The Bear Went Over the Mountain
But first, Gandy had a play date with the cute little bear cub. It was the scenario we dreaded for 15 summers, prepared for–once upon a time–but figured would never really happen in real life as we know it. So…
Category Outdoors
Herptile Rehousing Administration
I know for a fact that this is the kind of thing that gives far too many people the creeps, and so I understand and accept my eccentricity in this regard. Looking up to see the five foot long black…
Where the Wild Things Are
I quickly pulled down the binoculars from the peg on the wall in the hallway to be sure. I fumbled with the focus, knowing any animal might quickly disappear into the woods. There it is: coyote. When I first notice…
Got Wood, Coming and Going
Yesterday, a good balance was struck between indoor and outdoor projects. Finally, an alignment of stars that put into the same day a bit of sunshine (with bitter winds, of course) AND a working chain saw. Add to that concurrence…
FloydFest Outdoors!
I confess I did not know that the FloydFest Outdoors tent existed. I think it only came into being last year. It evolved with the realization that many visitors come to the area for the music, but that at least…
Self-inflicted Field Photo
Well this is one day I plan to watch go by from inside. I have three days worth of firewood on the porch, a few assorted meal remnants in the fridge, a brew or two in the pantry that can…
Oh Death, Where is Thy Sting?
As a follow-up to the recent Press piece and blog post about the state of the honeybee: Someone in church had read about the topic in my column. He had one hive. All his bees disappeared without a trace, he…
DOA a Deer
A young man–a late teen-ager, stopped his car in our drive and left the motor running. He approached the house and I went out to see what he wanted. He introduced himself and explained he was looking for a place to…
Widgets, Gadgets, GeeJaws and Thingies
Another day, another way to share my where. As I say in an upcoming essay, we are increasingly becoming Homo photographicus. This morning, for a buck from the App Store, I downloaded the 360 panorama app I was so eager…
They Move Downstream So Quickly, Don’t They?
We watched our creeks slowly dwindle since mid-May. I wondered if, come the heat of summer, we would have enough flow in Goose Creek to water the garden, while Ann’s worry was would there be enough water in them for…
Wood If I Only Could
Time was, I spent much of my winter with a chain saw, searching out downed and dead trees, windfall along the road, and more recently, what I call “sissy wood” along the creek: witch hazel and spicebush that’s easy to…
Luminous Ascension of Souls: Fireflies Rising
july2010_fireflies The grand daughters from South Dakota got to experience the fireflies of summer on Goose Creek last week. I doubt they will ever forget it. I only wish, in describing my version of the experience, you could smell and…
Thank God I’m a Country Girl
From: A Letter Home from the Family Farm “…We took a long walk yesterday. We went a long way. Skipper went with us and he doesn’t need a leash. Grampa told me about him being a boy here when they…
God’s Monstrosity: the Ichneumonid Wasp
My apologies: this is one of the most interesting bad photographs I’ve ever taken–a female ichneumonid wasp using her 4″ ovipositor to lay an egg deep inside a piece of our firewood. Unfortunately, it found her in action at 8:30…