Out to the Farm : )

I have been dying to get out to the farm (family property in Mesopotamia) ever since the minute I left last. I totally wish that I could live out there because it is definitely where I belong. If everything goes as planned, I will be living out there in a few years. I need to get some jobs after college to start paying off some loans, and then I can think about a building loan for my house!!! It's going to be so amazing! Living amongst the Amish, but I'm going to be and environmental friendly homesteader. I hope that over time, I can help my neighbors to have a greater respect for nature. Oh yeah and the picture is me doing one of my favorite chores on my future homestead : )

The list of opportunities for me at the farm is endless and SO EXCITING : )  The property has passed down my mom's side of the family for I don't know how many generations, and I know that it will one day be in my name, which I plan on putting a conservation easement on it and keeping it in the family. I think it will be great to take the land back to it's farming roots, I will have a smaller-scale garden, a greenhouse, chickens, I will forage for many things and occasionally hunt...I will be almost entirely self-sufficient and the remainder of my needs will hopefully be fulfilled within the community. I think that localizing economies and trade is one of the best ideas to help save the planet from the craziness.

Anyway, I could go on all day, but I must tell a few stories about my wonderful time in Amish country. I met my parents out there Saturday late afternoon, and took a nice walk through the woods. Immediately I recognized the unfamiliar song of a Chipping Sparrow in a small open field between our yard and the woods. This is a small bird paradise here, and in a month it will be filled with the songs of Common Yellowthroats, Yellow Warblers, Blue-winged Warblers, Indigo Buntings, and more. Add to these the songs of the American Redstart, Cerulean Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Carolina Wren, and many more coming from the woods just beyond the small field, and the Spring harmony is at it's finest. I play a game where I try to see how many birds I can tally when I wake up before I even get out of bed...just by listening to the songs. Beginning to understand why I love this place so much?

Continuing my walk along the Eastern treeline, there is a large corn field adjacent. I began hearing the sound of a flock of blackbirds in the distance, and I unconsciously assumed that they were Red-winged Blackbirds and maybe some Grackles. When I got a bit closer, I realized that I was hearing Rusty Blackbirds! There were so many that it was hard to pick out an individual call to focus on, and the Red-wings were loudest. Rusty Blackbirds aren't really a common sight, I usually spot them about this time through May every year, maybe a few times a year. This time was awesome though, there were at least 60 birds plus some RWBBs and a couple Cowbirds mixed in. I've never seen more than 10 at a time before. I really wish that I could have gotten a photo to put up, but they are very skittish. Oh and by the way, I love them because of their bright yellow eye, and their awesome call that sounds like a cassette tape being rewound and played...you know like a yak bak or scribbling or something. So cool. I recommend trying to seek these guys out! They prefer wetland areas (like other blackbirds) but can be found really anywhere blackbirds are found. Gotta listen for them though.

The rest of my walk was nice as well, but moving on, I had dinner with my parents around sundown when I came back to the cabin, Mom had it done soon after I came back. Gotta love Moms : )  After a little Jam session with some Eagles, Elton John, and Marshall Tucker Band, we went to bed, and I was ready for a morning hike.

I woke up at sunrise and the Cardinals, Carolina Wren, Song Sparrows, Chickadees, Titmice were singing through the walls of the cabin. I ate a piece of triple berry pie for breakfast and headed out. Oh!! The Carolina Wren started building a nest with his mate in our outhouse last July. Pretty funny. Anyway, he finished it this Spring, and it looks SO COOL. I keep forgetting to get a photo of it. But I also haven't managed to photograph the bird yet anyway so I will have to do a bit on them soon...

My general destination on this walk was to make it to a place that I call Waterthrush Falls. Haha, it's located in Cerulean Gorge and it's so pretty. It is named Waterthrush Falls because many a Louisiana Waterthrush dance and forage along the slate bedrock in the creek. Did I mention that the Louisiana Waterthrush could be a candidate for one of my favorite songbirds? I love them! I plan on studying a nesting pair this year so hopefully I will have some good observations and photos in a couple months! I expect them to return in a week or no more than two weeks. Can't wait! Here is a photo of a bird from last year. I will get better ones this year for sure!

I think that my photos of Waterthrush Falls explain what isn't needed to be said, it's just a magical place...the heart of my sanctuary really. I must say though that I love how dynamic streams and floodplains are, every year so many things change. This falls looks different every year. There is also a big Hemlock that uprooted and fell off the slope along the creek this past month. It will be interesting to watch this new gap on the hillside's ecosystem develop over the next years!

If you want to see more photos than the ones I put on here, they are on my Flickr page (there is a link on the side of this page). I think this entry is already somewhat lengthy, but I must also quickly mention a few things about my trip to the Grand River Wildlife Area. (which is just down the road from me)

It's always interesting there, I usually head over to the old fishponds on Norton Lane, and there are many birds (waterfowl etc.) and herps to be seen here! The Leopard Frogs were calling with the Spring Peepers, but I could not locate one for a photo : (  I will try harder next time I promise! Bird highlights included; Green-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Northern Shoveler, American Wigeon, Bufflehead, 2 Bald Eagles, and these beauties!!!

Trumpeter Swans! They are a listed state endangered species. Historically, they have been over-hunted and their wetland habitats been destroyed. Seeing these big beautiful native swans is always a treat. Every time I've ever seen them, it's been a pair, many of which have tags on their legs and collars on their necks. It was nice to see this pair without. They make a wonderful trumpeting sound (unlike the annoying honk of a Canada Goose in my opinion) and I love hearing them : )

I wish I could have photographed more waterfowl in the gorgeous blue water, but they are all very skittish. GRWA is open to public hunting, and shotgun shells line the dikes between the ponds. These ducks don't take any chances (though if I had a gun I could have popped a few lol). I was down low looking for frogs for a while and some teal flew right over me. Good thing I only shoot with my camera : ) Not the best photo, but at least you can see a GW Teal drake in flight right??

Well I need to go to bed so I will end with a few more photos of wildlife that I found at GRWA. If you ever get a chance to check it out, I would recommend it!

Oh, one last thing to mention, I saw some tiny sprouts of wildflowers. Hopefully in a week I will be posting photos of them on here because I will have made it back out to may sanctuary to see them : ) I anticipate Bloodroot, Hepatica, Spring Beauty in numbers, and some other misc. as well!