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Happy May! The ice was pulling away from the shore at Lax Lake this past week, so exciting! I think we have all earned our stripes and deserve some warm weather, boating, camping, cabining, hiking, swimming, deck sitting, fly swatting, all the things! Whose rhubarb is finally visible and peeking out from the cold ground? Where are my bird watchers at? I have never seen so many black birds in my feeders as I have this past week. I can’t believe I am saying it, but I am ready for “yard weeds” as my grandpa used to say.

Editor’s note: (This piece should’ve run April 9—please excuse the chronological disorder—yes the reluctant editor and Hell Yes! landed the plane and the story will continue next week) Yes, the Great March for Community Newspapers still awaits the parachute jump signal from the very reluctant editor and Tony Xzcerlippy of Tony’s Underwater Limousine Service (Lake County Press--editions 2-5). And yes, in recalling an earlier skydiving incident in which the reluctant editor was stuck flying an old plane that he didn’t know how to fly, it gave him pause to think of a story in which God Takes a Vacation from humanity and its lack of humanity for each other (Lake County Press—editions 6-8).

Avian Friends and Neighbors The robin showed up two weeks ago when there was no bare ground amid the 30-inch snowpack, and the nights were still dropping into the single digits. I wondered why it was here and if it would soon be dead.

I can remember the first few NHL Stanley Cup tournaments I saw as a young kid. I already was pretty crazy about the game itself. Like many kids I spent a lot of time at the neighborhood rink as a youth. We lived and breathed the game we loved. And to have a team to cheer for while it chased the most fabled trophy in the history of the world was over the top. When the Minnesota NorthStars first came to the Twin Cities if there was a weeknight playoff game that would be televised. But you would have to wait for the weekend to see any out-of-market Cup games. And on occasion back in those days you might have listened to some games on the radio. Not all games were televised. That was ok by me since I loved radio anyway.

Steve Wilson of Isabella makes himself the human bird-feeder. Watch a video clip of the exciting visit on YouTube at: A Bird in Hand is Worth Two (or Three, or More) on Various Other Body Parts? Photo courtesy of Steve Wilson