Critter Time

Recently I found two pictures that I wanted to sketch from. I hesitate because more than one instructor has said to never sketch from a photo. However, it's my sketchbook and my process, and I really want to sketch them.

The first was a walking porcupine, from a wildlife-related Facebook group. Hard to say what distance he actually walked, but for one shutter speed shot he was walking. I loved the humble face he has and, of course, I couldn't capture all of it true to life. He seems huggable! Then I received a mailing from a bird watching organization and their calendar had this chick on it. Again, I just HAD to try to sketch it. His legs were even longer than my sketch captured them.

Then there's the Japanese Beetle. He was a life study, rather a death study. We've been invaded this year! This critter is a new one to me. References state that they do no long term harm to plants, but eat the fruit and skeletize the leafs. They swarm over our peaches, pears and blackberries and eat the fruit to its stem! They gorge themselves so much that they are not fast to escape when I approach. I can shake the fruit they are on and they fall into a bucket I have with soapy water and a lid. The picture is a pile of their dead bodies, collected over only a few days, on just two trees! They are a beautifully colored beetle and I can't bring myself to hate them. They don't cling to me as the swarm around me, and their sluggish take-off is comical. They also eat only one fruit at a time, leaving the others alone for me to pick.

Boots, Blades & Bobcat

It's Springtime! Things are coming alive and I can get outdoors more. Recent rains have set consecutive days of rain records. I need to hike in a local wetland and finally have an excuse to buy these waterproof boots. The wetlands are REALLY wet and my Goretex-lined hiking boots just aren't up for walking through standing water for a few hours. These boots do the trick.

Then it's time to mow. After changing the oil, the oil filter and air filters and lubed the Zerc fittings, I started the beast. My little zero-turn is 12 years old now, and I had plenty of oil-burning smoke until it heated up some. That will take some work, but not today. These are the old blades that I'll take in to be sharpened. With two sets of blades, there is no hurry for these do be sharpened, which helps the shop in their busy season. I mowed the first cut. The war has begun.

It's time to plant a few geocaches in the Topeka area. My next one will be on Burnett's Mound, which is in Skyline Park in the city boundary. Recent rains have made the hiking trail very muddy. Luckily an old road is fine and I can hike to the top, but I study the hiking trail for tracks. BINGO! Tracks of a young bobcat are plain as day for about 20 yards. I've only seen one of these little cats in my life but I've seen the tracks much more often. They are evasive but living with us.

PS  I heard my first Northern Mockingbird this past weekend. I've seen a Killdeer in Topeka but not here on our land. They've nested here the past four years and we're looking forward to their migration return.

Buggy Out

It's buggy out there! The main insect this year is the seventeen year cicada. Internet sources say this is the Magicicada Periodical Cicada, Brood IV. This is the first time I've seen these in Kansas, although my youngest brother says he remembers their last hatch. I think they're cute! They don't bite and are small that our usual cicadas, so they are less intimidating. And their color scheme is much more appealing than their kin. I've never seen their numbers, though! They absolutely cover the trunks of trees, are spread out in the tree canopies, and cover the garage doors at night time. When they sing they can be deafening. I have a dB application on my phone, and at work I measured 98 dB at the base of a tree! The occupationally harmful level is 85 dB. It's more of a constant vibration, too, not like the pulsating vibrations of our typical cicadas.

As for other insects like mosquitoes, the population count hasn't been that bad. We've had a wet spring but for some reason they haven't been bad. I have coworkers that say the ticks are bad this year, but we haven't had a problem yet.

The other insects I sketched happened to show up by our night light on the garage and I found them interesting. I took cell phone pictures of all of them for sketching purposes. Live sketch time just hasn't happened lately. I like to email them to our home account and print them off so I can sketch them over lunch hours at my local coffee shop.

I like to journal about these things because this serves as a timestamp for things that happen around here. As soon as the seventeen year hatch began I knew that they'd end up in my journal. Next hatch - I can count the years and see if it was really seventeen years. Mother nature's timing is amazing.

Good and the Bad

This is a random sketch.  I use my smart phone camera to capture images that I like but don't have time to sketch. Then, when I have more time, I stroll through the pictures and sketch them. It's now time to catch up.

I've sketched my pack rats before. They are a bother and can cause costly damage to any vehicle parked outside. When they show up I use a catch-alive trap to catch them, and relocate them down the road. We live in a rural area with few houses. It's easy to drive them to a large field with great habitat for them and set them free. In the big picture, these rodents proliferate well and I could just kill him and cause no damage to the ecosystem. However, he's so darn cute I can't do it. When they make it into the garage I do, but when they're outside, their crime doesn't warrant death.  However, a coworker had one eat a hose on her automatic transmission that she didn't notice until the transmission was totaled out. I may change my protocol if that were to happen to me.

As for the bread, we like to cook it fresh instead of buying it. We like the artisan no-knead breads as an occasional treat. They are photogenic, just like the rat. I'm baking some rolls for Easter as I'm putting this post together, too. Can't get enough fresh bread!

Six Point Buck

Bagged me a buck but wish I hadn't. Not this way. I was driving home tonight in the dark. All the sudden a six point buck runs in front of me and I have no time to do anything. Plus it's snow pack road and slick. Hit him broadside. Both sides of the conflict loose.

This was on 93rd Street, out in the country, through the Wakarusa River valley. Tons of wildlife. I love the scenery but it comes at a cost. Over the years on this five mile stretch I have now killed two deer, one bobcat, a hunting dog and several possums and coons and seen a mountain lion.

Another bad thing about the car is that it only has insurance for personal injury and liability. A hail storm a couple years ago totaled it out and I bought it back because mechanically is was still a great car. This deer hit is purely on my dime, and probably totaled it for good.  We'll see.

More Winter

Well, Punxsutawney Phil performed his annual duties to predict the seasonal weather trend, and he saw his shadow, which equates to six more weeks of winter (at a rather low probability of validity, by the way). Seeing his cute publicity shots got me on-line to learn more. I found one head-on shot that was particularly cute. Every hair on his (or her) body seemed to radially emanate from his nose. Had to try my hand at sketching that!

I also found that this day of celebration goes back decades, and in the early years we would feast on these cute rodents. That begs the question - recipe for groundhog? I found a couple on-line. In today's world we derive some finicky eating rules that had no credibility in a day when you lived more in tune with your environment. You needed calories and protein to go with the carbs, etc. You looked at the world around you for mammals that could fill that need. Wala! Groundhog.

Then I just happened to talk with a friend yesterday who was raised in the eastern states and he grew up on the meat that they could get from their farmland.  Groundhog was on the menu often. He says thumbs up. Good meat. It was one of many mammals and fowl that his family relied on to survive.

We have groundhog in Kansas, and we call them woodchucks. I've only seen two in the wild, so I wouldn't kill one to try the recipe. However, if I had a connection to back east and could get one, the recipe sounds good to me.

Air Freshener For Car

Well, more rodent problems. However, it had a good ending and nobody got hurt. Same goes for deer hunting this year. Nobody got hurt, including the deer. It's a good thing we don't need the meat to survive. I haven't been a good food provider lately. The deer also have a mean sense of humor. Last week I scared off three deer from our front yard when coming home late one night. Salt in the wound.

Sketching this time I used my cell phone camera. I didn't have enough time to sketch the flowers because we were shopping when I found them. Left them in the parking lot. I got chuckles from a passer by. The trap was in use at night so I couldn't easily sketch it. The packrat was just released and paused just long enough for a picture. He was sure cute! He was in no real hurry to leave, either. Once out of the trap he slowly walked away and paused a few times to look around. We're buds.

The co-worker that loaned me the trap couldn't believe I just let it go. Her husband kills them after he catches them. They live in a similar rural area and have packrat problems, too. The irony is not lost on me that I can kill Bambi but I can't kill a rat.

Criminal Rat

I wouldn't know what to do without critters getting into trouble around here. This Winter we had our first pack rat in the garage. He sure caused mischief! Expensive mischief. I ended up having to kill him, and I sure don't like doing that.

We all have our place on this planet, but our garage is not the place for his home. He sure was a cute rascal, though. One tough rodent, too. Mouse traps and poisons had no lethal affect on him. He could crawled up all shelving. He could chew everything but metal into shreds. The whole garage was his kingdom, and he laughed at me freely. . . until I corned him with an old broom handle. May he R.I.P.

On another note, last weekend I noticed a dead vole in the tiger pit (egress window well) and mentioned it to Wilma. She HATES voles because we think they are the ones eating all her flower bulbs. I thought she'd be happy. WRONG! She says they're cute and was sad to lose one. . . go figure.

Hunting, Day 4

It's the middle of my fourth day deer hunting. Lunch break at home. Didn't see any critters, of any kind. I made this sketch this morning in the field. I just continued sketching my rifle and noticed all the turkey tracks in the snow. They're EVERYWHERE. Been a quiet day in the field, but I was able to listen to the flock of turkeys wake up in the ravine not far from me. Some times I think of all the things that need to get done at home. Xmas shopping. Sending out cards. Working on some bookbinding. So much to do. But setting out for a few hours makes it all slow down ... and I always like a snowy landscape.

Rodent Wars

Well, it's that time of year. Rodents attack us so I attach them. War. They've invaded our garage and the Taurus. Today I washed the Taurus, removed back seat, vacuumed the mouse turds and nesting material, and shampooed the cloth interior. The darkened mouse piss wasn't fun to wash off the seats, but at least it didn't penetrate into the seats. It cleaned up well. I know . . . TMI (too much information), but this is my daily life. Can't figure out why they got into the car, though. It's spotless with no food source. Maybe they just like Fords.

Some Days Are Diamonds

The critters have been active lately. The rat came over to me from the field being baled and just looked at me from about three feet away. The tree I was cleaning up was close to the property line and the baling in progress. I stared back. I think he wanted to file a complaint. Not my land being baled! More drama in our Tiger Pit (basement egress window, see Tiger Pit tag for other journal entries). This particular vole wasn't as wild as the previous one and I easily removed him with my scoop-lift-throw technique. They're so darned cute with their stubby little tail. After he landed, he started moving rapidly toward me. Keep in mind I'm in the Tiger Pit, with my eyes about a foot above ground. Here comes the vole, right at me! I'm at eye level with him and he's looking bigger and bigger. Then he jumps toward the rim of the Tiger Pit. I'm feeling pretty trapped and start to wave him off when I finally see that his burrow is along the edge of the Pit. He had me going there. If it was the deer mouse I would have put up a white surrender flag.

Long Weekend in Ely

The week before the July 4 holiday Wilma and I took a 4-day weekend to the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota (OK, it's a little crazy driving 746 miles for two night in a cabin, but I'd do it again). Had an offer we couldn't pass up to visit friends who were up there for a longer stay. I've been up there a couple times for canoe trips but Wilma hasn't yet. Good chance to show her what this beautiful country is like. Ely (pronounced e-lee, for anyone who cares) has just over 5200 people and is a tourism town today. In recent times it was big in steel, and it's in transition. The transition hasn't been easy. They call themselves the "end of the road" because of their closeness to Canada, separated by a wilderness of lakes, streams and forest. Big things are canoeing/fishing in summer and snowmobile/dogsleds/cross country skiing in winter.

It's a neat town. The outdoor supply stores are serious and it looks like they are all individually owned (no chains). Outfitters. Wide assortment of stores. Great restaurants. Their radio channel, FM 94.5, WELY, is public radio that plays an eclectic selection of music(?), has local commercials(?), and sets a mood for the place. It has an Internet stream at www.wely.com, along with the other radio station at www.boundarywatersradio.com (blues, jazz and eclectic). Both cover local issues and you get a real feel for the town. I listen some at work on my PC.

As a coffee addict I love their Front Porch Coffee. The weather is much cooler than Kansas. Lakes are clear and plentiful. A canoe on your car roof is considered normal. Company was great. What more is there?

Who's Winning?

The weekend started off rather routine. But then I found where the wood bees have been chewing up our deck. They've been flying around lately, but I never saw them land anywhere. I went into attack mode! I didn't say smart mode. Limited revenge, but a little research and some shopping around and I have a game plan to continue this war on a more thought-out basis with poison. Then, Sunday night, I had more critter problems. This time it turned out better for all involved. If you remember, in my April 22, 2008 post, I had another vole and I drew my approach to removing them from the Tiger Pit (basement egress window well). Those little buggers are fast, and really cute. Somebody needs to run a psychological profile on a vole. This one, too, had quite an attitude. Not like the timid mouse. Now I just need to get the wood bees under control.

Last One In

We forced ourselves to make reservations this year for Memorial Day to start camping. Always comes too soon, but if you don't make plans, things don't happen. The mud daubers were at it again (see last Sept.7 "Camping Time"), causing mischief and mayhem with their nests. Very enjoyable time, though. Forgot salt, pepper, cinnamon, bug spray, and forgot to check charcoal (but we had enough). Thought we had water and electric services but only had electric (had half tank freshwater and it was enough). Not bad for first camp of the year. But we got labeled as "Last one in".

PS: I'm taking Kate Johnson's Watercolor Pencil class for the next 6-8 weeks so my posts here will be less frequent. But they'll continue.

Biz Travel

It's time for travel again. Doesn't happen that often. This time Little Rock for two days/one night. We have an electric utility organization with working committees to address issues of common interest. So I meet with fellow engineers for a couple days to talk about computer modeling and data submittals. May not be interesting to the masses, but it is to me. The meeting was in a nice hotel down by the Arkansas River in a revitalized section of downtown. Glad I wasn't paying for it. The hotel had a neat duck theme going that needed to be journaled about. I missed the marching in of the ducks, but I got to see the 5 p.m. marching out. Can't help but smile. One Mallard drake and four hens. Not perfectly trained, either, if there could ever be such a thing. But the eventually went where they needed to.

Huntin', Day 2

On both days of deer hunting I watched a large group of turkeys. Still no deer, but these turkeys keep me interested. They seem content to strut along in no particular hurry. I made this sketch, too, while sitting in the brush. Need to work on my art gear box, though. It rattles around and makes too much noise as I walk in the field. Maybe a sponge or something crammed in to hold everything tight. Digging for WC pencils is too noisy, too, while I'm trying to be unnoticed. Need to try other methods.

Huntin', Day 1

Deer season's here. Rifle season started Wednesday, but my project at work is keeping me from pulling any vacation time right now. Saturday is my first day in the field. If you're anti-hunting, don't worry because I didn't shoot anything. I packed my sketch stuff just in case. I was in my ground spot before sunrise. When the sun came up, this rascal became irate that I was in his turf. He commenced to letting me know about it. I just smiled and watched. When he wouldn't go away I thought I'd try to sketch him. Once I got the stuff out, he was gone. So I sketched him from memory and finished the journal entry while sitting there in the brush. Temperature was in the upper 30's.

I came back that afternoon and a group of over 20 wild turkeys walked by my spot, just behind me. I sat quietly and watched the parade. My best moments in hunting are watching the wildlife and tracking them.

*****Post 50!*** This is post 50 for me. On New Years Day this year I didn't know what a blog was and I had a 2008 goal to learn how to do journal sketching like Danny Gregory and Dan Price. Now I'm a blogger and on my journey to learning and living this journaling stuff. And it's still 2008. I feel good about that. And no teacher is here to give me a grade to instill self-doubt. I can be as optimistic as I want.

Goodbye, Wild One

Nights are long and dark now. Deer are frisky. Animals moving at all hours. The perpetual animal/car conflict. It sucks. I've been having a bad run lately. I know these blogs are best if they are fun and optimistic. Well, life isn't always that way. In the big picture roadkill is a minor issue. But every night when I'm behind the wheel in this season I'm not thinking it's minor anymore. Too many memories. I just gotta journal about it and move on.

Don't worry. I won't leave you in a downer funk for long. My next post will be more lighthearted, even if it deals with yet another frustration of mine.

Not Mother's Day

This morning I was working in our garage on a woodworking project. I heard the cattle next door screaming out like the world was ending. In a way . . . it was. Our neighbor runs a small cow/calf operation, and today is the day they take this year's offspring to the sale barn. I take a look. Two heavy pickups with horse trailers loading up. They soon fire up their diesel engines, low gear, and haul them out. I made this sketch at 6 p.m. The moms were still bellowing, though less often. Some were still swiftly walking around, calling out and looking for their offspring. I sat down and did this whole entry in one setting. The moms were watching me, too. I feel for them, but it's just the way the world works when you're low in the food chain. That was an early lesson from my childhood when we raised our own beef and poultry.

Kansas Wild Life

I work for a Rural Electric. One of our trade magazines ran an article that just seemed too weird to ignore. It HAD to be a journal entry. The population density in Kansas decreases as you go West. WaKeeney is out there is sparse country. To have pachyderms running wild is quite the vision.