Wildlife, Part II

The red squirrel that hung around all week, was small and nimble. He was able to climb up a metal shepherd's hook to sit on a bird's perch to eat sunflower seeds.
















The red squirrel also enjoyed eating seeds on the ground.














The first year I went to Minnesota in 1997, I was amazed by the hummingbirds. Cecil and Gertrude had feeders hanging from the cabin eaves, extended down to be at eye level from the porch. I could not believe that the hummingbirds were brave enough to eat while people were a few inches away through the glass window.









This year, Dave and I hung a feeder from a shepherd's hook in the yard. We watched at least three different birds eat the nectar Judy prepared. These birds were just as bold as the ones I encountered years ago. They ate as we sat in the yard and snapped photographs.









Dave and I took a walk along the Paul Bunyan Trail, which runs near the cabin. Since it had rained daily, we watched for animal tracks as we walked along. We spied a split-hoof track that didn't quite resemble a deer track since there were two dots at the back; a bit of research indicates that it was a moose track, but more research says it is not. I have no idea what kind of track it was.

However, I was positive when I saw the bear track a bit further down the trail. When we saw this, we turned around and headed back toward the road and the cabin.

Unfortunately, our wildlife encounter didn't end there. Safely back at the cabin, calming my heartbeat and enjoying my last afternoon, I found a tick crawling up my jeans. Luckily, there was only one. A few years ago Mike and Letha hiked a different part of the trail and came back to the cabin with more than two dozen ticks crawling on them.





Bob has also been doing battle to save a tree on the dike. The tree bears several cement patches, much like the tree in To Kill a Mockingbird. Bob was sure that his nemesis was a pileated woodpecker; we all had our doubts. Friday afternoon, I confirmed the identity of the pest that keeps making holes in the tree--it is indeed, the pileated woodpecker. It will be interesting to see how many holes the woodpecker makes in our absence. This picture isn't great, but the woodpecker can be seen on the right side of the trunk near the top of the tree. You can also see the cement patches in the tree.