Life in the Cheese Drawer

today i headed to southeastern minnesota for the week, and snow was in the forecast. so i watched the band of weather on my weather app, pinching and zooming to see which way it was headed and at what speed, and figured i needed to head out around 12:30 to stay ahead of the snow on my drive. i finished packing, baked some sourdough bread, and put in three miles on the treadmill, after which i looked at my app, yelped, and jumped into the fastest shower i’ve taken in a while so i could get on the road. the snow was coming.

instead of I-94, which is nothing but a construction zone for the 60 miles from clearwater to maple grove, i headed a bit east and took hwy 10 down to the cities, where i would hook up with hwy 52. it’s not as quick, since you drive through some small towns and hit some stoplights, but it’s construction-free. there’s just something about zooming past cement pilons at 75 mph that puts my shoulders on edge.

but to get to hwy 10, i needed to drive cross country a bit on my usual route i take to work, which winds through some farmland that is buffeted by trees and hills, small ponds and farm houses. i was driving up a small incline, and on the left came into view a field of swans taking a pause in the migration. they were sitting, pecking, taking a small walk, otherwise nonplussed with their rest stop during the flight plan.

it’s surprising the amount of waterfowl i have seen taking a break in the fields. i understand why – there is food there, and they are loading up to continue their flight. but in the past few years, i have seen this more and more often than i have my entire life. and it’s not for lack of driving past open fields. i have seen several cranes, swans, geese (no surprise), eagles (not waterfowl but still a big bird), and more.

it makes me wonder if my current home is in the middle of a migratory pattern from one location to another in a way that my other homes have not.

so i found a map that shows some swan tracking! a lo and behold, one of the swans that has a tracking collar on it definitely took a path that coincides with where i found them.

anyway, i am happy that i see all this wildlife. it’s just surprising and i hope to see more of it!