Lady Slipper

On The Hill the Lady Slippers usually  bloom the last week in May.

 This is also the week the baby ducks hatch.

Memorial Day Weekend

A walk in the woods: we detoured from our regular hike to check the batteries in the trail camera; the only exposures were taken between 10 pm and midnight on the 28th of May of a single doe. We could see where she lay for a time under a hemlock tree.

We spotted this large glacial boulder covered with lichen.  It looked at first glance as though someone had pasted leaves all over the north-west side.
My daughter wasn't too thrilled about walking in the woods. She is being treated for a very stubborn case of Lyme.

Expectant

Expectant Doe taken with trail camera

After a week with no new images on my Trail Camera, I thought to bring a change of batteries yesterday. That did the trick!   This doe visited the grove  last evening, and according to the 21 photos  on the camera, she stayed for over a half hour....aware of the camera, but browsing comfortably on new plant growth on the forest floor.

The Wild Azalea

The wild azalea near the edge of the wood is blooming; the scent, picked up by a breeze, surrounds me as I return from my walk in the woods. An early hummingbird hovers.
The wild azalea was one of my mother's favorite rites of spring..she would say "It's time for the Pinks...let's take a walk."
Across the road and up the lane, past the Old Butternut Tree. There, in the middle of a one acre swamp stood a giant pink bush giving off a glorious honeysuckle scent!

Birds singing in the Woods

A warm sunny afternoon..the birds were so happy they never stopped singing when I walked past. I have a young artist friend who will say "There's a Cardinal.." "Where," I'll ask. "Oh, you can't see it..but that's it's song we're hearing." She knows all the birds by their songs. Today I listened; there were at least four distinct songs. And no, I  couldn't tell you which was which.  In any case, it was nice to hear. Nearing home, I did recognize the call of the  Kingfisher. One second, he's on a branch hanging over the water and in another,  with chatter and dash,  he's swooping down for the catch.

Spring has Arrived!

After a quick shopping trip I hiked up into the woods to check the trail camera; it has been three days  but even still, there weren't any new images recorded.  My young neighbor was grilling outdoors as I passed his house; he views me as an elderly grandmother out for some fresh air, and remarked with a smile that he'd  seen a bear in the woods a couple of weeks ago.....I assured him, with a smile, that I was carrying a big stick.  I expect that if I really saw a bear, I'd be a lot more timid about going off into the woods by myself.

Red Spotted Newt

It rained overnight. The soggy  leaves were silent under my feet. When our grandchildren were younger, they enjoyed creating small terrarium habitats for a few of the spotted newts. The newts always seemed to escape overnight, however.

The little White Tailed Deer had been in the grove the previous evening; her scrapes and scars are healing.

Erythronium grandiflorum

Glacier lilly--dog's tooth lilly-
I had to look this one up. There is a large clump growing
near an ancient  pine tree.

Wild Strawberry, Trillium and Star Flower

The White Star Flower was the first woodland flower in the deeper part of  woods. There were several red trillium (Wake Robins) near the head of the trail, and in a sunny spot, the Wild Strawberry.

April 26th 2010:

Yours Truly caught by the Trail Camera. I've seen signs and tracks of raccoon, deer, coywolves and bear along this trail. I like to walk this way several times a week, making a detour to check the glade where the camera is located.  There is always something, so I exchange the digital media card with  a spare one, and try to guess all the way home what, if anything, the camera captured.

May 10 2010

Spring has come to the woods; this White Tailed Deer certainly lost a lot of hide! At least there is more to eat of the floor of the woods. I put a salt block with trace minerals in another location, away from the trail camera.
The wild flowers are beginning to bloom.

April 26th 2010:

Another doe; this time in mid-April. There have been several does feeding on acorns along the trail.

March 2010 Trail Camera

Taken in mid-March: This doe could barely stand; she is covered with ticks. The photo was taken with a motion activated trail camera attached to a tree along the trail.

Fall 2009

Last fall I was walking along a trail and noticed in the grass something that I thought was a rabbit. As I walked nearer, however, the rabbit grew very big...and I found myself staring into the eyes of a very large animal that people around here call a "coydog." However, this was much larger than a "coydog," ... more like a CoyWolf! It had long black hairs on it's back, and red around it's face.
Soon after, I purchased a Trail Camera. However, because if the cold and snow, I wasn't able to put it in the woods until the middle of March, 2010.