Chuck Lura

We have had a few days this winter when the sundogs have been quite prominent in the morning and evening sky. Although not rainbows, the basic principles are similar. The scientific name for sundogs is parihelia (singular parahelion). They often appear during cold winter days when ice crystals are abundant in the atmosphere and the sun is low in the sky.

Most North Dakotans know that the Red River forms the border between North Dakota and Minnesota. But other aspects, such as knowledge of the source of the river, and where it goes after flowing into Manitoba are perhaps less well known.

Picture a bright, brisk, sunshiny winter day with a fresh blanket of snow. Now picture a red fox in its winter best trotting across that landscape. A friend recently described that sight to me. His excitement was quite apparent.

We had a hawk recently buzz our bird feeder. The birds at the feeder scattered for cover, and from what I could see, it was a failed effort by the hawk to get a meal. It happened so quickly that it was tough to positively identify the hawk, but it probably was a Cooper’s hawk.

A quiet calm seems to come over the landscape during the winter months. But there is more going on than one might think. Many of the birds from summer have gone south, of course, but several species are permanent residents. And mammals remain as well, but their activities may be rather inconspicuous, particularly those living under the snow and ice. Few hibernate.

One of the joys of winter is watching the birds at our bird feeders. When was the last time you sat back, relaxed, and just watched the birds at the feeder?

The winter landscape can look rather empty and bleak this time of year. And although the animals can seek shelter in burrows, under snow, or other protected places, the trees have no choice but to stay put and tough it out. But unlike most trees native to North Dakota that shed their leaves in the fall the evergreens such as pine, spruce, and juniper retain them.

Much of North Dakota is pothole country, and the Missouri Coteau, that band of hills that borders the Missouri River on the east is prime duck country. Tucked away in Kidder County a bit south and east of Dawson, North Dakota is Slade National Wildlife Refuge which provides important habitat for ducks and other wildlife.

It is time to look skyward at night again. Some of you may have been noticing some meteors recently. The Leonids Meteor Shower began on November 6th and will run through the 30th. The shower will peak on the night of November 17th and early morning hours of the 18th with perhaps 15 meteors or so per hour. A nearly full moon, however, will make only the brightest of meteors clearly visible.

“The Father of Waters.” When most people hear or read that phrase, they more than likely think of the Mississippi River. But why not the Missouri River? I have been thinking about that after reading John Madson’s Up on the River: An Upper Mississippi Chronicle. In the book, Madson wonders why it was the Mississippi River that was designated to continue on from St. Louis to New Orleans and not the Missouri River.