Glacial moraine set the table steadfast in Tide’s wavering sands.
Please, be seated.
Drink in the vast view atop and over, and over again a crest of Wave.
Feast upon it ALL!
Sea’s glimmer and glint lead to Glow.
Take a close look these days before the first snows settle on shore. Swept beaches south side and coves tucked away facing north with frosty firm sands will help Islanders “Keep Track” of local wildlife: Deer, Coyote, Rodent, Raccoon……
Autumn mourning fly!
Dovetail with solace and soul amidst the brand new morning.
Listen to the dew and crisp.
Talons grip tightly only to release
Winter’s reign.
Rejoice!
Use Caution.
I was heading due east to investigate possible evidence of River Otter tracking on Big Club Beach. Rounding a bend by bicycle, I was “bullied” by this tailless and unprovoked aggressive young Raccoon. Reacting to its grouchy growl, I waved to FIDCO Security's Aaron Rice as he drove my way. Thus, reporting the animal.
Symptoms for “furious” rabies include disorientation and also paralysis of hind quarters, which I also happened to observe in this instance.
Ask any Chipmunk-“Time and tide waits for no man”.*
I find myself mimicking the essential rhythm of seasonal change especially as the last of lengthy shadows follow me and precede winter.
Hibernation – the slowing down of activities and conserving energies has my bicycle resting on its kickstand by 3:00 pm and my gloveless palms wrapped around a hot “cuppa” minutes later. Timers for indoor lighting are reluctantly readjusted and the 7pm ferry horn wears on my nerves….slightly.
Begin to take note: Cormorants and Canada Geese vying for V formation now appear to head south over Wilderness Point. Voracious and vocal Cardinals, Jays, and Chickadees fluttering between piney branch behind Naval fencing. The peculiar scent of trailing Ladybugs sneaks and rests into sunny corners of a windowpane in the Community Center.
Meanwhile, a mainland Chipmunk reaps a harvest of berries, seed and nut; then pauses-a slow, swirling maple leaf beckons the both of us to seek refuge and burrow.
*Chaucer
Most familiar bird wearing
family crest
Cardinalidae.
Sweet whistle
Grosbeak
finding thistle.
Red spy in morning
From behind dark mask
Privy to suet in Privet
Restore my shore.
All tide up and
turned around.
Tumult and fury
blind and blurry.
Storms brought
Windswept thought.
Grain upon grain
shift and sort
Ideas form.
Abate and wait
for
my clean slate.
Rounding the bend opposite Pickett Landfill, I note the tiny carapace (upper shell) of Baby Snapping Turtle- wobbly but making its way across the warm paved path towards a rippling pond.
I put on the brakes, hop off my bike and kneel- wobbly myself, steadying my camera.
For an instant I believe I am Kin, a subtle yet strong sense of imprinting gazing towards me….
My bike helmet (upper shell)!
of course…..
This season’s first Harbor seal has landed right on schedule (mine anyway!)
First sighting @ approximately 1:30pm on this stellar day of September 27, 2014.
Sunning, shifting, and scooching over for inbound waves.
Upon initial haul-out I believe I observe a salute!
Welcome home.
My attraction to Kingfishers is for me unexplainable.
The hovering over calm coves and banks with barriers of bayberry, the plunging and darting after Silverside minnows-the solitary bird on a solitary autumn morning, and a solitary naturalist shadowing close behind….
For four years now I have documented these birds-thinking I know their favorite spots. Like the telephone wire perch over the Bicycle Path just as I round the bend of Oyster Pond. Late summer mornings before nine o’ clock is best for viewing here. The entrance to Darbies Cove is where I often hear the bird’s rattle-like voice echoing before evening. Money Pond is where I spied a blue-gray crest (a bit of a mohawk!) silhouetted against pinkish dusk, its heron-like bill nipping in flight, chasing insects A dock nearby to Hooverness houses a" local".
It has been no small feat for me to capture any Belted Kingfisher on camera.Shyness between us is typical.
Perhaps I need to balance persistence with allowing myself to be captivated….
The original and authentic naturalists-native Indians, suggest the Kingfisher is an instructor of remaining grounded and connected to Mother Earth-to remain comfortable in quiet solitude.
These weeks I have been daily looking forward to Harbor seals returning home to Hungry Point. As I balanced precariously on wrack covered rocks, I smiled as I became quietly steady. At long last, King of Fishers, we meet.