Boundary Waters, Day 3

Tuesday, August 9

We slept late again and ate leftover pancakes for breakfast. I went to the office for life jackets, but by the time I got back, it was too windy to take the boat out. We went for a walk down the road instead. We saw many old friends, including bluebeads,

Bluebead

Bunchberries

Bunchberries

And thimbleberries. I had tasted a thimbleberry before and found it to be unpleasantly sour. It came into my mind that perhaps the one I tasted wasn’t ripe, prompting me to repeat the experiment. I looked for one that was about to fall off, which is as ripe as it will get. OMG. Still very sour. Don’t know what people see in them. I suppose with enough sugar, it would make a passable jam.

Thimbleberries. So sour.

We also saw this little plant, which I think is pipsissewa. Even if it isn’t, that’s a very fun name.

Pipsissewa

When we returned to the cabin, we heard a loon call close by. We hastened to the dock with binoculars and cameras. One loon and two chicks were swimming on the other side of the bay. I snapped pictures like crazy until they swam out of sight. We saw loons many times today. I took 83 pictures, most of which were out of focus. In most of them, the loons are just swimming, but one of the chicks is stretching in this one. These chicks were nearly as large as their parent, and they were learning to dive.

Stretch!

Jane had the last piece of pizza with a small salad for lunch. I made a chef salad with the leftover quesadilla steak, peppers, and onions, the remaining pico de gallo, cheese curds and mixed nuts. We had yogurt and fruit besides. One of our healthier meals so far.

Chef salad and yogurt for lunch

After discussion, we decided that instead of making cobbler in the usual way, I would bake the fruit and the scones separately so the leftover scones would not get soggy on the fruit as the days passed.

New Age cobbler--bake the scones separately

We did absolutely nothing all afternoon but sit on the deck and listen to the wind rustle the birch leaves. It was very Zen and relaxing. At 3:30, this loon family came into the bay.

Loon family, again

About 5:00, after happy hour started, the loons were back, still far away.

Loons on the other side of the bay

Jane fired up the grill to cook a marinated chicken breast. While she waited for the coals to catch, she looked for--and found--a four-leaf clover! Apparently finding four-leaf clovers is one of her special gifts.

Jane found this four-leaf clover

Along with the chicken breast, I made green beans sauteed with onions and cherry tomatoes. I also boiled some sweet corn. Everything was home grown. It makes me quietly proud.

Farm-to-table dinner

After supper, two adults and two chicks were in the bay. We thought maybe this was a different family because the chicks seemed smaller. We did not ever see them dive. One adult stayed with the chicks while the other one dove and dove.

A different loon family?

While I was busy photographing the chicks and one parent, the second parent popped up right in front of the dock and let out a loony laugh, scaring me half to death.

Geez Louise, where did this guy come from?

It dove and came up with a fish

Loon with fish

Which it took over to the chick who was paying attention.

One chick swims toward the parent with the food

Here’s the transfer,

The handoff

And now the chick has the fish.

Chick with the fish

After many attempts, I finally got all four loons in one frame.

Family portrait

We had scones with baked peaches and blueberries as a late dessert. It was a good day.