blog one
june seventh twenty twenty four

this is the first ever edition of my blog! i have been recording nature observations, some detailed, some not, on and off this year, and decided about a week ago to really devote some time and energy to that for the rest of the year. i figured i would post what i've written so far. the next editions of this blog will be much more frequent, likely monthly. or moonly, possibly, as the new moon was yesterday. so here is my unedited obersvations, recording the end of may back to the beginning of february. it is in reverse chronoligical order because i start writing at the top of a single note on my phone :)

5.30.24
Red clover and yarrow just beginning to bloom. Two wild irises blooming in the field. One lady slipper, but many flowers. Jack in the pulpits are growing by Oscar's grave, there are two. Lilly of the valley has gone past, seemed very early this year. Weather has been unseasonably hot and beautiful, ominously so. I am making a note to record the weather even when it is "nice", as prolonged consistency in nature is in fact an observable change.

4.18.24
I am sitting on the swing with neale at night, about 10 pm. after trivia. It is the time of year where the day and night are the same temperature. The air is dead still. Chilly, but comfortable in my sweatshirt and light jacket. Earlier, when we first came outside, the moon was beautiful, projecting magickal rings, its aura highlighted by the thick atmosphere. Jaw dropping beautiful, I couldn't take my eyes off her. Taking in every ounce of her ethereal light, basking. When finally I looked away for a moment and she was gone, covered by the clouds that swirl into a thick solid blanket. I like how our house looks against the night sky, the monotone white walls and gray backdrop. I like the angles and lines and shadows. Our house is a nice shape.
I can hear the peepers, and in the distance my favorite character, barred owl. This is the first time I've heard him in a while, his whooping song.

4.16.24
it is hot out today. I am sitting in the sun. It has been getting warmer the last three days; Sunday was the first nice day in a while. Yesterday was nice too, but the last whispers of winter held tight and cold on the wind. Today though it is hot. I am sitting on the porch, neale was out here but got too hot and went in to cool off. He's making breakfast. He cleaned the poop and dust off the swing so we can sit on it. He says he'll be back out.
There are birds singing, like always. The cardinal, the north woods musician, singing one of his songs. How do you describe the sound of music? Not the words but the tune?
The chickadee's sweet dee-dee, echoed by another. A goldfinch laughs on the distance.
The sun is HOT. strong. Like the day of the eclipse. It feels like a warm blanket, trapped beneath my long pants and shirt. The euphoric nostalgia of seeing a just returned friend. The sky is bright blue, not a cloud to be seen. The air is still today, the occasional warm sweet breeze bringing just enough relief without shocking change. The app on my phone says it is 60* with 11 MPH winds. I wait for a cup of coffee to cool and it never does.

4.11.24
I am standing outside, waiting for Leah and Connor. We are going to trivia. It is raining gently now, earlier it was pouring. I can hear the ocean, the air smells salty. It reminds me of going downeast as a Child, the sea casting the magic spell only one knows. The birds are what caught my attention so I listen. There was a bird singing a song I'd never heard before, sounds like "here... here..." Merlin couldn't pick it up. There is also a white breasted nuthatch laughing, a cardinal singing, a titmouse, and a raven somewhere that I can't see or hear. It is chilly, the wind's last whisper of winter, but the earth is warm and green. The greens are vibrant, waking up. The lichen caught my eye, the grey green against the dark trees. There was usnea on the driveway. I am going to wait for it to dry up. Tonight is the amphibian's "Big night". That means they will all running across the road tonight. The forsythia is about to bloom, last year it didn't. And the tree at the corner of the driveway is doing red buds! Neale noticed this right after he came out, even though I hadn't as I was standing there for so long.

2.6.24
saw a crow fighting off two red tailed hawks. there was also a bald eagle was flying around them, watching just as I was. perhaps waiting for whatever falls. just as I was. so I stand staring at the clear blue sky above my neighbors house as they take turns with the upper hand.
it seemed as if the crow was driving the hawks away from where I first encountered them. i am genuinely impressed by the crows tenacity, stamina and agility, it is always just ahead of the strike of the hawks, although there were enough close calls that I didn't want to walk away and miss the outcome of their duel.
then, as the crow is flying away with one hawk in tow, the other flying above, the crow turns on a dime and strikes the hawk's wing. the hawk takes a very substantial fall, and would have easily hit the ground had their fight not been taken to such great heights.
but the hawk catches wing, and pulls back alongside its partner while they assess damages. just as I decide the crow had emerged victorious, and begun to walk back home, the hawks took off again, with the crow keeping just out of reach, until their path was obstructed by the trees in front of me.