Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Suddenly it is summer in New England, and I have 'gone to the woods' to listen to the singing there: the birds, the wind, the pond, the frogs and bees. The amazing effect of these beautiful sounds is sweet stillness.

common cinquefoil


Bullfrog, photo by my son Seth
Then the LORD said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire--but the LORD was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle ~1 Kings 19:11-13a



In the woods there is golden sunlight and dark shadow. There are mothers and fathers leading and protecting. There are children following and learning.


"To romanticize the world is to make us aware of the magic, mystery and wonder of the world; it is to educate the senses to see the ordinary as extraordinary, the familiar as strange, the mundane as sacred, the finite as infinite ". ~Novalis
Luke holding a spider, photo by Seth
 
Mallard couple - photo by Seth

If I were a woodland creature, I could imagine myself as a chipmunk. I rather resemble one, I think, with my round face and nut brown coloring, Like them, I can be shy and friendly at turns. Plus, I am attracted to their cozy, underground homes. What woodland creature would you be? Emmeline said that she would be a unicorn. 

Once, while walking in the woods, I glimpsed a magical, white creature prancing merrily through the trees. The creature's delicate grace arrested me, and I gazed at it in wonder, fully expecting to see a single horn upon its head when it turned to face me. What on earth was it, you ask? A lovely white poodle!

For a glorious week, the air was perfumed by the heavenly fragrance of black locust blossoms. These trees are native to the southeast but have become invasive here in the north and are on Massachusetts' prohibited plants list.



 
On one evening, we discovered that a barred owl had made its nest in the hollow of a big oak tree right next to the trail. Inside the hollow were two large, fuzzy owlets.

Perched in a nearby tree across the trail, we found the mother owl watching us with her great dark eyes. Barred owls are large birds, about eighteen inches tall. According to Peterson's Guide, they are one of only two species of owls in eastern North America that do not have yellow eyes. The other species are barn owls. From The Owls Trust: "Owls with yellow eyes hunt mainly during the day, owls with dark eyes hunt during the night, owls with orange eyes hunt at dusk or dawn."

As I gazed up at Mother Owl, and she gazed back at me, the rest of the world ceased to exist; there was just She and Me and the Mystery between us.


The experience reminded me of a painting by Meinrad Craighead that my friend Kortney Garrison posted on her blog back in 2011 (how has so much time passed, Kort??)

Holy Wisdom by Meinrad Craighead:

"those owls, her familiars.  she holds the labyrinth’s string, the red cord. our connection" ~Kortney's beautiful words, to which I would add, "and the ever-changing constancy of the moon."
The next evening, my sons went back to the tree, after fishing in the pond, and saw the mother owl fly into the nest. 

Mother Owl, photo by Seth
Two days later, the owlets had fledged.  We were fortunate to see one of them perched high in a tree across the trail from the big oak. Mother Owl was in another tree on the hill about 200 feet away. We have not seen them since. But, they are so silent and so well camouflaged that I wonder how often they are there in the evening shadows, watching, without us knowing.

Moon Over Horn Pond, photo by Seth


























Perhaps the facts most astounding and most real are never communicated by man to man. The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning or evening. It is a little star-dust caught, a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched. ~ Henry David Thoreau
It is just so, isn't it?

Love and roses,
Sue

17 comments:

  1. Oh, that is so true, Susan. Thank you for sharing all these wonders.

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    1. Thank you, Brandy. Every time I visit your blog the wonders of your world take my breath away.♥

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  2. My goodness, a person could feast for a fortnight on your pictures and words from this one post! All combined leave me nothing much to say other than "Amen!" and thank you!!

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  3. these photographs took my breath away! i literally had goosebumps looking at the owls....oh! what a glorious blessing to have witnessed their little family. *happy sigh*

    incredible, just incredible....thank you for sharing your magic. xoxo

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  4. Baby owls! How absolutely wonderful! What a blessing to have such woods nearby, so that you may have the companionship of nature.

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    1. Thank you for commenting, Sarah. I am very thankful to live close to the woods. I try to walk there as often as I can, usually several times a week. But, I don't usually see owls, though; this was the first time in over twenty years!

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  5. Susan, so funny you should mention the music of summer: the birds, bees, wind and frogs. I tell you, just yesterday at the library we were planning the theme for the preschoolers bulletin board. This is a big thing every year for us, figuring out what we'll do on there because it's interactive. We were just thinking of calling it the Music of Summer, and having trees with birds, frogs, bees or cicadas and maybe making a wind chime at the end of it. I was so surprised when I read the beginning of your post! (You need to come help us with it.)
    Your Seth has just as much talent as you do in photography - such beautiful pictures! I never knew anything about owls' eyes; I'll try to remember it. I have only seen an owl once in the wild.

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    1. Hah! That is quite a coincidence! Your bulletin board sounds really lovely; I wish I could see it. Maybe you can take a picture and post it on your blog?

      Thank you for complimenting Seth's photography--I will let him know you liked his pictures. I have to say that he and I have the same point and shoot camera (Sony Cybershot), but his pictures outshine mine always.

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  6. now that is a summery post - being surrounded by trees and being with nature, it makes for a blessed day. I have tree frogs, birds singing and calling to each other, bull frogs, our resident chipmunk. I wish there were more insect noises seems to me they are scarce these days.

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    1. I agree with you, Karen; I am hearing fewer insect sounds this year. In fact, my rose garden is in bloom, and I haven't seen many bees or butterflies yet, and that concerns me.

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  7. This is all so beautiful Sue. What amazing sights and even sounds too. I always liken myself to a moth because even though woodlands are my favorite natural surrounding I am attracted to light like a moth, but dragonflies if there are woodland pools are so lovely and bring back childhood memories. But then squirrels are like me, they busily store food for winter and like to be cosy in their little hides. Can I be all three... dx

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    1. Dear Debby, yes, you can be all three! Thank you for such a lovely comment. ♥

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  8. so many beautiful creatures---and oh, the swans. i have a *thing* for swans. they lived about the water and fields at my old home, and i love them so. they are totemic to me, they move me almost unbearably when they sing as they fly over. and owls are magical, too.

    if i were a woodland creature, i think i might be an old mother vixen-fox, lazily watching her almost-grown cub gambol about and snuffing happily the honey locust smell as i lie in the green dappled shade...

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  9. Beautiful, Sue. I have never been so quick to follow a blog. I added you to my list in a flash!

    "What woodland creature would you be?"

    A hawk that at first seems like something else, a puffy owlet, a seagull, a whisper. But I have talons and speed and my beak is sharp. Don't tell anyone. I am hiding here.

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  10. Hi Angela, thank you so much for your kind comment about my photos. ♥ I have actually moved my blog to this address: http://wild-peace.blogspot.com
    I hope you will visit me there.

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