the peace of wild things

We moved to the country for many reasons. We wanted privacy, quiet, security, room for our dogs to roam and romp..and the simple beauty of living where the world is slightly less tame, and slightly more wild.

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We've found all that and more here on Moss Hill, and although most of what happens here - at least most of what we witness - isn't particularly spectacular, and is, in fact, really quite routine, the wonder of it all never ceases to delight and amaze.

Quail scurry around  - looking rather idiotic - eating the bits thrown from the bird feeder by messier birds. Deer pass through every evening, always along the same path at the edge of the yard. Hummingbirds swoop and flitter around the feeders, fueling their mania with sugar water.

Under cover of darkness, tree frogs swim in the pool, and climb onto our outstretched hands if we're in the water with them. One of them has taken up temporary residence on the porch, singing from the rim of the fountain in the evenings, and sleeping in the now-empty pollywog pool during the day. (Did I tell you about the pollywogs?...We raised a dozen or so in a habitat I put together using an under-bed storage tote, sand, rocks, and water. They all grew up over the course of the summer, some into toads, others into tree frogs. The last one moved out yesterday.)

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Bats soar and dive at dusk and dawn...Last week I lay down in the grass at sunrise as a whole cloud of bats fluttered and plummeted to within a few feet of my face, catching their breakfast of insects rising up from the warming grass. I had to hold my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out, it was so thrilling. My equivalent of swimming with dolphins, I think.

I know these things are commonplace, but to me they'll never be ordinary. This humble world of hours is a marvelous place, and I, for one, am madly in love with it.

Property of Russ Thompson, Louisville KY
Visit Enjoyable Hummingbirds to see more.

THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

When despair for the world grows in me, 

and I wake in the night at the least sound 

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be - 

I go and lie down where the wood drake 

rests in his beauty on the water, 

and the great heron feeds. 

I come into the peace of wild things 

who do not tax their lives with forethought or grief. 

I come into the presence of still water. 

And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. 

For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

~ Wendell Berry

http://confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com/

blunder into fantasy

Remember to look around today. Stop for a minute, and look up, or down, or out...

This world is indeed a strange and wonderful place.

To be matter-of-fact about the world is to blunder into fantasy 

- and dull fantasy at that, 

as the real world is strange and wonderful. 

~ Robert A. Heinlein 

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on a fine day

I was scraping frost from my windshield last week, but tomorrow it's to be 90 degrees. It's time to start living outdoors again. Let's get inspired, shall we?

 See the hanging bed in the background of this picture, above? I want one! More on that later...

To sit in the shade on a fine day

 and look upon verdure 

is the most perfect refreshment. 

 ~Jane Austen

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cares will drop off like autumn leaves

Today we hung the hammock. First we tried it on the porch, but it just wasn't right. Then I took it down and hung it from two trees at the edge of the yard, and I love it there - it's in the shade, it's away from the house - but I can't do what I really wanted to do with it, which is pile it high with comforters and pillows and make a nest to enjoy in all kinds of weather. Tomorrow I may move it back to the porch. Or maybe we need two?

This post, from the blog Catch Joy As It Flies By, is exactly how I want my relationship with my hammock to be. (Yes, I said relationship. With my hammock. What?! That's not weird! ... You are!)

Sorry, I digress. As usual.

Anyway, look at these - if you could only have one, where would you want it? Under cover? In the wild? The garden? The house? Sun or shade?

catchjoyasitfliesby.blogspot.com

mouse over images for source

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you 

as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, 

and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. 

~  John Muir

http://confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com/

little moments

Holy shit, living in the country is never dull! The dogs spotted this flock out the window this afternoon. Click on the image for a closer look...

From allaboutbirds.org:

• A native of North America, the turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is one of only two domesticated birds originating in the New World. The Muscovy Duck is the other.
• European explorers took Wild Turkeys to Europe from Mexico in the early 1500s. They were so successfully domesticated in Europe that English colonists brought them back with them when they settled on the Atlantic Coast. The domestic form has retained the white tail tip of the original Mexican subspecies, and that character can be used to distinguish wandering barnyard birds from wild turkeys which have chestnut-brown tail tips.
• The male Wild Turkey provides no parental care. When the eggs hatch, the chicks follow the female. She feeds them for a few days, but they quickly learn to feed themselves. Several hens and their broods may join up into bands of more than 30 birds. Winter groups have been seen to exceed 200.

From wikipedia.org:

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  Wild Turkeys are omnivorous, foraging on the ground or climbing shrubs and small trees to feed. They prefer eating hard mast such asacorns, nuts, and various trees, including hazel, chestnut, hickory, and pinyon pine as well as various seeds, berries such as juniper and bearberry, roots and insects. Turkeys also occasionally consume amphibians and small reptiles such as newts and snakes. Poults have been observed eating insects, berries, and seeds. Wild Turkeys often feed in cow pastures. They sometimes visit backyard bird feeders to search for seed on the ground or in rare cases croplands after harvest to pick at the detritus left over from a threshing machine on farms. Turkeys are also known to eat a wide variety of grasses.

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    Turkey populations can reach large numbers in small areas because of their ability to forage for different types of food. Early morning and late afternoon are the desired times for eating.

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The little things? The little moments? 
They aren't little.
-  John Zabat-Zinn

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complex and clever

A friend came upon a coyote in the woods today,  crouched down and guarding a meal not meant for him. The beast did not want to relinquish his prize; the man retreated, then returned, shouting, "Go on, get away!" With a baleful glare, the coyote slowly turned, then vanished into the trees. My friend was frightened - a rare occurrence - and wonders if he really won that battle. He says he felt himself watched as he left the woods, and dreads returning.

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The coyote is formally known as Canis latrans, with the English word coming from the Spanish; Spanish conquistadors borrowed the word from the Nahuatl coyotl. Coyotes play an important role in the mythology of many Native American nations, where the coyote is often depicted as a trickster god. Coyote legends often include complex and clever shenanigans and tricks in which an anthropomorphized Coyote pulls the wool over everyone's eyes.

Coyotes look a lot like dogs, with brownish-gray to yellow-gray fur and a classic canine profile. They are also extremely bold, and very clever. Coyotes are famous for being heard and not seen, with a wide array of vocalizations including yips and howls which are often included in Westerns for ambiance. However, these canids are also extremely bold, and they are typically unafraid of people when they encounter them. from www.wisegeek.com

flickr.com/photos/dcartiersr

I can't say why that story and these images go together, but they do. Can you figure it out? If so, will you explain it to me?

photos: codeforsomething.com, younggalleryphoto.com, via alifesdesign.blogspot.com,

maygrey.tumblr.com, simonbrownphotography.com (x4)

"The interval between the decay of the old and the formation and establishment of the new constitutes a period of transition which must always necessarily be one of uncertainty, confusion, error, and wild and fierce fanaticism."  - John C. Calhoun

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