The other day I was walking in the woods when I stopped because I thought I smelled something odd. Within about 30 seconds I saw far up the hill behind some trees were a group of wild turkeys sneaking away! After crouching down and watching them slink out of sight I stood up to continue my walk... I then realized I was standing in a spot with turkey poop (aka- scat) on the ground and that was what I had been smelling.
I did not expect to see a snake in mid November! Usually they are hiding away from the cold, but it just has not been cold the last few weeks- and after more of days rain this snake came out into the morning sun to heat up his cold blooded body. It was a rather small snake and very well camoflauged into it's surroundings- so well in fact that i had no idea i was sitting about 8 inches from it, while i was scraping some sap off the bottom of a pine tree.
It's scales were mainly a grey color but there were tan bits and a tan belly. It was highly alert about me being there, it's tongue never came out, it didn't move and it took one breathe to my every 5. Watching it breathe made me forget about everything in my life I think is important, the movement was mesmerizing & beautiful.
Does anyone know what kind of snake this is? It seems rather common here, especially near creeks and spring water.
XoXo
Last night my cousin Jessica came for a visit with her kids - as the sun went down and they were just arriving I had to think up something fun to do in the dark! Knowing nature related thrill seeking was most likely in their DNA too I suggested we go out in the woods with flashlights, leave out some food on a rock and wait for wild animals to come while we hide. There was no contemplating this one- they grabbed the flashlights and were like "are we going now?"
Not only did we have bunches of fun tracking animal prints and carefully looking for prints of animals we did not want to run into in the night (aka - bear and coyotes), they also found all types of slugs and even some huge earthworms. :) Yay!
We pretty much left out the bait on a big rock and forgot about it- since tracking prints & scat & slugs, climbing apple trees and eating apples was too good to resist.
Anyone wanna try to identify these prints above and below? They are classic cut outs!
This last pair is probably some animals you know real well... they might even live in your house with you!? ;)
XoXo
Wheel Bug!!! I never thought I would see another one of these again- the first time I encountered one I got a call from my neighbor in Asheville saying "Leslie, CoMe SEe ThIS CraZy BuG On My PorCh!" We had no idea what it was till a commenter on this blog identified it as the rarely (or never) seen by humans wheel bug.
Given the name wheel bug I am sure from the saw like jagged wheel shape on it's back, it is one amazing and prehistoric looking creature. It's big tooth is larger then it's micro sized head, and penetrates soft bodied insects for a meal. It can also be used to give a vicious painful bite to humans. They are said to be shy and I believe this is true- in both cases I saw wheel bugs they were trying to hide and get away from me, but they are not overly scared at the same time - they will aggressively move towards you also. (I like these guys!)
Wheel bugs are said to grow up to 1.5 inches long (not quite as big as a flying Louisiana cockroach but pretty huge for something that bites real bad and flies too)... this one I saw yesterday was rather small compared to the one I saw last year. It was also in an area with alot of other bugs which had hard bodies, and Lil' Wheelie seemed to have no interest in eating them.
Then there was this tiny insect that looked like a baby wheel bug, but since their nymphs don't hatch till spring time I supposed it was not...but maybe??!! (Someone tell me if they know, and maybe someone tell me if they even think they know!)
One tough little buggie though, giving the hands up threat to the wheel bug when he crept close by. :)
XoXo
Animals are hunkering down for the winter, and the mice have built some really well insulated nests! These were found when lifting up various pieces of canvas that had been stored outside and were going to be used for a project...that is till the puffy spectacular mouse houses were discovered. This first nest was near a few colored tarps which ended up making it's nest speckled with brightly colored string. :) I like to think about how when our backs are turned the mice are pulling our fabric apart.
This second mouse nest was found under thicker tarp in a field near the pig pen. It had access to the canvas strings (or soft stuffing from the pig's blanket), hay & sticks.
Something to note about the way animals & birds build their houses is how airy, puffy and thick the walls are - and the way they weave into circles. These qualities are to insulate from cold winds - which originally baffled my trained human mind... I would have guessed without learning that the thicker tighter weave would keep me warmer, but it's not the case.
XoXo
One of the reasons most regular folks label environmentally concerned folks as "treehuggers" and "hippies" is for exactly what I am pointing out here. This tree is obviously bleeding from being partly cut with a saw - the macabre part of my personality noticed right away how sickly the dried black goo looked dripping out to one side... the part of me who strives to give nature all the respect it deserves wanted simply to share how strange and amazing this looks with others. I am not an advocate of deprivation, I am not seeing this and having it lead me to simply screaming "save the trees" - in a world of survival there are many uses for trees. It is how we (ab)use at this point in modern history that strikes me as odd and disturbing. We don't just build simple shelters, we build toxic McMansions in gated communities, we use billions of paper grocery bags instead of bringing re-usable bags...and still that isn't exactly the problem, our whimsies are just a symptom. The real problem is the disconnect from nature. Who will really think of a tree or the eco system while building their big 'keep up with the Jones' house in the wealthy or middle class neighborhood - and can you blame them for not thinking of it, when they have no exposure to the reality of our natural resources and where these resources come from? Sometimes I think people should act more responsibility towards the earth (of course they should) but the over educated rich are just as under educated as the poor in this modern consumer society. Without the hands on knowledge of what this eco system really entails, without the reality and experience (AKA living in the woods and with nature in the raw)- I have doubts to whether the majority of uneducated will come around very quickly to learning the basic elements of respect for the earth that supports their very life and breath. Our education system is concentrated on teaching children and adults what I would consider some really petty skills, mainly ones applying to consumption, sales, and how to fit into the economic box we've created. After learning to read and write- our most basic education should be to learn the one-two steps to what really keeps us alive - being our food & how we can grow it, our water & how we can keep it drinkable, our air & how we can keep the earth in balance enough to breathe it without breathing in later health problems.
XoXo
Being that I grew up in New Orleans, a place surrounded by water, regularly flooded by water, below sea level, and a culture that dares to throw a party when watery hurricanes threaten from the sky... I have developed a secret love for the power of water when it begins to overflow. Some people get a thrill from sky diving or a roller coaster - I get a similar adrenline rush of happy contenment to see a flood swelling up. The power of nature is something I can depend on, understand, and sometimes even relate to. Even when it crosses the fine line between beautiful over to destructive.
I parked my bike next to the bridge, immediately realizing where I usually play under there and collect rocks was now totally underwater. I had to carefully climb some slimy wet boulders to get to the soggy mud and squish my way upward into the woods, towards what was once a noticeable waterfall.
The water was so high in the creek and rushing down so hard the sound was deafening! I wished so much I had a video camera to share the sound with ya'll... the intensity and power was such that the once waterfall was eclipsed by it's own water volume and could hardly be seen. (Check out this link to see what the Willow Creek Rd waterfall looked like in April!)
I crouched down in the trees for a while and watched - but more so listened. I was by myself and thought it was a good time to stay quiet, sort of a nod to mother nature for being so cool.
Eventually I felt tired and was ready to go back... hiking back through the slippery leaves, steep hill, crawling under pines tree branches and squishing through the muck, and back over the slippery boulder to the bridge.
I pulled by bike back up to the road and took off.
XoXo
This morning I went out on my bike (the 'cajun knuckle') to check out the super saturated area - 2 days of non stop rain dumping down into the creeks and darkening the landscape made everything look like a new world. As soon as I got down the gravel road and landed on Willow Creek, I saw a gaggle of turkeys milling around the field where the corn crops had been harvested. Yay! I love the wild turkeys here, they look like underworld vultures on flamingo legs - not like overly domesticated bred to be overweight Thanksgiving turkeys.
In the spring and summer these gobblers were very shy and stayed far away from me - but today they did not seem to care much as I rode my bike closer towards their flock. I have experienced them before in the winter a few years ago, they would let my cats sit amongst their group while they ate on a hill off Robinson Cove Road. Maybe in the winter they don't care as much? Breeding time might be more important.
When I got fairly close, a big white truck started flying down the cury road behind me and the turkeys started to get spooked enough to cross the street towards the woods I always walk in.
They don't fly very far, but in big spurts... their wings are huge and make alot of startling noise.
They all made it to the hill and filed away into the woods, perfectly camouflaged into the fall colored background.
XoXo
Oh, Mr. Drool Nose - How I wuve thee! I wish you would come in my room and sleep with me and my 'friendly to other animals your size' kitty names Toots! You have very pretty eyes and I can wipe that runny nose for you.
Opossum's have some of the most beautiful sculpted ears of all the night creatures I ever saw...(I know i go on and on about it each time I post a opossum on here, but it is so true!)
Their fingers are like giant bird of prey claws... yet also like creepy yittle hands.
I think this opossum is looking extra pretty because it's winter coat is in... or maybe it's cause it somehow looks like it has eyelashes. Or possibly it's the long rat like tail hanging down behind the wrapped vines in the pic below- it blends right in. Good camo is always stunning.
It looks alot tinier, once in perspective- don't it? <3 Come Back Soon! ! !
XoXo
There is still one tree left that is dropping apples - and I am not the only one who is gathering them! Yesterday I knelt down the gather a bag full up apples for some potential apple sauce, I could see that deer had been there amongst other critters nibbling the fruit too. When I leaned forward to grab a nice dark red apple I saw rabbit scat (poop) in three piles right ahead of me.
The scat was obviously fresh and from my point of view I could see a well worn thin trail...
I followed the trail carefully looking for more evidence, after about 10 feet of winding i found a half eaten apple. :) It was freshly eaten within a 1-2 hours, the apples falling wild from the trees turn brown really fast once open.
Then next to some rocks i found more apple bits, but these much were older. Possibly the rabbit's compost pile. ;)
And there was the hole... where the rabbit stays! Awwww, cute.
What an awesome place to live!
XOXO
