Month: May 2019

It’s been busy around here! While sitting at the breakfast table the morning after my last post, I heard a LOUD crash. I knew it was a tree falling, and when I looked out, I saw that a huge red oak had fallen across the little brook, across the road, and halfway across the meadow.

I was worried it had taken down two of my pawpaw trees. I pulled on my boots, grabbed my loppers, and headed into the meadow to inspect the damage. After some lopping, I was delighted to discover that the large pawpaw (the one that has borne fruit for the past two years) was relatively undamaged. However, I couldn’t find the smaller one and decided to wait after I heard some branches groaning. The crown of the tree was enormous, as you can see from this photo taken later in the day.

I worked on getting someone to remove the tree, then headed out for my walk. I was planning to crawl over the tree trunk until I realized that it was covered in poison ivy! I detoured into the woods to get around the tree and saw that it had pulled down a small white pine, a wild cherry, and a box elder when it fell.

Some folks came that afternoon and got the road cleared. One of them helped me look for the other pawpaw, which I finally found—a bit damaged but not broken!

The deer and turkeys didn’t like all the commotion, but they showed up to eat after the workers left. The tom turkeys are still strutting and gobbling, although not nearly as much as earlier. I think the hens are nesting; when I came up the road this week, a hen crossed in front of me, followed by about eight poults. (Maybe I’ll have photos of the turkey families soon.)

And I should have fawn photos before too long, too. It looks as though some of the does are nursing fawns somewhere in the woods, while others are still pregnant.

I’m accustomed to seeing turkeys and other birds in the driveway under the feeder that is strung about 12′ in the air, but I was not ready to see this visitor! I heard the “warning” chimes on the feeder line while I was still in bed one morning and thought it was a squirrel. What a surprise when I saw a bear on standing up, trying to reach the feeder! Somehow he’d already bent a grapevine post and could almost reach the lowered feeder, but I was able to shoo him off (from the safety of the deck) (watch!) before he got any seed. Now I bring that feeder in at night, too, along with the hummingbird feeders and a feeder off the patio.

I continue to see other critters around the house and on my rambles.

Well, this critter is tired now, and cats and chores beckon. Maybe the next post won’t be so exciting; I guess we’ll all have to wait and see!

The arrival of (mostly) warmer weather has meant more activity among the critters in the Hollow. The previous post featured some butterflies, but I see many others. Above are three Eastern Fence Lizards (Sceloporus undulatus), which are the most abundant lizard I see around my house. I hadn’t encountered one on my walk until I heard something rustling leaves beside the road and saw the one on the left perch on a fallen tree branch. A large skink (I think it’s a Broad-Headed) lives around the house, too, but it’s too quick for me to get a photo.

Other reptiles live close by, too. I stepped out the basement one day last week and almost stepped on this Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoletus). I watched it crawl up into the sweetshrub/ Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus). You can watch it here.

It pains me to think of this now, but I grew up catching lizards and “Horned Toads” in New Mexico, and we had a large tank with various turtles (and a caiman!) we had collected on trips around the state and the southeast. Now I am more of an advocate for nature, and the local Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) is one of my favorite animals. They are beautiful, and their long lifespans mean that I sometimes see the same ones year after year. Sadly, I occasionally find where one has been crushed by a careless driver, and I worry about the impact of trucks hauling supplies to the house under construction. (Read here to learn what to do when you see a turtle in the road.)

This year I was excited to see a small Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) in the little branch that runs through the Hollow. Unfortunately, it was down a steep bank, and I couldn’t get close enough for a better photo.

 

 

The Hollow is full of squirrels and chipmunks, and I occasionally see a rabbit. One mammal that most visitors want to see (from a distance) is a Black Bear (Ursus americanus); too bad no one but me was here when this one passed through the meadow last week! Watch! I was glad that the other critters had eaten all the food, so he didn’t find anything to tempt him to return!

You know, of course, about the deer and turkeys that come to eat in the meadow and may remember from earlier posts that the deer sometimes rest near the house to chew their cuds. (This fellow is back up there again today as I am writing this, and a turkey walked by as I was watching.)

The warmer weather has brought flies and other pests that bother the deer, and I noticed that one of the young bucks has “warts” (cutaneous fibromas). He’s not the first one I’ve seen with this condition, and I always hope the warts will be a deterrent to hunters later in the year. The pregnant does are beginning to “show,” and it won’t be long before I’ll be posting photos of fawns!

(The recent rains may have flooded the neighbors’ road, and the gate was open so they could use our road.)

 

I planned to write this yesterday afternoon, but an invitation to walk with friends meant I never had the time, so this is a day late. During my morning ramble yesterday, the many vibrant hues of the green leaves and the numerous white blossoms had me thinking of colors, and when I saw some red blooms, I was reminded of the flag of Mexico.

Spring is definitely here, although some days have felt more like summer. We’ve had plenty more rain since my last post, especially in April.

I guess the rain has been good for the plants. The greens and whites are all over, making the spots of yellow and purple stand out.

Some leaves, like the oak, are a muted red as they emerge. Fortunately, the red of the emerging poison ivy leaves give notice to avoid them!

The butterflies are plentiful and sometimes seem to keep me company as I walk. (I’ve even seen a few Monarchs!) For the most part, they are too quick and “fluttery” for me to get a photo, but occasionally they get busy enough feeding on a flower or getting minerals from puddles or gravel that I can get a shot. I have watched them in their courtship dances and once saw a couple actually mating (last photo).

I’m always surprised at how long it takes to edit and upload photos and then write. It’s already time to feed the deer (and turkeys and squirrels and rabbits). I have more photos and stories and will try to post again soon.