On a Lifelong Journey to Learn my Place
While hiking to Indian River Falls and back yesterday, I learned what a red breasted sapsucker nest sounds like. On the way up, I had heard what I thought might be young birds begging for food, but I could not seem to locate where the sound was coming from and after a couple of minutes … Read more
I hiked from Harbor Mountain over to Gavan Hill and down Gavan Hill Trail to town last Monday and noticed many flowers in bloom along the way. Here is a list of the different ones I saw (most of which I was fairly confident about identifying). Ground dogwood (Cornus canadensis) Stream violet (Viola glabella) Clasping … Read more
While walking along Indian River trail yesterday, I noticed that many of the skunk cabbage plants looked like they had been cut off. At first I thought that maybe someone walking along the trail had done it, but it was so widespread, I began to suspect that maybe deer were doing it. I have heard … Read more
When it is as warm as it has been today, it’s easy to forget that spring has just started. Connor and I went for a hike up Indian River trail today. The alders and devil’s club are still bare while the salmonberries, blueberries and skunk cabbage are just starting to turn green. Even so, in … Read more
Connor and I hiked up to Beaver Lake today. Most of the lake still had a layer of ice on it, but there was open water along the edges. While we were there, I heard a dipper singing. I did not see it, but it sounded like it was coming from near the outlet stream. … Read more
I have seen both woodpeckers and sapsuckers around before. I also recall noticing small holes in tree bark where the birds have gone after sap or insects. However, yesterday while I was hiking up Indian River trail was the first time I had noticed just how numerous are the signs of their presence. I was … Read more