Wild Wednesday - Camping 102

Duck feeding is a big highlight when you're roughing it in the mountains! The ducks are entertaining and bread is cheap, especially when one saves crusts or borrows stale hot dog buns from the firehall freezer. Eventually the ducks got to recognize me (oh, I know they recognize the sound of the bread bag, indulge me) and got comfortable enough to eat out of my hands. One little guy just sat next to me on the dock and periodically asked for a piece.

In all I saw about 20 adults, 5 babies and 3 teens.

On Tuesday, aftering breaking camp to head home, I decided to hike to Bug Lake. I found out the trail also leads to Bear Mt so next year I will start earlier and make the whole 8 mile hike to the mountain and back.

I was alone at the lake and enjoying the solitude (and my hexies!) when I noticed some birds swimming around on the other side of the lake. You know where my binocs were, right? Yeh, packed in the truck. Luckily the bird is huge and very distinctive so it was easy enough to figure out it was a Common Loon!! As the birds moved around the lake, I soon realized it was 2 adults and 2 teens that the parents were feeding.

These are not the best pictures becasue they are taken at 16X but I think you'll get the idea. I enjoyed the loon calls (they have a very haunting call but I also heard what must have been a call to dinner for the little ones). When people started showing up I started the 2 mile hike back to the campground. I had found a great rock for my gardens that I had to haul on my shoulder for almost the whole trip back but it was worth it! And the comments from passersby told me so :^)



parent feeding fish to child

This is a stuffed loon at the Adk Museum.
Per wikipedia: On average a Great Northern Loon is about 32 inches long,
has a wingspan of 54 inches and weighs about 9 lbs.

Forgetfulness

While showering this morning I had an idea for something to post...and promptly forgot as soon as the water was turned off. I wandered the quilt room but just couldn't remind myself what it was.

Desperate for something, I thought I might add this runner picture. I mean, it's oh sew different from the last time I posted about this runner and yet, not at all where I need to be with it. I've got the blanket stitching done - now it's time for free motion. My fav part!

I could really use some uninterrupted time in the quilt room. I've got a good book to listen to; I just need the time. 2 late night rescue calls in the last 3 days, 2 meetings, a dinner date, a run to the not-so-LQS, and 2 trips to Mom and Dad's to perform CPR on their computer don't make for a productive week.

Then I came across this little bugger. The pot is a leftover from fall pansies and I had dumped the birdseed on top when I cleaned out and filled all the feeders last weekend. I was really hoping the Cardinals or ground feeders would find it.

I have about 4 squirrels in the yard - this one is normal, one is missing an eye, another has only about 1 inch of his tail left and the other, that I saw for the first time this morning in my big feeder, was a little red squirrel. I used to shoosh them out of the feeders but it takes too much energy. That and it's more fun to watch Cali run from window to window to see what the bugger is doing and where he went when she scared him off.

When I was about to put my coat on and run out the door, I remembered my original idea. Too late for meaningful pictures, I did pull it out so that I'll remember it next time. OK, twist my arm for a hint - it should help me with that runner pictured above. Taking that picture should have reminded me but it didn't. hmm....