Thursday, September 21, 2006

Fall Days and Animal Sightings

I went to town early this morning for a 9:00 meeting. Just driving down the Trail was wonderful. Some of the lakes were still steaming. The sun was just high enough to shine over everything. It was such a gorgeous fall day that even the morning sun in my eyes was welcome. On the way in I saw a partridge feeding on the shoulder and a red fox. The fox was thin but looked healthy and had a full, bushy tail.

Top honors for animals sightings has to go to the minnow trapper, Bruce. The first sighting this week was a pack of three wolves that just stood and looked at him. It has always been unusual to see any wolves during the summer. They are very elusive so this was a first even for Bruce. This year we have heard of more wolf sightings that ever before.

A couple days later Bruce came across a family of five beaver. Again just seeing one beaver is unusual. The whole family is great fun. Some were on shore chewing on branches while one splashed his tail when Bruce was spotted. The others didn't move. Just like we humans, the beaver are enjoying the warm fall sunshine.

Bruce has also been particularly adept at spotting partridge. The hunting season for these tasty birds opened last Saturday. We have a nice cache of them in the freezer. Three of the birds will provide dinner tonight. Lee and Eva are coming down and it is her first partridge dinner. Hopefully she will enjoy it.

In the Kerfoot family we have a traditional fall dinner that features partridge browned and baked with cream of mushroom soup. The side dishes include wild rice with mushrooms and onions plus baked acorn squash. Just like your family, shared meals have always been part of the fabric of our lives together. So don't call us around 6:00 p.m. tonight. We'll be too busy eating.

September is moving quickly into October. Make sure to spend some time in the woods this weekend. It clears your mind.

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