Summer Lovin'

Though it shouldn't matter, something about the calendar officially registering the start of summer yesterday has actually made it feel more seasonal. The temperature got up into the seventies, it was humid while I was mowing the lawn, and the sun was with us for a large portion of the day. The length of the day stretched out nicely, though the cloudy skies in the evening prevented an extended dusk. Still, it was definitely a good midsummer.

One unusual sight prompted me to grab the camera and head to the lake. Not far off the end of our main dock, I saw three mature loons swimming along together. I left my lunch on the screen porch, and was able to make it to the dock at Tamarack without upsetting the trio. They continued their fishing/swimming expedition, while I snapped a few quick photos. Tiring of the model mayhem, they dove and went out for deeper waters. Later in the day, I heard a report of a baby loon seen on its mama's back, somewhere on the lake. Unfortunately, I still have not had the pleasure of seeing that.

But it is baby season, or in this case, juvenile. The raven pair that has taken up serious residence here at Heston's came in yesterday to get a better look at the garbage bags I was loading in to the pick-up. When I turned my back, two more flew in , so I was a bit surprised when I saw the four looking over at me. (Shades of Hitchcock's The Birds?) As I went about the task of gathering cardboard to recycle, they kept trying to get to a garbage bag, undoubtedly to tear it open and scatter the contents. We've see them do this in about three minutes. With four of them, they could go for a new record. To their chagrin, I finished my packing, and was off to dispose of the load at the canister site. I did toss them a token dead mouse, found in an empty garbage can. They were on it in seconds. Hungry little dudes, I guess.

Later in the day, Greg scattered a handful of pizza "bones" out in the parking lot. I call them bones, but they are the end crusts from the slices. Not caring to eat them himself,he used to save them as a treat for Moses. Now they get tossed out for the ravens or squirrels or whatever lucky scavenger might happen upon them. Soon the foursome of ravens was back. We were able to get a closer look at them, and realized that two are immature. They must be the offspring of the original pair. Addie has been grumbling a lot lately about the amount of ruckus these birds cause at about six a.m. each day. So she was initially not pleased to see the new additions. It didn't take long for her to be won over. Who can resist babies? She sneaked out the side door, armed with the big camera, and was able to take some close-ups of the kids. They were a hoot to watch, as they teased each other. One would grab a crust, and the other would steal right out of the beak of its sibling. Then mom would pick one up, and the two little ones would rush over and caw loudly with their beaks wide open. "Feed me, Mom! Feed Me Now!" We could almost hear them demanding it. At one point, she actually did feed the morsel to the cantankerous one. Paul asked me if he had ever acted that way. I said not quite. The young ones have a mottled brownish black coloring on their feathers, and they seem a bit unsteady on their feet. They tend to dance around a lot. But when it's time to follow their parents, they have full command of their wings. Pretty cool to watch.

So for the next ninety-three days, we get to enjoy summer. How will you be spending it?