Sun Salutation

I have shared a couple of pictures captured by the trail cameras on our family land. Here's one that made me smile and fired my imagination. 

Can't you just imagine this as an early morning vulture yoga class following their instructor (the one up in the tree on the left) in a sort of reverse sun salutation (since they're all facing away from the sunrise). Of course, humorous as that story line might be, it's not what's really happening. These birds are letting the sun burn off the dew that accumulated on their wings as they roosted through the night. The cameras caught several of these morning rituals, but this was my favorite. It just told the best story!

(You can see a larger version of the picture by clicking on it, if you want more detail.)

Mother, May I?

As I was taking my walk, I saw these two little cuties farther down the road waiting for their mom to give them the okay to cross the street (the one in the back gave me a glance to see what I was doing).

I heard the doe give them the chuff signal to stay put and they froze, but they were on high alert and anxious to get the go-ahead signal.

I was still pretty far down the street, but they remained still long enough for me to zoom in and get a couple of extra pictures.

Finally, they got permission and trotted across the street to join mom and disappear into the brush. 

It's always a treat to see these little sweeties - and twins! :)

 

'Round the Mulberry Bush

It's mulberry season and the trees are loaded with juicy berries. I know that some people hate these trees because they can be sort of messy (and they are, no question about it), but I tend to look at the bright side.

What is the bright side, you ask?? Mulberries on yogurt, mulberry cobbler, a fistful of mulberries to supercharge the walk (Baloo used to eat an incredible number of these every time we hit the trail during their season - he absolutely loved them), put them in your ice water for a little extra fruity flavor.... You get the idea - the possibilities are endless.

There are a couple trees out in the big field that are the white variety. Nobody picks them because they don't think that they're ripe. Yum.

Aren't they beautiful? I love the colors and it's not just the white, red, purple and green of the berries. The birds love these juicy treats, too, and add all their colors to the mix. 

This robin has taken advantage of the delicious bounty. Notice he looks a little bit harried - I'm guessing that he's feeding youngsters and they're keeping him on the hunt for goodies. Doesn't it look like he decided to take a short rest on the fence post before flying back into the fray?

The Lilies of the Pond

When I was a child, I had a book entitled Pond Life.  I can't tell you who the author or publisher might have been, and when I looked online to see if I could figure it out, I was presented with more than one option. In any event, it was a small field guide (or in this case, pond guide) describing the habitat, life cycles and other interesting facts about ponds and the flora and fauna living in, on and around them. It was a great little book. That small volume gave me an abiding appreciation for the amazing variety of living things that lurk in the shallows. I'll be doing a few posts about the pleasures of ponds....

The water lilies and also the yellow pond lilies are beautiful this time of year. These flowers were close to the observation deck, but just a little farther out from the edge there is obvious pressure being brought to bear (or muskrat) on these plants.

 

It turns out that muskrats love water lilies and pond lilies. This year, a successful and very happy family of muskrats has been merrily munching its way through what is usually a very lush carpet of leaves decorated lavishly with blossoms.  As a result, there are now large areas that have been reduced to a bunch of lily twigs sticking out of the water.

It's nothing to worry about. The lilies will undoubtedly recover and reclaim their rightful status as cover and protection for the underwater denizens of the marsh.

In the meantime, it's fun to watch these guys swim to and fro, devouring as they go - and I can honestly report that they have extremely hearty appetites. 

Baloo would have really loved this walk. He found muskrats endlessly fascinating and would sit quietly on the observation deck watching with rapt attention as they went about their appointed business.

Food Fight!

Way back on the 4th of July, I posted some pictures of  bald eagles captured by the wildlife cameras on our family land in honor of the day. I also said that there were some other pictures that might be coming later, because there were some really good ones. This is one of my all time favorites. 

A golden eagle and a bald eagle got into a sparring match over some of the offerings my brother and I brought for their consumption and the camera caught this amazing action. Obviously, this picture was taken during the winter, but I couldn't wait until the snow flies again to share it with you. You probably wouldn't have wanted me to, either, right?  

Oh, and by the way, in case you didn't know this already, you can click on the picture and it will show you a larger version, so you can see more detail - I think you might want to do that with this photo.

Oh, Baby!

The wetlands area where Baloo and I walked together many late afternoons or evenings is teeming with many interesting kinds of life, both flora and fauna.  And speaking of fauna...

... this quiet little creature was ensconced on the only little island in a very boggy patch, surrounded by croaking frogs and other water-loving things. 

It didn't budge a bit, but stayed right where its mother had parked it watching me cross the footbridge. 

I don't know whether Baloo would have noticed it or not, since the young fawns have no scent, but I felt very fortunate to see it taking its afternoon nap.

Mother's Favorite

No, I'm not getting into the whole issue of sibling rivalry here. I'm talking about birds. Specifically, my mother's favorite bird, which is a medium-sized warbler called the American Redstart. 

 

These busy little birds are really hard to photograph, since they rarely hold still long enough to get anything but a blur and these pictures aren't much better, but I did my best.  One can follow the distinctive song and figure out where they are, but they keep on the move hunting for bugs.  I got lucky enough to catch this fellow preening, so the markings are visible, even though his head is turned away.

 
One of the shady trails that Baloo and I took on warm, sunny days has these fellows serenading from every side. This one perched atop the very tallest branch in the area to belt out his territorial aria long enough for me to capture a photo or two. Of course, taking the picture against the brightness of the sky had its own set of drawbacks.

 

 

Still, it was fun to watch him singing and I can understand why my mother liked these winged musicians so much. Not only do they have beautiful markings, they have a very cheerful song and intrepid little spirits. 

This is the more usual way of spotting them, as just a glimpse of orange, black and white against the green foliage as they flash their bright tails to flush out bugs to catch. Maybe that's how they got their name - they startle the insects with that burst of red-orange feathers.

Baloo would have preferred the chipmunks, but he always put up with my fascination with less provocative creatures and waited patiently for me to finish with the camera (of course, he always got a cookie for waiting quietly, so perhaps that's no wonder). 

A Tiger by the Tail

Earlier this summer, blooming Dame's Rocket covered part of the yard at my family's homestead. I know that these flowers are non-native and invasive, but they do seem to be loved by many pollinators. These were also originally planted by my grandmother, so those two things make me smile when I see them, in spite of their invasive status. 

I got down in time to catch the tail end of the blooming, which attracted a huge number of  Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies. I enjoyed wandering around the yard admiring these winged beauties. The butterfly above is a male of the species. Isn't he a strikingly handsome fellow?

 

This one is a female. She's a little smaller, and a bit more muted than her male counterpart. There isn't as much contrast between the black and yellow, but can you see that she has some extra delightful coloration along the base and edges of her wings? There are lovely little blue and orange spots that I hope come through well enough on the picture.

 

Here's the underside. I love the fact that the butterfly's body also has the black and yellow stripes running lengthwise from one end to the other. The tiger name is so appropriate - they've taken the whole stripe theme to delightful heights.

Oh, Snap!

When Baloo died, I warned you that he would still appear on the blog from time to time. We had so many wonderful adventures together. And, no, I still haven't managed to take a walk without getting teary - I miss my trail buddy so very much.  I still take our favorite walks every day, but I frequently wonder what delights I might be missing with my dull, human senses, because he always pointed out interesting things along the way.

A sudden halt on the trail would often mean there was a discovery to be explored. On this occasion, it was a very small snapping turtle that had just emerged from the ground. 

Baloo tracked its trail back to the point where it had exited its nest before it started making tracks directly toward the shallow wetland lake just across the trail.

 
The car key gives some idea of relative size and I doubt that I would have noticed such a tiny spot on the ground without his magnificent nose to sniff it out for me.

I picked it up to look at the carapace. Those long toenails were pretty impressive, too.

 

Baloo didn't bother the turtle at all, he just brought it to my notice, as he did with so many interesting things. I'm trying to keep my eyes wide open for more discoveries, even though my vision can tend to be a little blurred while out walking these days.

 

Happy Independence Day!

The National Cherry Festival is in full swing again this year. It's great to see people out and having fun in the sun and out on the water. 

While I don't have any pictures of the Blue Angels or fireworks to share, since I missed the air show this year and the fireworks haven't happened yet, I did want to stop for a moment and recognize the day.  I tried to think of a good way to do that and I may have hit upon a solution.  On our family land, we have a couple of cameras mounted on trees, so we can see who has been coming and going.  We also tend to encourage certain visitors with snacks. My brother and I have been known to collect unfortunate creatures who have had the bad end of an encounter with an automobile and place them where they might be safely consumed by hungry animals who might otherwise repeat the sad automobile mishap situation while trying to have a little dinner at the side of the road. As a result, we have gotten some really nice (and sometimes dramatic) pictures.

 

I've saved a few of the better shots to share here on the blog or to use as carving inspiration (or both).

We always love to see the eagles come in to dine. They are so beautiful and majestic and since they are our national bird, I thought a few photos of these magnificent creatures might be a nice way to commemorate the day. 

Obviously, these were captured during the winter and spring, but these majestic birds are timeless wonders to cherish and protect.  Sort of like freedom and independence, don't you think?

Happy Independence Day!

Sly as a Fox

My brother shared these pictures with me from his recent fishing trip in the Upper Peninsula. A fox couple came to visit the camp where he was staying. 

The female, or vixen, was beautiful, with the standard coloring of a red fox. She had black legs and the telltale white tip to her tail.

Isn't she lovely? What a beautiful face. 

I'm sorry about the dustpan in the foreground, but I still had to include this picture - just look at that contented, happy face!

Her mate, the reynard, or male of the species, was quite handsome. His coloring was a little more unusual, with the black of the legs climbing all the way up on his hips and back.

Quite striking, don't you think? I also like the little patch of white at the base of his tail, as well as the white tip.

The really tricky bit?  It turns out that they are terribly fond of having small pieces of cheese (probably large pieces, too) tossed in their direction. This fellow was trying to catch one on the fly. 

Wasn't it clever of this pair to get the humans to share their cheese? Pretty sly!