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| Yellow Poplar OAFS Photo |
While sojourning in Maryland over the holidays I had the opportunity to meander out and just stare at the forest. It's something I've done for a long time, since I was a kid growing up in the woods of Vermont.
There is something peaceful out there, something old and profound. One just has to sit and listen.
One tree that I finally noticed was the one above, looked like its bark was peeling away as if something was wrong with it.
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| Sycamore OAFS Photo |
Nope, it's just what they look like ...
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| Another Sycamore OAFS Photo |
The kids also have a very lovely chestnut tree at the foot of the driveway and lovely holly trees at either end of that driveway. I miss those trees.
I watched two squirrels having a brouhaha over something while I stood quietly, listening and watching. Then I heard a woodpecker not far away. It took me a few moments to spot him, pecking away on top of a branch. My guess is that both species were in search of sustenance. That's what the wild world does, look for food and reproduce.
It's a simple life, but a harsh one out there. For some animals, those squirrels are sustenance. Like the old saying goes: nature, red in tooth and claw², better to be civilized.
I suppose.
Jack-In-The-Green
Ian Anderson/Jethro Tull
Have you seen Jack-In-The-Green?
With his long tail hanging down
He quietly sits under every tree
In the folds of his velvet gown
He drinks from the empty acorn cup
The dew that dawn sweetly bestows
And taps his cane upon the ground
Signals the snowdrops it's time to grow
It's no fun being Jack-In-The-Green
No place to dance, no time for song
He wears the colours of the summer soldier
Carries the green flag all the winter long
Jack, do you never sleep
Does the green still run deep in your heart?
Or will these changing times
Motorways, powerlines
Keep us apart?
Well, I don't think so
I saw some grass growing through the pavements today
The rowan, the oak, and the holly tree
Are the charges left for you to groom
Each blade of grass whispers Jack-In-The-Green
Oh Jack, please help me through my winter's night
And we are the berries on the holly tree
Oh, the mistle thrush³ is coming
Jack, put out the light
It's good to stay in touch with Mother Nature.
At least I like to.
¹ With apologies to Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull.
² Alfred, Lord Tennyson said that. The Charge of the Light Brigade fellow, former Poet Laureate of the UK. The bird thrives on mistletoe
³ A bird common to Europe, temperate Asia, and North Africa. The bird thrives on mistletoe, hence the name.
We are fond of a woodpecker that often visits to aerate our lawn. Very decent of it. We also have a labour-saving animal that lives in our compost bin and stirs the contents for us. It's probably a rat but since we never see it we don't know. Otherwise our interesting visitors are foxes and deer, and the occasional heron, though there is a threat of badgers - destructive bloody creatures - because some live nearby. The presence of badgers locally probably explains why we don't get visits from hedgehogs any more.
ReplyDeleteWe used to get regular visits from pheasants but local construction work has put a stop to that.
We don't count squirrels as "interesting" because the commonplace little sods eat all our hazelnuts (though there was a spell when they left us compensation by burying walnuts in our flower pots).
Our "pest" at home is the Eastern cottontail rabbit. Prolific little buggers they eat anything that's even remotely green. They were multiplying like, well, like rabbits do until a local hawk decided they were just the thing for his/her dinner. That has helped somewhat, but not enough to save our roses.
DeleteThe squirrels on my side of the pond are a nuisance and every spring we have to check the garden as the irritating little things plant walnuts everywhere. I've got a downer on the Ring Necked parakeets that are everywhere and are impacting on smaller birds (they're omnivorous and nest raiders) Mind you our rabbit population has crashed due to disease and and an increase in the Buzzard population, they'll be back however.
DeleteRetired
Non-native species are a pain, burdening the native ecosystem with animals which shouldn't be there.
DeleteI'm sure the rabbits will return, they're noted for that.
Trees around the homestead and in the neighborhood attract a number of birds, seems the most are Northern Cardinals, Crows, Black capped Chickadees, Blue Jays (there's a raucous bird), Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers (they seem to think the house stucco is tree wood with the hammering they do). Lots of trees, firs and deciduous, lots of needles and leaves, especially the latter with lots of raking. Lots of trees around the nearby lake also Sarge.
ReplyDeleteWe have a murder of crows in the neighborhood, very interesting, very intelligent birds. We hear cardinals all the time, just don't see them all that often, though one morning we had two males squabbling over a female who sat nearby watching the two males fight. Interesting.
DeleteFinally, a chance to use the interesting trivia about what you call a whole bunch of...[crows in this case]!
DeleteWell played.
JB
I have waited so long ...
DeleteGreat post! I like being in amongst trees when it's mizzling. Heavier than a mist, not enough for a drizzle. Sit quietly and listen to the drops from the leaves and branches. Watch the birds forge in the duff
ReplyDeleteYes! That right there, I like that as well.
DeleteThese are the reasons I love hiking, Sarge.
ReplyDeleteThe late Gene Logsdon made the comment that Mother Nature could just as well be called Old B*tch Nature if you actually looked at the way Nature works. His example was which is worse, a buck dispatched by a single shot or arrow or being torn apart by predators?
In this sense modern entertainment has done us a dis-service. We anthropomorphize everything and forget that Nature is neither sweet nor kind. It is...well, Nature, red in tooth and claw indeed. Even plants do their part in muscle out the competition in search of light.
Modern entertainment, TB? Bambi came out in 1942, it's been going on for quite some time.
DeleteThat is a good catch, Sarge. I was not thinking that far back.
DeleteI guess that's something we Americans do.
DeleteA lot of trees you say? I’ve now got a subject for Monday! Thanks.
ReplyDeletejuvat
I saw that. 😊
DeleteBetter get the draft chopped...
DeleteJB
Approved!
DeleteIn 1970 we bought a small house in Aurora about four miles East of Lowry AFB. I planted a small tree deciduous tree in the center of the front lawn. Two years ago I was in the area and drove by the house on a whim. That tree now dominates the front lawn. It gave me such a contented feeling. If I never make another mark on the world, I made one there. Nowadays I often wander down to the Poudre River, sit on a bench, and watch what birds and other critters go about their lives.
ReplyDeleteOldest daughter, The Nuke was born in Aurora, at Fitzsimmons. Very familiar with that area.
DeleteI'm glad your tree is still there, and flourishing.
We used to go up that river into the mountains and watch nature from up there. 'Tis a beautiful river.