Every little trace of wildness thrills me to the core. Today while walking Dylan (our Pembroke Welsh corgi) I saw rabbit tracks leading from our driveway into the pine trees that border our park. (It is really everyone’s park, but we call it “ours”.)
I followed the trail until it disappeared into the evergreens and never came out. Did the rabbits burrow into their warrens through the frozen (zero degree) snow? Do they live under the pine trees? Certainly they don’t fly, but the tracks evidently went nowhere.
If we can only stay up late enough, maybe we’ll see the rabbits out at night. I’ve always enjoyed fanciful pictures of rabbits dancing by moonlight, on a snowy landscape. While Dylan would probably love to chase the rabbits, I suddenly have a burning wish to capture them with my watercolors. I’ll let you know if I succeed!
While we left the bears and wolves behind when we moved 285 miles south, there is plenty of wildness here. Coyotes abound, sneaking around suburban neighborhoods and farmyards. Hawks soar over our park. Some Canada geese winter in open streams near farms, where they can glean the harvested cornfields.
One day we saw a grouse in our front yard. And our two funny friends, the chipmunks, live in a hole by our garden wall. As I type, they are probably busy chomping away at the basketball-sized food cache of our bird seed–one basketball per chipmunk. We won’t see the chipmunks until spring, but it’s delightful to know that they are close by!
Last week I saw the tiny saw-whet owl perched on a tree limb beside our road. There is always plenty for the nature hungry heart to relish–so long as our eyes and ears are open wide!
Now I’m going to “adjourn” and try sketching rabbits.
Margaret L. Been–All Rights Reserved
The Messy Palette . . . 