why, precious wee orb
fall is here, you are fragile
i fear no hatching
out of season by Angie Quantrell
I discovered this nest yesterday while on a walk. Several other eggs were spread about willy-nilly, but these two were nestled as much as possible. I felt so sad for the out of season eggs. No chance at hatching or survival. Why?
But still beautiful.
colors scream intense
vibrant, exploding passion
swan song before cold
brilliant gemstone hues
garden offspring demand gaze,
dried promise for spring
hastily comes foe
winter breathes down our neck, quick!
capture fall passion
fall passion by Angie Quantrell
Souvenirs of the long summer growing season. Just like that-blink-and cold winds usher in the end of heat and beginning of cold. Get out today and store fall beauty in your mind’s eye to save for the dark cold snowy white and gray days of winter.
freeze, hold your cat breath-
shopping at mole hill mountains,
stakeout meal to go
stakeout by Angie Quantrell
Monet. Checking her dinner options. Patience always wins.
tight, binding, seamless
stretches, swells, cracks wide open
crawl out with new skin
new skin by Angie Quantrell
*Meet Taylor’s pet cat-faced spider. All legs on deck to help with pest control.
if I could but creep
on fence and stalk, spinning webs
you’d watch out for me
creeper by Angie Quantrell
Welcome, cat-faced spider. Eat all you want. But please, keep your webs from my face.
mystery black holes
bright eyes peek out . . . who goes there?
old wood frog hotel
frog hotel by Angie Quantrell
#scenesfromthepasture
green feathers, boas,
cushion path, moor silver threads
hide eight-eyed hunters
green boas by Angie Quantrell
I’m going to to miss these lovelies, but not the walking into and through spider webs. But it was worth every minute spent trying to remove clinging strands to see such verdant green life.
@Hypatia-in-the-Woods
favorite weapon
shadow self, shooting pictures
me? it’s what I do
self-portrait by Angie Quantrell
Photo taken at Potlatch State Park, Hood Canal, Washington State.
Thanks to Hypatia-in-the-Woods for the opportunity to be me.
land meets sea, blue green
burgeoning life; stilted legs
walks both, scurries on
stilted legs by Angie Quantrell
Photo taken at Potlatch State Park, near Shelton and Potlatch, Washington
Opportunity provided by Hypatia-in-the-Woods, Holly House
,
red crest, heavy head
hop, skittle, scrape, taste, chitter;
wary woodpeckers
pileated woodpeckers by Angie Quantrell
I feel like I struck gold! Or black and red, the colors on my 2 feathered guests.
I almost didn’t see them, as they were very quiet. I went out the Holly House front door to my car and spotted huge black birds, one on a dead stump, clawing to grasp and dig in, the other on the ground scooping bits of snack with a sideways tilt of the head.
As soon as red-crested heads popped into view, I knew exactly what they were. And they were huge! Due to my constant perusal of A Guide to Field Identification, BIRDS of North America book, in particular the page on woodpeckers and flickers, I recognized them. But only when I saw them in person did I realize the immense size compared to the flickers and scrub jays I usually identify. The guide says their length is 15-inches. Fascinating.
According to the guide book, pileated woodpeckers are “uncommon and local; a wary bird of extensive deciduous or mixed forests” (p. 180). I feel like I won the lottery. Here there were two uncommon and wary woodpeckers gently hopping along the driveway, chittering quietly to each other, sort of like chickens chat as they go about their day.
I watched them until they hopped beyond the bend of the driveway. They didn’t take off while I observed, and didn’t seem too bothered by me. They seemed a bit gangly in movement, young, perhaps teens? Not sure if they were mated or siblings, but I was thrilled to listen and watch.
I love that Holly House has a copy of my favorite bird book. Their book is in much better shape. The pages are stuck in the proper place. What a special opportunity! Smack dab in the middle of a mixed forest, plenty of deciduous and coniferous trees and stumps for all to enjoy. Says the resident who learned the black bear is back and loves to scrub at trunks for bugs and wander behind my cabin on his dusk forays. Yikes! I would like to see him (or her) but only from my car or cottage window.
Love, Laughter, and Life 