December 21st and our lake has frozen over. We have been tracking our resident Loons all year from their arrival this Spring, to their nesting and on to their hatch of two chicks. Only one survived which is par for the course and for which we are thankful.

Some of you may know this but most don't. Loons can not walk. They are born in a nest either on a floating platform or in a nest on the very edge of the shore. The day they hatch, they leave the nest. Sometimes when very young, they ride on one of the parents' backs. Other than that, they are in the water 24 hours per day until they learn how to fly in the Fall. They are never on dry ground again until they mature, mate, and have a family of their own.

In the late Fall, but before freeze-up, they must leave the lake and head for warmer climates. Some go to the Southeast coastal areas and others go to the Gulf. I don't know where our's went but where ever it is, I hope it makes it and returns next Spring to rejoin us on the lake.