Sorry I missed out on my post for Day 3, so I will combine it into one post here for Days 3 and 4.
Day 3 - Sunday April 3. I got up a little later than I had been on Sunday AM(my wife and I were busy painting our bedroom most of Saturday), but decided that it would be nice to get into my spot a little later to see what if anything is different(it was about 8:30 AM). I was a bit embarrassed as I headed down the trail into the forest that I "bumbled" into 3 white-tail deer. I was embarrassed because on Jon Young's tape "Advanced Bird Language" he talks about being like the Owl and pausing before you enter the forest....not me...it was Sunday morning and I went "a-bumblin!!!'" Anyways, I caught the flick of the white-tail out of the corner of my eye and I stopped. I wasn't sure exactly what it was at first and I was excited because I knew it wasn't a squirrel. As I scanned the forest, I saw the 2 does off to my right, just staring at me. I moved to get a little better look and one went scrambling off flashing it's white tail and rump at me, signaling " I am out of here." But JY, talks in his recordings about the fact that a white tail deer will flash that "white rear" to appear as if it is headed off...and then tuck the tail down tightly to hide the white, as it stops and keeps a watchful eye on whatever or whomever disturbed it(in this case me.) After she ran off, I began to walk down the trail when I saw another white-tail standing in the middle of the trail (20 feet in front of me) completely frozen just staring at me, as if to say "geez....can you be any louder, some decent deer are trying to eat around here." I moved to try to grab my camera out of my pocket and she was off. I then moved a bit more quickly down the trail into my spot, since I wanted to see if I could spot the deer in the forest as I sat by the tree. When I finally arrived, I tried to calm myself down and quieted my mind as I scanned the tree line. I was able to see 2 of the 3 deer I spotted, but never the 3rd. I had a great time just watching with my binoculars as they foraged and moved very quietly through the trees and deep leaf litter. I lost them after about 10 minutes, as they almost seemed to vanish. It was really exciting. I know that everyone typically sees deer around in their neighborhoods, but there is something so special to me about seeing deer move around in the forest...so silent and so graceful. Later that morning, I was happy to see the local robin couple(Mr and Mrs. Robin, as my daughter likes to refer to the birds)...I was fearful after the Sharp-shinned hawk episode(See SS Day 2 entry).
Day 4 - I was awakened at about 6AM this AM, by a robin in my backyard just singing it's little heart out...it was a nice way to wake up(almost like violins....almost:)). We had our bedroom windows open overnight, since there was a nice breeze blowing, as a result of the warm-front that moved in from the southwest over the weekend.
I got into my spot just before 6:30AM and the trees were really moving and crEEAking. As I sat next to "my tree", I was nervously looking around to determine if there were any dead branches or "widow-makers" above me(didn't appear to be). I felt generally safe...but also looked around and did not see any Eastern hemlocks in the vicinity in case things got worse!(JY talks about this being a good tree for shelter, since the boughs stretch down to the ground). Things were a little "slow" this AM as I waited to SEE signs of life in the morning light. The robins were up well before the cardinals for some reason this AM...not sure why, but the cardinals are often the lone voices in the woods when I normally arrive. At any rate, I continued to scan the area using my wide-angle vision(WAV) looking for the neighborhood cardinal and robin couples. I was beginning to feel disappointed that neither couple dropped by, when I noticed a brown leaf twitching in the wind about 20 feet in front of my spot....right where I had seen the robins on Day 2. I strained my eyes to look at it and then my eyes began to play tricks on me...as the leaf transformed into a robin and then back into a leaf. As I continued to really look at this brown object, I then saw the flick of a tail and it was as if the robin just appeared. "How long have you been there?, " I thought to myself as it seemed like I had looked at that "leaf" at least 20 times as I was settling into my spot. Oh well....I guess my awareness is not yet anywhere close to what I want it to be, but in any case, I was THRILLED to see my neighbor. For about the next 5 minutes we just watched each other and enjoyed each other's company in the soft glow of a windy, spring morning.
With Thankfulness and Appreciation....Greg(aka the Accidental Naturalist)
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