The Birds Are Singing and The Snow is Melting

     Yesterday, I took the dog out to a buddy's woods and creek to visit a younger doggy friend. It was a brilliant day with March snowflakes, flowing water, and ice jams piled up along the banks of the creek.

     There were many herd paths leading out to the creek itself and around and through the woods.

     The two dogs had a great time digging holes in the snow and playing. The pictures of them playing together did not come out well enough to post them. The younger dog that we visited is a very balanced and stable dog. She knew enough to know that Blondie is very old and adjusted her play style accordingly. 

     

     Being a yellow lab, Luna was ready to play fetch and also to investigate bits of ice melting into a nearby stream.

     Blondie for her part was alert and happy.

     She enjoyed her time there investigating the smells around the creek and woods. When it was time to go home, she was ready for a nap.

     This morning, Blondie and I went to a small creek and some cleared land where there is a jogging path. Since the snows came, there have been few joggers or walkers there. Absolutely no one else was around when we showed up.

     Blondie was happy to be there and flopped down to do a doggy snow angel-- I really do have to take a picture of this-- so I knew that she has been feeling better. We walked near the jogging path [which indeed was covered by snow] and watched various birds doing what birds do. 

     The cardinals have been out in full force, singing from trees all over the place. I think it must be mating season for them. The cardinal "whistles" were predominant. I spied one hairy woodpecker tapping a dead aspen for insects. She was pretty fat. There aren't so many over-eaters in the bird world so I figure she must have been pregnant but I don't really know for sure. The year-round robins were flying around from their copse of trees to what grass could be seen. Looking for grubs? Maybe. I don't really know. I don't know the life cycle of grubs well enough to know where they are right now. I didn't see the resident blackbirds or the crows there this morning. That surprised me.

     The agency that "owns" the part of the creek [and the jogging path itself] decided last summer to not mow near the creek anymore. And it also arranged to have gray stones put down in the water channel of the creek itself. Both in my view were sucky decisions. The minkies and the greenies and the northern leopards [all frog species] had been doing fine in and around their creek before the agency messed things up. 

     I figure that after the ice and snow are gone, I will drop by the creek several times a week and move one stone at a time out of the water channel over to the sides. At least then the frogs will be happier again. If I move one stone a day, folks won't notice for awhile.

sapphoq n friends

Dying

     Old dog and I went off into the woods today. Some of the trails are grown in a bit, primarily with jewel weed. The roots are close to the surface so they were easy to pull out as we meandered along. More problematic is the grass. Grass in the woods-- who'd a thunk it? Bits of the trails were muddy from the recent rainstorms but that didn't really bother me. A couple of new blow-downs were in evidence from the high winds that we've been having of late.

     Dog trotted along happily. Her rear is a bit weaker these days. In addition to the arthritis in her lower back and right rear hock, I am suspecting a neurological condition. I hope not. Even the best of dogs die. I hope that she will pass on [or be put down] before she becomes incontinent of stool. Stool incontinence plus a bad rear yields something that robs a dog of her dignity. And she is too good for that. I will miss her when she goes. I was hoping to get her to the first snowfall-- she loves snow-- or at least til sometime in the fall. And I don't know if I will be able to.

     Dad is dying too. 

     

sapphoq n friends says: Oh I know some smart ass will say something meaningless like, "We are all dying." The thing is that some of us are dying at a faster clip than the rest of us. Dad is in hospice. That's a pretty good indication that he doesn't have much time left. The old dog is getting weaker.
     I will love both my dad and my dog for as long as my memory will last.

Apheloria virginiensis

Happy dog and I were roaming through the woods today.  It had rained last night again and the ground was muddy to the point of mush.  I was looking for animal tracks and listening to bird songs and a woodpecker drumming when I happened to see this:

Apheloria virginiensis

 

 

It was moving rather fast and I made my sneakers into a v-shape in order to interrupt it so I could get out the camera and snap this picture.  There are clearer pictures on the internet of course.  I held the camera a bit too close in my haste to get its' photo.  At any rate, in this one, you can see the shiny body, the yellow stripes and the reddish sides.  The legs undulated and there looked to be three groups of them.  When gently prodded with a stick, to my surprise this particular millipede did not curl up.  When allowing the millipede to go on its' way, it rapidly disappeared into the leaf litter.

Happy dog did not notice my adventures with Apheloria virginiensis.  She continued on her merry way examining various scents along the woods path.

One of the grand things about living in this area is that there are bits of woods and fields all within walking distance.  The town foolishly tried to sell off one section of the woods but was met with stubborn resistance by the regulars who use it.  The folks who wanted to buy the woods realized very quickly that they were not welcome here and withdrew their offer.  [Alternate scenario:  Or perhaps the bank loan or mortgage thing fell through and they blamed the locals for not being friendly and welcoming].  At any rate, the invaders quickly beat feet and left.

Unlike in some other places, the paint-ballers, four-wheelers, and walkers all get along.  The paint-ballers and the four-wheelers all help to maintain the woods by clearing away blowdown and cutting away the invasive grass.  [Lawns are an ecological wasteland and should properly be banned-- but I digress].  We walkers snap away random branches that threaten to close off the paths.  There is a small subset of teens who use the woods around here to kick back and relax.  We all get along with them too.  Most of us have had a few beers or a few joints in the woods in our own youths.  These particular teens do not leave bottles or cans laying around.  There is a garbage can on the way out.

Once back home, dog and I sat out in the backyard.  The morning crew of birds drifted in.  The immature male red-wing blackbird was back at the platform feeder.  A few chickadees were out and about.  Chickadees are rather clever.  This morning I watched as one used a tree branch to help crack open a sunflower seed.  I've watched them do that sort of thing before with tree branches and with the branches of bushes both.  A house sparrow [actually English finches] couple were at the tube feeders.  They did not fight with the house wrens this morning.  I was glad of that.

sapphoq and friends

The Woods

Happy dog and I went off into the woods today.
Every spring, there is a temporary pond here.  It is a rather pretty, if buggy, spot.

 The May Apples are coming up all over the place.  

 

We are having a pleasant old-fashioned spring up here this year.  Some rain, some clouds, some sun.  Cool at night.  The snowdrops have been out.  So have the straw flowers.  The crocuses are flowering madly back in civ.

These particular woods were logged, thus many of the trees are young.  They were also parceled out into farm plots at one time.  So there are stone walls running through the woods too.

Some four wheelers have been trying to block off some of the trails.  Someone got annoyed enough to put up a notice.  [I erased the name and phone number of the one person who actually did sign it].  

 

  I'm pretty sure that the notice will not be effective.  I never thought of putting the words "degenerate" and "imps" together.  I figure the four wheelers dragging blow-down onto the trails are just a few kids fooling around.

 These woods are not alpine.  They are multi-use.  Everyone is allowed in: four wheelers, paint-ballers, people with and without dogs, even the solitary man who feels compelled to leave bird food by a stump here in these woods.

The trails this time of year are soft and covered with fallen leaves.

  Happy dog and I came back refreshed and ready to face a new day.

 

sapphoq n friends say:  I love the woods.

p.s.  Copyright trolls, go away.  I took the pics.  Enough already.