I love the night sounds of nature, especially being in it and away from “the box.”   “The box” meaning being surrounded by electricity: the hum of the refrigerator and tv, the sound of the water pump, the buzz of sitting next to an electrical outlet. About 2:00am, I heard a giant weird crash outside and went out to investigate.  I could hear something crashing off into the woods. Poor whatever it was scared itself.  It sounded like a mastodon, so was probably a raccoon.  It was only about 50 degrees out there at 2:00am.  There is a beautiful night sky, and it’s supposed to get down to 38.  I can hear the wind chimes in the garden and the leaves rustling overhead.    I feel refreshed just being in nature.   Whether I am walking through my little trails and gardens here, or sitting out at the firepit under the big oaks listening to the lizards and squirrels and birds at play, nature relaxes and renews me like nothing else.

We’ve only had a handful of really chilly days this winter.  At the first cold snap each year is when I typically cut the new trail in the west woods, since I like doing outdoors projects when the weather is cool.   I cut the trail 2-3 months ago but have yet to clear away all the underbrush around it.  I make sure to leave a nice habitat for the critters when I do.

I am very mindful that I share space with lots of animal life here, so I made sure to consider them when I make changes that affect them.  I don’t cut down anything that is a food source for them, the grapes, the saw palmettos, etc.  I don’t block their trails. When I see them out and about, I don’t interact with them. I don’t feed them.  If they come too close as when I’m sitting at the firepit, I hiss to keep them at a distance.  I like sharing the space with them but, just as with friends, it works best when we keep a little distance and give each other plenty of privacy. On a daily basis I’ll see squirrels, birds, hawks, owls, raccoons, opposums, armadillos, turtles, snakes.  We all share this space in harmony with each other

Maybe not so harmonious when my fat feline Yinnie the Minicow grabs a young cardinal and gets dive bombed by the parents until she lets it go.  She doesn’t think about the consequences of her actions.  She’s a cat. Something catches her attention, she grabs for it. That’s all the thought she gives to the matter. Thwarted in getting that one?  No matter, another will be along soon enough.  That’s the law of the wild.  That’s life, too.

I goofed off so much the last couple of days that Sunday is a working day for me.  I send the March Horizons Magazine in to the printer this evening and have yet to do the final proofing. So no one will hear from me today while I knock this out.