If you have been a veteran reader of Wandering Wilbo, you know being in the right place for the Fourth of July is an obsession with Wilbo. You also know that Wilbo was almost killed in a car accident two years ago, after the bars closed for the morning of the Fourth of July. The driver of a Dodge impacted the rear bumper of my Green Chevrolet S-10 and set it to the junkyard, State Farm declaring it a total economic loss. So the Fourth of the Seventh month gets me going. As of right now, I have no idea where I'll be on the Fourth. I might stay home and stay as safe as possible. However, I have Wednesday off, and I take off on a Full Wilbo Thursday evening. Long time followers of the blog know that a Full Wilbo is a journey of several days with massive potential for adventure and discovery. You'll get updates. I have a destination, Mackinac Island, and a solid plan for my safe travel there and return, so it is not an Ultimate Wilbo. An ultimate Wilbo has no planned return, and could result in my finding a new home, or at least, a new fate.
The Red Squirrels, and all I know about them is the red fur, finally impressed me. I saw a red squirrel scatter away from the side of US-31, frightened by my passing bicycle. It lept onto the low hanging bough of a white pine and rode the undulations until the branch stopped. It lept right onto the branch and grabbed on tightly. A few tall oaks stand at the corner of US-31 and Norton Avenue, and red squirrels were gathering food falling from the oaks. Even though it is too early for acorns, the squirrels were gathering food of the oak. I'll have to look closer and guess what is this food. Spring is a tough time for squirrels because their nut caches have sprouted into seedlings. Speaking about seedlings, I raised a number of buckeyes from seeds, using coffee cans as pots. I kept them on the porch landing of my garret. The squirrels attacked them, severing the seedling and stealing off with the seed. I was living in a fraternity at the time, and I won the dumbass award for the week, presented with a skit at the weekly meeting. One of the brothers pretended to be me chasing after the squirrels, seeking revenge with a cleaver.
I also counted three gophers, and more than a dozen gopher holes on the way home along Business US-31. I was thinking of declaring this the day of the Possum, but I am trying to talk about living animals, making a life in th suburban habitat. The possum had found its demise under the wheels of numerous passing cars. Expect a complete discussion of road kill in a future Wandering Wilbo. Road kill is similar to the canary in the coal mine. If animals die on Business US-31, so can people. In fact, I can easily list three cases of people slaughtered in the stretch of Business US-31 between Norton and downtown Muskegon, and I think the pedestrians were put at fault in all three cases. One of these days, I would like to statistically study the accident reports written in this county just to see if there's a bias against pedestrians and drivers of cars struck by trucks. Millions of animals are struck dead on the road, yet the issue hasn't grown to a degree of urgency that change becomes necessary. At least, in Key West, the Key West Deer have a way to pass under the U.S. Highway 1. Key West Deer are to precious and scarce to waste under the wheels of cars. At least, the owners of the retained water pond near Ludington, Michigan pay into a fund for fish killed by power generation. The same is true on the Muskegon River, where wildlife improvement projects are funded by payments for fish kills by the dams.
In Britain, the red squirrel is locked in a mortal battle for habitat with the grey squirrel. The red squirrel is losing ground to the grey squirrel, which is an invader introduced from Europe. The grey squirrel also had been declared a detriment to "woodland of both economic and amenity value". I quote the article below. I am sure I would be a more interesting writer had I come up in a British school system. The grey squirrel has a habit of bark stripping, which can kill five percent of a forest's trees. The article adds another charge. The grey squirrel is picking on the wild birds of England. The bird watchers of Britain are quite prepared to show the grey squirrel its proper place, in a squirrel pot pie!
Red Versus Grey: http://www.conservation-issues.co.uk/Articles%20Pages/Grey_Squirrel_Article_07-07.htm
Squirrel Pot Pie might be the first recipe published in Wandering Wilbo: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/martin/wildrecipes/wgrsq3.htm
It's almost the Fourth of July. I had the pleasure of seeing Garrison Star perform the song, "Fireworks" at the Howmet Theater April 12, 2008. I have been whistling it since the last day of June. I hope Ms. Starr doesn't mind me publishing her lyrics if I give a direct link to where one could buy her album. Starr totally rocked an audience of less than twenty people, and I honor her for her professionalism and spirit. She was promoting her album, Girl Who Killed September. http://www.garrisonstarr.com/
Fireworks, by Garrison Starr
it’s almost the fourth of july
scary, how quickly time goes by
it’s almost the fourth of july
it was almost a year ago today
you held on tight to me for dear life
I heard you say
everybody leaves me anyway
fireworks
lights and sparks
so beautiful in the dark
beautiful in the dark
we talk in the quiet of june
we sparkle in the night
Find more similar lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.com/iVE
and when I look at you
I still believe it’s true
fireworks
lights and sparks
so beautiful in the dark
beautiful in the dark
like smoke from a bottle rocket
fire from a roman candle
the moment is gone before we know it
it’s almost the fourth of july
it’s almost the fourth of july
it’s almost the fourth of july……
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