Return of the Cranes

South Shore birders- the pair of Sandhill Cranes have returned to the Bark Bay Slough! I enjoyed seeing the pair with their two fledglings grazing in the field near the slough last fall as I would drive my boys to catch the bus. Yesterday morning, four wild turkeys were also hanging out along the road leading to the slough. The tom stood guard with his feathers puffed out as the three hens pecked their way through the grass.

Ebay Pancake Benefits BRC

The high bidder for our Mother Nature Miracle Pancake was Nancy Sandstrom of the Pinehurst Inn. Nancy won the pancake with her $86 bid!

The pancake appeared on the last griddle of flapjacks made by Ros Nelson at our annual Maple Syrup Pancake Breakfast March 31. The pancake seemed to have the likeness of Mother Nature, and not one to miss an opportunity to raise money for our conservation work, Ros posted the pancake on Ebay. Over 600 people viewed the auction and 42 people were watching the bids over the week of April 1.

Rick Olivo from the Daily Press wrote a hilarious story, "Miracle pancake or flapjack flap? eBay will settle this" that was picked up by the AP wire. The story took a life of its own and appeared in newspapers in St. Paul, Chicago, Madison, Eau Claire, Green Bay and Wausau.

The Sandstroms tell me that they are preserving the pancake (not serving it) for the future. Maybe it will make an appearance next year, for the good of the cause!

Frogs

The last of the snow is pretty much gone. Finally we are hearing the quacking of the Wood Frogs and the peeping of the Spring Peepers.

A great link to identifying Wisconsin frogs is found on the Department of Natural Resources website.