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 R...