Thorofare Trip Day 6

What does the fashionable camp-onista look like? Maybe not this, but who cares?

 Awoke at 5:13 this morning from a dream about a dog running loose and me chasing it to Heidi whispering, "Do you hear that?" Because that's not terrifying. Apparently she had heard a noise like horses going over a bridge and thought nothing of it until she realized there wasn't a bridge near us. Or horses. It was an animal working on the outhouse, trying to either get in (even though there's already a good-sized hole) or eat the wood. So she grabbed my headlamp and ran toward (!) the noise. She only caught a glimpse of the animal and thought it was either a badger or a porcupine. But we both went back to sleep.
By 7, everyone was awake and either on the porch or in the cabin. We all watched as little yellow birds (with a splash of orange on the belly) flitted through the pine trees and willows. They were really too fast to get a good glimpse or picture though Jane eventually got a few.
A hearty breakfast of Mountain House Granola with Blueberries (made with hot water per Jane's suggestion) got me set for the morning as the other veg group set off to collect aquatic plants and Jeff took his fishing gear to hit the river for awhile.
Heidi, Jane and I sat on the tree stumps surrounding the fire ring and watched the yellow birds some more. On the ground, I noticed a brown body with a darker brown tail. It turned out to be a weasel! He kept getting closer, and closer to us, but then would duck into his warren (or is that just for rabbits?) He was good for about 45 minutes of entertainment.

Hard to see in this picture

Easier to see in the video

 I went into the cabin to get changed. Heidi went down to the creek and Jane was still watching the weasel. I had just come out, didn't even have my shoes on all the way, when Heidi started yelling, "Jane! Jane!" So once again, we went running down toward the creek. Heidi had heard scratching and looked up to see a porcupine in a tree! We got ourselves organized, found some nearby logs, and settled in for some porcupine watching.

Where are you porcupines?

No porcupines here either

  After about 30 minutes, we gave up hope. Heidi and I separately did some yoga while Jane tried to get photos of some squirrels and chipmunks.

Chipmunk and Jane in a stare down

 Eventually Jeff came back and we got in a couple more games of Farkel. This time outside.

 The other veg group came back and we all sort of separated doing various things like making dinner or just chatting. Until Monica came running into camp and gasped, "Moose." That woman has the best animal spotting skills! We couldn't find Heidi but the rest of us went running up the hill. Irene was especially excited because that was the only animal she had wanted to see on the whole trip. At first, we were disappointed not to see anything. But then, I asked Jane if she could take a picture of a particularly dark spot in the willows.

Can you see the moose?

 You can't see the zoom on her camera, but when the picture popped up on screen, there was a moose! How fabulous is that?

How about if I point it out?

Back at the cabin, breaking into the grapefruit beer