Rabbit Blanket

No need to be alarmed by the title, no rabbits were harmed at Rabbit Blanket Campground! All the rabbits we saw there seemed to be doing just fine. Kurt and I finished off the summer with tons of camping. We spent a week in Lake Superior Provincial Park, then we came back, unpacked, repacked, and went to Grundy Provincial Park for the weekend. Somebody really wanted to go fishing for his birthday.

It is so amazing to spend time in God's awesome creation, althout his creatures can be very elusive. One morning we got up early and went to this little lake in the hopes of seeing a moose. All we saw were beavers, which was fine, but the lake were were camping on had enough beavers for us (we actually had to steer our canoe around them so that they wouldn't splash us). Despite the early hour, and our stealthy hiking around the lake, our efforts to see a moose went unsatisfied. Later on in the week we tried again, in vain. Once again the beavers were there to mock us. However, despite our disappointment, just sitting there quietly really gave me the opportunity to reflect on the beauty all around me. I was just in awe as the mist rolled off the lake to reveal a perfect reflection of the forest on the glassy water.

While we did not see any moose (despite the many traffic signs advertizing their dangerous prescence on the roads) we did see some cool little creatures. One evening, while hiking the Old Woman River we happened upon three otters. They were splashing, playing, rolling and diving. We could even see them swimming under the water, catching crayfish and coming up to tilt their heads back to eat their dinner. The way they played together reminded my of students on the giant snow hill on our playground in the winter, all tumbling over each other. We followed the otters unnoticed for quite a while. Finally they spotted us and left in a real hurry. It was so amazing to watch them just enjoying life so much!

Other wildlife sightings: herons, I almost sat on a snake, a cute mink scampering down a river, what we think was a marten, giant frogs, ospreys, and of course, beavers everywhere. No bears or moose, only tracks.

I will miss hiking and canoeing every day, it is so beautiful up north! But now my attention has turned to bulletin boards, schedules, meetings, planning, planning, and more planning. I think my entries will get a little thin from now on in, but I will try my best.