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Post by billhammond on Sept 27, 2023 17:28:20 GMT -5
Ellie was put down about 2:30 today So sorry, neighbors and you and Cheri, Marty.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 27, 2023 15:45:54 GMT -5
Excerpt from Duluth News Tribune:
DULUTH — Bird counters at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve tallied a whopping 14,054 blue jays flying over on Sept. 10, and the total count so far this autumn is 75,869 — a new record.
The 2023 fall count has blown past the previous record fall flight of 60,523 blue jays, with several weeks of counting yet to come.
The blue jays, like dozens of other bird species, fly over Duluth to avoid flying over Lake Superior on their southward migration, making the city, and especially Hawk Ridge, one of the best birding areas in the nation.
Other big counts at Hawk Ridge as of Wednesday morning include 14,127 cedar wax wings, 11,588 warblers, 7,662 sharp-shinned hawks, 6,695 broad-winged hawks, 5,560 Canada geese, 2,264 grackles and 1,770 American kestrels.
The total bird count so far this season hit 151,379 Wednesday.
Laura Erickson, a Duluth-based birding expert, suspects the blue jays are winging over this area because of a bumper crop of acorns and other wild foods this year.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 27, 2023 14:22:22 GMT -5
Thanks, Marty -- I can see why everybody loves Ellie.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 27, 2023 10:38:15 GMT -5
Good morning 60F-71F cloudy. Sad day, Ellies last day. She is so old, 15 and in pain at times, has a cough. If asked she will get up and go outside but will lay down right away and not move until urged to do so. Fell in love with her the first time I saw her as her manner is so sweet, she loves everyone. I've been moping for the last few days. Don't know if it's Ellie or a mild bug. Spent yesterday pretty much doing nothing except what was needed. I'll get out for a little while today. Would love to see a photo of Ellie, if you have one.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 27, 2023 7:50:37 GMT -5
Modern cars that turn off are electric vehicles, I think. And they have PLENTY of battery. (until they don't) Dave was talking about piston-powered cars have stop/start mechanisms to save gas. That feature is automatically disabled when the battery gets low.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 27, 2023 7:45:06 GMT -5
It’s amazing how big those things are after a good pounding. And then they die and you can cook them.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 26, 2023 14:07:12 GMT -5
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Post by billhammond on Sept 26, 2023 11:56:10 GMT -5
Anyone familiar with Connections, a relatively new word game that the New York Times publishes? Apparently, it has zoomed up to become their second-most-played puzzle.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 26, 2023 7:15:21 GMT -5
I'm fasting this morning in advance of a routine blood draw at a HealthPartners clinic, after which I plan to stop at a wonderful eatery called the Colossal Cafe and get a breakfast sammie to bring home. Scrambled eggs w/ chives, shaved ham, slice of provolone, all on toasted multi-grain. There's good eatin'!
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Post by billhammond on Sept 25, 2023 12:05:03 GMT -5
I have a fond spot for just about any of the Ford models. Paleo had a friend of his there with an awesome Fairlane that was decked out to the nines! My weakness is Skyliners, hoo boy!
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Post by billhammond on Sept 25, 2023 9:40:29 GMT -5
The Packers pulled out a surprising win over the Saints yesterday. It goes to show how a better defense can prop up a mediocre offense. Meanwhile, the Vikes and da Bearz, whose records are unblemished by victories, are shoo-ins to play in the Terlet Bowl at the end of the season, somewhere TBD in central Iowa.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 25, 2023 8:50:11 GMT -5
Whoever made that list neglected a visit to Cedar Rapids, IA, specifically the Starlight Room.At the Starlite Room, presentation makes the experience exquisite:
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Post by billhammond on Sept 24, 2023 20:52:27 GMT -5
Yeah, I wudda enjoyed that tune way more if it were dialed back something like 15% in tempo. Just because you CAN play fast doesn't mean you SHOULD.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 24, 2023 20:36:19 GMT -5
I surely understand why folkie-leaning forumites would not find Vannelli to their liking, but I do object to blatant dismissal of his compositions as "schlock," "elevator music," etc.
You may not like it, but it is, to my mind and ears, really impressive music in its form and execution. Plus, Gino has pipes, and all his surrounding musicians are first-rate.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 24, 2023 17:39:43 GMT -5
I fell for that clickbait yesterday, as it was headlined "No. 1 burger in America is in Roseville, MN," but I didn't see a single one from anywhere in the state, did you? Nope, but did see a frozen custard joint in WI (Kopp's in Milwaukee). Not Culver's. When I worked at the Milwaukee Sentinel, I got the enviable assignment of visiting and reviewing the metro area's many frozen-custard joints, and Kopp's won the day.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 24, 2023 16:31:26 GMT -5
I fell for that clickbait yesterday, as it was headlined "No. 1 burger in America is in Roseville, MN," but I didn't see a single one from anywhere in the state, did you?
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Post by billhammond on Sept 24, 2023 16:24:40 GMT -5
He found he could take his idea about Folsom prison and set it to the Crescent City Blues song structure. The line "I shot a man in Reno" was inspired by a refrain from Jimmie Rogers' song "Blue Yodel #1": < Rodgers' >
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Post by billhammond on Sept 24, 2023 12:26:08 GMT -5
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Post by billhammond on Sept 23, 2023 15:54:57 GMT -5
Excerpt from AP: PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — Five flamingos that showed up in Wisconsin to wade along a Lake Michigan beach attracted a big crowd of onlookers eager to see the unusual visitors venturing far from their usual tropical setting. The American flamingos spotted Friday in Port Washington, about 25 miles north of Milwaukee, marked the first sighting of the species in Wisconsin state history, said Mark Korducki, a member of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The birds stood quietly 25 feet off Lake Michigan's western shoreline as waves lapped against their thin legs. Three were adults, identifiable by their pink plumage, and two were juveniles clad in gray. Jim Edelhuber of Waukesha was among a crowd of about 75 bird enthusiasts drawn to the city's South Beach after word spread on social media about the flamingos' appearance there. ''This is huge. This is unbelievable," said Edelhuber, an avid bird watcher and photographer. The sighting was unexpected but not a total shock because of recent reports of flamingos in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania, said Ryan Brady, conservation biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Wildlife biologists hypothesized that the flamingos were pushed north in late August by the strong winds of Hurricane Idalia, the Journal Sentinel reported.
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Post by billhammond on Sept 23, 2023 15:16:54 GMT -5
I know! Such goofy typography!
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