The summer blogging hiatus is over. All those stories that have been hibernating in my head must now wake up and get ready to come forth on to the pages here. It's been quite a time--not just the summer, but this whole year, it seems. It seemed appropriate to begin with a fresh new look, and what better way than to have a happy little white-throated sparrow to announce that for me on the top of the page?
Green is not the predominant color any longer, however. If you follow the blogs of the Gunflint Trail, you know that we have been awash in loads of color for the last several weeks. The birch and aspen that surround the lodge are luminous these past few days. Even when the clouds and rain are filling the sky, it is as bright in here as though sunshine filled the windows. A wonderful onslaught of color and light, short-lived as it is.
My personal barometer for judging the fall color progress was lost last year in the Ham Lake fire. I always looked to the Canadian shore for the markers that signaled how the season was doing. We still see color over there---green vegetation all summer long--but it tends to turn to brown in the latter part of August. To get a better idea of how things are changing overall, I need to get out into a boat, or take a drive along the trail. Fortunately, I've had a chance to do both in the last week. My camera was not with me either time, but I can say that there are still many leaves on the trees, so it ain't over yet. And I was happily surprised to see a good bit of color at the east end of the lake, in an area I thought had been more heavily affected by the fire. This has been a year of discovery, seeing in several places trees that survived the fire but didn't leaf out last year.
Wildlife sightings have started to pick up. I actually saw my first wolf since my photo opportunity of last May. It was crossing the Trail near the Iron Lake campground. As is so often the case, by the time I reached the spot in the road where he had been, he was long gone, having disappeared into the thick brush of the roadside. Some guests saw a fine bull moose on our side road one evening as they drove along. The moose wanted to stay in the road, so they just followed behind slowly, at a respectable distance. They noticed that the moose was startled every time he passed a driveway, as their headlights bounced off of the blue emergency numbers. The moose would shake his head and look back at them, likely wondering who was following him.
The birds are quieter, but definitely active. I had finally given up on trying to feed them last spring and early summer. But now I notice that the chickadees and nuthatches are hanging around the side porch more, and it makes me think that they are looking for the feeder that usually hangs there. I'll take a chance and put it back out, and hope that the bears are still far deep in the woods, unable to smell it. But I'll keep the supply of seeds in the lodge for a little while longer.
The resort is quieter, but the list of things to do remains long. We're tackling the priorities, and throwing in some extra projects just to keep things lively. I'll get out there with my camera and start to catch up here, just in case you are interested.
Until then, enjoy the days--they smell so sweet at this time of the year.
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