Day 339

On the trail at Pickerel Lake, there are always choices. Little side trails down which you can wander off the main path. They curve back around to the big trail in the end, but in the meantime, they offer a tiny meander into something different.

I'm fond of one detour in particular. It wends through evergreens and emerges at a little inlet right at the lake's edge. You can walk right up to the water as it seeps out onto the ground. No definitive shoreline here--just a bunch of reeds tucked into the lake's pocket.

There are often ducks wending their way through the flora here, or, as there was on this day, a red-winged blackbird or two swinging on their fragile perches, vibrating the air with their call that thrills my heart and shouts, "Michigan!" to me somehow.

It never fails to surprise me, this little moment on the bend of the path.

The day of my walk with Adam, it surprised me again. I heard a splash and then I saw something I've never once seen before.




Oh. My. Word. A beaver!!!

Can you see him? Here, I'll zoom in a bit and bleach out the rest of the shot for you.



He didn't seem worried about us. Moved from reed tuffett to tuffett, at one point even sitting down to groom his pelt.

Go to the woods without expectation and see what you find. I'm willing to bet you'll find something to charm you.

Unless it's poison ivy. Don't find that.