-
One step forward, two steps back
We’ve had precipitation of various kinds since last time I posted, including snow. This is typical for spring in the northeast. Here are some shots from the most recent walk — over a week ago now. The lighting is rather severe, but finding beauty in overcast days is also part of living in the northeast…
Interestingly, when we tried to go for a walk on a sunny day last weekend, two local preserves were absolutely mobbed. Very unusual! We gave up, mainly because we had our (crazy) dog with us, but it was amazing to see so many people looking for outdoor things to do on a nice day during the coronavirus shutdown.
-
House Guest
My daughter was riding her bike one day early last August when this plump caterpillar, perhaps 3 inches long, brought her to a screeching halt in our driveway. We all ran over to examine it, but we couldn’t help noticing the number of watchful, hungry birds around as well. We moved it to the grass, but it was still too big to maintain a low profile, and it seemed to be in a big hurry.
I dashed inside and hurriedly scanned our caterpillar book, delighted to discover it was a polyphemus moth caterpillar. The book noted that this was a great caterpillar to bring inside to observe the metamorphosis, so we got the aquarium and put it inside with some walnut and hickory leaves, which the book gave as the caterpillar’s preferred food.
By the next morning, it was spinning its cocoon in the corner of the aquarium. “Great,” I thought. “In two weeks, we’ll have a beautiful moth to let go.”
We had a polyphemus moth stay with us for a few hours once before, so naturally we thought of ourselves as experts.
But… did I mention that I “hurriedly scanned” the caterpillar book? Therein lies the joke. I failed to notice with sufficient attention that the late-summer caterpillar overwinters in its cocoon.
So since August, Polyphemus has been our house guest. There on the bookcase, he’s slept through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, both daughters’ birthdays, Easter, and the state’s shutdown due to COVID-19. Unbeknownst to him (such a long-term visitor deserves a better pronoun than “it”), he has shared in a large portion of family life, all without being the least bit demanding or objectionable.
And one of these days, we hope, he will emerge to show off his glorious beauty for an incredibly brief winged life.
-
Wood Between the Worlds
-
Who knew?
Chipmunks eat larvae.
Somehow this is disillusioning…
…yet this cute and cuddly looking rodent doesn’t seem at all self-conscious about it.
-
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.
You May Also Like
Yellowthroats and Other Wonders
-
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.
-
Feeling Crabby
I have quite a few photos I haven’t posted this year. For this one, I’m reaching back to last summer, when we visited the Outer Banks and were amused and captivated by the hermit crabs. Have you ever seen a more dejected expression than this little crab wears?
We enjoyed watching them survey the world from their holes, darting out now and then and scurrying quickly back to hide. My husband even set up what we happily dubbed the Crab Cam to capture one on film.
Of course, there were plenty of other sights as well: ospreys, pelicans, dolphins, shorebirds, and the various lovely moods and prospects of the ocean.
-
Cooper the Stalker
The Cooper’s hawk is not my favorite — especially when he shows up, as he periodically does, at our bird feeder. Though usually he’s unsuccessful, it seems exceptionally uncivil to turn our efforts to help his fellow birds maintain a food supply in winter into an opportunity to kill and eat them. Nevertheless, I have to admire his handsomeness and athleticism. This series captures one of his visits, when he landed on the feeder and then noticed what must’ve been a mouse on the ground near the woodpile. He left empty-taloned, but his thought processes were easy to read.
This is where the appetizers usually get delivered, right? 
Waiting, waiting… Hey, what’s that on the ground near the woodpile? 
Here, mousy mousy! 
-
Brick Pond
My youngest and I decided to “carpe the diem” and take a walk yesterday, even though it was late in the day and we didn’t have much time. We chose Brick Pond, a site nearby that usually promises some rewarding sights. The mud in the pond was at one time used to make bricks, and it even rebuilt the town after a devastating fire. But today it’s a nature preserve.
My daughter took the Panasonic Lumix, a point-and-shoot bridge camera; I took the Canon T6 which, after being sent out 3X for its sub-par autofocus, actually produced some fairly focused images. Here are a few of my favorites:
This dragonfly’s wings remind me of stained glass windows whose panes haven’t been stained yet. The wings would have been completely invisible to me without the telephoto lens to show me the details… except when the sun caught them:
This one was small. I’m guessing it belongs to the category of “skimmers.” But there were some large ones about as well. Maybe these big ones belong to the category of “darners”:
This giant indigo fly seems to think it’s camouflaged…
Another treat was this green heron:
You can right-click and choose “view image” to see the picture full-size. 
It sat for quite awhile, observing us as we observed it. Usually they’re spookier than that. If I were in the habit of posting pics of my family, I’d love to share the one of my daughter photographing this bird with a gaggle of Canada geese just beyond her, all pointed in the same direction. It was quite the spectator sport.
There were some pretty flowers and berries too, and I was pleased that the camera could pick up on them.
I’m wondering if that last one is a “button bush.” A friend posted her button bush, absolutely alight with yellow swallowtails, on Facebook the other day. But the butterflies were elsewhere yesterday.
Here’s one from a walk earlier in the week, taken with the Panasonic:
Monarch on milkweed. The spots on his wings show that he’s male. 
Fritillary on thistle We’re feeling pretty blessed to have such an abundance to enjoy during these warmer months, as well as two decent cameras to capture the memories.
-
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.
