Urban safari

For a small urban property we have a lot of wildlife encounters. So far we've seen raccoons, gray squirrels, bunnies, a teen deer, cardinals, robins, blue jays, house wrens, mice and bats. I'm sure I've forgotten others, but here is another climbing on our neighbor's house. He lives in our tree with the other critters.

Introducing Mr. American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus):




Notice the black stripes on his side. That happens only in the summer.

Update: We've smelled occasionally a skunk in our yard, but we've never seen one. We've also spotted hawks and seen herons, doves, pigeons, ducks, geese, and cormorants flying overhead.

MN tortilla chip

Found this in a bag of blue corn tortilla chips. It even has Upper and Lower Red Lakes (see 2nd photo).

Post-4th of July update

One result of the fireworks was foul air. Yeah...

Particle pollution in the Twin Cities was elevated Sunday because of Saturday night's fireworks all over the metro area, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said Sunday.

The agency issued an "orange" notification after light winds failed to disperse the pollutants that lingered after the celebratory fanfare and fumes. People with asthma and other health problems, as well as elderly people, were advised to stay indoors, and everyone was urged to avoid prolonged outside exertion.

[source: Star Tribune]

My least favorite time of the year

You would think February in St. Paul would be the worst time of the year. But it's not. The Fourth of July is. It's the time for people in our neighborhood to show how "free" they really are. They start shooting off fireworks (made in China, of course) a few days before the 4th. A preferred pattern is to light one firecracker, wait ten minutes, then light another. One by one. Who knows what they're thinking. It must be exciting for them.

The intermittent loud popping and cracking sounds start around lunchtime and carry on into the night. It doesn't matter if there are frightened pets or sleeping babies right next door. Of course, the explosions reach a crescendo on the 4th of July when the whole area lights it up. There are no pretty starbursts or sparkles, just pure nerve-wracking noise. And it gets so loud that it's how I imagine a combat zone would sound. I sometimes even wonder if there are any recent war veterans in area cursing the noise, too. The streets also become thick with smoke because of the volume of fireworks going off all at once in the neighborhood. The neighbors who aren't participating in the "fun" cope by shutting their windows and turning on the AC, or by simply leaving for their cabin for the holiday. Neither cooperation nor protesting is their style.

I didn't have this kind of Fourth of July experience while growing up, because I lived in a state that banned all consumer fireworks. But Minnesota started allowing the public consumption of fireworks in 2002, but it's still illegal to have anything that goes boom or lifts off the ground. Ha! Tell that to the people in the 'hood. There is no enforcement whatsoever of the law.

So I could wish for a heavy rainfall each night leading up to the 4th of July to dampen my neighborhood's "freedom," but I'd have no luck. The east metro is under severe drought conditions this summer. Instead I can only think about the peace that comes with winter when the biting winds and sub-zeros temperatures make people in the ghetto shut up.


Related: Noise Pollution Takes Toll on Health and Happiness

Tears

This past week has been full of tears. Tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of relief and tears of remembrance.

Michael Jackson. Despite his adulthood "trippiness", you can't deny the incredible talent he had and how much fun it was and still is to dance and sing along to his songs.

Al Franken. I'm so glad he's representing Minnesota. He's empathetic and smart. And funny is always a good trait to have, too. Of course, his win also brought back memories of his friend Paul

Good-bye, Normie! (No tears here.)

Recommended | Man on Wire

Man on Wire is a film about Philippe Petit who wire-walked between the two towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. One would have thought making once crossing would have been enough. He was a quarter of mile in the air. But no! He made eight crossings and stayed up there for about 45 minutes. He also talked about not having a choice to do it. He had to. He was called to do his art. He's a crazy, passionate Frenchman! Highly recommended.

Rochester, MN

Sometimes I wished we lived in Rochester, because not only is it a few degrees cooler down there, but they also get nice and steady regular amounts of rain.

Shameful

When you look at the Gini Index showing income distribution inequality, the United States is ranked 44th between Uruguay and Cameroon. And here is a sample of countries (#s 46-50) that have better income distribution than the U.S.:

• Cote d'Ivoire
• Iran
• Nigeria
• Turkey
• Guyana

[Via CIA World Factbook]

In the U.S., the top one-tenth of one percent of earners make about the same money per year collectively as the bottom fifty percent of Americans combined.