Otters on the Lake

Today we made our first official visit of 2010 to Leech Lake. The cottage appeared to weather well through the winter. The snow has all but gone from our property, just a wide swath at the driveway entrance evidence of the winter plowing.

There were three otters cavorting on the lake all afternoon. They had a number of holes in the ice near our cottage and would pop up periodically to survey the surrounding area. Then they would pop out of the water and cavort around for a while and then back into the water. These curious critters spotted me on the shore and would eye me from afar raising their heads from their ice holes. I heard a noise coming from the end of our dock. I thought it was the ice rubbing against the dock so I moved onto the dock to examine. When the dock started to move from my weight there was large splash and rush of water. It was one of the otters just off our dock.

These animals use our dock frequently as they left plenty of evidence. There were many small piles of fish scales deposited throughout the winter. I wondered if that is a painful experience for them. It would seem to me to be like passing mini razor blades. O well.

Isn't nature wonderful.


Alan Greenwood