Maxx's Maine Camping Blog

Wildlife photos from the Farrington Family

Check out these photos, taken by the Farrington’s over the last few years!!

Doesn’t the chipmunk above look like he has a twinkle in his eye???

This could be why!!

Up above is a baby eagle from 2007

and a sunning turtle on Lower Range Pond in 2008

The downy woodpeckers are everywhere too.

But these are the photos Tami was most excited to get . . .

because these are from this month!!

The loons are nesting!

We thought they might have lost their first nest – because they were fishing together toward the end of May, when they should have been separated with one on the nest and one out on the lake feeding.  But it was reported to Tami early June that they were in fact sitting on eggs!  yay!

But I’m still the cutest animal in the campground, right??

The Eagle Baby shows itself . . .

Hey!

Guess what?  I have wicked good news!

Tami and I walked to the lake this week, hoping to get photos of the loons, but even though they were calling, she couldn’t see them.  Not even with her really long lens and tripod.

So she turned her camera on the eagle nest.  One of the adults was sitting its edge, surveying the kingdom, when all of a sudden a little wing lifted up beside it!  Tami kept her camera on the nest, one finger on the button, and chanted, “C’mon baby, c’mon baby”

She pressed down hard on that button when the little head finally poked up

“YES!” she said, dancing in a circle. Did you see that Maxx?  I got it!   I got a picture of the baby eagle!”

While she’d been dancing, I hadn’t taken my eyes off the nest.  “Um, Tami, I think you ought to -”

“Do you know how long I’ve been watching and waiting for a sign of the baby?” she said.

“Well – I think- you-”

“Everyone will be so excited when you post on the blog that we have proof!”

I grabbed Tami by the shoulders and turned her toward the nest, so she could see what I was seeing.

“OH!” she said, quickly putting the camera back up to her eye so she could snap away.

The baby had crawled up beside its parent!

I wonder . . . what is that baby looking at?  Do you think there’s another in there?

Our maintence worker seems to think so . ..

Mother Goose

Hey Maxx here!

Is everyone getting excited for camping season?  Are you?  Huh?

Everything seems to be happening early in the campground this year.  The purple finches are back already.  The trees are turning green already.  And animals are nesting earlier than usual.

This last week, David told me how he’d accidentally flushed a mother goose off her nest when he walked the narrow stretch of land out to the beaver hut.   He backed off right away, but he was sad to report that the mom hadn’t gotten back on the nest before he left the area.

He was a little worried, so I decided to take a walk today to see if all was well.  Standing on the mainland shoreline with my binoculars, I could just barely (through the trees) see her nesting again.  When I told Tami, she said she’d try to bring her great big telephoto lens and tripod down next week and see if she can get a picture of it from the shoreline.  It might be hard though, ’cause it’s kind of far away.

Dave was really glad when I told him the good news.  He says he’s going to block off that jut of land until Mama Goose has put those babies in the water . . .

Eagle Update

Hey everybody!!

Tami, Ben, Cookie and I and got down to the lake this week.  It’s been 35 days since the eagles started sitting on the nest, and we wondered if we could see any eagle babies.

B and I looked through binoculars while Tami stood in her usual spot

I’m surprised she doesn’t have a circle around her left eye, she spies at the eagles through that thing so much!

Anyway, we looked and looked and looked, but we didn’t see any little gray heads poking up.

We did see her poke her beak into the nest though.  Either she was turning the eggs or tending to the baby(babies).

Tami really thinks those babies have hatched.  The nest is wicked deep though, so we might not see the babies for another couple of weeks. But we’ll keep trying!

While we’re all enjoying this wicked warm weather, Tami worries about the babies. When the game warden came to tag them a couple years ago (click on the eagle tag to the right to see the post) he said that hot, dry weather can dehydrate eagle babies.  This nest especially, because it has no shade.

But we’ve had two eagle babies survive before!  And we’re hoping we do again . . .

banding of the baby eagles by the warden

What a beautiful day!

Hey, Maax here!

I was heading up to the house today to see if Tami wanted to go for a walk, and it looked like she had the same idea!

Great minds think alike!!

“Heading to the lake?” I asked.

“Where else, big guy?” she said, patting my antler.

So we started down the main road, and tromped into the middle of the playing field.  Tami checked the seasonal sites on both sides of the field

before we walked under the basketball  hoop into the woods. As always, Cookie had to be in the lead

She’s such a five year old!

Tami stopped a lot  ’cause she said she wanted to take pictures.  She thought I couldn’t tell, but she was really getting winded from the wicked bad cold she has.  I asked her if she wanted to go back, but she really wanted to see if the eagles were down at the point.

When we first stepped into the woods, four huge ravens started squawking and shrieking.  They swooped low over us

and landed on a branch where they kept taunting us.  They didn’t worry me at all . . . really!  But Cookie was so freaked out, she ran back to walk next to Tami.

“Never mind them,” Tami said.  “They’ll stop.”

It was so pretty outside today.   The sky was a bright blue, and the sun was shining down.

The animal prints above came all the way across from the beaver hut to the campground point.  Then it followed  our marked trail alongside the lake and up  into the 20′s.  Tami tried to take a picture of the prints so she could look it up, but they just looked like blobs in the snow.  They weren’t big like mine, so they weren’t moose.  But they didn’t look like Cookie’s either, so they weren’t from a dog. I guess they could have been from one deer, but deer usually travel together, don’t they?

When we got to the point, Tami called Cookie back off the ice and made her sit.  “I thought I heard the eagle cry,”  she said.  We stood quietly,  looking up and down the lake.   Tami even used the telephoto lens.  We saw some ice fisherman down by the state park.  We saw some snow mobilers out on the lake.

But we didn’t see the eagles.

“Did you hear that?” Tami asked.

“That squeaky, squawky sound?” I said.

We listened some more.

“Um, Tami?”

She held up a hand.  “Shhhhhh!  I still hear it.”

“But Tami-”

“Maax! What?”

“You’re making the squeaky, squawky sound.  When you breathe.”

Tami just looked at me for a minute, and when she squeaked again, she started giggling  . . . which made her cough . . . which made her decide it was time to head for home.   We took the path alongside the lake that lead us out of the woods across from site 29, and we walked up the hill through the 30′s

Tami’d like to go out tomorrow too.  I sure hope her cold is better, and not worse!

Happy Thanksgiving

I can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving!  Everyone here is waiting for that big feast of squash, mashed potatoes, stuffing, apple-raisin salad, rolls, apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate creme pie . . . . and of course the turkey.

But not this kind of  turkey . . .

THIS kind . . .

On Sunday, I started to beg Tami to take me for another walk.  But I didn’t have to whine for very long.  She said taking a walk before all the “turkey-day-craziness” got here, was a pretty good idea.  So, we headed down the main road past Big Joe’s site to check out the water front first, ’cause we could hear the geese honking away down there.

I noticed right away that things are a lot browner now, but we still found a bit of color here and there

When we got to the lake, we couldn’t find even one goose!  Or a duck.  Or a eagle.  Or a turkey.

Tami said it was because I kept kicking up the leaves all the way and I had to learn to tip toe quietly through the woods if I wanted to see wildlife.

Have you ever tried to walk quietly through the woods in November?  Sheesh!  Crunchy leaves and snapping twigs . . . I’d liked to see Tami try to tip toe around them with four hooves!

We did see lots of squirrels.  This one wasn’t afraid of us at all,

In fact, he sat there, looking me in the eye, twitching his tail and yelling!  Every now and then, he’d scratch his back feet on the tree too.  It kind of made me nervous.  I thought he was gonna, maybe, jump on my antlers or something, so I begged Tami to stop taking pictures and dragged her down the trail, along the lake, toward the beaver hut.

Those beavers have been busy again!  There were lots of birch trees cut down

and guess where we found them?  Yep!  On top the hut

Can you see all the branches, grasses and twigs they put on it?  Every time we go down to look, we see more stuff dragged on top and then

They drag mud up and smooth it down over everything.

There’s the top of the beaver’s hut just beyond that big log.

Tami was surprised to see dragonflies out and about.  About four of them landed on her during our trek.

And I was surprised to see boaters!

Brrrrrrrr!  It must have been chilly out on the lake!    My antlers were shivering just watching them!

While Tami and I were walking along, I asked her what she was most thankful for.

“Well, my family of course,” she said, as she took photo number 4324 of the lake.  “I’m always very, very thankful for them, and our health.”

“Me too?” I asked.

She smiled at me over the camera.  “You’re family, aren’t you?”

“What else?” I asked.

“I’m thankful for all my friends, and our campers and to be able to work at something I love doing.   I’m really, really thankful that we can take nature walks right outside our backdoor.”  Tami lowered her camera. “What are you thankful for, Maxx?”

“All that stuff!” I said.  “And my little camping buddies, too!”

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Squirrel!

Hey everyone!  Maax here!  Hope you had a grrrrrr-eat Halloween!   No trick or treaters came by, so we got to keep  all the candy!

Lately, every time Ben and I go outside to kick the soccer ball around the front lawn, all we hear is this annoying chattering.

And it isn’t Tami.

Those squirrels are busy, busy, busy, let me tell you.  Back and forth, back and forth.

And I think they’re getting desperate!  Look at this!

Squirrel butt!!

He was in and out and in and out of that pumpkin for the better part of a day!  Finally, Tami made Ben and I put those pumpkins waaaaaaay back in the woods.  Tami didnt’ want those theiving squirrels stealing her blankets.

What?  You don’t think a squirrel could steal a blanket?

Try telling the squirrel that!

I mean, really!  Where did he think he was gonna put it?

Max here!

Remember how Tami and I took a walk to check out the snow situation yesterday?   The first place we went was to check on the eagles.   There was no sign of them, I’m afraid.  But I’m pretty sure I saw something moving in the nest, so it could be that the adult was hunkered down to keep warm.  The wind was whipping down the lake, and it was pretty chilly, in spite of the warm sunshine.

Tami was hoping it was time for her loons to be back, but there was still ice from the state park beach, past our point all the way off to the left as far as we could see.

But there was some open water on either side of the strip of land to the beaver hut.  So we headed over there.  Not enough open water for loons to land, but we thought we might see signs of the beavers . . . or the pileated woodpecker.

As we reached the beaver hut, Tami saw a robin on a branch

you would’ve thought she’d won Powerball or something.  After she snapped the picture, she started grinning and hopping around.  “It’s a robin!  Spring’s here . . . spring’s here . . . uh-huh . . . it’s Robin!”

Sheesh, you’d think she’d never seen one before!

Right after that she saw a Wood Duck cruising the shoreline and heading our way.  So she scooched down into the bushes.  While we waited for it to pass by, Tami told me about them.

Did you know they lay their eggs as high as 50 feet up, in the crevice of a tree?  And just one day after the chicks hatch, they jump down and follow their mother?

Whoa.  I’d like to see that.

Then some Ring-Necked Ducks came by.  From a distance, they can look a little like loons . . .  but up close I could definitely tell the difference.

We were just about to leave when a pair of Canadian Geese landed on the lake rather noisily.  They called back and forth, their song echoing loudly from one end of the lake to the other.  The Ring-Necked and Wood ducks all scattered.  Just as Tami was about to take a photo, we found out why  . . .

A humongous flock landed!   I’ve never seen so many at one time!  There had to be sixty of them if not more.

And they were kind of goofy too.  I mean, they were rolling in the water . . . they ran across it and slapped their wings on the water’s surface . . . they dove under only to pop right back up.

And they hollered endlessly!  It was like a geese party.  They made such a racket, the eagle soared overhead to see what was going on.  Which made them holler even louder, of course!

Tami and I were cracking up, watching their behavior.

They must have had a long flight, because some of them were a little sleepy

Some of them were cranky

And then there were those who didn’t know which end was up

When Tami, Ben and I went back later, they had calmed down quite a bit and  a few were sunning themselves on the ice.

It was wicked interesting to watch them in action like that.  Neither Tami nor I have ever seen them so active.

All is well

Maxwell Here!

Tami and I went for a walk today with Cookie.   We wanted to see if there were any downed trees or branches.  The ice storm was pretty fierce here, and we lost power for about seven loooooooong hours last Friday.  We’re hearing that many of you are still without it though, so we’re feeling kind of lucky.

We’re happy to report all is well within the campground.  Just some very small branches came down, and none that we could see on campers.

Walking, on the other hand, was quite an adventure!

Cookie on Main St.

All the roads were covered with a thin sheet of ice.  Several times, Tami flapped her arms and squealed when her feet started to go out from under her.   She grabbed onto my fur to stop her fall.  And I have the bruises to prove it!

We saw lots of signs of wildlife,

The pile of pine cones went all the way around the left side of the tree! There were crumbs on the right side leading all the way through the doorway.  Whoever lives here is eating very well at the moment.

This is what Tami calls a “dinner table”.  Some squirrel or chipmunk loves to sit up here and munch away while keeping a careful watch for danger.  On the ground around the rock were more piles of pine cones.

We also saw turkeys!

turkeys in the 20's

They’ve been scavenging all through the 20′s from the looks of things.

We decided to go down by the lake.  It was freeeeeee-zing down there, on account of the wind whipping across the water.  And the ice is forming already.  So between those two, Tami didn’t want to stay too long.  Not with what happened to Cookie this past spring, anyway.  Cookie loves the water so much, that if there’s any open spot, even if it’s in the middle of the lake, she heads right to it.  Doesn’t matter how cold it is outside.  Doesn’t matter how thin the ice might be. It’s enough to scare a moose to death!

december ice

We’re thinking of you all, especially our New Hampshire neighbors who were so hard hit.  (Tami’s sister Myndi and her family are still in the dark as of today)  We hope everyone’s power is restored very, very soon.

A November Walk

Hey everyone!  Maxwell Moose here!

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post.  But Tami and David have had me working day and night!  After they finished the floor in the store, Tami was raking, emptying and moving plant pots and getting the garden’s put to rest.   Dave’s been cutting trees, working on some of the culverts, fixing up a couple sites and winterizing the buildings.

Tami took a break from her winterizing chores to take a walk with the boy scouts today

They’re working on their Naturalist and Forester badges, so they were looking for six different kinds of trees, six other woodland plants, and signs of wildlife.  We found it all!

We saw deer tracks down by the lake, and signs that the deer have been bedding down in the area.

The beaver have been quite busy too!  The boys were able to gather some twigs and wood chips that’d been gnawed on.  I would say there were at least six freshly “chopped” trees out there.   It also looks like the beavers are covering their hut with a fresh coat of mud and wet pine needles.  They’re definitely getting ready for winter!

As the boys ran ahead onto the point, they scared the eagle from the trees and he flew off over the lake.

They found lots of animal homes too

Those boys spent so much time investigating the woods, they didn’t get back to Tami’s house until after dark.

Last night, David took a walk and captured these shots of the full moon over the lake

Cool, huh?