Which is Your Favorite Season?

I have been away from this blog and my home for the last couple of weeks exploring our national parks in Utah.  (more about that on a later blog post)


When I returned, I was amazed to see the change in our woods.  Fall is here!!

This photo is from our trip; it seems that fall is everywhere.  This got me thinking about the changing seasons and which season I preferred.


Fall has always been a favorite of mine.  It was always a time of change in my life--the school year started-- and big changes to observe in nature.  The fall color transforms the natural world into a sensory treat. Although many painters try to capture the fall colors, nature's palette is so superior.  Photos can't capture the beauty either, so it is best to stop and enjoy the view.




Winter has always been a hated time of year for me due to the cold and dark days that come with this season.  Add in a snow storm, and I hunker down inside. However, last winter I found joy in following animal tracks after a new fallen snow or in hearing the owls hooting.  Even the trees that were once adorned with colorful leaves seem beautiful as their branches are now exposed. Now that I can avoid the hassle of "getting to work" on icy streets, I know I will gain a new appreciation of this season.

 
Spring has never been on my radar.  This is probably because it is such a busy time of year.  The season's beauty has escaped me in the past, but this year I hope to focus on those early harbingers of spring....migratory birds.  Last year I watched as geese flew north; this year I hope to focus on those that come from the south to spend summer here in the Midwest. The spring woodland wildflowers are also a welcome site of spring.  When the Dutchman's Breeches, Mayapples, Spring Beauties, and others appear on the forest floor, I know nature is waking up....I just need to pay attention to it.

Finally, there is summer. Although I love the warmth of the sunshine and the long daylight hours, it has never been my favorite season.  I'm not sure why.

  Last summer I rediscovered   the joys of gardening and hope to expand this year, planting enough for me and the turtles!

Watching the bats flying erratically overhead and listening to the croaking of the frogs provide great summer entertainment. I can't wait for the "reruns" this summer.


Bottom line: I think there are things to enjoy about all of the seasons.  This year, as I begin a new season in my life--retirement--, I hope to embrace them all more fully.

What will you find to enjoy as the seasons change?

A Time to Die

Yesterday seemed like spring had finally come to the midwest.  After the harshest winter I can remember, temps would top 80 degrees.  It was time for a walk along the familiar trail to see what had changed while I was experiencing "cabin fever".

One of the first things I saw along the trail was this dead shrew.

It was dried up and had probably died under the piles of snow and ice that only recently have melted away.

Farther along the trail I approached our deer head area.  These heads, the result of a chronic wasting disease project, had provided food for many animals during the winter.  We had seen hawks, bobcat, fox and others near the area.  And the smell had now dissipated.  Much of the flesh had either rotted or been eaten leaving some bare bone exposed.   The skulls would soon be used to mark the trail.

 Finally, I approached the house and our bird feeding station only to discover a dead opossum under one of the feeders.  When I had seen it only a couple of days ago, it had seemed sick.  This animal almost made it through the roughest part of the year---but not quite.

My hike this day reminded me that there is a time for all things.  Winter had been a time to die for many of the inhabitants of our woods.  I look forward to spring....the season of renewal.  Surely it can not be far away.

My Cat is a Groundhog

As this super cold winter drags on, I don't think my cat has been our of the house in weeks.  This cat, usually a nocturnal hunter, has been curled up asleep...day and night...like, well, a groundhog.

 
The most active he becomes is occasionally opening his eyes to look out of the window.  Normally he would be switching his tail ready to pounce on anything that moves.  This time, he seems to be uninterested in the birds, squirrels and other creatures just outside his reach.  Maybe he is looking at the snow cover--unusual to persist this long in our climate. Maybe he is thinking that it is not fit for "man nor beast" outside.  And maybe he is right!




While he may not technically be hibernating, I think my cat has the right idea.  I would love to just curl under the covers and wait til spring...til the groundhogs emerge again.  Maybe someday soon we will all--groundhog, cat, and me-- be active again.

Sub-zero Hike Reveals One of Nature's Mysteries

The thermometer was not to reach zero, but I decided to take a quick walk in the woods anyway.  According to the news, I would get frostbite in less than 30 minutes.  From the inside, the bright blue sky and white blanket of snow were calling me.  So I bundled up and headed out.

The blue sky looked bluer than I had seen in many weeks.


And I liked the way the sun bouncing off of the trees created shadows in snow.

 
There were no other tracks ahead of me so it was an adventure. 


What would I discover?  Where were all the animals?  The previous day, with warmer temperatures, I had seen many squirrels scampering about.  Today none were visible.


I headed down the familiar trail to the ravine, my favorite place on the property.  The place where my husband had discarded deer heads from his chronic wasting disease project.  Many animals had visited this place in the past, so I was anxious to see what would happen after a foot of snow had covered the heads.

As I approached, I saw tracks!  But with the deep snow, they were hard to identify.  And it looked like 3 separate tracks indicating 3 separate animals.

All three continued over the trail and into the ravine.  As I looked below, I saw one of the heads had been pulled out of the snow drift.  Due to the size of track, its meandering course, and knowledge of animals of the area, I thought these were bobcat tracks.  My husband had seen 3 similar size cats earlier, probably siblings.  Where are these animals living on our property?  I wanted to find out.  So I back tracked, following the meanderings through woods. 

This proved more difficult than I thought, however.  It was still very cold, and the tracks went through some brambles covered with snow.  They also continued for quite a ways.  With the drifts, brambles and cold, it was hard going.  I started to wonder about the size of a bobcat's territory.  Maybe I couldn't follow this trail for that long.  I saw several spots of "yellow snow", indicating I was within the territory of these cats.

Finally, I was rewarded with the site!  The mystery...where do the bobcats live....was solved.  There were many tracks around the base of this old dead snag.  The base was huge and many dead logs on the forest floor at this point.  It was located at the edge of our property, next to an open field.  Across the field, I saw tracks as well.  Good hunting grounds for the cats.

Now that I know where they are, I can't wait for warmer weather and better visibility.  Maybe I'll set up a tent near the site to get a better look at these marvelous creatures.

But now it was time to head home.  I no longer followed the bobcat tracks but had to blaze a trail of my own through the brambles and snow drifts.  This was hard going, and I was getting cold.

Finally, I saw the house ahead of me.  I was glad that I had braved the elements, solved some mysteries, and made plans to visit again, but now it was time for that warm bowl of soup and a hot cup of coffee.  Mmmmm good.

The benefits of winter weather

Normally, I don't appreciate winter in the Midwest AT ALL!  But sunrise today brought a change of heart.  At sunrise, I caught a glimpse of our forest through the living room window that would not be possible in a more southern climate.

The eerie look of the fog in the forest, the bare lifeless tree limbs and the blanket of snow made a spectacular sight to behold.  The view was breathtaking but fleeting.
As I stepped outside in the morning chill, I could hear the birds chirping as if spring were here.  Their cheery calls broke the spell of the foggy forest followed soon after by the sunshine which "burnt" off the fog.

Yes, winter is here...but not for long!  Let's appreciate it while we can.