Back In Wilkie

It was exciting to get back into the Wilkie Unit on Friday. It had been awhile and it had changed in many ways and yet it was still the same. I immediately found the remnants of an owl off the edge of the trail. Then I saw a lot of Bald Eagles and even more swans over Blue Lake. The river had geese and Mergansers and I found the large tracks of the hind foot of a beaver in the dried mud. When I was on the trail beneath the highway bridge, it should have been easy but the trail was washed out and I had to leap across. I'm getting kind of old for that but I made it. On the way out I met a hunter searching for the blood trail of the deer he hit almost four hours earlier. My 2-hour hike in the windy, 22 degrees (F) was exhilarating to say the least. I wish I had more opportunities to enjoy the places I used to frequent almost daily.

Owl flight feathers have soft edges for silence.

2 Bald Eagles

Eagles above swans

Swans

Flood Remnants

Minnesota River

Cottonwoods get hollow

My favorite terrain

I remember you.

Too cold for the beach.

Beaver

Texture