Monthly Archives: June 2011

Don’t shoot your eye out, kid!

Posted on by
Reply

Santa Claus, in response to Ralphie’s request for a Red Ryder BB gun in “A Christmas Story,” said, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think our family ever had to worry about shooting an eye out on Christmas Day.

The Fourth of July – well now, that’s another story.

Thirty years ago – back when I was a kid on the farm – the Fourth of July was more like Halloween. There were tricks (courtesy of my three brothers) and there were treats (also courtesy of my three brothers, although these were the planned night-time fireworks displays.)

Like Halloween, it was the tricks we had to watch out for!

My brothers were famous for putting a whole pack of Black Cat firecrackers under a tin coffee can, then standing back after the fuse was lit to “watch ‘er blow.” Occasionally, this was done in the early morning hours as a wake-up call – or pretty much any other time of day when we weren’t expecting a big ka-boom.

Whistling moon rockets were another good way to say rise and shine, especially when they were lit under one’s bedroom window!

When we were kids, there were none of those so-called “safe” fireworks. Oh no, we went to South Dakota like everyone else in the neighborhood to get the “good stuff.”

Roman candles, bottle rockets, Black Cat firecrackers, smoke bombs, parachutes, butterflies, spinners – the list goes on and on.

My least favorite – and I’m pretty sure they still make them – are those crackers with the strings on either ends. One too many times the boys of the family tied the strings around a door knob and a nail, and waited for some unsuspecting person (usually me) to open the door to a snap, crackle, pop (they couldn’t resist using more than one string!) The strings were probably the safest of the fireworks in the Buntjer arsenal.

As we grew older, the stunts grew more daring. We’d light bottle rockets and let them shoot from our hands instead of bottles. Firecrackers would be lit in hand and tossed to explode in mid-air and Roman candles would be held so the candles could be directed in different directions.

I should note that there was never a trip to the emergency room as a result of all of our antics. Still, boy were we stupid!

I can say that now, when I’m older and not quite as quick on my feet.

Actually, I think I was in my mid-teens when I truly realized how dangerous fireworks can be. An older cousin visiting the farm had lit a rocket inside a bottle that was laying down on our gravel driveway.

Of course I hadn’t seen him do this, so imagine my surprise when the bottle rocket rocketed right toward my feet. I jumped, the rocket bounced off my shoe and exploded a short distance away.

That pretty much ended my desire to play with fireworks.

I’m of the age now where I’m happy to simply light a good old-fashioned smoke bomb to celebrate Independence Day. I’ll leave the big stuff to the pros (and I’m not referring to my brothers!)

The Goby and the Lamprey

Posted on by
Reply

Standing along the Duluth harbor in view of the Duluth lift bridge last Thursday afternoon, I found myself doing something rather out-of-the ordinary – fishing.

Oh, fishing is nothing new to me – it was the location. I’d never before wet my line in one of the Great Lakes.

Later that evening I learned that trout, walleye and northern pike are among the usual catch in the freshwater lake, but I didn’t catch any of those.

Instead, I was fishing for Round Goby.

Round Goby caught at Duluth.

I’d never heard of Goby fish before and, frankly, after catching my first one, I wasn’t too keen on letting another one bite my hook. They’re kind of ugly.

Now, after writing that, I’m wondering just what fish is pretty. Certainly, it isn’t the carp and bullheads that seem to dominate our prairie lakes here in Nobles County.

Actually, blue gills and pumpkinseed are rather pretty, and I’m sure walleye are too – even prettier if I could actually catch one of them!

Anyway, back to the Goby.

The Goby is an invasive species in the Great Lakes, brought to our wonderful freshwater Lake Superior by ships dumping ballast water they carried inland from the saltwater oceans for several seasons. The Goby easily adapted to the freshwater lakes and now brings disdain to the fishermen – much like the carp do to us when we hook them here in southwest Minnesota.

My Goby catch.

At least the Goby are smaller – reaching only about eight inches in length. Certainly, they’re not big enough to bend a hook or snap a fishing line like those hideous carp!

I caught two Goby fish on Thursday – both of which could be considered bait because they were so small. (Note: It is illegal to use Goby as bait, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website.)

Also according to the DNR, Goby are aggressive, bottom-dwelling fish. As someone pointed out to me on Thursday, they have a scallop-shaped pelvic fin that can actually be used like a suction cup. (I was told they use the fin to climb rocks and work their way up a waterfall.)

So far, Goby have not been found in Minnesota’s inland waters, and the DNR is hoping it stays that way. In addition to the Great Lakes, they have been found in the Mississippi River basin. The Goby compete with native fish for food and habitat – and eat the eggs and young of native fish, their primary reason for not being liked by fishermen, I’m sure.

If you have a chance to get to Duluth this summer, I’d recommend making a stop at the Great Lakes Aquarium. In a few weeks, their new display featuring invasive species is targeted to open. In addition to seeing what a Goby looks like, you can also view the sea lamprey. We had a sneak peek at the lamprey on Thursday, and I can easily say I don’t ever want to catch one of them on my hook either – imagine an eel, or a thick snake that lives in the water. Yuck!

Chugga-chugga choo-choo

Posted on by
2

Ready for our train ride.

Do you have a bucket list? Is there something you really want to do before you kick the bucket?

For me, I’d probably say that traveling to the Outer Banks to view the lighthouses would top my list. Other than that mega-trip of a lifetime, I really haven’t thought much about what I really want to do or see.

I started thinking about it, though, as I embarked on my first-ever train ride last night on the North Shore Scenic Railway. I suppose if I had actually compiled a bucket list, I might have included a train ride among the things I’d like to do. At any rate, I’ve now made a mental checkmark next to train ride.

The Depot in Duluth offers a variety of train rides throughout the week during the spring, summer and fall. While I wanted to take the train to Two Harbors, it didn’t fit into the schedule, so I settled for a pair of tickets on the Pizza Train – an early birthday present for my mom.

Mom had actually been on a train once before, about 65 years ago, when she made a round-trip from Minneapolis to Willmar – not far from her family’s Kandiyohi County farm.

Last night’s journey included some beautiful views of the Duluth harbor, but mostly we saw a lot of trees, a couple of creeks and rivers and even a swamp that was rather pretty in the haze of an all-day rain.

When we reached the end of the line (within view of the Lighthouse Café, not too far south of Two Harbors), we had an unusual delay. It seems an engine pulling a series of cars loaded with grain was having power issues, and it needed to be taken

Crossing a river.

somewhere for repairs.

We waited as the engine was unhooked from its load, and then steered down the tracks toward us. It hooked onto the engine that was pulling our train, and after a more than 30-minute delay, we were moving full steam ahead back toward Duluth.

I’m sure our return trip was supposed to be a slow-moving, sight-seeing adventure, but instead it was filled with the fast-moving excitement I imagined was experienced by train travelers back in the heyday of train transportation.

Inside the 1918 passenger car.

On our way northward along the North Shore, Mom and I sat in what I figured was a typical passenger train. On the way back, we ventured to the last car (it became the first car after the engines when we’d had our long break) and discovered it had much more character. The passenger car was built in 1918, we were told, and featured the old velvet benches. The walls and window frames were constructed of wood, and a small restroom was located on either end of the car.

The train ride was fun, the views were something I wouldn’t ordinarily get to see by driving, and the pizza was OK.

The 1918 passenger car … now that was cool!

Seagulls and ships

Posted on by
Reply

My mom likes seagulls. She likes to watch the seagulls, she likes to feed the seagulls and she likes to watch people feeding the seagulls.

Hungry seagulls in Duluth's Canal Park.

I suppose I kind of like watching the seagulls too, but when one swooped within a foot or two of my head last night in Duluth’s Canal Park, I was wishing I hadn’t been so darn close.

Have you ever seen one of those caps that says, “Damn Seagulls!” and has puff-paint like splotches of bird droppings all over it?

Well, that vision was in my mind as I peered to my shoulders to make sure I was cleared of any new, unwanted accessories.

You might laugh at that vision, but some poor, unfortunate woman was attacked by a seagull last night for doing something as simple as wanting to eat her popcorn.

Canal Park's Popcorn Wagon.

The woman (my mom went up and talked to her) had plucked a kernel of popcorn from her box and, in the short distance between the box and her mouth, a seagull swooped in and snatched it from her fingers.

I don’t know if it was the same seagull, but the woman received a bit of a souvenir for buying popcorn in Canal Park – a splat of bird poop to the top of her head!

Darn seagulls!

Needless to say, Mom and I did not buy popcorn (although I’m pretty sure we would have been safe had we purchased it and climbed immediately into our car.)

There is a popcorn wagon in Canal Park that reminded me of the Popcorn Lady who drove her carriage in the Campbell’s Soup parking lot in Worthington years ago. I took a picture of the popcorn wagon, and getting as close as I did for the photo, those darn seagulls started squawking.

Departing the Twin Ports, 9:15 p.m.

In Duluth early for my final session of the U-Lead Advisory Academy, Mom and I spent a few hours in Canal Park Monday night, and were lucky enough to see a huge ship filled with grain depart from the Twin Ports and steer into the vast waters of Lake Superior.

The Canal is one of my favorite stops along the North Shore. There are great walking paths, lots of beautiful scenery and … lighthouses.

Duluth's Lighthouse.

But if you visit, watch out for the seagulls … and be willing to share your popcorn!

Learning by Doing

Posted on by
2

A couple of months ago, the little neighbor girl I mentor in 4-H stopped over at my house to tell me she’d recruited two other girls to join our club.

First, though, Alyssa asked me if I could tell them about 4-H.

Hmmm, that’s easy enough. I told the girls they get to attend monthly meetings, gain public speaking and leadership skills, give a demonstration, complete records and “learn by doing.”

Jennifer gets wet!

I talked about the fair and how they could make projects and earn ribbons, and I could tell they were thinking it all sounded kind of fun.

And then I told them about our Community Pride projects in the Ocheda Beavers … how we have a prairie garden and they get to visit my parents’ farm a few times during the summer to pull weeds. I also mentioned that we get to pick up garbage around the Lake Bella dam area; and finally, I told them we’ll take a boat ride and collect water samples on Lake Ocheda this summer.

Alyssa collecting a water sample.

I think they may have joined 4-H for the chance to win a purple ribbon, but to be completely honest, I’m pretty sure the weed pulling, garbage collecting and water sampling cinched the deal.

On Monday afternoon, four kids strapped themselves into my car and we headed for Pickeral Park on Lake Ocheda to meet Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District Administrator Dan Livdahl.

Dan has been wonderfully patient with the kids in our 4-H club, teaching them over the course of the past four years how to collect water samples, measure water clarity and plant a prairie garden. In essence, he has planted the seed in the minds of our Ocheda Beavers to take pride in their environment.

I get to see that pride show through often with neighbors Andy and Alyssa who, while they think it’s fun to pick up garbage left by fishermen at the Bella Dam, can’t understand why people would take such disregard for their environment and leave things like fishing line, bait bowls, beer cans and water bottles on the shoreline.

Maria watches water clarity test.

They want clean shorelines, they want clean lakes, and they are willing to do what they can to help … it’s what the 4-H Community Pride project is all about. Alyssa’s two new recruits, Jennifer and Maria, had their first taste of it on Monday.

Not only did they get to go for a boat ride and collect water samples, they helped plant the seeds harvested from our club’s prairie garden at a site in the Lake Bella Park. Then, they helped pick up the garbage around the Bella Dam.

Some might look at the projects as a lot of work, but to my four neighbor kids it was a day I think they’ll remember for a long time because of the laughter, the silliness and the fun.

While I will certainly remember the afternoon for all of those things, I think what is most important to me is knowing these kids truly were “Learning by Doing.” That’s what 4-H is all about.