I always have interesting blog posts that I intend to write - and then laziness gets in the way and I wind up doing annoyingly boring crap about the cats....or the forest.
Did I ever mention that living with three cats could drive a completely sane and rational person to insanity and thoughts of murder?
Not that I'm completely sane or rational, mind you. It was merely an inconsequential figure of speech.
Did I ever mention that this has been the coldest April I can remember?
It's finally slightly warming up, but the next two nights are supposed to be in the 30's again (Fahrenheit).
The frigid night frosts have killed all of the beautiful pink and purple spring blossoms, but - miraculously - some of the white blossoms have survived. These are courtesy of the dogwood trees.
After days (weeks? months??) of torrential rain, it finally cleared today and the sun actually appeared. Which is cause for celebration.
My celebratory mood was momentarily thwarted when I went outside and saw the first tick of the season.....and soon afterwards was chased back inside by a rowdy mob of angry bees.
Undaunted and admirably persistent, I grabbed my El Cheapo camera and decided to go for a brief walk in the woods.
Fortunately the woods are on my property and only a few yards from the back door. Otherwise I wouldn't survive the ordeal.
The intense joy that I get from sharing these photos with you is almost indescribable.
I can only imagine the intense joy you get from seeing them.
Am I being a sarcastic wise guy?
Naw. Not a chance.
Actually, this dogwood tree is not exactly in the woods - it's right near my garage.
Okay - here we are in the woods. It's high noon on a lovely day. All the trees are coming to life, thanks to the endless recent rain.
The forest is filled with the incessant warble (warble??) of birds. Robins, wrens, cardinals, bluebirds, and lots of woodpeckers. And hawks soaring high above the trees.
I saw wild turkeys in the front yard a few days ago, but they wandered away before I could get the camera.
I like this one. The sun is right behind the tree.
A thought:
Should I copyright my photos? I was suddenly thinking about the copyrighted stolen questions that I used on my previous blog post.
Anyway, if you use these photos for any purpose other than your own personal intense pleasure, I'll find out where you live and beat the stuffing out of you. Then I'll put an eternal Hungarian curse on you.
I might look sweet and adorable, but I'm tough.
I'd rather walk in a forest versus some concrete jungle. It's great to see signs of life after winter finally passes. What kind of tick - you mean wood ticks ? They're abundant here and we use this tick spray to keep them off.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways it seems like the months are just flying by. Nice pictures - always pleasant to look at.
The older I get (not that I'm old, mind you) the more I prefer rural life rather than being in the city. There are many inconveniences, but I still like it. One thing that I HATE, however, are the wood ticks. I especially have to watch the cats carefully. They usually stay on the porch when I let them outside, but occasionally they will wander. Using a rick spray is a good idea - but I'd be hesitant to use it on a cat.
DeleteI like the picture you mentioned too. Your trees are tall compared to ours but ours are tall enough to make misery in the gutters.
ReplyDeleteThe trees around my house are incredibly tall and I always worry that they might topple over in a storm.
DeleteWhen I lived in Texas I didn't have any large trees but my neighbors did - and ALL the leaves from their trees would blow into my yard in the autumn.
For what it's worth, ya; I'd copyright your images, Jon. (Unless, of course, it involves Big $.) Your second image is particularly captivating. I'm visualizing an oversize canvas .....
ReplyDeleteI'm inherently paranoid, and I always wonder if someone will steal something from my blog - - not that there's anything worth stealing, of course, but you just never know.
DeleteIt looks charming where you live - how lovely to own all that woodland. IN Britain you have to be rich to own a wood. There is very little empty land here.
ReplyDeleteFortunately (and surprisingly) rural land is still obtainable at fairly reasonable prices in some states. I love living near the woods, despite many inconveniences. The wonders of nature are always soothing and fascinating.
DeleteIt's so nice to see some sun, green and flowers instead of the weeds. Our Dogwoods haven't bloomed here yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to ignore the weeds. Every time it rains they grow another five feet (slight exaggeration). This season the dogwoods were the first trees to bloom - and the only ones that survived the cold.
DeleteThis is the coldest April I can remember too. I usually have put the furnace to rest but it is still on.
ReplyDeleteI turned the furnace off a few months ago when I got an extraordinarily high heating bill - but occasionally I was forced to turn it back on.
DeleteEven though tonight is going to be in the 30's again, I THINK the very cold weather is FINALLY over.
I knew some of the buds would flower despite the ice and snow and wind and rain--they always do. ;) It looks glorious there with all the baby leaves popping out and everything greening up.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone loves something of mine enough to steal it off the web I'll take that as a compliment--ROFL! ;) Have a great day, Jon. :)
Well, I think the mild weather is here to stay (of course, I erroneously said that several times before). Today actually seemed like Easter, only it's a few weeks too late.
ReplyDeleteI'll (reluctantly) admit that nothing on my blog is worth stealing.....
" indescribable intense joy " and some lovely photographs of spring plus plants and trees we don't see here . What's not to like .
ReplyDeleteIt's really a lovely time of year, especially here in the Tennessee wilderness. My only regret is that the warm weather took so long to arrive - but better late than never...
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos, Jon. A great visual relief from looking at plumbers and plumbing here. I was wondering if you are dependent on a private well, like we are. I expect workers to return and go down the hatch I sawed, like in the play "Madwoman of Chaillott". But I do hope they come out of it again.
ReplyDeleteGeo, I was initially stunned to learn that my shack here in the wilderness is on city water, since I live so far from town. That's one of the reasons I bought it. But I do have a septic tank (for the first time in my life) and that concerns me.
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised to find a portal to hell somewhere on my property.
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Deleteput a little blurb somewhere in your sidebar saying the pictures are copywritten. it could act as a deterrent. they are beautiful, indeed.
ReplyDeleteI was seriously thinking of doing that, but I have doubts that it would deter anyone. I suppose it's worth a try...
DeleteBeautiful photos from your walk in the woods Jon. Your photo of the dogwood tree brought back fond memories of our beautiful dogwood trees at our Pennsylvania property of seven acres of woods, Here in southern Delaware we have almost one acre of totally flat land with trees that I planted, my feeble attempt to recreate our own "woods". Where you live now is so much more interesting than the desolate landscape of western Texas. Continue on with blog posts like this and your cats!
ReplyDeleteRon
Ron - it must have been fantastic to have seven acres of woodlands. I'm sure you miss it but your property now in Delaware is really beautiful and meticulously maintained.
DeleteI absolutely despised the desolate wasteland of west Texas. Despite all of the inconveniences and problems here in the wilderness, I still love being in Tennessee.
BTW - I always read and enjoy your blog, even when I don't leave comments (often I'm just plain lazy).