Silence is Broken

Mackinac does not allow cars, so in the winter I walk to work. It's only about a mile and a half, all down hill, through a cedar forest.

It snowed this past Wednesday and as I walked there was total silence, no wind and NO human sounds of any kind. Then I heard it, TAP, TAP, TAP. I knew what I was hearing, but would I be able to spot him?

He's a pileated woodpecker and I'm about four feet away from him. They're large birds, not quite as big as a crow and they carve huge holes in the trees, just look at the chips...

When I lived downstate, my commute was half an hour of driving...I like this better!