Island Invasion
Well, we're back from our little vacation to Lake Vermilion, and it was great. Although we didn't catch many fish (I personally only brought in one very small bass), we had a wonderful time out on the water and around the campfire. It was relaxing to get back to nature and just hang out with Husband and our friend Lowell.
Each year we go up to Lake Vermilion we camp on an island in the middle of the eastern part of the lake. One benefit of this is we don't have to worry much about bears, wolves, raccoons, etc. (although a deer did swim out one year and scare the heck out of me). This year was no different, except we did have to deal with critters of another sort.
Friday night before going to bed, Lowell grabbed our bag of groceries and put it in his tent in case of rain. The next morning he had a tale to tell.
In the middle of the night he heard noises, like something running across the roof of the tent. He thought they were just bugs, but when shining the flashlight on the ceiling, he saw four tiny feet and a white belly. A mouse! Soon joined by another...until there were two mice running all over his tent, up between the rain fly and the walls and ceiling of the actual tent. Unable to sleep for fear of them getting inside, he did what he could to get them to go away, including punching at the tent to get them off. It was a bit humid that night, and Lowell made the comment that it smelled like a bakery in the tent. I guess the mice were hungry! Needless to say, he didn't get much sleep. I did hear some weird noises that night from our tent, but had no idea that it was Lowell punching his tent to get rid of mice! The mice made another appearance Saturday night in our woodpile, and beneath Husband's chair around the fire.
I know what you're thinking...how did the mice get on the island? (FYI this is a very small island) No idea. Do mice swim? Did they make it all the way across the frozen water in the winter without getting picked off by a hawk? It seems more likely that they were brought on somehow. It may be tied to the exorbitant amount of garbage that previous island-goers left behind. Grr.
Another challenge we faced this trip were the bugs. As soon as we arrived and started walking around, we realized we were stirring up hoards of flying bugs that were hanging out in the trees. They left us alone when we were in the middle around the campfire, so we didn't think much of it. Saturday morning, however, around 5:30AM, we awoke to a massive hum. It was these bugs, orchestrating a symphony of simultaneous buzzing. It dissipated as the morning went on, and we went about our business. Saturday evening, when we returned to the island around dusk, the buzz was astoundingly loud, and you could see huge clouds of these things hovering near the tops of the trees. It was kind of freaky, and it seemed there were more of them than the day before. Anywhere we walked, there they were, and we were constantly brushing them off. Winding along the path to the "bathroom" was sort of a Hitchcockian experience, walking through the trees, stirring them up with the drone in your ears...you had to try not to think about it to stay sane. Not to mention protecting the "assets" while tending to business!
This morning around dawn again, the hum was crazy, like the troops were gathering for an attack. It died down again as the morning went on (or did we just get used to it?) I wish I could adequately describe lying there in the tent, listening to it...and also listening to the bugs dropping onto the tent. When we emerged, they were everywhere...the boat was covered, tents were covered. I have no idea what they were, but our guess is some version of mayfly that just happened to be in crazy mode the few days we were there.
Overall it was very relaxing, despite the critters. A definite highlight was the amazing night sky...I went out to sit in the boat to get a full view, and I swear I could see everything. The Milky Way was clear as day. I saw no meteors even thought it was supposed to be prime time, but then again, my watching was cut short...by a bat. Which flew approximately 3 feet above my head.
Critters.
Well, we're back from our little vacation to Lake Vermilion, and it was great. Although we didn't catch many fish (I personally only brought in one very small bass), we had a wonderful time out on the water and around the campfire. It was relaxing to get back to nature and just hang out with Husband and our friend Lowell.
Each year we go up to Lake Vermilion we camp on an island in the middle of the eastern part of the lake. One benefit of this is we don't have to worry much about bears, wolves, raccoons, etc. (although a deer did swim out one year and scare the heck out of me). This year was no different, except we did have to deal with critters of another sort.Friday night before going to bed, Lowell grabbed our bag of groceries and put it in his tent in case of rain. The next morning he had a tale to tell.
In the middle of the night he heard noises, like something running across the roof of the tent. He thought they were just bugs, but when shining the flashlight on the ceiling, he saw four tiny feet and a white belly. A mouse! Soon joined by another...until there were two mice running all over his tent, up between the rain fly and the walls and ceiling of the actual tent. Unable to sleep for fear of them getting inside, he did what he could to get them to go away, including punching at the tent to get them off. It was a bit humid that night, and Lowell made the comment that it smelled like a bakery in the tent. I guess the mice were hungry! Needless to say, he didn't get much sleep. I did hear some weird noises that night from our tent, but had no idea that it was Lowell punching his tent to get rid of mice! The mice made another appearance Saturday night in our woodpile, and beneath Husband's chair around the fire.
I know what you're thinking...how did the mice get on the island? (FYI this is a very small island) No idea. Do mice swim? Did they make it all the way across the frozen water in the winter without getting picked off by a hawk? It seems more likely that they were brought on somehow. It may be tied to the exorbitant amount of garbage that previous island-goers left behind. Grr.
Another challenge we faced this trip were the bugs. As soon as we arrived and started walking around, we realized we were stirring up hoards of flying bugs that were hanging out in the trees. They left us alone when we were in the middle around the campfire, so we didn't think much of it. Saturday morning, however, around 5:30AM, we awoke to a massive hum. It was these bugs, orchestrating a symphony of simultaneous buzzing. It dissipated as the morning went on, and we went about our business. Saturday evening, when we returned to the island around dusk, the buzz was astoundingly loud, and you could see huge clouds of these things hovering near the tops of the trees. It was kind of freaky, and it seemed there were more of them than the day before. Anywhere we walked, there they were, and we were constantly brushing them off. Winding along the path to the "bathroom" was sort of a Hitchcockian experience, walking through the trees, stirring them up with the drone in your ears...you had to try not to think about it to stay sane. Not to mention protecting the "assets" while tending to business!
This morning around dawn again, the hum was crazy, like the troops were gathering for an attack. It died down again as the morning went on (or did we just get used to it?) I wish I could adequately describe lying there in the tent, listening to it...and also listening to the bugs dropping onto the tent. When we emerged, they were everywhere...the boat was covered, tents were covered. I have no idea what they were, but our guess is some version of mayfly that just happened to be in crazy mode the few days we were there.
Overall it was very relaxing, despite the critters. A definite highlight was the amazing night sky...I went out to sit in the boat to get a full view, and I swear I could see everything. The Milky Way was clear as day. I saw no meteors even thought it was supposed to be prime time, but then again, my watching was cut short...by a bat. Which flew approximately 3 feet above my head.
Critters.
2 comments:
Sounds like a nice relaxing vacation...except for all the bugs. Glad you were able to get away!
mice can swim. how far from land is the closest point of the island? is the island an official campground or do you know the land owners or is it park land? my guess is the were brought out by someone in their boat (boats stored for the winter tend to have mice, and they may made the trip out to the island and then jumped out of the boat while docked), probably in the spring, from the earlier people visiting the island, and with all the garbage out there, they would have no problem finding food and surviving.
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