Moments to Cherish!

I was reflecting on those moments in life that are rare and special. Moments that unlikely will be duplicated again. Moments that bring joy and wonderment. Moments or sightings that I might take for granted and presume will happen again next year or next season, but often don't. 

Such as . . .

 the bluebird at the window in the middle of a snowstorm taking shelter, 

the bunny teasing Sigi at the porch door,

the deer twins edging closer and closer, curious to know more,

a beautiful painted turtle crossing our path as Sigi and I took a fall walk,

the group of goldfinch in the spring eating the seed pods from the catmint at my window,

discovering a young fawn in the meadow, lost and confused and later united with her mother the following day,

finding a baby bunny hiding INSIDE my garden fence,

the fox in the upper meadow just hanging out,

walking out the front door and discovering the tiniest baby turtle right on the sidewalk,

finding baby bunnies huddled innocently in a mulch pile,

capturing the most beautiful afternoon rays of light shining through the petals of 

these Richard Ahren's anemones,

and watching one of our bee girls in the spring collecting nectar. 

(Our last hive died last week in the extreme cold).

Here are some quotes that I find fitting for these reflections: 

"The only constant in life is change." 

(Heraclitus)

"Learn to flow with life like a stream. 

Change is the constant in our world, 

everything and everyone is always 

in a constant state of change. 

Learn to flow with life, 

relax and 

enjoy the ride." 

(Kemmy Nola)

Catch me if you can, big dog!

Despite the fact that we have a very large dog, Sigi, we still have rabbits all over our back yard. They enjoy teasing him and leaving remains for him to smell and torment him and then even mock him by hopping right by his door. 

It is a friendly interaction though and provides great entertainment for us all. 

Jumping Bunnies!

Last week I created a fortress around my newly planted fall garden after discovering much of it had been munched. Perhaps it was rabbits or maybe even crows, but this morning while watering the flowers and basil what should jump a foot high in surprise but 2 baby bunnies in unison. I couldn’t help but smile as they are so innocent and small.

This says it all!

Hawk versus crow

Last summer a pair of red tailed hawks built a nest in the woods beyond the meadow. The woods were filled with squawking and cries from the babies while Ma and Pa kept flying back and forth all day to meet their needs. This spring though a gaggle of crows moved into the neighborhood. They ganged up on the hawks and drove them away. I did some investigating and found that crows will “mob” hawks to drive them out and this is exactly what I observed. This in turn caused an explosion of rabbits to be born. I can count over 5 rabbits anytime of the day in the yard in all stages of life.

The gang of crows built a nest in a row of evergreens opposite from the woods in the late spring into the early summer. After the crow fledglings were out on their own a hawk reappeared. The crows gave a bit of a fight but not enough this time to keep the hawk pair away. So, now the hawks are back, trying to nest again and bringing the rabbit numbers back in check. There is finally balance again in this part of the web of life.

Check out these amazing photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhcarter3/3518053461/