Yesterday I got up early at Cragun's resort to join a bird walk.  A pair of merlins nest right outside the front of the lodge in a tree on the golf course.  We saw merlins at rest and merlins flying with food in their mouths to bring to the nest.  We saw a merlin flying and then a warbler flew by it.That merlin turned directions and flew at the warbler like a fighter jet. What a show. The warbler zig zagged and got away. We walked around the building to listen to and see the loons. I had a chipping sparrow in my binoculars, all focused in night and tight, when another chipping sparrow came and did the deed. I did not want to see that in my binoculars!  After breakfast I went on a guided bike tour. I rented a bike in Nisswa and we biked 16 miles.  We had a group of 15 bikers all wearing orange safety vests.  We went down the Paul Bunyan trail a spell and took side roads to go around Lake Hubert. The weather was cloudy and a little cool.  I think the only part of me that was cold were my hands. We got back late so I had to rush to eat lunch. Soon after that we left to tour Alexander SNA (scientific and natural area).  This area is near Pillager.  Our guide had us park on the shoulder of the road and hike up a big hill to talk about the place.  Then he proceeded to lead us up hill and down hill, across streams, around bogs, over big logs, through the brush and around beaver dams. We walked for two miles this way and I suspect he was lost. We all thought he was lost. He was a little bit lost. When I hike with a group through brush like that I have to keep my eyes on the ground a little bit so I don't fall. When you step on leaf litter you don't know if there is a boulder under there or a hole under there.  At one point I fell on my keister. I wasn't hurt but I did not expect to find myself lying on my back on the ground looking up at the blue sky. We did see lots of plants like rue anonome, wild oats, sarsaparilla, yellow violets, purple violets, and sweet cicily.  Some people were writing all these things down because we were finding plants on this SNA that had never been recorded before. At one point he had us stop and be quiet for 4 minutes.  That is when we saw the chestnut sided warbler and the yellow warbler. As we hiked around a pond the sun shone bright on the cattails.  There in the center of the cattails perched a scarlet tanager.  The sun made the scarlet tanager look even more scarlet. The view was stunning.Over at Camp Ripley there were firing major ammunition.  I could feel the shock of the repeating rounds in my ears. In any case, when I finally came to a top of a hill and saw the road I just had to yell, "Look!  The road!" I was glad to get out of those thick woods.  Visiting a SNA is a good way to get into nature but paths and roads are nice too! All of us were sneezing and coughing. Walking through all the brush brought up the pollen and dust. Our boots were covered in yellow pollen.  When I got back I quickly changed into my swimsuit and went swimming in the indoor pool. After a few laps in the chlorinated water, all the pollen and all the wood ticks were a forgotten worry.