Great-tailed grackle

ECHOES FROM THE LOAFERS’ CLUB MEETING

  Do you ever talk to yourself?

  I think everybody talks to themselves.

  I wasn’t talking to you.

 

DRIVING BY BRUCE’S DRIVE

  I have a wonderful neighbor named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me. I recently watched an old movie, “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” from 1948, starring Humphrey Bogart, where I heard a kookaburra calling in Mexico. Filmmakers often used that Australian bird as a stock background noise for jungle scenes. I’ve heard it in Tarzan movies. Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by great apes; created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the novel “Tarzan of the Apes” published in a magazine in 1912 and in a book in 1914. Tarzan was the son of a British lord and lady marooned on the coast of Africa by mutineers. When Tarzan was an infant, his mother died, and his father was killed by Kerchak, the leader of the ape tribe that adopted Tarzan. Tarzan lived in Africa, but those who watched his movies heard a kookaburra from Australia.

 

I’VE LEARNED

  I love skipping stones on the water. There is something about the sound of a bouncing rock that brings pleasant thoughts. A friend, after several shoulder operations, is concentrating his stone skipping on iced-over lakes.

 

  The trifecta bit me: mosquito, multi-colored Asian lady beetle and a no-see-um. If something bites you and there is nothing there, it’s a no-see-um (minute pirate bug, a tiny insect with a big bite.

 

  A survey by MarketBeat.com reveals each state's most beloved local brands. Here are the Minnesota-made goods that inspire the most pride: #1 General Mills (Golden Valley), which produces Cheerios, Betty Crocker and Pillsbury. #2 Red Wing Shoes (Red Wing). #3 Hormel Foods (Austin). #4  3M (Maplewood), innovators of Scotch Tape and Post-it Notes. #5 Pearson’s Candy Company (St. Paul), makers of Nut Goodie and Salted Nut Roll.

 

In Iowa, it’s Blue Bunny Ice Cream in Le Mars. Other state favorites are Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels in Velva, North Dakota, Wall Drug Store in Wall, South Dakota, and Wisconsin’s is Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee. Ice cream was a common favorite: Blue Bunny in Iowa, Blue Bell in Texas, Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont, and Yarnell’s in Arkansas.

 

  If you have trouble finding your car in a parking lot, trade it in for a yellow vehicle.

 

BAD JOKES DEPARTMENT

  I got an electric shock the other day. But instead of making a “zap” sound, it went “Hooray!” It was ecstatic electricity.

 

  I’m not using Amazon again. I ordered grain for my chickens. But after I got it, they asked for my feedback.

 

  What do you call bears with no ears? B.

 

  My uncle was a successful farmer. He said he began flourishing once he started keeping records of each cow’s name. That was the cattle-list.

 

  A man goes into a drugstore and asks the pharmacist if he could give him something for the hiccups. The pharmacist reaches out and slaps the man’s face.

 

  “What did you do that for?” the man asked, rubbing his smarting cheek.

 

  “Well, you don’t have the hiccups anymore, do you?” said the pharmacist with a smug smile.

 

  “No, but my wife, who is sitting outside in the car, still does!”

 

NATURE NOTES

  They were my constant companions in Texas. A Mexican legend says the great-tailed grackle had no voice, so he stole songs from the sea turtle, leaving the turtle silent and himself bursting with chatter. This grackle has a unique ability—each eye can independently view its surroundings for food and predators, seeing two different images simultaneously—a talent thought to be the chameleon’s alone.

 

  “Why do the leaves of trees show their undersides?” I see oaks, maples and poplars flipping their leaves when there is a change in the prevailing wind, an increase in humidity levels or low moisture. Leaf flipping is usually a sign that rain is imminent, when the leaves change position because of weather conditions that typically develop before rain moves in. Gusty winds often precede summer rains, causing leaves to flip over and show their silvery sides. Tree leaves generally grow in accordance with the prevailing wind in an area. Winds from incoming storms frequently go against the prevailing wind, and the force of the wind causes the leaves to flip.

 

  “Are there any birds named after women?” Yes. Lucy’s warbler, Grace’s warbler, Blackburnian warbler (named after Anna Blackburn or her brother Ashton), Anna’s hummingbird, Virginia's warbler and Zenaida dove.

 

MEETING ADJOURNED

  "A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees."—Amelia Earhart.