NorthWoods Gal

American Tree Sparrow viewed from the side, sitting in a small shallow puddle of water. The water is surrounded by a silvery-looking tarp which covers my wood pile. In the background is out-of-focus brush. The brush has red and brown branches with no leaves on them.

An American Tree Sparrow took a bath in a puddle on top of my wood pile last week. 🙂 (Not this week, though; there is ice and snow there now.)
#birds #minnesota #nature

We will not let Minnesotans go hungry.

With luck, maybe Iceland will get dragonflies, now that there’s something for the dragonflies to eat. 🙂

I had no idea #Iceland was mosquito-free until now. Wonder if this is climate change related. Anyway, as a #Minnesota north woods resident, part of me feels sympathy for Icelanders and part of me can’t help laughing.
#insects #nature #climate

Welcome back. 🙂

I find it very interesting that the French and English versions don’t have the same meaning. How did that come about?

this is like the inflatable frogs of comments threads.

Was not prepared for the number of Ford F-150s honking in solidarity ✊ w No Kings marchers today. Never assume you know someone’s politics.

Love this!
#nokings #minneapolis #minnesota

Hey, I drive a white Chevy truck and I’m no magat.

That’s for sure! I’m rural, I drive a Chevrolet Silverado, and I was out there participating in my local No Kings rally. And waving the biggest American flag I own.

LOL, yes! Sigh of relief.
#introvert

Good grief! Are there so many deer in town because everywhere else they might be shot by hunters? Or maybe they just like to eat people’s gardens?

Glad you were able to fix it. Septic problems are awful.

When I lived in Maryland I needed 2 bottles of water when biking, and a 3rd bottle in the car. Here in MN I find 1 bottle is enough.

Thanks. Hope yours heals up OK with no long Covid. This is my 2nd go-round. The first time (2023) the acute phase was very mild, but then I got long Covid. Luckily I recovered from long Covid after 5-6 months. This time the acute phase was worse, but no long Covid, I think.

Bummer. 🙁
I got my shot on Sept 8 and came down with Covid the evening of Sept 9. Guess I got the shot a few days too late. To add insult to injury, my 65th birthday was Sept 18. I still haven’t done anything to celebrate.

The northern lights were so bright last night that they woke me up! I went outside and snapped some pictures around midnight.
#northernlights #aurora #minnesota

The boat and its crew have entered The Twilight Zone.
🎶Doo, doo, doo, doo…🎶

You have entered The Twilight Zone.
🎶 Doo, doo, doo, doo…

Oh, how cool. 🙂👍

Battle doomscrolling by posting 5 small pleasures in life:

1. Curling up in bed with a cat.
2. Riding a bicycle.
3. Listening to a chorus of frogs at a pond.
4. Savoring a good cup of coffee.
5. Seeing the Milky Way and innumerable stars in a totally dark sky.

Say, what!? I had no idea Forest Service firefighters weren’t allowed to wear masks. That’s insane.

Beautiful.

But just think what an excellent science topic that would be for 10 year olds! 😄

Over the weekend, the “sandwich thrower” posters went up all over DC. Instant icon of resistance.

A remix of Banksy’s mural: not a Molotov, not a rock, but something just as disruptive, a hoagie hurled with defiance.

Saw this animal & wondered what it was! Clearly a chipmunk, but not the Eastern Chipmunk I’m used to. It’s smaller & has very closely spaced stripes on its head & back. Turns out it’s a Least Chipmunk. A species I didn’t know existed, let alone that it’s found in NE Minn.
🦊 🐿️ #wildlife #minnesota

This surprisingly relaxing footage is from SIX MILES under the ocean – and it’s the deepest ecosystem yet discovered

On Controlling Fire, New Lessons from a Deep Indigenous Past For centuries, the Native people of North America used controlled burns to manage the continent's forests. In an e360 interview, ecologist Lori Daniels talks about the long history of Indigenous burni...

“There’s a school of thought that you can just put a fence around a forest and keep people out, and it will be protected, which is a very old-school view, a very colonial view. It comes from this idea that we came to a land that was ‘empty’ and there for the taking.”

I don’t like to live in any city or town, regardless of size. I live in the woods and love it.