It smells like summer

Most seasons lack characteristic smells in Bittersweet Woods. But in mid May and early June, pleasant fragrances waft over sections of the trail. It always comes as an unexpected surprise, though it is predictable each year. Coincidentally, two of the scents all come from blooms on invasive plants.

In late may, I notice the subtle odor of rose blooms from multifloral rose bushes. They are thick in parts of the woods. Each year we dig out or pull up hundreds of these plants. Multiflora rose is a quick-spreading invasive plant introduced in the 1930's with good intentions as a natural pasture fence. They have since become an invasive nightmare in eastern US pastures, woods, and trails. But the scent is wonderful when the flowers bloom.


Next in late May is the unsmistakable smell of honeysucklebblooms. These are those pleasant fragrances to me. They bring back pleasant memories of years past hiking in the woods. If you pinch the base of the bloom, you can force out a drip of the nectar and place it on your tongue. It is awesome - I use that overused word
for things that truly inspire awe to me.


The last fragrance was a newly discovered one for me. Yesterday I kept noticing a jasmine-like fragrance. I also saw some spent blooms from privet bushes along the trail. But I did not connect the two. Until...I smelled one of the flowers. A very pleasant and distinctive scent. Privet is considered invasive, I guess. But in our woods, they are in shaded areas and do not spread much.

There are other smells of the seasons, for sure. But these stand out to me in Bittersweet Woods. They signal that the "lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer" (Nat King Cole song from 1963 release) have arrived. Enjoy each day while you can.

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.

Emily the Explorer

Emily, on left, with sister Catrina.

It was Easter weekend 2010. Sunday capped off a beautiful week of unseasonably warm weather. Granddaughter Emily (age 8)asked me if we could explore the creek after church. Sure, I added enthusiastically, figuring I might not hear any more about it.

She and her brother Connor had a wonderful time exploring the creek last summer. But the novelty wore off because we were doing some brush and logjam clearing. He had no interest this time. The exploring terminology reminded me of one of her favorite TV shows for preschoolers - Dora the Explorer. After church she asked again. So, we pulled on rubber boots, and went exploring for real.

This time we kept the work part more manageable - mainly picking up large branches, clipping off intrusive multiflora rose, and clearing small log jams. It's fun to explore the creek. We get to walk through the water and mud while hopping over occasional logs. The stream has several nice rivulets and small waterfalls. I pointed out deer and racoon tracks. Several birds chirped in the background, flitting around in the canopy above us, carefully monitoring our intrusion into their space. Some wildflowers were out. Two frogs and a crawdad roiled the water briefly as we sloshed by them. Water striders roamed the still pools, defying gravity with their knack for using surface tension to walk on water.

We approached the waterfall, the highlight of any trip down the creek. First we had to check out a suspicious object on the hill above the falls. Suz had observed a white patch and an old lawn chair up on the hill. For months, we commented on it every time we hiked by it, but had never actually gone up to see it. She wanted to know what it was, but was fearful the object would be a decayed corpse, abandoned still, or other sinister object.

We bushwacked bravely up the hill. We came upon the remains of a former camp, most likely that of neighborhood teens. There was a chair, collapsed table, and the dreaded white object - which we could definitively indentify as an old sleeping bag with the insulation exposed. We could now report that these items were harmless. The area is secure. Law enforcement need not be called in.

We next explored the falls itself. I kept expecting Emily to say that she'd had enough exploring and could we go back home. Nope. And my subtle hints that we might be missed at home went unheeded. We needed to keep going. The area below the falls is pretty - very wide open, free of blockages, and has several fairly deep pools. We explored that area and could see and hear traffic on the Interstate.



Finally, I had to declare the exploration over. "Why?" she asked. "Because they'll wonder where we are," I answered. We hiked back. A chipmunk skittered across the trail. It was a magical grandkid experience for me - a special time that could easily be overlooked in the hubbub. She may forget about it, but our brief Bittersweet Woods creek expedition will stay with me forever.

First snow

November was very warm, sunny, and dry - unusual from most years. We enjoyed golf and late day walks almost every day. But we are paying for that now with a stretch of 2-3 weeks of really (for here) cold weather. The first snow on December 5 was a mere dusting. It was just enough to silhouette downed trees in the woods and create a filigree on evergreen trees.



Today, December 19, a monster snow storm moved up the east coast. We caught some of the back side of that storm. Fortunately, it was not enough to require shoveling our rather long driveway. Whew - close call. But the wet snow and calm winds combined to created a beautiful lacework of snow covered branches in Bittersweet Woods.



Gabbie and Tess loved it, racing through the fresh powder, leaving rooster tails of glittering snow dust behind them. They are the consumate explorers; all smells and sights take on a new aura in the snow. In a few days all of this will disappear. Time to enjoy it now.

The Visitor

It was the day before Thanksgiving and out in the yard...there was a creature stirring next to the house. Gabbie and Tess were alerted first. The leaf rustling kept them returning to a spot in the pine trees next to the neighbors' house. Then Suzanne saw it, standing proudly near the bradford pear tree. It was a big, plump, game bird with distinct brown markings, a fan shaped tail, and a small distinct crest of feathers on its head. Oddly, the dogs were curious but did not chase it. It apparently failed to register as "that's something we chase after" in their previous encounters database.

Thanksgiving morning dawned cold and frosty. Tess went on high alert gazing into the trees on the hill behind the house. I walked outside and saw the bird shuffling through leaves. I bolted back into the house and grabbed for the camera. The bird had walked on to a large horizontal branch of the sprawling osage tree. It stood like a sentry on the log quietly scanning the area. Daughter Amy and I climbed the hill and crept closer for a photo. We were able to move within 50 feet to take some remarkably clear pictures.





Some brief internet search inquiries confirmed that this was a female grouse. No other grouse family members were evident. She stayed on the long for nearly two hours and was still there when we returned from church. We named her Gertie - sorry, Mom, but I could not resist the alliterative name.

After that she disappeared, though there were two more furtive sightings. We still look for her and wonder what drew her to this fairly civilized section of Bittersweet Woods - so near our house, with dogs, vehicles, and humanoids wandering around in full view.

It was another fascinating glimpse into the beauty of Bittersweet Woods. What is going on in your section of Bittersweet Woods?