LOONS

Loons fascinate everyone. Their calls can be incredibly joyful or hauntingly sad and plaintive. All you have to do is say "loon" to someone and it is sure to bring a smile to their face.

Canadians are so enamored with loons that they've named their currency after them and they show loon pictures on their money. That seems like a better approach then pictures of dead presidents.

There are dozens of festivals in the area during the summer and early fall. Loon Fest in Mercer is one of the largest. It has hundreds of vendors and draws huge crowds. The loon calling contest goes on for hours.  

This giant loon statue is right in downtown Mercer.

This whirling dervish is a loon with happy feet. 

This is a stop action frame of the video so you can tell what is actually going on. It seems like the loon is dancing with pure joy and is saying something like "it's a great day to be a loon!"

Last spring we were out doing some spring sight seeing on Van Vliet Lake when we heard a big commotion from this loon. We were concerned it had gotten caught in some fishing line or was in some sort of distress so we went to see what was going on. It turned out that he had about a 3" fish in his mouth that he was trying to swallow, sort of the reverse of the saying about the mouth being bigger then the stomach.

He did eventually get the fish down but it took a lot of wing flapping.

Sometimes loons will just sit quietly.

Other times loons will come right up to our dock and it's like they want to talk about the weather and fishing. 

I'll end with a passage from my favorite children's bed time book. "Goodnight lakes. Goodnight air. Goodnight northwoods everywhere".