Birding at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

The northward migration is still going on here and there were plenty of warblers in the woods (which are just about two weeks behind the trees at Colton Point SP in Pennsylvania) to prove it. Ran into several American Redstarts that were nesting within a few yards of the trail. Rough water on the lake meant few water fowl up close and personal. (It was also a chilly wind so we didn't hang around the shore much.)

Location: Schlitz Audubon Center
Observation date: 5/27/11
Notes: Beautiful clear, crisp morning. Some wind off Lake Michigan.

Schlitz Audubon Center is a lovely place to go birding. Wish I lived a little closer!
Number of species: 30

Wild Turkey X
Double-crested Cormorant X
Spotted Sandpiper X
Ring-billed Gull X
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker X
Downy Woodpecker X
Eastern Wood-Pewee X
Eastern Phoebe X
Red-eyed Vireo X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Barn Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
White-breasted Nuthatch X
House Wren X
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher X
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
European Starling X
Chestnut-sided Warbler X
Magnolia Warbler X
Black-throated Green Warbler X
American Redstart X
Canada Warbler X
Song Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

On the Road: Day 3: May 27: Food, Family and Birding in Milwaukee

Nearly 20 of us got together last evening for a dinner treat near where Brian and Vicky live. A nice called, County Clare Irish Inn & Pub at which we nearly completely occupied the dining room. The food was excellent and we all had a great time. Although we, rather selfishly, remained separated into the bride's friends and relations and the groom's. That will not be the case tonight! Actually, since the guests came from all over, this was sort of a chance to get together after lengthy absences. Now we can get to meet new folks and intermingle.

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Last night we got a 3 AM phone call from our security company telling us that the power was out at the Aerie. The line of storms we ran into in Toledo swept through PA and NY on their way to the coast. Heavy winds and hail took down trees and powerlines in both the Northern and Southern Tiers. There was even a possible tornado in Tioga County--New York--just to the northeast of where we are. Schools, businesses and roads were closed while several thousand folks were without power this morning. I called the Aerie several times and could not get through to the answering machine which indicated the power was still out at 9 AM EDT, so I called Ann, our friend who is caring for the cats while we are away. I wanted to tell her that if the power was still out, she wouldn't be able to get into the house via the garage doors. She confirmed that she had already figured that out but not to worry, the dry food was dished out in copious amounts on Thursday so they should be okay. (She called back a few hours later to let us know that, sure enough, she couldn't get in but the good news was that the Aerie still stood. While there were plenty of trees down in the Route 15 corridor, the Aerie, being on the lee side of Armenia Mountain, was relatively untouched.

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More folks arriving today and tonight. Grandma has already gotten here from NJ. Rick and Sandy were in Chicago area last night with her parents and should be here tonight. Joe and his wife, Pat, should be arriving today from New Jersey (they are driving) and Joe's sister Nancy will be flying in later. Brian's sister (Laura) and brother (Adam) are flying in from San Francisco today. And Laura's husband--another Joe--will be flying into Chicago and then on up to Milwaukee. As a commercial co-pilot, the first leg is work, the second is not.

It will be interesting to see how many folks are here tonight for the rehearsal dinner.

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Meanwhile, the weather here in Milwaukee is great! The high during the day has been around 55 degrees but the warm sunshine makes it very, very comfortable. After getting t he storm reports from back home, Terry and I took a ride up the Lake Michigan coast to the place the wedding will be held tomorrow: The Schlitz Audubon Nature Center.

What a great place! Smack dab on the shores of Lake Michigan, this 185 acre facility has a beautiful welcome center, a variety of bird habitats, and miles of trails on which to enjoy them. We took one loop that carried us north of the welcome over to the east to the shore and then south and back to the center. We walked slowly enjoying all the birds, wildflowers and benches along the way. And, even though we were on the trail for two hours, we saw few people and covered only about 1/5 of the available forest area. I wish I lived closer, I'd be there once or twice a week. (A list of what we saw will be forthcoming.)

On the Road: Day 2: May 26

The horrible weather (tornado watches and such) must have moved east during the night. There was a bit of crud showing on the radar screens around Chicago, but most of it was in shades of green instead of yellows, oranges and reds. As a result our trip today from Toledo to Milwaukee went rather well--weatherwise.

We stopped at the RV Museum in Elkland, IN to see what they had on display. We've passed the place so many times since it was built that we thought it was about time we dropped in to say hi. What they've got are some pretty nice antique trailers and motor homes. We even found one, an old Airstream, that was just Terry's size.

1958 Airstream. It's just 10 feet long!

Then we saw who donated it to the museum!



Don't personally know Ken or Petey, but Dad's brother George is unaccounted for, and Ken might be a cousin. I can't help but wonder what they've got in the rest of their collection.

After spending an hour or so snooping around the displays at the museum, we headed west again on I-90 and then I-90/I-94 through Chicago.

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God! Do I hate cities!

The traffic was bumper-to-bumper for a good hour as we snaked through the south side past the Sox stadium. First there was a vehicle stalled and sitting in the slow lane (not the shoulder, mind you, but in the lane), then there was a big yellow school bus--with kids on board--stalled in the second lane. (At least that driver finally got the idea to turn the big yellow flashing lights on--after we passed. Still, even beyond those, traffic was extremely slow and still bumper-to-bumper. Why? Well, first they had the two express lanes closed--apparently to all but taxis and news vehicles. Then there was the crew of city/county involuntary residents in safety orange with an armed guard escort, a towed porta potty and a dump truck lugging a blinking yellow arrow telling everyone to scoot over lest one of the clean-up crew or their guardians be injured. At noon on Thursday.

Now I can't say for sure that this civic group was the cause of much of the horrendous traffic, but just passed the site at which they were laboring, things did start to improve.

Then we got to Milwaukee. The Marriott Residence Inn is right in the midst of the city and on the river itself. It's a lovely place and our room is certainly spacious and well appointed with a little kitchenette. There are indoor walkways to several mall-like complexes to the west, and the River Walk to the east. Unfortunately, there are several vacant stores in the malls and on the streets nearby (including a huge Borders bookstore) and that detracts from the setting. Besides, it IS in the city. and I HATE cities. But...the businesses that Brian and Vicky work for and with are in the city, just as the law firm my DIL, Sandy, works for is in a city (Portland, OR) so I guess they have a need to live in the damn places. If Brian can show me a couple of nice microbreweries nearby--like Rick did in Portland--maybe I'll mellow on this place.

BUT, if I EVER head west again, it will be via the UP of Michigan or Indianapolis, IN. I will never get within 100 miles of Chicago again! Mrs. O'Leary's cow didn't do enough, as far as I'm concerned. If more of the place had burned, perhaps they wouldn't have rebuilt.

On the Road: Day 1: May 25, 2011

We left the Aerie at 8 AM this morning after seeing to the cats (a friend will be stopping by once a day to feed them while we're gone) and headed west on US Route 6. The trip as far as Smethport was not new to me, I but from there on, it was all new until we joined up with I-90.

We traveled through the Alleghany National Forest and on into the oil rich northwest corner of Pennsylvania. Numerous wells were visible from the road; their donkey headed pumps pulling oil from below ground to deposit it into 5000 gallon plastic (replacing metal) cisterns from which it will be picked up by tanker trucks. These aren't gushers, folks. Rather it's slow but steady retrieval of oil from below ground. Still, volume is created when so many wells are in production.

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Sirius Radio, which came with the Jeep Compass, has long since been cancelled, BUT, they have a free trial week going on. We listened to music from the 1950s all day. And never heard the same song (by the same artist) during the entire time. So enjoyable was the experience, we may break and renew our subscription when we get home.

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The weather along today's 450 mile leg was excellent--until we neared Toledo, Ohio. At that time, we could see a line of very, very dark clouds stretching across our path. We nearly made it through the line--lightening striking off in the distance in the north toward Lake Erie--when the sky opened up and it POURED. Visibility dropped to only a few yards and I slowed down considerably. And the temperature fell like a rock. The temps dropped from 78 degrees to 58 degrees in about 10 minutes.

We got through it and, on the west side of Toledo, found a motel room at a Comfort Inn.

It was 5 PM and time for dinner. While eating, we saw a weather report on the TV in the bar that mentioned tornado warnings for the very counties we had just been through. And they had photos of baseball sized hail from those same areas. Yikes!

And it poured while we were in the restaurant, too. Hard. With lightening. No hail, though.

Tomorrow we head west around the southern tip of Lake Michigan and then through Chicago and north to Milwaukee. It's about 320 miles to go. We'll gain an hour on the clock, too. We'll cross into the Central Time Zone when we get near South Bend, Indiana.

Hitting the Road West

Terry and I will be heading to Milwaukee tomorrow morning. We've got two days to get there so we'll probably take the scenic route through PA. West on Route 6 until we hit Ohio. If we had more time it would be the scenic route through Michigan too. We've never been to the UP area. Another time. Anything to avoid Chicago's permanent construction zone on I-80/I-90.

Saturday is a wedding for Brian and Vicky. Terry's side of the family as it's her sister's boy getting hitched. Family and friends from Kansas, California, Oregon, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other points will gather in the couple's hometown for the event. They've been together for about four years now so it's about time! Both are CPA/numbers crunchers, so maybe they figured the math and determined it was to their benefit to officially unite. (That or Brian finally got it through his thick skull that he's not likely to do any better.)

Once we return, there's nothing on the calendar until the July Fourth weekend: another wedding--#2 of 4 this year. This one will be outside Portland, Maine. Still Terry's side of the family with cousin Joe's son tying the knot. David and Elizabeth now live together in the Pittsburgh area but her folks live around Portland, ME. Again, folks will come from all over the country to attend. He's a math whiz/teacher; she a special ed instructor(?). They've been together for nearly two years.

The weekend after the Labor Day weekend is yet another wedding: Danielle and Alex. She is the daughter of Terry's cousin Nancy (Joe's sister). Fresh out of med school and entering her internship. He (and here it gets a little shady) is either in the Navy or working with the Navy--on submarines. They'll get married in New Jersey. Then he goes on board ship, she goes into the hell of internship and they might get to see/speak to one another in three months--just in time for Christmas. Knowing her mom and dad, this could be a doozey! The only constraint being that there is a younger sister, and if you go all in on the first.... Then again, they didn't pay for college--scholarships, baby!

The final wedding this year (so far) occurs on Veterans' Day and involves my sister's daughter, Kristen and Rich, also in New Jersey. No big ceremony here. They stand before the Mayor on November 11 with only parents and siblings. Then have a celebratory reception on November 19th. Nice and simple.

Throw in several trips to and from the Aerie to the Bolt Hole, one SAGA convention for Terry in California, and clam bake in coastal Massachusetts, another brief trip (by Terry) to Dunkirk, NY for an EGA function, and there you have it. Sure hope the price of gas doesn't rise too much.

Night of the Unrest at the Aerie.

Bad night for sleeping.

• Knee pains and back aches from the yard work I was doing yesterday.Caused me to do a lot of tossing and turning and twitching. Getting older is a bitch, but it beats the alternative.
  
• Heavy downpours (but no T-storms) that rattled the trees and washed away a lot of the soil in that pile I have to sift yet. Looks like it's more stone than dirt now.
• Wind rattling the bedroom door because the window was open.
  
• A bird smacked into the window at 5 AM--the only window without a screen because that's where the air conditioner will go when we get back from Milwaukee next week. Rattled the window pretty good but there's no body on the ground.
• And Terry snored. (She says I did too, but you never hear your own 'cause you're asleep.)
  
• Then there's the chorus of bird calls at the same time. Loud and varied. If I didn't know some of the culprits, it wouldn't have been so bad, but laying there trying to both get back to sleep and identify the species doesn't work.
• And, finally we come to the cats. I knew they were going to get their favorite for breakfast (Friskies Tuna & Egg), but how did they? And what's with the 5:45 wake-up call? Come on guys! You are going to sleep 80% of the day. At least let me have a couple hours during the night.

Just waiting to see if there's going to be anymore rain this morning and if the pile of dirt/stones will be dry enough to go through a 1/2" hardware cloth mesh. Clay tends to clump up something fierce when it's wet.

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[UPDATE: The pile turned out to be 1/3 stone, 1/3 clay and 1/3 water. Not a good combination for sieving. Heck it stuck to the rake and shovel and I've got enough in the lugs of my boots to fill a 6" flower pot. I moved three wheelbarrows of this heavy mix just to get it out of the way. Then I called it quits.]

Aerie Flowers

The perennials in the flower bed adjacent to the parking area and in front of the main entrance, is often buried with snow when I clear those areas. Every spring Terry get the job of picking out the stones the snow thrower (or now the tractor deposit in the flower beds.

It doesn't seem to bother the plants. The Bleeding Hearts in the shadowiest part near the front door, are doing great! As is the Creeping phlox further out where it gets some sun.

The hearts are right where Don was stepping last fall when he did the stone work on the foundation. He avoided most of them but did crush one which we replaced this spring. Old, new, it didn't matter, they are all festooned with lovely pink and white flowers.

As for the Phlox. That was put in three years ago as six tiny 6" diameter plants. They now cover three, 2' x 3'areas, each comprised of two of those initial plants.

Bleeding Hearts in bloom.

Creeping Phlox

Not shown in these photos are the clumps of Salvia that will be sending up 18" tall purple spikes--much to the delight of the local bumble bee population! It's still green foliage for now, however. As are the Day Lilies, Hosta and other plants.

Aerie Yard Work

I've been taking advantage of the nice weather we've been having to do a little yard work.

Saturday afternoon I rolled out the tractor and combined several compost piles, leveled a patch of stone and earth, and generally stirred dirt leaves and uprooted weed plants. I tried to manually separate some of the larger stones from the heap so it will be easier to incorporate into a new garden bed.

I then turned my attention (and the front end loader) to carving out some steps in the slope leading from the yard to the driveway. The tractor helped, but it couldn't do the fine work I wanted it to do. Even it was foiled by the large number of stones in the fill soil. Time to get out the shovel and heavy Johnson bar again. I had a couple of pieces of 6 x 6 pressure treated timbers that would serve as the risers of the steps but not nearly enough to finish the job.
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Sunday morning I thought I would get the pressure treated lumber at Lowes but they only had 12' lengths--which they couldn't cut for me. Way to long for me to haul home and I left my chainsaw in the garage. So I purchased 1/2 diameter rebar which I then cut into 16" lengths to anchor the 6 x 6 when I did get it. I then took the rest of Sunday off.

Well, except for potting up all the flowers Terry left using potting soil I purchased at Lowes.
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Monday morning I got two 8' long 6 x 6s from Arnot Building Supply. Even 8' is longer than my Tundra's bed, but there's just a smidge of wood hanging over the tailgate. Home again, I cut two 36" lengths from one and another 36" length from the second. With materials already on hand, I now had enough for five steps. With a 6" rise and about 16" run, I would get almost all the way to the surface of the driveway. If I make the runs shorter, I would need one more step to get there. If I get ambitious enough....

I had five bags of red rock left over from the steps I built two years ago. They went into the top of each step. A layer of stone from one to two inches deep.

New stairs from yard to top of driveway.

Digging stairs into the slope produces a heap of debris. I set that aside to be sifted (a three foot square of 1/2" hardware cloth stretched over 2 x 4 frame) so I could use the soil in a future garden and the stones in a couple of low spots. Damn stuff is nearly 50-50 stone to clay. For every wheelbarrow of soil I was getting three or four 5-gallon buckets of stones--plus some larger ones I tossed by hand. So far, I've sifted out five wheelbarrows full of dirt and hauled it over to the "new" compost heap.

Debris pile from digging out the stairs.

As you can see, the driveway/parking area slopes quite a bit. And Terry's little yellow Aveo is awfully happy about something. Me? Not so much.

I've another half day of sifting and shifting soil and rocks about before this project can be called finished. Although there may be alterations made in the future. But I put in my 9 hours today with a break for dinner at noon. I quit at 5 PM and the showers that threatened all afternoon finally arrived at 5:30. Radar says they were much worse north and south of here. Saved by the curved hook on the western end of Armenia Mountain again! Now, at 7 PM, the sun is shining and the sky is blue.
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I--and my back--are beginning to think Maynard G. Krebs was right about work.