Laura Erickson’s For the Birds

Birds may not have a clue about the sports we humans play, but we name plenty of teams after them, perhaps yearning for their speed, agility, fast reflexes, and superior vision and hearing. Oddly enough, I never cheer for the three major league baseball teams named for birds despite the fact that Blue Jays are among my Top Three favorite birds and I love cardinals and orioles, too.

No, I’ve been a Cubs fan for as long as I can remember, thanks to my Grandpa. I’d snuggle against him when the game was on Channel 9 in Chicago. We’d both get excited whenever Ernie Banks came up to the plate, and would hug when Jack Brickhouse yelled “Hey, hey, hey!” whenever Mr. Cub (or anyone other Cub) hit one out of the park.

On November 2, 2016, when Bryant caught the last hit and tossed it to Rizzo to end the 10th inning of the seventh game of the World Series, it was 11:47 p.m. EST, or 10:47 Central Time. I’m usually asleep by then, but no way could I have slept that night! There was lots of postgame coverage, and I couldn’t bring myself to turn the TV off until 1 am. I took my little dog Pip out as always right before bed, but hokey smoke! When I stepped out to the door, what to my wondering ears should I hear but a Boreal Owl, calling away right in my own backyard!

I’ve seen Boreal Owls before on Peabody Street, but the night the Cubs won the World Series remains the only time I’ve ever heard one calling here! I even got a quick glimpse of the little thing actively hunting in the back of my yard. Clearly, Nature itself was celebrating.

Oddly enough, the only other time I was with my dog Pip when I’ve come upon a Boreal Owl was on February 24, 2018. The bird had been reported multiple times that week in the Sax-Zim Bog near Highway 7 and Stone Lake Road. After hitting all my other favorite stops in the bog, I made this my last stop. Success! (Unfortunately, the little guy didn’t cooperate for photos.) When I got back in the car, I switched on the radio right when they were reporting that the US men’s curling team had just won the gold at the Winter Olympics in South Korea!

I’m not a curling fan in the way that I’m a Cubs fan, but curling is a Duluth specialty—quite a few of our friends play, and that entire victorious Olympic team hailed from in and near Duluth. And this was a first ever for a US curling team winning Olympic gold—apparently some sort of synergistic sports magic happens whenever my little dog and a Boreal Owl come together.

I was so thrilled by that Boreal Owl connection that I went to the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center when the city celebrated the curling team. The ballroom was packed! And seeing the curling team was wonderful. I brought home an autographed photo of them.

Now I’m even more into curling because my son-in-law joined the Duluth Curling Club a few years ago. He and Walter watched every single one of Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiessen’s mixed doubles games during this year’s Winter Olympics, and I watched most of them. I didn’t hear of any reports of Boreal Owls all winter, so I guess a gold was out of reach, but how thrilling when the Cory/Koreys won the silver!

I knew the city would celebrate them at the DECC, but we’re avoiding large crowds as much as possible right now because of my daughter’s chemo. Fortunately, Michael got a message from the Curling Club that people in the club would greet the Cory/Koreys at the airport. That was certain to be way less crowded.

The two of them were exhausted—the women’s final was on Sunday morning in Cortina, then they took a long bus ride to Verona for the closing ceremonies and immediately got on another bus to get to the airport in Venice for their flight home, arriving here about 7:45 Monday night. Despite exhaustion and jet lag, they were friendly and patient with every one of the family, friends, and strangers (like us!) who showed up.

Both the Cory’s were so exceptionally nice that when we were headed home, Walter mentioned that he wanted a play date with them. I get shy and self-conscious at these kinds of things, but I did muster the courage to ask Korey Dropkin if I could hold his silver medal in my hand.

It’s pure silver, 80 millimeters in diameter—just about exactly the length of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird from tip of bill to tip of tail. But boy is it heavy— 500 grams, or 1.1 pound. That’s as heavy as 125 hummingbirds, 35–40 Black-capped Chickadees, 5 or 6 Blue Jays, or 2 Pileated Woodpeckers. Imagine that!

Of course, regulation-sized curling stones dwarf that. They weigh 38–44 pounds, which is about as much as a pair of Trumpeter Swans, North America’s heaviest birds; the smallest females weigh about 17 pounds and the heaviest males 28 pounds.

I’ve never held a curling stone; wielding a baseball is much more manageable for me. And for my 70th birthday, Russ gave me a baseball that had been autographed by Ernie Banks.It weighs 4.9 ounces—just about exactly the average weight of a Boreal Owl. And that brings us pretty much full circle.