Two Lakes

The cold continues and deepens. A big winter storm is predicted to roll in tomorrow and bury the state with a thick blanket of snow, and then the first sub-zero weather is expected to arrive. It's almost time to hibernate. PP is still working outside and will be for another week and a half. Tonight we went to Sports Authority and she bought chemical hand and foot warmers for the rest of the month.

To appreciate her working conditions, I walked around two lakes today and have the photos to prove it.

Como: It's essentially frozen over except for two small open spots that are kept open by ducks and geese and perhaps the aeration system that is installed in the lake. The lake looks like a big ice rink, ice from end to end. Tomorrow and for the rest of the winter there will be a layer of snow on top of the ice and the drama will be gone.



Upper Lake in Crosby Farm Park: The beaver lodge sits in the lake surrounded by clear ice. The beavers have accomplished their goal for the winter - to have a safe abode. The only way into the lodge is under water. I guess they have two rooms in the lodge. The first has an entrance to the outside world, but the second is only reachable under water. It's a clever ruse, and it has served them well.



I saw a biker out on the streets today. Just the one and he was dressed for survival.

Wildlife

It's been a busy week since my return from Tucson. There was Thanksgiving, then Unky Herb went off to Arizona for a vacation, a chance to see the Grand Canyon, some desert and his cousin, John. I guess all is going well there, but he missed a pretty good pie party on Saturday night. I neglected to get any photos of the festivities, but the usual after Thanksgiving group helped PP and I down some Papa Murphy's pizza, a nice salad and a cold beverage. UH called during the party and several of the party chatted with his Arizona host. It was cool.

PP is off to a road trip for her next to last week at MCC. She's wielding her chain saw somewhere near Rochester.

So today, with the weather still decent and no snow yet on the ground, I went to check out the beaver dam that I was watching before my trip to the high desert. The beavers have been working on the ash trees near Upper Lake. I found one tree that was gnawed through, but had not fallen. This was a fresh casualty of the beavers, gnawed through recently and hung up on another nearby tree..




I walked around Upper Lake, hoping to see the animal of the day. After once around, I sighted a brown head swimming in the lake. I think it's one of the beavers, but I could be wrong. I tried to get closer for a better view and the creature went under water and never came to the surface again. I think that he may have retreated to his lodge, but after waiting about five minutes, I went on my way. It was definitely a wildlife sighting, however.



Incidentally, on my trek around Crosby Farm I sighted two guys on bicycles, and one was helmetless. It seemed to be too cold to bike without a head covering, but maybe it was just a hardcore guy.

No tennis today. I had the day off after three straight days of doubles with various groups. My timing is back - after the altitude problems in Tucson - and I'm playing pretty well. It would have been nice to have been in this zone while the tournament was going on. C'est la vie.

Crosby Lake

It was a gray November day and no tennis was on my schedule. It's not warm enough for much, except a walk in the wilds of St. Paul, namely Crosby Farm Park. It was in the mid 40's, and the chance of rain was small. I had been to Upper Lake in the park a couple of days ago and discovered evidence of beaver activity. I thought I might be able to surprise a beaver and get a good photo of one, perhaps enjoying some ash tree for lunch. I have since learned that beavers are nocturnal and hard to find out and about during daylight hours. I did get a pretty good look at a couple of beaver lodges. This one is in Upper Lake.



I also learned that in the 17th century the Catholic Church ruled that the beaver is a fish for purposes of the dietary law. Thus, in Lent the faithful can eat beaver - also otter, if the truth be known. I am amazed at the things one can learn from Wikipedia.

I decided to walk around Crosby Lake. I have been by the lake on my bicycle many times, but the side that runs along the cliff has only foot paths, and rudimentary ones at that. It's a good size lake, but I set out into new territory. New territory is always a little exciting. I first found this deep crevice cutting into the cliff below Shepard Road. It looks dangerous and alluring.



There is also a previously unknown (to me) cave cut into the cliff. See below.

I only met one person during the wild part of the walk. It was a young woman walking with her Springer Spaniel. As I met her I observed that I hadn't expected to meet anyone on the trail. She responded that she had that same expectation. I then said that it was a pretty area. She said that she agreed and said that I shouldn't tell anyone about it. You are all thus sworn to secrecy.



On Crosby Lake there were more signs of beaver activity. There were some gnawed trees, an elevated beaver pond, and this large beaver lodge in the lake itself.



I have included a google maps reproduction of the area where I spent part of my day. I managed to circumnavigate both Crosby Lake and Upper Lake before I came home for a late lunch, maybe four or five miles.



Lastly. The Highland Villager, our local newsy paper reported some info about the deer hunt in Crosby Farm Park last week. The deer herd was estimated at about 24 members, and 5 of them were taken in the first three days of the hunt. There were 14 bow hunters who joined in the doe-only hunt. The same 14 will be at it again next week in the final three days of the attempt to trim the herd to a more manageable number. They hope to salvage some of the shrubbery in the yards of some Highland Park homeowners.

Upper Lake

It's Monday and November. PP had a day off from her restoration quest. She and I decided to visit the smaller lake in Crosby Farm Park, Upper Lake. The season has redecorated the park. Most of the trees have lost their leaves and the oaks have become the predominant colored tree. The buck thorn is still green. They seem to be the only bush that is still green and they are the arch-enemy of PP in her day job. She chainsaws them down when she gets a chance.

The interesting development at the lake is the activity of a group of beavers. They seem to be building a lodge for the winter out in the lake. They have been chewing down trees in the area. I took this shot of an ash tree that was recently felled, but there are others in the area. They bite quite large chips out of the tree trunks and the pile next to the trees is pretty impressive. We walked around the area, hoping to encounter one of the lodge builders, but it wasn't to be.



It's a wild spot in the middle of a metropolitan area and the beavers are doing what beavers do. This is the same area that had a deer hunt for archers last month and they'll be doing it again next week.

It was a sunny day, more like a nice October day than November.

A full moon is out tonight, the one known as the Hunter's Moon. The season is changing.

There was no tennis today, but I'm scheduled for tomorrow afternoon with three other geezers.