As I've mentioned, Trish and I recently returned from and fun adventure up north (Superior National Forest in Minnesota and the UP of Michigan).

One of our favorite animals in the north woods is the common loon. These fish-eating predators are often seen floating in the lakes and diving under to catch fish. They can stay underwater for a surprisingly long time. Underwater, they dart around like torpedoes, using their huge webbed feet to propel them. They are fast enough to catch fish, but they also eat crayfish.

The call of the loon is hauntingly beautiful... a long, drawn-out, lonely sounding howl. Loons often do this at night, then you'll hear another loon, perhaps floating on another lake in the distance, return the call. It's almost like they're lonely, and they just want to make sure other loons know they are there. I took this loon photo from the porch of our rustic cabin.

After a week of paddling (and hiking) in Minnesota, we drove over to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to visit some good friends. We were lucky to be there at the time of the monarch butterfly migration. Monarchs heading south from Canada must fly nonstop across vast Lake Michigan, which could be as much as 280 miles over open water if the butterflies head straight south. Anyway, many monarchs fly to the tip of a certain peninsula, and they pause there to rest and to consume as much nectar as they can before taking off across the massive lake. We drove to the point to see them and were not disappointed. Thousands of monarchs had gathered there, getting themselves psyched up for hopping over the pond.