Thursday, February 8, 2024

a chickadee

 I have taken to afternoon walks in the fields along the side of the woodlands.

Today I carried along a small pair of binoculars hoping to closely observe some of the birds I have seen on my previous walks.  But I mostly begin with listening, stopping when I heard the call of a bird. That is when I spotted a chickadee! He was eating the fungi on a tree branch amongst the underbrush and between bites he would stop and chatter. This was the first time I have seen a chickadee here on the property. The sunflower seeds at my house feeder do not attract him, but now I know he is present and that makes me happy.

In Walden wood the chickadee
Runs round the pine and maple tree
Intent on insect slaughter:
O tufted entomologist!
Devour as many as you list,
Then drink in Walden water.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Fragments on Nature and Life

Thursday, February 1, 2024

blue skies, forded creeks, cow-laden fields and wild forest plants

So many days come and go with seemingly sealed blurriness or with leaps and bounds of constant needs, animate or inanimate, to be attended.

But then there are the serene ordinary days. Those are by far my most favorite because it is in these ordinary days that I quietly learn and sometimes what I learn has a distinct affect on me. But whatever the nature of the day, one truth remains, 

His mercies are new every day.

Considering my recurrent forest walks of last year,  these days I will usually walk the ridge at Good Drop. The up and down lane of Good Drop Ridge gives a  pleasant and healthy workout, but how I have missed those walks in the woods.

There came a huge change back late last summer that has made the woods very different in some places. When I happen to walk the forest paths now I must reestablish my bearings. Fifty-eight acres have been timbered right next to our property. In times past I would cross over the property lines from time to time in my walks and I became familiar with the various paths. One day around dinner time I heard a knock on the front door. The granddaughter of the man who built this home was standing on the front porch. She was visiting from another state and came to check the timbering on her property. Thankfully, she plans to replant the land in pines. It was a pleasurable visit and she was able to tell me a few things about our property including the fact that it was a King George III land grant back in the 1700's. 

I have been gaining headway in my bearings and returning to more frequent forest walks. On this day I wore a half apron as it provided a handy place to put things I want to either carry along with me, or to be handy to gather things from my woodsy excursion.




These last two photos are on the other side of our property alongside the woods where the cows graze in the fields ( the black blobs are cows). I will cross the creek and continue up the hill to the top of our property.

dumplings and cookies

" We'll all have chicken 'n dumplings when  she comes...." ( 4th stanza , She'll be Coming 'Round the Mountains,  ...