Springtime in the Woods

This post is just to share some of the beauty that I see on my walks in the local woods these days.  I'm so lucky to live close to beautiful trails where I can experience such peace and tranquility, and be surrounded by so much to see. Each time I go, I try to find new and interesting things.  These days, there are starting to be a lot of mosquitoes too, so I have to keep up the pace, but I try to snap some pictures while I'm there.

Sometimes I know the species I see, and sometimes I have no idea.  These tiny mushrooms are an unknown species for me, but their warm colour stand out.  The first picture is a more mature one, about 1.5 cm across, and the bottom picture is a tiny one just forming, about the size of a green pea.  

I love how they are nestled in a bed of mossy green.

  I love the patterns in the grain of wood in some of the fallen trees.

This one has such interesting wavy patterns.  It reminds me of a stream, meandering through the woods.

Here's a real stream, meandering through the woods.  I love to stop and listen to the gentle sounds of the water flowing over rocks and around tree roots.  

There are loads of painted trillium (Trillium undulatum) in bloom right now where I walk.  They're a short-lived flower that only blooms in spring, so it's a delight to see them while they're out.  The flower is stunningly beautiful.

There are other spring flowers just starting to open, like this threeleaf goldthread (Coptis trifolia). These are really tiny, so you have to be willing to stop and focus on the ground and really look around for them. Such an exquisite structure.

This is a rock covered in Baeomyces rufus, brown beret lichen.

The green mosses are so vibrant now, and the deciduous leaves are just starting to emerge.  It is a lovely time of year for walks in the woods.

Walk in the Woods

I went for a walk in the woods today, in the hopes that the trails I had used for snowshoeing this past winter would be clear of any remaining ice and snow, and also not too boggy, since we've had a bit of a wet spring (as usual).  I did end up having to cross a few boggy areas, but in general, it was a successful walk.  I had only discovered the trail this winter in my efforts to get out more, so it was a new experience for me to walk this trail in anything other than snowy conditions.  I was delighted with the beauty all around me in this spring season.

In particular, the trail is absolutely packed with vast areas of Cladonia species of lichen, which are commonly known as reindeer lichens.  They are an important winter food source for many small animals.  I'm not sure which species this is....there are a quite a few.

This one is Giant Cladonia (Cladonia maxima)

As you can see from this photo, there are large patches of Cladonia along both sides of the trail.

I love the mixed greens that are beginning to show in the mosses and lichens.

Some areas are almost entirely sphagnum moss species, and are wonderfully green and spongy underfoot.  You can see the blue markers on the trees that help mark the trail when the snow covers the path.

The scenery is very peaceful and I find it calming to walk here.

The club mosses are also emerging now.  

As I came to the end of my walk, I spotted an interesting critter!

I don't often see snakes on my walks.  This is a Maritime garter snake.  Totally harmless, and quite exciting to see!  

I don't think it was all that happy about being photographed, so I retreated and let it go on its way.

I then came home and managed to get my snow peas and sugar snap peas planted in my raised beds.  I noticed that I had some parsnip foliage beginning to show from some leftover parsnips from last year.  I wasn't quite expecting this harvest though!

There are lots of big ones, too!

I think there's some parsnip soup in my immediate future!

Answering Some Questions

I missed the Weekend Roundup cutoff, so I'll do Q and R next week.  This week, I thought I'd answer some questions.

Sometimes readers ask questions in their comments on my blog, and I'm not always very good at responding to those. This is a post that responds to a whole lot of previous questions.

Regional Questions:

"Do you travel to Halifax very often?" asked Jim.

Yes, I travel to Halifax numerous times throughout the year.  It's about a 2-hour drive.  Since my parents live there, I try to visit on a somewhat regular basis when my work schedule allows.  Next time you and Mrs. Jim are visiting, let me know and I'll come and have a coffee with you!

"Because your place is so wooded, I thought you lived in more forested country." said Michelle.

This isn't exactly a question, but I thought I would add more to this point.  We do have a home that is surrounded by woods.  Our home is on the edge of an agricultural area though, so there is a mix of wooded areas and open pasture areas.  Here's a satellite view of our general area.  As you can see, the left side is largely wooded (the darker green) and the right side is largely agricultural, and there is a lake in the upper middle area that kind of separates the areas.  When I go for my walk, I transition between those two zones.  The agricultural area is actually a floodplain, and it's where I get the hay that I feed to the sheep and goat!

Critter Questions:

"Does Pippin like to be groomed?" asked Michelle.

I think that he doesn't mind short periods of grooming.  He stays quite still on my lap for a while, but he has a time limit.  He doesn't like more than about 5 minutes.  When he's shedding heavily, I may hold him firmly for a bit longer to get more of the fur off.  This is in his best interest because GI stasis and intestinal blockages caused by hair are very serious in rabbits.  I try to limit the time while also avoiding these potential problems.  He always gets treats post-grooming!  

"Can you spin rabbit fur into yarn as you can other fibers?" asked Porkpal.

You can spin rabbit fur from angora rabbits, which typically have 2.5 to 3 inch (or more) fibre length.  Spinning rabbit fur from our domesticated short-haired mini-rex rabbits would not be easy, because the length of each fibre is only about 1 inch.  You could blend it in with other longer fibres, but it would have a tendency to work its way out of the yarn because it's so short.  

"When Pippin misbehaves, do you call him Pippin or Sir Pippin of Dazzlewood Hill?" asked Tom.

Pippin....misbehave?  Now when would that ever happen?!  Actually, he sometimes chases Epinette, which he should not do, and that usually results in me clapping my hands loudly and saying "Pippin!" in a fierce voice, which stops the chasing and makes him think twice.  

"Since you never mention the dog, I assume it is Marc's?" asked Michelle.

Yes, Timber is Marc's dog and she is mostly an outdoor dog.  She is a part Newfoundland dog we think, and maybe part lab.  She is about 13 years old, which is surprising given her age.  She is a long-haired, heavily shedding dog.  I am more of a short-haired dog fan, or a very small dog fan, so I guess she just isn't quite my kind of dog, but she's very sweet.

"I didn't know you had so many hens!" said Michelle.

Not exactly a question, but yes, we currently have 22 chickens.  Our 3 roosters are Willoughby, Fancy Pants, and Wellington.  Our hens are Cream, Jellybelly, Whisp, Licorice, Dazzle, Marigold, Poppy, Paprika, Juniper Moon, Sienna, Marble, Onyx, Little Grey Hen, Amelia Henheart, Dove, Shadow, Star, Maple, and Buttercream.

"I didn't know you had rats - more photos please!" said Lin.

Unfortunately, as you know, Ivy died earlier this year, but we still have Violet.

"Do you just fry up those little eggs?" asked Lin

This is in reference to the small sized (1 to 1.5 oz) eggs from the silkies and seramas.  I tend to use those little eggs for egg custard.  My recipe calls for 4 large eggs, so I use 8 little eggs and it turns out perfectly!

"I notice some sheeply artifacts in the background..." said Porkpal.  "Even though they don't begin with D, I'm curious about them."

This was on my letter D post back in March.  I had posted a picture of my new mug warmer on my desk.  In the background was this adorable sheep hooked mat, which Marc gave me for Christmas.  It was locally made and sold at the craft shop located at the waterfowl park.  I use the mat on my desk for hot plates (I often eat lunch and supper at my desk).  I also just like to look at it and smile at the cute design!  

You might also catch a glimpse of these sheep coasters on my desk, a gift from my mom, who always has her eye open for sheepy-themed gifts!

The other artifact in the background of that D-post was my sheepy pajama leg.  

I have a bit of a thing for sheep pajamas...

....and sheep sheets.

Don't tell the sheep, but I also have alpaca pajamas.

I'm finally a shepherdess again!

After 2 years and 8 months of having my 2 sheep being cared for by others, they have finally come home.  I'm so pleased to have Tucker and Twilight back with me again!

I just love those woolly faces!

After putting in the fencing here at the new house, I was hoping to get the electric wires up as well, before they came home, but NB Power is taking a long time to install the necessary new connection to the outbuilding.  My friend who was caring for them really needs the space for her alpaca crias and my sheep were being hard on her fences too.  It was time for them to come back.  I really hope that they don't try any funny escape business before we can get those wires connected!

I managed to get a couple of welded wire panels, which are rare around here, to set up a temporary shelter for the sheep, and for their hay, until the barn can be put into place.  It's not perfect, but it gives them a dry spot to hang out in the rain, and keeps the hay dry, too.  It rained much of yesterday and they didn't seem to mind being in the rain, so their fleeces are still pretty damp today.

They have a fairly heavily forested area for their "pasture" now, so they will need hay all year round.  It's possible that once the goats come back (which will be soon), the trees may be affected, since goats like to strip bark.  Even Tucker seems to be sampling the bark!

Over time, some trees may be removed and that may add to the sunshine in the area, resulting in more grass growing there, but for now, it's just moss and some woodland plants.  I think they're settling in to their new woodsy environment.