The Banded Woolly Bear

Yesterday afternoon, we spotted a couple banded woolly bears in a willow near the cabin. These are particular favorites of mine. A banded woolly bear is the caterpillar stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth. Here in Montana, the caterpillars emerge from eggs in late summer and early fall. They remain active and feed on broadleaf plants until cold weather sets in. When the weather begins to cool, the woolly bears seek out protected places in the understory: under deadfall, under leaves, or in root tangles. The woolly bears overwinter by curling into a coil and more or less freezing solid. Even the heart of the caterpillar stops beating. In the spring, the caterpillar emerges and pupates before becoming a moth.

Interestingly, in the Arctic, due to the short growing season for vegetation, the woolly bear must feed for several summers and freeze again each winter before becoming a moth.

Folklore holds that the thickness of the dark middle color band is a predictor of winter. If the dark band is thin, the winter will be severe; if the band is thick, the winter will be mild. The middle band, as a matter of fact, grows wider as the caterpillar ages.

I’ve written about them in two previous blogs, but don’t mind sharing again.

Banded Woolly Bear

            Isabella Tiger Moth (Wikipedia)

—Mitchell Hegman

The Angels Rest

Ho. Let us stop for the night. The better angels, the burning ones, have agreed to ascend to the treetops and watch over us. The lesser angels will tend to the animals and then care for the cherubs.

Those from the third sphere will remain close to the ground. The archangels will stand watch at the edges of the camp, while the ordinary angels will see to the small things: distributing blankets, brushing and calming the restless horses, and feeding sticks to the fires.

And the cherubs? They have been told to stay out of trouble, although no one expects them to listen. So let us sleep. The angels have their duties, the animals will soon be bedded, and the stars have been set free to wander through the night.

—Mitchell Hegman

Cross Traffic

While driving into town, I somewhat misjudged my distance and pulled out onto a road in front of an oncoming car. Fortunately, the woman driving the other car had her smartphone up in front of her face and didn’t even notice me.

—Mitchell Hegman

The Broccoli Incident

I make salads. Desiree, owing to her vastly superior capabilities, covers all the other prep and cooking on either side of that.

I like to chop up all kinds of stuff to add to my salads. Nuts, sweet onion, olives, cabbage, and broccoli are commonly added to a base of kale, lettuce, spinach, and arugula.

Welp, yesterday I had a broccoli incident. Apparently, I got a little too frisky while chopping. As my buddy Kenny used to put it: “I was going at it like a one-armed man killing snakes.” Somehow, even while wearing glasses, a speck of broccoli flicked up into my right eye.

To be perfectly honest, it only sort of hurt, but if someone had been around, I would have played it up a bit. In the end, I merely rubbed my eye, and the broccoli vanished.

I would like my broccoli incident to serve as a cautionary tale. I’m not suggesting we need to start wearing safety glasses when chopping broccoli. But that particular broccoli clearly chose violence. And there may be others.

—Mitchell Hegman 

Self-Assessment

Looking back now, I realize I should have remained looking ahead.

—Mitchell Hegman

Road Closure

I will admit to being a bit “slow on the uptake,” as the saying goes. Sometimes, I need to be told directly it’s time to go. If someone is trying to explain how to construct something, a sketch or two may be required to drag me fully onboard.

While taking a drive through the mountains yesterday, we found a road closure that must have had people like me in mind. The instant I saw the road, I was pretty certain they didn’t want me driving on it.

I’m sharing a photograph of the road so you can judge for yourself.

Closed Road

—Mitchell Hegman

Ghost of the Eastern Seaboard

The Stanfields are a Canadian rock band based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They blend a hard rock style with elements of traditional Atlantic Canadian folk music. The Stanfields released their debut album Vanguard of the Young & Reckless in 2010.

Today I am sharing Ghost of the Eastern Seaboard, a particular favorite of mine.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8GyDzzA5j4

—Mitchell Hegman