Ghost Bay 2011

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 landscaper might. But cedar roots here do not run deep. And as the cedars grow taller their foothold gets more and more precarious. Every tree in the Bay is precious and we are saddened to see this trio give up the ghost.

Meanwhile on the lake bottom, in the shallow edges of the Bay, life is winning. When this photo was taken, the blue gills were guarding their nests from marauding who knows what.  When I quietly pass by in my kayak, they seem to stare me down. This nest wasn’t being guarded when Steve snapped a photo. If you are wondering about all the debris, the bluegills are not “feathering” their nest with clean pebbles or sticks.  The fish disturb the silt in the hollowed-out nest and then the bottom comes into clear view. We think the bluegill are good recyclers too, because these seem to be the same hollow places the bass used as nests.

It is summer now. Lots of creepy crawly stuff is enjoying the exposed cedar root slabs.  And baby bluegill are all through the grasses of Ghost Bay.

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