Snowfall

We hadn't seen a decent snowfall for 2 years. The forecast called for 2-4 inches of snow. That often is a false alarm. My expectations were low and my emotions were mixed. Bittersweet Woods are beautiful when there is snow. But we have a large driveway to shovel.

We awoke on Saturday about 5 am as is our custom. It was white outside. Daylight revealed an incredible filigreed wonderland. The snow was wet but it stuck to every single tiny branch of trees and bushes.



The dogs loved it, Tess especially, and they romped around in the new snow. The snow made it easier for the dogs to see wildlife. Tess took off after deer several times while the snow was on the ground. Gabbie stays behind and observes, the scolds Tess when she inevitably returns to the hike.


Thankfully our neighbor Dan plowed our driveway. A week later, most of the snow is predictably, in our latitude, melted. But the north-facing hills still have the blanket of white, a beautiful reminder of nature at work in Bittersweet Woods.

Visitors

We have visitors often in Bittersweet Woods. I call them visitors; most of them really live here - and we are the visitors.

A box turtle greeted Suz as she drove up the driveway yesterday. We moved it into the lawn. Ten minutes later it had disappeared.

We have had several snakes "visit" us this year. The latest resides in our newspaper box at the end of the driveway. It is probably a garter snake. Our newspaper delivery person left this message with our mail - which she left near the house: "I wanted to make you aware that there is a snake in your newspaper box; that's why your paper was not in there yesterday." The box in question is part of a larger brick enclosure. Apparently the reptile lives in a compartment behind the newspaper box.

Then we have Amy and Gregg's two dogs (Holly, a boxer and Zoey, an american mastiff puppy) visiting with us for the week, along with Gabbie and Tess. The Wentzells are vacationing in Hilton Head - without us! There will be lots of action here and a few extra piles of excrement to clean up.



Today, this beach scene image popped up randomly on my desktop. It reminded me that we visited Hilton Head recently. One morning we are standing on the beach at sunrise. Low clouds block the sun from our view. Suddenly the sun appears from behind the clouds. Lunge for camera. Pelicans fortuitously swoop into the frame. Click.



We are all visitors in this earthly life, and our real citizenship is in heaven. It is easy to overlook that on many days.

December to remember?

Winter struck with a vengeance this year. COLD weather - nearly three weeks with daily highs below freezing. Then there were three weeks of snow cover - unheard of in this latitude. I put extra coats, gloves, and boots in the car as a precaution when driving out of town.

But we got used to it. The dogs love the snow, sending up sprays of snow as they romp around, and leaving wet spots in the carpet from snow encrusted paws. My daily early morning ball throwing with the dogs was limited to the driveway because of the snow. And, we enjoyed a truly white Christmas.

Here are some of the high points that stick with me today.

First, Todd flew home for a weekend of shopping - with retail consultation from Suz, the resident expert on what is just right for grandkids. He got stuck overnight in Columbus when his flight was cancelled because of snow - in Nashville. No one can recall the last time that happened.

Then, I enjoyed a visit from my college roommate, Steve Schwab. He stopped in Marietta after finishing a 2 week trip to the Rocky Mountain area. He likes to make this trip in December. There was some white-knuckle travel in South Dakota. But he otherwise dodged really dangerous bad weather. We had a great visit.

Five-year-old granddaughter Catrina was fascinated as I gave her a "tour" of the ornaments on the 10' tree in our entry way. Many of these are from families of our parents and grandparents; others remind us of places we have visited over the years. She kept seeming to notice new ones - "I never saw that one before," even if she had seen it a few minutes before. Most of the kids and adults take the decorations for granted.

Then there was the letter from Santa that I had to write for granddaughter Emily. She had asked Santa longingly for a pet dog - a real, live one. "Santa" explained that another dog would be disruptive in their house with their two other dogs, and that he was leaving her with a toy pet dog. That toy dog had a sensor which caused doggie sounds to emanate from the package every time someone went near it. Her favorite toy of all she received was that dog.

The woods were beautiful. The picture above captures the beauty of the frozen waterfall, along with Gabbie. The dogs had fun walking in the frozen creek. The snow and ice gave us a three week respite from cleaning their muddy feet.

As the month ends, I have the prospect of playing golf as we enjoy a day in the 50's. Life is good in these Bittersweet Woods.

Raccoons r us

I took the dogs for an early morning hike down the trail before leaving for golf. It was the least I do for Suz before I vanished for several hours of shamelessly unproductive recreation. She was busy getting ready for a major landscaping project.

The sun was bright, filtering through the tree canopy. There were lots of spider webs. Some were on my face after I walked through them. Wood thrushes offered up their fluted songs, silently flitting away as the dogs and I moved down the trail.

We reached the top of the steep hill which drops down to the waterfall area of the creek. The dogs took off down the hill and across the creek. Then they stopped, on alert. The was more crunching in the underbrush; something was moving around. I figured it was a turkey or squirrels.

I scanned the area and saw nothing. Then I notice a dark object scurrying up a large tree. It was a raccoon - appeared to be a juvenile. They are cute enough, but they can be ferocious if cornered. Then a high pitched snarling pierced the quiet of the valley. The dogs had apparently cornered another raccoon. The snarling kept on. Gabbie and Tess weren't backing off. I couldn't see yet as I hurried down the hill. My concern was if the dogs persisted too much, the raccoon could inflict some uncomfortable scratches or bites.

When I arrived, there were two dogs facing one petrified juvenile raccoon trapped in the water. In it's haste to get away it had landed in a deep pool of the creek. Only its head was visible above water. It was making enough noise to be mistaken for a mountain lion. But I had heard the sound before, so I knew instantly what was going on. With the coon in the water, the dogs could move in close. But they sheepishly backed off every time another round of snarling erupted.

I coaxed them away from the coon. It slunk from the water, looked back, and gave us a final passing snarl.

We often see coon tracks in the creek bed, but have rarely seen one before. Several years ago, coons were terrorizing our yard at night. We would set out live traps and relocate the trapped ones elsewhere. That is where I became familiar with the hissing and snarling.

Another day, another curious critter encounter in Bittersweet Woods.

Tess and Gabbie - babes in the woods

Our two old english sheepdogs, Tessie, and Gabbie, are right at home in Bittersweet Woods. They are officially indoor dogs - at night and during the day while we are work. But otherwise, they love the outdoors. And they do almost everything together. Tessie is the youthful one, just approaching 3 years old. She is smaller at about 65 pounds and slimmer than your average old english sheepdog. When running she reminds me of a cheetah running full bore on the Serengeti. The puppy energy and playfullness is still there but starting to fade a bit. She has a gentle spirit but is a little less affectionate around other people.



Gabbie is the big sister at 5 years old still very active but a little more calm, protective when needed, and a disciplinarian. She scolds Tess when youthful one returns after bounding off to chase a deer or visit an unsuspecting neighbor. She is also larger in stature and weight. Her coloration includes black fur around her eyes, resembling a raccoon mask. Gabbie loves everyone and can quickly become a pest by demanding too much attention from visitors. She also has developed an odd vocalization, resembling what I call a loud purr, when she greets us in the morning or when we return home. Grandson Connor is her favorite person of all time. She is relentless in her attention, purring,licking, nuzzling, and herding him in true sheepdog fashion. He is barely tolerant of the hubbub.

Every day we walk Tessie and Gabbie on the trail in Bittersweet Woods. Mention the word trail and they are alert, lunging toward the door and skidding on the tile. Or they look at us expectantly if we're outside. Yesterday on the trail was a typical day for them. They each grab a tennis ball without fail on the way out, having failed again to realize there is no ball throwing on the trail. We start down the trail. Tess scouted the lower perimeter along the creek looking for deer and squirrels. Gabbie nosed around a known chipmunk hideout, then strolled nonchalantly into the brush to uh,well,leave a solid waste deposit.

Waiting for Mom


Near the waterfall, Tess abruptly zoomed up the hill and disappeared. She probably saw a deer. She acts predatory in the chase, but if a deer ever turned around on her, she would run away just as fast. Five minutes later Tess returns. Gabbie scolds her for leaving the pack - barking and chasing after her. Tess pretends to ignore the provocation but quietly enjoys the attention. Together they run breakneck down the trail to the house.

So ends a loop on the trail - one of several each day. They are a joy to watch. There are complications once in a while. Their feet often have to be cleaned when there is mud around. There are unauthorized visits to adjacent neighbors yards. The worst is when they roll in some noxious fecal matter and return stinking to high heaven.

Busted by the hazmat team


But we love them. They bring us more enjoyment and love than aggravation. HEY! TESS AND GABBIE, GET OVER HERE. NOW! Yeah, right.

Bird nests

We constantly see birds flying, darting around in bushes, chirping, singing, and........this time of year, nesting. A giant hawk nest sways in the tall butternut hickory trees towering above the creek below the house. This year there have been several birds hiding their nests in plain sight. At least the birds think they’re hidden. They are really out in plain right next to the house.

A robin nested in a siberian pea shrub tree just 5 feet from our screened in porch. Mom perched diligently on the eggs. As they hatched, the young grew from tiny wisps with outsized beaks until their chunky wide-eyed forms filled the nest - as in the photo. We watched as mom constantly foraged for goodies and returned to regurgitate into the gaping young mouths. Suddenly, in one afternoon, the entire nest was evacuated. I inspected the nest. It was wonderfully made. The most talented engineer or artisan could not have fashioned a more perfect structure.

Another robin nested in an evergreen next to our driveway and just a couple of feet above the shady spot where one of our old English sheepdogs flops when the weather is warm. It was constantly flying in and our as we passed by or walked the dogs.

Now we have a bird nesting in the open on the upper end of the downspout from the roof. I have yet to identify this bird (photo below)– there are two of them, actually, mom and dad presumably. When we are in the area, the birds swoop out onto other tree branches, darting from tree to tree, back to a hummingbird feeder and then to the nest. They act like they are either showing off their graceful moves or reminding us that they are there – and we shouldn’t be. Soon they’ll hatch, move on, and join the chorus of life in the tree canopy above Bittersweet Woods.



Life is all around us – woods or not. Are you paying attention?