BEAUTY HIDES IN DARK PLACES

Shade tree

Did you ever think about the the dark places in mother nature's repertoire? Over time,  I have been observing these dark places in nature realizing it contains a world of beauty.

 I define dark places as shadows, stormy skies and the dark of night as palettes for her specialized beauty.

A robin's nest shaded by leaves

I find interesting wild things in shadows. Shadows are everywhere -- perhaps in your yard, or on a walk through the woods, or along a wild roadway, plus more.  These areas hold special beauties such as lichens, mosses, and wildflowers that survive best in shade.

Jewelweed  tiny orchid type wildflowers 
growing along a creek in the shade. (Identified for me by Mamabug's Nature Photos)

When my grass gets taller than I like in the summer, it invites spiders to rest in its grass shadows. When the temps rise I notice flying insects clinging to shady trunks of trees. Birds sequester themselves  under leafy tree branches of mature trees to stay cool. Here in the shadows is where we can find an ample supply of wildness. 

Storm clouds cast dark shadows on the landscape

The dark of night is essential to mother nature.  Last night, around midnight, I had a beautiful experience as I stood on my porch. I had stepped out briefly to let my dog out when I heard the call of an eastern screech owl. It came from a nearby tree. Then another screech owl called  from high up in our thickly wooded  mountains. I stood there listening as the owls took turns calling to each other, their calls  producing a rousing midnight concert. 

A walking stick resting on my window screen in  the darkening night. 

He is on the outside looking in.

Perhaps we should provide more dark places for nature if we continue to have scalding hot summers. By planting trees, shrubs or grasses we will not only provide a place for wildness to flourish but it would help cool down our climate a bit. 

A SCARY TORNADO DAY

This was the look of the sky over my home most of yesterday. It was a chaotic day of warnings, watches, rain, thunder,  lightning and strong winds from noon till eight p.m. Severe racing storms overhead mingled their sound with my radio blaring out "take cover." 


I have been through lots of tornado conditions but yesterday's number of tornadoes in the state of Kentucky was indeed scary. Ultimately, as night moved in,  I found I had escaped with no destruction to my home or property. And, I was all in one piece physically. Except I found I was mentally shaken from the whole experience. 


But sad to say many persons across several states, that were touched by the huge front that ran from the deep south to the far northern state of Michigan, experienced some destruction. Many even lost their lives. 


When such storms enter our lives we are vulnerable to death or critical injury. A tornado strike happens randomly. We know what it can do, we respect its ferociousness.  Yet if we find ourselves under the threat of a tornado we attempt to deny the possibility that it might touch down on our place.


But we are vulnerable to the randomness of Mother Nature. It was a reminder to me that life is to be lived for the moment. 

SHAGBARK HICKORY TREE PROVIDES BANQUET FOR WILDLIFE

SHAGBARK HICKORY TREE NEAR AN OLD COUNTRY CHURCH

A few weeks ago, I was meandering around a piece of property where an old country church stood  but was now abandoned. I had been to this property before and thought I could capture some better photos of the church than I had taken previously. 

As I wandered about, snapping photos, I nearly bumped into a tree. The tree that I had almost bumped into was a majestic Shagbark hickory tree that was back-lite by a dark blue clear sky. Its shaggy appearance was humorous yet appealing and its height and girth told me it was middle aged to elderly, appearing quite healthy. 

SHAGBARK HICKORY NUT HUSKS CRACKED OPEN 

ON THE GROUND BY THE TRUNK OF THE SHAGBARK TREE

I instinctively looked down at the ground to search for hickory nuts that I knew would have dropped  from the tree around  this time -- providing a rich food source for wildlife.  

There appeared to have been a banquet on the ground around the base of the tree. Nut husks were cracked open in fragments, fragments that once contained white nut meats. It was evident that some wild critters had certainly enriched their diets. It could have been any of the wildlife that can be found in the area such as Gray squirrels, Eastern chipmunks, White Footed mice, or wild turkeys -- all known to devour Shagbark nuts. 

Missing from the Shagbark hickory banquet were  bears that love the nuts as well as the native American population that used the nuts in their diet. 

This very Shagbark could be almost 200 years old as they are known to live that long. If it is, that means that it actually could  have had in its early life a few bears and native Americans feasting on its bounty. Perhaps these former area residents did visit this tree at one time. If only this tree could tell us its story.

RESOURCE:


Hilton Pond, Center for Piedmont Natural History