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ALLAN BOVEE - PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURES IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
JULY 2006
Please see my ART SHOW SCHEDULE, my Michigan summer show schedule is now complete. When I visited Florida so late this year, I knew it would be a good time for batrachians. This is the term Edwin Way Teale applies to amphibians in his wonderful books. I couldn't find the definition in my modern dictionaries but it was in the trusted American People's Encyclopedia Dictionary. I have heard frogs in Florida in late January and by March their Spring has turned into Summer. I was also looking forward to seeing more reptiles and amphibians since they would be more active as the weather warms.
Driving down the loop road in the Florida Everglades one
morning, I spotted what I Reptiles and amphibians are always great photo subjects and Florida is probably the best state to find them in numbers and variety. Still, caution must be used and proper preparation helps immensely. Date this page was edited: July 10, 2006. ALLAN BOVEE - PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURES IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
AUGUST 2006
One of my earliest photography attempts was with juncos in the winter in my backyard. I had set up a Christmas tree for the background and arranged flashes around the seed bowl and was trying to photograph the juncos with aid of the strobes. These large flashes would allow me to stop down and get a decent amount of depth-of-field while being quick enough to stop the fast action. When I was all set up the juncos came and when I fired it was a wonder the bird wasn't knocked off the feeder with all the flashes going off. The photo shown here was taken in my yard in 1988. Oddly enough, these winter visitors are not
common in their nesting areas up North. In all of my hours spent in northern
Michigan and the Upper Peninsula I had never seen a pair of juncos on their
breeding grounds. When I was in northern Ontario at Muskrat Lake, I did find a
nesting pair, bringing food for the unseen young and nest, but I never found the
nest. In all my travels in Michigan I had never seen a junco on its breeding
ground until this year. For one thing, they don't sing during their nesting
time. Most birds and nests I locate by a singing male which indicates a nesting
territory. Further looking and research may eventually lead to a nest. Melstrand bog was a good area again this year. Last year I found and photographed the myrtle warbler here and had my bear encounter (Please see July and August 2005 journal entrees.) But this year I was constantly disappointed by hearing birds calling and seeing birds with food indicating a nest, but kept finding the birds were feeding fledged birds. Birds that have left the nest cannot be photographed because they are now mobile as opposed to being put in one place at the nest where I can set up my camera and flashes. But until I located the fledged birds flying about, I thought I had found nests. This happened with a golden-crowned kinglet, two white-throated sparrows, and a hermit thrush. I was sure I had a nest of a ruby-crowned kinglet as well, until when I lightly shook the tall spruce where I had seen the parent birds land with food but the baby bird and its parent flew off, there was no nest. I had never heard the ruby-crowned kinglet sing before, I have seen hundreds of the birds over the years while on migration through my area but they never were singing. Not until they reach their breeding grounds do the males start to sing, and its a very complicated, long trilling sound that rivals the winter wren in its wilderness beauty. On my last attempt to locate a nest in the Melstrand bog, I had already been to the western U.P. and had only a few days left to find a nesting bird. I entered on the right side which is slightly more open then the left, and walked about a mile paralleling the old railroad. After seeing nothing, I crossed the grade and started walking down the other side. I really felt I wasn't going to have any luck, when I heard a scolding bird in the a thicket of black spruce trees. I grabbed my binoculars and immediately identified the bird as a male junco. It had food in its mouth, a caterpillar, and was going to deliver it to its young if I would just stand still. I knew the birds nest on the ground but to find their nest I was going to need help from the parent birds. I thought for sure they would be feeding a fledged bird as had happened so many times already. Maybe the birds were just earlier this year or maybe I should start coming up here earlier as the nesting season seemed well advanced. I soon spotted the female junco, also with food, and the birds continued to scold me but wouldn't go to their nest. I didn't realize how flashy their white outer tail feathers showed as they were partially hidden in the dark spruce but continued to signal with their tails. I backed up as best I could without losing sight of the birds, but the young spruce where so crowded together, I couldn't get more then twenty feet from them with out get tangled up in the trees. The birds flew about and after a nearly an hour, the male made a feeding and so I had a rough idea of the nest or fledgling location. Still finding a nest would be like a needle in a haystack, so I decided to go back to the van and read up on the birds and try again. But I wanted to mark the general area of the nest. Everywhere you go here, the bog looks the same. You can drop something, turn around to find it, and then you can't find where you just were. I began to look for a dead tree branch to mark the area so I could find it when I returned. All around were dead spruce trees that had grown to five or ten feet tall and died, probably due to the severe winters they get up here. Then, with the huge amounts of snow, these dead trees bend over parallel to the ground and remain attached to their root system. Spruce, with all their tars, never really decompose but just turn white and lay there. I reached down to pull up and try and snap off a five foot tree laying on the ground there, but it wouldn't break so I let it go. I then found a dead branch and placed it in the crotch of some standing spruce and left confident I could find this spot by my mark. I then compassed out of the bog and went back to the van for lunch.
Now here is where I got a little anxious. Since the nest was located about a half a mile down the old railroad grade and since last fall I saw bear hunters down the trail in four-wheel drives, I reasoned why not just drive my van down there, unload, and back up back to the main road? That would save hours of time that I would have to take carrying all the blind, camera gear, flashes, etc. There would be at least seven loads that would take one mile round trip each and I could do it all at once. So, with great apprehension, I drove down the trail. The trail is very sandy I and slipped and slided but reasoned that they used to drive trains through here, surely I could get there and back in my van. I got to the spot where I was going to go in, and dumped everything on the side of the trail. Then, I started back going backwards towards the road. Everything went well until the last thirty feet or so when I became stuck. I just couldn't get up the grade to the road where the sand seemed the worst. I tried several times but realized I wasn't going to make it. A lot of thoughts began to race through my head. First of all, I was by myself and twelve miles from the nearest main road, M-28, and Shingleton, the closest town, was another mile or so from there. My cell phone wouldn't work here, I had tried it before, I was just too far from any communication tower. In all my work there, I had seen one or two cars in about a week go by. I started shoveling the sand thinking it might be harder as I went lower into the old railroad grade but it didn't, it was sand as deep as I could see. I thought about driving forward, I knew where this grade came out on the logging road three or four miles down, but what if I couldn't get out there either? And what obstacles might lie between me and that outlet - a muddy swamp or gully? I knew the walk out would take several hours at least, but I would be on a road anyway. Suddenly, a car appeared and I waved him down, a young couple that was camping at the state forest campground a few miles away. Would they help me? Yes, they were fabulous! I got a cable from the van, hooked it to their axle, and their little four wheel drive Toyota pulled me free! I was elated and thanked them profusely, they wouldn't take my offer of money. I got back into the van and breathed steadily for awhile, thinking about maybe pouring a cool chardonnay. But wait! I had a junco to photograph and had all the equipment at the site already. I returned to my work, and within about two hours was sitting in my blind photographing these beautiful birds. The birds were strictly business, bringing food, making a feeding, waiting for the baby birds to emit a fecal sac, and flying off with the waste. They didn't have the spunk and care freeness that they show at the bird feeders. And the male never sang. That is why I have never seen a junco in the Upper Peninsula before, they simply take care of business here, no showing off. I noticed the nest faced southwest as my
bird books had said. This is the warmest direction to face, and I am sure with
the cool nights and days up here, the birds need to take every precaution
possible. But this day was very warm, and with all my difficulties, I decided to
leave after two rolls of slide film were exposed. The next day I returned, this time the
weather was more like the U.P. Although the day before had reached 84 degrees,
this day would only reach 65, I wore a sweatshirt most of the day. The birds
were still actively feeding all day and this time the female would brood her
young occasionally, showing her consciousness of the cooler temperature.
Juncos eat nothing but seeds in the winter. There are insects around in the form of larva or eggs, and these are searched out by chickadees and nuthatches. But the juncos only eat seeds and usually prefer the small, millet size and not the larger sunflower. Yet in the summer here, they were eating only insects and feeding their young the same. Caterpillars, flies, and moths were all brought to the table. Sometime during the fall, perhaps when they begin their flights south does their diet change. They must begin to eat grit, sand and small stones, that work in their muscular gizzards to grind the new diet of seeds and so they alter their behavior. Then as they appear at my feeders as they have for so many years I will look at the birds in a different light, wondering if they are the birds I photographed at Melstrand bog. In the most bitter days of winter when the snow and cold seem overwhelming, I will watch my juncos feeding and remember the warm days of June. Date this page was edited: August 20, 2006 ALLAN BOVEE - PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURES IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
SEPTEMBER 2006
I have kept a log of every night I have used my camper, entering information such as where I was, how much it cost and comments on the campground or what had happened during the day. As I look over the journal, it brings back a lot of fond memories. My original plan for buying the camper was to save money on motel bills in Florida. But once I discovered how much fun camping was, and especially in the beautiful state parks of Florida, I wanted to take a trip with the camper, just to go camping and not do all the stressful art shows I was piling up in Florida. So, the following autumn, I took the trip out west to visit Glacier and Yellowstone. This was really great and I planned to do an out west trip every other year but the economy and the art shows has slowed so I didn't go out there this year. But I still went for three weeks in the Upper Peninsula. Maybe next year I can return to the west. I quickly realized that camping in RV parks was boring while the state parks are far more fun. The large RV parks, especially in Florida are acres of paved campsites with pools and sidewalks which I try to avoid unless there is no choice, that is if I have to do an art show near there and the state parks are not near or they are booked. But the state parks are wonderful, just walking along the trails and campground roads one can encounter birds or animals or reptiles that just aren't at the big parks. Pulling the trailer takes some getting used to, but one trip to Florida and you become a real pro. Pulling off the expressway for fuel or a place to eat lunch requires a quick assessment to make sure I will fit in a gas station and can turn around, but you quickly get good at it. A couple of times I have pulled off and not been able to turn around. Once I ended on a dead end road and had to back the van and trailer up quite a ways. Another time I drove down a road by mistake for a few miles looking for a place to turn around and never finding one, I pulled up in a long driveway and then backed up back onto the highway blocking traffic for a bit. As I pulled away I waved to the people of the house I could see watching me but they didn't wave back. I may have run over her dahlias. My camper is a small unit, only 24 feet. But
it seems perfect for one person and has everything I need. One major item is a
refrigerator which really comes in handy. I prefer my own cooking to eating in
restaurants where possible, and I bring along many frozen meals or sauces I've
prepared at home previously. Then I can put together a healthy meal quickly.
Also, I can buy fresh produce at stores on my way and make fresh salads and
fruit bowls to take with me out in the woods which are fresh and delicious. I
can also keep juices and beverages cold and make ice as well as store ice for
the next day to take in a cooler in the van.
My stove has three burners to cook on as well as a small oven. I usually bring up some main meals like a stuffed turkey breast, frozen, which I can cook in the oven and eat for the next few days while making the sides on the range top. Other good meals to bring are a good spiral sliced ham or corned beef/cabbage which can be heated for a meal the first day and then used for breakfast, lunches and dinners till its gone. I also bring frozen meals which I make at home and can be heated in the microwave. I have a small hot water heater which gives me all the hot water I need for dishes and taking a shower. The shower is small, but works great. The plan while camping is to try to keep the waste water storage tanks from filing and requiring a trip to the sanitary dump. This is easily accomplished by not taking long showers and doing the dishes in less water. I usually go more than a week at one campsite before I have to empty the holding tanks and I am usually leaving at the time anyway. I have made a few changes in the interior of the camper. I added some lights in the dining area because the area was too dim and I couldn't read a map. I moved the bathroom vanity over because I was always hitting my head when I bent over to brush my teeth. I added more lights in the bathroom so I can see better to shave. I installed a large vent in the kitchen, so large it is actually an emergency escape hatch. When I was cooking with three burners going, the room became very steamed up and I was worried it might develop mold eventually. So, with this new vent, I can open it up and air the room completely. Also, when I work out on my Nordic Track, I stick my head up in this area, so my head clears the low ceiling. This vent also enables me to quickly assess the weather, I simply open it up and look out at the sky. Finally, another change I made was to move the bed around. Originally the trailer came with a "queen" size bed but I don't know where they came up with the dimensions. Other people I have talked with say it is common practice in the trailer business to claim a queen sized bed that is shorter than the standard queen size we use in our houses. The joke is that the bed is for a short queen. At any rate, my feet stuck way over the edge which would bother me. So, I tried my queen sized bed from my house on my trip out west and this worked great except it was cold at night on that trip and the longer bed covered over the heat duct. I realized I must turn the bed 90 degrees but that required removing the side cabinets. They were only token as far as storage goes so there was no loss and I bought a new full size queen bed to permanently keep in the camper. Since then it has been great with a comfortable bed and the heat working well in the bedroom (I needed it when I was in the Upper Peninsula in June when it got down into the 40's at night).
Camping in the trailer is a real comfort and it is always a pleasure to take a walk in the evening or morning around the campground and see all the sights and sounds of the outdoors all around me. There are good arguments that you really don't save over the price of motels in the long run, but the ability to wake up in the out-of-doors is worth it. I am looking forward to the next 100 nights in my camper. Date this page was edited: September 16, 2006 (Nancy's Birthday). ALLAN BOVEE - PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURES IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
OCTOBER 2006
Going west from Marquette after about an hour, US-41 leaves M-28 and starts to go north towards L'Anse and Baraga. In this stretch of the road is a very nice roadside rest area , the Canyon Falls Roadside Park, where you can park and hike to some nice waterfalls. This is not the wilderness area of the Sturgeon River, but it is the river after leaving that area and the waterfalls can be reached and viewed from this area. The hike is fairly easy and the river is rather large at this point making a rather spectacular set of waterfalls. The canyon which has formed from this river is very impressive but I felt the trail was on the wrong side for photography. Still, I think the Canyon Falls and further down, the Upper Falls are well worth the trip. Just walking through the beautiful forest along the trail is wonderful. The Sturgeon Rive Gorge Wilderness can be reached from the north off US-41 or from the south on M-28 using forest service roads. I would recommend getting a National Forest map which is very detailed about driving the back roads. My first objective was to find the Sturgeon River Falls and from the parking lot furnished it is about a half mile hike. However, I should mention that this is a wilderness area so impact is kept to a minimum. For example, no markers are on the trails. You can be walking on a trail and it can turn into a trail made by a trout fisherman years ago or by a deer or bear recently and walking along these footpaths you can suddenly find yourself completely lost. On top of this, you must scale down on sandy cliff for over two hundred feet holding onto tree roots as there are no steps furnished in a wilderness trail. This is rather difficult going down with all my camera gear and tripod but coming up it is really exhausting. Once down the cliff, the falls can be heard and then I found them. The river gorge is spectacular especially near the end where the entire river is forced through a six foot wide chute. Yet when I was there in June, the water seemed low but one could easily visualize the power that flows through in the Spring judging by the huge amount of debris and brush and logs left at the sides. Driving further on is another spot to park and walk along the gorge, the Bear Track trail. Here you can get a great view of the valley and see for many miles the rugged country. It was here I decided to return in the fall last weekend to try to photograph the fall colors of this landscape. The leaves were at their peak (the forest service has an 800 number to call to check on the fall color progress) but I ran into incessant winds that never let up morning or night, so photography was not possible. Still, I really enjoyed being there, the colors along the drive were wonderful to see.
A nice scene down the road further is where a one lane bridge crosses the Sturgeon River. Here I parked and watched a pair of bald eagles soar over the river. They flew in long slow circles and as they came close to each other they interacted with quicker wing beats and then settled back to their soaring. I watched them for ten or fifteen minutes until they flew out of sight. Back in June, I fished for trout here and photographed some lobelia. As you drive on the service roads, the wilderness is on one side and active forests where logging is being done is on the other side. During one stretch I saw a long section of young planted jack pines which would be a good Kirtland warbler nesting area in the future if the birds continue to expand their range from the downstate Mio area. There is a really nice campground in the wilderness area I plan to use the next time I come up. Although I didn't set a record for the number photographs taken, sometimes it is just great to get away. I did truly enjoy myself visiting a wonderful area of Michigan. I hope to return again.
Date this page was edited: October 12, 2006. ALLAN BOVEE - PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURES IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
NOVEMBER 2006
Its long pointed nose reminds me of the Punch character in the British magazine and its long, gray hair is very unkempt and it gives the impression of a large rat. The front feet have an opposable thumb which aids it in climbing. It doesn't hibernate like many mammals that can slow their breathing and heart rate to conserve energy to last through the long winter. Instead it finds a hollow log, or brush pile, or tree cavity to build a nest of leaves and stay warm. It then risks frostbite to go out and look for food and many have partially missing ears or tails from these forages. But winter does take its toll on their numbers and this (southern Michigan) is about as far north as they go - they are not found in the Upper Peninsula. The opossum will eat nearly anything and finding the damp, mildewy bird seed was just fine. Otherwise, it would be spoiled fruit or carrion at this time of year. Normally, it eats insects, earthworms, frogs, snakes, and just about anything it can find. It crawls about slowly with an ambling gait. When cornered it often "plays possum", by feigning death hoping its agitator will leave it alone. Opossums are the only marsupial in North
America. These are the pouched mammals like the koala bear and kangaroo. The
young are born at a very early development stage and so they scramble into the
mother's pouch where they can obtain milk and stay warm until they develop
fully.
Our mammal books start with this species, which means they are considered most primitive. Certainly the placental mammals are much more advanced as they can raise young in better conditions than the marsupial. In Australia where most of the marsupial mammals are found, there is no competition from the placental mammals and so they have developed well. Yet in the U.S., the opossum has held its own despite the number of enemies and cold weather it has to deal with. It is very common and found throughout the Eastern United States. As I watched him find bird seed and flower buds to eat, I remembered that they can find food and remember where they found it better than other animals. I watched the opossum continue its searching and smelling for food while it ambled off towards the woods and disappeared into the darkness. Date this page was edited: November 11, 2006. ALLAN BOVEE - PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURES IN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
DECEMBER 2006
In the Upper Peninsula, I can find places where I feel enveloped by the trees and quiet and have come to appreciate the cathedral hush that this provides. An air of remote calm seems to be important to me. A bog has to have rare wildflowers and birds to make me feel special. I hike both for the exercise and the natural history experiences. In fall and winter when there isn't a lot of studying to do on the trails, it seems more like exercise and I pound up hills and quicken my pace to achieve a fair workout. In spring and summer however, I find myself continually stopping to study a wildflower or tree or to stop to locate and identify a singing bird with the result that I don't cover much distance per unit of time. One mile per hour is probably my average, hardly good exercise. Sometimes I have a childlike wonder looking at something in the woods for the first time, other times it is more clinical, such as making sure of an identification of a bird or plant. But there are always surprises, even the most common observation sometimes is exciting or overwhelming. To become completely absorbed in identifying and explaining is to lose the better half of nature study - the beauty and poetry, the awe and wonder. Although many people pursue birds to "list" them, to see how many species they can tabulate, I too have kept track of birds seen but need much more then a check mark beside its name, I want a great photograph or to find its nest for example. Then, I feel much closer than a simple observation of a creature in nature, I have had a personal experience with it.
The rumble and dust goes by and soon things return to normal, birds start singing again and quiet returns. Most logging roads that are actively logging usually have signs and warnings posted. My Florida schedule is complete, please see my ART SHOW SCHEDULE. And now, a holiday toast to you all!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Date this page was edited: December 07, 2006. Return to PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNAL main page.
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I use this page as a record of the work I am currently doing as well as some of
my past experiences and publication work. I may also include future plans in my
pursuit of nature photography.
Sure
enough, driving down the dirt road through Fakahatchie State Preserve I found
another yellow rat snake which I promptly caught and released. I saw glimpses of
other snakes which were too fast to catch. While I was photographing the
American swallow-tailed kite on a back road (I talked about last month), I would
see a beautiful black racer come out to cross the road. It would watch me but
when I tried to slowly stalk it, it quickly disappeared in the brush on the
side. I could get a photo with my big lens, but couldn't get near the snake.
This happened several times over the two days I was there until finally I just
charged at the reptile as fast as I could go and lunged at its tail as it sped
away but still missed, only making a fool of myself.
Also
along this trail I ran into a Florida softshell turtle. What most impressed me
about this creature was its tameness. Usually softshell turtles in Michigan are
aggressive, violent turtles that thrash and hiss and will snap off your finger
if you get too close. But this mild-mannered specimen didn't even attempt to
bite and let me get close for photos. 
All
along the roads and ditches I encounter alligators. It seems ever year since
they have been protected their numbers are increasing almost to the point of
becoming a problem. A lady was killed by an alligator earlier this year and
their increasing aggressiveness is resulting from their crowding into
subdivisions where there is no more room. People from up north always want to
see an alligator when they come down here and it used to be fairly hard to find
one. Now they are everywhere. 
thought was a copperhead. This snake has always been a favorite of mine and I
quickly captured it and put it in a pail to photograph later. When I looked up
the snake in my field guide it turned out to be a young Florida cottonmouth.
This snake looks very much like a copperhead and is in fact closely related. It
was a feisty snake and had to be handled with care since it is poisonous. It
kept gaping at me showing its cottony mouth. But I got the photos I wanted
and soon let it go. Cottonmouths grow to be quite large and are a very feared
snake in Florida. 
One of the most commonly
observed birds in my
area in the winter, is the dark-eyed junco. From October through April these
birds are continually seen in my backyard, at my feeders, chasing each other
around the yard, or singing their bell-like trills from the trees. All though
they are usually seen on the ground foraging for seeds, some have adapted to
sitting in the feeders or even eating out of the finch feeders. In a survey of
many bird feeding stations around the state a few years ago, the junco was named
the most common winter bird at feeders in Michigan.
When I returned, I did find the spot and the
juncos were there with food again. This time I stood off and the male
immediately flew down into the tall grass. I waited, making sure not to alarm
the bird. In about twenty seconds the male emerged and flew off, this time with
no food in its beak. I walked over to the spot and found the nest, a beautiful
compact collection of mosses and soft needles with four healthy young juncos.
But most amazingly, the nest was under the base of the stick I had tried to pick up
to use as a marker! I hadn't realized the nest was right there all the time. It
was a wonder I didn't crush the nest with all my pulling. Actually, what had taken so long with the birds the first time was I was
standing three feet from their nest, too close for them to make a feeding right
in front of me. As it turns out, the birds are very tame and they would feed
their young when I was close, say ten feet away, but not when I was three feet
from their nest. The birds were quite young and so a photography possibility was
here. I immediately recalled all my experiences of these birds in my life at the
bird feeders and was looking forward to setting up my blind. 
During my visit to
the Upper Peninsula in June, I came to a milestone in my camping experience one
evening, it was the 100th night I spent in my camper. Although I bought the unit
at the end of 2003, I didn't use it until 2004. So, one hundred nights in
less than three years seems like pretty good usage.
The furnace has three ducts to heat the
trailer one in the bedroom, the bathroom and the dining area. The air
conditioner is really needed in Florida and doesn't take long at all to cool off
the trailer and bring down the humidity when I work out. 
During my visit to Michigan's Upper
Peninsula last June, I discovered a really nice area called the Sturgeon River
Gorge Wilderness. This designated wilderness is in the Ottawa National Forest
which is a well managed forest encompassing a huge area in the western U.P.
There are numerous logging roads to travel in the national forest which gives
access to all kinds of environments from dry sandy plains, rivers and streams,
large and small lakes and pristine bogs. Always looking for unique waterfalls
and natural features to photograph, the Sturgeon River Gorge area really fills
the bill.
In addition this weekend I attempted to
climb Silver Mountain, also in the designated wilderness area. Here steps were
furnished to make the climb a little easier. The forest service wasn't breaking
the wilderness rules, it was that the steps were there before the area was
declared a wilderness. Many years ago, a forest fire tower was on the top of the
mountain which has long been gone. But the steps were installed to let the
ranger get to his tower. The steps are very steep and strenuous and were
definitely the most difficult climb I have ever done (again carrying all my
camera gear). I would guess there was at least 300 steps, very steep, and the
sections of land between the stairs was a very steep grade over rocks as well.
Once on the top the view was immense, twenty miles it said in the brochure, but
a lot of growth has taken place blocking the scenery and photography wasn't too
good (the wind was non stop as well). I wish the tower was still there, now
there would be a view to blow you away. 
I
was watching an opossum in my backyard the other evening just before it got
completely dark. Normally they are strictly nocturnal and so I thought that
seeing one was rather unusual They do occasionally visit my yard, and if I get
up for some reason late at night I always turn on the yard light to see what is
out there. Most of the time there is nothing but sometimes I will see deer,
raccoons, rabbits, skunks, or opossums. This one had emerged from its winter den
in the warm evening to scrounge around for something to eat before returning for
a long winter nap. It was nosing around the spilled birdseed from my feeders and
as I watched it I got to thinking what a strange animal it is. 
I
enjoy hiking in the wild woods when I can. The further north I go, the more wild
and remote the trails become. Going locally, despite going the deepest I can
into the woods, I still hear the distant traffic or low flying airplanes. This
may be good in case I get lost, I can always follow the sound of the cars until I
find a road, but it doesn't give me the peace and quiet I need when hiking. I
have wondered how people can live close to an interstate where they perpetually
hear traffic noise 24/7, it must create a denial in them like plastic flowers or
jungle music CDs. 
Although
real solitude can be found in the Upper Peninsula there are times when
conditions are not so. Traveling down the logging roads as I often do, gives me
access to some of the great rivers and bogs up there. Occasionally though, one
may encounter a logging truck. These are huge tractor trailer machines carrying
extremely heavy loads of cut logs they are driving out to the highways to take
to the sawmills. You must always drive on the extreme right side of these roads
as many are very hilly and curvy with tall forests along the sides and so, you
can't see another vehicle coming until its is very close. There is no one back on these roads except me and the driver of
the log truck and he doesn't know or care about me. They have to negotiate the
long hills and curves, and as it takes a long time to get up to speed, they
don't want to slow down once they reach a cruising velocity. The driver knows
the roads and when to speed up going down a hill so that his momentum will carry
up to the top of the next hill. He also doesn't think anyone is around but they
often blast their loud air horns just in case. Often you can hear them miles
before they arrive. Then they appear and come straight at you horns blasting,
bouncing and sliding all over the narrow roads, a mile long cloud of dust behind
them, far more frightening then a bear in the woods coming at you. These are not good places to stop on
your auto tour to look at a wildflower on the side of the road. In fact, don't
ever pull over on a logging road unless there is a turn off or a widening of the
shoulder. One close experience teaches you to get way off the road. 