Be one with nature, Grasshopper.

Do you remember the TV show from the early 70’s named Kung Fu?  David Carradine starred, and in his flashbacks, his Kung Fu master would give him advice, and call him Grasshopper.  Well, today Emma and I took a hike down the Dees Nature Trail to be one with nature, and guess what we saw…

One honking big grasshopper!  This guy was about three inches long, and took flight as we approached and landed on one of the long leaf pine trees.  He really blended in quite nicely.  Maybe he’s a treehopper, not a grasshopper. 

Finally, the cypress trees are coming back to life.  All of these trees looked dead to me, but in the last few days green spikes have been appearing along the branches.

The grey Spanish moss added to their dead look since I’ve been here.  For some reason, I thought cypress were green all year.  Obviously that’s not the case.  You learn something new every day.

I’m anxious for the cypress to fully leaf out and be draped with the Spanish moss.  That’s what my brain thinks of as a quintessential Southern swamp.  Next will be the Prothonotary warblers flitting about.  That should happen in the next couple of weeks.

 

That’s about all Emma and I accomplished today.  I’m practicing for spending this summer without a volunteer assignment.    I’m thinking I might be able to get used to just being retired with no agenda.  Time will tell.

Once I came inside this evening, I heard the Eastern towhees begin singing for the first time this spring.  They’ve been all around and using their call notes, but tonight the first male burst into song.  I guess it’s truly spring, and it turns a young man’s fancy.    I’ll have to keep a sharp eye to see if I can spot a nest or two.  The other day, a female pine warbler came within a couple feet of my foot to pick up some nesting material.  I also found an empty white eggshell along the entrance road.  My guess is that the local woodpeckers now have young to feed.  The biologist thinks it is just a matter of days before the first Mississippi sandhill crane will hatch.  Don’t you just love the rebirth that can be found all around us each year?  It gives one hope for the future. 

                                                       THE END!!  (blue-gray gnatcatcher style)

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy