A shooting star, a calling loon, a blue ox...

FEQ: In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.  Aristotle

Some things I was happy to see and hear on a recent trip to northern Minnesota:

A shooting star zipping across the night sky. Ever wonder how rare shooting stars are? Not very! Shooting stars are actually bits of rock and dust falling into Earth’s atmosphere and burning up. The trail of light we see is called a meteor. At certain times of the year meteors are more prevalent. But for people like me who live in the city or aren’t up late most nights, seeing a shooting star is a rare occurrence!

A last loon call of the season. The loons on the lake were mostly quiet, but finally one lone call cut through the stillness of the night. It makes me sad to consider how the loons might fare when they migrate to the Gulf of Mexico and encounter oil in their deep dives. Minnesota is estimated to be the summer home of about 6,000 loons. Half of them will travel to the Gulf in the coming weeks. Let’s hope that loons don’t become rare in the near future because of the oil spill.

A famous blue ox named Babe. I always liked Babe, maybe more than Paul Bunyan. Did you know that Babe was born in the winter of the blue snow? It was so cold, words froze as soon as they were said; folks had to thaw them out just to hear them. And because it was extra cold the winter Babe was born, his hide was permanently stained by the blue snow. Didn’t seem to stunt his growth though—you could fit 42 axe handles and a plug of tobacco between his eyes. Yep, it’s always nice to say howdy to big Babe and thank him for making all our lakes.

Goodnight stars, goodbye loons, and good grief, let’s not have another winter with blue snow!