2013-08-08

On Friday afternoon, we headed up to the cabin.  I pulled into the driveway and it all of a sudden dawned on me that I had forgotten to bring the keys to the cabin.  Not the end of the world.  I know how to “break in”.  Wouldn’t be the first time I have had to do this.  Within ten minutes of arriving, the cabin was unlocked and we were unloading the car.  I started a campfire, hooked up the portable radio and set up a couple of lawn chairs.  I read a couple more chapters of my novel.

Depending on your point of view, it was either partly sunny or partly cloudy for the most part all weekend.  There wasn’t a lot of bird song, but the sound of Cedar Waxwings was everywhere present.  Saturday morning, I heard the unmistakable sound of a Pileated Woodpecker working over a tree nearby.  I worked my way over in the direction of the sound.  It turned out to be just across the road from the cabin.



A couple of times each day during our stay I take Abby for a walk down the road to the corner and then down to my uncles property.  I am on the lookout for birds and butterflies.  There were few birds to be seen.  The most numerous butterfly was the Red Spotted Purple, followed closely by the Viceroy.

Saturday afternoon I was sitting in my lawn chair scanning the river side and the lowland for signs of wildlife movement.  I observed some movement down near the wooded swampy area close to the river.  Butterflies.  Smallish.  I grabbed my camera and headed down to see what I had.  At first glance, I thought they were skippers of some sort.



But I was wrong.  They were Harvesters.  The Harvester is the ONLY carnivorous butterfly in North America.  The field guide says it is generally scarce.  (First one I have ever seen).  Harvesters live “in wooded or semi-open areas and usually staying close to alders along streams or swamps”.  (Exactly, the habitat where I found them).  They feed on wooly aphids, “especially those living on alders”.



Saturday night I got up around 2 AM to go outside to have a pee.  While standing there, I heard a Barred Owl calling from somewhere across the river.  I am always spell-bound when I hear the call of the Barred Owl.  It is such a neat owl and just knowing that there is one near-by is thrilling.  One of these days, I hope I am lucky enough to locate it.  I have seen Barred Owls before, but not at the cabin.

Monday morning, I heard a Sandhill Crane calling.  I think it was in the air, but I couldn’t spot it.

Those are the high-lights of my stay.  The rest of the time was spent reading, relaxing, walking and simply observing what was around me.

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