All Things Pleasant on the Lake

“You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.”   Mary Tyler Moore

Wonderful things are beginning to happen as Lady Spring approaches our part of the world. Sun is rising ever more north along the ridge tops. Pussy willows are busy creating their furry little catkins. Goldfinch are putting away their winter coats and looking brighter every day. As the lakes are still ice covered, our loons remain tucked in harbors and coves among the lobster boats along the New England coast. Checking in on the wintering loons in Biddeford Pool, Maine, we see that the loon we call “Old Grizzly” has almost returned to his full breeding plumage. His checkerboard pattern is not quite complete and he sports a spiky hairdo, but he is very much looking like a handsome loon once again! Even his flight feathers have returned! Mrs. Mooselookmeguntic, the banded loon, has just started to molt back into her breeding plumage and her flight feathers are still growing. We laugh as the loons pull up crabs for lunch. Mrs. M. is shameless about playing with her food, munching on crab legs, tossing the crab about, and eventually swallowing. Grizzly simply catches the crabs and swallows them whole. We will continue to watch for all the wonders that Lady Spring will share, and we will work hard to be brave when any less than wonderful things cross our path.
Sending all the best, Kittie

(Photographs by Kittie Wilson)