New Day 60 – Lost and Found

It’s been a long time since I blogged. But today I got the bug again, and headed out into the woods in search of mushrooms. I did not take Oliver with me as the last time I headed into the woods with him, I got lost, and we walked for several hours before I found the road again. We’d gone in a U-turn.

I did think briefly of taking my compass, but decided since I was taking a route I’d taken many times, there was no need. (You know what’s coming, don’t you.)

It’s a grey and damp day, but warm, with no real rain.

Heading out into the woods at the back of my property.

Some beautiful dead trees on the way to the stream.

I’ve found the stream, and will now follow this to the pond. No mushrooms yet.

Look at those lovely velvet rocks.

With the stream at my right, I know the pond is up ahead. Still no mushrooms—at least not the edible kind.

Here We are at Hodge Pond. It is a reassuring and beautiful sight.

Another view of the pond. This pond is in the middle of the woods, with no houses, and no people except the rare person like me and the occasional hunter.

One more view of the pond before I head off for the old logging road that will take me back home.

I’ve decided, rather than heading straight ahead to where I know the road is, I will cut through the woods at an angle. I’ll either hit the logging road, or the road it runs into. I can’t get lost because I’m surrounded by roads on three sides, and the pond on the other. Here I have run into a stone wall that is typical of NH woods—they are scattered throughout all the woods here, as this was all pasture land once.

Okay…so I’m lost. I’ve been walking for some time now—don’t recognize anything. Here’s a hunter’s old ladder. The tree platform has gone—probably rotted away along time ago. But I’m encouraged—if a hunter got in here, I can get out.

At this point I’ve stopped looking for mushrooms. I’m looking for anything that might lead me out of here. I come across boundary markers, so I start following them. But then I notice they are all over the place, and not in a straight line. Which way to go? I don’t know. Then I hear gun shots. It’s hunting season. At least I was smart enough to wear my red and yellow reflective vest. I decide to head towards the sounds of the gun.

But then I come across a straight stone wall. I think this will help me stay in a straight line. I follow it. I tell myself that even if I have to sleep in the woods for the night, I’ll be okay. But then the wall just ends. So I say a little prayer and head off in what I think might be the right direction. Then suddenly I can see what looks like an open area, in the distance. I head for that.

As I approach, I can see that it’s a body of water, but I’m so confused. I cannot think of another body of water in the direction I believed I was heading. As I draw near, I see that it’s Hodge Pond. I have been going in a big circle (or circles—for all I know.)

I decide not to be stupid this time, and I walk keeping as close to the pond as I can without getting my feet wet.

As I walk, and remember how large the pond is, I realize I’d taken my “short cut” way too soon. But I’m taking no chances this time.

After taking that last pond photo, I turned around and saw at my feet, the mushrooms I’d been hoping to find. These are Oyster mushrooms and they are delicious. I took this cluster. A little gift from Mother Earth.

These I left, to seed themselves for next year.

At the bottom of the tree was this little fairy house. I knocked, but no one seemed to be home.

And there’s the road—between those two stone walls.

I’m heading home.

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New Day 59 – Spring! YAY!

It was in the 61 degrees today. Unbelievable! The snow is fast disappearing and much of the sunnier woods was bare today. It’s hard to believe we had 6 inches of snow a few days ago and it’s only been the last few days that I haven’t had the heat lamp on in the chicken coop.

Glory be! We headed outside to wander the yard with no coat on and Buddy’s old Frisbee in hand. Oliver loves the Frisbee but today he was just too excited exploring parts of the yard he hasn’t seen before, to play.

Finn came out and joined us.

A little nose to nose greeting.

The old cat netting has mostly come down and need repairing. I’ve removed much of it but left a good expanse just to keep predators out. Oliver appears to be a wanderer, so I will repair it just to deter him from taking off into the woods.

Exploring the old straw filled cat shelter.

What? Where are you going?

Any room for me?

Ha! I found a place where the dog doesn’t go!

Oliver thinks he’s a cat.

I’d completely forgotten I’d hung this out for the birds last spring. How nice to see it was used. And there’s plenty of wool left for this spring.

After a 360 degree tour of the yard, we were back where we started and it was time to go in. Guess who did not want to do that!

As I type this he’s whining, barking, and pulling on my sleeve. He wants to go back out there. So…before the sun heads below the horizon, I think we’ll head outside again.

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New Day 56 – New Puppy – Old Friend?

Introducing Oliver.

This is my new excuse to head outside for some exercise. Oliver is a four month old Morkie. So far he is a spectacular little dog. As long as I take him outside every half hour or so, he does not do things inappropriately in the house. He sleeps on the bed beside me in his little crate and sleeps through the night – no accidents! He loves to play and to walk which is an answer to my prayers. He fetches endlessly as Buddy used to do. He eats, sleeps, and plays. What else could you want in a dog?

I’ve had him now for four days. He’s been out for short walks down the road with me and follows along perfectly. The harness I bought is too big for him, so I made sure he was close enough to scoop up if a car approached – but no cars so far on our walks.

Today I made him a little coat and took him out on the trail across the road to see if he was up for the hour’s trek.

Here he is on my side of the road, just checking out the dead bracken.

We.re on the trail now, and he’s sticking very close behind me as we walk along. When I stop, he investigates the surroundings. There’s a lot for a new little puppy to discover.

I’m wondering what he’ll think about the water.

It’s frozen over and he stays safely on shore. (But for a moment I was afraid he was going to step out.)

Note to self: We need a harness and a leash.

We continue along the winding trail, me turning to be sure he’s with me every half minute or so. Every time I check he’s right there, only inches from my feet. I can’t hear him, so I need to keep checking.

But suddenly, when I turn to see if he’s there, he’s gone! I look back along the trail and he’s standing there, maybe 40 feet away, looking at me. I start running back to him, calling his name.

Either he no longer recognizes me, and I frighten him, or he’s fed up with the walk. He turns and runs as fast as he can back along the trail the way we came. I run like a mad woman, but I cannot catch up with him. Soon he’s completely out of sight. I say a few prayers as I’m terrified he’ll just dash across the road and get hurt. We live on a dead end with only three houses, but still – there are cars occasionally.

I’m praying he’s gone home, but I can’t really believe it can be possible. This is the first time we’ve gone left out of the driveway and down the road, and he’s never been on the trail before.

I exit the trail, rush panting up the hill and into the driveway. Then I hear him barking. He’s at the back door and want’s me to let him in. He seems confused when I appear behind him.

My conclusion is, he didn’t recognize me when I turned and ran back to get him. so he ran for safety – back to the home he has known for only a few days. How is that possible?

Reincarnation?

Now Here’s a Question? Do you think Dogs Reincarnate to be with a former person? This little dog reminds me so much of Buddy that I find myself wondering if it is possible that he is the reincarnation of Buddy’s soul.

In my search for a new best friend, I asked Spirit to let me know with some sort of sign, that the dog I found was meant to be my dog. When I went to meet this little puppy, he was living with a family of cat, dogs, child, and parents. I met the mom who was very warm and friendly. At one point while she was chatting about the dog, she said, “I don’t know why, but this is his favorite toy.” Then she reached into the laundry basket, pulled out a sock, rolled it into a ball, and tossed it for the puppy to retrieve. Which he did, bringing it back to my feet.

Now if you are a long time follower of this blog, you may remember that socks were Buddy’s favorite toys. Surely that was my sign that this was my dog.

Since then Oliver has displayed many behaviors that remind me so much of Buddy, that I find it hard not to ponder the reincarnation possibility. Also, my cat Abbey who knew Buddy, has been very affectionate from the first time she saw him – no hissing! Here she is greeting only minutes after his arrival.

Now, I do know that dogs have strong noses, and it’s not impossible that Oliver could have found his way home again. But still – where is home to him, here, or where he’s lived for the past 4 months? And how was he able to race back without putting his nose to ground?

Just wondering!

He’s a sweetheart!

And yes, don’t worry – lesson learned! NOT going out for a walk without a harness and leash again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New Day 55 – Crow Settles In

Here I am at the kitchen window again. This is the big storm day of March 2017. I’m home and cozy at the moment. The birds however, are not. I’ve been out clearing snow for the ground feeders, but I can’t keep up with the falling snow.

I just had a look out the window. Crow is here. Yesterday he was at the feeder – today at the suet that hangs in the lilac tree. The branches are filled with puffed up juncos, woodpeckers, blue jays, and chickadees – waiting for Crow to finish.

Crow picks up the crumbs while the others line up for turns.

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New Day – 51 The Fawn and Spring Beauty

What? That’s not a fawn, you say.

True.

Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me when I encountered the fawn yesterday. So instead of posting relevant photos while I tell the tale, I’m posting photos I’ve been taking since my last posting. We all like a photo or two, I know.

This fellow was around here for weeks. The females seemed unimpressed, but I bet they are busy sitting on eggs right now.

The girls are not frequent visitor just now. At least not many of them. Today one female arrived at the feeder with three males. The males kept shooing her away, so she, smart turkey, leapt up onto the feeder itself and helped herself from there.

Those are teen-aged guys (I think). Except for the striped bird – that’s one of my hens, chowing down with the turkeys.

So…yesterday I rounded the corner of my house and came upon a beautiful fawn at the end of the drive. She was eating the hostas which I have not yet covered. I immediately froze. She seemed not to be worried about me. She looked up, and then went back to ripping leaves off the plant. Okay, I muttered, I guess you’re going to eat my plants because I’m not going to shoo you off.

Then Bo, my little, deaf, poodle, wandered past me and into the garage, He was hoping I had not cleared away the old cat food he’d found days earlier in a garbage bag that was destined for the dump. When he realized it was gone, he turned and saw the fawn.

I was standing right on the other side of these flowers when I froze.

The Fawn became quite excited. Her ears perked up, her tail swished back and forth and around in half circles. Slowly she came toward us.

Bo stood watching. Then he looked over at me. I don’t know what he thought since I never stand still like that.

Suddenly the fawn started stamping her feet. Not pawing the ground the way a horse does, but pouncing on her front feet the way a dog does to invite play.

The Wanderer

Unfortunately, Bo didn’t pick up on the message. He’s old, and deaf, and not much into play.

The fawn wouldn’t give up. By now she was up nearly at the garage, and right in front of me, only ten feet away.

She circled the drive, and pranced her feet, then then snorted at Bo. I wanted to go and dance with her. But I didn’t dare move.

This went on for fifteen minutes. My legs were going numb.

The fawn gave up on Bo and went back down the drive and continued snacking on the hosta.

I cut my bridal veil down to the ground a few years ago – it was in such a sorry state. But it’s coming back.

Sadly, Bo wandered back to the cat door and disappeared inside. I stayed and watched the fawn until she too gave up and headed off through the woods.

This yellow spider was on the front of a the blossom when I arrived. He slowly crawled around to the back to hide.

Not a very exciting story to tell, but believe me, it was quite amazing to stand there and watch.

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New Day 50 – Comealong Cat

The weather was beautiful Sunday. So beautiful that my guilt over painting indoors with my dog snoring beside me, finally forced me put up the brushes and get my shoes on for a walk. As I headed outside with Bo, I made note of  where the cats were. Lately Finn, my granddaughter’s cat whose been living here while she is at college, has taken to following me around the yard. I was afraid he might try to follow us on our longer trek. I was not sure he wouldn’t wander off and get lost, or get stuck up a tree (which he has done several times). I saw he was safely indoors. Good, I thought.

We were half way down the driveway when Finn came bounding along. He’s free to go in and out the cat door as he pleases. I had wrongly assumed he was happy snoozing inside.

So, I decided to see how it went.

Finn is very much like Max, the neighborhood cat, who used to follow me, Buddy, and Bo, frequently on our walks. Max is featured in many of my past blogs. Max moved away, and I’ve missed his company. Of course I didn’t have to worry about Max – he was a roaming cat and not mine. But I was not keen to have to tell my granddaughter that I’d lost her cat.

How does he know the way?

Right away Finn took the lead.

Bo and Finn just rambling on toward the water.

 

The beaver dam across the road.

 

Stopping for a little scent exploration.

 

Sometimes Finn leads – sometimes he follows.

On high alert – ducks ahead!

 

Someone has made a path through the marsh. Hmmm?

 

No Finn – come back!

 

That’s not a great idea either. Remember how you got stuck up the tree all night?

 

Thank you!

Happy cat!

 

Taking the short cut back towards home. We went far enough for a first foray.

 

Back on the road.

 

Finn stops for a roll in the sand.

 

Heading back home. Finn knows the way. Why do I think he’s roamed farther than the yard before?

 

Home sweet home, safe and sound.

 

We’ll have to do that again!

(No apologies for all the cat pictures.)

Signing off.

 

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New Day 49 – The Beaver Returns

I took a stroll in the drizzle today, down to the wetlands where I like to sit and contemplate. Nearly there I sadly discovered that the beautifully shaped ash that I’d wrapped a few years ago against the beaver who’d been taking my trees, had been chewed down to the last half inch.

Why the beaver stopped there, I don’t know. Probably he knew it wasn’t going to be an easy haul down to the water and simply needed a tooth sharpening.

I strolled on to the water and spotted the beginnings of a new dam.

You can see three newly stripped saplings. One laid across the gap, one that must have fallen through, and one further away at the edge of the grasses. That one will probably be part of the dam tomorrow. Above the dam is the pond where I sit and watch the ducks and the sunset. On this side below the new dam is the stream that runs down to the old skating pond area, and on under the road to the big water reserve across the road from me.

I think that dam starter was probably growing here yesterday.

This was my attempt at saving some of my trees. It’s ugly I know, especially during a winter with no snow. But it was necessary to save some of my hardwoods. I wish the beaver liked snap pine. I have plenty of those I wouldn’t mind losing. I put this flashing around these trees two years ago. And though I did leave some saplings for the beaver, once I’d done this, he moved on – probably discouraged by the metal barriers.  But now he’s back.

This is the major dam the beaver has built over the last two years. When I first moved here 18 years ago, a different dam was in place here. The effect is to create a large pond above which became a skating pond for the grandchildren. I spent hours clearing off the snow, are we all have many happy memories playing down here on the ice.

The ice pond with small area cleared after snow storm.

If you’ve been following me, you will have seen this ice pond before.

Here’s the same area today with the same old tree stump – a little more decayed. We didn’t have enough snow and cold for a safe ice pond this year, but next year, perhaps.

The old dam that created the first ice pond was eventually torn down by the town. I was very upset, especially as I knew the beavers were living in the lodge that was now unprotected due to the falling water level.

But come spring and fall, there was a new benefit. The apple tree that had been overhanging the pond was now water free. That fall I had a large bounty of apples (blogged about a few years ago).

But now again, the apple tree is hanging over the pond.

Here’s the apple tree. It fell over during the ice storm of 2008, but it continues to bloom and produce apples. Unfortunately I cannot reach the apples now due to the new dam.

As you can see, the beaver has been at the apple tree. There won’t be any apples, whether or not I can pick them, if he continues.

Here’s another view of the skating pond. The apple tree is out of sight at the left. The dam is just below at the right.

And here is the water under the bridge – a really lovely old stone bridge. The dam is just to my left, quite visible from the road. Now I don’t know whether I’d rather have apples or a skating pond. I guess what I really want is for the beavers to be able to do their thing without deliberate destruction of their creations. It’s true, I don’t want them to take all my hardwoods, but I wouldn’t destroy their dams and lodge to protect my trees. I like the idea of living in peace together.

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New Day 48 – First Sign of Spring

This morning when I went out to feed the chickens I heard the first red winged black bird of the season. This is a sure sign spring is here. I couldn’t catch sight of the newly arrived, but a few minutes later I saw her (or him) under the feeder – no doubt chowing down after a long journey.

I’m so happy to see her as last year I saw no red winged blackbirds at all. Usually they are plentiful. I feared my birds were some of those found dead on the roads down south.

Normally this time of year snow still covers the ground. Not so this year. In fact I have not had to take out the snow blower even once (knock on wood).

Along with the blackbird came a gloriously warm winter day – 75 degrees (f). I let the girls out of their penned area to enjoy the weather.

Here they are composting away.

Poor me…I had to choose between staying indoors and working on an oil painting that is near completion, or heading outside to enjoy the day. Of course I did both.

The pond across the way.

You can see we still have ice on the pond.

My old dog Bo came along for the walk. He’s still a trouper despite his old age.

Here’s a photo from yesterday. Another beautiful day it was. The sun was setting – but I cheated and put this on “fall” setting to bring out the light.

When we returned from our walk today, the girls had made their way to the feeder to clean up what was left after the birds, squirrels, and turkeys had had their fill.

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New Day 46 -Frost On My Windows

We had some cold days here last week, and I found myself once again photographing the frost on my windows. I find these gems of nature irresistible. I poured through my dozens of images and saved many for future photo shopping. I lost my hard drive over a year ago and don’t have my favorite photo editing software anymore. So editing will have to wait.   These that I post here are untouched – merely cropped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New Day – 45

I haven’t made an entry here for months – years even. But today I had a visitor to the suet feeder, and I feel inspired to share, and to perhaps resume my blogging.

Look who showed up. I’ve never seen a crow at the feeder before. I love crows, and know they are very spiritual beings, bringing magic into ones life.

Who doesn’t like magic?

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