D@mn, Nature, You Scary!

 

Sorry for not blogging yesterday - I was all caught up in my latest project. The most eventful thing that happened was when I went for a walk at lunch and one of the cranes that hangs out by the observatory was flying in a circle overhead, bugling frantically. I thought it was looking for its mate, and whatever was going on was clearly no bueno, since it was very upset. Then I realized another crane was calling back to it from across the street, so I crossed the street and saw the second crane just standing on the lawn. Two college students who were obviously not together were watching it curiously, so I began to as well, wondering if it was unable to fly. Suddenly it did fly off, and then both cranes stopped calling. One of the college students had just placed a phone call, so I wondered if she was calling for help. Did the one crane get hit by a car? Did a frat boy injure it? Did I scare it when I arrived on the scene? But it didn't fly away the moment I arrived, just after a little bit. It was almost as if my concern for the crane magically healed it, but how likely is that? I was tempted to ask the college students if they knew what had happened, but the one was on the phone, and the other one didn't seem that approachable. It was such a strange situation, and it just reinforced my belief that sooner or later, cranes and college students are a volatile mix. Cranes may seem like mystical beings, but they are probably no different than herons and pelicans - the other night I got sucked into watching videos of a heron eating a duckling and a pelican swallowing a pigeon. Lest you think all this violence is due to their dinosaur genes, there was a video of a young buck grabbing a fledgling bird in its mouth and eating it. The woman making the video gasped, "Oh my God, the deer just ate the bird!" and her husband laughed. But I tell you who wouldn't be laughing if there were a pelican big enough to swallow a human - me! Yikes! What a way to go!

Totally not apropos to the previous paragraph, here are some photos. First is a miniature version of the Jack Daniels bass that Michael Anthony from Van Halen plays. Travalon ordered this online.

This is the bobble head of Jim Morrison from the Doors that Travalon found at the Baraboo Antiques Mall.

And this is the stuffed puffin I gave him for Valentine's Day. The gift was actually a donation to a charity that works to protect our oceans, but you get a little stuffed animal as a token of thanks, so I said it was the most expensive stuffed puffin ever.

I took these photos some time ago but kept forgetting to post them until now. And here is a picture of Mr. Fat in Travalon's man cave, sitting in the recliner with a smaller teddy bear. Travalon says he is so much happier in the Man Cave, with sunlight and buddies, than in that cramped, dusty storage room. 

I probably won't blog tomorrow, but watch for a blog post about Jilly Moose, OK Cap, and me having an adventure.

Famous Hat