Hello Mr. fox

As the cold approaches and Rockwood’s human guests are leaving, Rockwood’s animal guests are moving back in.

Lin took this fox photo while standing on our deck between him and his path to freedom. They didn’t seem to mind one another at all.

The snow shoe hares are starting to turn white already and our cat Mercy is enjoying a huge new sand pile that will be our new sanitary mound within the week.

A 3500 gallon tank farm has been planted between Cabin 2 and the Lodge and we have run a line from the tanks to the mound. I’m still putting in 9 hour days which closely matches our available daylight so have been unable to get out for a fishing report. I am guessing they are back now too.

Will work on that soon.

Thank You Canadian Jays

It took the ruffling of feathers and sound of angry wasps for me to notice something at Rockwood that has obviously been a few weeks in the making.

This wasp nest was bigger than my head and not more than 5 feet away from it as I hiked the road up towards the bunkhouse. I turned the corner and needed to yield to three Canadian Jays who were attacking the nest in an obvious team effort.

First, they spent over a solid hour catching and eating the wasps as they flew out of the hole. A few of the mid-air skirmishes were intense and there had to be a few stings along the way. The Jays then tore a hole in the back of the nest and got down to the serious business of eating the remaining wasp larvae inside the monster nest.

I have never been much of a Jay fan; however, it was very nice to not have to worry about getting stung taking this nest down. Now I know to throw some seed down around the next nest I find.

Autumn Colors

Was a beautiful day today, 76 degrees, and it has been a fantastic week. With the Pagami Creek Fire reportedly 70% contained, it is much more relaxing to soak in the amazing fall colors of the Gunflint Trail. What an amazing place. Dad says the colors are as vibrant as they have been in years, and Mom says the colors were real nice on her trek to Two Harbors this week.

The various shades of yellow, orange, and red than you ever dreamed possible and more than our camera can handle. With only a little wind one afternoon you can see some places that have dropped their leaves - but there are thousands of more areas on their way to full color right behind any patches that have fallen to the forest floor.

One thing is for certain, no two car trips on the Trail are identical these days. As these photos from the same journey show, the views change each minute and around every curve. Reminds us all that nature provides the ultimate canvas, and it is Good!