They were so large that they made a "thunk" when they hit the ground. What are they? A couple of guesses are the larva of the Polyphemus Moth and maybe even the Luna Moth.
Our cabin sits on a micro eco site. It is a shelf of sand and glacial till that extends just 150 feet along a hillside of clay. Paper birch love sandy, gravelly sites so that is why there are so many at our place.
Other creatures we saw this summer were a pine marten, least chipmunk, red squirrel, garter snake, leopard frog, American toad. We also had a Swainson's thrush that was nearly tame, a real oddity for a bird that is so elusive you can go your whole life only hearing their beautiful morning and evening serenades and never seeing the bird that makes them.
Bald eagles, with no fish guts to eat from the camp anglers, had to fend for themselves. A favourite fishing spot for them was the corner between our dock and the big hill.
The usual pair of nesting loons was out front, without any chicks. They were out in the middle of the bay one evening when I took my guitar down to the dock. As soon as I started to play they swam directly to me, finally stopping about 15 yards away. They seemed to like the guitar and stayed around for nearly half an hour.
We saw no moose or bears. We are meticulous about keeping our garbage inside and took the little we had to town each week. That became a problem during the evacuation and the ban on travel in Red Lake. The garbage bag was smelling and had to leave the cabin. Our best solution was to put it in the bow of the boat, covered with a tarp to keep ravens away. Fortunately, nothing found it until we could get to town.
Not sure if you heard this terrible news but a Red Lake man was killed by a black bear this summer. He was picking blueberries by himself south of town. He was a bush-wise guy who would have known all about dealing with bears.
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