Midsummer Happenings

So - King fishing season is almost over; the last of our guests leave tomorrow morning and I'm off as soon as I get the cabins turned over and ready for the next group of people when they arrive. I'll be back in the groove there next Friday until the third week of August.

Some interesting things I saw on the river, driving to and from work:

A couple weeks ago, I was tootling along home paying attention to the water in front of the boat so I don't run into any sticks, or heaven forbid, logs. Such things hitting the motor is a bad thing, or it can be. Anyway, I look up to make sure I'm aimed where I want to go - into the mouth of the slough that leads home. Blow me away, but I see this big root ball right where I want to drive. I had to slow down because I can't see the rest of the tree; I have to figure out where I can drive. I mean, the tree wasn't blocking the whole channel but how big it was would dictate which side of the tree I chose. It wasn't a big tree, thank goodness, so it wasn't blocking anything - it was just a nuisance. I think my driving past it eventually caused it to roll over and the water did the rest. Off down the river it went.

A few days ago I was tootling TO work this time and I spotted this funny looking big log floating down the river - not in my way and not any kind of hazard, but it was funny looking so I took a second look. Even as I was driving past it, it looked like it was floating kind of oddly. As I got closer, I realized what I was seeing wasn't any kind of log, it was a cow moose and her two calves. All I could see were their heads very close together and their big ears sticking up. They were crossing the river. Moose do that all the time. I think they turned around and went back.

Other goings ons:

There were two grouse families on my trail, but I think one of the mommas was a new momma, cause the second time I saw them all the babies were with one momma. It happens. I once saw a momma duck with like twenty babies. Now that was a sight to see. I saw the grouse family once since then - boy do those babies grow fast.

At the lodge, in the back yard, we have a momma tweety bird (don't know what kind it is). Anyway, these birds nest on the ground and this little momma has her nest in a not so cool location. Her cover is like a large dandelion leaf and a half dozen blades of grass. She has four little eggs in there. I hope this break will give her the peace she needs to raise her babies. Those eggs are maybe twice the size of a pea.

That's the cool things. I could go on with some of the negative things, but I won't bore you with my rant. It is what it is, and I shall prevail.

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Spring Apace

So spring is working on me and my surroundings, trouble is, thanks to last fall's freezing rain, there's lots, and I mean LOTS of ice on the ground. Snow melts pretty quick in the sun, and the warm temps work on it too, but the ice goes away somewhat slower. I don't really know how thick it is, but in front of our generator shed, it's in a shelf of at least 3 inches now, though it was easily twice that thick while there was still snow there. That spot gets a lot of traffic so it's probably an example of the worst of it. However, every little bit that melts trickles down to low spots where it freezes again. We think the ground is going to remain frozen for some time - maybe half way into the summer months. I'll be sure to let you know. Anyway, water still isn't openly running here, but as of today, I did hear water running under the ice in the little creek where we park our boats, something I didn't hear last time I walked down there.

Speaking of which:

Last time I walked down there, a couple days ago, I saw the biggest moose track I have ever seen. They made me back up and look again just to make sure. Standing right beside the tracks, the moose print, from dewclaw to tip, was less than an inch shorter than my boot. Standing directly on the track, it was also less than an inch narrower than BOTH my boots side-by-side. BIG bull - has to be. Wish I'd seen him, not that he'd have a rack yet this time of year, but still. Big bulls have been by here in the past, but to date, I have yet to see one - just not looking in the right place at the right time.

Anyway, not much happening around here. Just waiting for the seasons to change. Not all that anxious to go to work, but it is what it is. Gotta make a living. Maybe someday my editing will actually pay enough to take over, now that would be nice.

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