Blog Archives

Single-lane restrictions

2/27/2021

A well-packed trail made for somewhat easier going earlier in February.

However, it meant most of my gang was single-file trekking. Any travel off the beaten path, was difficult. Since the goats couldn't or wouldn't get off the trail, they ended up being major traffic stoppers.

Kyle and Kennedy insist on trying to be ahead of the herd, but they also stop and block the path of travel. They would butt anyone who tried to pass them.

Clem was the only one who was interested in off roading. Sadie and Sherman were often stuck behind or between the goats unable to pass. The only available passing zone for the dogs was the frozen pond where they could get around the goats.

The dogs' weren't the only ones with issues with the goat imposed travel restrictions.

Due to an appointment, my husband was tasked with taking the gang for their daily walk.

I received an earful when I arrived home about how the goats are jerks and how he had to use a stick to keep them at bay.

He was later searching for electric cattle prods on Amazon in hopes of giving Kyle and Kennedy an attitude adjustment.

Meanwhile as the neighbor's pond served as one of the only ways to get around the goats, the dogs turned it into a battle arena. It was kind of like a hockey game without the sticks and pucks.

Meanwhile, our trail also provided a pathway from some wild critters as well.

While a few deer used our path, the tracks of coyote, fox and turkey could be seen walking on top of the snow.

The deer, like us, were stuck trying to traverse through the cold crusty layers.

There were bare patches in the woods were the deer were trying to dig up some food.

Of course these fight scenes provided for some interesting action shots.

I posted a series of doggy battle shots on Facebook and netted some "likes" and "lols."

One shot in particular(below) seemed to get more interest than other.

I hadn't really paid attention to the whole photo and was just focusing on Sadie's expression. After several comments, I looked closer to see Clem's snout firmly gripped in Sadie's jaws.

That must have been the yelp I heard before I stepped in and refereed.

On one weekend between our morning walk and our afternoon walk, turkey tracks appeared. They seemed to be everywhere.

Sure enough the wild fowl were spotted ahead crossing our path, but they didn't stick around for a good photo opportunity.

A check of the trail cameras yielded a whole flock of turkeys gathering on the neighbor's pond.

Nonetheless, I had to go through hundreds of photos to even view the turkey pictures.

There must have been a few windy days last week. There were more than 200 frames of the "dancing twig" or rather a tree branch I've been meaning to move out of the camera's range of focus.

Meanwhile as temperatures warmed, the single-lane restrictions could soon be lifted.

Walking on a melting path was somewhat almost like a dance. The steps went something like

this "step, step, slide, and ankle turn." Soon the dogs' battle arena and shortcut will be off limits as the pond ice thins.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

Check out more of Anna's talents at https://www.facebook.com/Applegateslatses

0 Comments

Appreciation of apricity

2/22/2021

0 Comments

Single digit temperatures last week had me seeking some warmth.

The sun, while it didn't do a whole lot to bring the temperature above freezing, was enough to warm up these walkers.
I could even feel slight heat as the sun shone on my dark-colored jeans.

The goats actually enjoyed some time outside their shed despite the frigid weather.

They basked in the sunshine inside their pen. We have termed this behavior "solar-goating," and jokingly say it is how they recharge.

However, it would seem like there is actually a term for the warmth of the sun in winter, apricity.

Sponsor: Click ad for details on this program that starts March 11, 2021

The website, www.merriam-webster.com, has an awesome article on the subject titled "Apricity and Other Rare Wintry Words." There were other words on the site I would have loved to write about, but it would be hard to do so without copying the whole article.

Nonetheless as I and the animals appreciated the apricity, it didn't bode well for some fancy frost formations.

I have found the trick to getting these icy creations is to trek out on a frigid morning right as the sun is getting above the trees.
We had set out a little late that morning, so I only found a few frosty figures that were still safe from the sun's warmth.

However even as I attempted to capture some photos, the slightest breeze was sending some of crystals to their doom.

Some of the best frost formations were over an open stream where rising water vapor overnight created leaf-like shapes on small branches. I marveled at their beauty while I tried not to fall into the icy waters.

"Apricity appears to have entered our language in 1623, when Henry Cockeram recorded (or possibly invented) it for his dictionary The English Dictionary; or, An Interpreter of Hard English Words. Despite the fact that it is a delightful word for a delightful thing it never quite caught on, and will not be found in any modern dictionary aside from the Oxford English Dictionary," the post stated.

While it seems apricity never really caught on, the term snowbirds, which was also mentioned in the article, seems to have found a place in recent language.

This is a term I am familiar with as it refers northerners who winter in the south. However, it mentioned an alternate definition as "one who uses cocaine," which I had never heard of before and will likely not use it as such a phase.

While the crystal creations lived on through photos, they had disappeared by the time the gang and I went on our afternoon walk. That's just the nature of things 'round here.

Sponsor

0 Comments

Cheeky chickadees

2/17/2021

0 Comments

What black-capped chickadees lack of brilliantly colored feathers, they make up for in personality.

Here at the Applegate household, they can often be seen sitting only inches away when I fill the bird feeders. They are always busy, flitting back and forth and never sit still for long.

However, their seemly cheerful chirps and puffy cheeks are a welcome sound and sight.

"Not only are these birds super cute, they also have winning personalities.

They are curious and unafraid of humans, and old-time birders call this classic chickadee trait 'confiding,'" added a Sally Roth, author of an article titled "The Chickadee Bunch: All About Chickadees" posted on www.birdsandblooms.com.

Local longtime birder and Seneca Rocks Audubon Society member Gary Edwards repeats this sentiment in his book "Birds of Venango County."

Sponsor, more on chickadees below.

The little birds are "sociable and easily found most of the year," Edwards wrote."They become accustomed to humans and often can be hand fed with little effort."

"Its habit of investigating people and everything else in its home territory, and quickness to discover bird feeders, make it one of the first birds most people learn," said a post on The Cornell Lab's All About Birds website,
Black-capped chickadees can be found at feeders throughout much of the continent, from Alaska and Canada to the mountains of New Mexico and Tennessee, according to Roth.

While parts of Pennsylvania are home to another chickadee, the Carolina chickadee, Edwards' research has found that that species has only ventured as far north as Butler County. In southern Pennsylvania, the Carolina chickadee and black-capped chickadee crossbreed which can make identification difficult.

Meanwhile, those of us in the north usually only have the black-capped chickadee appearing in our yards and at our feeders.

When the little birds visit, they often hoard food for later.

"The black-capped chickadee hides seeds and other food items to eat later. Each item is placed in a different spot and the chickadee can remember thousands of hiding places," said a post on The Cornell Lab's All About Birds website.

In addition to its personality, the chickadee is known for its call which is the reason behind its name.

According to the All About Birds post on chickadees, they actually have different sounding calls.

"Chickadees make their chickadee-dee-dee call using increasing numbers of dee notes when they are alarmed. They also have a gargling call, often given aggressively when a lower-ranking bird gets close to a higher-ranking one; also exchanged between members of a pair. Black-capped Chickadees make a high pitched see as a high-intensity alarm call, often when a fast-approaching predator is detected. When chickadees hear this call, they freeze in position until they hear a chickadee-dee call signifying 'all clear,'" the post stated.

The post also went on to state that "chickadee nestlings make an explosive hiss and slap the inside of their nest cavity when an intruder looks in."

I can't say that I've every been hissed at by a chickadee. However, I'm pretty sure that I have been scolded for an empty feeder or for sitting too close to the feeder with my camera.

I also need to recant an earlier statement in my "Winter Wonderland" piece. It seems like the great horned owl is not the only one who sings a love song in the winter. Chickadees also start their mating calls in mid-January, according to All About Birds.

According to a post titled "Chickadees start to sing a song of spring" the increasing daylight hours signal the love songs.

"Although mating pairs formed back in the fall and remain together as part of a winter flock, the longer days are stimulating the birds to sing to renew coupling bonds. Males begin singing in mid-January, and increases in frequency as the daylight progresses. The singing of these common winter-residents is one of the first vocal signs that spring is around the corner," the post stated.

While the statement leaves me hopeful that "spring is around the corner," we continue our winter wonderland walking as the temperatures fall and the snow piles up.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

0 Comments

Cold Piece of Work

2/14/2021

0 Comments

Mother Nature, not to be outdone by the lovely ice sculptures at Franklin on Ice, has created some works of her own over the past few weeks. Although, her pieces tend to be a little more abstract in nature.

I know some folks have pretty much had it up to their necks with the ice posts. However, that is just the nature of things this time of year.

There's not too much wildlife movement and nothing new as far as flowers popping up each week. Ice and snow formations are about the only things that add a little variety.

About the only things moving are the goats when the dogs decide to chase them.
The goats like to butt the dogs and bite at their tails. So when the dogs turn the tables, I just let it happen. I believe it is known as Karma.

Speaking of Karma, those who criticize these icy prose could be called cold pieces of work. Thefreedictionary.com defines a cold piece of work as a "remarkably difficult, malicious, unpleasant or objectionable person."

I thought a little play on words would work for the title.

I have always sought out ice and frost photos. I found that the best time to catch some of these formations are early in the morning just as the sun is waking up.

Too much sun will melt the frost and ice and destroy some of the fragile artwork, no matter how cold the temperature is outside.

This year's work schedule so far has not been favorable to find many of these formations.

I could stay up and go out after working the night shift. However, it is usually still dark when arriving home.

I have tried to walk the dogs at this time, but it proves to be difficult.

It is a time when the wild animals have just finished or are still moving about the woods.

This makes the crazy canines even more crazier.

The dogs are full of energy because they slept the full eight hours that I was at work.

I, however, am pretty much the walking dead at that point and can't wait to get to bed.

While the dogs' energy level is high, my level of irritation seems to grow with each step.

So we postponed early morning walking until the sun takes to the sky.

Nonetheless, the setting sun provided some color earlier last week.

Also last week, I snapped a couple photos of the neighborhood red squirrel. It was pretty much staring me down as I was near it's home which is a hole in my home's porch floor.

The squirrel and the chipmunks, who are currently hibernating, have quite the setup living under my wraparound porch.

Not to mention that the fully stocked bird feeders are not that far away.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

Special thanks to our continued sponsor at Buffalo Street Lanes

And just one more abstract piece of work from Mother Nature.

0 Comments

The saga of the missing lens cap and the dreaded drift

2/6/2021

0 Comments

"While their breeds are known for search and rescue, my canines like to search and rescue poop and dead things. "

The three canines could not wait to get out last week to enjoy the fresh powder that fell from the sky.

They ran, they sniffed, and they wrestled in the white stuff.
Perhaps the snow blanket provided a softer cushion for the beatings they inflict on each other.

Some of their love of the snow could be due to their breeding.

The Newfoundland and Saint Bernard breeds fall into the working group and both breeds are used in search and rescue. They are also built for the snow and cold weather.

The bloodhound is of course in the hound group. One site described the breed as a "nose with a dog attached."

While Clem has short hair, his thick coat and long legs leave him at no disadvantage in the cold and snow.

While their breeds are known for search and rescue, my canines like to search and rescue poop and dead things. Nonetheless, Clem, Sadie and Sherman have walking poop dispensers of their own, Kyle and Kennedy.
However, Clem does have an interest in tracking wildlife trails. Sometimes he and Sadie will find and unsuspecting mole, but those instances are few and far between.

Nonetheless, his tracking skills did not seem to be limited to natural items.

On one of the snowier days, I dropped a lens cap from my camera somewhere in the wilderness. The case of the missing lens cap led to me to try to retrace my footsteps through heavier snow.

It was quite the workout for the calf muscles and on that day the lens cap was not located.

I tried to uncover every dark spot in the snow only to find one stick after another.

I have extras, but this incident left yet another fallen lens cap somewhere in the woods. Fast forward to a few days later Clem was digging out something in the snow. My usual response was a groan and an often repeated question, "What are you messing with now?."

It was my lens cap.

I was so shocked I almost forgot to grab it from the boisterous bloodhound. I know from experience the caps don't fit too well after Clem is done with them. I praised him for his efforts, but he wasn't happy. He would have rather had the prize than the praise.

Meanwhile despite the success of locating a lost lens cap, Mother Nature decided to make traversing the trails just a little more difficult.

A few days later came the dreaded drift. It is one thing I don't like about winter walking. Heavier snowfall usually isn't an issue once we have a good path broken.

However, crossing the field between our house and my parents house is a different story.

Once the wind kicks up we have to break the path daily and sometimes it has drifted shut by the time we have returned from our walk. This means trying to trek through deep snow on an incline.

This kind of sounds like the old "uphill both ways" story. Then the goats like to be in front,

however they end up stopping a lot. I then have to try to detour around them.

This is like trying to pass those drivers on the roads who like to speed up when you attempt to go around them. I'm attempting to gain traction in the snow while the goats kept speeding up on the packed path.

However, I managed to get around the slow goats.

As the snow can hamper treks in the woods, it can also lead to other issues.

The snow fall at the beginning of last week was wetter than past frozen precipitation.

Sadie's fine coat, while it is built for cold weather, it also seems to attract snowballs like Velcro.

The poor girl must be carrying at least an extra five pounds or more on her leg hair.

Nonetheless, she takes it in stride. She pauses every few steps to groom the frozen chunks off.

She also insists on rolling the snow in the field right before we head into the house so she is good and wet. She then heads inside to the couch to thaw out.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

Special thanks to our continuing sponsors at the Buffalo Street Lanes

0 Comments

Author

"The Nature of Things" features the writings and photographs of Anna Applegate, who is a lifelong resident of Pinegrove Township, Venango County. She is a graduate of Cranberry High School and Clarion University. After a 15-year career in the local news industry, she made a change and now works at a steel finishing plant in Sandycreek Township. She is a avid lover of animals and nature, and a gifted photographer.

Very happy to be able to share Anna's great "The Nature of Things" blog.

Check out Anna's other artwork here!

Single-lane restrictions

Appreciation of apricity

Cheeky chickadees

Cold Piece of Work

The saga of the missing lens cap and the dreaded drift

Author

Archives

Categories