Tag: Wildlife
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Flicker Feather?
This morning, eyes down, surveying the dirt for precocious bulb shoots tricked by the lack of snow, my eye caught site of this bold but small feather. Perfection. Found art. An artistic artifact. Nestled into the weathered end grain of logs slowly succumbing to the sirencall of weather — rain, sun, snow, wind — and…
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Sunrise Today (Minus Ten Years)
What a difference one decade makes! This photo of sunrise over Lake Champlain at 5:55 AM on February 24, 2014 captures a typical midwinter perspective from Rosslyn once upon a time. Snow. Ice. I think the last time that the broad lake froze was 2019. And at this advanced date, it looks increasingly unlikely that…
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Library Brook Bobcat
Let’s turn back the clock exactly 2 years to February 16, 2022. Why? To honor this beautiful cat! Let’s call her/him the Library Brook Bobcat since that’s where these remarkable photographs were taken. As I mentioned when I shared these images on Instagram two years ago, the originals were a little dark, so I zoomed…
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Play Daily
From our first fanciful forays — pipe dreaming and what-iffing — Rosslyn represented for Susan and for me an opportunity to play more. Or so we imagined back in 2005 and 2006 as we slowly talked each other into a monumental life change. Although fantasy and reality haven’t overlapped exactly the way we conceived, most…
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Rosslyn Reindeer?
Recent wildlife camera footage suggests that we just *might* be hosting a herd of Rosslyn reindeer. Or Eastern Whitetail Deer masquerading as reindeer… That handsome 8-point buck above is rehearsing his best Rudolph routine, and his nimble chum below could pass as Prancer. Captured with discretely located cameras in Rosslyn’s wildlife sanctuary, these robust whitetail…
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Woodchuck Chuck?
Rosslyn’s yards, gardens, meadows, and woods are thick with wildlife. Sure, some are charismatic and mysterious like bobcats and the coyotes. But others are more familiar. Sometimes even mettlesome. I would like to introduce you to Woodchuck Chuck. The photos in this post were actually taken in the summer of 2010, so the Woodchuck Chuck…
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Katydid Caller
This morning Pam drew my attention to a colorful katydid camping out on one of the exterior icehouse sconces. Camouflaged as a lush green leaf, a perfect disguise after this rainy summer, our katydid caller was disinterested in our attention. Likely resting after a busy night feasting on leaves and/or insects (or perhaps stridulating in…
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Nature’s Interlopers
I make much of our rewilding initiatives at Rosslyn, so it might perplex you that this evening’s post showcases a pair of nature’s interlopers. Although plenty of our wild neighbors might fit into under this topic, I’ll limit myself two two that made an impression on me today. Let’s start with the bold but beautiful…
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Rosy Maple Moth
Several Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) specimens have visited Rosslyn in recent days, all gathering on the exterior of the mudroom door. Some years we see none; others we see many. Because the pre-metamorphosis Rosy Maple Moth larvae (aka greenstriped mapleworms) feed on maple and oak foliage, I suspect their population expansion and contraction corresponds…
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Eastern Milksnake
This morning we spotted another nonvenomous Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum). While gathering limestone for the small stone walls that will delineate sloped flowerbeds behind Rosslyn’s icehouse, Tony discovered this youngster under a pile of rocks. Startled but gentle, this colorfully mottled snake seemed as perplexed by the two of us — and the tractor…
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Fowl Fertilizer
When it comes to organic lawncare for our holistic home, I’m enthusiastic about composted manure. From locally sourced cow manure and alpaca “beans” to not-so-locally sourced bat guano, we find that nature offers up some of the healthiest nutrients for cultivating gardens, orchards, lawns, etc. Hurrah for free, 100% organic fowl fertilizer! Waterfront Waterfowl The…
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Milksnake?
Pam sent me a photo of a spectacular serpent that I’m pretty certain is a milksnake. Pretty certain. But not 100% certain. I took the photo in the driveway at Rosslyn. Probably around 2’ long. — Pam Murphy Judging by color and markings, the Y-pattern on its head, as well as the head and tail…