On the Other Hand

We are pretty smart standing here at the thinnest edge of a new century. We now have the capability to compute our way through skyscraper-sized columns of mathematical formulas in nanoseconds. We can flick spacecraft to Mars and beyond. We trick tomatoes and cucumbers into thinking they are dimension lumber and first cousins to insecticides. We have turned sound into a tool that can see the complex inside of once-impenetrable solid objects. We fashion heavy metals into fluff. But an old-fashioned range fire still kicks our ass.

—Mitchell Hegman

Another Year of Bad Practices

On something of an annual basis, I prove that having food and drink in the living room is a really bad idea. As it so happens, I did this just yesterday by flipping a fresh bowl of salad upside down on the sofa.

Wow. That’s a surprisingly competent mess.

But there it is: a good reminder that eating salad on the sofa is a bad idea.

Thanks for that.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I should be hooked up for another year of bad practices.

—Mitchell Hegman

A Salamander in the Mousetrap

As someone who by nature requires declaring a favorite in most every category, I will now declare that the Western tiger salamander is my favorite amphibian. They are not reptiles, in spite of dressing up to look like one. Salamanders typically have moist, porous skin, giving them a smooth, almost silky appearance.

Western tiger salamanders range throughout Montana on the eastern side of the Continental Divide. According to the Montana Field Guide: Adults are found in virtually any habitat, providing there is a terrestrial substrate suitable for burrowing and a body of water nearby suitable for breeding.

Adult western tiger salamanders are shy by disposition and tend to remain underground in burrows in prairie or agricultural habitats and only emerge for any length of time to breed in the water available to them. They make their living by climbing down in these holes and eating insects and worms.

I mention all of this in light of the fact that yesterday I caught a Western tiger salamander in one of the live mousetraps I set near my hot tub outside the back door. Fortunately, the salamander was unharmed, and I was able to release it and let it go along its way.

I have shared images of the salamander in question. Naturally, I also captured a photograph of the salamander alongside a Cold Smoke beer for a sense of scale.

Salamander Closeup

Salamander in the Trap

Posed with a Cold Smoke Beer

—Mitchell Hegman

Two Random Thoughts

 Thought #1: I wish to be at the very place where wind takes pause, where thoughts have muscles and teeth and claws.

Thought #2: How much can be explained by the fact that we are the overfed products of a naturally isolated gene pool?

—Mitchell Hegman

Winter Negotiations

One thing you learn early is that no matter the season declared by the calendar, you don’t wander far from your heavy coat here in Montana. We don't really have four seasons in the standard sense of those. Around here, it’s more fractured negotiations between winter and everything else, with winter getting regular allowances across the board. As I have mentioned before, I have seen snow at my house on the valley floor every month of the year, including July and August.

I mention this in light of the fact that we are now descending into cooling temperatures over the next few days. Some of you may want to start snuggling your coat. At a minimum, all of us should locate one.

For any newcomers: Welcome to Montana.

—Mitchell Hegman

Something Henry Rollins Said

Henry Rollins is the intense, iconic frontman of the hardcore punk band Black Flag who built a multifaceted career as a spoken-word artist, author, actor, and cultural commentator. Here are three of his quotes:

— “My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud.”

--- “The truth is an anti-war statement in itself.”

--- “Why do you think the old stories tell of men who set out on great journeys to impress the gods? Because trying to impress people just isn't worth the time and effort.”

—Mitchell Hegman

A Metallic Green Sweat Bee

If metal is good for making trains, planes, and automobiles, why not try making an insect out of the stuff? Or at least make a bee that looks as though it were made from metal. Enter the metallic green sweat bee, a tiny native and super-efficient pollinator that looks like it was fashioned from emerald-colored steel.

Yesterday, I captured a crisp photograph of a metallic green sweat bee putting in a shift on a sunflower near my house. The image is clear enough to reveal its pollen-covered legs. Those yellow clumps are the bee's cargo, gathered from the sunflower's tiny disk florets.

Sweat bees have adopted the single life, forgoing the crowded social arrangements of a honeybee hive. Most live solitary lives in little underground nests, although some species will make their homes in the soft, decaying wood of a punky log. Each bee has her own nest and provisions her own young.

The fascinating part is what happens to the pollen they collect. The bee carries it back to its underground nest, mixes it with nectar, and stocks a little pantry for its offspring. Those pollen-covered legs are carrying groceries for the kids.

Metallic Green Sweat Bee on a Sunflower

—Mitchell Hegman