The Gift of Rain

My birthday was last week and lets just say, I can spend a year singing the Beatles song, “When I’m 64”!  Two of the best gifts I got, cost nothing, and were delivered right to my door, actually, right to my window.

The first one was rain.  Rain that started with wild thunderstorms, but than, rather than just blowing over, stayed, and became that steady rain that soaks the ground in a productive way. A “New England” rain that comes with a cold wind and is delightfully miserable, giving you permission to putter around the house and accrue no guilt.

I know, many of you are wondering, “Why would anyone feel guilty about working around the house?”  You wouldn’t.  However, for some reason, and I used to blame growing up in a place that doesn’t promise daily sunshine (Boston), I am wired to feel, if it is sunny out, I should be out “playing”.  My first move was to San Diego, the land of daily sun, and it about killed me!  Luckily, I worked outdoors at Sea World, so it was easy to follow the urge to be “out”.

Here in Texas, a lasting rain is what I missed most, but this winter has served up some lovely gray, rainy days.  I hope that bodes well for this years wildflowers.

My second “gift” arrived right out the window on my very birthday.  A Coopers hawk, hunkered on a limb of a grand live oak, looking less happy about the rain than I was.  Less happy about the cold wind, too, I imagine.

This is a hawk that loves the fact that we feed the birds, drawing them together in a nice little “fast food” bunch.  However, it must rely on the “element of surprise” for it is amazing how instantly the birds stop their contact calls and go into hiding as soon as one of them spots the hawk.  A warning call is given and they duck for cover, following an inner code of “Nobody moves. Nobody dies.” 

I was amazed that the hawk was on a branch that concealed nothing.  I could see him, the birds could see him, yet the way he constantly swiveled his head, surveying the scene for any movement, I had to assume he was on the hunt.  The Italian in me wished I had a little something to throw him, but nothing in my bird-feeding arsenal would be appropriate. 

There was one plump White winged dove staying perfectly still at the base of a fence covered with jasmine vines.  I momentarily thought of knocking on the window for, if it was startled, it would have flown up right under the hawk’s nose, but that didn’t seem ethical.  Even though I have a trillion white winged doves eating their weight in seed several times a day, and one less dove would not be a tragedy.  I realized though, that it seemed better to let the predator and prey work things out for themselves. 

The hawk did finally take off for a more concealed location higher in the tree, but whether he was successful in securing his form of breakfast burrito, I don’t know.   I sometimes find the exploded puffs of feathers on the ground that let me know breakfast was successful, but I didn’t see any such sign that day.

So, perhaps, the sighting WAS just a birthday present sent my way.  There’s an egocentric view for you; the rain and the hawk were all for ME!  It’s a touching thought, a God who knows me inside and out would know what perfect gifts they were.

That was last week.  Ironically, if I had time for another blog, it would be “The Gift of Sun” which, without the rain, wouldn’t seem like a gift at all.  To say nothing of the fact that while the sun was shining in Texas and practically bringing on a sweat, my beloved Cape was being pounded and reshaped by a blizzard named Juno.  But that is a tale for another day. 

Weather That’s Fit For Neither Man nor Beast

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That pesky Polar Vortex is at it again, the jet stream swinging wildly bringing sub zero temperatures to places that rarely get below freezing.  I don’t know about you, but I have been wondering how animals are coping.  Birds that flew south where the insect population is year round must be finding bugs hard to come by at the moment.  Robins in search of worms are perhaps bending their little beaks on the frozen ground.  I searched the web for info on how this cold might be affecting wildlife, but only found advice on feral cats and horses.

 Mostly, the articles were pointing out that in extreme temperatures animals that are warm blooded, mammals and birds need more food to fuel their internal furnaces and more water too.  Once again I am encouraging all those that can, to keep the bird feeders filled and, if you are willing, get a submersible heating element to put in your bird bath.

 Not only will the birds thank you, but the squirrels will appreciate it too.  If you can manage to set one on the ground, then you will find the raccoons, opossums, fox and all other non-hibernating mammals will seek it out also.  They all need water.

It is amazing the adaptations animals have for the cold, from beetles that produce their own bodily antifreeze to frogs who enter “brumation” (amphibian equivalent of hibernation) and can freeze solid but not die.  I also read that even while in this suspended animation mode, if the freeze line goes deeper underground, the frog or toad, while still in a slowed state, will dig down, in their sleep as it were, to the zone where the temperature is just a little above what they need to stay alive.  Incredible eh? I once uncovered a wood frog under leaves that seemed like a little frogsicle, yet when warmed, off he hopped!  Amazing! 

We were a military family assigned to Ft Drum years ago where the temperature would dip to -30.  One day, on a hike with my kids, we came across a pretty snail shell.  I popped it in my pocket and then put it on the counter when I got home.  Imagine my surprise when it was scooting across the counter top the next morning!  It was only Feb so, no, spring had not sprung, so he remained our rather entertaining pet until spring really did come. 

But I still wonder what effect this unexpected cold will have on the animals that avoid winter by heading south.  That is THEIR adaptation, migrating.  What happens when the cold migrates along with you?  I will be watching and “googling” for information on what comes of this extreme cold as far as wildlife is concerned.  Hopefully, if it is not prolonged, it won’t have any ill effect.

Meanwhile, if TV can show re-runs than maybe I can reach back to some articles I wrote previously.  One is about how Kinglets, the second smallest bird  after hummingbirds, survive the cold of winter in the north woods of Maine. Another discusses how grand life is in the “subnivien” zone (area under the snow) for those who live there.

The Kinglet article was written in December of 2010 on the Cape and can be found at:

http://capeblogfromthebog.blogspot.com/2010/12/entertaining-royalty-golden-crowned.html

The one called “Life in the Subnivien Zone” was written in Feb of 2011, also from the Cape and can be found at:

http://capeblogfromthebog.blogspot.com/2011/02/life-in-subnivian-zone.html

If your local news or papers report anything on how wildlife is coping, I would love to hear about it.  You can either leave a comment, although many people say that is hard to do or email me at pgonser51@gmail.com.  “Each one Teach one” has always been my motto and I would love to hear what you are seeing in your area.  Texas has dipped to the 20’s and 30’s which makes this New Englander happy, it feels like a proper winter season at the moment.  However, my daughters in IL and ME with -35 temps are perhaps less thrilled. 

One last tip, animals: cats, raccoons, opossums, etc., will seek warmth wherever they can find it, which just might be under the hood of your car.  Knocking on the hood before you start up might not be a bad idea if you know feral cats are in the area.

 Stay warm everyone. Put another log on the fire and another cupful of sunflower seed out in the yard.  That way, when you get cabin fever, you can be entertained watching the comings and goings of the creatures that share your yard. And know how grateful they are.

“AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD SHONE ROUND ABOUT THEM”

 

I have always loved that verse from the Christmas story: “And the Glory of the Lord shone round about them”.  It resonates with how I feel when I come across a breathtaking view, that, indeed, the Glory of the Lord was shining all around me.  Wrapped in mists on the rocky edge of Acadia, seeing Bryce Canyon frosted with snow like huge iced castles,

 the ocean on the bay side of the Outer Cape where the tides goes out for miles and the sunset is reflected in bands of orange and gold in the water trapped between the sandbars: all to me, visions of His Glory.

This Christmas was like that.  I headed to Maine in mid-December; leaving a 60-degree TX behind in exchange for what I thought would be sub-zero temps.  However it stayed above 0 the whole time. Yeah!  The glory was that the snow started on the last leg of my journey and in the morning I woke up to my favorite of favorite scenes.   

Snow that clung to every branch and twig,  where the world was white, topped off with a red cardinal hunkered in the apple tree, looking exactly like a Christmas card cover.  Glory, and how thankful I was for it.  God knows how I miss the seasons, and I felt this was my own special delivery package from him.

I had been through a few months where “Glory” was bouncing off me, as though my brain receptors for beauty where coated in Teflon.  I kept telling everyone, “I am sending happy messages, but they are splatting and ending up around my ankles! “ Such is depression. One more time, I felt I was taking the role of the lost lamb who went over the cliff, and God was, once again, faithful to leave the 99 to come rescue me!  If I were him, I would be thinking of putting up an “invisible fence” and giving me a shock collar!

At any rate, all I wanted for Christmas was “my two front lobes, so I can wish you Merry Christmas” (those among us old enough to remember “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth” can put that wish to music!) And Yeah!, my wish came true, just in time to see the glory of a New England Christmas, the glory of the joy and excitement and outright hilarity of my grandchildren and even the joy of tearing up at certain Christmas carols as I always do. For that matter, that was how I knew I was coming “back”.  Washing the floor, listening to Josh Groban sing “Ave Maria” and have a tears come; I wanted to shout for joy!  This is ME, this is the old Pat!  Yeah, I am back!

I know this is another “personal history” blog but now that I AM back, let the natural history ones flow.  A huge part of my optimism stems from the fact that after 6 months of not being able to walk without crutches I am finally on my own two, somewhat limping, feet.  But it is the hands that are free to carry, and feet that can stand on their own that should open the door to all the things I loved doing so much.  The nature center will begin its program the first week of Feb and I pray I will be there, the Wildlife refuge even sooner, and teaching Sunday school with my puppets starts next Sunday.  From where I am sitting, it all looks like Glory!  I even hope to go back to the stable, perhaps not to ride, not yet, but to take horses out to graze or help about in some way, for I had said the joy of being around them was equal to the joy of riding. 

My prayer for you all is the ability to see “Glory” when it comes your way in the coming year. I sadly know many a good friend who is sitting in the hot seat as we speak; Glory may look a little dimmed.   I stand in awe of those I know who never lost sight of it, no matter their circumstances.  They stand out as heroes worthy of their own book in the Bible. 

May 2015 bless us all with the vision of the Glory that is around us, but if circumstances are blurring the view, than I pray those who can see, come along side you and carry you through till your vision improves, for that is exactly what my amazing friends did for me.  And you know who you are.  You WERE part of the Glory I saw and I can’t thank you enough. 

Happy New Year everyone.. Pat