The Feeder is the Place to Be

One of the most "happening" places at Heston's lately is our bird feeder. For many years, we have put out a bird feeder for the winter, and we enjoy seeing our little flying friends eat up the sunflower seeds. This year, with the long cold stretch that we have been having, I've left the feeder up, so that the birds can have another source of food. Mostly the spring birds that we have seen are the purple finches, rose-breasted nuthatches, and occasionally a few goldfinches will fly in. Some blue jays also come along, as did a red-winged blackbird, and they seem quite large compared to the finches. The smallest birds have returned, too. A hummingbird showed up on Saturday, May 17th.

I've written before about Greg's bird rescue service. When we re-roofed the lodge a few years ago, we dismantled the entrance to our screen porch. It still isn' t a fully screened-in porch, as we need to frame out a doorway, add a door, and the screening. Sometimes birds exiting the feeder will fly north, and find themselves in the screen porch instead of the outdoor air. Even with an escape route at the far end of the porch (i.e. a ripped out screen), some birds need a little help finding their way out. Most recently, Greg was able to add a flicker to the list of numerous birds that he has assisted.

These are such colorful birds when I see them at a distance--it was great to see one close-up.

If you look closely at my bird feeder above, you may notice that it is bent up a bit. Normally, the feeder hangs from a cup hook on the end of the rafter. That way, the shells fall to the ground below, rather than on the porch. On recent mornings, the feeder hasn't been on the hook. I checked the ground, expecting it to have fallen straight down. Oddly, though, it was on the porch each time. I didn't think that a bear could manage that feat. Those are typically the pests that we need to be aware of when it comes to sunflower seeds. Someone suggested to me that perhaps the pine marten was to blame. Sure enough, one day I caught him in the act. I think that I may have outsmarted him though. When it is hanging on this large hook, right over the porch, he isn't able to get it unhooked. I have to say, I am very impressed by his acrobatics as he attempts to get his booty. Alas, despite my good intentions of continuing to feed the birds through this cold spring, I have had other interruptions. These were of the black and furry kind. But that's a story for another day!

Getting a Little Wild Around Here

While sitting quietly and enjoying my morning tea yesterday, I noticed a lot of bird activity out the windows. I got up to see the action, and a hawk was pursuing a raven. It was easy to tell by the flight pattern that he was mad. I am guessing that the neighborhood hawks that I mentioned a week or so ago might have eggs in a nest, and that the pesky raven thought about helping himself to some. No go, not with this hawk around.

Greg came in to the room, glanced out the same window, and said "Moose! Moose!" in a very loud whisper. I took a quick peek and then ran for my camera. The pair were right between the lodge and Tamarack, heading towards the parking area. I made my way to the backdoor and opened it before they got there. But they must have seen enough movement through the glass, as they started to move faster up the road. We watched as they strode up the hill, and then took a left towards the donkey pasture. Moose encounters in the past for the donkeys have resulted in indifference on Moses' part, and extreme concern from Jethro. While the moose never actually made it up there, we did see that Jethro was definitely on the job in regards to these intruders.

It looks like we have guard donkeys. Greg says that he could let them out at night, to keep an eye on the place. The only problem, and it's a big one, is that they would cause more trouble than protection. They love to eat the porch railings. And now with growing season upon us, they'll look for all sorts of green and edible treats. We won't be letting them roam free anytime soon.

Gone! Ice Out on Gunflint Lake

Officially, Greg says that the ice out was May 12th. It was too dark to see if it was out on the east end, but in the night, we surmised that it was. The waves were pushing in hard from that direction, and once again, we woke up to the sounds of open water. It turned out to be one of the less dramatic years, as ice-outs go....I see white lines of ice pushed up against the Canadian shore, so we missed out on that part of it. Still, it always feels great to see that open water again, so we don't mind.

I walked down to the landing to get another view of all that water.

Just a few residual little chunks of ice left, floating out there. The temperature is only 39 degrees, so it is good that I chose to wear long johns today. It will be a bit chilly down by the water as we put those docks in. But it's a welcome task.

We've been hearing good things about the trout fishing. The last few days, the water at the west end of the lake has been the busy spot. Good catching and nice sizes. Now we can see what folks find out about the walleye fishing, as they head towards the east end of the lake, and on into Little Gunflint, Little North, and North Lakes. The water level is high, so there shouldn't be many problems getting into the next lakes.

Now, as I like to do every spring, I can quote from one of my favorite childrens' books: "Let the wild rumpus begin!"

Going...Going....

Then, about seven-thirty, Greg glanced out the window and said, "Holy Cow!"

We looked out to see what he was exclaiming over, and saw lots of open water, about halfway across the lake. This photo was taken as a close-up of the north half of the lake.

And here is a shot of our bay:

I'm thinking that tomorrow morning we will be putting the docks in---Hooray!

P.S. It's still snowing, but it isn't sticking.