The One That Survived

Southern Michigan is allegedly home to the southernmost, and second southernmost nesting pair of loons in the world. Quite an honor for our Great Lakes State. This is apparently as far south as these typically northern birds are willing to reside during the hot months of summer. Aren't we lucky to be in their range of tolerance. They are a splendid bird.

This little guy and his parents are the "second" southernmost pair, and they began as a family of two this year. A friend and his wife canoed the little lake and reported the two chicks on the nest mound and only one day later I was out kayaking only to find one chick. In 24 hours the family was down to one progeny.

Perhaps the success rate of a snapping turtle and his family has just increased.

Let's hope this only-child loon makes it.

DEAR BLOG...

Dear Blog,

It's been nearly one whole month since I've shared with you, and that lapses into a form of neglect in the world of blogging. But I've been sick, and perhaps the worst casualty of sickness is getting out into the wild. When you're bed-ridden and home-bound, the window and the computer screen become the portals to the wild.

I'm feeling much better and have been fortunate enough to make it out on occasion, which, as you know, is a form of healing in and of itself (that's the irony of illness - inhibiting the very cure by disconnecting you from the outdoors).

Last week I was blessed with a perennial gift: an occasion where I make my usual rounds to a place that's yielded virtually no action, and I'm searching for something completely different, and a rare encounter occurs. This time I was hoping to capture a wobbly-legged fawn, but instead stumbled upon coyote pups!

The father yote was on to me quick though and had no qualms barking, approaching, and signaling that I was too close for comfort. This is all opposite their normal behavior of vanishing into thin air when they sense the slightest trace of human presence.

I'll post some more later, but for now, here are some keepers: