Walks
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Mixed bag
My daughters and I have been making trips, roughly a week apart, to a local preserve to watch its progress as spring unfolds. The gallery above shows some of the sights.
And really, it’s quite early yet. May is the time when ferns unfurl, wildflowers and warblers run riot, and leaves pop. But it feels amazing to be in the woods in these early days as ever-so-slightly, the green begins to make its inroads against the brown, gray and white of winter.
Yesterday I noticed something I didn’t photograph that was equally cheering: many people, out and about. Both in the woods, and in the car on the way home, I thought about the strangely mixed bag of stayhomesavelivessocialdistancingflattenthecurve during a pandemic…
One the one hand:
- economic loss
- social isolation
- severe illness, and death
- children missing school lunches, friends, stability, routine
- family tensions inflamed in close quarters
- anxiety
- too little toilet paper
- too many sweets
But on the other hand:
- dogs getting walked more
- people doing things together more
- a man and a young girl riding a tandem
- parents and young children walking the trails
- temporary technological substitutes for community & education
- books getting read
- time
I don’t want to do this forever. But for now, I can see some good things happening, even in the midst of crisis. Spring is unfurling in the woods, and looking around, it appears that perhaps a good many “Someday when I have time, I will _____” ideas are unfurling as well. Six feet apart is not that far.
I say this without minimizing the bad, but with thankfulness for the good that exists alongside it.
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Yellowthroats and Other Wonders
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Window to the past
Walking a favorite trail the other day, we came across this.
Just another fallen tree?
No. This was a special tree. Back in 2012, when our family was exploring the nature trails around us for the first time, this tree hosted one of the most delightful wonders we’ve seen.
We were in the right place at the right time one day when we saw the male bird peeking out of this hole. As the weeks passed, small beaks appeared, grew larger and hungrier, and demanded frequent feedings from their parents. We would walk the trail every week, observing, photographing, and going home to draw and read about pileated woodpeckers. We felt privileged to be able to watch the story develop. We were in on a secret.
It’s been eight years, but the finality of seeing the woodpecker tree blown over was bittersweet. It was a reminder of something we didn’t know back then: the woods mark the passing of time. They carry the memory of past inhabitants and sights, so that even if we don’t see anything along a particular trail on a given day, we remember past sightings. This was an important memory, full of the excitement of discovery and learning together.
Whatever happened to the woodpecker family? I’m not sure. But we know the tree they chose as a home that spring still bears the marks of their story. For us, it’s a window to the past.
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Summer Afternoon
We took a walk last week at Sapsucker Woods, following the trail around the pond.
Flowers reflected and drank up the sun.
Chipmunks are so common, but so photogenic. This one took refuge in a hole almost under our feet.
A little farther on, we saw this bird — a wood thrush, I think — sunning itself. At first we thought it was hurt…
But when it realized we were observing, it assumed a more dignified pose.
This tree struck us as having an observing eye (or two).
This fallen tree was less fortunate, but the red fungus was interesting.
The walk included some time hanging out beside the water.
On the way out we almost stepped on this little guy. He looked like a rock.
A closer look:
An elegant catbird supervised the conclusion of our walk.
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A few more sights from this week
I live in a beautiful area, though until the sun comes out we can easily forget. This week has helped us remember.
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Finding flora
Blue sky was unexpected, so we seized the day. Though my camera is still in the shop, the cell phone worked to capture some memories.
We were hoping to see some early ferns and wildflowers, and we weren’t disappointed.
Sensitive fern 
Pasture rose 
Trillium 
Wild cherry The May apples had formed buds since last week:
(May apple bud, photo-bombed by Lucy) The high point of the walk was the waterfall and old stone bridge.
That tree on the bank is always striking to me. It looks like it’s tip-toeing down to go wading.
The walk back yielded some artistic moss etchings on rocks…
As well as more ferns, more moss, and a tiny toad.
Christmas fern (?) 
On the whole it was a thoroughly enjoyable expedition with sights from small…
Bird’s eye speedwell …to tall.
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Summer Falls
Wild geranium at the entrance to the trail 
The first of many stairs 
One example of the harmony between human stairs and natural stairs 
There’s always a mixture of darkness and light 
Greenery is everywhere 
There were brook trout in most of the pools, waiting for the next rain to raise the water level and carry them further down the falls 
Sun peeks through 
Peace 
Forget-me-nots along the bank 
A female mallard that plopped in for a rest while we watched 
Turning to look back down the stream This is a 3/4 mile walk along a gorge, but that short span includes something like a 600 foot rise in elevation. We climbed a lot of stairs, then walked down the other side on a more gradual trail. It was an absolutely lovely day.
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Salamander Season
We discovered yesterday that we’d completely missed a chapter of spring. It seems early, but there were lots of signs of the season advancing, including salamanders cruising about among the dead leaves in one of our favorite pools.
Eggs had already hatched into plump tadpoles.
Some frogs were floating about. This one’s trying to remain incognito, and she almost succeeded in getting stepped on.
There were various signatures of creatures who were out and about and carving their names on trees.
The wind had left its mark too. This tree had been split in two and turned into a drinking trough.
And this was one of many that had been plucked up by the roots.
We saw some kinglets, and a few geese squabbling endlessly over their own patch of pond. We also saw a new beaver lodge, and lots of signs of the beaver’s activity on trees along the bank:
It was sunny and mild, and the green was just starting to show in the landscape.
On the whole it was a thoroughly enjoyable walk! Even though our winter has been unusually mild, the sight of new growth always marks a welcome change.
A friend tells me this flower is called coltsfoot. It’s one of the earliest spots of color to be seen in the mud along the roadsides. -
Chipmunks or deer?
New Monarch 
Resting deer 
Water droplets 
Bracket fungus (also a nice shelf for a nutshell) 
Squirrel Nutkin 
Lichen-covered stump 
Weird yellow fungus 
Bracket fungus 
Fall garter snake 
“Not in my back yard!” 
Sassafrass 
Tiny toad 
Dragonfly 
White-throated sparrow “What would you say?” I asked my daughter on our way out of the woods. “Was this walk mostly about chipmunks or deer?”
“Chipmunks, probably,” she answered.
But three deer, resting and grazing, were the first things we saw — after the monarch mudskipping in the parking lot. Later, we heard the snorty scream of a deer warning call, followed by some banging sounds, and then a young buck running through the woods across the creek from us. Could he have been clashing antlers with another deer? Or did he get stuck in a tight spot somewhere? Strange. We back tracked to see if we could get another look at him, and though we did see him we didn’t get any pics. Still another young deer bid us goodbye as we left the woods, too. They were surely out and about.
The chipmunks were definitely impossible to ignore, however! They scampered everywhere and chirped till the woods rang with it, warning everyone that we were intruding. The little guy pictured in the log was close enough to his safety zone to indulge his curiosity about us somewhat before disappearing inside.
The other story, for me, was the busyness and color of the woods. It shows up especially in the stream/bridge pictures. It’s difficult to find a single area of the scene that isn’t already brimfull of other outlines. It reminds me of those art class exercises where you are instructed to fill every space with a different pattern.
Not a ton of color this fall — mostly yellows and rust colors. It’s been dry. But it’s enough to tint the sunlight, giving it a beautiful burnished glow before it hits the ground.
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Pathway ponderings
Older Daughter and I took a walk down a familiar trail the other day. It was midafternoon and there wasn’t much wildlife to be seen. But this woodpecker tree was one of several reminders that the woodland inhabitants were alive and well.
The trail wound invitingly among ferns and trees. We’ll have a few months of color, then the winter monchromatic palette will be back in play.
“Green thoughts in a green shade” I thought this fuzzy fungus was a mouse at first.
We descended to a favorite spot along the creek, a small waterfall that always invites us for a picnic (though we never have one packed).
The picturesque scene hides a tragedy. The water was low enough that we walked up the creekbed instead of returning to the trail. At the base of the falls, hidden here by the pile of flood debris, was a dead rabbit, soaked with mud, eyes still open in panic. Somehow it had been washed down the creek and killed.
It was a disturbing sight. I’ve often noticed the waste of roadkill — animals hit by cars by accident. Nature is usually more purposeful, and a favorite mantra of nature writers is “the economy of nature.” But this was an example of pure accident. I couldn’t help brooding over it as we walked on.
Looking back downstream Raccoons had left their prints along the edge, attracted by the crayfish and frogs.
Did someone say “frogs”? It was a nice walk, though we were out at the wrong time of day to see any early warblers coming through on their way back south. The almanac predicts another harsh winter, and I saw some warblers on the move when we vacationed north of here a few weeks ago. Hopefully we’ll see a few in the days to come.
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Bald Mountain
Another place we visited on our Adirondack vacation was Bald Mountain. It was a popular place the day we were there! There is a fire tower on the granite crest of the hill that you can climb to look out over the Fulton Chain of lakes. I’ve climbed it in the past, but not this year — the nice solid ground provides a sufficient vantage point for me!
Bloom where you’re planted! 
Touches of fall 
Our most sure-footed hiker
