Sometimes I choose not to go for a hike because there doesn’t seem to be enough time for it. Well, this evening that awful assumption was put to rest completely. With the nice weather and all, I rushed home after work and grabbed Miss Olivia for a quick loop up and down Kirk Hill. It was perfect weather for a hike and Olivia was had a great time.

The light was great and the air crisp, although the extent of the bird life was a few Red-breasted Nuthatches and Mountain Chickadees. A nice leg stretcher after was exactly what I needed.

Every year John Parker graciously leads the Sacajawea Audubon trip to Ennis Lake where the target species are scoters, loons (other than Common), and maybe a Herring Gull or two. While had a few gulls, but the waterfowl and loon numbers were way down. The lake was as empty as I have ever seen, but hey we’re out birding and the weather was great for Ennis (warm and windy). We had a great group with many good birders. Young Andrew continues to develop as a birder, and Peter was giving his calls and songs as usual. how someone can actually, first, know that many vocalizations, and, second, have the ability to imitate them is absolutely beyond me. We didn’t see any scoters or rare loons, but a cooperative Bonaparte’s Gull, two rather tame Great Horned Owls, and the first Herring Gull of the autumn.

* Notice brown washing indicating a first year Bonaparte’s Gull

Full Trip Report at WilderTrack.com

Tonight I brewed my South by Southwheat Ale. It’s a wheat ale twist a couple of twists – the use of agave nectar in place of honey, which I normally use, and Sorachi Ace hops (a Japanese variety that is supposed to lend a mild lemon/citrus flavor – perfect for a wheat beer). I am using the American Hefeweizen yeast from White Labs for this particular brew. Images of the brewing process and brewing particulars to follow.

Fermentables
2.5 lbs. – American Two-row Barley
1 lbs. -  Flaked Wheat
4 lbs. – Wheat Liquid Male Extract
1 lbs. -  Agave Nectar

Hops
0.5 oz. – Sorachi Ace 14% AA – 60 minutes
0.25 oz. – Sorachi Ace 14% AA – 15 minutes
0.25 oz. – Sorachi Ace 14% AA – 5 minutes

Yeast
White Labs American Hefeweizen (WLP320)

Steep American Two-row Barley and flaked wheat for 45 minutes at ~155 F.

Add wheat liquid malt extract and agave nectar, and return to boil. Add 0.5 oz. of the Sorachi Ace hops to the boil. Smell the goodness.

After the boil was over, the color was a tad darker than straw yellow – perfect for the wheat ale…I can’t wait to taste this one.

As the light faded into twilight this evening, thousands of Mallards descended upon the few remaining stubble fields south of Bozeman. I surmise that this event is my true herald of autumn, the small waves of migrating waterfowl honking overhead as they pass through the valley. Some may settle for the winter or, at least, a couple of weeks; others are on their way to points further, the Rio Grande Valley or Bosque del Apache…places I must visit. The snap is in the air and a blue autumn sky is accented by colorful Mallards and Northern Pintails.

Today I brewed a recipe of my own devices, a Sticky Sweet Maple Honey Porter. The intent of this was to have big porter with sweet tones of coffee, maple, and floral tones from the Fuggles hops and honey. In what follows is the recipes, images from the brew day, and the brew particulars.

Fermentables
7 lbs. – Dark Malt Extract Syrup
1.5 lbs. -  Honey
1.25 lbs. – Maple Syrup
1 lbs. -  Rye Malt
1 lbs. – American Black Patent

Hops
1.0 oz. – Fuggles 4.6% AA
0.5 oz. – Fuggles 4.6% AA
0.5 oz. – Fuggles 4.6% AA

Yeast
White Labs Irish Ale (WLP004)

Steep black patent and rye for 30 minutes at ~155 F

Add dark malt extract and 1oz of Fuggles hops. Bring up to a boil.

Add honey and 0.5 oz. of Fuggles hops at 15 minutes.

Add maple syrup and the remaining 0.5 oz. of hops at 2 minutes.

Postscript: The fermentation is healthy to say the least.

One day alone is wonderful to have at Ennis Lake during the fall, but to have two such days is sublime.

Sam Koenen and I took his mini-me, Jabe, out for a bit of guy time with some birding and breakfast at Yesterday’s Cafe (best sausage gravy ever…I mean ever…challenge me, I dare you!). Oh yeah, the wonder mutt, Miss Olivia was along as the offical bird dog. After breakfast, we headed towards Jeffers and the south end of Ennis Lake. The birds were the usual cast of characters for the area, save for a few Bonapart’s Gulls and Hooded Mergansers. The day was really about having a good time with good company, and little birding made it a great experience.

Oh almost forgot, at Harrison Reservoir, we had 3 American Pipits…probably the last I will see until next April/May

You can see the complete trip report here.

Every once in a while you come across a set of circumstances so incredibly odd that it defies description. At lunch today, I had to go into Safeway, and upon entering the store, two police officers were holding a obliviously “crazy” man. First of all, one of the cops had his flashlight beam focused on the suspect — we’re inside a brightly fluorescent lit grocery store. That works. Next, our suspect has schizophrenic hair that had not seen a comb or shampoo in at least a good month. He was wearing a white t-shirt — well, the t-shirt was white but the thick layer of dirt, grease, oil and other dried fluids obscured that particular fact. Now for the kicker, the other cop was holding a cheap, knock-off samurai sword. I kid you not, a sword, a f’ing sword. This brought many questions to my mind.

“A samurai sword, really?”

“Who brings a sword into the grocery?”

“Does this guy always carry a sword?”

One question after the next kept bombarding my cranium, well, they still are tumbling around in there. I should have asked the cops, “What’s the deal here because I can’t deal with mystery of the Safeway Samurai swordsman?”, and that way I could have got it out of my system.

Today’s snow give Olivia the chance to have a great time outside.

This morning I woke to a steady, if not howling then talking loudly, wind. Looking outside there was a dusting of snow and big flakes screaming through the air. The first snow of season…looks like winter might be long and hard this year.