 Winter Market, Sled Races, Mini Golf, Legos, Volleyball, and More...
From our friends at Fremont Rec Center and Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce Join us for the 2021 Fremont Cabin Fever Winter Fest held in Fremont on Friday, January 29 and Saturday, January 30. Organizers are encouraging residents, community visitors and all our friends to get out and enjoy some of the fun outdoor activities that have been planned! Get your team together for some SNOW VOLLEYBALL! Teams of four (4) will compete at the Fremont Rec Center on courts outside! This is a co-ed mini tournament! Pre-register forms are available at the Fremont Rec Center’s website. This event is sponsored by Wrightway Marine & Detail and Great Lakes Signature Properties. Get your LEGO, Duplo, Megablocks or other LEGO-compatible plastic bricks out and start building! Lego Contest is for Grades K- 6th and will be held from Wednesday, January 27 through Friday, January 29. All entries must be dropped off at the Fremont Rec Center with your entry form and $3 entry fee (entry fee covers prizes). Thank you to our sponsor, Fremont Regional Digester, for supporting this event. All creations will need to be picked up the week following the winter fest! CBD Store of Michigan and the Fremont Regional Digester Arctic Mini Golf will be set up in Veterans Memorial Park for you to come down and play! You will need to bring your own putter and tennis ball to enjoy a free round of mini golf! Let your creativity flow in the snow!!!! Build a cool miniature golf obstacle for the Fremont Cabin Fever Winter Fest! Your design needs to be in place by Friday, January 29! All contestants are welcome, but community businesses, groups and organizations are encouraged to participate! Players will be asked to vote for the most creative obstacle! 1st place will win an ad on the Fremont Area Chamber’s website for 1 year and a blue ribbon! 2nd and 3rd place will win an ad for 6 months and a red or white ribbon. Contact the Chamber office at (231) 924-0770 to register or email info@fremontcommerce.com! Saturday, January 30 is the Gerber Federal Credit Union and Great Lakes Signature Properties Cardboard Sled Races!!!!! What can you construct with only corrugated cardboard as your main building material? Put together a one -of -a -kind sled with a team of friends, family or co-workers and come out to Hemlock Park to show us what you’ve got!!! Hemlock Park is located behind Gerber at Valley Avenue and Hemlock Street. Only cardboard, tape and glue may be used to construct your racing sled! Registration for this FREE event begins at 9 am; races begin at 10 am! Stroll around downtown Fremont as you enjoy The Original Print Shop and Fremont Area District Library Poetry Walk! Local businesses will have winter poems for your enjoyment as you are out! Get your passport card that lists the participating stores, when you stop to read the poems, you can get a sticker from that business. Once you have collected at least 5 stickers, drop your card off at the Fremont Chamber office (office is open from 9 am to 1 pm Monday through Friday) to enter for a prize drawing of Fremont Fun Cash. All cards need to be turned in by Tuesday, February 9th, drawing will be held on Wednesday, February 10th. You are encouraged to bring canned goods and leave them at our local businesses after reading the poems. Maps will be available of all the locations where you will find the poems. Check with the Fremont Area Chamber, Fremont Rec Center, Fremont Area District Library, as well as the participating businesses! You are being encouraged to donate canned goods at the participating businesses that are featuring winter poems. All canned goods collected will be donated to the TrueNorth Community Services food pantry. Be sure to stop at our local eateries while wandering around to get a cup of coffee or hot chocolate to keep you warm! The Commons of Fremont and Summer Breeze has the course ready for a little snow golf!!!! Get your 4 four-some together to enjoy some fun on the par 3! Contact The Commons for more details on playing a round of golf! Cleaning out your closets and house, extra crafts that you want to sell? We have the answer for you - Cabin Fever Winter Market will be held on Saturday, January 30th from 10 am to 3 pm under the Marketplace Pavilion, Fremont Farmers Market pavilion. Spaces are 10x10 and will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. Contact the Fremont Chamber office to save your spot, (231) 924-0770. The Fremont Cabin Fever Committee would like to thank our sponsors for helping make this event possible! WrightWay Marine & Detail, The Original Print Shop, The Commons of Fremont, Great Lakes Signature Properties, CBD Store of Michigan, Fremont Regional Digester, Gerber Federal Credit Union, Hi-Lites Shoppers Guide, Fremont Community Recreation Authority, and Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce. For more information contact the Fremont Rec Center at (231) 924-3750 or the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce at (231) 924-0770. Visit the FACEBOOK pages for the Fremont Community Recreation Authority or the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce for details and more information.
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 The story behind Northern Trails’ innovative approach to dining ‘out’ Here at N3 World Headquarters we have embraced creating meals at home with LSC Lil assuming the role as the primary architect of our ever expanding menu and this writer serving as sous chef, supply runner and head dishwasher. Save the occasional take out we have supped, dined and breakfasted at home. However, hearing about ‘the pods’ at Northern Trails from N3 friend Martha Gabrielse piqued our curiosity. A few days ago, with some remodeling work looming at N3WH, it became necessary to run a few errands involving these upcoming efforts. It was a long day and after a conversation that resulted in simultaneous agreement we decided to give NT a shot on our way home. We found the pods to be an intriguing and enjoyable experience, not merely for the wonderful NT food and superb service that we’ve been missing, but also for the unique ambiance the enclosures provided. Following our visit we reached out to Stephanie Barrett one of the owners of the enticing eatery to pose a few questions. N3-This has been a tough time for restaurants. Have the pods helped increase business significantly? During the first round of closures (March-June) business slowed considerably, but between stimulus checks and the additional unemployment that our customers received, we experienced a financial hit, but it was nothing like the second round of closures (November-Current). Since we've added the pods, we've had very steady reservations and it has nearly tripled our current sales, despite the fact that there are only six pods and two additional areas that we have since added outside the pods. How did this go from an idea to a reality? Long story..., although the business was our Dad's, Our mother, my brother and myself purchased the restaurant in September of 2019 from his estate after his passing. Our mother was diagnosed last spring with cancer and passed away December 4th. I've learned from my years in the restaurant industry that in most things, you have to carefully weigh decisions, and my brother who's new to the industry, but a business person himself, is more of a risk taker. He has contacts with Blox, LLC who had brought the idea to him and my brother was all for it. I was initially opposed to the idea, but I decided that our mother, who's not here anymore to vote, would be in favor of taking the chance so we went with it. Blox, LLC is a fairly new company that my brother is very familiar with. They had a very detailed concept for the shipping container pods, but hadn't had anyone commit to spending the money on them yet. We received the Weatherization Grant in December, and while the grant did not pay for the entire project, it paid for a good portion of it. Some adjustments had to be made to be compliant with the outdoor dining regulations, but Blox, LLC made them immediately and once they got the go ahead, they had the project completed in about a week and a half. What has been the response? The response has been great! We get some people here and there who aren't happy that the pods are still chilly, but I think that's to be expected. We've got two radiant heaters going nonstop in each of the six pods, and 2-3 propane heaters going in the additional pods where ventilation wouldn't be a concern. People seem really excited about them, both because they're very different from the igloo type dining (which was our intention), and because they can experience a little bit of something normal by going out to eat, and doing it in as safe a manner as possible. What have been the biggest challenges? We're learning as we go. We had to develop a completely different set of operating procedures for this type of dining and we are tweaking it daily. Keeping reservations to the allotted time frame has been a huge challenge as well as adjusting reservation times to stagger the amount of orders for our kitchen. Keeping the pods warm has been a battle. My brother has been working to make things as comfortable as possible by adding an additional heater to each pod, lowering curtains, etc. Dealing with power issues because the load of 13 heaters had us scrambling to spread the heaters out to avoid blowing breakers during peak times. All in all, it's smoothing out, and it doesn't seem like it should be that much different from our perspective than indoor dining, but it's proving to be very different. Is this something you might continue to offer as a novelty this winter if the ban is lifted? We're definitely going to continue to offer these if/when the indoor dining ban is lifted. We had discussed the fact that there will be customers who may prefer the privacy they offer for groups, as well as the fact that COVID 19 isn't going anywhere, and there may be some people who feel safer dining in the pods that indoors, even with the capacity restrictions and curfews we're sure to experience upon reopening. We've had several calls from people asking the same question, which shows us a demand, and we've got reservations already into February thankfully. We've also got plans to re-purpose the pods after the winter if things return to some kind of normal, so our hope is that they'll transition from a necessity to a novelty, even into the summer months! Anything you care to add? I don't have much to add outside of the fact that we're grateful for the community support that we've received since the beginning of COVID 19, and that is still continuing. The video that Blox, LLC marketing team created brought a lot of visibility to our restaurant, and we have had a lot of new customers visit in the last two weeks, but our community, and the support they show us is what's kept our heads above water during this awful time and we're so grateful for them. Thank you Ms. Barrett. We'll be back soon. -Ken De Laat Photos by Stephanie Barrett
   On the Run: North Country Trail Adventures By Alexis Mercer I grew up in the north. Not “near north” like now. But the actual north. Where the closest mall or movie theatre was more than an hour away. Instead we had Higgins Lake and the AuSable River in our backyards. How lucky was I? A friend from college once visited my house in the summer and said “is there anything else but trees up here?” I happily replied not really. What a gift to have nature all around. When two of my friends from grade school and I decided to plan an adventure somewhere in Michigan and I recommended the North Country Trail, one of them couldn't remember whether she knew of the trail. As we hiked and caught up we laughed that this trail ran the entire length of our state and as kids we did not even know it existed. These friends, David and Megan, and I grew up together. We all went off to college, traveled, and settled in places other than up north. But those roots have stayed strong. Our appreciation for the beauty of nature never left any of us. So when David and I talked about getting together while he was in the state visiting his parents (an extended stay thanks to his work having been remote since March), we knew we would go for a run or hike to be able to safely and responsibly visit. The idea of running quickly got set aside because as David said “we want to actually be able to talk, right?” and both of us knew trail running and talking were not going to happen simultaneously. We decided on a hike and brought Megan into the plans. I had just recently signed up for the 100 Mile Challenge on the North Country Trail, so I was itching to explore new sections of the trail I knew quite well from Newaygo County. We all agreed I could do some research and find a location that would work for us. Not having been on the NCT anywhere except in our county, I really had no idea what I was looking for. I printed off every map from the entire Manistee National Forest section from the website. (https://northcountrytrail.org/the-trail/explore-the-trail/) How does one choose a section not having a clue what it would entail? But I figured if the trail is anything like what I know from around Newaygo, there isn’t a “bad” section. I kept my fingers crossed. The portion of the trail that for some reason was calling out to me was west of Cadillac. We could do a through hike from Tippy Dam area to Red Bridge River and it would be about an 8 mile stretch if my map reading skills were up to par. Being that David and Megan are always up for adventure, they agreed without a second thought. Thankfully the trail did not disappoint. In fact, we kept “oohing” and “aahing” at the amazing scenery. Beginning by the Tippy Dam trailhead, the trail overlooks the Manistee River. We probably snapped 20 photos of the view before we even took a step on the trail. The air was a frigid 7 degrees but that made for a stunning view of ice crystals glistening in the morning sunshine. Despite the three of us not having been all together in nearly 20 years, we very quickly fell into step both literally and figuratively. We hiked along, catching up on each others’ lives, admiring the beauty of the world around us and laughing until we had tears pouring out our eyes. We hiked for just over 8 miles and found joy in every step. The choice of where to end up on that day was completely random. David and Megan were praising my choice of trail sections, but I insisted it was only luck on my behalf. Thinking back, I have come to realize that from what I know of every section in Newaygo County I have walked, and the beauty I saw from that location even farther north, it would be pretty difficult to find a section of the North Country Trail that wasn’t majestic. We are three kids who grew up in the trees. Perhaps we didn’t fully appreciate how blessed we were to have nature around us in every direction. But we certainly today can appreciate the beauty the trails in our own backyards provide us: a perfect backdrop for old friends to catch up, reminisce, and laugh as if there isn’t a care in the world.  Susan Gillaland's "Perfectly Preserved" captured a frosty bloom and top honors as well NCCA-Artsplace Winter Community Photography Contest Winners The NCCA-Artsplace Winter Community Photography Contest is a free annual contest for all ages and all levels of skill. The 2021 contest winners were selected by local photographer Gail Howarth of Holton. The first place award was given to Susan Gillaland of Newaygo for her photograph “Perfectly Preserved". Megan Wirts of Grant received second place for the entry “Light as a Feather” and Carrie Homrich of Grant was awarded third place for “Silence”. Honorable mention went to Aaron Carpenter of Fremont for his photograph "Woman in the Dunes". All entries will be on display through February 6 in the corridor gallery at NCCA-Artsplace, 13 East Main Street in downtown Fremont. January hours are Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.  Megan Wirts placed second with her piercing monochromatic offering "Light as a Feather"  The stark imagery in "Silence" by Carrie Homrich spoke volumes and finished #3  Honorable Mention entry "Woman in the Dunes" by Aaron Carpenter creates a compelling and many faceted scene  By Marsha Reeves
Slow cooked venison roast with ramps, goldenrod, yarrow and a splash of maple vinegar, all sourced from within 5 miles, except for the maple vinegar made by a friend in the Rabbit River watershed. This dish was inspired by Sean Sherman, author of ‘The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen. Sean’s idea is that the land around us, especially for those of us who live away from cities, contains wonderful flavors, textures and nutrients that most modern people have yet to know. I think I might truly be a foodie, at least as far as indigenous food goes. And I don’t mean fry bread and Indian tacos. I first experienced the beauty and profound taste delights of indigenous local foods at the Intertribal Food Summit south of Grand Rapids several years ago. There I had an ‘instant breakfast’ of freshly hand ground blue corn with blueberries and maple syrup and I immediately began figuring out how to grow that corn and get a grinder like that. It was corn way beyond what I’d ever experienced before. This week a friend and I finally replicated that taste in my own kitchen. It was an experience of fulfillment and delight like few others in my life. And it was worth all that it took to get there. I started with gifts of some heritage corn seeds from two Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) friends. The Haudenosaunee as well as the Anishinaabe (Michigan tribes) have been growing and living with corn for over a thousand years. Both Peoples are truly experts on how to grow corn and what to do with it. I’ve been gardening with several generations of those seeds for years now, figuring out how to properly nurture the corn that will nourish me and how to keep it safe from those clever and persistent raccoons. I sometimes dream of a raccoon coat, but am not there yet. Through all the growing seasons, spring, summer and fall, I gather sap, leaves, stems, berries, nuts and roots from right here and preserve them so they’re available year ‘round. And I trade the gifts of our generous Mother Earth with other friends who gather so that everyone has what we need. My pantry is now stocked with dried ramps, goldenrod, yarrow, cedar, sassafras, nettles, monarda, hazelnuts, rose hips and sumac berries, all of which grow here next to the Muskegon River and can serve as seasoning and/or medicine. We don’t just eat this way on Sundays, but eat local and native food nearly every day. My skill with these foods is growing and I continue to learn about indigenous food ways. As I do, the delicate flavors and rich savory meals expand in their frequency and variety. Nobody at home or in our potluck circles is complaining. I’ve heard people brag that they eat like kings. I think a stronger praise is to say that we eat like Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee. Marsha Reeves, Mohawk/Ojibwe descent, is a Holistic Nurse, native foods lover and gardener. She lives in the woods near the Muskegon River. Her water address is: ‘The first bayou on your right downstream from the Croton Dam.  Andrea and Terry Grabill answer your latest avian queries
Whether thistle and the squirrel dilemma If the "thistle" bird seed is really thistle, will it germinate? Or, is it a possible invasive plant? (I cringe as having to face more thistles or more "invasives" in my pastures.) Salle H. Salle, your concern is completely understandable! Many of us have done, or are doing, battle with thistle plants in pastures and along roadsides! The first good news for feeding “thistle” seed to wild birds is that, despite the name, it’s not thistle at all! It’s actually the seed of the African yellow daisy. The thistle name probably started because American goldfinches, which are the most common local bird to use it, will feed on thistle seed in the wild. Originally, it was marketed under the name of niger seed after its country of origin. In 1998, the name NYJER was trademarked by the Wild Bird Feeding Industry, in part to move away from the possibly offensive spelling. A second piece of good news is that nyjer seed is heat sterilized before it’s marketed to kill any noxious species embryos in the seed before importation! This effectively kills the unwanted passengers and prevents the establishment of invasive species. So, no danger of spilled nyjer germinating! As you know, nyjer is an excellent, although relatively expensive, attractant for finches such as the previously mentioned American goldfinch. Because of its high fat content, it’s also used by irruptive pine siskins and redpolls. What can I do about squirrels in my bird feeders? Ahhh, the bane of bird feeders everywhere! SQUIRRELS! These beautiful little rodents can eat a feeder bare in no time and will chew the feeder to bits to get at the last morsels. They will eat practically anything offered to birds and will not tolerate birds in the feeder with them! There are several companies that manufacture feeders that they market as “squirrel proof”. Some of these have a mechanical lever that lowers when a squirrel’s weight is added to the perch while others have a wire barrier that allows small songbirds passage and blocks the entry of larger animals. `Here at BirdGoober headquarters, we have a wire rope (cable) between two trees with a pulley system to lower the feeder for filling. We’ve not had a single squirrel on the feeders suspended in this manner. Many advocate making a “peace offering” of sorts by putting corn on the ground for the squirrels, though, even with spilled grain on the ground, my feeders within the reach of squirrels are still invaded. Finally, and, I’ve never tried this, bird seed is marketed that’s treated with hot pepper spice. Squirrels, being mammals, have a relatively keen sense of smell and taste and will be put-off by the seasoning. Most birds have very little sense of smell and taste and will not be dissuaded. We’d be interested in hearing your experiences with humanely battling squirrels at the birdfeeders! BirdGoober is Terry and Andrea Grabill, of Newaygo. They have been birding together since they met and love to share their passion for birds with people of all ages. Please send your birding questions to the Grabills at birdgoober@gmail.com or visit their website www.birdgoober.com.  At the time of writing this on December 28th, the Fremont Area District Library is currently open for Curbside Service and in-person appointments, with printing and copying available as well through Curbside. Information about making appointments to browse and checkout, along with using Curbside Service, can be found at www.fremontlibrary.net. Beginning January 4th, adults will have the opportunity to join the Cabin Fever Relief Challenge! This is a winter reading challenge and you can either sign up during your in-person appointment at the library, or call 231-928-0256 to pick up your reading challenge card via Curbside. When you complete all 8 reading categories on your card, turn it in for a prize mug! The challenge will run through March 20th and you can sign up any time before then. The Children’s Winter Reading Club continues this month, and it runs through January 31st. To sign up, all you need to do is call our Children's Department at 231-928-0249 to ask for a reading log for your child, and arrange to pick it up curbside or during an in-person appointment. Children can cross off or color in a snowflake on their log each time they read (10 snowflakes total), and when they're done, they can claim a prize! Just be sure to turn in your logs by Jan. 31st. Finishers will be entered into a grand prize drawing! Grab-n-Go Crafts continue to be available weekly and can be picked up curbside. Watch the Fremont Area District Library Facebook page to see the new crafts each week. Storytime with Miss Roxanne continues on Facebook as well. New storytime videos post each Wednesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m., and you can find previous ones by searching #fadlstorytime. Reader’s advisory and fact checking/research help is still available to you as well. You can call our Reference Desk at 231-928-0256 or email jeha@fremontlibrary.net or sherrick@fremontlibrary.net. If you’d like suggestions on children’s books call 231-928-0249 or email Roxanne at rlandin@fremontlibary.net. Don’t forget that our digital services are always open. We offer OverDrive, Libby, Ancestry, RbDigital, and now we offer Hoopla! Hoopla is a digital service available to you with your Fremont library card that includes movies, TV shows, music, audiobooks, ebooks, and comics! Get links to all of these services on our website. You can also visit hoopladigital.com or download the Hoopla Digital app, as well as OverDrive, Libby, and RbDigital apps from your app store. Please keep an eye on our website at www.fremontlibrary.net or our Facebook page for the latest news and updates, and thank you for your continued patience and support during these unprecedented times!
Book Reviews: Endurance and The Arctic Fury
By Alexis Mercer The book reviews had to be pushed to the wayside for a while. Teaching in a pandemic has a way of shifting one's priorities. Not that I haven’t been reading, however, it was a few pages each night before my eyelids couldn’t stay open any longer. And there simply wasn’t time to write reviews. But we made it to Christmas break. Perhaps by the skin of our teeth, but here we are. So between helping with Lego sets, enjoying hot cocoa after sledding (don’t go to the Sports Park yet...the base is not there and you will pay dearly for a fast ride down an incredibly bumpy hill with not enough snow if you're anything like me), popcorn while watching Christmas movies (how many times can you see each of the Home Alone movies? My kids are setting records I think…) and all the other fun we have managed to come up with while home for the break, I have been devouring pages of books. Two of those books are Endurance and The Arctic Fury. One led to the next thanks to an email “if you liked Endurance, you may like these as well…” and of course the email was correct in its assumption. Endurance by Alfred Lansing was recommended by a professional runner I follow on social media. His Instagram post showed that he was reading the book and loving the story of endurance that was not simply finishing a marathon or ultra race, but one that meant life or death, and the lessons he was learning from that. The book is the true story of a group of men who set off on an expedition to Antarctica in an attempt to cross the continent on foot in August of 1914. Instead of making it to the uncharted land, their ship got stuck in a block of ice painfully close in miles and yet unthinkably far away from the final destination. What unfolds in the pages is the tale of Ernest Shackleton’s brave leading of men through unfathomable conditions in an attempt to survive thousands of miles in the antarctic; many on the ship and many on land once their ship was crushed by ice blocks. The author, Lansing, was given permission to see the diaries of all the men on the ship for this fateful adventure. In addition, he interviewed each of the surviving members of the expedition at length. What results is the harrowing true story of men who survived some of Earth’s most unbelievable conditions that left me thinking about what true endurance means. With a book in between completely unrelated to any sort of cold weather adventures, I was ready to dive into another exploration book: The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister. Virginia Reeve is called upon by Lady Jane Franklin to lead a group of a dozen women into the Arctic to find her husband and his lost expedition. Though many other men have tried, none have been successful, and Lady Franklin thinks that a women’s expedition will have a different result. If Reeve and her crew are successful, they will be rewarded greatly. If they fail? No one will ever know of their trip. In a daunting tale that flips back and forth between the expedition itself and a trial for murder in a Boston courtroom, the suspense builds and propels the reader forward through to the very end. Though The Arctic Fury was inspired by a true story of a lost men’s expedition in the Arctic and the wealthy wife, Lady Franklin, who funded trips to find what became of the men in the late 1840s and early 1850s, the all-women’s expedition part is purely fiction. This is a beautiful blend of historic reality and brilliant fiction to create an entertaining, thoughtful story. One true tale to the Southernmost part of the Earth. One historical fiction tale to the Northernmost. Both captivating stories that left me thinking about bravery, adventure, survival and endurance in new ways.  Andrea and Terry Grabill answer your latest avian queries Is there something in the bird world akin to Bigfoot? A mysteriously rumored but never confirmed sighting of a heretofore unnamed feathered fowl? A mysterious bird is an excellent question! I think it would be great if there was a bird of folklore that’s elusive and a great hide-and-seek champion like Sasquatch. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate such a beast...or even reports of one! The more I considered it, though, one did come to mind that many young campers were encouraged to hunt that might have been categorized as mythical. The Grabill family spent a lot of time in the north woods camping in the 1970s and on numerous occasions, my brother and I were told to go on a snipe hunt. In hind-sight, I suspect the invitation probably came from parents desperate for some time without whining kids who had a never-ending supply of demands and questions. If memory serves, we were instructed to sit in the brush with a paper grocery bag which, when tapped with a twig, would be irresistible to snipes. I still remember wondering what the heck we would do with a snipe once we caught it. As a young adult, mythology met reality as I watched small, long-billed birds fly over a marsh on Beaver Island giving a magical courtship dance and “song”. Dr. Hamas, our ornithology professor, identified them as Wilson’s snipe (was I being punked again?) Turns out these are REAL birds and not uncommon at all! They are members of the sandpiper family, named for famed ornithologist Alexander Wilson, and their courtship dance and “song” is a sight to see. The song isn’t a vocalization at all, rather, it’s sound produced by air rushing through its outer tail feathers as they fly. This “winnowing” is one of nature’s ethereal sounds that you’ll not soon forget. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wilsons_Snipe/sounds#  Wilson's snipe-Photo by Marie Rust What should people look for in bird seed? What attracts the greatest variety? Backyard birders will eventually develop their own preferences and recipes for the “best seed offering” for their feeders. Andrea and I feed black oil sunflower seeds and woodpecker suet cakes year-round. Our sunflower feeders are visited by northern cardinals, black-caped chickadees as well as nuthatches and woodpeckers. Gardeners that are opposed to the shells left behind under sunflower seed feedings may prefer to use shelled seeds. Safflower seed is also a popular offering among birders and birds alike. Check out our “These Two BirdGoobers” podcast at the following link for a more detailed listing! https://www.birdgoober.com/podcast There are many seasonal choices as well. In winter, we supply Nyger seed (often called thistle) for winter finches such as American goldfinch, house finch and northern irruptive species like redpolls, purple finches and pine siskins. In warmer seasons, halved oranges are great for orioles and sugar-water feeders attract hummingbirds. If you’re interested in a cool winter project, take a look at this BirdGoober video describing the process of making home-made suet cakes! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxoo40zeTKA BirdGoober is Terry and Andrea Grabill, of Newaygo. They have been birding together since they met and love to share their passion for birds with people of all ages. Please send your birding questions to the Grabills at birdgoober@gmail.com or visit their website www.birdgoober.com.  Avian cafeteria at N3WH  By Tim McGrath “Boy, that really was about the stupidest thing you two could have done.” – Gerald Wisner on observing a big idea gone exceedingly wrong When I was a kid, it was declared a holiday in the neighborhood if someone’s family got a new refrigerator. The thing is, we didn’t give a fig about the new Crosley Shelvador in some mom’s kitchen, it’s what it came in that was important. There was something magical about refrigerator boxes. Seeing one in somebody’s driveway caused all other activities to come to a screeching halt. Sturdy, tall, built to hold, well, a refrigerator. That meant it could also be transformed into an almost impregnable fortress, tank, or dungeon. Usually, it held up until it rained, or somebody had the bright idea to see if it could roll down a hill with two to three other kids inside. Never worked for long, ever. Our ideas usually weren’t intended to be naughty, but sometimes the various combinations of matches, stinkbombs, fake vomit/dog doo, BB guns, slingshots, firecrackers, junkyards, old barrels and tires did raise eyebrows. Just about anything could become part of someone’s new master plan. Take sticks, for example. So many interesting and useful things could be made with them. Various weaponry or even rudimentary communication devices could be constructed, all intended to create the next grand adventure. All it took was a couple of us to engage in groupthink, and we were off and running. Just don’t tell mom. Then, there was Billy Martin. Billy was just a little older than the rest of us. He was the outlier, the truly brave one. The one willing to do what it took to see his grand schemes come to fruition. And, he was also the one whose big ideas regularly landed him in the principal’s office. “Hey, look, it’s crazy Billy Martin. He’s really going to do it. Since we had all that snow the last couple days, it’s all he’s been going on about. Didn’t think he’d really do it, though,” Clark muttered. I put my hands up to shield them from the late afternoon sun. No way was I going to miss any of this. Running, yelling, shoving kids piled out of the school across the street onto their homebound buses. Billy sauntered over to bus 21, the last in line. We watched as he hopped the curb, grabbed the back bumper, and squatted down. He gave us a wink and a wave, waiting. Bus 21 slowly pulled away from the curb with Billy sliding along happy as a clam on the icy street under his feet. He called it “Bus Surfing”. The last we saw; he was sailing away down Meyer toward Porter Street. I wondered out loud what would happen when the snow and ice on the street turned to bare pavement. “That Billy Martin’s nuts. My mom told me if she ever caught me acting like that kid, she’d skin me alive,” Clark commented as we scrunched our way down the snowy sidewalk. “Yeah, mine too. But, Billy Martin’s got guts, you know it? Don’t you ever want to do something that takes guts?” I asked Clark. “OK, dork, here’s your chance. I dare you, no, double dog dare you to smack the first car comes down the street with snowballs. We’ll just see how much guts you’ve really got,” Clark taunted. There was a big snow bank piled up by the snowplows at the end of Clark’s driveway. We dug out a little hidey-hole, made about a dozen slushy snowballs as ammo, slunk down, and waited. Clark peeked out over the top of our fortress watching for our first victim to drive by. “Hey, hey, get ready, here comes one. Wait until I give the signal, then jump up, and let them have it! Ready…, set…, fire!” he yelled. We both jumped up, and let fly with the first salvo from our mittened hands. Both snowballs flew true and smacked the blue Ford amidships with satisfying thumps. “Hot dang!” Clark laughed. “We got him!” “Hot shot!” I whooped. The blue Ford slid to a stop sideways in the road. A very large man leaped out the driver’s door, spotted us, and sprinted our way, yelling for us to stop. Realizing he was after us, we did the only sensible thing, and ran for our little lives. We ran, oh how we ran. We raced through Clark’s backyard with the man in hot pursuit. The snow we’d had was deep, and our ten-year-old legs were no match for his. In a heartbeat, he was on us. Enormous, meaty hands reached out and grabbed our coat collars. “Gotcha! OK, you two let’s march over to see someone’s mother RIGHT NOW! This one of your houses?” he hollered at us. “It’s mine,” Clark choked out between sobs. Dragging us to the side door, he made Clark ring the doorbell. “Do it again,” the man ordered. “Your mother home, boy?” “Yessir, she’s always here.” Clark’s mom appeared at the door. Looking between her son and me hanging by our coat collars from the hands of a very large and very irritated man, she calmly asked: “Well, what have you done this time, Clark? And, who in the world are you?” she asked the enormous man collaring her son and me. “I’ll tell you who I am, lady.” He unceremoniously dropped both of us with a plop on the stoop, reached in his coat pocket, and pulled out a black leather wallet. Opening it, he showed Clark’s mom a shiny brass badge. “I’m Detective Terry Ferguson from Wyoming PD. These two characters thought it’d be a good idea to throw snowballs at my car. About scared the liver out of me. Could have driven straight into a phone pole.” “Is that so,” she said. “Well, Detective, I’m terribly sorry for what these two hooligans have done, and I promise you we’ll take care of it. I’m sure Tim’s mom will want to know what these two are up to, also. Leave it to us, they won’t be doing anything like this again. Isn’t that right, boys?” “You know boys, I could run you in for all kinds of crimes. Trust me, you do not want to end up in juvie. You’ll come to a bad end in there. We don’t need any more criminal types out running the streets. You two listening to me and your mom?” he demanded. Both of us shook our heads quickly; yes, we were listening. I didn’t want to end up in juvie, either. I’d heard stories. Gary Henderson’s older brother had been in juvie. Said it was rough. He wouldn’t tell us anything about it because, as he put it: “You shrimps would crap your pants, and have nightmares forever if I told you even one little thing they do to you in there. Just don’t do anything stupid enough to get sent there, seriously.” No sir, I’m going to mend my ways from now on, I promised myself. “Alright, then, Mrs., I’ll leave them with you,” Detective Ferguson said. “Thank you, Detective. These two won’t be doing anything like this again, will you boys? Clark, get in the house. Tim, I think it’s time for you to head home.” We watched the cop get back in his car and slowly drive off. Clark muttered, “Sorry” through the glass storm door as he slunk inside, leaving me alone and wondering if and, more importantly, how to tell Mom if it came to that. I shuffled along the sidewalk lost in deep ten-year-old thought. That’s when Gerald Wisner caught up with me. “Hey, Tim, I watched the whole thing come down. Man, it was so cool to see and hear those snowballs smack that car. I’ve got to tell you, though, that really was about the stupidest thing you two could have done. You know, hitting a cop car and all. Man, I wouldn’t want to be you right now. I’ve got to go, see you tomorrow. That is, if you’re still alive tomorrow!” Gerald snorted. “Hi, honey!” Mom greeted me as I stepped in the house. “How was your day? Learn anything new?” “Well…,” I stammered. “What’s for supper?” . |
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