Last Wednesday and Thursday were sunny and dry, inviting me back outdoors again. I put many miles on my Subaru those two days traveling from Elk Rapids to TC to Kingsley and finally to the Lakeshore to take advantage of the good weather. One stop was an early morning photoshoot at East Bay Park to catch the sunrise. The clouds made for interesting pictures.
Farm country wetlands and ponds are opening up with snowmelt…a gift that seems to keep on giving. Geese, mallards, and gulls were busy preening, feeding, and gathering nesting material under yesterday’s blue skies. A pair of Trumpeter Swans overwintering in the area floated on one of the smaller ponds. Two sandhill cranes also stuck to themselves, feasting on dregs left in the corn fields.
That describes both the weather and the pictures for today’s post. I was out last week in sunshine, rain, and snow trying my new camera system in all kinds of light and with a variety of subjects. So far, I’m delighted with the results. It’s a keeper.
And so have the Sandhill Cranes. Five of them came to their regular spot to feed on the corn dregs. I tried to figure out the family units. Was the foursome the parents and last year’s twins, plus a singleton? Or did the five include the parents with one colt plus a non-breeding pair? When they joined voices in their rattling, bugle call, I left them to their feeding. So good to see they’ve safely returned.
My friends Diana and Don are both cripped up with broken ankles. She is wheelchair-bound, but he is more mobile with a walking cast. I picked him up Friday afternoon, and we headed to the Lakeshore. The weather was partly sunny, somewhat hazy, and in the low 70s, a day meant to be spent outdoors. With the car windows down, we drove between Empire and Glen Haven, telling stories and snapping pictures of the beach and dunes. And then Sunday arrived, bringing back winter. You know how March is, don’t you?
I saw two Bald Eagles in a tree near Kingsley farm country. They weren’t very active, mostly just looking around for prey. It’s always exciting, though, to see these majestic birds. No Sandhill Cranes yet.
I’d already begun taking winter pictures of area marinas when The Ticker ran an article on the long wait lists for slips in Elk Rapids, Traverse City, and Suttons Bay. For some the wait can be from five to fifteen years. The article didn’t mention the wait time for the Northport marina but I don’t think there’s a more beautiful place to dock your boat.
I returned to Kingsley farm country in search of wildlife. I’ve seen Sandhill Cranes there as early as March 3rd so I was hopeful. I saw this doe standing on a hillside. She let me come close and we engaged in a long stare down. Finally, she turned and ambled back into the woods, giving me only a slight flick of that beautiful white tail.
