I have officially made my last visit of the season to our family cabin. It seems like only a few days ago that I had arrived at the road leading to our cabin and got stuck trying to get back to it. Luckily, I know a guy who was nice enough to bring his skid loader over and plow the road out for me.
Like I said, it only seems like yesterday and yet here we are, at the end of the season. I actually spent more time at our cabin this year than I ever have in one season. Although I was at the cabin many times, I did not get out fishing as much as I would have liked. In all reality, I don’t believe that I have ever gotten to fish as much as I want to. If I were to venture a guess, I’d have to say that it is the kid in me who always wants to fish more. I really believe that it is that kid thing that gives me the spark to keep on enjoying the outdoors and the natural resources that surround us.
While at the cabin for the last visit of the season, I encountered beautiful, but cold fall weather on Thursday and Friday which was brought to a screeching halt on Saturday as snow and rain moved in while the temperatures remained in, the 30’s during the day and 20’s at night. It was the end of the fishing season for me as I had already taken my big boat home.
I was in the cabin Friday morning when I heard the sound of an ATV approaching. It was a young man and his daughter. He introduced himself as Tim, the new homeowner of the house across the lake. He said that he had seen the gate open and just wanted to check and see if it was okay if he and his daughter went across the back of our property that abuts the state land. He was taking his daughter on the youth deer hunt and just wanted to check with me beforehand. I told him that I didn’t care if he went on our land and wished them luck, to which he replied “Even if she gets a shot she doesn’t know if she could pull the trigger.” He will definitely be a welcome addition to our little lake community.
I always enjoy the first snowfall and it didn’t disappoint. There is always something magical about a snowfall in the woods. We kept the wood stove going with the wood that we had harvested in previous years. My son Brian was up there a couple of weeks earlier and had taken down three birch trees, cut them into firewood sized chunks, split and stacked them. This will give us enough firewood to heat the cabin for at least a couple of years. What a guy!
I really do enjoy watching the birds at our feeders, and on this visit, it was exceptionally busy. We had nuthatches, chickadees, juncos, blue jays and four different species of woodpeckers visiting our various feeders. There was even a pair of birds that I had no idea as to what they were. The numerous woodpeckers consisted of a downy, hairy, red bellied, which I haven’t seen in many years, and a pileated which is the largest of the group. These birds all liked to visit my homemade feeder, which uses round suet pegs.
My son Brian and his family had given me a store-bought feeder that used suet pegs, which worked really well, but alas, a black bear made short work of that feeder a couple of years ago. I was going to buy another to replace it, but then I decided that I could make my own. I cut a piece of birch log and drilled 1-inch holes in it, bought some suet pegs, cut them into 1-1/2 inch chunks and I had a feeder. The birds love it and as long as the bears stay away it should last for some time. If something happens to it I have plenty of material to build another.
Each year, as the season ends, I feel a void in my heart which makes me wish that I could keep the feeders full for the birds of winter. All of the birds that I mentioned earlier will winter over. I can’t wait to see what spring will bring; it is a long way from now. I really do wish that I could visit the cabin in the winter, but I am getting a little too old to have too many wilderness adventures.
Until next time: I really hate to say it, but I do believe that fall has turned into winter. If you like being outdoors, dress warm and get out and enjoy taking a walk on a trail; it can be fun and its great exercise.
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