Monday, November 20, 2006

On a lonely lake, it turned November

I called in sick to work today. Mainly because I was awake most of the night for some unknown reason, so I was tired in the morning and there was no urgent reason to go to work. So there. Actually, I think there is some higher power telling me what I should do with my life. But as long as the worldly god of health insurance rules, I must work. Aarrgghh..

The Hermit, Mr. Attitude and I did some soul searching in the afternoon by driving around and visiting a couple nearby lakes. I set out thinking I would like to see a rough legged hawk, which is a winter visitor here from way up north. I was not disappointed; we saw one fly from a telephone pole, showing its characteristic underwing patches.

I promised Mr. Attitude he could take one picture. This was it; fresh beaver gnawings on a tree. Pretty good, I thought.

I had checked out this lake once, while I was in the neighborhood on other business. The entrance is a narrow unmarked drive, to a steep incline down to the lake, which is all within tax forfeit/State land. In other words, this lake has open access to all who can find it. It looks fairly unfound.

There are lots of muskrat and beaver lodges on this lake. While we were there we saw two bald eagles and a flock of 50+ ducks (bluebills?) passing by looking for open water.

On the way back we stopped at another lake, which is actually an impoundment on a creek from an old logging dam. Most of the land around it is also tax forfeited, so it is open to exploration. There we saw another eagle, and four red headed ducks on a small area of open water. The lake had a lot of wild rice, looking like a promising duck hunting/ricing area for next year.

Ah, but the forests and waters do look lonely come November. And I found myself longing for open waters, for standing on a beach and not seeing land on the horizon. And after all the outdoor ramblings, I long for the warmth of a good woodstove fire.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like moose-meadow!

A few years ago, Chive was working way too much. I kept telling him he HAD to take a holiday for his health and sanity, and this went on for several months. Finally, he got a horrible infection in his foot and was forced to take two weeks off work. Too bad he couldn't walk properly.

Is there some alternative health care? I haven't got a clue how your system works down there.

Deb said...

madcap- No moose here, although I'm not quite sure why. They are fairly common along the Canadian border.

You Canadians are way ahead of us when it comes to health care. The whole family is covered through my employer, but the deductibles and copays have been creeping upwards each year. The Hermit's employer is too small to offer group health insurance; the "alternative" to me working would be pay out of pocket and hope no one gets seriously ill or injured. it could be done I suppose; as it is I don't think we're getting our money's worth of care from the system!

Ah well, a plan starts with a dream, right?

R.Powers said...

Insurance of any kind ... arrrghhhh!

Deb said...

FC- I think insurance of any kind is a total scam: health, they control what your doctor can do for you; life, just a bet that you'll outlive their tables; homeowner's, only out to protect the mortgage company and tell you how to fix things. Aaarrghhh, indeed!

My goal is to live outside of that system.

Deb said...

Oh, and I forgot automobile. Don't get me started!