Meet my new little friend...

While looking at the big tree in front of our cabin this weekend, I noticed a little head peeking out of one the holes.....







Apparently I'm the proud mama of a baby red squirrel!






I'm a sucker for babies!







It was sweet to see him so gingerly exploring his world outside his safe little nest.






And now I'm sure he's headed in for a nap and to dream about all the peanuts he's going to get off my bird feeders this year.

A winter walk...

Once again, Scout is going to take Greg for a walk. Whoops, I mean Greg is taking Scout for a walk....yeah....let's see how this works out.





First she sits down and refuses to budge.






Then they walk to the end of the dock. And as I call out to Greg to make sure she doesn't jump onto the lake (as I have terrible visions going through my head of my puppy plunging through the icy waters) - she promptly jumps onto the lake.





Yep, time to come on back before mommy has a heart attack!


(And if you're curious about Greg's other walking adventures with Scout, click here: http://logcabininmichigan.blogspot.com/2010/01/dog-story-from-log-cabin.html

Out and about the log cabin

One of Greg's best friends and his family came to visit us at the cabin this past weekend. With their 4 kids and my stepson - they out-numbered the adults. I won't even tell you about the volume level......







Greg and his buddy went out onto the lake to check the ice fishing conditions. Later on they caught a nice pike!





Of course we had to take everyone to see the elk herd in Gaylord, Michigan. The city maintains an elk herd of over 70 elk on about 104 acres. It's amazing to get so close to these beautiful animals. Some weigh over 800 pounds!





Here's our friend's children posing in front of the elk park.






And of course Scout was beside herself - so many children to love and lick! I think it was the only time she left my side for more than 5 minutes!


*We're expecting 12 inches of snow tonight in lower Michigan - they are saying it will be blizzard conditions and that it will be "thundering" tonight. Should be an interesting drive to work tomorrow! To my mid-west friends - stay warm and safe!

This photo needs no explanation...

Winter Foliage

First off - a belated Happy New Year to all my bloggy friends! Did I tell you that one of my New Years Resolutions is to be a better blogger, that includes getting around to visit you more often! :-)

It was in the 20's and very sunny at the cabin this weekend. We went on a couple winter hikes and dreamed about never coming home. A lot of you know how much I love winter and wanted to share with you some of nature's handiwork.

I don't know what this plant is, but I liked how the bright red contrasted against the snow.





Look at the snow crystals on this bush glistening in the sun.






Evergreen trees are always one of my favorites.





And here's Scout eating some of nature's handiwork. She wants to let you know that winter is very tasty!

Winter Wonderland

I love all seasons and winter is no different. I think in finding many activities to do in winter such as skiing and snow shoeing, it makes the cold more tolerable. Our cabin is located in a snowbelt in Northern Michigan - and this makes my dog Scout beyond happy. (Greg has been grumbling about all the shoveling, but really all he's doing is the deck. We got a snow plow guy for the driveway.)







Here's Scout guarding all her snow.









Greg shoveled the deck. I was too busy feeding and talking to the birds.






My bird feeders have been so busy. Almost had the nuthatch eat out of my hand. The chickadees always do and scold me while they do it.



How much snow do you have? I was thinking about making a snowman but I figured Scout would canabalize it shortly after. Just how much snow can a dog eat?!

Winter Weekend

Made it up to the cabin last night. It was 32 degrees and plenty of snow on the ground. Scout could barely contain her excitement - I think she ate half the snow in our backyard! And of course she kept "faking me out" all night pretending she had to go outside to the bathroom and as soon as we got out there she ran around wanting me to chase her. Not fun at 3:00 in the morning!





The birdwatching was phenomenal this morning. We had Chickadees, Hairy, Downy and Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Gold finches and a Tufted Tit-Mouse. The more birds I see, the more bird feeders I want to buy. So this afternoon I'm dragging Greg over to Bosmans to pick up more birdy food and another new feeder. Later on we are going to go snow shoeing. I'm debating about taking Scout - cuz I know she'll be pulling her leash so hard that I'll be water skiing on top of the snow! What have you got planned this weekend?