Long Lake Yarns

Some time this past winter or early spring, a big blow must have come through Ghost Bay. Three good-sized cedars tipped over. Cedars mostly sit on the very edges of the Bay, giving the deer some good winter salads. Deer stand on the ice and trim the overhanging cedar branches as neatly as a professional [...]

Dragonflies. Anisoptera.  Belonging to the order Odonata (“toothed”). All dragonflies have two sets of wings, great big eyes (they are visual hunters), and a long skinny body with 10 segments. A big bug with teeth, sort of. Powerful mandibles for sure. A carnivorous big bug with a voracious appetite for mosquitoes that earns its nickname: [...]

These are the biggest of the beaver lodges on Long Lake. They are located about midway through the narrows, on the east side. Quite the engineering feat. This Spring we saw a beaver swim into the first lodge.  Last Spring my peaceful kayaking thoughts were disturbed by the loud slap of a beaver sounding the [...]

We have seen very few Flickers at the lake, but this fellow visited at the suet feeder recently. That’s unusual because, as the Cornell site describes the Northern Flicker, they are mostly ground feeders. They dig for beetles and ants using their slightly curved bill.  Shy Flickers are mostly known for their flicker of white [...]

This Baltimore Oriole was hungry enough and curious enough to head to the seed block. Even chasing away the full-of-himself Bluejay. The weather’s been cold and rainy, with flower production seriously delayed. Steve felt sorry for the Oriole, knowing what he really wanted. So. Out came the sliced orange. Oriole is the Oriole equivalent of [...]