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

It must be the height of the wild raspberry season.  I just picked another bowlful.  I won’t pick any more.  I will let other creatures (and others) pick the remainder.  Lynelle all ready baked two pies–one we froze.  They are a real treat and the bushes are walking distance.  Maybe my other will bake another pie and we will give this one away.  The season is so short.  The wild blackberry season is next–a few more weeks.  During one season near the end I discovered a patch deep in the woods hard to get to.  There are so many briars.  I will have all the blackberries I want if I fight my way through all the thorns.  Something else to look forward to–my wife’s blackberry pies.  Another treat.  Soon to come.

Tags: berry season, blackberries, blackberry pie, briars, deep woods, dessert, food, my wife, picking wild berries, pies, raspberry pie, season, thorns, wild blackberry, wild raspberry, woods
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You never know what creatures you will see around my house.  Last week I flushed a deer in the woods out back.  It must have been drinking water from the tiny creek there.  It is not unusual to see deer in the area although that was the first time I spotted one in our yard.

A few days ago I moved my mower which was on our front porch and a two inch black toad hopped away and disappeared into a crack between the porch and wall.  I had never seen one that color before although I have seen many toads of all sizes on our porch that are attracted by the bugs the porch light brings.

Just today I saw a chipmunk on the limb six feet up on a branch of our white pine viewed from (???) of our living room.  Usually he is only seen scurrying on the ground helping himself to the bird seed scattered on the ground.  I know they can climb but that was an unusual spot to see him.  You never know what animal you are going to see.  We live on the edge of the countryside.

Tags: animals, bird seed, black toad, bugs, chipmunk, countryside, creatures, creek, deer, edge of countryside, porch light, toads, white pine tree, wildlife, woods
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Yesterday Lynelle excitedly pointed out a ring necked pheasant across the street.  I had never seen one from my house.  We watched it cross the street and disappear into our woods.  A little over a mile away there is a state game land where they stock ring neck pheasants for the hunters.  I considered the sighting “serendipity”.  It was a bird I never expected to see in this immediate area.  It made my day.

Tags: bird I never saw before, bird-watching, birds, made my day, my wife, ring necked pheasant, serendipity, state game land, woods
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I took the back country road to see what I could flush that early morning. I was not disappointed. I saw a flock of wild turkeys in the distance–maybe an hundred yards away–and they scurried into the woods from the open field where they were feeding.

There must have been about a dozen although I was not able to get an exact count on them. I never know what I will see on that road. Yesterday I flushed eight deer–one flock of six and another two.

It was eight o’clock in the morning today. Yesterday was seven in the morning when I spotted the deer. I always love driving on this road. To me, it is always amazing how wild creatures co-exist with humans. They, though, never lose their wariness.

Tags: back country road, bird-watching, birds, early morning, eight deer, flock of wild turkeys, open field, wild creatures, woods
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I resisted the temptation to bolt. It was seventy-seven degrees outside–a touch of summer. I thought I’d go out and drive to the River. I then decided rather to walk around my property to see what I could observe.

The little creek in the back was almost dry. I really do not know where our toads that appear at our front door come from. Where do the polliwogs swim?

I noticed a patch of yellow and white daffodils in the middle of the woods. The white ones were a larger variety. Whatever possessed someone to plant them there.

I turned over an ten by six inch long moss covered log hoping to spot a salamander but no luck. Twice over the years we discovered four inch long orange colored salamanders in the yard.  I know so little about them.

I noted two white hyacinths were blooming and I dropped to the ground to smell them. I had always loved their fragrance.

The raspberry and blackberry bushes were just starting to sprout. It will still be awhile until the white flowers come.  And even longer before I pick the berries.

Then Lynelle will bake scrumptious berry pies that simply got gobbled up almost as fast as they are baked.

I wondered whether the Black eyed Susans which my wife planted along our hundred foot long picket fence will come up.  I thought they would look neat there.  It remain to be seen.

Every thing in its own time.  I returned to our house.  I will go out again but will not travel by car anywhere and see again what I could observe in my own backyard.

Tags: berries, berry pies, black-eyed susan's, blackberry bushes, daffodils, flowers, in my own backyard, little creek, nature, orange salamander, picket fence, polliwogs, raspberry bushes, river, salamander, toads, touch of summer, white hyacinths, woods
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Every time I glance out my kitchen window onto the backyard and woods I am awed.  There is mystery there. Toads, turtles and cottontails live back there.  And I do not know what else.

Today everything is white and there is calm.  The snow is falling.  If I look carefully, I often see birds alight on some of the bushes.  It is wild back there.

Two summers ago I discovered a large raspberry patch in the corner of my property.  My wife made at least two pies from the berries I picked that year.

I love looking at the symmetry of the trees, how they placed themselves.  I know there is a higher power.  And every time I look at (???) that window I am assured of that fact.

There is a tiny creek back there which sometimes goes dry but the gully it created is at least six inches tall so it has been there for awhile.

Every once in a while I tramp around never certain what I will find.  I love surprises although they generally occur when I am not looking for them.  It is a piece of our property I love. I never know exactly what I will find.

It is wild and I want to keep it that way.  I hate manicured lawns.  I do not know why people are so proud of them.  And work so hard to keep them that way.  To me, it is an exercise in futility. I certainly don’t envy their neat lawns. I just love looking out my window.

Tags: awe, bird-watching, birds, cottontails, creek, exercise in futility, God, higher power, manicured lawns, my back yard, my wife, mystery, raspberry patch, raspberry pie, snow is falling, toads, trees, turtles, wildlife, woods
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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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This is the second day in a row I heard the distinct wild cackle of a piliated woodpecker.  I strained to spot it in the woods across from me but no luck.  In eight years I have only seen one three or four times.

The first time I spotted a really large bird alight on a stump eighty yards away.  I quickly ran in the house to grab my binoculars and then was able to identify it.  It is an over twelve inch high exotic looking bird with a red crest.

They have somewhat come back for the woods have grown back.  I don’t know why it was so important for me to actually see the bird but it was.  Nevertheless, I was thrilled to hear its call and know it was in the neighborhood again.

Tags: binoculars, bird-watching, birds, exotic looking bird, large bird, piliated woodpecker, red crest, tree stump, wild bird cackle, woods
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The grass is not greener elsewhere.  It is so tempting to believe that but it is not.  Sometimes paradise is right in front of you.  This year I discovered a large raspberry patch within an hundred yards on the street I live on the edge of some woods.

This was to be the second year I was going to pick raspberries in a patch I discovered last year on my property.  And then I discovered this patch.  I did not know who the owners were.  The berries were wild.  I picked enough at the new patch for at least two pies.

It amazed me I never noticed that patch before.  It was ten feet in from the road and I happened to notice it when my dog was sniffing around there.  What else am I missing right under my feet?

I was going home from church and took the long way because the land was wilder and I never knew what wildlife I would see from this road.

I was not disappointed this time:  I flushed a dozen wild turkey hens.  I do see wild turkey around here but I had never seen so many at one time.  I was thrilled to say the least.

I never know for sure what discovery I will make next time.  We have thousands of books between us and there is an universe in each of them so I have no need to travel too far to explore the next universes.

And that does not even include universe after universe in my music– thousands of LP’s, cassettes and CD’s.

I never run out of things to explore.  I do not have to go to far but don’t get me wrong I do enjoy traveling once in a while.  I just don’t feel I have to.

Tags: animals, books, cassette, CD, church, discovery, dogs, explore, grass is not greener, LP, music, nature, paradise, pets, raspberry patch, raspberry pie, right under my feet, travel, universe after universe, wild berries, wild turkey hen, wildlife, woods
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A Carolina wren had made its nest in a pansy pot hanging from the garage door.  The nest faced the inside of the garage.  I spied the birds repeatedly getting and bringing pieces of suet to their young.  I stood below the nest and still could not hear the young.  A while back I had shined a flashlight into the nest and spotted three eggs in it.

Today when I opened the garage door I flushed two young wrens out of the nest and they half flew, half ran into my very disordered, cluttered garage.  Their parents were squawking very excitedly nearby.  I left the door open so eventually the two birds would find their way out.

I did see one bird against the far wall, then flapping near the entrance of the garage door.  I assumed it got out.

Then I had another encounter with another local denizen later on.  I could not understand why all of a sudden six cats were congregating near the computer.  Suddenly I spied a small mouse trying to evade their grasp.  I quickly trapped it with two sneakers and released it outside near the woods.  It must have been terrified for I checked the sneaker an hour later and it still was in there.  I encouraged it to run into the woods.  These were my two encounters with the creatures around my house.

Tags: baby birds, bird's nest, birds, birds eggs, Carolina wren, cats, computer, creatures in my house, flower pot, garage, mouse, pansies, pets, six cats, small creatures, sneaker, suet, woods, wrens
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I get so absorbed in the beginning of the day I simply do not notice the birds coming to my feeders.  In the first few hours I am waking up.  I really do not know what happens to me the first hours of the morning.

I am very focused in the beginning and can’t relax.  I make my daily trip to the post office, spray their fern, check my box.  There are always the pets I have to take care of:  we have a menagerie–eight cats and four dogs.  The dogs are always eager to go out and do their thing in the yard and they are none too shy about telling me.

At some point, my concentration switches.  I have done the most pressing tasks and can relax a bit.

I did notice some others things earlier:  I forgot that in the middle of the woods someone once planted a clump of daffodils.  I noticed that they were white and also a larger variety unlike the others in our yard.

I also noted that the blackberry and raspberry bushes had new growth (I can not tell them apart this time of the year).  I was thrilled to notice that.  In June and July I will be picking raspberries and blackberries respectively.  I can’t wait.  The only downside, I attract ticks picking berries and they gross me out when I discover one on me.  I just want to get rid of them as quickly as possible.  My wife always wants to gently release them in our yard.

I still remember once last summer discovering seven ticks on me after one berry picking expedition and frantically shook them off of me.  This year I plan to put repellent on me and expose as little skin as I can when I pick the berries.

My wife made several pies last year and I can’t wait to taste another one.  I absolutely love blackberry and raspberry pies.  Last year at the end of the season I accidentally discovered a gigantic patch of blackberries I did not know was there.  I was trying to reach some berries and had gone further into the woods than I had ever gone and there it was.  I will have to fight my way through a wall of briers but I will have more blackberries than I can ever pick.  This time I will freeze some and give away more pies.  Of course my wife will have to bake them.

To get back to the birds, who I do not see right away when I get up, sometimes I am not really here and I am in some different place and at some different time.  It might take a few hours to settle down in the present and do nothing for awhile.  Then I will notice the birds who come in a steady stream all day.  I just have to slow down.  And do nothing.  For awhile.

Tags: berry bushes, bird-feeders, bird-watching, birds, blackberries, blackberry pie, cats, daffodils, deer-tick, dogs, eight cats, flowers, four dogs, my wife, pets, pies, plants, post office, raspberries, raspberry pie, ticks, woods
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