One other characteristic of fall in North Dakota is the elevation of the sun above the horizon. As a motorcyclist, I’m all too aware of this; it makes us even harder for the people driving cages to see. This also makes for some unique sunrises and sunsets, such as this one.
I was one of those guys who couldn’t wait to graduate high school early and get the heck OUT of this area for college. It wasn’t until after I’d been away for college, back again, off to my original home of Montana, then back again, that I started to realize how great a state we have. It may have something to do with a newfound love of history, or perhaps just with growing up…I don’t know. In any case, I have developed a love not only of our fair cities, but our state as well.
There are a lot of stories and sights in North Dakota that deserve more exposure. The number of books by local authors and the size of our now-expanding Heritage Center should give good testament to that. Well, it’s about time this particular photographer / author got out to see them! I love our state’s unique features, people, and wildlife enough to share them with you. I hope you enjoy them along with the local content I provide.
I did find out that Chipper, the energetic little lovebird that greets visitors from atop his cage / amusement park, is a little off these days. Apparently he’s had a stroke or something, causing him to have a poor equilibrium and be a little less comfortable with folks he doesn’t know. I was really sad to hear this because I believe he’s related to Scooter, my little lovebird. They’re the same age, anyway.
I recommend The Birdhouse as a wonderful place if you’re looking for a pet bird; however, I’m going to be very adamant about one thing: birds are not your average pet and have lots of special needs! They require lots of attention and interaction as well as regular care such as having their wings clipped. They are also susceptible to a myriad of household dangers, including toxins present in air fresheners and scented candles. While it’s common knowledge that Scooter is allowed to fly in our house, it’s only through years of diligent care and constantly working with him. We’re definitely a rare case. If you plan on being a bird owner, you have to accept some lifestyle changes in order to accomodate your new friend.
Even if you just want to say “hello” I recommend a trip to The Birdhouse. But please don’t decide to take a birdy home as a pet until you’ve thought it through and decided to accept the commitment. I spent two weeks thinking it over before I got my bird. It was worth it, but every bit as big a responibility as I’d imagined. I had a little bit of foreknowledge, as my parents had a parrot over at their house, and I got to hear all of their bird stories…good and bad.
The past couple of years have been very good to the dragonfly. This summer at the capitol I saw several that looked like small birds, hovering over the lawn on the commons area and feasting on mosquitoes. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to spend as much time as I’d hoped in the wetlands areas. This led to a lack of dragonly or damselfly photos. I’ve had some really nice ones in the past, but this year slipped away too quickly.
Dragonflies are your friend as a North Dakotan. They seem to keep pest insects to a minimum, and anything that can accomplish that feat is a friend indeed! The Japanese kept praying mantises in their bedrooms to eat insect pests; maybe some guy needs to find a way to put a leash on a dragonfly…
“We are concerned that even if we were to cave in and change our name, you might subsequently hold us hostage until the great State of North Dakota changes all of its state highway signs which now depict a silhouette of an Indian. You might, some say, insist that the Indian logos on the doors of all of our (marked) Highway Patrol cars be removed.”
Right on! I wonder if he got the idea from my posts about the HP cars and highway signs. If so, I’m sincerely flattered. This blog has repeatedly received over 100,000 hits a month…if even one of those helps preserve the UND Fighting Sioux tradition, I am the happiest guy on the block!
One other point that President Kupchella brings up here is that UND does a lot to help out Native American students:
“Although you say you considered all of the material we put into our appeal, your responses and actions indicate otherwise. I point out, again, some of the extraordinary programming we have in support of American Indian students.
American Indian education is a $12 million enterprise at UND. Much of the total is provided by the tribes themselves, by the students and their families, and by the federal government. None of this would happen, obviously, if the environment here were in any way hostile and abusive. There is also a substantial University component as well. The University annually provides about $400,000, mostly in the form of waivers of tuition specifically for underrepresented groups. Nearly all of this goes to American Indians.
We have more than 30 separate programs in support of American Indian education. Most of these are administered by a staff of seven American Indians. Most of the programs are based in a new American Indian Center funded by the University and by generous donors. These programs include a thirty-year-old Indians-Into-Medicine program which has educated about one-fifth of all (enrolled) American Indian physicians in the United States. Your action has, unfortunately, put all of this under a cloud of “hostile and abusive.” We must find some way to set the record straight.”
Amen to that! I’m glad he took the opportunity to point that out, as I mentioned in
a previous post concerning the logo an UND’s programs for Native American students.
You can read the full text of President Kupchella’s open letter to the NCAA by clicking here. Well said, sir! Let’s hope that logic and prudence win the day in your struggle to keep the nickname.
I wrote a while back about Greg, the bunny living in our yard. Sure, he ate some of my wife’s flowers at first, but he’s since given that up. We now coexist peacefully, and he’s really cute besides! We had a little bit of a scare today, however. On the way to church this morning, I saw that a bunny had been struck and killed by a car just around the corner from our house. While I admitted it would be jumping to conclusions, I speculated that it was probably Greg. After all, we’re far from the outskirts of town; how many bunnies could there be on an average city block?
My fears were put to rest today as my wife came upstairs. Glancing out a basement window, she spotted Greg taking a peaceful little bunny nap in one of the flower beds. Talk about a relief! We’re both animal lovers, sure…but I think anyone would admit that having a cute, furry neighbor living nearby is heartwarming. It’s easy to get attached to a little guy like this too, since we see him in the yard quite frequently. Thankfully I can report this day that, while tragedy certainly did strike around the corner, our long-eared friend is safe and sound, and able to nap comfortably.
We had a good crew put together and enjoyed a pretty close game. There were some calls that one team or another didn’t agree with, but overall it looked and sounded like a good clean football game. That is, of course, unless you were in the press box next to the guys from Concordia University of St. Paul.
With only a cubicle divider between those of us switching the jumbo video screen and the guys coordinating on headseats for Concordia, there was only a little divider wall. These guys were AWFUL. I heard them shouting words like:
– the F-word, in various configurations;
– the MF-word, including as a reference to the U-Mary Marauders;
– the S word, as if it was part of normal conversation;
– the A word, including the AH word as a reference to the Marauders;
– the name “Jesus Christ” used as a profanity (read the commandments)
– the GD word several times
In addition, I heard pounding on the tabletop…heck, we all did. The press box is a tight area. And in that area are microphones for the stadium announcer, KFYR/KFAN radio, and various two-way radio mics. I bet if someone listened to the radio closely or sat near one of the Community Bowl’s loudspeakers, you probably heard these guys in the background.
I looked around in the press box after one particularly loud, foul outburst, and people were all looking at each other in a combination of confusion and shock. The press box area was full of people wearing U-Mary apparel… I never heard any of them say words like the Concordia dudes, even after a couple of debatable calls that didn’t go their way. I think they were too embarassed for the CU guys to even say anything!
I wanted to peek around the cubicle and explain to them that they were being offensive, supposedly representing a Christian university, and at a game hosted by a Catholic school. But, alas…I was being paid to be there as a video crew member, not a representative of the University of Mary. I felt justified in speaking up just as a human being and a Christian, but I didn’t want any comments I made to be misconstrued as being on behalf of U-Mary. So I bit my lip. Thankfully the next home game will NOT be against Concordia University!
So, there you have it. In the end the Marauders lost, and it was probably just a normal football game to anyone in the stands or watching at home. Some of us in the booth, however, didn’t get paid enough to have to sit and listen to three and half hours of that nonsense. Hopefully future guest teams will have a lot better manners than the Concordia St-Paul Bears.
Sometimes I get a bit jealous of my friends who live in Alaska, because they’ve got such dramatic scenery and wildlife nearby. They need only point the camera out into the backyard to catch a moose or other interesting creature! But scenes like this one are a nice reminder that North Dakota is not without its own scenery. We native North Dakotans might take an old run-down fence for granted, but it’s got its own charm that merits appreciation.
We found this little building sitting right next to the highway, watching the sun set slowly in its backyard. The grounds are mowed, but it doesn’t look like anyone’s been in this house for many years. Thankfully nobody’s vandalized it, either. It can just stand as a characteristic landmark of North Dakota’s rural landscape.
I’d like to point out that a bird is also born for adversity. I’m down for the count with that nasty crud that’s going around. Having tried to fight it off, I finally gave up last night and retreated to the couch. But I had reinforcements!
Scooter, who’s going to be nine years old soon, is a faithful watchdog –er, watchbird. If I’m sick, he cuddles up under my chin while I sleep, fluffs up, and acts as lookout. Sometimes he’ll stand post on my shoulder or head, fluffed up and ready. He’ll take occasional latrine or chow breaks back at his cage, but then he flies back to couch duty.
Birds aren’t for everyone; they require ENORMOUS amounts of attention. If you do, however, consider a bird purchase, consider them as a little child. They need attention, conversation, and diligence. For instance, I’ve always let Scooter fly and have never clipped his flight feathers. The price for that, of course, is that I must be extremely meticulous about household hazards, open doors or windows, that kind of thing. And he’s never left out alone or while there’s a hot stove or other hazard in the house. But it’s a price I gladly pay for his company and the joy he brings our family. That’s especially true on a day like this.
On that note, I’ve got a fever and my soup is done. Back to the couch for both of us. Thanks to my wife for the picture.