I am in the Adirondack mountains for the next three weeks. Internet is nonexistent and mobile phone coverage is spotty at best so I can only update when I go to town for supplies. It is almost the same as before; quiet, pristine, and yet full of excitement. Every year there is some bear that moves into the area. This year's bear has learned how to open car doors. No one locks vehicles here and to do so would be insulting so the bear has been making its way around the lake, opening doors and looking for snacks. We found SB's aunt's back door open this morning and had the poor woman worried that she was getting senile and leaving things ajar. But there were paw prints on the windows and later when we stopped by the summer house we heard that half a dozen camps had been visited. The bear found success in a kitchen three lots down from us. I fear that the bear is not long for this world.
On our first night here I woke up feeling panicked and disoriented. It was so quiet and I have become so used to Hong Kong that the silence seemed to have caused some sort of sensory deprivation. I couldn't see a thing in our room and without any sound, I had no idea where anything was. It was the strangest feeling, almost like I was having a sinus problem. Luckily a few minutes later a couple of loons started calling. If you have never heard the hauntingly beautiful sounds of a loon I have included a video from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Later I was again awakened by a horrible noise. A bird was making the most horrible squawks and shrieks, followed by the sound of some very large wings flapping near our roof and then a bang as whatever bird it was caught another bird or some type of small critter. I was told that it most likely was an owl but my only owl experiences have been in the Southwest United States and they didn't sound anything like this creature. After conducting an internet search I have decided that I may have heard a Barred Owl making a kill. Behold the most horrible sound to wake up to.
I look forward to posting more stories from deep in the woods. I have plenty more tales involving squirrels, foxes, and of course the famous Adirondack insects including the black fly, the biting house fly, the deer fly, and the horse fly. They all bite.
On our first night here I woke up feeling panicked and disoriented. It was so quiet and I have become so used to Hong Kong that the silence seemed to have caused some sort of sensory deprivation. I couldn't see a thing in our room and without any sound, I had no idea where anything was. It was the strangest feeling, almost like I was having a sinus problem. Luckily a few minutes later a couple of loons started calling. If you have never heard the hauntingly beautiful sounds of a loon I have included a video from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Later I was again awakened by a horrible noise. A bird was making the most horrible squawks and shrieks, followed by the sound of some very large wings flapping near our roof and then a bang as whatever bird it was caught another bird or some type of small critter. I was told that it most likely was an owl but my only owl experiences have been in the Southwest United States and they didn't sound anything like this creature. After conducting an internet search I have decided that I may have heard a Barred Owl making a kill. Behold the most horrible sound to wake up to.
I look forward to posting more stories from deep in the woods. I have plenty more tales involving squirrels, foxes, and of course the famous Adirondack insects including the black fly, the biting house fly, the deer fly, and the horse fly. They all bite.
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