N0! This is NOT Jaws...

These photos were taken on Saturday, April 26th. This is not a scene from JAWS, but was taken by the Dam in Shawano. These Sturgeon are making their annual migration to their spawning sites. Under normal circumstances these fish complete the annual ritual in a matter of a few days compared to this year where the weather is not cooperating. DNR Bioligist estimate that the prehistoric looking fish may spawn for a few more days yet.

Thunder - The Red-tailed Hawk

One of the attractions at the Earth Day event held at the Navarino Wildlife Center recently was the appearance of a Red-tailed Hawk. The pictured bird who goes by the name of "Thunder" spent several hours entertaining the onlookers who came to get closer to nature.

Thunder was hit by a car and lost part of it's wing making it impossible for him to ever fly again. Pictured above with the Hawk is Tricia from the Wind River Wildlife Rehabilitation Center who is his caretaker and trainer. Thunder actually lives with her and her family at their home.

The states that the bird has a diet of lab mice and the life expectancy could be from 25 to 30 years. (John took the photos)

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Earth Day Celebration

On Saturday, April 19th we went to the Navarino Nature Center again to check what they were doing for their Earth Day event.

Aside from the face painting (Mona and I didn't get in to that), solar power demo, critter catching in the ponds, bird house making, 7 mile wagon ride through part of the reserve itself, and numerous displays inside the center itself there were two individuals who brought some birds that they are taking care of.

Pictured above is a photo John took of a Peregrine falcon and it's care taker. The bird had been injured and unable to take care of itself in the wild so it is staying at this woman's house.

Not only did Mona get to try some ice cream with fresh maple syrup, we brought home a few pine tree seedlings.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

What a difference a day makes is right. Yesterday (Tuesday) I took the top photo of a pair of Mallards in a pond near our garage. This morning (Wednesday) I took the photo of what I assume is the same pair of ducks on the other side of our garden. Just for your info - that is not white sand - it's almost 3 inches of snow that we were blessed with last night. What happened to Spring?

Shawano Dam on the Wolf River

(Top Photo) An image of the Dam on the Wolf River in Shawano taken on April 6, 2008. I only had the big lens for the camera so I could only get a partial photo of the dam. There was a lot more water flowing through it than you can tell by this image.

(Bottom Photo) A fisherman and his dog fishing a few yards down from the Dam on a beautiful Spring morning. There was another boat with what appeared to be a Father and Son team as well as several anglers trying their luck from the shoreline. We stopped here for about 10 minutes or so and failed to see any fish caught.

BBQ Chicken

John made BBQ Chicken on the grill last night. I think it tasted as good as it looked.

It was a 9+ pound bird and was so big we couldn't shut the top of the grill all the way. We had to put the rotisserie rod in side-ways (low one side and high the other) so the bird wouldn't get stuck on the grates and stop the motor on the rotisserie.

Grilling time was over 3 and a half hours.

This Old House

This is a photo of an old house we saw as we drove around the Navarino area.

Navarino Nature Center

Last Sunday Mona and I decided to pack up the old van and take a ride to check out The Navarino Nature Center. It's only a few miles from our house and we've never taken the time to go to check it out.

We had just picked up a couple of Shawano County maps the previous day so we were able to find our way around traveling all less traveled side roads. It was a nice get-away to explore the area fairly close to home.

Although it was early in the season to check out the facilities at the Center we saw 31 Sandhill Cranes, an Eagle, Hawks, a couple Deer, Ducks, Geese, Squirrel, and more. The whole trip (including a bowl of Chili at an area bar in The Clover Leaf Lakes area) took about 4-5 hours.

Mona took this picture at one of the scenic look out areas. I found an old office chair sitting in the middle of the wilderness that felt pretty comfortable while we were watching the geese in the background. There are also a couple deer in the far upper left corner but we needed binoculars to actually make them out.

Click on photo to enlarge

It's About Time!

One short little note for today: I got my first bug on the windshield for 2008 on my way home from work today. It was a little guy and I couldn't tell what it was. He hardly made a smudge on the windshield, but it's the first time in months that I can report this news and I'm grateful for it. I guess I have to mark that on my calendar.