Jane is over from England visiting her brother's family. They have a cottage, but it can get crowded when everyone is together, so Jane and her husband elect to stay with us. That way, both families can share the hospitality.
On her early morning swim Thursday, she found herself in the midst of a large flock of mergansers. They swam along with her for awhile, evidently thinking she was part of the lake landscape and quite unconcerned. They were swimming faster than she was, however, and soon left her behind while they roamed along the shoreline looking for little fish.
And then, a loon popped up right next to her. He checked her out, less than ten feet away. Jane said she tried to emulate a seal, making no splash, not using her hands, simply treading water. The ruse must have worked. He dove again, popped up on her other side. Stood up and shook out his wings. Dove again, came up a little farther away, but this time with a large fish in his beak. It took him three or four tries to get this fish turned so he could swallow it... and Jane had a front row seat. If you can call treading water a front row seat. Whatever you call it, you can't get closer to a loon. (now, she didn't take this photo -- she had no camera out there with her, so it's from my files... but the rest were taken that very morning.)
As she returned to the main dock, she rounded the corner of the dock to find the mallard family dabbling in the shallows. Except for Jane, and her feathered friends, the lake was mirror still.
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