Mink

7-19-2018

Our second night camping on Lake George was up at the Channel Islands located in the channel where the lake splits into two forks that fill in either side of a mountain ridge. My site is somewhat removed from the campers and I get to hike through the woods, across the island, and over a small rise to get to their sites. Its a very Nice arrangement. These kids are actually really good about keeping the noise level down, but in all honestly it is very relaxing to swing in a hammock overlooking a private cove filled with deep crystal clear water with a white sand bottom . Yes, I did take advantage of that unusual opportunity and went swimming a number of times! The group had a blast at this campground, They canoed around several of the islands, went cliff jumping, and thoroughly explored our island. So in between swimming and watching kids fling themselves from a cliff, I was fiddling around with my boat and some gear (some stuff got somewhat damp from motor boat wakes crashing over my hull out on the lake), I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head I saw a dark furry animal that at first I though was a squirrel. But something was off. It was darting around and I couldn’t get a good look at it in the half light under the trees. Then it disappeared. Later I briefly saw it again, definitely not a squirrel, but what? Even later, while reading in the hammock, I saw it a third time. This sighting was more prolonged and substantial. It didn’t know I was there and was taking its time to investigate the campsite. Another small animal habituated to people and know that even if we don’t actually feed them, we tend to leave lots of crumbs around. It’s a mink. A small mink, whose coat is matted and has bare patches, so its not particularly healthy. But it seems to be acting normal and I watch it for a long time. Eventually it duck down into a hole between some tree roots right at the water’s edge. Pretty cool, my own private campsite, swimming cove, and wildlife viewing area. It doesn’t really get better than this!