היומן של belled

It's about 7 am. Mother squirrel makes her way through the bushes, up a vine, and jumps to the branch that leads to the crotch of the tree that holds her nest. A moment after poking her head in, two smaller versions of her come out of the nest. She turns and heads back down, following the same route. The little ones behind her hesitate, try other routes to only find a dead ends, and, eventually, all are on the ground. Mother leads the way along the edge of the lawn, staying close to shrubbery and trees. For a moment, they disappear. Then the movement across the green shows their location. She is on the edge of the roof. A quick scurry over the ledge and down a window screen finds her on top of the air conditioner. After entering a hole in the mesh covering the AC, she sits on top. With a sudden leap she flies into a young tree. This tree is supple. She holds on as the branches sway back and forth with her weight. As the swaying slows, she makes her way down the tree and across the lawn. What next? Two little squirrel's head up the tree. I could almost hear them asking, "You sure we can't make it this way, mom? It looks a lot easier." But they find with no leverage to push off the soft branches and make the distance up to the AC, they'll have to follow the path shown to them. For the next twenty minutes, the kits practice: looking over the edge of the roof and estimating how to let go of it, while throwing themselves inward to catch a screen. Trusting they'll hold fast to a swaying branch after they leap into it. And trusting their mother as she leads them on to the next training.

Somewhere between 6:30 and 7:30 every morning for a couple weeks, a fox has walked past the back deck. It darts past, and back. It will dart around the outside edges of the green. I even see it one morning in the front of the building. And on another, on the other side of the fence, running near the apartment complexes retaining pond into the wooded area. Another resident a few buildings down says he saw it coming from the direction of the creek. I've walked along the creek. There are prints down that I can identify as "dog." I'm not familiar enough to identify fox from domestic. However, it would make sense that the fox is making a circle of the area. There is a small forested area between here and the gulf course. Maybe the fox has kits in a den there and each morning heads down to the creek and up through the condo buildings. There's lots of reasons to and over the next couple weeks, I think I may be right. The mother squirrel's babies go from four to two. There is a lone baby rabbit eating just off our deck every morning. There are three lone baby squirrels in front. Although, I witnessed the ravaging of their nest by a red-tailed hawk. Seeing them alone, I realize it was probably the mother that the hawk carried away. All those little songbirds tried so hard to shoo it away.
But, now there's no fox. Is it a balance? Has it headed off through the gulf course in order not to totally decimate the new spring population? Or, has it become a part of the food chain. My son suggests an owl. I look it up. That's actually possible, as are bears, wolves, badgers, eagles, and even humans.

Greening starts from the bottom. On my walk along the creek, the smallest plants began to raise themselves out of the moist spring earth: next to, and even in, the still water a hooded plant rises, on top of a small rise clumps of shoots begin to show, under the trees patches of violets begin to spread. It took a couple weeks before I started noticing green in higher than the forest floor. Next it was low growing bushes and canes with thorns. The trees started blossoming, but no leaves. The larger bushes and young trees are next. As of now, the large oaks and maples around the building still aren't leafing. It feels like an egalitarian economy. Is it possible that the larger plants, of which there are fewer, wait until the smaller plants have sufficient growth to absorb the needed chlorophyll once the larger plants leaves begin to create only dappled sunlight? Is it some kind of symbiotic relationship as the larger plants need the rich hummus of the smaller plants that decay each year?

This weekend we put together planters and filled them with flowers, herbs, and vegetables. A few platters of birdseed and the dogs hair clippings invited birds to the 9 X 15 area. I'm keeping my eyes open as I kick back in a chair for butterflies and bees to investigate the flowers. However, the birds seemed to have found us fast. Maybe we owe thanks to all the other backyard feeders. So far I've identified Rose-breasted Grosbeak, American goldfinch, woodpeckers, chickadees, chipping sparrow, robin, Baltimore oriole, tufted titmouse, house sparrow, and European Starling. The tall oaks right off our porches provide retreat spaces, as well as a spot to rest while they share their many songs.

Even the squirrel was taking it easy, letting its tail sway in the breeze as it hung from the cozy hole in the tree. The turtles were sunning. The fisherman were chatting too loud to catch the beaver in the nearby lodge. The stream was silent, except for water striders--and mold/fungus busy at work on a log in the water. I've come upon black top, cement, foundations, cellar holes, and fireplaces as I walked on the edge of the Holyoke Range. But today when I came across a gravestone for "Angel, 1983-1996" I was surprised and couldn't help when Stephen King crossed my mind. But, what a sweet resting place for a beloved pet.

Turtles take about five minutes to come back up out of the water after "darting" back into the depths upon your arrival.

Ant hills everywhere! Do I notice them more because of the sparse grass? Or is the grass sparse because of the ant hills? Is the ground this full of ant hills everywhere, hiding just beneath the cover of leaves and grass?

The baby robins have hatched. I won't risk taking anymore pictures. Momma gets quite upset. Last year I watched the parents collect a little white packet each time they brought food. It's basically the disposable diaper for baby birds--fecal sac.

So how are these all connected? The food chains of mold, bugs, turtles, fish, birds, etc. The trees shading and providing protection. And us humans...putting out plenty of food.