My Old Friend!

Soon as I came upon him and I saw his handsome face, I knew exactly who he was! My heart filled with joy and love. I hadn't seen him yet this year, and I always worry that someone has kidnapped some of the population or there have been deaths due to otters, etc. He is a very old guy, who I've found more times then any other turtle. He looks fantastic and is extremely healthy.  I hope he has a good Winter. It was pure magic to sit with him for a little while, a true blessing.

This morning we had a bear in the yard. Nice to finally see another one.

My friend Missy!

I've had a wonderful Summer. I have been out enjoying nature to the fullest.  The weather was a mild and  beautiful, perfect for daily hiking. The Hawk Watch has been great fun as always.  Seeing such beautiful birds migrating never gets old. I also love my Hawk Watch friends, wonderful to see each of them.  

My friend Missy who runs Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center up in Hunter NY,  invited me to release a Great Blue Heron, who had originally come from Warwick. Thankfully he wasn't badly injured and had only spent a week in Missy's rehab. The DPW had to cut him down out of a tree hanging from fishing line. When I released the bird he knew exactly where he was. Just a thrill to see him take off.  Missy also had this WT beauty with her who was also headed home. Nothing makes me feel more alive then releasing animals back to the wild where they belong! Missy is my hero.   

Rainbow

While up at the Hawk Watch we had an amazingly beautiful rainbow. I knew that I was being told, you are doing what you should. We have had many good days up at the watch.  I'm never sorry to see Summer go when I have Hawk Watching to look forward to.

Fun

I love setting up the cam and seeing what comes by on the land. 

My heart hurts

I've been delivered another kick in the stomach, punch to my head. My beautiful boy Monty has been diagnosed with serious cancer. He has Melanoma.  No words can express how sad this makes me feel. I need to pick myself up and continue to live each day as it comes, no looking back, no looking forward. LIVE IN THE MOMENT.  No regrets and no sadness allowed. Today is all I have and I will make sure my sidekick enjoys our days together fully.  He can tell when I'm upset or down, and he doesn't need that as he enters his own cancer battle.  He is a total sweetheart and I've enjoyed every moment of the seven years he has been my constant companion.  I know he has been living in doggie heaven since he became my boy. He wants for nothing. He gets daily off leash hikes in gorgeous forests, swimming, Frisbee playing many times each day, the best raw foods we can afford, chew sticks, treats, tons of toys, comfy beds, including sleeping on all our furniture, vacations, outings, and LOVE.  He is a really well loved dog. I am grateful for him beyond belief, he is one of the reasons I got up again after coming so close to death. He demands I be at my best.  We will continue on together. I love Monty with all my heart. 

Pretty Boxie!

Eclipse of the sun

Here in the United States we had a full eclipse of the sun. We had only a partial in NY.  I was on our good friends boat and was able to watch it from start to finish. Awe inspiring magical nature.  I also went swimming!  Not once but twice!  All those years worrying about getting my hair wet, WHY? WHY did I waste so much of my life not doing what I love?  We had a beautiful Bald Eagle fly past us and then land on the top of a tree. We all got great looks at him.  

Cats, Butterflies & Rainbows

So much beauty everywhere.  What an amazing Summer we are having here on the East Coast. So many species of Butterflies, everything so green and beautiful.  Perfect weather for those of us who would rather be outside.

Bears and Cats

Rusty Crayfish

If you take the time to get out there.....nature never disappoints. What appears to be a dull drizzly day can come alive with so much beauty your heart will skip beats.  Today was in the low 70s and humid, we had a lot of rain last night and it continued to lightly sprinkle all day long. I decided to take Monty up to the Park for a quick walk around and a swim.  I was rewarded big time! The first thing I came upon was a baby snapping turtle crossing the road. He was beyond adorable. I'm glad I saw him because immediately 2 cars came and he would have been hit. Next up were two very large N. Watersnakes and a Rusty Crayfish. I'd only seen a dead red crayfish, just last week, and thought it was just some freak of nature. I had no idea that they were a invasive species until I looked them up.  They are easily 4 times the size of our native crayfish and bright red. Fisherman use the little ones as bait and also science companies sell them to schools to keep as class pets to observe, people end up dumping them in lakes and rivers.  This guy was hanging out on top of one of the watersnakes on land, and the snake didn't seem to care at all! Such a crazy sighting. He could see me from really far away and started to react right away, threatening me with his claws.  Next as I was picking myself a nice handful of Blackberries my eyes suddenly came upon a very large Black and Yellow Garden Spider, and another, and another, 5 total all very close together.  Just stunning nestled in with the beautiful flowers and milkweed.  

Tonight I stepped outside to catch sight of the last of the fireflies, and only one bat. I started thinking about the date....it's time to see Nighthawks migrating.  I must force myself outside as often as possible.  Migration is in full force.  Life is good.  

Do what you love.......

Love what you do. I've spent the better part of today out birding.  I went to 3 different locations in Sterling Forest, 2 of them Beaver Ponds.  I love the ecosystem of a beaver pond, so many chances to see wildlife.   It is so nice to be out and about and not sitting inside staring at my computer.  I feel well enough and I've got to keep getting up and out!  Rainy days are for chores and errands.  Now I'm home and birding in my own backyard.  I'm watching a male cardinal feed his two daughters, they are such good parents.  He even gave one of them a mouthful of peanut butter! Our house Wren is just about ready to fledge her third brood of the Summer. She has been one busy mom.  We have so many butterflies!  All different species too.  Monarchs, Cabbage White, Tiger Swallowtail, Spice Bush Swallowtail, Great Swallowtail, Great Spangled Fritillary, Black Swallowtail, Red Admiral, and lots of Hummingbird moths!  What an amazing Summer this has been for Butterflies.

 Later on we ate dinner outside and watched our two baby wrens fledge. I've never seen that before. It was really neat to watch them take their first leap out of the house and fly. One flew well and made it into the ferns and the other ended up on the ground. His mother flew to our pine trees and called him and he hopped and flew to the trees.  I could hear them calling her. A few bats were out too. Nice end to an entire day spent outside. 

Turtle Point Road

Spent a couple hours birding and nature watching at Turtle Point Road.  Such a peaceful slice of heaven.  When you take the time to really look around there is so much to see.  Nature is life's healing balm. 

Slimy Salamander

Monty and I had a nice hike, it always makes me feel so alive to be out in nature. It had rained a lot last night. I love the scent of a wet forest. There's a piece of cardboard in a spot I often go to. I've only found land snails under it in the past. Well today there were 3 Salamanders under it, as well as 2 land snails. I got a new Life Amphibian, Northern Slimy Salamander. There were two of them, and 1 Red-backed.  Happy heart for sure!  

Cats! They have hatched!

Tiny Monarch Caterpillars on the milkweed leaves at home.  Such beautiful little creatures.

It really is about the small things

Several weeks ago when our yard was being weeded I insisted that the 4 milkweed plants that had come up in my herb garden be left.  They ended up falling over once all the tall weeds were pulled, so I staked them.   A week ago I found one very tiny Monarch Caterpillar eating a leaf and yesterday watched a Monarch laying 3 eggs, each on a different leaf.  As I always say, do what you can in your own part of the world, it all adds up and helps for the greater good. 

Today is gorgeous. Mid 70s with a NNW 9mph wind, no humidity.  I've spent the greater part of my day on the outside couch.  There are birds everywhere.  Small flocks of Blackbirds gathering, lots of my little feeder birds, hummingbirds and a couple of cool extras, Ravens flying over, a Kingbird and just now a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  If you take a few moments to watch each bird, even the common ones you have seen a million times over, you will realize how life can really become a Marjolein Bastin greeting card.  She sees all the beauty in each small moment and then draws and paints what she sees.  Her art is amazing.  Seeing the world the way she does is available to all of us. Take the time to really look at a bird, a flower, a tree, anything in nature, you will soon reap the gifts available to you all day long. Life is a gift, a miracle, don't take it for granted. 

All so beautiful

So wonderful to be outside again!  I feel whole again. Seeing my first of the year Black bear was amazing. Finding a large gravid female watersnake made my heart sing. Grateful to see another Summer. I'm a lucky women.  

Thunder Storm

Sitting in my chair watching an amazing storm.  Lots of thunder and lightening. I love a good storm. The Summer Hummingbird wars have begun!  Constant action at the feeders as the crazy immature birds all learn to be territorial. It's great fun to watch them. 

I want to be a kid again......

I finally got out today.  The weather has been simply glorious. This has got to be one of the nicest Summers in many decades. My physical state has been refusing to cooperate and it's making it hard for me to get out most days.  Treatment is a beast sometimes. I am grateful for my upswing times. While I was out, as always I felt so overjoyed and alive.  I always forget how depressed I end up when I don't make the time and effort to fill my soul with nature. Monty has also been having issues because he misses our hikes too. He's been obsessively licking his paws, and now has lick sores.  It's time that I make sure I get him out, even for a few moments.  As I walked along, I was thinking that I still can't believe how much space in my head cancer takes up.  I'm really, really tired of it. It has become my life, even though I don't want to spend what time I have left dwelling on this awful disease.  I decided that I must step back in time. I have to become a kid again, and live just like I'm on Summer break.  Worrying about the whens and hows is hurting my soul. I am making a commitment to myself, that starting tomorrow when I wake up, I will interrupt the constant voices in my head and tell myself something else.  Wish I could hear what went on in my 10 year old brain, I'm sure it was so full of wonder and excitement, every day was an adventure.  I want that for myself again.  Good to have goals!  LOL 

Dogs are simply the BEST!

Hot feet....take your shoes off walk in the water!