Do Not Feed The Wildlife

The return of the fox and his skittish companion have pulled on strings of compassion, being Christmas time and all. The meals have been pouring in, fish heads, tail fins, bread, smoked trout, and even a piece of chocolate for dessert, but something special was a breasted out Spruce hen for my friend. I spare no expense for the trust and friendship in this land where friends are not common.

Speaking of such wonderful sights, my Christmas present came early, two days early to be exact in the form of Sasquatch! Well, it is not Bigfoot, but equal in quality to the poor photography and rarity of these animals, it may as well have been the illusive monkey/man shaped giant. But today it was a seemingly hungry and time pressed Wolverine who scanned the river side for remains of food or a scent for a future kill. Whatever he was doing, he was in a hurry and no matter what noises I made, he cared little as my presence across the river was of no concern to him. Judging by size, color, behavior and likelihood in location, (contrary to my previous belief) I am almost certain it was a true wolverine.

The sunrises and sunsets are on occasion a fluid transition of color schemes, moving clouds and rays of light that allow no day to transpire. With less than two hours of sun a day, there have been these days when colors in the sky have remained from the rise and become the set.

There are ducks galore, and I don't know what variety they are, except they love to swim against the current and dive constantly and often under the ice shelf in search of .... I don't know what they are eating or looking for, but explorer's they are and many. I have tried to feed them bread. Loaves of bread I toss out to them, but they are not like back home, often taking flight keeping their wing tips wet with each constant flap and flick as they launch themselves not more than a few inches from the waters surface.

Other birds have been around, little white with red collared ones, small black ones that love to swim, the occasional seagull, an eagle now and then, magpies, crows, and more that I don't know of.

Along with my gathering wood, and supervising the lodge grounds, life is terribly slow. I have enjoyed the absence of the holiday chaos and all that it involves. My food supply is plenty, and although I eat from when I awake until I sleep, there is truly too much food. I will continue to eat with diligence and try to keep warm with winter weight, but that might only be an extra pound or two.

The lake is frozen from what I can see, but it continues to bellow and complain, cracking and making extremely loud, echoing tones that bounce from mountain to mountain and soften on the snow. I don't trust it enough to cross yet, and until I see a moose on it, I'll stay on my side.

It was a good day today, calm and clear. Christmas is about over but before it goes, Crab Cakes and Cous Cous with onion and green peas is for dinner. Hopefully everyone else had a wonderful time leading up to today and enjoyed it as much as you all could.

Merry Christmas!