Uncategorized

Caught Walking

113 Comments

Yesterday’s Boston Marathon was one of the hottest on record, literally. Readings well into the 80’s led the event organizers at the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) to discourage participation by a particular class of athletes who had already registered to run. According to the Boston Herald:

Race organizers pleaded for runners to leave the 26.2-mile course to only the most experienced athletes. Those who have not met a qualifying time should bow out, the BAA said, warning the risk of running is “higher than normal.” “Only the fittest runners should consider participating,” the BAA said in a statement.

Our Goat Raising Community will certainly find some amusement in the notion of official pronouncements of any sort being issued by “the BAA.”

But what if, rather than telling people to stay home, the BAA had bleated that they slow down or even walk? If you had planned to run 26.2 miles, would it feel like a terrible defeat of some sort to walk it instead? Worse than not going at all?

Running is seen as active and worthwhile. Politicians “run” for office, they don’t “walk.” The only one I can think of who actually DID walk for office was the one-term Governor of Illinois, the appropriately named Dan Walker. Walker got a lot of attention in 1971 for walking 1,197 miles across his state to get the Democratic nomination against the formidable opposition of the Daley Machine in Chicago. The next time the Governor’s office was on the ballot, Walker lost in the primary to the Daley-backed candidate. Years later, he was charged with bank fraud and eventually plead guilty, serving 18 months in prison for irregularities that occurred after his time in office.

One could argue that he wound up in a familiar place for Illinois Governors – it just took Walker longer to get there.

But we do seem to have a thing about walking – there’s an assumption that it is the least desirable way to get someplace. Tom Vanderbilt, who has written volumes about our driving habits, just did a series in Slate last week about Walking In America. Surprise! As an activity, it’s just not that popular. In spite of efforts to promote it.

In a study back in 2003, it was determined that Americans averaged 5117 steps per day.

Seems like a lot, but it turns out we walk less than most other people, including those in Switzerland and Japan, two countries with a lot less walking room. Certainly the USA has more than it’s share of flat, wide open spaces where walking should be easy. But we’re just not that into it.

We’ve had several discussions here about walking the Superior Trail and the Appalachian Trail, and even one about the right musical tempo for walking. But what about walking as a way to get to the grocery store?

Is the built environment just too hostile to pedestrians, or is it that we don’t feel we have the time to walk someplace?

What kind of change would make it possible for you to walk more?

113 thoughts on “Caught Walking”

  1. i love the people who hover and wait for the close parking places at the health club so they dont have to walk too far.
    i would be more open to walking if i lived in an area where there was anything to walk to. the option today is to walk as a time eater as a form of exercise for a hour a day or something along those lines. my wife does this. she has chosen it as her form of exercise. she takes the car t the area where they have an area of interest to walk and away she goes. i would be willing and even happy to walk if i placed myself in an enviorment where it was possible. the grocery store is about 5 miles away as is the other next nearest stuff. i am in the residential buffer zone with the river and the freeway as the two closest geographical neighbors. only 3 or 4 houses to the river and 200 to the intersection with hwy 169 a mile east. the nearest gas station where i coud go for twinkees is about 2 miles and its a bad gas station one with the double garage size store full of sunflower seeds, magazines, and a non person behind the bulletproof acrylic shield in the cash collecting area. i can take a right form there and its 1 1/2 miles to the mall but who wants to go to the mall?
    at my recent check up the doctor suggested i walk more. i had just talked with a friend who had a doctor encourage him to do 3000 steps a day so i asked my doctor if 3000 was his recommendation, he jumped to his response and said 11000was the proper goal. he said many european and eastern countries did this with a different attitude on walking and all third world countries walk this much. (watch out for hippy doctors). id love to but let it make my day flow rather than being an additional tax on my daily clock. i should borrow a pedometer and see where im at. i will report back when i have an accurate picture of how big an offender i am.

    Like

    Reply

    1. i love europe where everything is built close enough to make it accessable. walk to the bus to go to the town to grocery store is a good life style. going to work is a walk to the train or the bus and a ride with a transfer or two and you are there. at least thats what i see when im there. china is a different deal for me. i always get a ride for the htel to the factory and then to the next one so walking is not a possibility. the workers however live in the area around the factory and it is often depressing rather than inspirational. italy and germany do it better than shenzhen. hong kong, new york, even minneapolis does it much better than the burbs. we will have to consider this when we finalize the end of the trail campus. an active area with farmers markets, good local eateries, activity inducing joints are a huge plus. the walks down the main streets of cities around the world are among my favorite memories. eden prairie not so much.

      Like

      Reply

    2. I call those people that creep around parking lots slowly, looking/waiting for the perfect space “parking vultures.”

      Like

      Reply

      2. I get a big kick out of the parking vultures at Trader Joe’s. Their lot is so small that if you park at the very back, it will take you about 2 seconds longer to walk to the door. Yet there are still people who will sit there idling waiting for other drivers to maneuver out of their parking spot that is close to the door – meanwhile, several cars are backed up behind them.

        Like

        Reply

        1. When the teenager was learning to drive she refused to tackle the parking lot at Trader Joe’s (the one on Excelsior). She said “people there are crazy.”

          Like

  2. Rise and Shine Baboons!

    I agree with tim’s comments about the flow of walking which is related to the design of a city, or especially a suburb. When visiting the old cities–London, Rome, Paris, Sante Fe, Historic Savannah, Charleston SC–one walks organically because there are places to go where one needs to go (i.e. grocery store), public transportation supporting walking routes, combined with few places to park a car. All these factors support walking as an organic part of your day and the car is convenient.

    Years ago when I lived in St. Paul, we had only one car using the bus or walking as a daily form of needed transportation. I am frequently so tempted to move back there, just so I can bus and walk everywhere. It is a very sane way to live!

    After all that, then I confess that I walk daily for exercise, even on days when I go to the gym. The dogs need walking, the dog park requires walking, and I enjoy it, strapping on my iPod to listen to Audiobooks. It’s my little heaven.

    Like

    Reply

    1. i would guess my biggest walking activity is to go to the other room and back to try to remember what i went in there for in the first place

      Like

      Reply

      1. That consumes much of my time. As Cosby says, “Feet, why did you bring me here?” And never plan to do a second thing as long as you are going: you’ll then do the second thing and forget the first.

        Like

        Reply

  3. My immediate response: it would have to hurt less! Physical limitations aside, I agree with tim that where you live makes a big difference.

    My sister lives in a suburb of Copenhagen, two small blocks from Gribskov, a very large and beautiful woods and nature preserve. In another direction, there’s the arboretum, and several manor houses whose grounds are open to the public; all lovely places to walk. When visiting her, there’s no escaping a daily walk, she thinks nothing of a brisk 10 mile hike.

    Prior to my fall, I did a fair amount of walking, and I hope to be able to resume that within the next few months. Most evenings after dinner, just an amble through the immediate neighborhood to look at people’s gardens and chat with neighbors is fun. Since I’ve retired, I often pile the dog in the car and head for the river or a local park some time during the day. To be able to do this, I consider a real privilege and luxury. In St. Paul there are so many really wonderful places to walk, and I’m constantly amazed at how few people avail themselves of that opportunity; even on weekends it’s limited how many people you run into in places like Lebanon Hills, Dodge Nature Center, Thompson or Lilydale Park.

    Like

    Reply

  4. It is a cultural thing. For several years I hosted a young Dutch woman each summer, and invariably her first complaint against America was that we drive everywhere instead of walking, That just shocked her. But she later often mellowed to the point of admitting that America is built on the assumption that people drive everywhere rather than walking, so there was a reason for driving everywhere. As we all know, many American housing developments don’t even have sidewalks or, for that matter, any distance between the garage and the house.

    For ten years, the lifespan of my dear pet Katie, I walked with her in the off-leash dog park for an hour or two a day. The health benefits were terrific for both of us. My health has now improved to the point that I spent two hours yesterday on the internet, looking at the rescue dogs available now. It would be precipitous to get a dog, even an older dog, now. If my doctors tell me I might feel as good in the future as I do now, there could be a new dog in residence here before long.

    Like

    Reply

    2. If you don’t mind a dog that prefers shorter walks, I can point you to a rescue with some older basset hounds looking for new homes. Sweet breed, and quite loyal – though not an athletic breed (unless drooling is athletic).

      Like

      Reply

  5. I once got stopped by a cop for walking in Greensburg, PA. He was sure I was up to no good because 1) people did not walk there and 2) there was really place provided to walk. He insisted that I ride back to my motel with him, where he inquired about me. The Supt. who had hired me said the city had not only not built sidewalks in that part of town, they had provided no space for them because it was a waste of money. It wasn’t a brand new part of town either. I did later get a letter of apology from the police department that included directions to theri assigned walking parking, to which I would have to drive 8 miles.

    Like

    Reply

      2. It was not scary when it happened, but now that you make that connection, which I had not made . . .
        Bill Cosby says of the Florida incident that it is not a race issue but a gun issue.

        Like

        Reply

  6. I used to walk a lot, avoiding using the car: when we lived in Prospect Park, which gave me a 2 mile walk to campus. When we lived in Lindstrom, which gave me a two mile walk to work. Walking three miles each way to work along the North Shore Drive, not a real safe adventure. Doing the North Shore Trail, which I helped campaign for. I did not do every foot of it, but I did walk about 340 miles or so all told. I do miss that a great deal. As kids we had a 3/4 mile walk to and from the bus, up in hill both ways. Really, and partly downhill each way. But now because of my arthritis, I can bike 20 miles or so a day, a two mile walk is very hard on me. And my wife uses a walker, so she is not going very far.

    Like

    Reply

  7. Mostly it would be nice to have someone to walk with. I have a dog, but he is no fun to walk – must lift leg on every blade of grass, pole, hydrant, and thoroughly chastise anyone else for daring to walk their dog that we happen to encounter.

    Like

    Reply

    1. I have a cat who holds the same view of people who walk dogs. “Why don’t you just go the dog park – that’s where that creature belongs.”

      Good to see you again, Mike. Don’t be a stranger.

      Like

      Reply

    4. I understand and agree but gave taken some solace in a talk iI heard I think Lauren be all make when asked a out life after bogart, she said it took a whole then she ended up embracing her own company at movies plays concerts on walks and she came to the realization even when she goes on a walk with someone she is there doing the experience and the perception on her own .

      Like

      Reply

    5. Nice to hear from you Mike. Our dog is a female, not a leg-lifter. But she seems fascinated by every pole, hydrant and blade of grass that your dog (or one just like him) has visited. We like to say she is “reading her pee mail.”

      Like

      Reply

  8. Good morning to all. Clarks Grove is not like a town in parts of Europe where most of your needs are within walking distance. There are some things that are easily reached by walking including the post office and several businesses. No banking. It moved to Albert Lea. We have a good hardware store and we don’t have any place to buy groceries unless you are willing to pay a high price for the items carried at a convenience store. There is a walking trail on a segment of an old rail road right away. At one time there was a lumber yard which is now closed. You can get your snow mobile fixed here, have taxidemry work done, get your hair cut, and take your pet to the vet. Every thing that is here is within walking distance.

    Like

    Reply

    1. It is a nice little town, though. I love little towns, especially in Iowa. Small Iowa towns are like towns nowhere else. CG, however, is close to an Iowa town.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Don’t you just love those Iowa towns, Clyde, built around a square? They aren’t the smallest but might be the most charming. Some old brownstone courthouse in the middle of the square. Maybe a Civil War cannon on the lawn. Ma and Pa stores that still function to sell shoes, magazines or prom dresses. And two to three little cafes where everybody knows everybody. Ah, how I miss them!

        Like

        Reply

      2. My computer is still not working very well, so I wouldn’t have much to say today. I also think small towns are or should be good places. However, I will glad to get out of here before long because many of the things I like are in short supply not only here, but also in this entire area within easy driving distance. Most of the things I like are 1 1/2 hours away by car in the Twin Cities.

        Like

        Reply

  9. I would walk more if there was more to look at, the ND wind didn’t blow so hard, and things were closer together. Out here, adults who walk or ride a bike to shop or generally get around probably lost their drivers licenses due to DUIs. Husband walks the Welsh Terrier every day. She is consumed with excitement when he gets home at night, and won’t take her eyes off him, watching and waiting for the subtle signals that he is getting ready to walk her. When he says “I have to put on my hat”, she makes the oddest noise, a combination of a hoot and a high pitched scream. I have never heard a dog make a noise like that. Then she races around and jumps on the back of a living room chair, just to be up higher to facilitate the putting on of the leash.

    Like

    Reply

    2. Our dog gets excited based on the weekday morning routine – he knows when I am in making my lunch and Daughter is upstairs brushing her teeth that it is almost time to go to the bus stop. He paces and wiggles and makes little bark/yips, wagging his tail the whole time – walking from me to the spot where we hang the leash and back until the leash goes on for the short walk to the stop. He gets the same way when I root around in the plastic bags to be recycled (which we also use for dog-walking clean up).

      Like

      Reply

        1. My dogs have figured out way too much. They know that when I put on my socks in the morning that it’s almost time to go downstairs. And they’ve figured out the sound that my empty cup makes when I put it down for the last time at breakfast – this means the meal is almost complete and their banishment from the dining room is almost at an end!

          Like

        2. Pablo has figured out that he usually gets a treat when he has been outside to do his business. Now he barks to indicate that he needs to go out although all he wants is a treat. It took me a while to catch on to this ruse, and by then I also realized that I didn’t want to take that chance with an old guy like Pablo. Pablo gets lot of treats!

          Like

  10. I have layered on enough clothes to go ride in 36 degrees. But no wind for a change. My odometer, which I started 9 years and 2 months ago, will turn over to 39,000 miles on this ride.

    Like

    Reply

        1. Pulse.
          I have been working to get the second bp down. It had gotten pretty high when I put on some weight. The gluten-free diet has really helped me focus my eating.

          Like

  11. I agree with all who said that they wish their area was better suited for walking. It is a lot more fun to be a pedestrian in Europe and have access to more of what you need without a car. I do walk anyway, for fun and for fresh air, but I could never take care of shopping or the post office or the library without my car, which is too bad.

    Also, I think one of our legendary politicians here in Florida also “walked” for office. Governor Lawton Chiles was known here as “Walkin’ Lawton”, because he walked across Florida when he campaigned for office. I couldn’t tell you without looking it up, but it may have been around the same time as Walker made his campaign journey. I’m not sure which man did it first.

    Like

    Reply

  12. One of the best things about the place my roommate and I live is the fact that it’s in between two light rail stations. In nice weather (not recently; cold wind aggravates my very aggravating asthma) I can get in about a mile of walking per workday. I really, really wish we had a coffeehouse close enough to walk to while toting a laptop, someplace with reliable wi-fi, lots of power outlets, comfy seats and vegan goodies (not necessarily in that order). That would get me out exercising on weekends!

    Like

    Reply

    1. Is there a particular time when you would be happy to host visitors, BiB? If I could get some friends to join me and chip in on the gas it would be delightful to make a quick visit to shake hands with your goats.

      Like

      Reply

        1. hi Steve -SP, and Lisa, and other riders
          we’d love to have visitors – in fact we’re having many visitors and are pretty booked until the last two weeks in May. Sundays are good for us – Steve volunteers at the Cloquet Animal Shelter until noon but i’m here and happy to receive guests any time after 8 a.m. – so sunday May 20th and 27th – those two are especially good right now. i’ll have someone coming to pick up baby goats but not sure when that will be yet. probably June.
          email me at meadowwildfarm(at)hotmail.com
          Juju due on friday – think she will wait until then. got Alba and her triplets moved from the kidding pen this afternoon and installed across the aisle next to but not in with the others. hoping Juju has at least one doeling so she has a friend. her momma, Lassi, prefers her current kids and is mean to poor Juju. thinks Juju is sooooo 2011. sorry, now i’ve gone on again. my Goat Lady friend calls me “Old Blevins.” it’s true.

          Like

    2. Ah. Did I say the group was the Boston Athletic Association? I meant to say it’s the Massachusetts Extreme Exercise ExHortation Horde. (MEEEHH)

      Like

      Reply

  14. If my town, Owatonna, installed heated sidewalks on the main streets in town, as well as the walking/bike trails, I’d walk much more in the winter. But it’s too dangerous and too slow to creep over icy patches and slog through sections of sidewalk that haven’t been shoveled by the owners.

    We live about 2.5 miles from downtown and most of the businesses in town. If that were reduced to about a mile or so, I’d walk much more often to the bank, library, post office, hardware store, etc. But the trade off in time of taking an hour+ to walk a 5-mile round trip only to mail a letter isn’t quite worth the effort.

    During golf season, I play 3-4 times per week and walk 99% of the time. So if I lived in a climate where one could golf year-round, I’d have very little trouble getting in 15-20 miles per week on a golf course. Unfortunately, in MN I have to get on those damn treadmills several times a week when golf is not possible. Ugh!

    Chris in Owatonna

    Like

    Reply

      1. I agree, Clyde. It has character and a certain amount of charm. Upon seeing Central Park for the first time around Christmas, my sister exclaimed, “This reminds me of Bedford Falls.”

        Chris

        Like

        Reply

        1. Yes. Had not thought of that. My wife and I eat at the park at least once a year, look at the bank, wander through the shops, which are of a kind we do not have here, that are rare anywhere. Course now on the edge of town you have everything–even a Big Ten.

          Like

  15. Morning all. I chose my current abode because it is walking distance to the library, the grocery store, the drugstore, the vet, the liquor store and the video store. Over the years we lost the video store, but now have two coffee shops added to the mix. Of course, right now with the bridge out, it’s a longer walk!

    Like

    Reply

    1. We chose our house for similar reasons – though we are on the “right” side of the bridge to still be able to walk to these things without extra foot steps. Miss the dog-friendly Mr Movies, but Barney has become a fan of the liquor store (and their dog treats). Good that the Malt Shop is on the other side of the creek from me, so I have a longer walk to and from to work off some of the calories consumed when we go there. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  16. As I once posted, I used to walk a block to school each day and then back again for lunch and then back to school and home again. That’s four miles a day during the week, twenty hours M-F. Then on weekends I REALLY walked! It saddens me that today’s parents feel it isn’t safe to let kids walk to school (afraid some smelly dude in a raincoat will jump out of the bushes and wag his weenie, which isn’t going to happen) so they bus the kids or drive them back and forth (encouraging the kids to plump up, which WILL happen and will shorten their lives).

    Like

    Reply

  17. Like VS, I love where I live in the city. I live a block and a half from Minnehaha creek, bike and walking trails. It’s about 45 minutes to a grocery store so I don’t often walk there unless #1 son is visiting from NY and is using my car. It’s more of a time issue than energy.
    I listen to books on CD from the library and try to limit my listening to when I walk, hoping that will be incentive to get out again so I can get to the next chapters.

    Like

    Reply

  18. As much as Husband and I wish we had more room in our house, more yard, etc., we would not trade that in favor of having to drive more places. My brother has a lovely house out in Prior Lake where they have to drive everywhere – some of the neighbors are walking distance, but nothing else is nearby (including most of my nieces and nephews friends). I am too spoiled by being able to walk around the corner when I am low on milk or need more cinnamon for baking or want fresh vegetables for dinner that night, ditto being able to walk to the library and back in less time than it takes to make hard boiled eggs. Plus, I love that I’m by Minnehaha Creek where I can walk and see a fair amount of wildlife right in the middle of the city (plus it’s a lovely walk along the creek and my scent-driven hound loves all the smells). Would love to have the extra 500+ feet that my brother has in his house that we don’t, but wouldn’t trade my location for it anytime soon.

    Like

    Reply

      1. True – but I wouldn’t mind a few extra feet for things like a couple more drawers in my kitchen (two is not enough), and maybe a little space of my own in the house…an extra 100 sq feet might be enough.

        Like

        Reply

  19. I have no excuse. We are one house from walking trails in a little nature park, and we’re a few blocks from a Rainbow and a convenience store, a mile from downtown Robbinsdale and my mom’s sr. residence. Now that it’s warmer, I should be walking everywhere, and I WILL, I WILL… but I need to work it into the schedule, plan for the extra time it takes. Thanks for the nudge, Dale.

    My mom likes to walk, so in good weather we can go on foot to her bank, Crystal Lake, a drug store, Dairy Queen, and a coffee shop on a good day. She feels much better when she walks, but it’s pretty slow going.

    Like

    Reply

  20. I can think of two things that keep me from walking more…the lack of beauty in my neighborhood and the demanding god of accomplishment and productivity (“I don’t have time to go for a walk, I Must Get Something Done!”). Oh, a third thing…the lack of dirt paths: walking on sidewalks is hard on my body.

    Hopefully this weekend in Duluth I will be able to avoid most of these obstacles. That is, if helping my mother doesn’t take up too much time.

    Like

    Reply

  21. I walk a lot, and it doesn’t make me stand out in my neighborhood. Most people walk. There is a very popular coffeeshop which serves as the local hangout, and a very nice library. Used to be a Dairy Queen, although that building is now up for sale. Anyone in the market for a Dairy Queen?

    I would like to have a nice grocery store a little closer to my house. I can walk to the market on Smith and Dodd in about 20 minutes, but I don’t walk it very often, because I might want to buy ice cream, or something heavy. (I mapped the location, just because I was curious about what the distance is from my house, and was told “The trip takes 1.5 mi/2.5 km and 6 minutes.” All the mapping sites seem to assume you are making the trip on four wheels.)

    I walk to the farmers’ market on weekends too. And frequently I walk just to walk, usually west along the bluff to Cherokee Park.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Some of the mapping sites will let you alter the route for biking or walking, though it’s not always a seamless alteration since a computer algorithm can only know so much about the quirks of a neighborhood.

      Like

      Reply

    3. Our daughter uses MapMyRun.com and I think there is a MapMyWalk as well, although I’m not sure why you would need separate sites depending on the speed of your perambulation. It sounds like you get some pretty good information and, for the technically advanced, they have an app for that.

      When we lived in downtown Saint Paul, we could get a lot done on foot. We always teased suburban folk who couldn’t believe you might have to park half a block away from our building entrance.

      Like

      Reply

    5. My map deal has three buttons at the top to choose from, drive, public transportation and walking ( there should really be a bike riding option if they have walking) . Every now and again I must hit the button without being aware of it and if I am going from my house in the burbs to a building in doentown st paul the map says its 17miles and will take 5 hours 47 minutes to walk. Always gets my attention!

      Like

      Reply

  22. I love to walk. I’ve walked most of my life, both to get someplace as well as for fun.

    I’ve hiked long hikes in various places but I’ve only hiked sections of the Superior hiking trail. When I lived and worked in Faribault, I often walked to work. During snowstorms, I x-c skied to work. I can walk everywhere here in Waterville. The little grocery store (candy, snacks, mac ‘n’ cheese, hot dogs, limited and decomposing produce, and frozen pizzas only) is five blocks away. They don’t allow dogs in the store, though. Pippin’s groomer is across the street from the grocery store and the hardware store is another 1/2 block east. I take an empty backpack and walk downtown to get stuff and to take P to the groomer. Work is two miles west of my home but CR 14 is narrow and dangerous. There is no shoulder and people drive really fast on that road; they can’t see you walking due to the hills. I almost got hit once and that stopped me from walking to work. I can still walk twice daily around the fish rearing ponds at work. It’s quiet and pleasant and the “trails” are just tracks around the ponds that are used for maintenance. I’ve seen lots of birds out there.

    Until very recently I walked Pippin two to four miles every day. He is allergic to a long list of trees and his symptoms have come back with the robins. A couple of weeks ago his face and eyes swelled shut after a walk. He began sneezing and pushing himself around with his face in the carpet. I think he must’ve picked up and eaten a flower from a poplar or aspen tree. His allergic reaction was very severe. He suffered for a week and threw up for four days straight. I had to take him to the vet for SQ hydration because he couldn’t keep anything down. (The intestinal symptoms are what makes me think he ate one of those flowers – aspen trees are on his list.) So, no walks for Pippin for awhile. 😦

    OT: the male osprey returned to the nest on April 3; the female returned April 5. You should’ve seen their reunion! Don’t ever try to tell me that animals don’t have emotions. Lots of wing-flapping, feeding each other fish, sitting next to each other on a tree branch – they are just adorable! They got right down to business and the female began roosting over the last weekend. I think it’s 45 days until they hatch. This pair has 2 – 3 young every year. I’ll keep you posted.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Krista, that sounds exciting. Do the osprey nest near where you live?

      I have some friends who live on the East Side of St. Paul, and a few doors down from their house is a large old white pine in which a pair of bald eagles have nested the last couple of years. They’re back again this year. It’s really fun to watch all the activity around that nest and all the neighbors now talk to each other because of those birds.

      Like

      Reply

      1. PJ, the ospreys conveniently built their nest in the middle of ten 1-acre fish rearing ponds at the fish hatchery where I work (two miles west of my home). There is a utility pole there and five years ago they made a failed attempt to build a nest on it. I called the Nongame Wildlife people and Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative. The Wildlife staff built the nesting platform and MVEC erected a nest pole taller than the utility poles. The nesting platform was “seeded” with sticks and the next year the ospreys returned and built their nest on the pole. They have returned to their nest every year and have been a successful breeding pair. They’re the farthest southwest (known) pair of breeding ospreys in Minnesota. The Fisheries staff I work with just barely tolerate their presence. Ospreys eat only fish, but so far have only taken their meals from nearby Lake Tetonka, not the fish rearing ponds. My coworkers laugh at me for my love of these birds.

        Like

        Reply

        1. Very cool. It must be challenging to work with knot heads but then again you may show them the light yet . Why in the world would they resent a critter that eats fish when their livelihood is bard on producing fish for human critters to eat? When this nesting season is over why don’t you see if a video camera could be installed to do a p. r. job for the platform builders and show the benefits of osprey nurturing. I’m sure the camera and details could be negotiated so expense was covered by some tree higher organazation

          Like

  23. OT-Just saw this older headline in City Pages
    Brian Dunn, former Best Buy CEO, pulled a Brodkorb
    Do you think they are reading on the trail for inspiration?

    Like

    Reply

  24. 103 years ago, Edward Payson Weston, the celebrated Pedestrian, was halfway through a walk from New York to San Francisco. It took him 104 days. He was 70 at the time. The next year, he walked the other way, from Santa Monica, California to New York. This time he did it in 76 days.
    42 years ago, Dave Kunst of Waseca, Minn. was getting ready to start off on his walk around the world.
    Me, I walk our elderly golden retriever twice a day. It takes maybe 45 minutes each time. We cover about 4 blocks. Not exactly aerobic, but she updates her smell registry and keeps the neighborhood free of “snacks”.

    Like

    Reply

    1. This blog is a long testimony to the power of pets in our lives. When I was a pastor I was in great appreciation of what pets and birds ( and the deer in their yards on the North Shore) gave to people my age and older.

      Like

      Reply

      1. I just saw my arthritis doctor. He says I can get a dog, but that I should get an old, slow dog. If my present freakishly healthy condition holds up a few months longer, I can get a younger, quicker dog. For the time being, I’m waiting.

        Like

        Reply

        1. Good news, Steve! I think a dog would do wonders for you and your health! There are plenty of good, patient dogs waiting for kind people like you to adopt them in shelters everywhere.

          Like

      1. Sometimes bread someone has left out for the birds. Sometimes a piece of pizza crust or sweet roll. Sometimes I don’t know and don’t want to know.

        Like

        Reply

Leave a reply to Jacque Cancel reply