7:30ish PM, EST -- kids are tucked into bed, i wash you dry dinner dishes, sweep the wooden floor free of crumbs, house is quiet, western light fades from the windows, shadows settle into the corners. I grab my camera, pull on my black mud boots and head into the woods for some adventure. I'm greeted by a repetitive, dull thud as soon as I step from the pasture into the woods. I freeze and look for the source of the sound... then, I see her -- a female pileated woodpecker pecking away at a gray, gnarled hollow tree stump looking for her supper. I stand still making shallow breath, fixated on the quick flashes of her red plumes back and forth... until she notices I am there and flies away deeper into the forest.
This is the perfect time to be alone in the woods -- I feel peace and also a thrill in experiencing the mystery of the forest as it quiets and succumbs to darkness. The nocturnal animals are beginning to gently stir the leaves on the ground and the branches of the trees. A mallard duck flies overhead, home towards the river as I happen upon glorious clusters of fluffy, tender green ferns swaying together in the wind. Standing amidst them I gather stories to tell you later as we lie awake in the dark.
But I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was found...
...and there they were, buzzing in my ears and biting at my bare arms and the back of my neck. I stayed as long as I could stand those skeeters feeding on me and then made a mad dash in my knee-high rubber boots towards home. But not without a few treasures...
Sharing:
I just can't get enough of these boys -- try not to smile, stomp your foot or sway back and forth as you listen. Betcha can't:)
