I ask for forgiveness,those who know me know what's ahead...I went to the cottage and you know how I get when I'm up there... so you are warned!!! LOL!!!

My eldest son,the new Daddy ,stopped by and had a plan!  O.K.!!  What was it?  He and his Dad disappeared and left DIL and new little Grandson here!  Weeee!   Thought I...I am set!  I can steal Grandson and have a wonderful time...which I did and was indeed having a wonderful time!   Back come the men folk and lo and behold they had wrangled a new upright freezer into the van and son had ever so graciously filled the van with gas,not a cheap undertaking!   I was to get ready as we were leaving for the cottage!!!  Well being the extra fancy person I am I grabbed a plastic bag,was packed in two seconds and had food in a cooler in five,out the door in 10 minutes!  READY!!! LET'S GO!!!

The trip up was funny,dog was upset as he couldn't see us over the freezer and whined until I threatened him. I swear he understood that finding a new home for himself would be really hard as he is a quirky beast!  It was heaven to pass the familiar landmarks and make our way up to the cottage. I haven't been up for so long and my soul needs the renewal.  The land is struggling to break into spring.  The heavy snows have compressed the grasses at the road side and the new growth is just starting.  The trees are just beginning to bud so the veiw is not lush as one remembers but rather looks like winter without the snow.  The trip is almost two hours and I took in all the fields and changes all the way up.  The drive into the cottage was untouched and was littered with leaves and thrown branches showing the effects of high winds.  The water much higher but then we thought it would be.  We settled in to unpack and feeding ourselves as it was later ,we were starving and it was so great to be there.  Son had bought huge beautiful steaks and the meal was great!  We got the new freezer in and down into the cellar and decided to call it a night around midnight.

We slept out to allow dog to stay with us and not to interupt what they needed to do with the Baby.  I love sleeping outside!  We were cold at first but warm up once you tuck in,the tempature was just below freezing.  I was rather glad we were using the van as dog, late into the night, started a low growl.  The growl was much louder from outside of the van,right by my window!  I bolted to see what it was and grapped my flashlight and got out.  No eyes gleaming at me,nothing I could see.  I knew it wasn't a bear because you feel their growl,it reverberates.  This I know from zoos,I'm very respectful of bears!   Ah...darn! But something was around.

The morning had not broken and I was out!  Down to the water which is so beautiful.  This time of year the water is warmer than the air in the mornings and you are greeted by low cloulds,all mist from the water.  I scouted about the van and picked up prints off a ways in the sand.  I went down  and followed some paths and found small droppings. What leaves these?  I thought I knew but I'd have to see.  I returned to the water side and Hubby brought out a coffee! Hummm hot deeply rich warmth and the aroma and the veiw of the lake!  What could be better??  The merganzers were diving,we watched them fly in.  The heron flew over and did his slow graceful land near the shore. The silence was totally broken by a pair of Canadian geese that were in courtship dance on the water,breaking in and out of the fog as they acknowledged each other in their strange dance.  Just heaven,heaven to be there and to be taking it all in.  They swam around and around each other honking and barking and all the little head movements!  Very,very noisy as they anounce that  they are a couple and this will be there lake!!  They started at a little knoll that jutted out of the water to scoop and perpare their nest.  So interesting!!  I thought,good time for a walk,before the start of everyone's day scares off the animals so we headed down the cottage road.  We went quietly,Hubby,dog and I and as we neared the highway were Hubby would take dog for miles and I would head back I got the biggest thrill!  There,trotting up a hill was a full grown wolf.  I quietly called dog to me and showed Hubby what had caught my attention. Hubby saw him too but I caught the details.  The large head was all white with discolouring around the eyes and mouth,lean wide chest and down the back was the heavier darker coloured fur,looking bronze against the white sides and flanks. The legs were long,very tall animal and powerful as he lifted them cafefully in his paced trot. The feet huge and wide, thick and deep pads on the feet. The flanks were prue fuffy white and the tail long and hanging with white fur.  I didn't think my heart would keep in my chest I was so thrilled and so excited!!! This powerful beautiful free and wild animal was right there! Escaping my vision now,entering the forest and I felt so blessed to have had that moment to see it!  A wolf,a symbol of our nature,that of it that is left. My mind will hold the picture of that brilliant beast,trotting away to the saftey of the forest.

The rest of the day was spent looking for other critters while working away at trying to clean up from a hard winter. We saw the woodpeckers back, saw a whole flock of turkey vultures and dog scared a big huge tom turkey up just a ways from the cottage!  I think the neatest thing was..well nothing can top the wolf,but I found the first snake out.  A beautiful gater snake. I only saw him from the motion,he is near invisable unless your eye sees him move. Dog ran by and almost over it,I don't allow dog to bother the snakes. This one was bright,you could see by the eyes he had just shead. He was almost 30 inches long and looked to have just eatten or was pregnant!  It moved when dog ran by and decided to head for my foot,that looked like higher ground on the path as it had tried to curl under the wheelbarrow wheel and didn't feel safe.  I called to the guys to come see and they said,no snakes out yet,the ground's still too cold....oh yah??? So here they came to see this grand fellow!  He heard the vibrations and got a little tense but after they were looking at him he he knew no harm was intended.  Son noticed the marks on him,I said scarrring...I wonder what tales he could tell of his survival???  Son is looking forward to me teaching Grandson.. Daughter in law is worried as she is so much not a fan of anything other than dogs. One has to have respect for these wonderful creatures.  The wolf I worry about. This great beast belongs further north and has come this far south to hunt...a very tough winter. His droppings say that he has not and is not getting enough to eat.  I wish we could honour his being in some manner other than to just admire his sheer being,a force of the wild and of a free life.