It's been a little while since the dog has put paws on the trails surrounding Fitzgerald Lake, and a similar while since I've visited the bird blind there. We parked at the Marion Street entrance, and huffed it along some well worn snow paths.
The sun was at a good angle, giving the bare woods flattering shadows and the slowly melting blanket of snow a soft white glow.
The plan was for a short hike to the bird blind for a look around but nothing too extensive for Kelly, who is just starting to develop a mild gravitational field. (I jest, I jest....).
Actually, Kelly's carrying the pregnancy with surprisingly good form. I mean she's big; biiiiiiiig, big...Big. But other than the super-belly, she's is really holding on to her figure quite well. And I'm not just saying that to soften the previous comment...
Most of the walk was peaceful and still, but as we got closer to the blind, things were definitely more active; Birds were twittering and flitting through the branches and in the thicket before the blind. It was the usual suspects: Chickadees, Nuthatches, Titmice, Cardinals and BlueJays.
Nothing unusual, and we sat there for a while watching them, keeping one eye open for any other species of anything that might make an appearance. After a while we heard a crunching through the snow that became louder and closer...Deer?....Moose?...Bear?
Nope. Human. Specifically a guy named Steve who was scouting around on his classically styled snowshoes.
I'm unfortunately not a journalist and forgot most of what he was saying to me as I focused on focusing the camera, but I believe he said he was the chairman of a local conservation group. (Steve, very sorry, but if you read this please feel free to restate what your group is and does in the comments section below...)
We briefly discussed the tried and true design of his snowshoes. I mentioned that I've been thinking about getting a pair of those newfangled aluminum type snowshoes, but he didn't appear to think to highly of them. The man's obviously a purist...
We left him to have his turn at the blind without our dog barking at him. He left us with the good advice of making sure the little dog stayed on a leash, as the fisher cats that roam these woods might find him to be a tasty treat.
But the fisher cat might just be in for a surprise, never having witnessed the Wrath of Nemo...
2 comments:
Wonderful bird and dog photos and also that second to last one of brush and shadows.
also keep your dog on a leash because there are grouse that nest there. Used to anyway before all the unleashed dogs.
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