This week in the forest… 7 May 2013

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What Shat That?

After Monday night’s excitement (Ursus americanus in the yard), I set out yesterday morning to look for more signs of our visitor: scat, tracks, claw marks on trees, whatever. Before heading out, I consulted two books that we have for such occasions: What Shat That? and Scats and Tracks of North America.

Scats and Tracks(I know… you’re wishing you had these books, too.)

Alas, no other signs were to be found (by me). The good news is that it rained yesterday and last night. I’ll go out again today to look for tracks in the mud.

Nevertheless, a walk in the woods isn’t wasted, even if you don’t find what you’re looking for. Yesterday’s highlights included…

Jack-in-the-pulpitJack-in-the-pulpit is a gem of a wildflower.

The forest floorThe forest floor is rich in diversity.

GreenRight now, the forest is so green it hurts my eyes.

Update #1 -

I forgot! We also have a red-headed woodpecker at our feeder right now. This bird is unbelievably beautiful. Unfortunately, this picture won’t do it justice.

Red-headed woodpecker

This week in the forest… Bear! Where? Here!

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Tonight after dark, I opened the back door of our house. A black bear was coming up our steps – fifteen feet away.

It immediately turned and retreated, but only to the other corner of our house. I peaked around the corner. It looked back at me. I used our cell phone to call Ordinary Spouse inside the house to alert her. And the bear rambled farther away…

To our compost pile. Apparently the bear was already familiar with it. We may have to cease the composting for a while in order to encourage the bear to go elsewhere for food. As much as I enjoyed seeing it, we don’t want it to become a nuisance here.

While Ordinary Spouse watched it at our compost pile, I made my way to our van (since I needed to run into town). When I made it to our driveway, the bear took off farther into the woods.

And that’s the excitement for tonight!

This week in the forest… May Day

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May has arrived in beauty in the Laurel Highlands!

Forecast - May 1, 2013

We’ve got none of this:

Instead, we’ve got this, which arrived at our feeder for the first time yesterday:

"Ruby-throated hummingbird" by Oldest Daughter

“Ruby-throated hummingbird” by Oldest Daughter

And we have my favorite wildflower, the red trillium:

Red trillium

Oaks have the most interesting delicate leaves when they burst out, but I had never seen them before this year:

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(White, red, and scrub oak)

And check out this cute oak forest sprouting up:

Oak forest

May apples are carpeting the forest floor in other places:

May apples carpeting the forest

I was puzzled when I saw this on a young tree. At first, it reminded me of a magnolia bud, but closer inspection showed it was clearly a compound leaf. Turns out, it’s a shagbark hickory.

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Two more gems on forest floor:

Fiddlehead ferns

Fiddlehead ferns

Halberdleaf yellow violet

Halberdleaf yellow violet

But we have some less desirable growth, as well. Garlic mustard and common bugleweed are invasive. And poison ivy is, well… you know.

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To celebrate the beautiful day, Middle Daughter and I did a little biking on the Coal and Coke Trail between Mount Pleasant and Scottdale.

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(P.S. Thanks to all the parents for my Christmas/birthday present!)

Airline furloughs: rant, confession, frustration

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Last Thursday, I read that the Senate had voted to allow the Federal Aviation Administration to end employee furloughs…

(The furloughs came about, of course, because of The Sequester – the across-the-board cuts to the federal budget aimed at reducing the national debt.)

And at a speed which seems nearly unimaginable for Washington, the House also passed the measure which will soon be signed by the President.

And in response to this news, I thought…

(Derek effects a sarcastic voice.)

Typical politics. We should all share the burden of our country’s fiscal problems. Except when it annoys me. That’s different.

So those of us with power and money and votes – the middle class, the business class, the rich – get our way. Heaven forbid that we be inconvenienced in any way.

And meanwhile, those in our society whose voices we have grown adept at ignoring – those without wealth or power, the sisters and brothers that Jesus mentions in Matthew 25 – well, they’ve been ignored again.

I know the problem is more complex. I know that some of the budget cuts will hurt our economy more than others. I know how awful airport lines can be.

Nevertheless, I think it’s a shame that the things that inconvenience those who are relatively comfortable take priority over things that actually hurt those who were already uncomfortable.

But here’s the thing… I haven’t done anything to stop this.

I could complain that the government monolith will do what it’s gonna do, with or without my two cents. But the fact of the matter is that I’m still holding those copper coins.

This is the anger and frustration I’m dealing with tonight.