Promoting quiet recreation in Wisconsin.
Opposing the coming attempts to sell off Wisconsin's natural heritage.
Fighting denial about climate change. When are we hitting the streets?


Friday, September 01, 2006

Lonely loon....more coyotes....quiet...

Up north after missing a week. I always shut off the radio and open the windows wide when I pull into the dirt driveway. One day, Gina and I surprised a number of deer, including a large albino buck, eating acorns. This time, only the quiet crunching of sticks. The white of the house and garage come into view. Nothing to envy, neither have changed much in 60 years, and they aren't preservation material. But I feel like I could be driving up in 1940 or 1950, and little would tell you different.

Some of my neighbor's light filters through the two big norway spruce, otherwise it is totally dark when I turn off the car light. There is that moment of uncomfortableness when I get out of the car and I sense I am in that in between world outside of human walls and light. As if to tease me, the oaks throw acorns loudly to the ground.

As always, I get to the house OK. I do a brief inspection. The basement is drying out from a water leak several weeks ago. A loon is calling, in fact, calls all night long. Coyote gangs are yelping excitedly. Acorns drop through the night. I fell more easily into the spell of quiet this time, my thoughts seem less scattered. I was able to sit patiently and very little happened.

In the morning, I walked down to the lake to see what what up with the loon, who was still calling. Were loons on the lake this long last year? I will have to revisit my archives. At any rate, this loon's mate seems to have disappeared. Often, they regroup on larger lakes in the fall. Is it that time yet? There is so much I don't know.

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