Returning to the moomincabin from the beach this morning, I heard a whole bunch of banging up there. For a split second I wondered if my cousin-neighbor was doing something next door but the bangs were too irregular and they were definitely coming from our cabin. I never did figure out EXACTLY what was going on but I think squirrels were throwing things outta the trees and they were hitting the roof and bouncing off.

I was online with MMCB for our weekly coffee and MMCB₁ was asking about aminals. She HATES any aminals that are not safely viewable from far away (think African safari). I started listing the aminals I’ve been seeing most frequently this summer and she stopped me with, “What about deer?” Well certainly we have deer but we don’t see them frequently. They are a “problem” in the city because they come into people’s yards (her yard) and strip vegetation. I told her they aren’t really in our yard because they spend most of their time farther into the forest. But what about your lawn? Lawn? What lawn? I was out on the deck and I faced my phone camera out toward the yard and slowly panned it along. We’re at the shore edge of a good-sized forest and our lot and the others along the beach are forested.

I guess if you grew up in NYC, even if you have lived on the Planet Ann Arbor forever and have traveled all over the world, it might be hard to completely grasp the concept of “forest”. And that’s okay. I love MMCB and I think I learned something today.

Disclaimer: Deer are not a problem in our yard but I can’t speak for people who have gardens.

So… Aminals this summer? Raven flyovers for about an hour every morning. Whump whump whump through the air over the treetops, grokking away and making some other very weird noises that I couldn’t spell if I tried. Squirrels everywhere. Heinrichs (snowshoe hares) and Henrys (regular rabbits). Hummingbirds going after our impatiens. Various other birds including blue jays which might mean migration. Bears do live in the forest but I’ve never seen one except via scat or someone else’s photo. The Great Lake State bird, the *moe*-skee-*toe*, but not in intolerable numbers.

I don’t remember ravens here from my childhood. I do remember B52 jets screaming overhead on their way out over our beach to Gitchee Gumee from Kincheloe AFB, 15 miles or so south of here. Yes they were scary but my old coot and uncle Dcuk who had been WWII pilots would get all excited and run out to watch them. Something about those ravens is mindful of those jets. Except they fly a different direction.

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