Wednesday, January 4, 2017
The Easter Goose is in the House
It has been windy for several days and I am anxious to be back in my canoe. I start my portage to the big lake, think better of the wind, decide to head to the south lagoon, and decide to put in on the big lake after all. A good wind is blowing from the SSE, and while there are waves, I don't feel much of the wind once I'm on the water, but I can hear it singing in the trees. Once I leave the shallow cove where I put in, the waves grow to be one to two feet high. I stay within 100 yards of shore and while the wave echo from the fortified beach walls makes the paddling more difficult, the risk of a swim from here, in cold water, is more palatable. The bay is relatively calm and I head first to the big lodge to check on the goose nest.
They have finally settled on a good protected spot high on the south side of the beaver lodge and the female is working some down into the structure as I approach. This spot will take in the warmth of the sun while the brush overhead and on either side will provide some shelter. The missing male comes honking from behind my shoulder as two geese fly into the area. He tags one on the butt in mid-flight and resumes his watch on me. OH! the female has just got up - she has eggs already - and she moves them around a bit and sits back down.I head over to the railroad islands to check for nests, but find none and instead tow a drifting buoy out of the marsh and over to my preferred illegal dump site where it will be easily and properly disposed of. The west beaver lodge nest looks fine, although I can't see eggs and while I am there, a large otter swims by. It's quite likely the same that I have been seeing over the past couple weeks.
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