Lakeside Creatures

One more scheduled post for now while I'm in transit. I'll be back to my regular routine before too long. Thanks always for your visits. I shall be sure to return those real soon.

Below are just a few of the very many creatures seen at the cottage through the course of a week. Some are beautiful to most eyes. Others are less so. All are fascinating.



Right on the shoreline beside the dock, there are hundreds of snails. The raccoons can sometimes be seen with their "hands" in the water, fishing for them. They'll crunch them, shell and all. Apologies to Frank's sisters Theresa and Lisa - snails creep them out.




These guys creep ME out. Hundreds - probably thousands of busy red ants crawling all over the trees, rocks and earth out by the boathouse. I don't think they're always there, but they sure were in abundance that day. Shudder.




Lets get on with the beautiful creatures, shall we? A distant fly-by of the majestic bald eagle. This was the sharpest shot I could get from a long way off and from inside a bobbing boat.




Here's one of the young eaglets, flying lower and over land. It's a beautiful bird, isn't it?




Speaking of beautiful birds, this female hummingbird was tasting the sweetened water left for her in the feeder. You can see her tongue sticking out from the end of her beak. This tiny wonder is only about 3 inches (7 cm) in size and its wings beat about 50 times per second.




Here she is having a good sip. They drink up to twice their body weight daily, and will have to double their weight before returning to Mexico for the winter, flying non-stop over the Gulf of Mexico.

More coming up in a few days.

By the Shore

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore…
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
W. B. Yeats

Earlier this month, when we planned for a few days up at the cottage, Environment Canada was being a big party pooper. Their long-range forecast warned of cool, rainy weather for the full time we hoped to be there, beginning with the three-hour drive up on the Tuesday. Thoughts of rainy fishing days and wet, empty hammocks prevailed. Gone was the hope of a campfire each evening and long walks devoid of pesky mosquitoes. We packed for all kinds of weather and card games, and went anyway.

Upon arrival, we were greeted with only stray gray wisps of cloud in an otherwise blue sky. Also greeting us were Frank's sister, her husband and their brother in law. We spent the afternoon sitting and chatting on the dock where the grand total of four raindrops touched my skin. The rest of our visit was met with mostly sunny skies, warm days and comfortable nights. I love it when meteorologists are wrong like that.

Theresa's usual menagerie accompanied her. Her kittens (found abandoned within a day or two after their birth - umbilical cords still attached) Luca and Sambuca are now a few months old and are at that incredibly cute stage where they have to play with everything - all night long. The critters, having been separated from their mother at such an early age, still have a strong sucking and kneading urge.

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When Luca is tired, he climbs up onto his blanket, then kneads and sucks it until he falls asleep. Similarly, Sambuca settles in and grabs his own tail to suck on. They're incredibly cute.

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Her big, beautiful sheep dog, Duncan was there. And so were 6 baby squirrels which Theresa is raising to maturity. Add Benny to that mix and we had quite the activity level at times.

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Of course Sugar and Spike were around in the evenings too.

By the following afternoon, Frank, Benny and I were alone at the cottage. Being the incurable romantic that Frank is, it wasn't long before he had that irresistible gleam in his eye. He sidled closer to me, cupped my chin in his hand and looked deeply into my eyes so that there was no mistaking what he wanted me to do next. "Sweetie, the worms are on the lower shelf of the back room fridge. Grab them for me, willya?" Yeah, he's hot when he's got fishin' on his mind.

Between the two of us, we grabbed the worms, rods, tackle boxes, vests, PFDs, hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, the cooler should we get lucky (by now you'll have figured out that means "if we should catch something") and various other paraphernalia which might come in handy at some point. We grabbed Benny and put him in the cottage and then headed out for a couple of hours of fishing.

The eagles' nest was empty more often than not, that week, but we did see them flying around at various times of the day.

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One drive-by with the boat proved worthwhile when we saw one of the adults perched proudly atop its nest.

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Another time we noticed him on a branch which topped a tree within clear, but distant view of the cottage.

Our fishing luck was pretty much in keeping with the rest of the summer - poor. About mid-week, one of our trips out in the boat resulted in two catches.

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This bass was one of them. It was released back into the lake immediately after the photo was taken.

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That same day, I also caught this walleye which became our lunch the next afternoon. Yum!

Some afternoons were too clear and breeze-free for fishing, so we each got some reading done out on that dock.

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Benny was happy to just lounge around nearby, but kept a watchful eye to to be sure we didn't make moves to get into the boat.

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Occasionally, he'd wander over to the edge of the dock to check out that twin JRT in the water. And yes, he fell in once or twice while going after it.

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Nearby, colourful clothespins on the line caught my eye.

Nighttime comes sooner at this time of year, and shortly after securing the boat and returning worms to the fridge, Frank would build a fire.

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He's been referred to as the Fish Whisperer, Dog Whisperer, Tree Whisperer and probably more, but after three or four nights of perfect campfires, he is also most definitely the Flame Whisperer.

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Just look at that baby burn!

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A last glance or two out on the water just before all colour disappeared from the sky. Weakening ripples gently lapped the shore.

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The night sky descends to kiss the last shades of the sun goodnight.

The small photo at the top, is of the cottage as seen from the boat on the way back from an afternoon of fishing. Please click on it to enlarge.

Wild Things, You Make My Heart Sing

On the first full day we spent up at the cottage, I awoke early and could hear Benny squeak occasionally, reminding me that he was anxious to start the day. I considered turning over and ignoring him but really I was equally eager to get out there and walk - cameras in hand.

I got ready and released the beast from his crate. Benny stretched while I scratched his back. He tossed off the previous night's sleep with a shake, and a wag of his tail. I opened the front door and we stepped out on the deck under mostly clear skies.

I immediately heard the call of the loon and cautioned Benny to wait, lest he get too far ahead of me toward the road. The loon was nearby and I wanted to try for a photo, but I was immediately distracted by the screech of a loud bird. I looked up to see the two Bald Eagle juveniles putting on an air show.

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They were fairly high, though almost directly above me. I had difficulty finding the right settings on my camera and in retrospect should have probably used my older camera because of its zoom capabilities, but I kept on snapping until they flew off shortly afterward.

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Ben and I began our walk up, over and down the hilly dirt roads which lead to a fair number of cottages on the lake. We took about a half hour to amble a mile down the road to another small lake across the way. Mosquitoes were beginning to find us at an alarming rate so we turned back home. The intoxicating smell of coffee greeted us. Frank was partway through his cup, and had already cast a few hooks off the dock. Our day was shaping up nicely.

We spent a bit of time keeping Benny company before we went out to do some fishing. Since the boat was headed that way, we decided to see if any of the eagles were back at their nest. The eaglets had returned and were patiently awaiting the adults.

The sun came at us from behind the birds but they made for some fine semi-silhouettes. (please click to enlarge)

Please keep in mind that these were taken at a fair distance, from inside a bobbing boat. It was challenging. (please click to enlarge)

Also challenging was this image taken later in the day while we were out on the lake once again. Picture that same bobbing boat, and me, crouched over with my elbows against my knees trying to hold as still as possible while attempting to capture a bird in flight. It's not a great photo but the adult Bald Eagle sure is an impressive bird. (please click to enlarge)

Eventually, we did see a loon pop up not too far from our boat and he allowed me to snap a shot before he dove under water once again. (please click to enlarge)

As the week unfolded, we were to see many interesting creatures - all beautiful in their own way.

Frank found a snake for me to photograph. (please click to enlarge)

Theresa called out to me while I was on the hammock to take note of a Great Blue Heron just across the bay. (please click to enlarge)

Frank spotted a playful otter swimming past the dock. (please click to enlarge)

I enjoyed watching the hummingbird drink from the feeder. (please click to enlarge)

There were dragonflies. (please click to enlarge)

Various kinds. (please click to enlarge)

Our last evening out in the boat allowed us a final peek at an eaglet. (please click to enlarge)

So ended a perfect week up at the cottage. (please click to enlarge)

This was a rather lengthy post. Please feel free to use the facilities. (please click to enlarge)

Nature At Her Best

Last week, Frank, Benny and I spent a few days up at his family cottage. The weather was decent. There wasn't a whole lot of sunshine, but neither was there too much rain.

I had two cameras in tow. Frank gave me a lovely Canon DSLR - (EOS 50D) recently (thank you, Frank!) and I'm trying to get the hang of it. I'm having minor success.

The low point of the holiday was when I realized that I had forgotten its battery charger at home. Luckily we were able to find a replacement at a camera shop along the way, before leaving city life fully behind. The high point was getting a good look (several, in fact) of a most majestic bird. Unfortunately it was from a fair distance, with poor lighting, so photos didn't turn out as clearly as I would have liked but I suspect we'll have further occasions to see and photograph this beauty.

We fished, explored, took in the sights, relaxed and of course, took photos. Some of those (from both cameras) are below. Please remember to click to enlarge.

Early one morning, Benny waited patiently for Frank to set up his fishing gear so that he could bark at each cast, and then pace in anticipation of what might come back out of the water at the end of the line. (please click to enlarge)

You might think that lures were designed to attract fish but Benny never took his eyes off of the end of that rod. (please click to enlarge)

Unless he was biting his own reflection in the water. (please click to enlarge)

Nothing to get all that excited about unless you're a JRT, a fish or Frank. (please click to enlarge)

Dull, overcast days made trying to capture a hummingbird's image quite difficult. I settled for its silhouette. (please click to enlarge)

On day two we awoke to a thick fog which blanketed the lake. I took this photo from the deck. The hummingbird took me by surprise, showing up in the viewfinder just as I clicked. (please click to enlarge)

Eventually, we had a semi-sunny day. I looked up at some point to see this distinctive halo surrounding the sun. A bit of Google research tells me that it's called a 22º Halo and it's formed by the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals. (please click to enlarge)

I decided to play with it. A lone dragonfly wandered through just in time to become part of the picture. There's one in the previous image as well. (please click to enlarge)

This was one of the best treats. Its nest was visible after a three minute boat ride along the shore, and we ventured out at least three times to catch a glimpse of parents and/or young. That large blob below and to its right is the nest. We couldn't get in too close, and since the sky was mostly overcast, it was impossible for me to get a sharp image. (please click to enlarge)

But I managed a fairly decent shot of the Bald Eagle (sharpened up some in Photoshop), and hopefully we'll have more opportunities during the summer to try again. (please click to enlarge)

The sun came out a couple of evenings just in time for a lovely sunset. So ended another perfect day. (please click to enlarge)

More photos in the next post.