May 26, 2014

Time for some more random pictures from around the Northland.  We saw our first bear last week.  Not a big one, but it looks like it wintered well.  It's not the best picture because it was getting dark and I was shooting through 3 panes of glass.

Here's one of it walking away when it found the feeders were all empty.

Things have really greened up in the last few days and lots of wild flowers are blooming now.  I guess when the temperatures get into the 80's it's bound to happen! 

We found out why one of our favorite back roads is still closed.  Two ponds became one and we weren't about to drive through it to get to the other side like the ATV driver did.

We drive by several different eagle nests and I was finally able to get a picture with one of the parents nearby.  That nest is HUGE!

These Ring-Necked ducks probably have a nest nearby also.  They didn't want their pictures taken.

And speaking of nests...tonight while we were eating supper, I noticed a female oriole fly into the tree right in front of the cabin.  Well low and behold, she's building a nest up there!  I really wish I'd noticed it sooner, it should be fun to watch.

That's all for now!

May 20, 2014

Slowly but surely it's looking like spring around here.  We had a lot of rain yesterday as you can see by the rain gauge.  We got most of that over night.

Here are two pictures to compare the difference that much rain makes in the pond.  I took the first picture on Sunday, the second one on Tuesday.

I've been seeing some wildflowers and mushrooms, although these aren't edible.  Soon the yummy oyster mushrooms should be popping out.    

The other day when I was sitting in my blind I saw a couple turtles sunning themselves along the edge.  All of a sudden something goes swimming by them!  Whoa!  Are the beavers back?  No...it was a muskrat.

They're kinda ugly critters, but they do have nice fur and are still trapped around here.

Another sign of spring is seeing all the lonely and confused yearling deer.  This poor thing is so tiny, but she's a real trooper to have survived the cold and snow of last winter.  Her mama should be having new fawns any day now.  This little one was right up by the cabin.  I think she was hoping someone would come out with a bucket of corn for her.  Hint hint....maybe later this afternoon.

And finally the grass is getting green and there are leaves growing on some of the trees!  Yay!  

May 16, 2014

Another camera, another set of random pictures

 Jim was busy building blue bird boxes.  He ended up making 9 of them and we placed them around the 20 acre field next to our cabin.

This house and barn look like something from an old western movie.

A bittern that thinks I can't see him.  It really blends in though, doesn't it?

These two are my favorite neighborhood critters!  I don't know their names, but we call them Fjord and Dusty. The horse is a Fjord horse and the donkey always looks so dusty.  Real original, huh?

Some actual signs of spring!  Wildflowers and ferns.

 If you feed them, they will come.  These birds can't get enough grape jelly and orange halves.

This is a new visitor, it's a Cape May Warbler.

 A Gray Catbird and female Baltimore Oriole

A Rose Breasted Grosbeak and Gray Catbird.

And last but not least, this is still a very common sign around here.  Roads are closed because they're deep in mud, the culverts are plugged or a beaver has backed up some creek and now the road is under water.  Notice how little green there is in all of these pictures.  But one of these days spring will pop and we'll be complaining about bugs, heat and humidity!  

That's all for now!

May 14, 2014

Today I decided it was time to download the pictures on the camera that usually travels in the truck with me.  There's quite an assortment.  Here's a sampling of a weeks worth of pictures from around here.

Ummm. I'm thinking the weight of the snow was just a little too much for those supports.

This isn't the only structure around here with damage from heavy snow.

We've had quite a bit of rain lately and this road is now closed.

This hole has been repaired.

There was still some snow along the edge of the road and an opportunity for Jim to make a couple snowballs.

This one got to go for a ride with us. 

It was surprising how long it stuck to the hood before sliding off.

Jim pruned out a bunch of brush in front of my blind so I won't have a lot of pictures that look like the next one.

See that branch?  It's not going to be a problem any more.

Always good seeing deer that survived the horribly cold and snowy winter up here. 

Some of our favorite spring birds. Two Gray Catbirds and a Baltimore Oriole. This year I learned besides oranges, they'll also eat grapefruit.

Yesterday we took a walk between the "scattered showers" and I was in the right place at the right time when this train came along.  

Shortly after the sky looked like this and it was raining again even with the sun out.

May 11, 2014

Look who's back!  He was hitting the feeder bright and early this morning.  The orioles and catbirds are also here.

We went back to the Gordon Dam for our walk this morning.  The water is still rushing through.  The first pic is from the quiet, calm side of the Flowage.  The second one is the down stream side which is anything but quiet!

It was another really nice day and this batch of turtles were enjoying it as much as we did.

May 10, 2014

Today was as nice as it was 39 years ago on our wedding day. This year we decided to go to Hayward for some shopping and lunch.  I bought earrings, Jim bought screws and bolts and we ate at a new (for us) Mexican restaurant.  It was nice to be able to shop around before the tourist season starts and the town is crawling with out-of-towners.

It was even nice enough for this turtle to come out and sun itself on the edge of the pond.  

This may not sound like a big deal, but the way the weather's been up here, any sign of spring is appreciated.  

May 8, 2014

Back in the northland!  Everything's still brown, but that's way better than white.  It was a brutal winter up here, with lots of snow and dangerously cold temps.  But now it's spring and it will be green soon...I hope!  We've seen lots of summer birds and we expect to see the hummingbirds and orioles any day now.  I'm all ready for their arrivals.

Today Jim put up a new blind for me and I can't wait to spend some time in it taking pictures and watching whatever happens to come by.

See how brown it is around here?  Anyway, it's good to be here and to go around to all our favorite places.  This morning we took a walk at the Gordon Dam.  

The water was really pouring through!  Didn't see much for waterfowl, but these two loons were close enough for me to take their picture.

That's all for today, but I'll be out and about tomorrow looking for more signs of spring in the northland. 

May 5, 2014

Spring sure is taking its time to show up around here.  I've seen a few dandelions, tulips and daffodils.  Even though it's still quite cool, the trees are budding out, but when I stopped at Michaels today I saw the best sign so far.  I parked next to this small tree, saw a robin fly out of it and sure enough...here was a nest with four pretty blue eggs in it.

Proof again, it doesn't take much to make my day! Hopefully nobody saw me taking pictures of the nest.