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This past Saturday
evening our dog started
barking as if he were
going to chase a deer
but would not leave the
step.
When I stepped out to
see what was happening
the hair on my neck
was suddenly standing
on edge as I heard the
definitive eerie cry of a
wolf. Anyone who has
had an opportunity to
experience this at close
proximity will know
there is no sound like
it. Saturday was just
like that as the ghostly
howling was within
100 yards of the house.
When the children were growing up and being home
schooled at Ministikwan Lake as an extracurricular
activity my wife would take them for a winter wiener
roast on Big Bear Island and a day of exploring.
They would ski across with their backpacks loaded
with the cooking supplies, food, kindling wood
and of course those handy strike-anywhere
wooden matches.
On one of these occasions as the fire was
burning and wieners were being roasted, that
lonely howl came from the far side of the island.
Their reaction was instant, with large eyes and
a sense of fear they recognized this was not a
normal sound they had become accustomed
too, this was no coyote.
There is no question the wildlife is bountiful
around the lake.
The past few weeks we have seen the return
of the bald eagles – they follow your progress
as you ski around the island, sometimes they
just sit and watch you while other times they
fly several hundred yards ahead, wait in a tree
and again watch your approach, then move
again as you close in on them. Beautiful birds
to watch, massive in size with a wing span over
seven feet.
These are perhaps some of the reasons we continue to
ford the Goat Trail.
And it’s bad right now.
Sometimes what appears to be a curse turns out to be
a blessing.
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