09/06/2026
I made my annual early morning drive to Itasca State Park located about 2 hours from my home. This park, regardless of the time of year, renders perpetual delights for those like me claiming to be arm-chair naturalists.
It is early fall in the park. The leaves are not changing yet, but all around us are the sounds and signs of creatures preparing for winter. Acorns and nuts fall from perched squirrels above. Wild grapes and other berries are in full bloom for the critters to gather.
I always love driving my faithful Subaru slowly with all the windows down, catching the wafting scents of tall red and white pines. This time as I slowly made my way into the south entrance, I witnessed something i had never seen before.
I saw two trumpeter swans in a slough where earlier this spring they would have given birth to their young. There they sat peacefully and quietly on a foggy morning. And I had my telephoto lense and caught the image while using my car as a movable blind.
