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Cottage Grove Sentinel Community News B1 THURSDAY | AUGUST 27, 2020 Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox Mother Nature surprises city girls Betty Kaiser (Originally published in The Sentinel Aug. 1, 2018) A s a former city girl, I am constantly amazed at Mother Na- ture’s surprises. Living in the country has been a whole new learning experience. My latest wildlife encounter had me shaking my head and my heart pound- ing. It seems worthy of sharing on this hot summer day. Feel free to sit back and laugh with me. First, I am not a fish- er woman. The closest I ever came to catching a fish was at the Blue Jay Trout Farm in the San Bernardino Moun- tains. My family spent a month every summer in nearby Crestline. My grandfather wasn’t a fisherman ei- ther but he loved trout. He would pile us kids in the car and off we would go to the trout farm where you paid to fish. Grandpa said it was the most expensive activity of the summer. There, an employee baited the hook on your fishing pole and the fish would practically leap out of the water into your lap. Fortunately, I not only didn’t have to bait the hook but someone else took the slimy, it briefly swam a few inches and was still. A fisherman was nearby with his little girl. I asked him if he knew anything about fish. Duh. Of course he did. He was fishing! I told him my fish story and could tell that he thought I was a few bricks short of a load. Finally, he got curious, came over and said, “Doggone, it’s a Catfish.” (Or something like that.) He called his daugh- ter over to check it out as he nudged it into deeper water. The fish, however, had other ideas and kept coming back onto shore! The fisherman asked me where I found it. I told him it was covered in mulch under the trees but came alive when I poured water on it from a tea kettle. I still didn’t know how it got there. Then it dawned on me: There’s an osprey nest nearby. Sometimes other birds try to steal their fish when they’re coming home. Perhaps there was a tussle and he dropped it on our property — but three feet under the trees? By this time my fisherman’s daughter is asking questions and he is describing the fish as identified by its whiskers. Then, hoping to get rid of me, he assured me that my fish was going to be fine and I drove home — still shaking squirming fish off the line and put it into the bucket for me. Fast forward a few decades and I’m living at Cottage Grove Lake where fishing is a reg- ular pastime. But not for me. I’m more like someone out of a Justin Moore Country song: I can’t even bait a hook. That all sort of changed a couple of weeks ago. A strong wind had blown through our six acres of trees and branches were scattered on the deck and under the trees closest to the house. I got busy with my rake and wheelbarrow and began cleaning up. That’s when I saw what looked like a 12-inch log covered in mulch about three feet inside the tree line. I went over to pick it up and it moved! It was breath- ing. Yikes! I practical- ly jumped out of my jeans! I gently nudged it with a stick and it rolled over and fanned out what looked like tail feathers. A bird? And it was still alive? Eek! I ran into the house, filled the tea kettle, dashed outside and poured water over the “bird.” Well, the bird was a fish and its gills were opening and closing. I had to rescue it! I covered the fish with a damp cloth, laid it in a box, grabbed the car keys and drove over to the lake. At the boat ramp, I gently put the fish in the water, — to ponder what had happened. Later, I was telling this story to my friend Emily who proceeded to confound me with her own Mother Nature story. She lives in a house on a city lot in Eugene. Her backyard has a nice big deck overlook- ing a little stream that runs into a pond. A small Blue Jay (slightly handicapped because of a chopped off tail!) has been fre- quenting the pond to drink water and check out the tadpoles. One day while Emily was relaxing outside, she noticed that the tadpoles were now frogs. Suddenly, a HUGE Bullfrog leaped out of the water, jumped on her bluebird and swal- lowed its entire head! Emily leaped into action and eventually was able to free her bird’s head from the bullfrog. The frog dove back into the pond and the bird has never been seen again. Emily will never trust her bullfrogs again. Evidently they are carnivores that will even eat their own young. That’s Mother Na- ture at work. We city girls sure have a lot to learn. Contact Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox at 942-1317 or email bchatty@bet- tykaiser.com LORANE COUNTRY NEWS Contributed by Lil Thompson for The Sentinel • Registration for the Crow Middle/High School is Sept. 8-10. Calls will be made this week and next to schedule appointments for families. Students in K-3 will begin full time in-person classes on Sept. 14. Students in 4-12 will begin distance learning classes on the same date. Teachers for grades 4-12 will offer students and families a chance to meet, checkout textbooks and/ or Chromebooks, and help students adapt to Compre- hensive Distance Learning. Teachers with students in kindergarten and grades 1-3 will co-teach in small groups called “stable co- horts.” This will reduce risk of exposure and simplify contact tracing. Parents of these younger students will have an opportunity Yard of the Week brought to you by: Cottage Grove Sentinel 116 N. 6th • (541) 942-3325 Week of August 27th Winner is: 1375 Whitman Blvd. Yards will be selected each week by nominations. To nominate a yard you can call City Hall (942-5501) or Chamber of Commerce (942-2411) to meet with teachers and support staff to answer questions and review the whole process. If you have any ques- tions, call the district office and Applegate Elementary at 541-9935-2100 or CMHS at 541-935-2227. Remember, we are a small district and we can do this. • Lorane Grange meets on Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. It is still potluck snacks, wearing masks and distancing. There is not a dinner and bingo in September planned at this time. They are talking with Rural Arts about movie nights set to start in October. This will depend on state guidlines at the time. • Once again, many Lo- ranians enjoyed another sunny Sunday at drive-in church at Lorane Christian Church. All are invited. • Please be careful driving on Stoney Point. Northbound lane is crack- ing again. Also, slow down on these corners. Too many people cutting corners. • For all interested, many community members are sharing their extra veggies in front of the Lorane Deli. Help yourself. By Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe” ‘Fast’ food to crow about Cooper loves peanuts and car rides. (This column was fi rst published in The Sentinel Aug. 1, 2018) C rows circle above Glen’s SUV, loudly caw- ing as they escort him to the pond. A huge black cloud of them quickly join the excited group. They perch on his sun roof and the cars parked next to him. One crazy crow, Mini-Cooper, sits on his side mirror crowing, demanding breakfast. For decades, Glen has driven to the pond to feed “his” birds healthy, organic seed. He knows that birds consuming well-meaning people’s junk food and bread is deadly for the birds and their babies. “Last week something exceptional happened,” laughed Glen. “As routine, I left my two dogs in the car, lifted the hatch back gate, scooped seed out of the 21/2-foot deep bucket, and tossed it to the water fowl.” He then drove home, parked in the garage, put the dogs in the house and remembered he needed grocer- ies. Back to the car he went and drove to the mall. As soon as he turned the car off he heard an alarm- ing swishing noise. “I was confused. My radio was off,” said Glenn. Then he saw a freeloading Cooper IN his car! The large black bird had ridden, unseen, in the fast lane home and then to the mall nestled down in the half empty bucket with his head happily buried in seed. He’d been joyfully stuffi ng his little feathery head. Cracked corn dust shrouded his head like a white hood. Glen’s dogs weren‘t aware of Cooper be-caws he was quietly taking advantage of the situation eating “fast” food as they sped home. Finally full, Cooper jumped up onto the vehicle’s back seat. “I couldn‘t let this stuffed bird fl y free, miles as the crow fl ies, back to the pond,” admitted Glen. “So, I drove him back. It was the craziest ride. He sat on the seat’s rim, crowing to the radio’s rhythm. It was as if he had been riding in cars his entire life, and he acted like I was his Uber driver!” At the pond, I opened the door, and he just sat there crowing at me. He was like my dogs. He loved car rides and did not want to get out. Finally frustrated, I said,“Times up! Free ride is over!” He fl ew out and hopped up on the vehicle’s roof cawing. Usually, when I arrive at the pond, Cooper hops on the SUV’s roof forcing me to slow down. How does he know my vehicle? Hundreds of white SUV’s visit the park. On my drive out of the park, this crazy bird escorts me by sitting proudly, like a Jaguar ornament, on the car’s hood. “People stare and laugh,” said Glen. “Cooper rides this way for half a mile before returning to the pond, probably waiting for another sucker. Crows live to be 50 years old, so he is going to outlive me. I worry about that and on the days I can’t go be-caws of illness. I feel guilty if he is waiting, watching and scanning all the white SUVs for his breakfast. I never thought that a bird would make me feel guilty — or ride in my vehicle!” Alaskan Tips ‘n’ Tales reader Charlie adds, “Crows recognize people’s faces and cars. There is another green RAV4 like mine here in town. Once, the fl ock of crows that I feed regularly freaked out the mechanic while he was test driving my car.” TIPS: Debbie at Old Mill Farm store advises, “Don‘t feed birds processed human food! Most are full of sugar and chemicals foreign to ducks’ digestive systems. Bread dough has plasticizers and preservatives. Moldy products and sugars harm birds. Share your fur-avorite pet memory or adventure at angelscribe@msn.com. Visit Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales on Facebook at/www.facebook.com/PetTipsandTales Humane Society for Neuter/Spay Assistance Program. 541-942-2789
