A BUGGY TIME OF THE YEAR

This hot, muggy, bug infested world that I live in today still finds me longing to venture out and observe nature, and write a new blog post on this fine Sunday morning.

I'm sitting on the bank of the now brown and muddy, swollen creek, near the forks not far from the cabin.  We received over 1 1/2" of rain last night and the water is rising.  I found a spot to nestle in among the tall grass and ferns, and am swatting mosquitoes right and left.

My pants are wet well up above my knee boots, from traipsing through the wet woods, but I don't mind.  The path I took on my journey here was strewn with overgrown alders, occasional spider webs, and deer flies adorning my head and shoulders.  If you think I am miserable, you are wrong, as my journey was well worth it.  When I reached the creek bank I saw my first Joe-pye weed flower of the summer.  As this season continues, Joe-pye weed blossoms will fill up the marshy areas and spread their sweet cinnamon like aroma my way and that is truly something to look forward to.

As I continue to swat bugs that surround me, the sounds of the forest are truly uplifting and song birds are singing everywhere.  A grasshopper perches on a nearby blade of grass while delicate little orange butterflies chase each other from grass top to grass top.  As I gaze above, I see a blue sky without any clouds while a remnant of the strawberry moon sinks toward the western horizon.

The sun is beating down on my black rubber boots and I can feel the heat penetrating through them to the tops of my feet.   It's time to look for some shade.   As I pack up my journal and pen to head for cooler parts, dragonflies zip quickly above the water's surface and seem to know just where they are going.

I'm not sure where I'm going, but it's time to move on, away from the sun and heat, and the bugs.  I'm not sure what the week ahead will bring me.  Last week, my counts were too low to receive my fifth dose of chemotherapy in this session.  If I can get a dose this week, it will be great, and another one will be done.  If I can't take the chemo it will be o.k. too because it will mean another week of reprieve.  Either way, I won't worry about it until the day comes and my lab work makes the decision.  The week ahead, according to the weatherman, promises cooler temps and lower humidity.  I can't wait!

O.k., I fibbed about not worrying.  But I'm trying hard to keep a positive spin on things and nature is great therapy for me.   Get outdoors yourself this week, and let some bugs perk you up too. Lightning bugs have been putting on some wonderful evening shows lately.  Not all bugs are evil!

ROBIN'S EGG BLUE - OPPORTUNITIES

This Sunday morning, cool, cloudy, and compatible with my way of thinking, I put on my La Crosse knee boots and trekked across Tom's Creek to a little high spot in the shady woods to journal.  In this spot I chose to ponder, I'm surrounded by a few large white oak trees and many white pines that are about 8' tall, too close together for good growth, but great cover for the whitetail deer.

On my walk here I spotted remnants on the trail of a robin's egg.  One piece of the beautiful blue eggshell, in particular, was being admired by an ant.  I think the ant wanted in the worst way to carry the treasure home with him.  High up in a tree nearby, a robin, worm hanging from it's beak, kept tweeting at me as if to say, "Don't come any closer.  I've got a nest nearby." 

Continuing on my short walk, a chipmunk popped his head up to stare at me beneath a pine tree and then quickly dashed away. 

As I waded across the now shallow creek I spotted fresh wolf tracks in the sand and snapped a picture.  This wolf was probably chasing fawns.  Now that the fawns are a few weeks old they can run quite fast; maybe they will be safe from the wolf.

Two geese have claimed residency around our pond now, after the loss of the gander who was nesting on eggs here several weeks ago.  At first this couple had four goslings but now they are down to two.  Snapping turtles could be the culprit in their case.

 

Opportunity, that's just it.  They're all looking for an opportunity; the ant, the robin, the chipmunk, the turtle, the wolf, and every living creature, actually.


I'm thankful that I've had another opportunity to write in my journal today and to admire the blue color of the robin's egg and all of nature that surrounds me.  There is nothing quite like it really, that beautiful blue color.  Don't take it all for granted!