhaps we should all head south to warmer climes to see these pink birdies in their natural habitats!

Here is the the toast that the Carrot Queen always shares at our gatherings:
"To family that can be friends and friends that can be family."

I'm sure the flamingos agree.
Wendell!

A Day at the Zoo!

2008-02-04T19:17:00.000-06:00

Dear Critterfarians,

How are you?

To celebrate Marmot Day, R and I went to the Minnesota Zoo! It is highly recommended as a year round activity, but the tropical humidity of the Tropics Trail feels especially good in wintertime.

Obviously, we took some pictures! First, from the Minnesota trail section:

Our favorite, favorite funny guy, believe it or not, is the wolverine!

This year all of the wolverines were sleeping, except this one, who was scratching himself or just rolling around and going crazy:

Have you ever seen a peeing puma?!

The bald eagle!

Into the Tropics Trail....
Some tortoises:

An otter eating an apple!

These two otters are playing grab-ass; one underwater, one above:

R really loved these Visayan warty pigs!

I hope the zookeepers bury treats for them to find in the mud!

A fancy pigeon species:

More birds:

Happy new week to you all!
xooxoxox
Wild Wendell at the Zoo!

Marmot Day!

2008-02-02T10:10:00.000-06:00

Dear Critter Readers,

Happy Groundhog's Day! This historic date, February 2nd, marks the third anniversary of Wendell's Critter Corner!

(I'll pause to let you get a tissue/commemorative tattoo.)

And what is the forecast from our friend Punxsutawney Phil?

Ugh, six more weeks of winter! But isn't that always the case in this northern region of the United States?

But wait, another marmot has made a prediction down south! Check out this report from Gen. Beauregard Lee PhD, Georgia's "Official Weather Prognosticator"!

The 2007 Marmot Day post!
The 2006 Marmot Day post!
The inaugural 2005 Critter Corner entry!

Love to you all and thanks for your three years of support!
Wendell!

Shorty

2008-01-30T20:58:00.000-06:00

Happy Frigid Wednesday, Critter Readers!

It seems winter has many stages, and I think this week we've officially reached "pissed off"! But the weekend looks better. Maybe we'd feel warmer if we had the cold weather superpowers of this little guy:

Knut the polar bear, in his younger days.

Soon we will learn more about polar bears and other members of their family!

In Not Minnesota news, my cousin TubaMan recently traveled to Mexico! He wrote a critter-filled and photographically beautiful post over here! Thanks for the shoutouts, TubaMan!

Animals in the news:

Minnesota may restrict elephant rides.

Our local Como Park Zoo polar bears need a place to crash for a while!

A mystery disease is killing bats out East! My bat Creature Feature is here.

The largest rodent ever?!!!

Horseshoe crabs are even older than scientists once believed!

Coming soon: Another Critter Corner milestone!

Hugs and

Wendell!

Morning Moon.

2008-01-24T22:51:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday, all!

I hope you've had a good week and that the cold weather hasn't caused any disasters in your lives. Thankfully our vehicles have been behaving.

One day a week I teach a few music lessons at a suburban high school. The parking lot of this establishment is horrifying; students running around without looking where they are going, and...kids driving around without looking where they're going. The day after I taught at the high school, I noticed a pretty big dent in the rear passenger door of the Road Toad. Doh! Obviously someone was parking (or reversing) too quickly near my car. At least the door opens and the paint isn't scratched, but what a bummer.

In Random Vending Machine Food news, this week I tried a new item from the student lounge at my school. Spicy Honey Mustard Kettlecorn. I know, what? I had to try it. I am a popcorn addict and this popcorn really punches you in the eye with the spicy mustard taste. But then the flavor mellows out and you can detect a delicate kettle corn taste. I bought a bag for R to try.

Side Note to CH originally from Indiana: Have you heard of a town called Popcorn, Indiana? (I guess it's near Bloomington.)

There was a full moon this week. Around 7 am on Wednesday morning the moon was "shining" in the northwestern sky outside our kitchen window. Even better, I noticed a murder of crows flying by.

It was cool to hear them cawing in the relative quiet of the morning. In this picture the crows are sitting in the tree in the far right of the photograph.

The colored lights you see in the center of the picture are on the western, or Minneapolis, side of the Mississippi.

Hopefully more critters will emerge this weekend as the temperatures rise!

xoxoxo
Wendell