Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Solitude For Saturday. #1
Hello everyone! Saturday is here once more and a little change to my Saturday post since it is a little cool for sitting on the deck now. Although today is nice, and the next 2 days will be nice as well, before the temperature drops dramatically. It is a cloudy day however, and a few raindrops keep showing up.
I was watching a white-breasted nuthatch out here this morning, but it was raining so I did not go out for a picture. Then the rain stopped, so I grabbed my camera and out I went. Just in time to see the white-breasted nuthatch fly away with another sunflower seed. And he never came back. Sigh.
He showed up yesterday for the first time this fall. So I was really hoping for a picture. Maybe later. Or another day. Watching these beautiful little birds coming to the feeder, that is solitude. Today I have been thinking about my favorite spot along the river. I have not been there since October 3, 2019. That was the day of my little accident. This spot is a much further walk than where I usually go.
Plus, there are 2 steep hills to climb in order to get to this spot. But it is so beautiful, overlooking the river, sitting under all those big pines, both white pine and red pine. There is a very thick mat of pine needles on the ground, so that very little really grows in that area. That is solitude.
The sun shines there in the morning and early afternoon. Along the path to get there are 2 sections that are dark, each of them a tree lined tunnel, where the sun rarely, if ever, gets a chance to peek through the overhead branches and touch the ground.
One area is thick with balsam fir and some spruce trees, the ground covered with a thick layer of soft moss. It is a wonderful area to find mushrooms. That is solitude. Some species of mushrooms I have only found in that area. Back to my favorite spot. I enjoyed sitting on that thick mat of needles, or on one of the many rocky areas overlooking the river.
I would sit and gaze out on the river, thoroughly feasting on the tranquility and beauty of the river. That is solitude. I would write a lot of my poems while sitting there. Perhaps next year. Thank you for joining me on my little journey of solitude. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2022 Steve McLeod.
Looking At Insects. #24 Butterfly
Good morning to everyone! Well, we are back with another butterfly for today. This one is the “Painted Lady” butterfly. Amazingly it is found throughout most of the world, here in N. America, Europe, Asia, India, Africa and the northern part of S. America. In our area it can be found from late May to the end of September. It has a wingspan of just slightly more than 2 inches and has 2 broods per year.
This butterfly is migratory in our area and flies south to the southwestern US for the winter. They can be very common one year, then hardly seen for 2 or more years before becoming common once again. The year 2019 was a very good year for them, since then I have seen just one, which was this year. Hopefully they will be here in better numbers next year. I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2022 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 