woods « Glutton for Life

Woodland Wonders

4.27.11

iphotos by gluttonforlife

A-foraging I went and I didn’t find one thing I was hoping for. No morels, no edible fiddleheads, not a single solitary ramp. And yet, it was truly a glorious day. The mighty Delaware, full of silt stirred up by the recent rains, is flowing the color of milky coffee. Eighty degrees out, with gentle breezes, fluffy cumulus clouds like globs of marshmallow cream in a Tiffany blue sky. The kind of weather sure to rouse even the drowsiest bear and summon the rattlesnakes from their stony bowers. I confess, I devoted a fair amount of mental energy conjuring up scenarios in which I was lunch. A trio of turkey vultures circling overhead didn’t help matters much. But in the end, I was sufficiently distracted by all the green living things teeming on the forest floor.

Tagged—frog, lichen, native plants, nature walk, Sullivan County, trillium, wild cress, wild violets, wildflowers, woods

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Spring’s Awakening

4.14.11

photos by george billard

The marshy area in the woods behind our house is bursting with the sounds (and occasional sights) of new life. The rains and melting snow have united in large vernal pools that are the breeding ground for frogs and salamanders. You can hear their trilling and chuckling, great crowds of them creating a cacophany that we once took for an enormous flock of geese. When you draw near, they all go silent of course, so a stealthy approach is essential. We did scare a couple of ducks who took off, leaving behind a lavish breakfast buffet of bugs and water creatures. Here’s a quick visual tour of some of the natural wonders we came across yesterday morning.

Tagged—creatures, frogs, fungi, lichen, marsh, nature, salamanders, toad, vernal pools, woods

Melting Down

3.8.11

photos by gluttonforlife

It’s day 7 of my juice fast. The simple act of taking food out of the equation can be hugely transformative. Our relationship to eating tends to be very complex, because it provides not only nourishment but comfort, sensual pleasure and perhaps a buffer to shield us from some of our deepest feelings. One thing I grapple with is the herpes virus that I have carried in my body since 1985. During that time it has been more and less active, but seems to have migrated now to reside in my sacrum, a very vulnerable spot indeed. Os sacrum is Latin for “the seat of the soul.” This area seems to have become very congested for me, and I sense that lower back pain, writing blocks and deep fears are all lodged here. On day 3 of my fast, after a couple of dull headaches, including one that woke me in the night, and a surge of the virus in my system, I began to feel like all my defenses and resources were falling away. I slipped back into a pattern of self-doubt and recrimination, where I relive the life-long pain of feeling like a disappointment to my parents. I also felt very isolated and out of my element. This was probably exacerbated by the fact that our week-long bathroom renovation is now in its frustrating and enraging fourth week, and we are still availing ourselves of the incredible hospitality of our dear friend who has lent us his house at Beaver Dam. Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—fasting, fasting resources, nature, snow, spring, woods

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Happy Trails

10.11.10

photos by george billard

Such gorgeous weather this weekend, perfect for a walk in the woods. The wild turkey and deer abound; half a dozen turtles are sunning themselves on an old log in the lake; and the musical cackle of migrating geese fills the air. Even if you don’t live in the country, I hope these photos inspire you to drive to a nearby forest or visit your local park to take in a few of the sights and sounds of this glorious season.

Tagged—creatures, forest, milkweed, mud dauber, native plants, nature, nature walk, orb weaver, puffball, snake, wasp, wildlife, woods

Fielding Questions

7.22.10

roger tory peterson and a young osprey photo by alfred eisenstaedt

I had my first guest-post on a kindred spirit’s blog this week. The visionary Peter Buchanan-Smith honored me with a feature on his fascinating blog, Best Made Projects. We share an interest in the natural world, so when he asked me to review a field guide, I chose one by the naturalist and early environmentalist Roger Tory Peterson (seen above holding a movie camera mounted on a gun stock). Peter has kindly allowed me to re-post my review in its entirety here.

FIELDING QUESTIONS: A Review of Roger Tory Peterson Field Guides – Eastern Forests

Returning home to Sullivan County from the stinky summer streets of New York City brings a surge of relief and gratitude: the cool night air filled with the rustle of leaves and the throbbing drone of cicadas is a tonic. The woods I now call home are not the same as those I grew up with in the Santa Cruz mountains of California. Fog-shrouded sequoias and wild surf are here replaced with blazing summers and snowy winters among the hawthorn, hickory, maple and pine. The Steller’s jay of my youth is now the equally brazen blue jay of my mid-life. The fence around our small property does little to keep out all the critters that also live here, and long rambles on our kind neighbor’s thousand acres have led to countless discoveries, animal, mineral and botanical.

Tagged—Best Made Projects. naturalist, book review, field guide, guidebook, nature, Roger Tory Peterson, wildlife, woods

Creature Features

4.17.10

all photos by george billard

Last weekend we took our houseguests exploring in the woods behind our house. The air was fresh and clean, the sun was shining, the woodpeckers were tapping out a beat and there were plenty of newts and tadpoles to ogle. It’s amazing to think that just a couple hours out of the city you can be an entire world away. (Or at the designer outlets at Woodbury Commons, for that matter.) The last photo, of the snake, was actually taken in our front yard. The first garden snake of the season… Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged—creatures, nature, salamanders, snake, wildlife, woods

Into the Woods

4.7.10

photos by george billard

Now that spring is here, most mornings G and I will head into the woods behind our property where all manner of goings-on have us totally intrigued. Are you as fascinated as I am by the wonders of nature? Ever since I was a small child I have been content to rummage around on the forest floor or at the water’s edge, searching for bugs or plants or animal life of any sort. (We have a little cabinet of curios in our cottage where we deposit our most precious finds: a discarded locust’s shell; a papery wasp’s nest; a boldly-patterned turkey feather; a chunk of a turtle’s shell. I’ll get G to document these for you sometime.) Anyway, I think I’ve mentioned the vernal pools before, right? They are small shallow ponds or enormous puddles that form because of the melting snow and heavy rains of early spring, creating marshy areas as seen above. The wonderful thing is that these are breeding grounds for frogs, newts and salamanders!