A few nights ago I went for a late evening walk with Abby. Since it was just the two of us I took my big camera along and kept an eye out for the birds and animals that have been returning as the weather warms up. Some of them - like the beavers and muskrats and small furry critters - are here all year but we rarely see them in the winter. We occasionally find mice tracks in the snow along the path but the beavers are snug in their lodge and the muskrats are either in push-ups or under the ice. The frogs stay through the winter too but are buried in the mud making use of natural anti-freeze to wait for the spring. Most of the birds leave. When we see the birds coming back we know the spring is well underway. The first ducks and red wing blackbirds are so exciting to spot.

Our walk around the trail was very noisy. I could hear so many different birds calling: songbirds, ducks and gulls. While I was taking pictures of a group of female red-winged black birds I kept hearing a rustle near the willow next to me. Just in case, I snapped a picture of the leaf litter at the bottom of the trunk. As the shutter snapped I saw a tiny head zip back into its house. Without seeing it’s tail I don’t’ know if it was a mouse or a vole. The reflections on the lake were too strong for me to see any frogs but I could hear them singing wherever I walked. Maisie and I spotted some the other day. There is something extra special about finding the tiny creatures in our landscape.

I watched a muskrat swim along for quite a while. At one point I got a little too close and he dipped under the water only to pop up again a little further on. The beavers are really the stars of the lake this year. They’ve built a dam to slow the flow of water out of the lake and we spent quite a while one afternoon watching one of them bring weeds and sticks over to build it up. I’m always amazed how big they are. I’m sure the larger one is about the same size as Abby.