Outdoors
16/02/14 04:53
Winter is giving us a bit of a break. Yesterday’s high was nearly 50 degrees. The snow is melting and it seemed to me that it would be a good day to take a little walk in the woods. I’ve been wondering about the beaver at the lake and though the lake is still covered in ice, it seemed like there might be a chance of getting a glimpse if I could figure out where he has his hole in the ice. This particular beaver built his lodge late in the summer, after spending much of the summer cruising around the lake. I think that he is a young one, and that summer was his first out of the lodge of his birth. I got so I could identify him. When I paddle a wooden boat, I can approach quite near to him before the tail splashes and he dives. When his tail splashes didn’t turn me around, he would swim under my boat. It is much easier to see a beaver than it is to feet a photograph of him.
I kept my record of not getting a good photograph of the beaver yesterday as well. I was a bit concerned that he might abandon his lodge, but the new lodge is definitely occupied. There was the area of open water, neatly cleared not far from the lodge. There were not footprints of human fishermen in the area, so I knew that the beaver had been the one to make and maintain the hole in the ice.
However, the beaver didn’t make an appearance above the ice while I was checking on his place. I’ll probably have to wait until the ice is out of the lake before I see him. I’m eager to know if he has a mate and whether or not there will be kits in the lodge this spring.
I think he is going to discover that he has made a mistake in the location of his lodge. He is a long way from where the creek runs into the lake and the little cove where he has put his home provides a few willows and other plants, but perhaps not enough for a small colony of beavers. The big thing, however, is that once the tourists return to the campground, his home is simply to easily accessed by way too many people. The beaver is a bit of a recluse and I don’t think he is going to like all of the attention. And his peaceful cove is home to motor boats and jet skis during the height of the summer. I suppose it is possible that he will adapt, but I am thinking that it is more likely that he will decide to move.
Deer adapt to their human neighbors quite readily. As we walked through the woods we sighted some deer that were flighty and easily stirred. They raised their tails and ran from us. It reminded me of the way the deer in our neighborhood behaved when we first moved in 18 years ago. We would occasionally get a glimpse of a deer. Sometimes there would be a couple of them in the yard. But hey would run if we turned on our porch light and they would leave the yard if we ventured outside. As the years have gone by the population has increased and so has the boldness of the animals. These day our deer are definitely urban deer. They don’t bolt when they turn on the neighbor’s motion-sensitive light. In fact they seem to enjoy eating in the lighted area between the houses. They don’t leave the yard when I go out for my paper in the morning. They will let me walk to within 20 feet before lifting their tails and then they might run across the street or just a little bit away from my route of travel. They don’t leave the front yard when I drive into the driveway. They seem to know which dogs are leashed and which might actually chase them.
I like having deer for neighbors and I enjoy having them in our yard. Most springs we have a couple of fawns that are born in the neighbor’s high grass and make their first ventures out onto our lawn. We get to know individual animals as we watch them over the weeks. Still, it was fun to spend some time observing deer that are not so used to people yesterday. It is a bit of a challenge to photograph them because they are wary and not interested in sticking around and posing.
Mostly it was just good to get outside and take a walk in the woods. When the weather is cold, we tend to hibernate. Well, we don’t really hibernate, but we do stay inside more and tend to be a bit more sedentary. But our legs were meant for walking and our lungs were designed to be filled with fresh air from outdoors. And there is so much beauty that is so close that all it takes is making time to walk and look and explore.
Our trip to the lake was capped by a pair of bald eagles who make their appearance in the trees above us. There is something very special about seeing that shadow pass directly across me as the bird soars overhead. I tried to get a picture, but that was not to be yesterday. The birds were in more of a flying mode than a hunting mode and so they quickly ascended to heights that reached beyond my skill and equipment as a photographer.
That’s the thing about spending time in the outdoors. There is far more that can be seen than can be photographed. There is far more that can be experienced than can be described. The reality is much more interesting and engaging than the report.
So I rise this morning with a deep sense of gratitude for the experiences of yesterday and I’m already thinking of opportunities to take advantage of the warm weather that will be around for a couple of weeks to experience more of the joy of being outdoors.
However, the beaver didn’t make an appearance above the ice while I was checking on his place. I’ll probably have to wait until the ice is out of the lake before I see him. I’m eager to know if he has a mate and whether or not there will be kits in the lodge this spring.
Deer adapt to their human neighbors quite readily. As we walked through the woods we sighted some deer that were flighty and easily stirred. They raised their tails and ran from us. It reminded me of the way the deer in our neighborhood behaved when we first moved in 18 years ago. We would occasionally get a glimpse of a deer. Sometimes there would be a couple of them in the yard. But hey would run if we turned on our porch light and they would leave the yard if we ventured outside. As the years have gone by the population has increased and so has the boldness of the animals. These day our deer are definitely urban deer. They don’t bolt when they turn on the neighbor’s motion-sensitive light. In fact they seem to enjoy eating in the lighted area between the houses. They don’t leave the yard when I go out for my paper in the morning. They will let me walk to within 20 feet before lifting their tails and then they might run across the street or just a little bit away from my route of travel. They don’t leave the front yard when I drive into the driveway. They seem to know which dogs are leashed and which might actually chase them.
Mostly it was just good to get outside and take a walk in the woods. When the weather is cold, we tend to hibernate. Well, we don’t really hibernate, but we do stay inside more and tend to be a bit more sedentary. But our legs were meant for walking and our lungs were designed to be filled with fresh air from outdoors. And there is so much beauty that is so close that all it takes is making time to walk and look and explore.
Our trip to the lake was capped by a pair of bald eagles who make their appearance in the trees above us. There is something very special about seeing that shadow pass directly across me as the bird soars overhead. I tried to get a picture, but that was not to be yesterday. The birds were in more of a flying mode than a hunting mode and so they quickly ascended to heights that reached beyond my skill and equipment as a photographer.
That’s the thing about spending time in the outdoors. There is far more that can be seen than can be photographed. There is far more that can be experienced than can be described. The reality is much more interesting and engaging than the report.
So I rise this morning with a deep sense of gratitude for the experiences of yesterday and I’m already thinking of opportunities to take advantage of the warm weather that will be around for a couple of weeks to experience more of the joy of being outdoors.