Blietzkrieg Road Ramble of Death

Blietzkrieg Road Ramble of Death

Always Bring Your Bear Spray

It's nice to have friends. But I'm not so sure about frenemies.  My friend Steve is also my enemy and I have to always be on the lookout when he asks me to go on a hike. He could lead me to a predetermined spot where he already dug my grave and just pop me and put me in like a neatly wrapped Christmas present. 

So when he asked me to meet him at the Blietzkrieg trail in Hopkington, Rhode Island, I immediately was suspicious, especially when I Googled the word blietzkrieg which means "an intense military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory." So maybe this will be a short hike after all. Not if I can help it. 

Background of Hatred.  

I may be wrong, but I believe he is trying to kill me because I beat him at a game of Pooh Sticks not too long ago. Or maybe because I beat hime in a one on one game of basketball game with a sore torn ACL knee. There are so many jealousies that he could have that I have given up trying to figure out what he wants revenge for. 

Beginning of the Blietzkrieg Trail.

We arrived in different cars and I showed him my bear spray and how fast I can take it out to spray peopl, I mean bears. I purposely showed him that I can take it out and spray in 8 seconds when I can quickly take it out in two.  If he was going to try to attack me, he will be the lowly dog and I will be the triumphant skunk. 

Fact Sheet on Wood Frogs

After a few minutes of walking and talking we quickly got into our first argument. I saw a Wood Frog and even said it's scientific name, Lithobates sylvaticus.  He called it a turtle or something, I can't remember and we nearly came to blows. I had my thumb on my bear pepper spray and was ready to blind him if he attacked. No attack came and that's when I rolled my eyes and said to myself, "this ain't going to be a blietzkrieg attack after all." 

Spring Peeper Tik Tok

After another few minutes Steve pointed to the sand and said, "Hey look at that!" Obviously it was nothing. This was his attack plan. Get me to look at nothing and then he was going to hit me over the head with a karate chop of death. But I saw movement. It was a spring peeper. I took out my phone so I can get video of the spring peeper or maybe even him committing first degree murder. But instead I got the spring peeper which was really cool. And oh by the way, yes I told Steve it was the Pseudocris crucifer. He was either really impressed or getting more angry. I couldn't tell. 

We hiked for another mile or so until we came to clearing with a sign on a tree. Steve said, "Go up and take a picture of it." 

I went up to the picture and found out how he was going to try to kill me. 

"It's a good thing I put on bug spray." I said. 

"Why don't we take waterhole trail. We've never been down that road before." Steve said. 

We hiked down the trail until it came to a small roundabout near the Wood River. I walked into the river to cool off my feet but the trail and entire area was loaded with mosquitoes. 

"Let's start walking back to our cars." I said, "It's getting really buggy." 

Steve quickly agreed. I noticed he walked behind me a bit and slowed his pace. 

"Can you walk a bit faster so we don't get eaten alive?" 

"Oh yeah, sure" Steve said. 

And then I saw how Steve wanted to kill me. A huge widow maker was hanging about 20 feet in the air just waiting to crush me. Steve was talking and getting next to me and I was hugging the side of the road right under where the tree branch was going to crash. The leaves of the tree branch had turned a darker color than the living leaves all around it. Without any warning I elbowed Steve hard in his ribs and pushed him down on the sandy land quickly got him in a headlock. 

"Hey! Let me go! What the hell!" Steve yelled while struggling to get out of the headlock. 

"You trying to kill me the entire hike! It's not gunna happen!" I yelled back. 

We scuffled for a moment and I really should have known better. I felt Steve's hand take the pepper spray out of my holster and within a second both of us had both of our hands on the pepper spray trying to twist the nozzle towards the other person's face. He slowly pointed it toward my face and was about to push the top to spray me when all of a sudden we both heard a loud crack. The widow maker was about to fall. When Steve looked up at the tree, I grabbed the bear spray out of his hand and then grabbed his arm and yanked him as hard as I could towards me and away from the falling branch which landed right where he was and smashed into a thousand toothpicks. 

"You saved my life, I can't believe it." Steve said while he lay there huffing and puffing. 

"And that's why I'm going to do this," and then I sprayed him point blank in the eyes with the bear spray. Steve gave out a yell of pain that I could barely hear over my cackle of a laugh. It was so hilarious to see him rubbing his eyes with sand and ruffling through his backpack for water to clean his eyes out with.  We walked back to our cars, said our goodbyes and as Steve was entering his car, I heard him mutter to himself, "I'm going to really kill him next time." 

THE SECRET DOG POND

GETTING THERE. USE THIS MAP TO DRIVE TO THE PARKING SPOT

There is a fantastic dog pond located very close to East Greenwich. It is just over the line in West Greenwich and can give you a beautiful change of scenery for you and your dog. 

It is located in the famous "Sand Dunes" of Rhode Island. This is a gem of a place to explore. There are driving directions in the picture above, but I will list them below as well. 

From East Greenwich (Middle Road) 
1. Drive west on Middle Road all the way to Carr's Pond Road.            (You will drive to a "T") 

2. Turn right onto Carrs Pond Road. 
     (Again, drive until you get to a "T") 

3. Turn left onto Division Road. 
    Drive until you get to a 4 Way Stop. Drive straight. 

4. You will almost immediately see parking on your left. From your parking spot, you will walk straight out and turn right and curve around to the Secret Dog Pond. (See the picture below) 

The Secret Dog Pond is a wonderful area to explore with your dog. The only caveat is to wear orange during hunting season. Is is out in the open and near the road so I feel that even during hunting season, it will be a safe place for you and your dog.  To find out more about Rhode Island and its natural resources click on the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management link below. 

http://www.dem.ri.gov/index.htm

Be forewarned though, that it may be hard to navigate. There are many links on the site. 

Enjoy exploring the Secret Dog Pond located in the geologically exciting Sand Dunes! 

My Crash With David Burnham

This blog post is dedicated to the life and memory of David and Anne Burnham who both passed away earlier this week. Both were close family friends. So close in fact, that David performed the service at my wedding. My beautiful wife told me that Dave would say "I married only two women in my life. Anne and you!" That is pretty impressive when you consider that David and Anne were married for 62 years! 

The Willimantic River

Spring is the time to run the Willimantic river in Connecticut. Some of my favorite memories were gathering with my wife's family and friends and spending the day on this river. During one of these trips Dave Burnham joined us and unfortunately for him, he ended up as my canoeing partner with me in the bow of the canoe.

The Crash

It was fitting for Dave to be at the back of the boat. He was a natural leader and would guide our boat to the end of this wonderful river. But I did not know that I had to look out for rocks. So after a few minutes of canoeing, Dave and I went to the right of the main river and decided to explore a little channel that swung back and connected downstream.

The rock we hit was so well camouflaged that it would have made a Gecko jealous. It was lying just under the water's surface and we hit it in a way that slowly turned our canoe sideways. Once the side rim of the canoe tipped down into the river we were goners. Both of us bailed ship and water engulfed our canoe and pinned the canoe against this large rock. With the oncoming rush of water we had no chance to right the canoe or push it to the side. We couldn't even use our bailers to bail water out of the canoe because water kept rushing back inside of it. The aluminum canoe had a slight bend to it but it was not going to break. 

Dave was genial and humorous. He did not make me feel bad even though he pointed out that I should have seen the rock and told him about it. To release this canoe from the rock we found a large strong branch and used it as a class one lever to inch the canoe away from the rock. It was difficult but it was also fun. The canoe was intact but had a heck of a dent from the water pushing it against that large rock.

One of the best parts about this story is that the canoe was a wedding present to my best friend and this was its maiden voyage. At least he did not name the canoe Titanic. 



Thanksgiving Changes Ahead

One tradition that I noticed every Thanksgiving was Dave cutting the turkey. The pictures below show Dave's last time cutting our Thanksgiving turkey. I love how in both pictures Anne is in the background, not too far away from Dave. 

May they both rest in peace together until we see them again.

David Burnham cutting our Thanksgiving turkey.

Rest in peace Dave and Anne.

http://bit.ly/1oLjqDw    
Here is a link to a description of the river from Paddling.net





http://bit.ly/1kQhnQo   
Above is a link to a RiverFest that is held in May to celebrate the Willimantic River.  

Link To Whitewater Rafting at Zoar Outdoor

Click on the link below to see a whitewater rafting slideshow at Zoar Outdoor in
Deerfield, Massachusetts.

http://www.empressr.com/View.aspx?token=Hayh4l8kHh0%3d

Creepy Crawly Spiders

Brown Recluse Spider. This spider's bite is not very painful but causes much pain when its venom starts to eat away at your flesh. A person in Bristol, Rhode Island was bit over the summer. It bites only in defense. So if you see this spider, it should leave you alone. 

Spiders are just plain creepy. I don't know if it's the eight, gangly and hairy legs or the big black, unforgiving eyes that look right through you with a predatory stare. Crawling on walls, skittering on the floor, hiding in crevices and corners. When I was little, I sometimes wished they were all dead. That tells you how little I knew about food webs back then. Because without spiders, insects would surely rule the Earth and "bug" us all to death.

 I hate our Halloween spider decoration. It hangs from the ceiling and any loud, sudden noise makes it drop on a string and then it slowly pulls itself back up the string. It's now on the steps in the foyer just sitting there looking at passersby, doing more of what a real spider would do. Maybe I'll smash it with my shoe after Halloween, doing more of what a bug killer would do.

And as the only male in the house, I am the celebrated bug killer. I sometimes look in the mirror and see a metallic bug zapper with blue lights, indiscriminately killing any insect or arachnid that comes my way. During "Spider Season", which lasts from March through August, I am used to being told that a HUGE or WICKED LARGE spider is somewhere in the house and that I should kill it. Every single time I see this HUGE spider, I am relieved to find that it is simply normal-sized, because what they do not know is the actual size of some spiders that I have seen in the past. Two or three times I have witnessed an enormous spider that dwarfs all the ones I have seen in my life. No one else has seen these spiders and I don't care to inform my family members because I don't enjoy inflicting psychological harm on other human beings. These Monsterquest spiders are dead now but I know they probably reproduced.

 So when I see a spider I tell myself two things; "I am not its food," and "It gets rid of mosquitoes." These things calm me and gives me a brotherly bond with spiders in our mission to rid the Earth of evil, blood sucking mosquitoes. But even with our brotherly bond, I still think they are creepy. Very creepy. Included below are some pictures of spiders I have seen over the summer.

Enjoy if you dare.

My Mom is trying to get a black jumping spider to come out of the crevice. I say  "let sleeping spiders lie!" 

 

Wow! This was a huge jumping spider on my driveway. I let it live. 

I said three words with I saw this spider. OMG. This was huge orb spider in a defensive posture. I let it live and the next day it made a web in a bush next to the house. 

This is another orb spider. Pretty huge. I caught it in a jar and let it loose in a pine tree farther away from the house.
 Go get 'em mosquito slayer! 

This is a flattened weird spider near a bike path in West Warwick. It might be related to a jumping spider. 

I have no recollection of this spider. Very big abdomen here. Makes me appreciate those Daddy Long Legs. 

When I go geocaching I sometimes blindly put my hand into dark crevices and holes like this. All for a geocache? It's the thrill of the hunt. I'm just hoping that I don't become the prey someday! 

Year of the Comet

Could 2013 be the year of the comet? Maybe. I still remember the thrill of seeing Halley's comet back in 1986. It wasn't like seeing fireworks at Disney, but to see a fuzzy blobish light through my old telescope and knowing it was the famous Halley's comet sent shivers up my spine. It still does today.

St. Valentine's Day Almost Massacre

I recently found out that several significant astronomical events will take place in 2013. Let's start with February 15th. On this day a 150 foot long meteor (or 149 feet, 11 inches long if you use Subway's calculations,) will travel by Earth at a ridiculously close distance.   This meteor will travel under some man made satellites and according to NASA's calculations it will not hit Earth. I completely trust NASA's math analysis on this prediction. Not because they have the best mathematicians and landed humans on the moon, but because I'm too lazy to do the math myself. If you are still a bit worried, watch this NASA scientist put you at ease with this short video.   http://youtu.be/1ycGo-b25TQ

Mid March

Beware the Ides of March. Or rather beware the dumb names of comets. Usually comets are named after the people who discovered them like comet Halley, comet Swift-Tuttle, comet Hale-Bopp and my personal favorite, comet Hyakutake, which I am tempted to order every time I eat at Seven Moons. 

The comet of this month is called Comet PANSTARRS. Ready? This comet is named after the Panoramic Survey Telescope And Rapid Response System project based on Hawaii. Can't we call this the Hawaiian Comet? At least that sounds like a lovely drink. Non-alcoholic of course.

So between March 12-18 look for the Hawaiian Comet right after sunset towards the west. 

Early April - Comet Lemmon

Named after the Lemmon Observatory in Arizona and not after Del's Lemonade, Comet Lemmon will be visible in the western skies around April Fool's Day. This comet has a period of 11,000 years which means that only vampires that are alive 11,000 years from now can see the comet again. The greenish tinge of this comet is caused by -- you guessed it --the poisonous gas cyanogen.  This factoid basically means nothing unless you are excited, like me, to share this knowledge with forlorn looking people at dinner parties. 

The Comet of the Century (maybe)

Here we have Comet ISON named after the International Scientific Optical Network based in Russia. I'm actually OK with this name because if this comet was named after its two discoverers it would be called comet Nevski-Novichonok which doesn't roll off my tongue as easily as comet Shoemaker-Levy, which smashed into Jupiter back in 1994. 

Currently, comet ISON is near Jupiter and may be visible to us in late October as it approaches the Sun. On November 28th, Comet ISON will be inside the corona of the Sun and will be enduring much stress due to the corona's 2 million degree temperature which is almost as hot as Florida in July. If comet ISON can survive this Floridian heat, it may be visible during the day and be spectacular at night. This is the comet that just might be the comet of our lifetime. But comets are unpredictable, so you never know if they will live up to their own hype. Sort of like the Forty Niners in the Superbowl.  

So there you have it. Three comets and a meteor.

Even though that sounds like a bad ABC comedy, 2013 looks to be a spectacular year for looking up to the skies.  

A Red Shouldered Hawk Gets Mobbed!

A Red Shouldered Hawk flies away to evade annoying mobbing by a family of crows.

There was a large, slow-gliding shadow over the bird feeder. As I looked out my kitchen window, I saw one motionless goldfinch on the feeder hoping not to be spotted. I was glad to not hear a low thud against the window pane. Sometimes when birds of prey surprise a flock of birds at the birdfeeder, the potential meals scatter and some zoom right into the kitchen window and get knocked out, leaving behind a tuft of feathers clinging to the glass.

I was lucky to see the hawk perched on a white oak branch not too far away from the birdfeeder. I watched it for a few seconds and rushed to get my camera. I had a feeling this ragged raptor was going to hang out for just a few fleeting moments. When I hurried back to the window, I noticed a family of crows sprayed out on different branches in nearby trees. The crows were cawing loudly and making sure all animals knew this predator was in the area. I snapped a few pictures of the grumpy hawk, and worried about identification later.

Everybody loves an underdog.  And these ordinary crows were no match for the strength and agility of a raptor.  Working as a group to harass the hawk gave them a boldness that they would not have as individuals.  This is called mobbing behavior. Crows use this to teach their young what a predator looks like and to drive a predator away from a nest site. 

Without warning, the hawk flew off realizing that it would find no rest in my backyard.  (see picture)

A crow mobbing a red shouldered hawk waits for it to move.

A friend of mine told me it was a Red Shouldered Hawk. That was news to me because the last time I tried to identify a hawk in the back yard I had difficulty deciding if it was a Cooper’s Hawk or a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. If you see a hawk and want to identify it, try the link below. This link will bring you to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website which specializes in helping you figure out which bird is what. Or you can just email a friend.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id#similar

Beach Clean Up 2012

Chepiwanoxet Beach Clean Up

Almost every year in September when I participate in a beach clean up, I veer off to the left of Chepiwanoxet Point in Warwick and through the bushes I see a snowy egret or some other predator lurking in the tall grasses. I would hate to be a fish going up against the long neck and spear like beak of this bird. Minutes later the egret lifted off in slow motion, as they always do, and soared off over my head as it looked for a quieter place to eat breakfast. Little did it know, that many beaches this morning were hosting the International Coastal Clean Up, organized by the Ocean Conservancy and the Audobon Society of Rhode Island.

When I first organized a beach clean up at Cole, I thought only a few kids would be interested in cleaning up beach litter on a free Saturday morning. I could have not been more wrong. Almost every year we have around 40 students and chaperones show up to don the gloves, pick up the litter and record it on a data sheet. That's what makes this beach clean up special. The kids can actually see their impact of their action by looking at the amount of trash that was picked up.

As you can see here on the right, the squarish rock like "garbage" happens to be rusted old staples that Stanley Bostich dumped here many
years ago. Old machinery and rusted odd looking objects are a common find during our annual beach clean up.

Look at all of the garbage bags of litter that were collected by our students. Every year at this place it looks the same. But I have to be honest, I think we picked up the huge pieces of waste in all of the year prior to this year. So things are looking up for the creatures and people that use this little hideaway of an island.

From the parking area, you can see Goddard Park. Maybe next year, we will change our spot and clean up that beach. The clean up was cancelled for Goddard this year, so maybe they will need a little more help next year. I am always so uplifted by the community spirit that surrounds this event year after year! Thank you to all of the Cole Middle School students who participate and to all of the chaperones for their time, patience and positive outlooks!

Have a great school year! It's off to a great and cleaner start!

Salt Marsh Greenhead

Salt Marsh Greenhead, Long Beach Island, NJ

This bug bit me! While swimming in a pool, this female Salt Marsh Greenhead bit my head. I was so upset, I swatted it into the pool and collected it in a recycled water bottle. I found out that this sucker can lay 100-200 eggs per blood meal and can live for 3 to 4 weeks.

I despise and hate this fly but as I walk out onto the top of the roof I can see it has a reason to despise me. Summer homes surround the salt marsh. This makes me appreciate the Cape Cod National Seashore. There are rows of houses between a sand dune and the beach. That doesn't seem right. If Hurricane Andrew hit lower Long Beach Island, every house would be destroyed similar to Watch Hill during the Hurricane of '38. When that happened, people never rebuilt their homes and now Rhode Island has Napatree point, a beautiful walking beach. I have a feeling that this area would be built up again. Too many people use this area for anyone to declare this "Long Beach Island National Seashore."

I

The Higgs Boson. Not Explained at All.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the Higgs Boson particle which imparts mass to other particles. I truly respect this pivotal finding and after reading many different articles about the Higgs Boson, I find it demoralizing to try to simplify it and explain it in "kitchen table" language. The fact is that there is no easy way to describe the Higgs Boson without fearing a glassy eyed, ten mile away stare emanating from the face of your listener. For example, I was looking for something simple like this:

Important Discovery         Result of the Discovery
Fire                                     Cooked Food

Automobiles                        Fast Cars

Flight                                   Fast Airplanes

Higgs Boson                       What the heck?

You see, I'm trying to fill in the "what the heck" part, and I am stone cold out of luck. I could throw in a possible discovery of dark matter but that would lead to more confusion because dark matter would require more explaining as well.

There are unknown applications that can come from the discovery of the Higgs Boson, so I will focus on a list of possible future applications for the Higgs-Boson. These results are not science based but just pure fantasy and fiction, which could turn out to be true anyway.

Important Discovery          Result of Discovery

Higgs Boson                        Deep fried oreo cookies..
                                           (oh wait these already exist)

Higgs Boson                       Think a thought and think of a friend and that friend has your thought.
                                           (This would make texting look as relevant as 8 track tapes)

Higgs Boson                      Wiggle your nose and poof! You just traveled to China in less than a second!
                                         (No more salty peanuts for me!)

Higgs Boson                     Hover Cars that run on "special water."
                                        (But Saudi Arabia would have all the world's "special water.")

Higgs Boson                     Friendly people, no lines and a pleasant atmosphere at the DMV. 
                                        (Not even a "God Particle" can accomplish that!)


Only time will tell what practical applications can come from the discovery of the Higgs Boson particle. Until then, our imagination will have to mollify our need for instant gratification. 

Arcturus

Mountain Lion Track in Rhode Island

Possible mountain lion track in Rhode Island

There is an area off of 95 South (exit 6) called the Dunes. A huge expanse of sand. Basically a huge litter box. This track was seen there, I'm going back with an animal camera and hopefully will capture a cougar!

Barred Owl Sighting

This one can be crossed off the bucket list. For the longest time I wanted to see a real, wild owl. Not an owl that comes with a wildlife rehabilitator. Not an owl stuck in a zoo. An owl that can silently swoop in, gaze at me and silently melt away into the forbidden darkness. It finally happened a few nights ago.

Of course I was in my car. But it still counts! I was the only one on our street and I had my two youngest daughters with me. Nine times out of ten, that unusual figure sticking up from a branch is a broken limb or maybe even a piece of garbage caught by a snag. But this time, the large round head and two unmistakable black front-facing eyes told me that this was my first wild owl. I would have been ecstatic if it had looked at me for five seconds and flew off, but we were treated to some predatory action as well! 

I know you really can't see the Barred Owl. But if you can zoom in on those points of light, you will see two eerie owl eyes staring at you. I did not know owls had reflective eyes.

I pulled safely to the side of the street and we all observed the owl looking a bit uncomfortable. Why didn't this predator fly off into the forest? It was spying its dinner. After a minute it swiftly landed on a mouse at the base of the tree and landed on a different branch a little deeper in the forest. After it swallowed its meal, it swooped down on the ground again, snatched something and blended into the dark. 

A much better picture but I know... you really can't see the Barred Owl. But you can barely make out its eyes. Unless it's a Squatch.  Now that would be spooky.

This was a Barred Owl, probably 15-18 inches tall. A huge predator. The cold, black, marble-like eyes were a feature that I would never forget. Hearing Barred Owls is always a treat as well. I have heard them numerous times, even at 3:30 in the afternoon. And just like coyote howls, the Barred Owl's call always sends a shiver down my spine. Click here to see if it does the same for you.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/sounds

Not my picture but at least my bucket list does not have, "Take a great photo of a wild Barred Owl".



Click the above video to hear and see a Barred Owl making its distinctive call.

$200 for each fish caught! Sounds too Good to Be True!

Possible Blizzard Ahead?

During the record breaking warmth earlier this week, I made a move to take out all of my driveway sticks that will help a snow truck discern the boundaries of my driveway. No one wants to see their snow plow driver pushing a row of sod across the front yard. Unless you're a worm loving American Robin. The removal of sod would be like a Chinese Buffet to them.

But as I started to pull out the first stick, I stopped. Over 70 degrees and I had to stop and leave it. It's only the middle of March. There might be a blizzard around the corner. And I'm not kidding.

Years ago I recalled the April Fool's Day Blizzard that dumped between 20 and 30 inches of snow on me up in Marlboro, Massachusetts. East Greenwich did not receive as much snow that day, but having a blizzard of that magnitude hit you that hard on April 1st leaves an impression. A hiking trail that I constructed was obliterated by small trees that snapped under the weight of snow and ice. I don't remember that much about that storm, but the lasting impression it made was to not be surprised by a blizzard in late March.

So my shovels are still ready and my bags of ice melt are still waiting. Even the sleds are hanging in the corner of the garage, looking longingly outside, hoping to be taken for a second run this winter. Most likely, they will not be used again, because I left those sticks in the ground. If I had taken them out and stored my shovels and sled and put away the ice melt, I am sure that there might have been a 10 inch snow storm right around the corner. Or maybe even a small, surprising blizzard.

I Hate Ticks

Every year it happens. I hear about another person in East Greenwich that is diagnosed with Lyme Disease. I hate parasites. They are so selfish. I hate how small ticks are. I always read about how they are the size of a period at the end of a sentence. I do tick checks on myself and my family but sometimes I feel it's futile. Even that stupid bull's eye rash does not consistently show itself after a tick bite. This is when I appreciate, dare I say it, the bump and itchiness of a mosquito bite. At the very least you knew you were bitten.

Here are some odds and ends about ticks that have been rattling my brain recently.

So you think your kid is safe playing outdoor soccer? When the ball goes into the woods, cheer them on when they stay on the field. The kid that gets the ball may also get a tick bite.

A bus driver from Lyme, Connecticut told a friend of mine to put some soap on a paper towel and rub counterclockwise on a tick that is biting you. The soap in the paper towel makes them let go. One week later I was forced to try it and it worked like a charm. So no welder torch needed.

Do you know that ticks can kill a moose? Especially if thousands of them are biting the animal.
I learned about it in a National Geographic video here. http://bit.ly/zUBH1I

The earliest known human with Lyme disease was Otzi the Iceman. And that was 5,300 years ago.

The best way to fight Lyme disease is to check yourself for ticks every day and to have a heightened awareness of tick prone areas. Stacks of wood, leafy forest litter and pets are tick hotspots.
The University of Rhode Island has an outstanding website to learn more about ticks. Here is a link to the "Top Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Ticks."
http://www.tickencounter.org/think_tick_take_action/top_ten_things

I am hoping that one full year will go by and I will not learn of a person contracting Lyme disease. I also hope that this post will heighten your awareness of these blood suckers and urge you to check yourself 
for ticks, even in the winter. If only they were a bit bigger, I would scour the forest with my welder's torch put an end to them Rambo style. But right now, we have to settle "tick checks." 

Not Finding Bigfoot in Rhode Island

I just watched a show on Animal Planet called "Finding Bigfoot", where four Bigfoot investigators searched Rhode Island for this fearsome beast. This was the first episode that I watched and it was so horribly done, that I would rather subject myself to the pain of watching the Patriots lose the 2007 Super Bowl again.

After meeting with two Bigfoot witnesses who were as credible as the Milli Vanilli singers, the investigators headed over to our own East Greenwich town hall to hear what people have seen around this state. The first indication that proved that this was a set up was the fact that the investigators found a big empty parking spot on our own EG Main Street! Was it 6:00 am Sunday morning? If they used all of their luck to find that cavernous Main Street parking space, then there was no way they would catch or see a Rhode Island Bigfoot.

The show has reenactments to show what the Bigfoot witnesses have seen. And it's the investigators who always get to play the part of Bigfoot, just to see if a human can do what the witnesses are describing.
If I was a witness, I would tell them that I saw Bigfoot slipping off a rock and falling into a murky swamp. And then I would tell them that I saw Bigfoot ride bareback on a horse and fall over the horse and into a ravine- all while trying to eat a live, squirming porcupine. That would add a little excitement and challenge to the reenactment, and make it enjoyable to watch at least one part of the show.

I think that the "Finding Bigfoot" show is a waste of time. The only show I want to see is a one hour special called "Found Bigfoot" where they have a dead body or a live specimen in a cage. Then I would love to see them release the live specimen only to have it attack its hunters like the Sasquatch in the Beef Jerky commercials.

PLACES TO SEE SASQUATCH IN EAST GREENWICH

I was looking forward to seeing what spots in Rhode Island or East Greenwich had Bigfoot sightings but was disappointed by the lack of disclosure. So here is my list of possible places to see a 'Squatch in East Greenwich.

1.   Carr's Pond
It's so obvious that Sasquatch uses that little island in the middle of the Pond as a secret lair. The investigators will never go there because that would be the end of their little show.

2.  Frenchtown Pond. 
There are witnesses that have reported a Sasquatch trying to catch that wily alligator that was seen in the pond late last fall. 

3.  The Bleachery Falls
The waterfall is so big, that an entire Sasquatch family can take a shower under the falls.

4. Your Yard!
Any place where you have seen white tail deer. Everyone knows that Sasquatch consumes deer the way we eat ribs at the Texas Roadhouse. So if you have seen deer in your yard, then a Sasquatch was probably there hunting them. 

The Flocking Experiment

I missed it this year. At least a few times in the fall I see a huge flock of birds, usually starlings, weaving and diving their way through the air and landing on a telephone wire or treetop. These bird flocks are a signature part of the fall season along with cold, crisp air and falling leaves. Last year a huge flock landed in my backyard and the simultaneous chitter chatter of hundreds of birds was unforgettable. That's when I decided to do an experiment.

Several years ago I watched in awe as a friend of mine quieted down an entire brood of chicks by imitating a hawk screech. Instinctively, each chick stopped peeping and froze. They were only a few days old and never knew the danger of a hawk but this protective behavior was built into their DNA.

So last year when I found myself under a couple of hundred chattering starlings I instructed my youngest daughter to imitate the hawk's screech noise. Upon imitating the hawk, almost all birds quieted down to see where the noise had come from. It was amazing to see how their vigilance and communication spread quickly throughout the flock and quieted them down. My daughter thought that was cool too and proceeded to do another hawk screech, this time very human like. The birds seemed to realize that it was an annoying small human and decided to take their chit chat to another set of treetops farther away.

Flocking is a pretty cool behavior and even though I did not catch a few hundred starlings with my camera, I did catch a couple of other flocks. Every morning on Frenchtown Road I see a flock of pigeons huddled together on a telephone wire. They always look so cold there but maybe they are there to take in the energy from each sunrise. (see pics)

In addition, I was fortunate to take a couple of pictures of a flock of 25 wild turkeys. (see pics). I was trying to figure out where the Tom or male turkey was, but like white tail deer, maybe the males are a bit more secretive.