The Marsh Project Week #35

The title of this blog post is really a misnomer; the marsh trail is flooded and I have no access to my favorite place, so I had to settle for exploring other trails, ones I don't hike as often. Last weekend I was temporarily out of commission with some nasty bug and it was really just the best thing to hang out on the sofa and read a lot of books while drinking ginger ale and munching on the occasional saltine cracker.  I seem to have recovered, but the trail is still flooded.

It was a hard week for multiple reasons, which I won't get into here; suffice it to say I badly needed some time out in nature just to breathe and see if I could find anything interesting or different.  Some people do yoga or drink wine; I go look for snakes and dragonflies.  As it happened, earlier this week was my lucky night: I was just about to leave the trail and head back to my car, and I saw a copperhead sliding in between the slats on this small bridge.  I think the Dad of No was a little worried that maybe I was too close, but that snake was not interested in me; it was getting chilly and I suspect it was interested in finding a warmer spot.

Then, on another hike, I found something else- not a snake, but three sora in one pond.  A sora is a very elusive bird; it likes to hide amongst reeds and vegetation and they generally make themselves scarce as soon as they suspect that you're getting close, so it usually takes some luck or some stealth or both to sneak up on one, or you need the kind of patience that lets you stake out a spot for a long time hoping a great bird will show up. I don't have that kind of patience; I'm always thinking that I might be missing out on something else while I'm sitting there looking at a pond with no birds in it.

Anyway, I was out wandering around and I happened to glance over at one of the ponds I was walking around and saw one sora, two sora, and then a third sora.  This was the first time I had ever seen more than one sora in the same place;  I'd gotten several sora sightings in this area, but I was never really sure if it was the same bird multiple times or multiple birds once- but now I know there are at least three sora in this area.

Since it's been so rainy and wet, mushrooms have started to pop up all over.  Most of them are the usual white caps with gills that pop up after rain storms, but a few have had some spectacular colors. This morning, while on a hike with a friend, I found one that looked like a glorious sunrise (or sunset);  the camera was reluctant to take a good photo in the early morning light so it's not the best picture, but it's one of the most beautiful mushrooms I think I've ever seen.

I'm starting to notice more deer out on my evening hikes, along with some wild turkeys.  A few nights ago I'm fairly sure I saw a coyote watching me from a distance half hidden in some tall grass, but he took off as soon as I turned my head in his direction.   Even though it's still warm, there are leaves on the ground and, every so often, a chill in the air.

The Marsh Project Week #34

The middle of September, and it's still warm- although some rainy weather caused a temporary dip in the temperatures.  I'm in a bit of a funk;  I'm still getting used to not having the College Student around, and I'm not finding a whole lot out on the trail. Whether it's the change of seasons or the rain, or a combination of both, I don't know for sure, but the painted buntings and indigo buntings and little blue herons and the anhinga seem to have vacated the neighborhood, and not a lot has moved in  yet to take their places.

I play a game called "How many green tree frogs can I find on the marsh?".  Even when nothing else seems to be stirring, I can usually find at least one green tree frog.  Once my eyes locate one, I can often find several all sitting on green leaves or stems.

For several days I walk the trail, not finding anything of real interest except the green tree frogs, which are small and cute and look like little babies when they're curled up on the green vegetation, blending in.  I start to despair- will I ever find anything new or interesting, ever again? I remind myself that even a bad day in the field is better than a good day in the office (even though I've been to the office that day;  I still haven't figured out how to get paid for hiking).  Surely the birds and the snakes and the raccoons and the butterflies and the remaining common green darner dragonflies are still here, lurking around, waiting for the right moment to come back out.  I start to take it personally, even though other hikers assure me they haven't seen much, either.

Then- YES! It happens! As I walk back down the trail towards my car, consoling myself with the thought that I did find several green tree frogs, a hawk flies right above my head and lands on a branch right off the trail.  If I'm stealthy and lucky, I can get a good view of it- and possibly even a good photo.  The hawk is patient, or at least not skittish, and I get several photos.  When I get home I agonize over ID; it could be a juvenile red-tailed hawk, or a red-shouldered hawk, or something else entirely.  The Son of Never Stops Eating wanders over, looks at the photo, and says "Mom! You found the peregrine falcon!".  He's a huge fan of the peregrine falcon.

It turns out to be something else entirely- a first observation for me, a broad-winged hawk.  For the next couple of days, I see it flying from tree to tree in the same area, but I'm only able to get one more photo of it.

In the next few days, my luck changes for the better.  The common buckeye butterflies begin to appear- one at first, and then several.  I see a few Gulf fritillaries, hard to miss with their bright orange coloring.  Finally, on one evening hike, I find not one, but two snakes- a western ribbon snake, which scurries off into the grass two seconds after I get one photo, and a broad-banded water snake, which I spy swimming in a small pond as I stop to get a drink of water.  I observe an osprey with a fish in its claws, perched on a tree.  My nature funk seems to be, thankfully, resolving.

Seen on the trail: Armadillo, great blue heron, snowy egret, kingfisher, common buckeye, Gulf fritillary, variegated fritillary, queen, monarch, viceroy, common green darner, Eastern pondhawk, Northern cardinals, broad-winged hawk, green tree frogs, American bullfrog, one green heron (I think they're on their way out), Osprey, woodpecker (heard, not seen), red admiral butterfly, broad-banded water snake, western ribbon snake.

The Marsh Project Week #33

Starting Friday evening, the skies opened up and it rained, and it rained, and it rained, and then it rained some more, and it didn't really stop raining until Saturday evening.  Friday afternoon I came home from work, took a look at the weather forecast and the sky, and decided I had a few hours before the rain showed up- and an hour later, I was scurrying back towards my car, sopping wet and hoping that my phone and camera were not getting drenched inside my backpack.

Finally the rain stopped, and after receiving notification that the trails were once again open, I headed out this afternoon to see if anything would come out to enjoy the cooler weather.  The skies were still overcast and the trails were muddy, but phone and camera had both survived.  I wasn't the only one who was in the mood for a hike; I saw a few people and quite a bit of wildlife.  As I reached the boardwalk portion of the trail, some people coming the other way informed me that there was a heron standing very close to the boardwalk, and sure enough- not only was there a great blue heron, but an osprey landed momentarily on the top of a tree right near the boardwalk, then took off again.

The green tree frogs were out in force.  As usual, once I saw one, I saw several, including one that popped out at me as I walked slowly down the boardwalk.  Usually these little frogs pick green stems or leaves to rest on, and they blend in so well you can walk by several and not see anything unless you are purposefully looking- but this frog picked a contrasting background.

I also saw this very large spider.  Honestly, I am not really a spider person- I respect the role they play in the ecosystem, but I've walked into many a web on the trail and had the occasional unsuspecting spider end up crawling around in my hair or on the back of my shirt as a result of my unintentional web destruction.  Spider ID is not something I've mastered, but I'm guessing that this big spider might be a kind of wolf spider.   Unlike the tree frog, the spider blended in very well to its surroundings, and if I'd been walking quickly I would have walked right by it without realizing it was even there.

The rain had also brought the mushrooms out- the log these fungi were growing out of was surrounded by poison ivy, and while I admire spiders even though they're not my favorite, I've had too many bad run-ins with the PI- so I took the best photo I could get from a respectful distance. It seems to be an unwritten rule somewhere that the really good fungi must be surrounded by a impenetrable wall of poison ivy.

As I left the large blind and headed back towards the trailhead and my car, I heard a rustling to my left.  When I turned and looked, I saw three raccoons- two on the ground and one about six feet up in a tree. All three raccoons turned and watched me watching them.  After a minute or so, the raccoon in the tree resumed climbing upward, and the raccoons on the ground scampered away.

Seen on the trails: green heron, great blue heron, snowy egret, great egret, belted kingfisher, osprey,  yellow-crowned night heron, scissor-tailed flycatcher, wild turkey, Eastern phoebe, red bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, common green darner, common whitetail, monarch butterfly, Gulf fritillary, variegated fritillary, American snout, green tree frog, wolf spider, gilled mushrooms, horned passalus beetle, armadillo, raccoon.

The Marsh Project Week #32

It's Labor Day weekend and it's cooling off! It was threatening rain in the morning with overcast skies, so it was slightly humid on my hike earlier this morning- but several times a cool breeze blew through, and when that happened I stood there, enjoying the cooler air and that ever so faint whiff of autumn.  The weather forecast for the next several days doesn't go near 100 degrees, and I'm happy about that.  

I had hoped to see some snakes on my hike; as I started down the trail, a couple coming the other direction said they had seen a diamondback water snake and had photos to prove it, but the only snake I saw was what I think was likely a cottonmouth, moving through the water at a distance on one of the ponds along the boardwalk.  I attempted a photo but got nothing but so-far-away- it-looks-like-a-snake-but-probably-impossible-to-commit-to-ID.  The green tree frogs were out, however, hiding in plain sight by blending in on green stems and leaves at the marsh wildlife blind. 

The number and variety of dragonflies is decreasing- the Eastern pondhawks are still out, as are the common whitetails and the common green darners.  The slaty skimmers and great blue skimmers are hanging on, but I'm definitely seeing fewer of them than I was a few weeks ago.  Several days ago the common green darners were out in force, not only flying around but settling and hanging from branches in one small area on the trail.  Today, however, almost none of them wanted to take a break long enough for a photograph.  

I sat at the large blind for awhile, enjoying the cool breeze that was coming through, and listening to the rustling amongst the lily pads.  Whatever was under there did not feel inclined to show itself.  The common green darners were flying around, and I could hear birds chirping in the vegetation, but no butterflies, birds, turtles, snakes, or mammals wanted to show themselves today.  A few days ago I sat and watched a red eared slider climb on top of one of the lily pads, but it did not stick around after I moved to attempt a photo and made too much noise.  

I didn't see much on this hike, but every time I go out I try to look for at least one thing that is new and different, and on this adventure a small orangish-red fungus growing on a dead tree trunk off the boardwalk caught my eye. I couldn't reach it to verify my thought that it probably had pores underneath instead of gills, or to get any other photos or identifying information.  My rosegill fungus from a few weeks ago has almost disintegrated away.  

I did hear (and briefly spot) a few woodpeckers.  Other trail sightings: Eastern tiger swallowtail, Dion skipper, monarch, Eastern giant swallowtail, red admiral, common green darner, common whitetail, blue dasher, Eastern pondhawk, variegated frittilary, wood duck, great blue heron, Summer tanager, nine-banded Armadillo, common wood nymph, sad underwing moth, green heron, little blue heron, sora, cottonmouth, little green tree frog, American bullfrog, great egret. 

What's Next

When the College Student was small, she was one of these super energetic kids who would finish an activity and, while the adults were all thinking that we were ready for a rest and maybe a restorative cup of tea, she'd ask, because she was full of energy and curiosity, ready and raring to go do another fun activity, "What's next?". For awhile the Grandpa of No even took to calling her "Ms. What's Next?".

Since the College Student has gone off to school, I've noticed certain things around the house: we have more food than usual; we are using slightly less gasoline in the cars; and I seem to have more free time.  Don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining about that.  I do have birds to find, books to read, naps to take, and a house to declutter (someday).  I do have a list of incomplete crafty attempts, like the scrapbook I started when the College Student was the Kindergartner (and never finished- in the scrapbook, she is still a kindergartner), and a crochet blanket that might be 75% complete (I may or may not have forgotten how to make the granny squares that comprise the blanket).

But with one kid off to college and another one in 10th grade, I'm starting to wonder, "What's next?".  Retirement, eventually, but that's still some time away.  I have college-related payments to make for the next seven semesters, so I won't be traveling the world any time soon, or making any big purchases.  I am definitely aware that the Dad of No and I need to start doing some serious work on The Son of Never Stops Eating's transition plan in preparation for the day he ages out of public school and we will need to confront the reality of parenting an adult child with special needs in a society that doesn't want to recognize that this is actually a real thing. But for the first time in my adult life, there doesn't seem to be a concrete next step.  I graduated from college, found employment, got married, had two babies, and was ballet-soccer-softball-band Mom.  Now that the hands-on intensive Mom stage of life is coming to an end and I'm transitioning into more of a advisory role, I'm just not sure what exactly is next.

Part of my unease is probably due to the fact that I will shortly be turning the big 4-9, and that I'm watching the slow and painful continual descent of my own mother into the dark abyss of Alzheimer's.  I have this idea in my head that if there are things I want to do, that now would be a good time to start doing them. It's just that I was so busy doing the graduation-get a job-get married-buy a house- have babies-chase after toddlers-ballet-soccer-softball-band mom-watch them become teenagers-oh my God, they grew up! that I didn't spend that much time thinking about what's next because I honestly didn't think that "What's next?" was going to happen any time soon.

I suspect that I am not the only one asking myself this question- I've recently had conversations with friends who have recently become empty nesters or almost empty nesters that make me think I am not alone in this sense of feeling a little lost at the moment.  I'm still in the "I keep expecting the College Student to walk in the door at any minute, asking to use the car to go to Starbucks" part of adapting to having an adult child away at school.  

I know that I will figure it out, eventually.  Perhaps after I get caught up with the figurative pile of books I've been meaning to read but didn't because of ballet-soccer-softball-band, or get reacquainted with the granny square, or finally get around to culling the five thousand photos I have of broad banded water snakes and great blue herons.  For now, I'm going to take a deep breath, start making a list of projects that need doing, and see where the journey goes from here.