Minnesota Nice

One of my favorite birds at the lake is the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.  A neighbor, Sandra, alerted me that a young hummer was flying around her flowers and being very unafraid of humans that were around.

So I headed over to their house and got some pictures of the young female practicing her nectar diving.

She was truly unafraid of us which made getting pictures a rare treat as they usually quickly scare away when I point a camera at them.

I had the shutter set at 2500th of a second and still sometimes was not able to stop the beating wings.

She didn't miss a blossom and went from one to the next and then back again.

What tipped us off that the little gal was young was that every once in awhile she had to stop and rest.  Sometimes it was on the flower itself.

Or sometimes she flew above to rest in the pine tree.  She is probably ten feet overhead in this shot oblivious to the intruding camera guy.

For a long while she sat in the mulch next to the flowers.  It had rained the night before and perhaps she was just warming up.

Sandra decided to try and hand feed the little thing when it stopped once for a break.  Do you see it sitting on the rock border of the flower bed?

I had my doubts that this would work but slowly she moved toward the little bird...

And sure enough, she took a dive into the blossom.

When she took off Sandra was able to direct blossoms toward her and she sipped from them too.

To say the least this is not usual behavior.  Thankfully the little creature was among friends.

I decided that we need to call Sandra the "Hummingbird Whisperer."  She was truly an example of Minnesota Nice, don't you think?

Hurry Up Already

Last week a friend at the lake took me out in his fishing boat to check on the progress of the baby loon.  I say "loon" and not "loons" as there is only one baby hatched in the nest closest to our place.  Maybe it was feeding time or perhaps this goes on all day long, but the parents couldn't dive and catch minnows fast enough for "baby loon."

Both parents would dive and quickly race back with a minnow which the baby scarfed down only to repeat it over and over.  We began to think that pretty soon the baby would be so big it wouldn't be able to dive.

Once in awhile the parent would "stretch their wings" as if to say, "when is this kid going to be full?"

Maybe as sign of growing up, the baby mimicked his parent in the stretching routine.  Maybe he was belching.  I got to wondering why the feeding frenzy?  Why the big hurry to grow up so fast?  Then it dawned on me.  The season is so short in the north country that in a month the parents will be leaving for the gulf or Atlantic Coast for the winter.  "Baby loon" will hang around for a few weeks longer before making his way south following the GPS left by his parents.

But there is another ominous reason to grow up fast.  Bald eagles like to lunch on baby loons.

Could that be why there is only one baby loon cruising the lake this summer, instead of two?  Hurry up already!

Entertainment on a cool, rainy day

When I woke to a rainy day I decided to head to Itasca State Park and get a faster internet connection.  When I arrived there was a huge bucket truck and a crane to take down a couple of damaged 90 foot trees near Douglas Lodge.  This one was leaning over the lodge and the one below was in front of the lodge.  Notice the height of the bucket the crane is lifting...

The recent storm had damaged a couple of trees that were deemed unsafe near the Lodge though still standing.  The bucket was used to trim off middle branches and then a cable was attached towards the top of the tree from a platform raised by the crane.  Then back into the bucket and a cut was made while the crane lifted upward from the cable, and pop the top third of the tree was free.

It took several trips in and out toward the tree with more cuts to get the first one to give up.

Here is the bucket that the crane raised and lowered.

This tree has been leaning over Douglas Lodge a long time but with the recent storm the tree split so it had to come down.  It was over 90 feet tall and probably 150 plus years old.  It is hard to get the perspective of how high the tree and crane are.

Here they are adding the cable to the top of the tree.

Then the cut from the boom bucket.

And the top is free.  The lower part of the tree was likewise cut a couple of times till it was down. 

It was sad to see these old giants come down after surviving for so many years and storms.  Everyone had to vacate the upper level of the lodge while this was going on.  I surely wished that Mack had been along!

Last day fun at the lake...

Nothing brings a smile like a play ground rediscovered from last year!

Even Elle Belle was excited to come to the new place for her.

Unfortunately Papa noticed a slight bit of blood on one of M's knees which resulted in this pathetic wobble as he walked the streets of Walker.  M gets very dramatic with his "Boo-boos," as he calls them.  Maybe we should rename the town from Walker to Wobble.

We thought this introduction to Paul Bunyan would be fun for the kids.  However, Ellie was terrified!

Mack, on the other hand, liked the big fella.

Mack had to finish his fireman drills with the hand sprinkler which he mastered very quickly.

Finally, there was a last visit to the beach under the watchful eyes of the experts.

No new rare coins were found.

Ellie Belle seems a natural on the beach poses, don't you think?

I miss them already!  Hopefully, they will return to the lake in the future.  If not, maybe they made a few memories!

Exceptional...

Every Grandparent "knows" their grandchildren are exceptional.  I have proof.  Watch this: "Ellie, how old are you?"  You're right!

Just to be sure.... Yep, right again.

And one final time... righto!

"OK, let's try another one.  What color are your eyes, El Bell?  Is that a blue crayon that I see?"

"You are right... they are blue!"

Ellie, are you more than just a brain?  "Yes, just look at my knee!  I fall-down-go-boom, just like my Tutu does!"

Ellie, do you think your brother is 'green' enough for our day?  "Of course he is, he is literally a Tree Hugger!" 

"Ellie, what color is your tongue?  Yep, right again!"

Ooops!  No, Ellie, SMELL the flower, don't eat the flower!  Overall, truly exceptional!


A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY 
today to the mother of these two children.