ICE OUT!

Last evening, with a little bit of ice still left on the pond.

It's a cause for celebration, a sure sign of spring... or better yet, a sign that winter has passed.  There will be no more ice skating, ice fishing, or strolls across the pond for a long time.  Yippee!  Today the last bit of ice on the southwest edge of the pond has melted.

ICE OUT!  This evening!

This evening as we sit and watch the sunset in Bonita Bay on the bistro bench, the world is full of sounds.  Birds are singing in every corner of the woods.  A sandhill crane sails across the sky giving his prehistoric like call.  Red-winged blackbirds sing atop the trees along with robins and cooing mourning doves.

Canadian geese have returned to the pond and are starting to lay their eggs in the exact same spot as last year.  One egg from last spring never hatched and we left it sit there in the grass - but today it was gone.  Perhaps the geese pushed the old egg into the pond to make way for their new ones.

Melting of the pond ice is a slow process as we wait each spring from day to day while warmer temps and winds slowly open it back up again.  The pond has had ice on it for about four and a half months, from last November until today.  It's just a normal part of our Wisconsin winters, and saying goodbye to the ice is something we look forward to each year in March or April.

Now we can once again experience the reflection of sunsets on the water and see the swirls created by fish swimming near the surface.  Soon turtles will be popping their heads out of the water and the frogs will start singing.  I can't wait for the frogs!  But today it's ICE OUT!  It's a grand day!

Muskrats celebrating ICE OUT this evening!

ON THE BISTRO BENCH

I'm sitting on our bistro bench out by the pond tonight watching and listening.  There's still some ice on the pond, but it's fading fast.  It's mostly overcast this evening but I can see the sun setting as it peaks through the clouds.  It's not late enough to be "pretty in pink" yet, but the sky is still beautiful.

I can hear the red winged blackbirds singing their pretty trilling songs, perched in the trees on the far edges of the pond.  They made their welcome return last week as did the geese, sandhill cranes, and robins.  We've had one snow on the robin's back so there should only be two more snows left.  Ha ha!

I love the old stems and seeds from the hardhack flowers left over from last year that stand on the pond's edges in front of me.  It will be a few months before they come alive again with green leaves and lavender flowers but I don't mind waiting, because I love spring.  I've decided that spring and fall are my favorite seasons because I don't like it too hot and I don't like it too cold anymore, either.

If you think spring is brown, dead, and yucky, think again.  With the trees yet so bare you can see far and wide and if you look hard enough you can notice things left over from last year... like baltimore oriole's nests, pine cones, leaves on the white oak trees, and acorns the deer and squirrels still haven't found.

A few acorns are beginning to split and think about sprouting.  Pussy willows are starting to appear in wet places.  Buds on the alders and trees from last year are filled with hope for a new beginning.

I can hear the mourning doves cooing now as the sun is almost gone and a spring storm is on the way.  I'm going to sit here on the bistro bench and wait until it's almost dark, take it all in, and appreciate the world around me, and think of those who don't have the chance to.

I LOVE YOU, DAD

It was a grand day to take a leisurely walk in the woods this past Sunday and my hubby decided he wanted to hike on a trail down a road where the wolves have been causing havoc lately.  He wanted to see where a trail connected up to another trail, guy stuff, and I was excited to go with him and see a new woods I'd not seen before.  I filled my little backpack with my water bottle and camera and off we went. 

When we reached our supposed
destination for the beginning of our hike, leaving our vehicle along the town road, the first thing we came upon left me with a bit of hesitation.  But then that prior statement came to mind about me not being afraid of wolves and so I was not afraid of them.  I am determined not to let wolves stop me from enjoying the outdoors.  

After walking quite a distance I began to tire out.  When we came to a "Y" in the trail my husband told me to rest while he checked out the trail to the left, so I sat down to fend for myself.   Thankfully, he returned in a short time, and then we both decided to take the trail to the right just to see what was up and around the bend.  There is something about a trail in the woods you know, something that peaks one's curiosity and calls your name out to journey up or down it just... a little bit farther.  

We came upon an interesting oak tree with letters "SP" painted on the base and an old remnant of the letter "S" about five feet off the ground.  And someone long ago left a souvenir now embedded in between the trees as they passed their time here.

You have to look really hard to see the "S" near the top of the photo.  If only the tree could talk I'm sure it would have many stories to tell of hunting days from the past and all the wild and wooly creatures that strolled by, like the two of us this past Sunday.

We headed back toward the town road after my hubby was somewhat satisfied with finding the trails he was looking for.  The day was warm with temps in the 60's and nearly all of our winter snow had melted.  As we neared the car we spotted a piece of shiny blue paper crumpled up on the ground on the trail.  We picked it up and smoothed it out to read the words, my photo doesn't show them very well... words that someone had written on this balloon that drifted for miles and was never intended to land in a woods filled with wolves.  Under a sketch of a park bench the words were written with a black magic marker, "I love you, Dad"

Yeah, I do love you Dad, and I miss you!  What would you think of the return of the timber wolf to Wisconsin?



Rest in Peace, Dad  (9.29.1917 - 9.29.1987)

MARCH SPRING THOUGHTS

Spring has sprung early.  This is what many of us have waited for with temperatures this week in the 50's.  What little snow we've had this winter is quickly disappearing, leaving thoughts of spring on our doorsteps.  This is the kind of weather that gives us spring fever.  And just what is that?

I would best describe spring fever as a kind of achy feeling that hits you right in the gut.  It brings out a longing for something you've been missing and it rekindles the hope of being able to enjoy the outdoors in comfort, without a winter coat.  Spring fever can be activated by a little warm breeze and sunshine and leaves you with a longing for wild flowers, sandhill cranes flying overhead, apple blossoms, pussy willows, green grass, or green anything. 

Today I'm sitting by my favorite oak tree north of Tom's Creek.  I'm celebrating the sure arrival of spring with a bug crawling on my journal in this now snowless woods that surrounds me, and I'm celebrating life!  I hope you are too.

So often I feel frightened, anxious, leery - but right now I feel wonderful and I plan to bottle up these current emotions and save them for a rainy day.  Right now I need one of those big old glass water bottles, the kind people save pennies in.  It's a grand day!

Isn't it amazing what a little spell of March warm weather can do!

MY BROTHER'S JANUARY BEAR STORY

This is not my story to tell, but my brother's.  He was kind enough to let me share it with you and I think you'll enjoy it.  It's all true.

Several years ago my brother, Lynn, was coyote hunting in the middle of January not far from home.  It was an extremely cold day when he headed out that morning at 15 degrees below zero.  Lynn was looking for coyote tracks in the snow on Cherry Avenue when he spotted bear tracks instead.  Generally bears are in full hibernation during January in Wisconsin, so he was puzzled.

Lynn followed the bear tracks a short distance which led him to the base of a large white pine tree.  When he looked up, high in the pine's branches sat a young adult black bear.  My brother felt a bit sorry for the bear who should have been sleeping, but instead found itself sitting in a tree, fully exposed to the elements.


As Lynn walked back to the road, he questioned over and over in his mind what could have forced that bear to be out and about on such a cold winter day.  He decided to back track the bear tracks in the snow from the road where he first noticed them.  The tracks led to a sort of nest, made of pulled up leaves and grass right on top of the ground, where the bear had apparently been sleeping.  Normally a traditional bear den might be under tree roots, or in some kind of hole in the ground.

The snow was covered with wolf tracks all around the bear nest and a few drops of blood were scattered here and there.  Wolves, it appeared, had roused the bear from it's sleep and even nipped at it a bit.  Wolves have been known to drag bear cubs out of dens in winter time and eat them.  This bear was perhaps a little too big for them to tackle, but the wolves tested it and forced it to flee to the quickest refuge it could find, the white pine tree.

A week later, Lynn walked back to the now empty pine where he spotted the bear and traced it's tracks away from the tree to a culvert along a little woods road.  Much to his surprise he found the bear sleeping inside the damp culvert with no protection, just fur against rusty metal, with moisture in the bottom.  He guessed the bear took refuge in this less than perfect spot simply because it was handy.   The groggy critter opened his eyes a little, not fully awakened as Lynn's camera snapped a picture.

Feeling sorry for the displaced bear, Lynn hauled some baled hay on a sled back to the culvert.  He pushed hay inside it, covering up both ends, so the bear would have more protection and warmth.

A few days later Lynn went back again to check on his bear friend and found that it had pulled the hay from both ends of the culvert further inside to make it's resting place more comfy.  There were many weeks of winter left before it was time to really wake up.

In early spring when the snows began to thaw and creeks started to flow again Lynn went back to look in the culvert and found it empty.  The bear had moved on and was more than ready for warmer days, a bite to eat, and hopefully no more wolves on it's heels.





It's amazing what one can see if we open our eyes and notice what surrounds us.  My brothers and sister share a love of nature with me, and for this I am so thankful.