Crane Gang

So Mr. Brady P. is visiting Grammy and Grampy right now.  I get a little break from momming while I get to go be myself.

One way I am doing that is to get certified in Wilderness First Aid over in Grand Marais, Minnesota this weekend.  Woo woo!  Pretty excited about that as I move forward with giving wildflower tours and get closer to teaching mountain bike fundamentals right here in beautiful Copper Harbor.

Another way I get to be me is by adventuring out on the trails where the snow disappears more and more each day.  No snowshoes for this girl anymore!

While I have been hiking places and seeing sites, I have to report on one moment in particular.  One 60 degree day, as I hoofed it up to the top of a ridge, I heard Sandhill Cranes.

I love Sandhill Cranes.  They are enormous birds that migrate through in the spring and fall.  Their sound is chilling and exciting to me all at once.  I find them to be majestic, transitional, rare and ancient.  Google them if you are curious.

I have been seeing and hearing the cranes for the last week or two.  I always stop in my tracks when I hear their guttural call and look up.  Sometimes I see them, usually I don't. 

I had seen a couple before that day, and I cherished each moment.

That morning, however, as I got to the top of the ridge, and the south breezes whooshed into me, I saw more than one.  I saw 18.  18 plus another flock too far away to count.  They were gliding on the thermals between two ridges.   

They were there just for me.

And you.

Because I had my camera with me!

So please enjoy this video.  You'll want to turn up the sound in order to hear their voices, but be aware that the wind got ripping at one point, and the sound will irritate your ears through your speakers.  Sorry about that.  I just had an old iPhone for equipment.

And yes, you can hear how excited and overwhelmed with awe I was as I moaned toward the end.  I can't help it.  When my heart implodes like that, I can't be quiet.

Another point to note is that THE HARBOR IS OPEN!!!  When Brady P. comes home, he is going to have a big surprise waiting for him:

His rock throwing beach!

I threw three splooshers in honor of him today.  But I sure am excited to take him down there for the first time this spring.

Ahhh, yes.  Because spring is really here.