Well, I finally escaped to the woods, (my small woods where I grew up) and boy was it ever great! It's where I belong, I've concluded! Finally, I had the car, and the weather was very nice-no rain, no snow, and not frigid! I chose to take my Sightron Blue Sky II 8x30's, as a no fuss, do it all in a light package bin. Since the leaves are not on the trees as yet-just beginning, I could still see to the farmed fields beyond, a cornfield usually, but not plowed as yet, with the 8x, all the way to the treeline, and anything else closer too. They worked out great for this early Spring walk. A nice slow walk of 1&1/2 hours, observing, taking pictures, and once in a while resting and observing when the chance came about. It was a perfect day, sun and clouds, high of 50, 10 mph wind, and I wished I hadn't left my light nylon jacket in the car! It was a bit cool for a slow walk, but that's my speed, and what I prefer anyway. I had a wide brim hat, a polo shirt, and long pants, and my trusty Leki Wanderfreund trekking pole. That way my back lasts longer, and the support is great for any hills or off the path wanderings with more challenging terrain. I wouldn't last half as long without it, I'm sure.
As I entered the Plains Mennonite church "park", I was looking for the Black (Grey) Squirrel I saw last Fall, but even though I was patient and listened and looked, he was not showing himself, not today anyway. The birds were slow to show themselves, but I took some pictures of the flowers in bloom (planted, and wild), and kept going. I saw Robins (should be our state bird, I think), one solitary Blue Jay, heard Cardinals, but could not locate even one! And of course, the other songbirds you can never find in the treetops as close as the sun as you can get! I don't even try now, I just look for movement without the bins, but those singers probably are in one place for a while, and just are difficult to find!
There was another quiet, grey bird with a darker head, that looked similar to an Eastern Wood Pewee, that also came to view, but I had no idea what he was.
Then I made a friend apparently, of a smaller bird, orange buff colored mainly, with a lighter belly, looking like a Carolina Wren, though it might be another easily-it was quiet, naturally, within my view, as is often the case! No matter, a nice companion on my walk! I saw it on and off, among a Blue Jay (one of my favorite sights), a Turkey Vulture (great to view with sunlight lighting his wings), and finally a Red Tail Hawk who perched quickly in a treetop. I lost sight of him when I changed positions to get a better view-and he probably didn't wait around for me to get set again-don't know why, but many birds just seem to be unsociable (like me)! I don't hold it against them, but it often is a problem beteen us and my birdwatching! It seems, hides are a great idea, or at least remaining somewhere without movement to discourage their interaction.
Before I left, a Downy Woodpecker appeared too, briefly, and I was glad of the sight of him too. It seems they (the birds) might like saying goodbye better than hello! That's OK, as I to think man is still too beastly in most regards.
Next time I think I'll hit Frick's Trail, another Mennonite park for wild space being preserved. Then there is a nature preserve (Gwynedd) not far, that I haven't been to-and I was going to go there this week, until I learned of a controlled burning scheduled for last Wednesday, which just makes me mad! It may be good for native plant species to keep control over foreign introductions, but it sure messes with the balance of nature in Spring, I think. I don't even want to see burned meadows, or consider how much they might have destroyed from this decision. Why can't man just leave some things be, as they evolve-and it happens eventually, without our interference? I'm not very scientific, so even if I know why they do something, it doesn't mean I concur.
Anyway, a great day out for me finally, and I will say that I could have used a wider field of view than the Sightron SII's, more like the Nikon EII, would have been great I think too, but I've never haltered them, and they don't know how to be on a tether yet. Got to go to the binocular wisperer for his help on that! ; ) Maybe Black Crow can help me?!
PS, just before I left, I found the large Cherry tree that I saw last Fall there, which is unusual for our locality-mostly all Maples, Walnuts, Hickories, etc, with a mix of occasionaly Red Cedars, and other scrub type Pines, though not much of the evergreens here. I found a small nodule of Cherry sap (saw a large one last Fall on the same tree-now gone), and I decided to taste the sap-so I dug a little piece of sap off and chewed it-pretty good! Not harsh tasting in any way-and I don't know why I wanted to, other than maybe Creek Stewart's influence of survival in the woods and his teachings, and I guess I was just curious. I'm still alive, darn!