Al Batt of Hartland is a member of the Albert Lea Audubon Society. Email him at SnoEowl@aol.com.

The guy from just down the road

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

“How are you doing?” I ask.

“Everything is nearly copacetic. I’m trying to get a government grant to learn how to get government grants. Yesterday came out sideways. It was because I’d finally figured out that everything isn’t about me. I was shattered. I had to run right out and find a little pie for my whipped cream. My neighbor Still Bill — you have to drive stakes by him to see if he’s moving — bought a new truck. He kept showing me photos of it on his cellphone. Each time, he said, ’Ain’t she beautiful?’ After the 10th time, he’d made me so mad I could spit tacks. I told Still Bill that if he thought his pickup was lovely, he should see my cousin Calvin.”

“Does he have a snazzy truck?” I say.

“Nope. He’s an optometrist.”

Naturally

I walked, enjoying what nature had filled my yard with.

I paid attention to the things in my yard. Mary Oliver, a favorite poet of mine, had just died. She had written, “Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” She also wrote this: “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”

There is always something out there in the wild kingdom. I spied with my little eye — snow and a deer far off in the distance. It was looking at me or something near me. High numbers of deer reflect a productive landscape. I saw a study that found a white-tailed deer will eat over 600 plant species and 3.5 percent of its weight daily. I know people who exceed 3.5 percent at a single lutefisk feed.

I moseyed past a nice cherry tree that had given up the ghost. The yard chipmunks will miss it as the fruits were a favorite of theirs.

A bald eagle flew overhead as I pruned a tree. The DNR estimated there were 9,800 pairs of bald eagles in Minnesota in 2017. A 2018 survey found nearly 1,700 bald eagle nests in Iowa.

I busied myself providing room service at my bird feeders. Feeding  such beautiful creatures warmed me on a cold day. My winter coat helped.

I remember years ago when I’d see evening grosbeaks some winters.  I don’t see them in my yard anymore. These handsome “grocerybeaks” displayed prodigious appetites at the feeder.

Q&A

“How many snowy owls does The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota care for each year?” The Raptor Center treats around 1,000 sick and injured raptors each year. I know they had about 40 snowy owls as patients during one exceptional year, but I’d guess the average is five snowies or less.

“I watched a bald eagle fly over ducks on a lake. Some ducks flew and some didn’t. How does a duck decide what to do?” Its choice of predator evasion tactics might be decided by what kind of a duck it is. A dabbling duck (puddle duck) is a type of duck that feeds primarily along the surface of the water or by tipping headfirst into the water to graze on aquatic plants, vegetation, insects and larvae. These ducks are infrequent divers and are more likely to fly to escape danger. Diving ducks propel themselves underwater with large feet attached to short legs situated far back on the body. When threatened by an aerial predator, they tend to dive to safety.

“How do I know if it’s a hill or a mountain?” According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there is no official difference between hills and mountains. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names once stated that the difference between a hill and a mountain in the U.S. was that a mountain rises at least 1,000 feet above its surrounding area, but this was abandoned in the 1970s.

“Can a large insect fly farther than a smaller insect?” I don’t know. I’d reckon larger insects are the winners, but I’m guessing. I do know the fragile looking monarch butterfly can travel 2,500 miles during its migration. You’d think that would win a gold medal, but it doesn’t. The Pantala flavescens dragonfly, about 1.5 inches long, flies across continents and oceans from India to Africa, about 4,400 miles. According to Smithsonian, dragonflies are known to travel at a speed of 35 miles an hour. Hawk moths, clocked at a speed of 33.7 miles an hour, come in as the second fastest. I’ve read that there is a horsefly that is faster, but not according to Smithsonian.

Thanks for stopping by

“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.” — Theodore Roosevelt

“Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.” — Stephen Hawking

Do good.