Beau May 8th, 2008
Watching spring unfold is engaging in a subtle yet exciting way. Each day there are new plants, colors and scents that we forgot about from the year before, or stare in wonder at how fast they are growing. I was amazed to see how fast the oak tree leaves grew last week, and really appreciate the bright green colors. A couple of weeks ago there was so much sky and sun reaching the ground, and now we have shade everywhere.
Here’s another plant with new grown leaves. The leaves are are pretty and the plant will soon have little white berries. But it’s not my favorite by a long shot. Can you guess what this is?
It’s still raining out after two days, but my little boulders of rocks everywhere seem to be working well. Instead of flowing muddy water, the runoff from the rain cascades gently over the rocks almost like a stream, pooling at the bottom and draining steadily out.
It’s not finished yet, but is slowly taking shape. I’ll be so glad not to worry about the heavy rain as much as before. The pond has quite a bit of accumulated mud and silt, and maybe I can shovel some of that out this summer. But the fish and other critters seem to like it just fine the way it is…
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Beau May 4th, 2008
So much to do but thankfully the weather has been very nice lately. It feels like we could use a little more rain already, but the soil moisture was apparently just right as the local farmers began planting corn and soybeans this weekend. Several spring flowers are already fading as we transition to warmer weather. I love the days when you start out the morning in a jacket, and end up working in a t-shirt.
The redbud trees have been beautiful this year, especially with a few weeks of cooler weather. But the vibrant pink color of the flowers has begun giving way to new leaves. So one last redbud picture for the season, and a friendly bee with pollen. We hope to have lots of bees this year for the garden.
Everything is turning so green, and the grass and weeds are growing almost too fast to keep with. Well I can keep up with the grass, but the weeds usually get the best of me. After a long day, you just have to take a deep breath and enjoy the last of the day for what it is.
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Beau May 1st, 2008
A break in the wet weather these last few days has really helped with getting some work finished. And we actually had a frost a couple days ago- I was concerned about the flowers and trees. But we lucked out and the only damage was to our tomato plants in the garden. And they were covered?! They’ll still grow from the bottom, but the tops were frostbitten in just a few hours.
The flowers and leaves coming out on the trees are amazing, so Happy May Day! The oak trees are almost finished blooming… not something we think about often perhaps, but the flowers, or catkins of this Red Oak tree hang downward shedding a great deal of pollen. The trees sort of shine or sparkle with reds and yellows as the new leaves emerge. This should be a strong year for acorns, and next year as well. And all the critters should have a strong year too as population cycles swing up and down based on the forage available.
Speaking of trees- the Festival of the Trees will be up today and hosted by 10,000 Birds. What a wonderful site, thanks for hosting the festival! Birds have been a passion of mine since youth. I’m waiting to see if the beautiful Summer Tanagers that came by last year will return. I’m not sure where they nest, but they didn’t remain here long. Like the Orioles they seem to pass by on their way to somewhere else. But we have too many wasps around, and the Tanagers can help with that. Now after I get my bees I may feel a little differently… ;)
The wildflowers continue to bloom too, and it seems this year there are more flowers than ever. Maybe from all the rain? Or maybe just my excitement for the season.
I like the colorful blues that Wild Phlox and Birdsfoot Violet provide to the understory. They come and go so quickly it seems, and next week the Bloodroot and May Apples should be flowering.
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I still haven’t found any morels, but maybe it’s just an off year. One of the cub scout families took a class with a “morel expert” and they walked the landscape for an entire day not finding a single one! He said that in very wet years, the morels will grow underground more. Of course we were hiking last weekend and the guy in front of me found a nice white morel on the side of the trail…
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Beau April 20th, 2008
I walk sleepily around early in the morning thinking of the many things I would like to get accomplished. Knowing full well I’ll come up a little short on my mental list at the end of the day. There’s something strange about appreciating nature… it tends to foster daydreaming and staring into the forest, the trees, the sky, the water.
Maybe that’s as it should be, or maybe it’s my addiction. In some ways I’m appreciating the last of the open sky through the trees, the sounds of birds, and the changes sure to come. Next week and through late October, the leaves will once again wrap the landscape in a blanket of green. It’s a hopeful time, beckoning of warmth and summer. I’m ready for that too.
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Beau April 7th, 2008
Somehow we are reassured with constancy, or at least routine. Not that I prefer routine mind you, but I appreciate predictability. It helps frame our experience, or maybe serves as a foundation for other aspects of our lives. But then again, I’ve always thrived with chaos and change.
The Barn Swallows represent a constant in my life, and predictability as well as strength. They returned last night. Funny… at dinner I was musing about when the Barn Swallow’s would return because last year it was on the 7th of April… today. Or at least that’s when I noticed them last year.
But then after dinner I went out to clean up a few things and as I sat gazing at the sky, our feathered friend swooshed overhead! I thought I was seeing things, but then the other swallow of the pair flew by and I smiled, yelling “Welcome back!” to these fleet birds intent on their mission. I marveled at their speed and hurried pace. The day had been warm and insects were emerging everywhere. So the swallows were having their supper.
How do they fly to South America in late summer and back here 6-7 months later to arrive on about the same day? This morning I took the young boy to meet the bus, and we watched the swallows flying low over the fields. Returning to the house, I saw one perched above the roof, preening and enjoying the morning sun after a long journey. It looked at me briefly and then away.
I wondered what was different along the journey that the barn swallow may have encountered, and what might be different here. We are different perhaps, and then we are also the same.
I love the chaos and change that seasons represent, and yet too their predictability. We’ve had our share of dynamic weather, and yet the seasons, the birds, the morning sunshine - all are new, and all flows as one.
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Beau April 5th, 2008
While walking through the backyard and garden the other day I heard a loud humming, droning noise. It was a contant, steady noise and I realized it must be insects, but where… and then I felt silly after looking at the large Pussy Willow tree. It was blooming earlier than any other tree or plant, and covered in yellow white flower heads. Thousands of bees, flies and other insects were all over the tree, but mostly the bees. I keep thinking about getting a beehive… The day was one of the first warm days of spring, and the insects had emerged with the sun. I’m looking forward to a few more warm days ahead!
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Beau March 23rd, 2008
A welcome day as the flood waters are receeding in towns across the region, and for Easter of course. This is the earliest time of year that I can ever remember celebrating Easter. The young one awoke with excitement in his eyes to find out what the Easter Bunny may have brought. Finding (and now hiding) Easter eggs is something I remember fondly too. My father used to enjoy hiding eggs around the house, and many family members may have found an egg or two in the old piano. This is now the young boy’s favorite hiding place as well. Another early memory of mine is when our mother baked little Easter cakes for all the boys. I must have been 10 or 11 years old. It was exciting to find your own special cake on Easter!
We colored our eggs yesterday, and the boy was very proud of this one- it turned out blue from mixing other dyes together. Now why the Easter Bunny takes our colored eggs out of the refrigerator and hides them is a question we just haven’t answered yet.. :)
We awoke to light snow this morning, but it quickly melted. You can just see a little on the top of the stump which was under water a few days ago. This is the normal “full” level for the pond, until summer sets in with less rainfall. A couple of male Wood Ducks are enjoying time to forage in the shallows nearby.
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Beau March 21st, 2008
Spring is finally here as we eagerly await the warmer days. Yet so much rain has fallen in the region this week that many areas are still expecting flooding today and tomorrow. By next week all is forecast to return to normal, but it’s always amazing how fast nature can change our lives. The animals and birds just “are” and each day is one of gathering, building… living. We are not so different.
Today this Tufted Titmouse has been working at the last of the suet I put out for the woodpeckers.
A Rufous-sided Towhee stopped by for a visit the other morning. They must head south in the fall because this is the first one I’ve seen or heard in quite a while.
We enjoyed the first sunset of spring yesterday. I never tire of watching the sun fade behind the trees, or over the horizon at sea.
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Beau March 16th, 2008
It’s amazing how just a week can change almost everything about the seasons. All kinds of buds and shoots are getting ready to open on different plants, and the birds are just going crazy singing and looking for nesting sites. I’ve enjoyed listening to the little Spring Peepers, especially in the evening. I’m trying to find a simple video tool for the sidebar, but in lieu of a more streamlined player the Google Video service works pretty well. Here’s a short still video with the sounds of Fox Haven in the evening a few nights ago.
Maybe it’s not the most exciting thing in the world, but after “listening” to the cold silence of winter it’s pretty neat to hear such a change in March. I also think you have to reach a point in life where you understand the world is so much bigger than we are. The times we realize that we are just a small part of the whole, and are humbled to the change that takes place with or without us. And being able to slow down enough to enjoy the simple moments can be a challenge for many people. It’s worth it.
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Beau March 11th, 2008
The season is changing fast… and what’s a “harbinger” anyway?! All I know is that we went from freezing at night to a beautiful warm afternoon today, and it just feels like spring is coming. I think the plants and critters are feeling it too.
We planted this dwarf apple tree about 18 months ago- it’s about 3-4 years old. Last year’s blossoms were snapped by the late spring freeze, but maybe we’ll see an apple this year? The tree is still young, but we’ll see! The apple trees we planted last year have all been chewed by deer at night. I need to put up some kind of fence because they just chew the buds, leaves and shoots as fast as they grow.
The Red-winged Blackbird is a very common bird, but we only see a couple of them in the area. This one is looking for a handout near the feeders.
While working outside I heard what sounded like the high nasal whistling sounds of White-fronted Geese and finally saw them very high up. Last year I watched a small flock fly in over the treetops and land on the pond- I had never seen them up close before with their yellow legs! These could also be Snow Geese which have become too abundant across many regions of North America.
The Pussy Willow tree is blooming early with it’s fuzzy “catkins”.
And here’s one of the Pileated Woodpecker holes in a large Oak tree. There were many other smaller holes near the base of the tree, but the depth of this one is amazing. Hard to appreciate the size of the hole- I need to use something for reference next time, but this one’s about the size of a half-dollar. I’m curious about what insects are in the tree that the woodpecker is after.
I can say that there were a ton of paper wasps around this tree last year, near a woodpile I was stacking. When I got too close to the area with the tractor the wasps would buzz all around. Ever try to run away from a wasp on a tractor? Just not going to happen if they’re really angry. But I never knew where they were coming from, so maybe it’s inside this tree? I woudn’t have noticed the holes/cavities near the base if the woodpecker had not been tearing it up this year. Hmmm… It’s kind of close to the barn so I’m tempted to seal it up with expanding foam.
About an hour before sunset we were amazed to see a hot air balloon cruising across the treetops! The young boy ran around waving and yelling “Hi!” Not sure they heard us, but it was fun to watch! Made me wonder what people in rural America must have thought when airplanes began flying around the countryside in the days of the barnstormers. I would have really loved that…
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