JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum A Good Day Indeed

This has nothing to do with music except for the beautiful songs of nature.

I lived most of my life in Chicago or the surrounding suburbs. Thirteen years ago I moved to a rural area of Michigan. I have 34 acres of land with 2200 feet of river frontage.
If only the kids in the inner cities could see this stuff. I think it would be a better world.
It was indeed a good day.

This is what I saw today in my yard.

5 Whitetail deer
Wild Turkey( I have seen as many as 35 at once)
Racoon
Red Belly Woodpecker
Red Headed Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe(nesting in my shed)
Baltimore Oriole
Red Grossbeaks
Rufous Sided Towee
Wren(nesting in 2 of the birdhouses I made)
Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Redwing Blackbird
American Goldfinch
Red House Finch
Indigo Bunting(the prettiest blue you have ever seen)
Eastern Bluebird
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Nuthatche
Brown Creeper
Cow Bird
Black Cap Chickadee
Robin Red Breast
Sparrows (of course) several varieties
Canada Geese
Ducks
Great Blue Heron

These are often seen among many others.
Pileated Woodpeckers
Sandhill Cranes
Foxes
Coyotes
The Slate Juncos(snowbirds) are gone for the summer.
This is just from my sunroom where I have my morning coffee. When I go down into the woods I see many other species of wildlife. Some day I think I’ll make a list of everything I have seen here. I even seen an Eagle once

Wow ... such peace ...
Hey Bill!!?!??! Can I come over and look out your window
I am very addicted to watching the birds on the feeders.. as well as the squirrels doing acrobats to access the bird feeders ...they are a very talented and inovative creatures ... I love Mother Nature.
Enjoy every beautful moment.
Joanne

What I saw driving from home to Washington DC

1. A women scratching her head and face while she made my sandwich
2. A young girl giving me the finger as she flew past my car talking on her cell phone.
3. Construction cones in the road reducing four lanes into one. No construction seen.
4. A confused cashier as I handed her more money than she originally typed into her register.
5. Several men walking wearing pants that were five sizes too big
6. A woman applying makeup as she sat at my green light.
7. A homeless man claiming he was Jesus.
8. A dead and very old raccoon
9. A 1968 Buick LeSabre
10. One of them there pink Mary Kay cars
11. A billboard with a 1-800 number for suicide prevention
12. A very large woman wearing dirty sweat pants with the word "juicy" across her back side.

Aah yes, life in a big city. Twas a very good day.

And THANK YOU IGGY for the belly laugh!! I needed that!
That was just too damn funny!!
Joanne

Hey, Bill. Sounds like a great meal walking around your place

LOL Iggy
I have to go to Chicago tomorrow.....AAARGH
I'll be on the lookout for your type of wildlife

Bill I have venison and Wild Turkey in the freezer as we speak.
I have some great venison Salami.

Hi Joanne
We look forward to this time of year. It is always a joy to see the birds return.
The Orioles showed up today.
We start putting out oranges mid April to attract them.

Humming Birds came 3 days ago.

So did the Grossbeaks.

The Red Headed Woodpecker was a treat. We rarely see them.

Me. I saw three songs at least in that lot.
One each for Bill and Iggy, and a meld of the two that would probably be more fun, and say a whole lot more.
Graham

Sounds like a great day...I used to live in North Florida. Nice rural area. Now Tampa. I like Tampa, but I do miss being in 'real' nature. You can see it here if you look hard enough, but everything's being built out of its habitat and it's moving to more and more rural areas.

Bill, keeping Wild Turkey in the freezer may be a good idea. I usually just pour mine over some ice

That's where that pair of sandhill cranes that were in my back yard all winter went. I should have tied a note to them. Ben

Bill,
Woodja like some mocking birds. We moved into our new house December 2004. This year I think the mocking birds have found us. There was a bunch of them a couple of weeks ago. They have now decided on who has this territory. Even from 200 feet they can really be loud. And they don't know when the sun goes down. They still sing way after dark.

Down the road 200 feet where there isn't any houses there doesn't seem to be any. I guess they like to be around humans.

And I thought my pet squirrel hanging outside my office window was cool! = )

Brian

The wildlife here astounds me
How they make it through the winter is beyond me.

Brian, Those pictures you posted of the squirrel were precious.

Squirrels are everywhere I think but it's always nice when you have one that claims your yard.
We have lots of red squirrels here. They are smaller than the Fox or Grey squirrel and really hyper. They claim our yard and drive off the bigger squirrels. We also have black squirrels here.

Two weeks ago we realized all the birds were gone from the feeder. That usually happens when there is a predator around.
I looked out the window and a Sharp Shinned Hawk was sitting on the railing of our deck. What a sight.

Oh! I forgot to mention Turkey Vultures
Morning doves(daily visitors)
Rabbits(but not many, too many predators)

This area is a Sandhill Crane flyway. When they are migrating we see large flocks overhead.
I think they look like Clingon Warbirds from Startrek, LOL
Most go further north but we get a fair number that summer here also.
I should list the snakes I've seen
Blue Racers are my favorite. I had one living under the porch for a couple years.

Plants I harvest
Paw Paws(wild)
Blackberries(wild)I make jelly
Raspberries(wild) I make jelly
Quince(like an Apple, from china) have to bake them
Apples
pears
Morel Mushrooms(when I can find them)

I live in western new york state. Near us is an area known as the Alabama Swamps. They have lots of hiking trails in the swamps and there is a breeding pair of bald eagles that the conservation guys actually have a camera on the nest. I saw the nest last winter, it reminded me of an upside down 69 volkswagon beetle made of sticks stuck 50 ft. up a tree. A huge nest.

And a partridge in a pear treeeee!!! I actually had a freakin' coyote {not Truman} run out in front of me as I was pulling into my driveway last night. {I live in the suburbs]

Quince jam (jelly) is good too Bill.
Graham

The only wild life I see here is usually behind a steering wheel.

I wondered who'd pick up on the Quince.
Most people never heard of it.
Yes, Graham, that is what Quince is usually used for.

Jerry, how can you say that. I went to Florida for a couple months back in the seventies.
My first day there I was on Hillsborough ave, I seen a Rattlesnake as big around as my arm and an Armadillo. Later that night at the park I stayed at we seen an Alligator.

And you guys have really BIG spiders.

10-4 on the spiders. You should see the "bannana" spiders. Long and slender about the length of your middle finger. Ugly as sin. I live 100 miles south of the Tampa Bay area. Their are lots of rural areas around Tampa. You can still live in the country and work in the city. Homosassa Springs for example. The gators are wondering around neighborhoods this time of year because of mating season and with the drought they are looking for water. If you see one 99% chance they will run from you, but if you feed them your in trouble. It is illegal to feed a wild alligator because they lose their fear of you and may come after you or your puppy for his next meal. If a gator has been fed than they must be distroyed. If you spot one wondering the streets you must call a certified trapper. If they determine that no one has fed him they wrap his snout up with duct tape and take him to a preserve and turn him loose. If he had been fed than chances are he will end up on a dinner plate as "fried greenbacks". Ben

Hi Bill,

I thought your last line would read "and a partridge in a pear tree". Some comprehensive list there Bill and you even know all the names, I'm impressed (and jealous!)

I did see my first blue jay of the season this morning and it thrilled my soul. The same thing happens when I see the first red cardinal in winter (again I'm thrilled).

Let's never lose our appreciation of the simple things in life!!

Best,
Lynn

Y'know, a blend of the two extremes, done "partridge in a pear tree" style (and as a duet), would be fascinating.

When I lived in the Columbia Gorge, our house was right on the edge of the woods, and the woods (national forest type) went back over a hundred miles. We got to meet a lot of wildlife. We kept chickens for a while, which were a great predator-attraction device. My favorite was the black bear who decided as a cub to make himself a little hibernatin' place in the back yard, in the carcass of a '57 Ford, and then came back every winter for years. Never caused any trouble, but there were just four months or so that the dog would *not* go into the back yard for any reason.

Here on the Oregon Coast, we're a bit more populated and civilized; only critters out of the ordinary are the deer that periodically mosey down from their little refuge around the city water tank to much out on people's gardens. There are maybe 4 generations of deer living up there now.

And of course birds. Wife Sandy has flowers, so we get lots of birds. Except for the robins and great blue herons, I have no idea what most of 'em are. They serve as a kind of Bowflex exercise thing for the cats. The birds don't appear to be bothered, since the cats can't ever catch 'em, and the cats don't appear to be bothered by not being able to catch 'em. (The herons, by the way, are our local oddity. They have a rookery in town, in a stand of tall firs, so everybody's proud and protective of 'em. Herons are huge, and ugly, and sound awful, and you do not want to be in the wrong place when one is flying overhead.)

So... somebody gonna do a song?

Joe

Are banana spiders a kind of tarantula? Someone told me that once. Big hairy black spider about 3 inches including legs. I had one crawl up my pantleg once, scared the livin bejesus out of me.

Cool, I only get to see nature like that (well not all of that) when we go to the Porkies in the U.P. every August for a week or two. Although, living a couple of blocks from the Mississippi we do get to see Eagles and other birds who nest or migrate the river. I almost ran into a 6-8 point Buck a couple of years ago in the Suburb I work in. That was wierd. We have Racoons big enough to challange most of the cats and dogs around here. I'll take wild animals (at least around here) over wild city folk anyday! Those stories are another post

A banana spider is yellow and resembles the shape of a banana. They are found in subtropical climates in the forest usually in a web. They are mildly poisonous meaning their bite is not fatal but can make you ill. I'm not an expert on spiders so I can't say if they are related to the tarantula or what their scientific name is. I just know that they are a frightening sight. Ben

Joe

You guys might be on to something. This might be a good idea for a song. Contrasting the two extremes. I think it would be a novelty song but loads of fun none the less.
What if we took the observations from these post's and make it a collab. I don't think there is any limit to how many writers can be on a song.
What the heck. I'm game.

You seem to have a knack for this kind of song. What do you say. Want to give it a shot?

I'm even thinking have several singers on the song.
Each singing his/her observations. Either a full verse with one singer or just a couple of lines per singer in each verse.
It would be a challenge but I think I could handle the mixing. Or if someone has more experience they could do it.
Then everyone joining in on the chorus. Add each voice to the chorus as it progresses through the song.
Male and female would be really cool I think.

Need a title also.
Sights of nature and not so natural, I dunno. That might be tough to make into a hook tho.


Perhaps like this.

verse
singer 1 (2 lines)
singer 2 (2 lines)

Chorus
singer 1 and 2

verse
singer 3 (2 lines)
singer 4 (2 lines)

Chorus
singers 1, 2, 3, and 4
ETC

Or another possible format
verse
singer 1

Chorus
singer 1

verse
singer 2

Chorus
singer 1 and 2

verse
singer 3

chorus
singer 1, 2, and 3.
Etc.

Bill, I like it. I've got some dead space right now (just finished the dead cow song). Lemme think on't a bit.

Joe

I live on a farm in the middle of the woods.I see all kinds of birds,rabbits,foxes,etc,even had a bear try to get into my house one night.Moose practically looking into my window one morning,two of them no less.We have no snakes,thank God.

'Juicy' on the backside....dang.

that sounds really beautiful Bill. Dang, you came to Chicago without telling us? You're not allowed to do that!!!How long of a drive is it?

Hey Bill….y’all beat me, but not by much. I’ve pretty much seen everything you have except the coyote, sandhill crains and bald eagle (tho I did see an osprey)….and I’m just 15 minutes north of downtown Grand Rapids. I have about an acre with a small jump-across stream running thru the backyard. And a big flood plain area beyond that nobody can build on.

Caught 4’ and 5’ blue racers a couple years back. I’ve seen a few box turtles, an enormous snapper looking for a place to lay eggs (probably 30 lbs or so). And an almost entirely white “striped” skunk. ;-)

And we get a spectacular fire fly display during the summer months when we get enough springtime rain.

I’m a former forestry major and I just eat this stuff up. ;-)

Herbie

How'd you find out I was in Chicago Saturday?
It was a marathon visit. 80th birthday for my Father in Law. I got to Oak Park(right around the corner from Jack) at 1pm. Had the little Birthday Celebration and then had to go to his house in Glen Ellyn and set up the New computer I bought him for his Birthday. Got it up on the internet and then had to teach him how to turn it on, LOL.
I finished about 11:30 and had to drive home. Got home at about 2 AM.

Average drive time is about 2 1/2 hours.

Hi Tim

I know what you mean about the swamps. I have about 80 acres of swamp that borders the back of my Property. About 5 acres of my own swamp.
I could go on and on about the wildlife I have seen here.
Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, Hawks, Just about every thing that lives up here. Even flying squirrels.
My song The Hawk on my soundclick page is a true story. It actually happened.
It is amazing.
Salmon and steelhead run the river that borders my property.
I have hunted Deer, Turkey, Rabbit, Squirrel, Ducks, Geese, without ever leaving home.

Someone mentioned Great Blue Herons and not being under one at the wrong time.
I was going to my Mothers house a couple years ago. You have to drive down a narrow drive that boarders a wetland. I startled a Great Blue Heron that was sitting along side the drive. He Flew up right over my truck.
Well my window was open and, you guessed it, he made a deposit. Right through the window onto my left shoulder. What a mess, LOL.
They are big birds.

I love living here.

We just don't have the big animals like up North. Bears, Moose, Elk, Cougars, Wolves, etc. To many people here.
I envy you that Everett.

“Salmon and steelhead run the river that borders my property.”

Ahhh…now you REALLY have me. ;-)

Would give my eye teeth for frontage like that!

But there’s a dandy salmon/steelhead river about a 5 minute drive away. I just can’t walk out the door and wet a line.

I grew up hunting and fishing in Canada.My in-laws owned over 1000 acres where their ancesters had settled.My wifes uncle who was 85 years old had never left the farm.He had never seen tv (1971)nor did he have running water or electricity.His name was Norm.Norm never had a job and lived off the land.We would of course bring him the essentials he needed,but other than that old Norm had never been anywhere except to town functions.Norm had no neighbors and in the winter time was snowed in.We'd go in for hunting season and make sure he was ok.In 1975 my brothers in law and myself had hydro put to the house.And yes we bought him a tv.Norm never had a hunting license,but he taught me how to hunt and enjoy nature.I was with Norm before he died back in 1979 .He was reading the newspaper and got all upset.I ask him what was wrong.He replied "Damn Americans are taking are water".I took the newspaper from him and it was an advertisement for Canada Dry Gingerale..it read"THE U.S is drinking Canada Dry"

RIKY

Great story Riky. There are still a few large tracts like that left in Michigan but most have been subdivided now.

Tim
I have fished the Grand at the bridge down town Grand Rapids.

I don't fish the river here much. It gets a pretty good run but there is nothing to hold them here. They just pass on buy upstream looking for gravel beds. Mostly smooth sand bottom here.
I do go to Berrien Springs for Steelies and Salmon tho. My river, the Paw Paw, branches off from the St Joseph River.

Mine is the Rogue. It flows into the Grand a few miles from here and all but the bottom mile or so is gravel.

I don't fish the Grand at the 6th Street dam anymore. Water's really fast and loaded with snags. And it's a zoo when the fish are running.

I live in northern KY, about 12 miles south of Cincinnati, OH. Alexandria used to be considered rural but like much of the country, the little farms are being turned into subdivisions. We do still have some woods around us and deer are regular visitors as well as a bunch of squirrels (lots of nut trees in the woods), turkey becoming more common as well as coyote, fox, skunks, rabbits occasionally, snapper and box turtles, a variety of snakes. There were reports of a panther being seen a couple of miles down the road, and last year a black bear was in the area. Birds are quite abundant at our feeder ... a couple of piliated woodpeckers, bluejays, cardinals, tufted titmouse, chickadees, wrens, nuthatch, slate juncos (as you said, now gone with the end of winter), doves, towee, cowbirds, grackles, sparrows, yellow finch, house finch, a pair of geese who took up residence a few years ago on the pond on the back hill, redtail hawk, used to have bluebirds but they disappeared ... I'm sure I could think of more if I had the time. I do love to watch them all!!

LOL Iggy
I have to go to Chicago tomorrow.....AAARGH
I'll be on the lookout for your type of wildlife
---------------------------------------------------------------
So when are you having Polina and I and Kimchar and Cindy up for the weekend?

LOL Herbie
I forgot about that post.

My door is open every weekend. Matter of fact it's open every day.

Now wouldn't that be a great time. Sit on the deck at night look at the stars. Play a few tunes. Now that would be a treat.

Unless the skeeters were bad then we'd have to stay in the studio, LOL

This has been a great thread. Very relaxing.

I forgot one little critter that is awake and very prolific right now.
TICKS!!!! Rotten little brown dog and deer TICKS

I got in my truck last night and was driving along a dang, there was a tick on my arm.
Sylvia told me she vacuumed one up last night in the bedroom.

I HATE TICKS

Wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for lyme disease. There was 160 cases in our county last year.

At least we don't have Chiggers. They are pretty nasty little buggers too.

We get a lot of Americans coming here to hunt moose,caribou and black bear,most times they get their prey.We get a lot of fishermen too, trying for the Atlantic salmon and trout.We have a small population in Newfoundland,about half a million,we have over 100,000 moose.Just be careful when you are driving,when you hit one of them with a car,it could mean serious injury or death, they can weigh up to a ton.

Bill, you live on the Paw Paw River? (I don't know anything about Michigan, I looked it up on a map.)

Curious... is the area where you live full of homes or is it rural. Your list of wildlife is most impressive. I didn't expect that, based on where you live. Not that far from the big city.

I'm a wildlife nut.

Skeeters. You don't know skeeters until you've been in Louisiana.

"You don't know skeeters until you've been in Louisiana."

Or northern Michigan. We get those 5 pounders that carry off small children. ;-)

Had thjose in upstate New York, where I grew up. The conventional wisdom was the skeeters couldn't get you unless you rolled the car window all the way down... I was also told they were why child car safety seats were invented.

Joe

A little info on my Habitat(satellite Photo)
The red area...My house
The green area My land Mostly woods some swamp
The Blue area swamp and woods( the horseshoe shaped areas are old river beds)
The crooked blue line...the river



One of my Friends. This photo was taken about 100 yards from my house

Made me smile when you said this was one of your friends...
You're OK...Bill Robinson!!!.... You'd probably even
understand Lullabies..with chorus's of chirp chirp..tweet tweet
wouldn't ya and knowing you know both Rufus and Indigo...
Tis all good. Indigo Buntings are truly beautiful aren't they?
and Rufus is equally a handsome fellow... Always think of them as male... their tuxedos are gorgeous. I want to send you
a lyric called The Wedding...I hope it gives you a smile. What you've said in this post made me think of it..........

Ya made me a bit homesick...but I do still
have some little critters about...and..an occasional deer in the yard. Just no bears looking in while I'm looking
out...and only one wild turkey in the yard since we moved.

thanks for sharing all this Bill..
Kaley...


Songs for Adults
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=8404
Songs for Kids:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=6469
Andy & Friends CD
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kwwg
Kaley and Wy's Songs Put To Animation:
http://www.flashfast.com/kids