Autumnal Movements of Cottonmouths?

The Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)is a widely distributed and fairly well-known venomous snake in Florida. They are usually found in or very near to water. The first Cottomouth I ever saw was a very large specimen swimming in a wetland at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge near Virginia Beach, Virginia. There the animal is at the extreme northern limit of its range in the United States (they do not occur north of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

Since that first sighting and outside of Florida, I have been fortunate enough to see this fantastic reptile at Moore's Creek National Battlefield in southern North Carolina, underneath a bridge on Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge in southern North Carolina, in the parking lot of the Hilton Garden Inn at Hilton Head, South Carolina, one with a particularly nasty disposition on Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge, Mississippi, and at least three of them floating around in a cypress-dominated wetland near Lafayette, Louisiana.

In Florida I have seen Cottonmouth's from Escambia County (Pensacola) south through most of the state to Dade County (Miami). Today was the first time I was ever able to see three Cottonmouth's in the state in one day. Unfortunately two were dead and I ran over the third one and killed it with my car.

About noon today while driving on the "canopy road" portion of 47th street enroute to the British pub for lunch, I had an instantaneous look at a Cottonmouth attempting to cross the road. Unfortunately for him three things were working against him from the start. First, the back of the animal was black, 2) it was crossing black asphalt, and 3) it chose to do this in the shade of a very large live oak tree. There is a concept in biology of protective coloration where an animal blends in with the color of its surroundings for protection. Think of a chameleon for instance. Well, the Cottonmouth's protective back color would have worked on the black asphalt and in the shade of the oak tree except that my car was moving through the same space as him and ....splat. I got out of the car and went to check on the snake's status. It was a 2 1/2 footer and it was quite dead. As I looked at it I had to ask what in hell I was doing. Was I going to take it to a veterinarian if it was still alive?

Later in the afternoon as I was leaving home to go on a 12-mile bicycle ride I found a dead Cottonmouth in the drive leading into the condo development where I live. It was pointed toward the wetland behind my house. Then as I pedaled out on to Honore Avenue, I found a third Cottonmouth lying dead along the road. It was pointed toward a small wetland in a conservancy area adjacent to Honore Avenue. Both the one in my yard and the one on the main street were about 2 feet long.

As I pedalled away from the third dead Cottonmouth of the day I started to wonder why it was that I saw three of them in a day, all within 1 1/2 miles of each other. Yet for all of 2010 until now I had seen only 1 Cottonmouth in this part of Sarasota - and it was in the forested wetland adjacent to Honore where I found the dead one today.

Most people are familiar with the migrations of some animals like the Arctic Tern that nests in the higher latitudes of the northern hemisphere, and winters off of Antarctica. Some people claim that they do a 20,000 mile roundtrip migration each year (and all that to get laid just once...imagine). And certainly most people are familiar with the migration of American Robins complete with the old adage about the first Robin of spring etc. These animals move tremendous distances each year.

At the same time there are other species of animals that have much shorter movements that are possibly a "migration" but more correctly a seasonal movement. Hummingbirds in tropical mountains are known for these sorts of movements as are birds like the Brown-capped Rosy Finch in the Colorado Rockies. American Elk (more correctly known as Wapiti) are well-known for altitudinal movements in the Rocky Mountains, most famously toward the National Elk Refuge in northwestern Wyoming.

I thought about those sorts of movements in other animals and wondered if that is not the same thing that was going on now with Cottonmouths and, unfortunately, what is making them more vulnerable to being killed on the road.

My first job with the US Fish and Wildlife Service was as an Ascertainment Biologist in the regional office in Minneapolis. There a group of four of us (this was before the over-used word "team" became vogue) evaluated lands that had been proposed to the Service for acquisition and addition to the National Wildlife Refuge system. Our mission was unique for the Service at that time because we were specifically barred from looking at lands that only or primarily benefited waterfowl (a HUGE paradigm shift for the agency then). Our area of responsibility included Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

One of the areas nominated to us was a lowland forest with rocky outcroppings in southern Illinois near Cairo, that later became known as Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge. The reason Cypress Creek was nominated (and later acquired) was because of its importance as a wintering area for venomous snakes including Canebrake Rattlesnake, Copperhead, and Cottonmouth. We flew into St. Louis, Missouri 33 years ago today so we could go down to Cypress Creek and determine if it was suitable for Service acquisition. I remember the trip in there like it was yesterday - I had never seen any venomous snake at that point in my life and I was petrified that I would be run over by all manner of snakes. We never saw a single one during our day checking out Cypress Creek - the snakes were already "holed up" for the winter. However the experience taught me that snakes make seasonal movements from a preferred habitat to a more "stable" habitat to live out the winter in torpor. At Cypress Creek, venomous snakes migrated from miles around to spend the winter in rocky outcroppings near the center of the lands we evaluated.

If venomous snakes including Cottonmouth's make seasonal movements at more northerly latitudes like southern Illinois, why wouldn't they do the same thing in Florida? The timing of them "holing up" in southern Illinois is uncannily similar to the apparent "movement" I noticed here in coastal Florida today. A quick search of the online literature gave no hint of any sort of seasonal movements in Cottonmouths in this state but who knows. Maybe nobody was interested enough to look into it. With all the Cottonmouth's here and all the habitat remaining for them it might be another thing to do in retirement that may some day have some value to a biologist somewhere. Maybe I'll become a herpetologist now?

On another note...I am vehemently opposed to killing snakes just because they are snakes. Its foolish, our fear of snakes is based in folklore, and each time someone does it they take one more chink out of mother nature's armada. I feel badly that I killed that beautiful Cottonmouth today. I wish I hadn't. More than one time I have stopped my car and gotten out and chewed out the Cheney of people who were about to kill snakes along side a road. There is no excuse for it. After all, humans are about 1000 times larger than any snake in the United States. Give them a break - they were here first.

Wisconsin's Best Beer Guide

A month or so ago, Dave Bylsma, my friend-since-college who still lives in Wisconsin and is a rabid, avid, almost fanatic trout fisherman, told me about a silent auction fund raiser being held by the River Alliance of Wisconsin. The River Alliance's core principles are:

Our priorities and where we focus our efforts change from time to time, mimicking the ever-changing rivers we work to protect. But like a river’s steady current, the River Alliance adheres to some core principles that do not change with the times.

* We advocate respectively but assertively for rivers.

* We bring people to rivers so they experience their beauty and understand their threats.

* We partner with, when appropriate, and challenge, when necessary, the government agencies entrusted with protecting rivers.

* We develop the ability of ordinary citizens and grassroots groups to organize their passion for rivers

.
Sounds like my kind of organization so it was easy to put in a bid for some items donated to them to help promote their purposes.

I received word last week that I was the successful bidder on both items that I chose. One of them, a signed copy of Wisconsin' Best Beer Guide arrived by mail from the great white north yesterday. This 254 page gem, written by Wisconsin travel writer Kevin Revolinski (I'll bet he's Swedish, right?) is packed with all sorts of historically important information about beer in the great Badger state. It helps you understand an ale from a lager from bock, and it explains the brewing process. Most importantly it provides detailed information on each of the 74 breweries and brew pubs active in Wisconsin today.

When I was a kid it seemed like every little town in Wisconsin had at least one brewery and some times more. Like Rice Lake with its famous (locally at least) Breunigs Lager Beer or down the road in Eau Claire sat the Walter's Beer Brewery both brands now, sadly, are gone. Still the 74 breweries and brew pubs mentioned in this book mean that, on average, there is at least one brewery for each of Wisconsin's 72 counties. Some things never change.

Each of the 74 breweries has the following information. I'll use the now-bankrupt "Viking Brewing Company" from Barron County, my home county, as an example. Note: I realize the brewery is named after my Norse ancestors but at first brush it seems like they named it after that bunch of purple bastards in tights who play football with a traitorous quarterback across the river in that state whose name I refuse to utter. But I digress.

For each brewery you learn:

Year Founded
Brewmaster(s)
Address
Phone Number
Website
Annual Production (in barrels)
Number of Beers produced
Staple Beers
Rotating Beers
Most Popular Brew
Samples provided?(on tours)
Brewmaster's Favorite Beer
Best Time to Go
Where Can You Buy Their Beers?
Food at the Brewery?
Tours?
Special Offers
The Beer Buzz
and
Stumbling Distance (what activities are nearby)

All of this information make this little gem of a book nearly priceless - and to think I got it for a $22 bid to aid rivers. The only things the author could have added to the book would have been information on the location of any regular drunk driving checkpoints near the breweries, and maybe some information on the average fine for public drunkenness in each county. Other than that, almost every important thing about Wisconsin beer is in this book.

The inside front page of the book shows a map of the great Badger state with all of the breweries plotted out against a backdrop of major State and Federal highways across Wisconsin. Thus with this book and the map you could plan an extended vacation driving around Wisconsin (it has a brewery checklist -like a bird checklist-in the back) getting a buzz on and seeing my great home state.

Existence of the map brings up the second item I purchased in this silent auction.

For $31.00, just one dollar over their face value, I purchased four tickets to a Wisconsin Timber Rattlers baseball game of my choice next summer. The tickets can be used any day except opening day, Tuesdays or Saturdays. The Rattlers are the Low A affiliate of the nearby Milwaukee Brewers just up the road from beer city in Appleton. Wisconsin's Best Beer Guide shows that there are breweries in Shawno, Green Bay, Ashwaubenon, DePere, Manitowoc, Chilton, Oshkosh, Appleton and Sheboygan (home of the world's greatest bratwurst festival), all within crawling distance of the ballpark in Appleton.

Maybe next summer I'll pack this handy little book in my day pack, hop on a flight to Beer City and then spend a few days quaffing beers and watching baseball in the relative bliss of the greatest state in the Union.

If you are a resident of Wisconsin you need to immediately purchase this handy essential book and keep it in your glove compartment at all times. You can order a copy from Amazon.com right here. If you are an expatriated Badger like me, get a copy and plan a trip back home to enjoy these native nectars. If you are from any of 48 other states, get the book, plan a trip, and be prepared for near nirvana in the great north woods. However if you are from Minnesota, just stay there. Please. Drink your own damned beer watch your own loser football and baseball teams and stay away from our lakes. Thank you

A Rush of Thrushes

(photo from the US Fish and Wildlife Service archives)

For some unknown reason last night was a fairly decent night for the nocturnal migration of passerine birds along the west coast of Florida. This was especially true for two species of thrushes (Swainson's thrush is shown above). From 9:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. last night (after I gave up in disgust while watching the Tampa Bay Rays blow another game) I recorded an average of 1.3 thrushes per minute passing overhead (I counted all call notes passing a single point for 15 minutes then waited 15 minutes and counted again).

By far the most numerous migrating thrush was Swainson's Thrush a common fall migrant (not so much in spring migration) through this part of Florida. Not far behind them in abundance was Gray-cheeked Thrush. Although getting to be late for them I also heard two Wood Thrush and if I wasn't mistaken one unusual call note was probably a Veery. This trifecta of Catharus thrushes was complimented with a nice push of migrant warblers and I was surprised that there were still two Bobolinks in the push south last night.

Despite all of the movement I heard last night there were surprisingly few migrant songbirds around this morning when I was out before dawn looking and listening. In fact among warblers this morning I saw only:

Tennessee Warbler
Northern Parula (nests here)
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler (nests here)
Palm Warbler (common winter resident)
Black-and-white Warbler
Hooded Warbler

The highlight of the morning, however was a Philadelphia Vireo, only the third one I have seen in two years in Sarasota County (wish I could get it for my Manatee County list also!).

But back to all those thrushes.

Swainson's Thrush nests in coniferous forests across Canada and Alaska, and also in suitable habitats along the northern tier of states bordering Canada. One subspecies of Swainson's Thrush nests down the spine of the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada Mountains in the western United States.

More important biologically is the winter range that extends sinuously from southern Mexico south through the spine of the Andes to northernmost Argentina.

Thrushes (except for Bluebirds and American Robins) are generally very secretive birds and seeing one is a real treat. Most of the Swainson's Thrushes I have encountered (other than ones I have caught in a net for banding) have been recorded by its voice, whether its the song or its distinctive call note. You can hear both at this link.

Swainson's Thrush has one of the most haunting, ethereal voices of any North American songbird. The first one I ever identified by voice was in late May 1968 while walking in the forest behind our farm near Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Seven years later in June 1975, my now ex wife and I stood along a road in central Douglas County, Wisconsin listening to one singing from a coniferous forest. Like it was yesterday I remember her saying that its voice was like "tinkling bells that draw you deeper into the forest." A very apt description of its voice.

The biology of migrant Swainson's Thrushes has been a research topic for more than forty years. From this species science has learned a great deal about the physiology of migration. The birds I heard last night were likely flying somewhere between 10 and 30 miles per hour. If you assume that they move at an average of 20 miles per hour and that they migrate from sunset until sunrise, the birds passing over me last night are likely resting and dining on the north coast of Cuba near Havana this morning just 260 straight line miles away from Sarasota.

From Cuba they have a long slog ahead of them to make it to up to 3,400 more miles from Havana to northern Argentina where some of these birds will spend the winter. They will remain there until next March when the migratory urge will overtake them again and they will start the push north. And just like last night when I was listening to these southbound migrants, I will be out on my lanai in early April next spring with my ear cocked toward the sky hoping to hear a rush of thrushes making their way back north.

Fifty Years Ago This Morning

Fifty years ago this morning, October 1, 1960, dawned clear and cool and crisp on my grandparents farm northwest of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Leaves in the butternut trees across the gully from their barn were turning what Aldo Leopold once referred to as "smoky gold" and the morning air had a distinct feel of the fast approaching (and at the time seemingly endless) Wisconsin winter.

Not only was today the first day of the new month but also the first day of squirrel hunting season in Wisconsin. On October 1 1960 you needed to be 12 years old to be able to obtain and carry a small-game hunting license that allowed you to hunt things like squirrels, rabbits, and ruffed grouse in the state. I was only eight years old and in Mrs Moe's fourth grade class in Cameron Wisconsin, but my rapidly approaching ninth birthday was just 30 days away. Despite this slight difference between what was the legal age to hunt and my actual age, my grandparents gave me a single shot .410 gauge shotgun and set me off through the butternuts in search of my first animal. It was a ritual of passage in my part of the state and certainly a ritual of passage in my extended family. Hunting by myself (and not shooting off some appendage) and successfully bagging my first critter was a sure sign that I was on the path to becoming something. Not sure what it was but I was headed there.

The butternut trees, shown on this Google Earth image with a cyber thumb tack, were then (and remain today) a small patch of trees just to the west (left in this picture) of my grandparents barn.

According to the Weather Channel, sunrise that day was at 7:05 a.m. and about 7:15, just as my grandparents were settling in for the daily morning ritual of milking their cows, Craig the intrepid (and illegal!) squirrel hunter stepped into the woods. I distinctly remember walking across the gully and up the small hill to the northernmost point in the butternuts. There, mimicking the way I had watched my dad and my uncles scour the woods before looking for squirrels I set off in search of my first squirrel.

I made a wide swath across the northernmost part of the butternuts making sure to shuffle my feet in the growing bed of leaves that carpeted the forest floor. I had learned that also as a way to spook a squirrel into running for cover in trees. So far nothing worked and no squirrels appeared.

As I moved south through the butternuts I still remember hearing the sound of the milking machines working away in the barn and caught a glimpse of my grandma checking out the south door of the barn to make sure I hadn't shot myself - yet.

My ramblings across the woods produced nothing until about 7:40 when to the south I caught a glimpse of a gray squirrel as it darted along the floor of the woods headed for the relative security of a butternut tree that had three stumps. I watched excitedly as the squirrel leaped onto the side of the tree and then for some unexplained reason pointed itself down toward the ground instead of up toward relative safety higher in the tree.

Then, as squirrels do so often, instead of running away, this squirrel defiantly stood its ground and started to chatter at me almost exactly as the gray squirrel does in this Youtube video.

As it stood its ground saying all sorts of derogatory things at me in squirrel language I moved forward to what I felt was the right distance and I stopped. As if it was yesterday I remember quickly bringing my shotgun to my arm, getting the butt caught in the extra clothing provided by my adult uncle's tan hunting jacket (I had to be fashion correct on this important day) and then took sight down the barrel of the gun at the squirrel.

What happened next is a bit of a blur. I remember having the bead of the gun sight on the squirrel's head as I pulled back the hammer on the gun's safety. I sat there and watched. Then out of the blue, just as the squirrel made one last defiant pump of its tail, I fired my only shot. The tiny shotgun made a muffled poof sound and instantly the squirrel tumbled from the side of the tree and lay on its back "tits up on the prairie" as I would later say about ducks when I lived in North Dakota.

I remember racing up to the squirrel and taking it in my hands and looking at it from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. This was my one of the first (unknown to me at the time) indications of a forthcoming life as a biologist who had to check out everything. I also remember that, despite this not being the first squirrel I had ever held before, this one of "mine" seemed so much smaller when I held it than when I would see them darting around in the woods being squirrels.

The sun had just climbed up over the top of the trees on my uncle's nearby farm and the rays of sunlight were shining across the pasture on my grand parents land (where my parents ashes are now spread) and everything was lit up in the butternuts. My grandma had heard the shot and was looking out the barn door again, this time probably worried that I had shot myself. Instead I stood there holding up the squirrel for her to see and for some unexplained reason I yelled and asked what time it was. The clock said 7:45 a.m. Central Time.

The squirrel was the first of what would be hundreds of them I harvested in my youth. From squirrels I graduated to ruffed grouse and a couple of years later (and still too young to legally buy a license) I started hunting white-tailed deer on my uncle's farm. My success rate with them wasn't like squirrels but it makes for another story.

As I grew through my childhood and my adolescence there were two things that became constants in my life. One was baseball and the other was the annual fall ritual of hunting. It was because of hunting that I developed the fierce desire to protect the earth that led to my choosing wildlife biology as a career and spending almost all my life for more than 32 years (including time as a temporary employee of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources) trying to protect habitats from the ravages of human population growth. Its something that non-hunters and anti-hunters seem unable to comprehend. "How can you love wildlife and kill it" you're often asked. I'm not sure how. It just is what it is. And it all started with that gray squirrel 50 years ago this morning.

I continued hunting until 1982. Those last years were on the prairie of North Dakota where all of October and into November from 1979 through 1982 were devoted to hunting ducks, geese, sharp-tailed grouse, gray partridge, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, and anything else that was legal. The last day I ever hunted anything was in early November 1982 when a group of us went after ducks and geese on the prairie wetlands west of Jamestown. We took along my big sloppy Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Chester. At the end of the day we stopped at a small wetland near Cleveland and Rich Madsen took a picture of Chester sitting in the wetland vegetation scanning the sky for ducks. It was his last hunt and mine. A few months later a divorce rocked my world. As part of it I had no place to keep Chester and had to take him home to Wisconsin and my parents farm. After Chester was gone my desire to hunt left me and I've never picked up a gun since then.

Still 50 years ago this morning was a different story. I left my grandparents house that morning a neophyte and half an hour later I was a hunter. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me and I relieve that moment every year on this day.

Fall Migration Marches On

At 9:30 this morning I heard the first Gray Catbird of the fall migration as it called (squawked?) from the infestation of Brazilian Pepper that surrounds my wetland. Welcome back!

If the past two winters are any indication I can now expect to at least hear and probably see Gray Catbirds out of my lanai through April 20, 2011, or so.

One theory about the origin of this species name can be tested by listening to its voice. Go to this site then scroll down to "calls" and then click on "mew call". The mew call sounds surprisingly similar to the mew of a domestic cat. And from my view point its a lot more tolerable than a domestic cat.

As the range map for this species shows it nests throughout the eastern United States and Canada west to British Colombia and Utah. In its eastern range Gray Carbirds are most commonly found nesting in thickets of woody vegetation. In northern Wisconsin they are particularly fond of "edge" habitats and especially recently logged areas that are rapidly regenerating. In Florida, this species has been recorded nesting as far south as Sarasota County. However the birds I'm listening to now were not here throughout the summer.

Now for the next six months I can expect that each morning when I get up at least 2 and if past winters are any indication, up to 5 Gray Catbirds will be climbing around in the thick vegetation by my wetland just being Catbirds. As frugivores they will be gorging themselves on the abundant fruit of Brazilian Pepper when those seeds are available in a month or so. Unfortunately there is more than enough Pepper here to sustain them for a lot longer than 6 months.

Bradenton Marauders Defeat Charlotte in Stunning Home Finale

It seems like it was only yesterday that the Bradenton Marauders took the field for their home opener in Bradenton's McKechnie Field on April 8, 2010. Having suffered through the entire 2009 season with the Sarasota Reds (who were last in the Florida State League) I more than half expected the new kids on the block to wind up the same.

Wow, was I wrong.

That first game way back almost five months ago set the stage for the rest of the Marauders season. If you can remember back that far the Marauders demolished the Fort Myers Miracle with a resounding 18-3 score. It was like nothing I had ever seen before while watching minor league baseball. The first run the Marauders ever scored was by sure-to-be-in-the-show left fielder Quincy Latimore who hit the first of 18 home runs (so far) that night! The games only got better after that.

Before this evening the Marauders had a 73 -57 overall season and were leading the South Division of the Florida State League by 2.5 games. The Charlotte Stone Crabs won the South Division's first half of the season. It was up to the Marauders to fight back to win the second half to set off a playoff for the South Division championship.

This evening that is exactly what the Marauders did.

The Stone Crabs met the fury of the Marauders and despite the close final score came they came in last. The Marauders won 3-2 in one of the best games of the season.

Remember that the first run scored by the Marauders in their first game of the season was by Quincy Latimore. As the recap of tonight's final home game shows, the last run scored by the Marauders on their home turf was by ....you guessed it...Quincy Latimore.

Charlotte started the game with rehabber Grant Balfour on the mound. Balfour lasted 2/3 inning on Saturday and was promptly run from the field after pitching 37 pitches and giving up 3 runs. Tonight Mr. Ball Four lasted one full inning. Unfortunately he didn't get the loss. Maybe next game.

Charlotte scored first with a run in the top of the second and another in the top of the third. Yes, I was getting a little nervous. However Bradenton scored in the bottom of the third, tied the game in the fourth and took the lead, never to lose it again, in the sixth inning.

I knew it was all over for the Crabs, and they should have also, when in the top of the ninth inning the Marauders put in their unbeatable closer Noah Krol who once again got a save - his 33rd of the season. Noah also happens to be the league leader in saves.

Tonight's resounding victory puts the Marauders 3.0 games ahead of the Palm Beach Cardinals with just seven games left to play this season. Four of those games are against the St. Lucie Mets (starting with a double header on Tuesday night) and the last three will be against the Stone Crabs in Port Charlotte Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. I plan to be there for the Saturday and Sunday night festivities.

Although my opinion and $4.00 will get you an espresso at Starbucks, I would like to make some predictions on the future of current Maraduers players beginning with the 2011 season.

First of all, if left fielder Quincy Latimore is less than 1,000 miles from Bradenton at the start of the 2011 season there is something terminally wrong with Pirates management. This kid is the greatest, leading the league in runs batted in, having 18 homeruns and having a magnetic glove. There is simply nobody better than "the double deuce" on the Marauders team. If Quincy is not at least in Altoona and preferably with Indianapolis at the start of the 2011 season then someone needs to have a chat with the Pirates. For me it was sad to watch Quincy on his last regular season home game tonight.

Not far behind Quincy Latimore is center fielder Starling Marte. This product of the Dominican Republic (la isla de beisbol) is a natural to make it to the show. He's smart, fast, and an excellent hitter. Had he not experienced a disabling hand injury in June I would have expected him to be with Class AA Altoona Curve by now. He will be next year.

Had he not spent so much time on the disabled list this year I would have expected third baseman Jeremy Ferrell to already be in Altoona or higher. Jeremy is third generation professional baseball (his dad is the batting coach for the Boston Red Sox) and a shoe-in for making it higher up the food chain. He just needs to stay healthy and he will be there.

Adam Davis, who filled in behind Jeremy Ferrell when Jeremy became injured has really come into his own this summer. Some of the plays Adam has made at third base are as good as anything you'll see Evan Longoria make for the Rays in Tropicana Field. Adam needs a year or so of conditioning to make it to the Show but I fully expect him to be at least in Altoona next year.

Along with Adam Davis, if Brock Holt hadn't suffered a meniscal tear in June I'd expect him to be higher up the ladder also. Brock is quick, sharp, smart, and to top it off a very nice kid. He and I had surgery the same day to repair torn meniscus' - I only wish he had healed as fast as I did. Brock will be back momentarily in 2011 but he won't be around after the All-Star break.

On the mound I fully expect tonight's starting pitcher Nathan Adcock to be in Altoona next year. Nathan is tied for third in the Florida State League for the most wins. He's a nice kid with a great variety of pitches and is someone I expect to see higher up the ladder in the next couple years.

The other person I expect to not see around in 2011 is Noah Krol who I believe is the best closer in baseball (Major Leagues or Minor Leagues). Throughout the summer I came to understand that when Noah came out in the ninth inning to close out the game the other team might just as well have given up and gone home. In all but a very few cases it was over for them when Noah took control. I hope that I am watching him in Altoona next May.

Although there is a summary of tonight's win on the Marauder's home page there is also a narrative of the game available from the Stone Crabs. There is one fan comment on the story - some guy named "Curlew" isn't too happy with the Stone Crabs. I wonder who he is?????

The Marauders have seven more games to play before the end of the season. Again, it seems like it was only yesterday that I drove to Bradenton for the first game of the season. However it was worth every bit of energy and effort to get there to watch these kids grow and improve and move along. It's funny how you get this parental feeling for them - its like they are your kids and you have to protect them as you watch them improve and get better. Also just like a parent I get misty eyed thinking about them moving on next year.

Still, in a couple years when we see some of these kids playing in the show we'll be able to reflect back to the summer of 2010 and remember all the great baseball they played for us. I hope that at the same time they remember that Bradenton Marauder baseball is the greatest show on dirt. I certainly will.

Tampa Bay Rays Fireballer Jeremy Hellickson Sent to Class A Charlotte Stone Crabs

Not long ago the Tampa Bay Rays brought up from Durham 23-year old fire ball throwing pitcher Jeremy Hellickson.

Hellickson's career has spanned the breadth of minor league baseball, starting first with the Princeton Rays in the Advanced Rookie League in West Virginia and has included every league (Short Season A, Low A, Advanced A, AA, and AAA) since then. Most recently he was brought up from the Durham Bulls for a day to give the starting pitchers in the Tampa Bay Rays rotation another day of rest. You can see his arm in action in this YouTube video recorded in May 2010 against the Dayton Dragons in AAA baseball.

Following Hellickson's debut with the Rays he pitched in three more games and now has a 3-0 record. Many were speculating that the Rays would simply go to a six-pitcher rotation to keep Hellickson on the roster. However Joe Maddon had other plans.

You read it correctly, today it was announced that the Rays are sending Hellickson down to Class A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs in the Florida State League. As the story states,

With no further need for rookie RHP Jeremy Hellickson in the rotation, the Rays sent him down to Class A Charlotte to start the process of transitioning him to the bullpen.

And while he's working out — and, just as important, not adding innings to his total of 144 — and learning how to warm up, how long it takes him and how much recovery time he'll need, the Rays will figure out some things for his expected Sept. 1 return, specifically the terms under which he will be used.

"If you're going to use him out of the bullpen, there's still going to be this unknown," manager Joe Maddon said. "You're going to pitch him, and then you're going to want to give him X number of days off based on how many pitches that he threw or how many innings that he went. You're not going to use him like everybody else.

"I would imagine he would do well with this, and then you're going to want to use him more often, but you can't. So you're going to have all these different little rules going on that you're going to create for him to benefit from his abilities and at the same time not abuse his arm."

Hellickson will throw enough that he also could step back into the rotation if needed.

Typically I wouldn't really care about a move like this. However this year, at this time of the season in the Florida State League, having someone like Hellickson around could become a huge disadvantage for the Bradenton Marauders.

How so?

Bradenton is now in a race with the Palm Beach Cardinals for the lead in the Florida State Leagues South Division for the second half of the season. The Marauders, who are now 1.5 games behind the Cardinals have 14 games remaining this season. Among those 14 games, 6 are with the Charlotte Stone Crabs.

The story about Hellickson says that they plan to keep him in Charlotte for a probable return to the Rays on September 1. While there the Rays want him working on transitioning himself into being a relief pitcher. Between now and September 1 when hopefully he'll be sent back to the Rays, the Marauders will be facing Charlotte for three of the six remaining games. Given how well Hellickson has done against Major League batters in running up his 3-0 record in the Show, his presence could only mean bad news for the Marauders in the final stretch of the championship run.

The Marauders face Charlotte next on Friday August 27, then Saturday August 28 and Monday August 30 (the latter being the final home game of the season for the Marauders). Here's hoping that Hellickson learns how to be a bull pen reliever early - say tonight and tomorrow night against Palm Beach and Tuesday through Thursday against the hapless Jupiter Hammerheads. If that happened then they could send Hellickson back to the Rays before next Friday night against the Marauders.

If I had Rays Manager Joe Maddon's phone number I think I'd call him and suggest that.

Praise Be to the Prophet Muskrat

"Religious leaders in Gainesville, Florida, have planned a Gathering for Peace, Understanding and Hope, in response to a local church's International Burn a Quran Day."

That quote is the tease line for the opening of a story from Gainesville Florida where a religious group plans to burn the Koran on September 11 in memory of the disaster of that day.

First of all, I wonder if these uneducated, insensitive, bastards stopped to think for a minute that a bunch of the people killed on 9/11 were MUSLIMS. They were in both the World Trade Center and the Pentagon when the attacks happened. They died just like the "Christians" also did that day.

But aside from that fact - what a bunch of bull. Although I never met the apparition, I'm quite sure that the "Jesus" all these "Christians" claim to worship would not have behaved like these swine propose to behave on September 11. The Jesus I learned about in Lutheran confirmation classes was a loving person who healed the sick, fed the hungry, cared about the poor and put others ahead of his own needs (damn, he sounds like a Democrat).

Although I was confirmed in the Lutheran Church in the 6th grade by the 12th grade I had rejected organized religion. I became increasingly bewildered with alleged "Christians" who behaved horribly for 6 1/2 days of the week. However on Sunday morning they would appear in church dressed in their most pious uniforms of the week. There they would put $10 in the collection plate, sleep through the sermon, congratulate the minister afterward on what an inspiring speech he gave, and 2 hours later be sitting in a bar in Mikana behaving as they would for the next 6 1/2 days until the charade could repeat itself.

Once fully fed up with this nonsense, I announced to my mother, a devout "christian" that I was no longer going to step foot in a church. And since the 12th grade, other than for weddings (mine was outside in MY church) and a few funerals I have not sullied my being with the confines of a church.

At the time I rejected religion I told my mother that "my god lives in a muskrat house." I created the religion called "Muskratism" which at the time I said was based on "respect for rivers, forests, marshes, prairies and all the creatures living in and on them." Later, in college, I learned that someone had already come up with a religion called panantheism. Simply stated, panantheism is a belief in the oneness of nature. However it has a sexier name than Muskratism even though both are based on the same principle.

So, for me, on September 11 this year, while these jackals in Gainesville are burning the holy book of the Muslim faith, I will be out in a forest somewhere looking for birds and enjoying nature. Perhaps if I am lucky I will be far enough north to find the Prophet Muskrat swimming around in a marsh somewhere doing what Muskrats do best - hanging out. If I see one I'll be sure to chant "Power to the Muskrats" and then I'll just move along. No books will be burned, no tempers flared, and no angst anywhere. Just peace and tranquility and a respect for all things around me.

Isn't that what religion is really supposed to be about?

Thoughts About the Muslim Cultural Center in New York

‎"If we have to stop building a Mosque at ground zero, then we have to stop building Catholic churches near playgrounds."... Anonymous

A New Baseball Statistic - BSADW

Baseball, probably more than any other sport, is a sport of statistics. As Kevin Costner's character told Kelly Preston's character in the movie For Love of the Game, "we record everything in baseball."

Some times I'm amazed by how ultra specific some of the data are that get recorded. Things like, "number of ground balls hit on astro turf against left handed batters," or more abstractly, the "component ERA" which is an estimate of a pitcher's Earned Run Average based on the individual components of his statistical line (K, H, 2B, 3B, HR, BB, HBP). And the list goes on.

As Ken Burns said so eloquently, "It (baseball) is a haunted game in which every player is measured against the ghosts of all who have gone before."

Until now.

During last evening's resounding 12-8 defeat of the hapless Jupiter Hammerheads by the Bradenton Marauders, I came up with a new statistic that I will be recording from now on at all minor league baseball games I attend. This statistic could be recorded in major league games but the noise levels will probably preclude the collection of much data.

The new statistic is BSADW. It is the acronym for Bats Slammed Against Dugout Wall. Last night in Bradenton the Jupiter Hammerheads recorded 6 BSADWs. It was a great night.

Last evening I assisted both Kevin Mattison the center fielder, and Jeremy Syman the left fielder in their successful acquisition of 6 of the 10 strike outs Jupiter recorded during the game. For Jeremy it was particularly special because he started the evening with 98 strike outs for the year (having recorded 3 the night before) so he reached and passed the century mark tonight - the worst strike out record on the Hammerheads team this year.

In the top of the third both Kevin and Jeremy struck out swinging and on their return to the dugout, I noticed that there was a lot of yelling, and the sound of a bat hitting the wall could be heard quite clearly.

Jake Smolinski (last night I asked him if his was an Irish name) smashed his bat against the dugout wall after a 4th inning strike out. In the 7th inning Jeremy Syman recorded his hallowed 100th strike out. With two strikes on him I yelled that I would stand and applaud him if he got the K. Sure as hell...next pitch was a swinging strike and soon you could hear his bat against the dugout wall again. Kevin Mattison followed suit in the top of the 8th inning and then in the top of the ninth Jeremy Syman came through with his 101st strike out of the season. My applause for Jeremy was greeted not only with one but TWO bat smashings on the dugout wall. One of the fans seated near me said "I think that was anger."

Perhaps.

Anyway I noticed earlier this year that there was the occasional bat smashed against the dugout wall but nothing like last night. So, in honor of this discovery and to celebrate the latest Marauders victory, I 'm now recording this new statistic. At first I will just record the number of BSADWs per inning. Maybe if I get my data recording down more scientifically I will record the number for each individual hitter.

My intuition tells me that this statistic will show up more frequently in games with relentless heckling of the opposing team. Perhaps that will be the next statistic developed for baseball - something like "percentage of time opposing team is subjected to relentless heckling" or at least along that line. It's something to think about.

A Request To Consider Some Future Pittsburgh Pirates

This morning I sent the following email to the management of the Pittsburgh Pirates through their online portal at this link. The focus of my message was to ask Pirates management to bring up several of the incomparable Bradenton Marauders when they expand to a 40-person roster. For the sake of our kids, I hope they listen and give these guys a chance. At more than 20 games out of first place and with no hope of even a wild card berth, the Pirates have nothing to lose and everything to gain by giving our guys a chance. I hope they listen.

Here is the email:


Dear Pirates Management

I am one of several hundred holders of season tickets to watch the incomparable Bradenton Marauders play Class A ball here in the Florida State League. The Marauders are, without doubt, the greatest show on dirt.

As the summer has progressed it has become readily apparent to me and others that Pirates management has some definite major league talent waiting in the wings with the Marauders. People like Robbie Grossman, Quincy Latimore, Starling Marte, Eric Fryer, Jeremy Ferrell, Greg Picart, Brock Holt, and Tony Sanchez immediately jet to the top of the list of Marauders who should be in the Show some day. And lets not forget incomparable starting pitcher Nathan Adcock and Noah Krohl, quite possibly the best closer in baseball. Its because of these guys, working hard with the others on the team, that Bradenton will likely win their Division this year and hopefully take the Florida State League championship.

As I have watched these guys grow and develop over the 2010 summer I've also watched as the Pirates have had a less-than-successful year. Right now the Pirates are about 20 games out of first place and unfortunately its very unlikely they will get even a wild card shot at post season play.

That reality being the case, I have a suggestion I wish you would seriously consider. As much as it would pain all of us to see the Marauders stars mentioned above leave us in the closing weeks of the season, why don't you give them each a chance? When you expand to a 40- person roster why not bring each of the kids I mentioned up to Pittsburgh, give them a Pirates uniform, and tell them to go take on the opposition just like they do in Florida?

What do the Pirates have to lose? You will give these guys some time in the Show, and who knows, if they perform as well in a Pirates uniform as they do in a Marauders uniform, my guess is your record will be much better than 20 games back from the lead. Again, it would be a blow to the Marauders and our chance at winning the Florida State League to see them go, but those kids have earned the privilege to be in the Show.

Please consider giving at least some of them mentioned above a chance when you expand the roster. Thank you for considering my request.

Craig Faanes
Sarasota, Florida

Email to Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska

Ben Nelson, former Governor of the great Cornhusker State of Nebraska is one of two Senators that represent Nebraskans in the United States Senate. For some unexplained reason, Nelson continues to parade around with the (D) for Democrat in his title (sensu, D-NE). Ben Nelson may have been a Democrat at one point in his life but he sure as hell is not one now.

Throughout the first 18 months of the Obama Administration, this little gutter snipe has bent over backward to accommodate the Republicans in the Senate. He votes with the Republicans FAR more frequently than he does with the Democrats with whom he caucuses.

Ben Nelson is about as much a Democrat as Joe Lieberman the permanent Senator from Tel Aviv is a Democrat.

On Saturday July 31, Nelson became the first Democrat to openly admit that he would oppose the nomination of Elena Kagan to be the next justice of the United States Supreme Court. Nelson made this calamitous statement under the cover of having "heard from Nebraskans" who didn't like her. He never once, apparently, considered all the Nebraskans who wrote in saying they LIKED Kagan.

When I read this news I decided that I had to take some action.

I lived in Grand Island, Nebraska, from January 1987 until late February 1993. I still consider my 6 years in Nebraska as the most productive years of my career with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In many instances I still consider myself a Cornhusker (although I could give a Cheney about their football).

Today I wrote an email to Senator Nelson through his online portal on his official office website. You'll notice that to use this portal to send him messages you have to have a Nebraska address. To contact him I used my first address in Grand Island - 315 Waldo Avenue, Grand Island, NE 68801, and for a phone number I used my old office phone 308-381-5571. I then sent him the following message. You should also if you feel similarly about this travesty:


Memo:

Dear Senator Nelson (and I use the word "senator" very loosely).

On Saturday July 31, 2010, it was announced through Yahoo.com news that you were the first Democratic member of the Senate to acknowledge that you will vote no on the nomination of Elena Kagan to be the next justice of the US Supreme Court.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100731/ts_nm/us_usa_court_kagan

In the Yahoo news article you claim that your vote against her is because "I have heard concerns from Nebraskans regarding Ms. Kagan, and her lack of a judicial record makes it difficult for me to discount the concerns," Nelson said in a statement issued late on Friday.

Senator Nelson how did you differentiate between comments provided by constituents who support her (like me) and those who oppose her? Now that I have voiced my support will you change back to voting for her? What does it take to get you to vote like a Democrat?

It sickens me to have you as my Democratic Senator from this great state. You are following in the footsteps of James J. Exxon and Bob Kerrey who were fine Democrats. Then you come along and claim to be a Democrat but you vote like a Republican every time something important comes along.

Instead of playing this cat and mouse game with your intelligent constituents (those of us who don't watch the Fox Fiction Channel or listen to Rush) why don't you just come out of the closet? Just come out this afternoon and admit that you are a Republican and that you are giving up your place in the Democratic caucus so you can be just like the rest of those losers on that side of the aisle.

Now is the time for real leadership from Washington and instead of seeing that from you, we the people of Nebraska see you kissing the ass of the Tea Bag Anarchy people and the Fox News watchers. You do this not because its the right thing to do but because you think it will get you re-elected.

You, sir, make me sick to my stomach

Rachel Maddow and a White-throated Sparrow

In the world of political punditry there are a few names that stand out mainly because the pundits are not necessarily intelligent but only because they are vociferous. Principal among these pundits is Rush Limbaugh, the porcine spawn of poor white trash whose idea of a good time is to fly to the Dominican Republic with a bottle of Viagra and then claim he was there just to visit the beach. By his own admission, Rush is a show person not a news person. Still more than 30 million misinformed individuals get further misinformed each day listening to this waste of oxygen.

Next comes Glenn Beck (or Beckkk) another person who has no journalistic background and no journalism ethics. Glenn Beckkk wouldn't know the truth if it bit him on the ass. There is a modicum of hope however. It seems that even the ineducable who watch Beckkk and his histrionics are getting fed up with him; he has lost 50 percent (that's half) of his viewership in recent months. There is hope for humanity after all!

And of course let us not forget Ann Coulter, a first class skag, and less than a human being who despite being a "christian" and a member of the party of family values, once advocated the killing of Supreme Court justices with whom she didn't agree. Hate is an interesting family value.

There are all these alleged pundits who scream and holler and make it sound like the world will end - and then there is a real professional. Her name is Rachel Maddow and I think the sun rises and sets on her.

Unlike the Republican pundits mentioned above, Rachel Maddow has a real background in politics that actually qualifies her to discuss politics. She was a Rhodes Scholar and received her PhD in Political Science at Oxford University in England. I don't think Rush, Beckkk, Coulter or any of those other wastes of oxygen can come close to Rachel in terms of education and preparedness for discussing the events of the day.

I first heard of Rachel in 2004 when Air America Radio first hit the airwaves. Rachel had a show from 9:00 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday that she co-hosted with hilarious political comedian Lizz Winstead (you can watch Lizz every Friday afternoon on the Ed Show on MSNBC). I remember sitting in my Fish and Wildlife Service office in suburban Washington DC listening diligently and intently to everything Rachel said. I was intimidated by her intelligence. One of the highlights of that show for me was the day I called in and got to talk with Rachel on the air! How freaking cool was that? And the Bush Administration was paying me to make the call!

Rachel got her own show on MSNBC more than a year ago and I've been a loyal but not often constant viewer of it ever since. If you ever want to get to the meat of an issue, just tune in Rachel at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time and be prepared to be educated.

Last night on her show she had a strange request. She had been walking in a forest in western Massachusetts where she heard a bird singing that she did not recognize. Using the recording option on her Blackberry she recorded the bird and then last night on her show she played the voice and asked her fans/viewers if anyone could identify the voice.

I could :)

The recording is pretty crappy, to say the least, but when you listen closely (and you're trained to know these things) it's pretty obvious that the bird is a White-throated Sparrow, one of the most beautiful singers in the northern forest in summer.

Using mnemonics someone described the voice of the bird as being "poor sam peabody, peabody, peabody." In Canada they claim that it says "Oh, Sweet, Canada, Canada, Canada." Regardless its one of the nicest voices in the north woods in summer and for me a for sure sign that you are in the boreal forest or close to it when you hear them singing in the nesting season.

Rachel put a request for help on her Facebook page this morning and I answered it. This afternoon she posted a note on her blog saying that I was the "winner" of the contest! There of course was no "prize" for winning this but if there were I think what I would have liked to win was the chance to stand on the steps of the United States Capitol with Rachel and with each of us surrounded by boxes of baseballs, we would stand together and pepper every Republican obstructionist Member of Congress (I know that is redundant) for a couple hours of fun and enjoyment some afternoon. Maybe she'll arrange that the next time I win one of her contests.

And if Rachel Maddow and her partner ever need help identifying birds by voice all she needs to do is call.

Finally - A Truthful Statement From Geroge W. Bush!

Book Review - "Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold"

Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold by Jack Rudloe and Anne Rudloe. 2010. Financial Times Press, 251 pp. Hardcover.

Recently I saw an advertisement for Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold on the All-Jimmy Buffett news site www.buffettnews.com. The book seemed like an appropriate subject for Buffett news given the importance of the line "Smell those shrimp they're beginning to boil" in His song "Margaritaville" so I bought it.

The small dimensions of the book and the large font make it seem like the 251 printed pages would have been many fewer with a few adjustments. The book is divided into 11 chapters that cover almost every possible aspect of the ecology of shrimp you could ever imagine wanting to know. For me the two most interesting chapters were number 8 "Turtles, TEDS and Troubles" that covered the controversy (now largely non-existent) that raged over the requirement to put Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) on shrimp nets, and chapter 9 "Wetlands and Real Estate" that delves into the issue of wetland loss and how it affects shrimp and almost every creature that is wetland related.

The bulk of the book deals with the ecology of the many species of shrimp, from their relationship with sea grass beds as foraging habitat, to the many ways shrimp can be cooked and served to the public. I had to chuckle when the authors included part of the quote by Benjamin Buford Blue (Bubba) in the movie Forrest Gump, where Bubba tells Forrest about all the ways you can prepare shrimp (and trivia fans be aware that Bubba mentions 21 different ways to fix shrimp).

I certainly learned a great deal about shrimp from this book which I guess was the point. My only disappointment was the repetition of information from one chapter to the next that happens occasionally. Once you read in chapter 1 about the "pink bodies glistening in the sun" as a net is pulled from the water, you simply don't need to read it again in every subsequent chapter - the bodies are still pink. Also, in trying to help distinguish one species of shrimp from the next, the authors get a tad bogged down with scientific names. That, however, is something on which most non-biologist readers won't pick up.

After reading this book I have a much better understanding of how my most favorite food item came to be. The next time I'm up on the Redneck Riviera of Florida (the Panhandle) and watch shrimp boats working the bay off Carrabelle, I'll be much more informed about what the shrimpers are doing and why, and more importantly about the future of the shrimp that they seek, thanks to the multitude of information packed into this little book.

New Orleans Zephyr Baseball

Sunday I flew from Sarasota via Atlanta to New Orleans to watch the Triple AAA New Orleans Zephyrs (Florida Marlins affiliate) play the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals affiliate) at Zephyr Field in suburban New Orleans. New Orleans won the game 5-2.

Neither New Orleans or Memphis are tearing up the charts in their specific divisions of the Pacific Coast League but it was still a nice game to watch.

Before going to New Orleans I found a link on their website to the New Orleans Airport Hilton Hotel that gives special Zephyr fan rates. The regular nightly rate at the Hilton was $189 but they offered a "Zephyr Fan" rate (obtainable only through a link on the New Orleans Zephyrs website) of $89 a night. I grabbed that rate and spent the night.

The Hilton is directly across the street from the entrance to Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. Because of my status with Hilton they upgraded me to a suite and gave a free breakfast. On arrival I called the Hilton and got a shuttle ride to the hotel. However it is so close to the airport that you can easily walk it. On my return to the airport on Monday I did just that.

I thought the hotel had a free shuttle to Zephyr Field but learned that was wrong. Instead I rode with Service Cab for the 3 miles to and from the ball park and the Hilton. The fare, with tip, was $15.00. That might seem like a ton of money, however when I checked on a rental car, the cheapest one available was $94.00 a day. I thought this was probably because of the oil spill. However on getting to New Orleans I learned that more than 35,000 Lutherans were in town for a convention. No doubt they ate up a lot of the availability of cars as well.

I left the hotel about 5:00 for the 6:00 p.m. start of the game. On arrival at Zephyr Field I went first to the "Strike Zone" store where I purchased a Zephyr home field baseball cap. I also picked up a set of the 2010 Zephyr baseball cards for a friend of mine. Leaving the Strike Zone I went first to check out my seat. Excellent is the only word I can use to describe my seat.

I was one row back from the edge of the field, directly behind home plate. This is as good as my season ticket seat at McKechnie Field in Bradenton for the Bradenton Marauders.

After finding my seat I took off to explore the stadium and in the process discovered that not only can you get constant New Orleans jazz and Cajun zydeco music in the stadium you can also get red beans and rice and jambalaya for a meal! It doesn't get a hell of a lot better than that. The only downside to the stadium was the limited beer supply. Despite numerous beer outlets there was only one place where I could find real beer - anything other than Budweiser - for sale. That place had Stella Artois so I was a happy camper.

In my exploration I discovered the "Gator Den" down the right field line which is available for parties. The Gator Den even has a swimming pool in it and this evening the pool was filled with little kids.

The game was supposed to begin at 6:00 p.m. but some lightning in the area kept the game at bay until 6:30 when the first pitch was thrown.

The final score was 5-2 in favor of the Zephyrs. I didn't really have any dog in this fight so I wasn't much into heckling although I guess since the Zephyrs are the AAA team for the Florida Marlins I was there as a Marlins fan. The quality of play was, as you would expect from AAA level, very good. The highlight of the night was a towering home run way over the left field fence that was hit by Hector Luna, the Zephyrs third baseman. Hector's home runs was one of those classics where you hear the bat hit the ball and just know that the ball is out of the park. The only question is how far out of the park! Hector is from Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic. He was born in 1980 so he was probably running around the streets of the town in March 1985 when Chris Haney and I found the first Dominican Republic record of Kirtland's Warbler just a few miles south of Monte Cristi along the Haitian border.

Attendance at the game was about 3,000 but it seemed like many fewer people than that. The upper deck of the stadium was almost vacant and there didn't seem to be that many people in the lower deck where I was. I asked the woman selling Stella Artois if the Sunday night crowd was typical. She said that on Friday and Saturday nights the stadium is usually packed but on Sunday night few come to the game.

Those of us who came out saw an interesting game. I wish I lived closer to New Orleans for several reasons. One of them would be to have season tickets to watch these almost-Marlins play 70 home games each summer. At least I'm glad I was able to watch them once.

Flying on Air Tran Airways

This past Sunday I flew from Sarasota to New Orleans (via Atlanta) to attend a New Orleans Zephyrs (Class AAA) minor league baseball game. The cheapest option available was to fly from Sarasota to New Orleans on Air Tran Airways (this was even cheaper than taking the Southwest nonstop from Tampa to New Orleans). Being retired I went for the cheapest alternative and I was not disappointed.

Air Tran flies a fleet of two-engine Boeing 717 (pictured above) and Boeing 737-800 series aircraft. Air Tran's route system is decidedly eastern but they provide service to some of the larger cities on the west coast (and of course to Las Vegas). For the tropical traveler, they have recently begun service to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Montego Bay Jamaica, and to Cancun.

Air Tran's genesis came about when ValuJet Airlines flight 592 augured its way into the Everglades just after take off from Miami on May 11, 1996. The crash occurred because some cargo that shouldn't have been on the plane was on the plane and the cargo exploded not long after take off. ValuJet's name was pretty well trashed because of the circumstances leading up to the crash and the traveling public flocked away from ValuJet after that day. Rather than fold the airline, its management simply changed the name of ValuJet to Air Tran and its been in the air ever since.

My first segment Sunday morning lifted off full from Sarasota at 11:05 a.m, about 10 minutes early. I had upgraded to First Class for $39 dollars. We arrived in Atlanta 10 minutes early where I had a 2 1/2 hour lay over until my outbound flight at 3:20 eastern time. Luckily when I stepped from the plane in Atlanta a flight to New Orleans was boarding at the next gate. Had we not gotten in early this connection would not have been possible. There was room available in First on this earlier flight and away I went, having spent about 7 minutes in the Atlanta airport. We arrived New Orleans early.

Yesterday I returned from New Orleans via Atlanta to Sarasota. Just like on Sunday the flights were full, they left the gates early, the planes arrived early and everything went smoothly. I thought I had flown Air Tran before but realized in flight last evening that I had been on ValuJet before it became Air Tran. Thus, Air Tran was a life airline - the 201st commercial airline I have flown.

Although the four segment flight on Air Tran is a very small sample size, I have to say I was impressed by it and will most certainly fly the airline again. Not only was the fare cheap, and the flights early, but the people working for Air Tran seemed to actually be happy and seemed to actually enjoy having you on their plane. Fly on Delta, United or American airlines a few times and you'll understand my example.

If you haven't been on Air Tran I'd suggest you give them a try. If your experience is like mine was this weekend you'll likely not be disappointed.

Lest We Forget

Dylan Ratigan Throws Tea Bag Anarchist Off His MSNBC Show

GO DYLAN!!!!!!

The Ten Commandments - Republican Style

I. Thou shalt talk about Christian principles, but not live by them.

II. Thou shalt attack opponents personally when you can't win on policies..

III. Thou shalt call yourself pro-life, but be in favor of the death penalty.

IV. Thou shalt call yourself pro-life, and put guns in the hands of school children.

V. Thou shalt give lip service to democracy while taking away civil liberties.

VI. Profit is the Lord Thy God, thou shalt not put the people's interest above those of your corporate contributors.

VII. Thou shalt make sure fetuses have health coverage, but leave children and babies behind.

VIII. Thou shalt bear false witness against your opponents and liberals, and demonize them.

IX. Thou shalt run on a moderate platform, and then enact right-wing policies as soon as possible.

X. Thou shalt call the media liberal, so that people forget that the media is owned by corporations with a conservative fiscal agenda.

When Your Meniscus is Repaired

My orthopedic surgeon took pictures of his work as he performed surgery a week ago to repair my torn meniscus. I'm sure he did it to satisfy his lawyers should there be a complaint of post-surgical malpractice. There was also the advantage of the pictures being taken to satisfy the curiosity of a patient who is a biologist.

Dr. Oettinger took at least 12 pictures of my meniscus while he was conducting the surgery. He conducted the surgery using an arthroscope.

He gave me the pictures last week and explained what the images showed.

The purpose of the surgery was to "clear away" the torn portions of the meniscus - the "cushion" of cartilage between the femur, and the tibia and fibia below it. In the upper left image you can see the end of the arthroscope and the "knife" part of the scope, and if you look closely you can see the "knife" cutting away portions of the torn cartilage.

In the lower right image you can see a bunch of material that looks almost like angel hair pasta where I ripped the meniscus. That material is the tear along the edge of the meniscus. In the lower left image you can see where the meniscus was cleared away of the stuff "floating" in the lower right image.

Its been a little over a week since the surgery. I still have some pain in the area of the lateral incision and I'm still limping. However in a week or so I hope I don't even remember the pain and discomfort that came from tearing the cartilage in the first place.

Why Do Bobolinks Stop Singing In Early July?

As a kid growing up in Northern Wisconsin I remember always looking forward to the days between May 1 and May 5 when, just like clockwork, Bobolink's returned from their winter habitats on tropical and subtropical grasslands of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. Their return was exciting for me because I got to listen to their nearly-indescribable voice each time I was anywhere near a grassy field.

Bobolinks always livened up summer days whether it was as a kid in Wisconsin, or later while living in North Dakota or Nebraska. I remember quite well in the early 1980s doing breeding bird censuses on native prairie plots near Woodworth, North Dakota, that Douglas Johnson had maintained for many years. Plot number 11 was always the one where you could be assured that you would have to scratch your head for awhile trying to figure out which male was singing on whose territory and how do you map all of that on an 8 x 10 piece of paper. In Nebraska we found Bobolink's to be quite common in the eastern half of the Platte River Valley, where they especially liked wet meadows along the river, and nearby alfalfa fields for nesting.

In the summer of 1978 Hal Kantrud and I were able to listen to Bobolinks singing on native prairie research plots all over both Dakotas and Montana and even a few in Wyoming. In 1980 and 1981 I remember finding them on native grasslands and in domestic hay fields throughout west central Manitoba and east central Saskatchewan.

Still, no matter where I was looking for them when July 1 came on the calendar it seemed like some switch went off in the head of Bobolink's and they stopped singing. At least they greatly reduced their song output. Go out on a patch of prairie on the Mormon Island preserve south of Grand Island Nebraska this evening and if there are no tornadoes around, you will hear a feast of Bobolink voices. Go out to Mormon Island in 24 hours and you'll hear 1/4 the voices you heard today. Go there a week from today and you'll be telling yourself you have to wait until next year to hear them again.

In fact, the latest day on which I have ever heard a Bobolink singing anywhere was July 7, 2007 when I found one bedraggled male still singing from the grasslands adjacent to the Halifax International Airport in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Why Bobolinks abruptly cease to sing on July 1 is one of those ornithological mysteries that will always be a mystery. Mourning Warblers return to northern Wisconsin about the same time as Bobolink's return and like the Bobolink's they beginning singing the moment they alight on their territory, but Mourning Warblers keep singing, at least occasionally, through July and into early August. Northern Parula start singing here in late February and continue to do so well into mid-August. But for Bobolinks, its a two month show and then its over.

This past spring I found Bobolink in abundance on the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park in Okeechobee County Florida in late April. A week later I found several migrant Bobolink in Glades County near the southwest shore of Lake Okeechobee. There were also a few along the beach at Lido Key in Sarasota, County. Luckily for me at least some of the birds in Okeechobee and Glades Counties were singing. I listened to them and wondered where they would be a week from that day.

However despite where they were going, in all likelihood the song fest that is a Bobolink is going to substantially shut down beginning tomorrow morning at sunrise on July 1.

I always knew there was a reason I didn't like July.