- Location
- Retired in Minneapolis
This article in The Guardian got me thinking:
www.theguardian.com
According to the map I'll miss out on the fun. The two cyclical broods don't come up here it seems. There have been times when I've heard a few of them going off but not like what the SE US is likely to hear.
Being able to witness these ancient biological incidents, to me, is really cool. There are some that give us warm fuzzies and others, like the buzz-saw cicadas that interrupt us.
Full Moon rises do the trick for me. The best ever...Ontario/Minnesota border lake, clear sky, -15F, late Feb. In that area the border lakes are almost like terraces up from Lake Superior. What happens is the moon-glow teases for a long time. Then, in a blink, the moon popped up. The blanket of snow was pearlescent. Later in the evening I got a book out and read a page just in moonlight.
A trip to Yucatan took us to Chichen Itza to see the ruins. We didn't realize it wasa the same weekend for the 'shadow' on the Castillo. If you're unfamiliar google it and schedule a trip to experience it.
Hummingbirds congregate around Port Aransas, TX and 'tank up' for the cross-Gulf fly when weather conditions are right. The folks in Port A make a party out of it. Maps are available to people's houses who feed the hummers. They are characters! It was something to see one leeetle hummer fighting off others that were five times its size. Many varieties and they are comfortable having us groundlings right up close.
Salmon spawn North Cascades. I was there taking a basic moutaineering class. That day we were practicing mixed climbs. Crampons and ice axes, shorts and tshirts. There was a stream across the road that I wanted to see. It got real shallow....inches deep. I saw a couple of salmon that were fighting their way upstream to do their biolgical duty to their species. These guys were BEAT UP! It looked like they had gone through a wood chipper. Didn't matter. They were driven by eons patterned into their being...migrate...spawn...live.
Spring 2020...Covid going on...made a trip to Kearney, Nebraska to witness the stop over of the crane migration. Millions of cranes stop there every year to rest and eat before they head to their breeding grounds all the way to the Arctic Circle. That was a humbling experience to be part of for a few days. When I got home the shutdown went into place. Didn't matter to the cranes.
Spent a night at Point Pelee National Park, Ontario. We found a few clusters of Monarch Butterflies on branches. We talked with a Ranger and found that there was a mass of Monarchs that flew the day before. Dang...missed it. But, the next group was forming up. All cycles to experience
Sitting in a shelter on Isle Royale National Park after a week of backpacking. Off in this distance we hear a low, rhythmic, bellow. What was it? The sound got closer..then we see a bull moose walking a dead-straight path through the woods. Every time he'd step he'd Woof! Not sure why but it sure seemed like he was making an announcement about the annual Rut. Survival and perpetuation of the species.
Never been on a whale watch tour or seen turtles hatching on a Caribbean beach...there's still time.
We tell our clients to think in Tree Time. The annual cycle repeated to maturity and beyond. No different than the cicada...just longer.
‘Be in awe’: everything you need to know about the US cicada-geddon
The emergence of trillions of cicadas is under way in parts of the US – what should you do when they’re around, and what on earth are ‘zombie’ cicadas?
www.theguardian.com
According to the map I'll miss out on the fun. The two cyclical broods don't come up here it seems. There have been times when I've heard a few of them going off but not like what the SE US is likely to hear.
Being able to witness these ancient biological incidents, to me, is really cool. There are some that give us warm fuzzies and others, like the buzz-saw cicadas that interrupt us.
Full Moon rises do the trick for me. The best ever...Ontario/Minnesota border lake, clear sky, -15F, late Feb. In that area the border lakes are almost like terraces up from Lake Superior. What happens is the moon-glow teases for a long time. Then, in a blink, the moon popped up. The blanket of snow was pearlescent. Later in the evening I got a book out and read a page just in moonlight.
A trip to Yucatan took us to Chichen Itza to see the ruins. We didn't realize it wasa the same weekend for the 'shadow' on the Castillo. If you're unfamiliar google it and schedule a trip to experience it.
Hummingbirds congregate around Port Aransas, TX and 'tank up' for the cross-Gulf fly when weather conditions are right. The folks in Port A make a party out of it. Maps are available to people's houses who feed the hummers. They are characters! It was something to see one leeetle hummer fighting off others that were five times its size. Many varieties and they are comfortable having us groundlings right up close.
Salmon spawn North Cascades. I was there taking a basic moutaineering class. That day we were practicing mixed climbs. Crampons and ice axes, shorts and tshirts. There was a stream across the road that I wanted to see. It got real shallow....inches deep. I saw a couple of salmon that were fighting their way upstream to do their biolgical duty to their species. These guys were BEAT UP! It looked like they had gone through a wood chipper. Didn't matter. They were driven by eons patterned into their being...migrate...spawn...live.
Spring 2020...Covid going on...made a trip to Kearney, Nebraska to witness the stop over of the crane migration. Millions of cranes stop there every year to rest and eat before they head to their breeding grounds all the way to the Arctic Circle. That was a humbling experience to be part of for a few days. When I got home the shutdown went into place. Didn't matter to the cranes.
Spent a night at Point Pelee National Park, Ontario. We found a few clusters of Monarch Butterflies on branches. We talked with a Ranger and found that there was a mass of Monarchs that flew the day before. Dang...missed it. But, the next group was forming up. All cycles to experience
Sitting in a shelter on Isle Royale National Park after a week of backpacking. Off in this distance we hear a low, rhythmic, bellow. What was it? The sound got closer..then we see a bull moose walking a dead-straight path through the woods. Every time he'd step he'd Woof! Not sure why but it sure seemed like he was making an announcement about the annual Rut. Survival and perpetuation of the species.
Never been on a whale watch tour or seen turtles hatching on a Caribbean beach...there's still time.
We tell our clients to think in Tree Time. The annual cycle repeated to maturity and beyond. No different than the cicada...just longer.
