Bill Bodden's Blog - Posts Tagged "nature"

I’ve been a birdwatcher since I was 10 or 12; what got me started was the year when Evening Grosbeaks — colorful seed-eaters mostly found north of the U.S.-Canada border — moved south in search of food and a few found their way to our next-door neighbor’s feeder. After that, I was hooked. My brother Mike and I went out numerous times in early mornings looking for whatever was out there, and sometimes we were surprised by the interesting birds we saw. Often our mom and dad would join us, and we covered a fair bit of wild ground in central Wisconsin over those years. For several years running we participated in the...

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Food is in the news these days, and it's a surprisingly controversial topic. The biggest problem with food -- as I see it -- is that there isn't enough of it for everyone. Perhaps the biggest news is the fight over labeling foods containing GMOs -- Genetically Modified Organisms -- and how major food conglomerates are generally against this labeling.

I have a relationship with food like most people; I love to eat. My parents always -- ALWAYS -- did their best for me and my brothers, but by the time I was old enough to understand much, we were poor. My folks - both of them -- were decent cooks, and I grew up, like so many of my generation, with the "clean your plate" mandate. We never went hungry when I was a kid, but we often had to do without other things.

My parents were also big on trying exotic foods. Exotic to them usually meant Italian or Chinese, but that was life in small town Wisconsin in the 60s and 70s. They instilled in me the value of trying new things, for which I am eternally grateful. Today there are very few foods I will not try, and even fewer that I refuse to eat at all. Though there are some things I wouldn't choose on my own, if they are served to me while I am a guest in someone's home I will eat them without discomfort or complaint.

With all this in mind, I'd like to talk for a moment about...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2016/11/14/the-...

I like plants. I don't have quite the same affinity for them that I have for, say, dogs or cats, or wild birds, but I enjoy tending them and watching them grow.

In our tiny, postage-stamp back yard, we've had pots that for years now have grown Morning Glories. We added a trellis behind the pots so the MGs would have something to climb, and every year they get to the top of...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2018/04/30/my-g...

As if the title weren't obvious enough, this post contains harsh language and depressing themes. Be warned.

*****

It occurs to me that, more and more, Americans (and possibly the world) revel in being complete jerks to other people. Cries of "He speaks his mind." or "She tells it like it is!" seem to be code for "He/she enjoys belittling people for his/her own amusement."

Everybody is a jerk once in a while. I've been a jerk plenty of times, but it takes a special kind of asshole to be proud of treating people poorly. We're seeing it all too often today, and it's...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2018/05/14/assh...

While we prepare and ponder adopting some new furry friends of our own, we visited one of our favorite sanctuaries over the weekend.
Valley of the Kings is a non-profit big-cat rescue located in southeastern Wisconsin, near the towns of Darien and Sharon, close to the Illinois border and only a short drive from Delevan and Lake Geneva. Valley of the Kings rescues big cats that were seized or surrendered by people who...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2018/06/25/a-ho...

Cockroaches are everyone's favorite disgusting pest. I've had my share of run-ins with the little buggers, and had to do a fair bit of research on them for a writing project, so I know how deep this particular rabbit-hole can go.

When I was working on my scenario, "Bugs in the System," for Mutants & Masterminds: Wild Cards: All-In , I wrote about a Joker who basically morphed into a human-cockroach hybrid, with absolutely no apologies to Franz Kafka. I felt I needed to research these ultimate survivors at greater length to add verisimilitude to my writing; after the research, I didn't sleep well for a week.

Did you know a cockroach can live for three days without a head? Yep.

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2018/08/13/cock...

I was at the Henry Vilas Zoo recently, and before that the Indianapolis Zoo during GenCon weekend. I enjoy visiting zoos because I love animals -- even reptiles, bugs, and fish. They don't have to be cuddly for me to find them fascinating -- though if they aren't cuddly mammals, odds are good that I don't want them in my house!

To many people, zoos are depressing places: animals in confinement, being stared at, shouted at, and (occasionally) having things throw at them, by people. They can be depressing if you can only see that particular unpleasant aspect, but there's another point to consider: Zoos are...
To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2018/08/29/nece...

Last autumn, I tried to sow a tiny patch of ground outside our condo with a few milkweed seeds. I was rewarded this spring by finding a bunch of milkweed plants growing in that patch of ground. They started sprouting before we left on our trip to Venice, and by the time we got back the plants were over two feet high.

This patch of ground is quite small - maybe 10-12 feet square. Living in a condo development, I was made painfully aware that any plantings I do exist at the whim of the condo association and their maintenance team. Last year, they "thinned" my lilies, basically tearing out all the red ones (my favorite color) and decimating the yellow ones. Its the kind of thing that makes me ...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2019/06/23/mona...

Just finished reading Cherie Priest's Maplecroft, which I recommend for fans of Lovecraftian Horror. The mystery and horror elements involve the sea to some degree, and it started me thinking over the countless nature shows I've absorbed over the years. I LOVE nature shows, and deep sea critters are among my favorites to learn about.


Jeremy Wade with a 7-foot long Wels Catfish

A recent series I latched onto was River Monsters. Hosted by Jeremy Wade, a British biologist and angler, the show follows the host as he pursues mysteries of killer freshwater fish. Spoiler alert: 9 times out of 10, the culprit is some sort of catfish. After watching many episodes of this show, I now will never swim in murky water again.

One of the great deep sea mysteries of all time is the story of...

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2020/02/24/deep...

We had an unusual invitation drop in our laps last week. T posted a comment to a picture by our local zoo. The photo was of a Tawny Frogmouth - a bird native to Australia - and she remarked how it was something both of us would love to see up close some day. As it turns out, an acquaintance of ours works at the Henry Vilas Zoo, and saw the comment. She called T and asked if we'd like to "meet" the bird, whose name is Hagrid, in person! Of course we said "YES!!!" and plans were set in motion...

We arrived at the zoo on the appointed day a few minutes early. The zoo walking paths have been cordoned off to direct all traffic in a long, one-way loop to maximize social distancing. Everyone was wearing masks (which is as it should be) and we headed over to the barn where Hagrid lives. It was a chilly day, with temperatures in the upper 30s Fahrenheit, but the flamingoes were out enjoying the sun. We were escorted into the foyer of the building, and waiting while Hagrid was prepared to meet us.

To read the rest of this post, please visit: http://billbodden.com/2020/12/08/a-bi...