This afternoon/evening after work I headed out towards my parents to enjoy a visit and a nice drive in the late evening to attempt to capture a few images of some wildlife in their summer splendor. I wasn’t very successful in the photo department however I did manage to spot a nice little variety of Northern Minnesota wildlife.
On the drive out my wife and I saw a decent sized black bear lumbering across the road. It wasn’t huge, but I would guess in the 180 to 220 lbs range. It was the first black bear I have seen in quite a few years since I stopped hunting them just after high school. We tried to grab a camera and snap a quick shot or two but before we could even get stopped it finally noticed us and bolted for the cover of heavy underbrush up a hillside. Even though we didn’t get any pictures it was nice to see even this brief glimpse of our neighbor the black bear.
Later in the evening when I was out on a little scenic drive I came around the corner of an old dirt road not far from my folks place and there spread out for about the next 200 yards or so was a whole tribe of rabbits. There was at least 10 that I was able to count as they were running back and forth chasing each other either for fun or as part of their mating habits. I’m not sure which it would be. I was able to snap a couple of quick shots here, nothing fantastic though. It was fun just sitting and watching them run around and act so playful. It was easy to forget that they were not tame rabbits because for the most part they ignored me completely.
After I left the rabbits I started to head for home and as I passed a small little clearcut maybe 20 yards wide at the best I happened to spot a nice big whitetail deer staring at me while I drove by. I stopped and grabbed the camera as I was backing up since this appeared to be a large deer but when I got back to the clearing I got to see nothing more than the oh so famous white flag bouncing away from me. I did get another good look at the size and it was a pretty large deer but I did not get a solid look at the head to check for summer growth antlers coming in. When I passed it the first time I thought I saw antlers although I wasn’t positive since I was cruising by. If it was in fact a buck he didn’t have a large set of antlers but it was a very large bodied deer.
I know I haven’t really done a whole lot of work here recently, although I have had an opportunity to spend a little time outdoors, but I hope to start writing more often as the summer progresses into fall. Right now between the mosquitos and the ticks I hate to even venture out into the northland woods that much. Most of my time outdoors has been closer to town and the few times I have went further out I have stayed in the confines of my car most of the time. Even then I get to play the role of a seven course dinner for the bugs as I putter along taking pictures out my driver’s window.
I should note that I have not had a chance to hit the lakes yet but there is at least a weekend trip planned for the weekend of July 14th. I hope schedules work out to allow that to happen so I can get out and do a little fishing at least once this summer!
