Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Todd Swank's Diary Entry for October 11, 2020
For the most part, we've been staying at home but every now and then we just have to get out and socialize. Like we did on Wednesday night when we met up with our good friends, Sue & Ron Korkowski, at McCoy's Copper Pint in Shakopee, Minnesota. It's a great restaurant and bar with an open roof for outdoor dining which we really enjoy. I can't wait until we get back to normal, but this is a pretty cool activity in the meantime.
We had an absolutely beautiful weekend hitting 70 degrees which is pretty unheard of in Minnesota in October. Blue took advantage by forcing me to take him swimming. He's kind of bossy that way.
I saw some swans in a nearby pond so I stalked them for a bit. Guessing they're just passing through on their way south for the winter. Or maybe there's some kind of swan party happening I'm not aware of.
On Saturday, Miss Sheri and I set out to visit the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington, Minnesota. It's a 14,000 acre refuge that borders the Minnesota River.
The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge ##minnesota ##river ##nature ##wildlife ##autumn
Miss Sheri keeps trying to get me lost in the woods, but lucky for me I'm able to keep up with her before she can get too far away. I'm pretty sure she's just playing around and not seriously trying to lose me.
There's a lot of pretty things to see in nature. A bunch of ugly stuff also.
I found this huge field of weeds fascinating. Somebody really oughta fertilize out here to get rid of those.
We spent some time trying to figure out what this tree tumor was. We settled on it being a really big wasp's nest, but I'm sure one of you nature geniuses will tell us we're wrong.
We figured this is the place where the sacrifices take place. We waited around awhile to see if anyone would come and do one, but got bored and left. I wish they'd put up a sign with showtimes or something.
We walked about 3 miles round trip. We would have walked longer, but I'm getting kind of old.
Miss Sheri is nice enough to let me stop and rest from time to time. Wish I would have brought my fishin' pole.
We finally reached the destination we were seeking. There wasn't a clear path to the Minnesota River, so we went off the trail and tromped through the woods to find it. It was a pleasant discovery when we arrived.
We were hopeful to see bald eagles at the river and were pleased to see a pair of them right when we walked up. They're way more common than they used to be, but I'm still fascinated by them every time we encounter one. Majestic grace.
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