Thursday, July 13, 2000

"i don't feel the sun's coming out today, it's staying in isn't gonna shine today and as i sit here in this misery you know i don't think that i've ever felt colder than i do in here

and ooooooh, as i i fade away
they'll all look at me and say

hey look at him
i'll never live that way
that's ok....they couldn't anyway!

and if you feel life ain't worth living
you gotta take a look around you look up way into the sky---oh yeah! and when your deepest thoughts are broken, you keep on dreaming, boy, you stop you know your gonna die...and i don't ever wanna die!

and as we all play parts of tomorrow
some ways we'll work other ways we'll play
but i know we can't all stay here forever
so i want to write my words on the face of today ......and they'll paint it!

and oh, as i fade away, they'll all look at me and say (they'll look at me and they'll say)

hey look at him,
i'll never live that way
that's ok, there just afraid to change
when life is hard you know you gotta change....ununun.....oooo ooo ooo oo ooo...... (nice mandolin fade out....)

--loose interpretation of a tribute "change" comprised of various versions of the song, blind melon (edit in april's mind)


posted by April Fraze 7/13/2000 09:24:29 PM| link

Monday, July 10, 2000

i just wanted to add this photo to complement that last post:



so human-like!!!
posted by April Fraze 7/10/2000 09:35:02 AM| link

have you met the wolf pups? for about 2 months brad and i watched the cam set-up to observe the artic wolf pups......destined to join the 3 wolf pack at the international wolf center in ely, mn. the pups were brought to the wolf center on july 1st. there they are being acclimated to their future pack....lucas, lakota, and mackenzie. at this time the pups are being kept in an adjoining pen to avoid disaster. last night they did a segment on the news about the introduction. the adults were incredibly interested in licking the pups through the fence. according to the reporter all adults, including males, produce a nurturing hormone in the summer. alpha male, lucas, was showing his daddy power.

my parents and i visited the wolf center on our mini-vacation. it's educational program included a view of the wolf throughout history and illustrated the many hats that wolf has filled in mythology and folklore. our next day of vacation put us at the vince shute wildlife sanctuary. put this on your list for places to visit. when i spoke with my parents before we left my dad was asking me about pelican lake. a gentleman he works with had told him about this place where bears roam free among humans. we found pelican lake on the net in the town of orr.....and we found word of a bear sanctuary. it wasn't until we made it to international falls that we saw a flyer for the place. we had to pass up orr by an hour to get a room for the night and back track. times for the sanctuary are from 5pm until dusk. we drove 13 miles on a county road and then drove further back a non-maintained drive. my father was a little more than excited. when we arrived we were shown where to park and escorted to the viewing deck.

there were about 20-30 bears there in the open...non-domesticated black bears.................over 50 years ago it all began. off in the distance is a logging shack, a reminder of how the park began. vince worked as a logger on the land back then. he encountered black bears on a regular basis....out of fear he shot them. he lost track of how many he had killed until one day he figured there had to be a better way. so he began to feed the bears and established a relationship with them. the feeding continues today. the volunteers insist that feeding is not recommended because as the saying goes...."a fed bear is a dead bear." a bear will migrate 100 miles for food. the feeding continues today because the system is in place and it allows the park to study and educate others on bear behavior. according to the volunteers the bears only visit the feeding area for about 4 weeks to supplement their food stores before hibernation. the same bears often come back.....injured bears find their way to the sanctuary. last year they saw a new bear hiding in the brush. when they finally got a good look at him they saw he was missing one of his front paws. he made his way back this year.

i was thoroughly engrossed with the whole set-up. the bears have free range. we walked about 10 ft. from a young bear sitting on a log watching us pass by. a mother and her 3 cubs were in attendance that night and i was so taken with how the cubs resembled human babies in fluffy sleepers. this park is an incredible way for humans to see the docile behaviors of the american black bear. as i mentioned before on this page: for every one human death caused by the american black bear there are 90,000 homicides. i think that says quite a bit.

tips on avoiding a nasty confrontation: american black bears fear.......they will most often choose flight over fight, so never sneak up on one, even by accident. publicize your wilderness intrusion and give them adequate space to flee.

on our way back to international falls that night we saw a big old black bear on the side of the road. i saw it first.....and it was amazing.
posted by April Fraze 7/10/2000 09:31:42 AM| link

Sunday, July 09, 2000

i'm listening to the lightning right now. today was incredibly warm and humid. brad and i rode our bikes for an hour and i could barely walk afterwards. minnesota's weather has been tumultuous all weekend with tornados, thunderstorms and flooding all around. so far we have accumulated several inches of rain in our area. at 5am this morning i woke brad out of fear. the lightning was so close to our bedroom window. bad weather is simple for me. i need to be prepared. i remember how helpless i felt when a storm hit my old apartment complex as i surveyed my small family and felt helpless.
br> today was our first big scare. well, at least to me. i was grilling salmon and veggies for dinner....practicing my mandolin on the side porch as i stirred the coals. i came in to exchange my mando for the guitar when i heard the tornado alarm on tv. when i got seated on the porch i realized that was our alarm....and it wasn't time for a warning. i ran in, told brad, and freaked out inside....he wanted to check it out but all i could think of was getting everyone safe....call it maternal instinct.

i scooped up casey and tossed him lightly on the basement stairs, then i shooed eli the rest of the way down. kyra and teton were swarming by the door, disrupted. kyra wouldn't come so i grabbed her by the neck and carried her down the stairs.....i was a shaking mess. the alarm eventually grew quiet and my nerves shook themselves out. i still don't know what happened....now we prepare for a night of storms. the thunder and lightening creep closer.

i called home after the scare to gain my grounding. dad answered. i was happy to get his advice on what to watch for. he called me back twice tonight to check on us. it was nice really. i laugh about it inside because he is my daddy and he does in fact worry. that stuff is usually reserved for mom and i wasn't sure why she hadn't called. as soon as i hung up the phone from his second call it rang again. it was my mother and my 3 aunts. they're in the mountains together this weekend. that would explain dad's step up to the worried phone call to check in. they were watching the news and wanted to make sure we were fine. i told mom that dad had called and i could hear her smile. she sked if he was ok.....i told her he was on his way to bed. they are such good, sweet people.

the thunder is scary right now....
posted by April Fraze 7/9/2000 11:20:25 PM| link

today today's playlist:

live forever, don't look back in anger - oasis
good - better than ezra
weezer - say it ain't so, buddy holly, undone - the sweater song
london quireboys - sweet mary ann, roses and rings
tori amos - crucify
spacehog - In the Meantime
fun lovin' criminals - Scooby Snacks
shakespeare's sister - stay (now there's one you haven't seen/heard in awhile)
average white band - cut the cake
letters to cleo - here and now
poe - Angry Johnny
counting crows - rain king

now playing : reality bites soundtrack

it is one of those days
posted by April Fraze 7/9/2000 12:43:57 PM| link