Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

Yesterday I saw my first snake within the yard.  It was lying in the grass and I was curious what kind it was.  Eventually I identified the two foot snake as the common garter snake.  I went back to the spot but by then it had disappeared.  I had never saw a garter snake before.  I knew about them but that was it.  It was my biggest discovery of the day.  I keep looking out for the large black snake but I have not seen it yet.  Maybe it does not live in that room anymore but I still keep my eyes open for it.  It was at least four feet long.

Tags: black snake, garter snake, grass, snakes
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My wife excitedly told me she saw from the kitchen window facing the backyard two bunnies chasing each other, going around the undergrowth.  I looked out the window and at first didn’t see any bunnies, but then two appeared, again chasing each other.  Later on, Momma Bunny appeared and decided to enjoy our grass nearby.  She was quite bigger than the other two.  The others must have been her kids.  I love watching cottontails from of (???) the window.

Tags: baby rabbits, bunnies, cottontails, grass, latest discovery, Momma Bunny, my wife, out the window, rabbits
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Every time I glance out the front window I await the entrance of the first hummingbird.  I just put out nectar the other day for it.  In the past, the first one of the season came by the end of April so I know it could come any day now.

Yesterday (or the day before) I saw three cottontails munching on the grass viewed from the back window.  I never saw three at one time so I was thrilled.  Now every time I look out into the backyard I am looking for those three bunnies.

Nature has a way of surprising you:  when you least expect it, there it is another surprise.  It may be a northern mockingbird (you have never seen before in the yard) or some totally other different sight like the large orange salamander that we spotted twice.  Somewhere in back near the creek lives a large box turtle.  You never know and all you can do is live and view life with an expectant attitude.

Tags: April, bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, box turtle, bunnies, cottontails, creek, expectant attitude, front window, grass, hummingbird, life, nature, nectar, northern mockingbird, orange salamander, rabbits, seasons, spring, surprise
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I noticed the small pine tree in the pot outside near the driveway.  It was only three inches tall.  I wanted to transplant it on my property–somewhere I would remember and see how big it grew.  And then remember how small it once was.

All trees were once seeds strewn in the wind.  This property bought by my wife almost thirty years ago was barren and now the bushes are gigantic and woods and grass and trees are all over.  The land surrounding the house is no longer bare.

I wanted to see how much time the Lord afforded me.  I wanted to observe this small pine growing up and see if I could remember when it was this small.  At the beginning of the twentieth century the United States was denuded of much of its forests.

And they grew back.  I wanted to see how much time I would have.  I want to watch this small tree grow tall.

Tags: bushes, forests, God, grass, how much time we have, my wife, our house, pine tree, the Lord, the wind, tree seeds, trees, twentieth century, United States, want to watch the small tree grow, woods
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I was looking out my back door window and just thinking.  A large section of our front yard no longer has grass and for a short time my wife was considering laying down sod.  I really do not care.  I always felt American’s obsession with having a large neatly manicured lawn was and is an exercise in futility.  I want a garden not a lawn.  In fact, a landscaper is going to help us with developing that.

The back yard is another story:  most of it is wild.  Toads appear at our doorstep every year–all sizes from tiny to humongous.  They are attracted to the bugs that come to the porch light.

There is a small creek in the back–most of the time just a trickle. You never know when a box turtle will appear.  We also saw wonderfully orange colored salamanders at least twice.  Rabbits play in the undergrowth.

I do not want to cultivate this area.  I love not knowing what I will see next, what unusual bird or whatever comes my way.

I love the wild.  It gives me a sense of the mysterious, the unknown, a feeling I love.  That is why I won’t cultivate the back of our property.

Last year after living here for over four years, to my delight and amazement I discovered a large patch of wild raspberries on the far corner of my property.  And I love raspberries.  I even picked enough berries for two pies.

I do not know exactly what lives there but I am always expectant when I peer out my kitchen window wondering what will come along next.  It is out of my control.  That is the way I want it.  This is one plot of land that will grow wild.  I rejoice in it.

Tags: bird-watching, birds, box turtle, bugs, creek, exercise in futility, garden, God, grass, landscape, lawn, manicured lawn, my wife, nature, rabbit, raspberries, raspberry pie, salamander, the unknown, toads, wild, wild land, wildlife
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