Heading to Minnesota

The trip from Swan Lake NWR, MO, to Rice Lake State Park, MN, was not exactly uneventful. Uneventful is the way I like my traveling days, but it was not to be. After leaving the refuge, I noticed that there was a "thunk" whenever I slowed down or stopped. While driving along, I checked my rear view camera, and it appeared that the car was not staying directly behind the motorhome. It looked like it was weaving off to the right. That's not good. Finally, I just stopped in the middle of the road at a place that I thought might be fairly safe. With all the hills, and curves on the two lane road out to US 36, I just couldn't stop anywhere. Sure enough, the toad had lurched over to the right. The reason is hard to explain if you are not familiar with using a Blue Ox tow bar, but suffice it to say, I was able to correct the problem.

Then it was a fairly smooth 389 miles to the state park. Once again I decided to do that long drive in just one day. When I got to Rice Lake (a day early), the host site was occupied. I filled the water tank and chose another site. For a change, I hooked up the electricity before I put the slides out. I'm glad I did, because there was something wrong with the electric hookup. After trying five times to get it to work, I decided to move the rig to another site. I was then able to set up for the night with the knowledge that I would move again today.

This afternoon, the August hosts moved out, and I set up, once again, in site B-1.
Getting in and most of the set up routine was a breeze, but getting the DISH set up was a real challenge. It's been two years since I've set the DISH up here, and I guess the trees have grown taller. After two hours of frustration, I was finally able to hone in on the satellites. Then I set up the trucker's antenna and amplifier so I could get Internet reception, and put out my rug, rocker, and two bird feeders. After covering the picnic table with my tablecloth, I settled down to enjoy what was left of the evening until the mosquitoes and cool temps sent me inside.

After the hot and muggy temps in Missouri, it was refreshing to need sweatpants and a sweatshirt in order to sit outside. The area is experiencing lower than normal temperatures and I'm thrilled.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

A slight change in plans

Today was Greenwing Day at the refuge. This was a five hour program for families with youngsters 0-17. The local Ducks Unlimited Chapter ran this show along with the refuge. There was another retrieving demonstration with four talented Labrador Retrievers, skeet shooting, duck identification, and a wetland station along with a duck calling competition and several other activities. Over two hundred people took part and enjoyed all the activities and a free lunch. It's great to see so many families enjoying the refuge.

Pam and Kirk, the other volunteer couple, had suggested to me yesterday that they could handle the visitor's center on Sunday if I wanted to leave a day earlier. At first I turned them down, but the more I thought about it, I decided it was a good idea. I only work a few hours on Sundays, since they came, and it would mean I could take two days to drive the 400 miles to Rice Lake State Park in Minnesota instead of trying to do it all in one day. So, late this afternoon, I put my pack up routine into high gear. I emptied and packed the three bird feeders I had out. The birds were a little confused, but they'll find feeders in the same places in the next few days as Pam and Kirk put their feeders out. I also got all the outside work done other than dumping and stowing the hookup cords. I can take my time tomorrow doing those final chores as I'll only have about 200 miles to travel. I think I'll even sleep well tonight. ;) That's not always the case when I'm preparing to leave a place I've been at for a couple of months.

I'll be stopping for tomorrow night near Ames, Iowa, and will do laundry at a private campground I have picked out. There are no laundry facilities at Rice Lake, so I want to arrive with an empty laundry bag. Leaving tomorrow will make for a much more relaxed move up north.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Late summer wildflowers & a lock down

I'm counting the days until I leave...2 1/2 to go. The rain stopped today and I took some pictures of wildflowers after getting my bicycle up and stored on the back of the RV.



These yellow daisy-like flowers are more than abundant on the refuge right now.

I don't know the names of most of these blooms, but I do enjoy seeing them.

The yellow flowers are very vibrant around my site.


Thistles have such gorgeous flowers for a much aligned plant.

The wild grasses are also producing seeds....





The Elderberry bushes are also producing an abundance of fruit...anyone want to make some wine?

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Later today, as I was sitting outside with Emma, a woman drove into our driveway and approached me asking who lived in the bunkhouse near my site. I told her that the biologist lived there. We then chatted for a while about volunteering and I told her that this was not a campground, but just two sites for fulltime volunteers. I had the generator running at the time, for it's monthly exercise, so it was kind of noisy as we spoke. I then asked her if I could help her in any way and she said she had some questions about the First Friday Activities on the refuge. I told her all about what was available at these monthly celebrations. She said she lived in Sumner and had one child. She then returned to her vehicle and I went about shutting off the generator. Once I had done that, I noticed (and heard) that she had gone to the bunkhouse. She was obviously upset and shouting at Ann Marie, the biologist, and really carrying on. She then got into her car and erratically blasted out down the road. I thought she might fly off of the road.
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I then went over to talk to Ann Marie to see what had gone on. Ann Marie was very upset over the outburst from this woman. She didn't know who the woman was, but said that she had threatened her. I suggested that Ann Marie call 911, and she did. The cops were aware of this woman and suggested that we all lock up tight tonight as she has a history of erratic behavior. They sent two squad cars out here to talk to us. That's big for such a rural area. So, tonight, I've battened down the hatches. Hopefully, the woman will be apprehended and not cause us any further grief. After such a boring three months, this has been the most exciting thing to happen here. :(
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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Where are you from?

That's a question that I get asked often. The problem is how to answer. Most recently, I was asked that question yesterday in an interview for the Friends of Swan Lake NWR newsletter.

I'm just not sure how to respond. Do I say I'm from Chicago, where I grew up and spent the first 27 years of my life? Or do I say New York, where I spent 18 years, in the small town of Newark Valley, raising all three of my kids? Or do I say Minnesota, where I lived in Dodge Center and Kasson for 13 years, before I retired? Or do I say Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where I have claimed residence and have my mailing address?

If you live in a house, it's easy to say where you're from. If you travel in a motorhome fulltime, it's not so easy. None of the places where I've lived in a "sticks and bricks" call out to me as where I'm from. (I'm having a little issue with italics and can't turn it off) So there's the dilemma....

I'm thinking that the next time I'm asked, I'll just say I'm from the United States of America. What do you think?

I rolled in the awning today since there are thunderstorms possible overnight and tomorrow. Other than that it's been boring chores for the last two days like defrosting the refrigerator and freezer. I always like to leave a location with all the frost out of the small freezer. Depending on the weather tomorrow, I may or may not venture up on the roof to wash it down. I couldn't talk anyone into washing and waxing the RV here, so I may work on some of that myself.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

A near disaster....

...or, how I nearly had an indoor swimming pool in the rig.

Today was a day for domestic chores. I did a couple of loads of laundry, vacuumed the rig, and went to town for groceries. After putting the groceries away, I used the bathroom and then took Emma out for a short walk. Thank goodness it was a short walk. When we got back, I hooked her up outside and came back in for a minute. I was hearing a running water sound and checked the kitchen sink...nothing. So I headed for the bathroom and found the toilet overflowing! Every once in a while, after flushing, the water flow doesn't stop. I normally wait in the bathroom to hear the gurgling sound that signals that the water has stopped. I guess I had other things on my mind, and left before hearing it. I was able to sop up the water with a towel before there was too much of a disaster. Phew! Sometimes I just get lucky.

That was enough excitement for one day for me. I'll probably just relax for the remainder of the evening. Tomorrow I'll begin the slow process of getting the rig ready to move out next Monday.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

The Sunday Blast from the Past

Fast forward, or fast backward, to Feb.-May, 2007.........


I began my first volunteer assignment at a National Wildlife Refuge. There are over 550 National Wildlife Refuges in the country, and Anahuac (pronounced anna-whack) is located southeast of Houston, Texas. It is on the Gulf of Mexico coast and consists of mostly marsh lands. The difference between a marsh and a swamp is that swamps have trees, and marshes do not. Both have abundant mosquitoes. ;)
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I spent three months there and worked 32 hours/week. Living in a spot surrounded by marsh was a new experience for me. My duties included working in the Visitor's Information Station (VIS), light maintenance, elementary school education programs, and waterfowl studies. Being an experienced birder was an advantage at this refuge and I enjoyed helping the biologist with a waterfowl study.



There were plenty of other critters there besides birds....like this alligator,

and small lizards (I think they were called anuoles).


I even found a little green tree frog clinging to my awning brace.
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Of course, my main interest was birds, and I was not disappointed. Thousands of snow geese winter on the refuge, and it is a major migration stopping point for thousands of neo-tropical migrants in the spring.


In nearby High Island, Texas, was a rookery (breeding location) for great egrets, neotropic cormorants, and roseate spoonbills. The pinkness of the spoonbills is determined by the amount of shrimp they eat. These spoonbills, obviously, had a good supply of shrimp in their diet.



Scattered across much of the land in the refuge were these mud mounds that measured about ten inches tall. They are constructed by crawdads (or crawfish, or crayfish, depending on where you are from). It's amazing how these creatures build these mud tunnels from marble like rounds of mud.


This was the visitor's center where I worked...outside...

and inside.........

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Last year, Anahuac received a direct hit from hurricane Ike, and the result was that this VIS was pretty much demolished. The water surged seven feet tall through the VIS and the office and maintenance buildings behind. The refuge was devastated, most alligators and other wildlife were drowned, and the volunteer building no longer exists. I have seen pictures of the destruction, and it is hard for me to wrap my mind around it. I will be spending about five weeks there this winter helping to rebuild the education program, so I'll be able to post the recovery efforts for this important refuge.

Last, but not least, is a view of the refuge that I experienced at the close of one of the waterfowl counts that I did. Views like this made me forget the mosquitoes for a while! ;)

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You know, I'm really enjoying these blasts from the past as I reminisce about my fulltiming experiences. I hope you enjoy them also.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

A riverboat ride, and back to the refuge

Yesterday afternoon, Pam, Stan, and I headed back to Hannibal to take a ride on the Mark Twain Riverboat for a short tour up and down the mighty Mississippi.

The Mark Twain.......

Going up....

and down the Mississippi River.

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After the tour, we went to the Mark Twain Museum that we had missed the other day and enjoyed seeing the original Norman Rockwell illustrations that were painted for "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" book when it was re-published. I have always admired the work of Norman Rockwell, so this was a real treat.

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We planned to go out for dinner, and ended up at Lulabelles' Restaurant that was a working bordello until the 1950's. It is now a fine dining establishment that has an early bird special. Since we arrived at 4:00, we qualified. We had an excellent meal at only $11.00 a plate. Stanley and I ordered the prime rib, and Pam had the blue fin tuna. The meal started off with a shrimp appetizer, followed by salads and home baked bread, and then the main entree. We had more food than we could eat and took home doggie bags.

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We also stopped to see the bronze statue of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn while we were in town.

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Heading back to the campground, we were trying to outrun very threatening black skies and were able to arrive to take the dogs out before the rain began. It turned out that the campground was on the edge of the storm, so we were able to enjoy another campfire in the evening.

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What a great time we all had for the last four days. It was a very refreshing break from Swan Lake.

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This morning, I hit the road about 10:00 and began the 109 mile journey back to Swan Lake. The trip was uneventful, and I was able to get fully set up and go work at the visitor's center by 3:00. Only eight more days until I blow this popsicle stand!

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Mark Twain State Park

Boy oh boy, what a rain storm we had last night! It rained for at least five hours, but wasn't enough to wake me up too much. Since it was so overcast and threatening looking this morning, we decided to postpone our return trip to Hannibal until tomorrow, and just chill out today.

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Emma and I went on several walks in the morning, and by the afternoon, the skies had cleared. Pam and I hopped in the car and headed out to investigate a sign we had seen about produce. After a half mile down a one lane gravel road, we came to a sign to turn right onto a muddy path to a residence. It turned out to be the home of an Amish family that sold produce. After knocking on the door, we were invited in to see what they had for sale. The man of the house answered the knock and apologized for being somewhat speckled on his clothing. He had just returned from slaughtering chickens, and sure enough, there was a wheelbarrow full of dead, but very clean, chickens in the mud room of the house. There was also a grand selection of home grown tomatoes, green peppers, and new potatoes at very reasonable prices. I was thrilled to pick out some luscious tomatoes and new potatoes, and Pam did likewise along with a cucumber and five peppers for 20 cents a piece!

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From there, we headed down the road to Mark Twain State Park.

The original house that Samuel Clemens was born in is preserved inside of a large memorial building. We paid the $2.50 fee to watch an excellent movie on Mark Twain's life and to tour the museum.

Samuel Clemens spent several years as a captain of a Mississippi Riverboat, and here is Pam at the huge wheel of one of those vessels. I really found this state park museum more informative about the life of Mark Twain than the museum in Hannibal.

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On the way back to Indian Creek, we drove past an interesting billboard that I had to turn around and get a picture of. I'm guessing there is a problem with STD's with the local farm communities! Oh my!

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Pam and Stan provided the excellent dinner of pork chops cooked over the campfire, along with the tasty Amish potatoes and green beans. Mmmm....afterwards, we began to enjoy stimulating conversation around the campfire until dark clouds rolled in and the wind suddenly picked up. I hurriedly took Emma back to the rig so I could stow my outside furniture and close all the windows. I managed that just in the nick of time. As I headed back over to Pam and Stan's, the skies opened up and we had a real downpour for about a half an hour. We were all happy that we had finished dinner before that little interruption.

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The plan for tomorrow is to do the riverboat ride on the Mississippi in the afternoon. We'll see what happens..........

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Phoebe Jo has arrived!

The most important news of the day is that my fourth grandchild has arrived! Phoebe Jo arrived at 7:41 this morning (7 lbs. 4 oz. and 20").

One of the most amazing things is all that dark hair! All of my kids and Robyn's first daughter came out close to bald and were blondes when they were young. I can't wait to see this latest addition next month!

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After that early morning excitement, Pam, Stan, and I headed out to Hannibal to do a little sightseeing. The weather forecast for the day was for heavy rains, so we did the Mark Twain museum (indoor) tour. Then we headed for lunch at a place with home made root beer. Lunch was very tasty and a great shelter while the rain poured down.

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By the time we got back to the rigs, the skies had cleared and it was my turn to provide dinner. After some challenges getting the campfire to light, I cooked a shrimp dinner over the fire. The three of us spent an enjoyable evening chatting around the fire afterwards, before the predicted further rains began.

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The forecast for tomorrow seems better, so we'll go back to Hannibal and plan to take a riverboat ride on the Mississippi. I hope the weather improves so we can do this.

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Indian Creek COE campground

Well, I finally made it to the Indian Creek COE campground around 11:30 this morning after only 109 miles from Swan Lake NWR. I had planned to drive here on Monday, but thought better of that idea due to the torrential downpours that started during Sunday night. Over seven inches of rain fell on Monday. I was glad I was parked on a cement pad. There was standing water everywhere, and it was a challenge to take Emma for her walks.

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I pulled out this morning around 8:30, and headed into Sumner to see if I could get the oil changed on the motorhome. I had an appointment for Monday morning, but didn't want to try to drive there in the horrible rain. Bob, the mechanic was glad I hadn't shown up yesterday, since he had to lay on the ground outside the shop to change the oil. That's the nice thing about a small town...they're laid back and go with the flow.

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When I got to Indian Creek, this is the campsite I chose. It is very roomy with no close neighbors. That's the way I like it! It turns out that I have better internet reception here without the antenna than I have at Swan Lake, and I received an email from my sister that she would be arriving today rather than tomorrow. They pulled in around 6:30, and took the site next to mine. I've paid for four nights and the total is $32.00 with electricity. I'm really thrilled to be reaping the benefits from my senior pass. :) I think, maybe, we'll do some touring in Hannibal tomorrow.

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Sunday's Blast from the Past...

Once I finally got to leave Ft. Flagler State Park in Washington at the end of November, 2006, I headed south for my next assignment at the Bandon State Fish Hatchery in Bandon, Oregon.

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The hatchery was located at the bottom of a hill. The building on the left is where the salmon eggs were processed. The fish pools all contained trout.

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My duties at Bandon were varied. See all those nets?

All of them were ripped, so it was my job to repair all the rips and sew them back together. The hardest part of that job was having to stand to do the sewing in a cold workshop. I did position myself under the one heat blower. :)

These are all of the trays of Chinook Salmon eggs. They are being incubated until they hatch. I always thought of an incubator as a warm place, but not so with salmon eggs. They must be kept at the same temperature as the river outside.

Each of the trays contains hundreds of eggs, and river water is continually circulated through the trays. Notice the scattered lighter colored eggs in the tray.

One of the steps in the culturing of these eggs is to sort through them and remove any defective eggs. They are first placed in an automated sorter that kicks out the totally rotten lighter colored eggs.


The sorter doesn't catch all the bad eggs, so they all have to be gone through by a human sorter (me). How do you do that? Well, you take a scoop of maybe fifty at a time and carefully look at each one and pick out defective eggs with a tweezers! Besides looking for eggs with white spots, you also have to be sure each egg has two eyes. Some eggs only have one eye, or three, or four eyes. Those eggs would be deformed and not live anyway, so they must be removed.

After the eggs have been sorted through and counted (yes, counted!), they are returned to the tray and put back in the incubator. An interesting fact about these salmon eggs is learned if some of them accidentally fall off of the sorting screen. When they hit the floor, they bounce like one of those little super balls. I'm sure you can just picture me chasing those bouncing eggs around the room when a few would get away from me. :) In my month at Bandon, I sorted through and counted close to 1,000,000 eggs! I was seeing eggs in my sleep at night.

Quite a few storms rolled through that part of Oregon while I was there, and one particular storm resulted in the river, that the hatchery was located next to, rising enough for the Coho Salmon to make it through the fish ladder into the holding pen. Since Bandon doesn't process Coho eggs, the spawning salmon had to be sorted by sex into separate pens to be sent to other hatcheries.

The salmon are netted by hand and then males and females are separated to different pens. Thanks goodness, my part of this job was to keep track of the numbers. One of the staff did the actual netting. We sorted 65 Cohos that day.

On my days off, I was able to do a little touring of the area, but December in Oregon isn't the best time to be traveling around on a mo-ped. This is the light house at Bullard's Beach State Park. My time in Oregon convinced me that towing a car behind the motorhome was in my future.

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Bandon State Fish Hatchery was one of the most interesting places that I have volunteered and I'm really glad I did it in December. That's when the salmon are spawning, so I was able to really get some hands on learning about fish culture.

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Hitch Itch!

Hitch itch is what fulltimers get when they've been in one place long enough. Well, I've got it bad. I've got a little over two weeks left at Swan Lake NWR, and I'm anxious to be gone. I have to admit (as I think I have mentioned before) that this is the most boring volunteer assignment I've had in the 14 places I've volunteered. There is not enough to do, and I can honestly say that I haven't learned anything new. One of my goals with volunteering is to continue to learn. Well, that hasn't happened here, so I'll be happy to move on down the road.

Happily, I'll take off on Monday to meet my sister and brother-in-law at a Corps of Engineer Park near Hannibal, MO. I'm heading out on Monday morning, getting the oil changed on the RV, and setting up at the campground for five nights. I know we'll have a good time sightseeing and sharing meals back at the rigs. I do enjoy being a tourist with Pam and Stan!

There's nothing new on the volunteering front for early winter, so I'm thinking I'll just take it as it comes....something new for me.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

The tale of the bear

Back in September of 2007, I attended the Escapees' Escapade in Goshen, Indiana. At the time, my daughter, Robyn, was pregnant and into her fourth month. She had lost a baby the previous year, so this baby was really wanted and things were looking good. So, as a Grandmother, I knew that a baby needed a Teddy Bear! At the craft fair at the Escapade, someone named Diane had created adorable bears, and that just fit the ticket for me.

This bear found a home with Avery Jade in Indiana.

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Fast forward to 2009, and my daughter is pregnant again, and hoping I could find another one of those bears. I was hoping Diane would be at the 2009 Escapade in Sedalia, MO, but it was not to be. I posted on the Escapees' Forum to see if anyone knew about Diane and her bears. Eventually, I heard from Escapees headquarters and was able to get in contact with Diane. Today, a new bear is on it's way to Indiana! I'm thinking it will arrive just in time for this latest addition. Sometimes, things just turn out right!

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Jamesport, MO, and an unexpected phone call

I headed out this morning for a day trip to Jamesport, MO, a community surrounded by Amish farms. The town itself is very small and not exactly prospering. I walked up and down Broadway, but didn't go into any businesses since they were mostly antique places, and I don't have any interest in those kinds of places. I did pick up a map at City Hall and decided to visit a few of the businesses scattered about the area.

First stop was the Sherwood Quilts and Crafts shop. I was sorely tempted to purchase a hand sewn quilt for my bed. They are expensive, but I just may have to return to this shop before I leave the area. The quilts are hand sewn by Amish ladies that have exceptional sewing skills. I know I'll never sew one myself, and I really would like to replace the bedspread that came with the motorhome. I almost bought an Amish quilt two years ago when I was in the Amish country in Indiana. I'm thinking I'll go back there in two weeks...I've got to do some measuring first.

Next stop was the Homestead Creamery. This is an Amish family, with ten children (eight girls and two boys), that produces a variety of cheeses made from the raw milk of their Jersey cows. All of the kids work on the farm and the older ones work in the cheese producing process. They have free samples of all their cheeses, which I appreciated. Some of their varieties sounded great, but I'm glad I could try them first. Doesn't apple smoked cheese sound great? Well, all I could taste was the smoke which I am not fond of. After tasting, I bought some garden dill and golden glow cheese. I'm going to serve these cheeses on crackers when I meet my sister and b-i-l in Hannibal next week.

From there, I drove to the H&M Country Store. This store has all manner of spices and seasonings in bulk. I bought some fresh tomatoes, peppermint sticks, white kernel popcorn, and marinated mushrooms. Next door was the Countryside Bakery where I purchased two loaves of bread. I guess this was pretty much a culinary outing.

When I got back to Swan Lake, there was a message on my phone. It turns out that the Corps of Engineers' Park that I was going to camp host at later this year has received some funding to upgrade the campground, so it will be closed all fall and winter. So much for that assignment! Now I'll be looking to find another position for October-December. I'm looking into some other opportunities in Louisiana, but if they don't pan out, I'll go back to my other plan to visit New Mexico and Arizona. Interesting possibilities no matter what happens.........

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Sunday's Blast from the Past...

On Halloween Day in 2006, I arrived at Fort Flaggler State Park on the Puget Sound, in the state of Washington, for a four week volunteer stint.

Fort Flagler was established, in the days before airplanes, along with two other forts, to protect the entrance to the Puget Sound. There were huge bunkers with large guns to provide crossfire in the protection of the sound.

This was the view out the front windows of the rig. The deer were plentiful and quite tame. They are grazing on the parade grounds of the fort, with the Puget sound in the back.

Just to the left of the parade grounds were the barracks. They are now used to house groups that can rent them for a retreat.

The Quartermaster's house and storage area have been turned into a museum and visitor's center. I spent weekends working there. Notice the officer's quarters in the background. These residences are also available for rent.

Fort Flagler was used by the army through WWII, mostly as a training facility. I thought the pay scales were interesting.

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When I signed up for this assignment, I was told that the weather in November would be mild. Of course that's not the way it turned out. It was cold, wet, and the winds were unbelievable. There was one day that the winds were so strong that I couldn't push my door open to get out of the rig!

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As Thanksgiving passed, I packed up and planned to head to my next commitment. So much for plans...

A winter storm hit which resulted in two inches of ice topped with blowing snow. Some of the drifts were four feet deep. I was stuck for three days with a frozen water pipe before the roads were drivable once again. You can see that the snow didn't stop the locals from enjoying the parade grounds. They just moved their surf boards up on ground and snow kited!

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

First Friday on the refuge

Yesterday was the first Friday of August, so the First Friday family night took place. This month had a variety of activities for all ages. There was a birdwatching 101 class in the visitor's center presented by the local Audubon Club, and a display of decorated duck decoys.

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Outside, there was a climbing wall brought by the Missouri National Guard for anyone over 15 years of age, turtles, archery practice, and a sack race. Around the campfire, where the hotdogs were being grilled, was a demonstration of canine retrieving skills.

These were the two Labrador Retrievers that showed their stuff by retrieving make believe ducks that were shot out over the pond in front of them. They were quite good at it.

There was also a local artisan demonstrating the ancient art of making arrowheads.

And last, but not least, was the dulcimer concert by a famous Missouri dulcimer maker. I learned a few interesting facts about this historic instrument. Originally, women were not allowed to play the fiddle as it was thought not to be ladylike. However, it was alright for them to play a dulcimer because it was held in their laps. This dulcimer has three strings. The left hand holds down the first string while the right hand strums all three strings. Notice that the gentleman is not using a pick to strum, but a feather from the left wing of a wild turkey. Of course, if you are left handed, like my brother Kurt, you would have to have a feather from the right wing of a wild turkey. ;)

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As it turns out, Pam, my fellow volunteer, owns a dulcimer and I just happen to have a couple of feathers from the right wing of a wild turkey. So watch out Missouri, we might just have a real hoe down one of these nights!

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

A jewel among weeds

Back when I lived in upstate New York in the 80's, I ran a bird banding migration station, and I had a friend, Lois Bingley, that would come out to help me monitor the 16 mist nets that I had set up on a ten acre section of land along Owego Creek that I owned. Lois was originally from Nova Scotia and besides being a great friend, knew a lot about wild flowers and plants. She told me about the jewel weed plant that she had grown up with in the wilds of Nova Scotia. It was also present on the ten acres.

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Jewel weed also grows in this part of Missouri. This morning, Bryce (Pam and Kirk Wood's grandson) brought me a jewel weed flower to ask if I knew what it was. I'm not real good on plants, but I remembered this one from Lois and New York.

The jewel weed has a really pretty flower. I told Bryce it's name and also told him that the result of this flowering plant was a pod that was shaped like a small pea pod that would explode in his hand if he pressed on it. It is the way that this plant expels its seeds for propagation.

He immediately ran off to see if he could find some of the pods. He was successful! I think maybe he will remember this little lesson, and if not, he surely enjoyed how these seed pods exploded in his hand. It's nice to pass some exciting outdoor knowledge on...........

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy